Baptism of the Lord: Trinity, Water, and Freedom
Readings and Virtual Homily for Mass, January 11, 2026, Baptism of the Lord; Parish Day of Reflection, January 31; Venezuela; Back on Campus; January Schedule
Readings for Mass this Sunday:
Isaiah 42:1-4; 6-7
Psalm 29:1-4, 9-10
Acts of the Apostles 10:34-38
Matthew 3:13-17
Dear Friends and Family,
The readings for this Sunday may be understood and discussed along several themes but the most basic, it seems to me, is the theme of liberation. This Sunday we commemorate the baptism of the Lord, and baptism is about liberation. To be clear, Jesus had no need of baptism, as John points out in today's Gospel passage (vs. 14). Jesus did not need the liberation baptism provides; he already lived it. But he submits to going into the water regardless, showing us the way to liberation from sin, just as Moses showed the people the way to liberation from slavery, through the waters of the Red Sea.
It has been pointed out by Catholic writers and theologians that in immersing himself in the waters of the Jordan, Jesus made holy the waters of baptism for all time. Whereas we are blessed by the water, at our baptism, Jesus blesses the water itself, at his.
The passage from Isaiah speaks directly to the theme of liberation; it describes the freedom that will be granted to men and women at the time of the Messiah. Speaking of the Messiah, Isaiah tells us
"I, the Lord, have called you for justice....a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement; and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness" (vss. 6-7).
While Isaiah focuses on liberation, Psalm 29 focuses on the power of water. Its description of the waters over which the Lord sits enthroned is evocative. And this power, the power of water -- to cleanse, among other things -- is central to our sacramental understanding of the significance of baptism. Catholic sacramental theology teaches that the symbols of the sacrament actually affect what they symbolize. That is, the Eucharist really does feed us, the oil at Confirmation really does anoint us and the water of baptism really does wash away sin.
The reading from Acts of the Apostles is one of my favorite passages from that book, itself my favorite book in Scripture. It is the scene from chapter ten where Peter realizes that God "shows no partiality;" that baptism, discipleship and eternal life are available to the Gentiles as surely as to the Jews (vss. 34-35). This seems a commonplace to us, two thousand years later, but it was a breakthrough moment in terms of the understanding on the part of the disciples of the true nature of their mission. The whole world, after all, as we considered in last week's homily, was "in sin and error pining." And the whole world is welcome to experience the cleansing and liberating waters of baptism.
With regard to the Gospel passage Matthew describes Jesus coming up from the water and looking up, seeing the sky opened and the Spirit descending upon him in the form of a dove, while the voice of the Father is heard (vss. 16-17). Baptism, of course, invokes the blessing of the Trinity. This is the first explicit revelation of the Trinity in the Bible, and it comes at the start of the Gospels, it comes at the start of Jesus' public ministry. The reality of the Trinity is implied many times throughout the Old Testament, beginning with the first chapter of Genesis: "Let us make man in our image" (Genesis 1:26). But it is at the baptism of the Lord that the Tri-Personal nature of God is made manifest. And the sacrament of baptism is achieved through the invocation of that Tri-Personal God.
I was with friends in London last Saturday when news of the intervention in Caracas hit the airwaves. Eight hours ahead of California, my friends and I were able to watch the story as it was developing. As my London friends have been to Venezuela and know many of my young Caraquenos, we canceled plans to go into central London that bright, cold Saturday, and had coffee, a light breakfast, more coffee and then a late lunch, watching the BBC and the news from Caracas.
I have received, of course, many, many comments, questions and observations about this set of developments. Just a week into the new situation, I am inclined to watch and learn, rather than offer immediate analysis. I will say that the whole thing has left me in real shock; it is a turn of events no one not involved in its planning could have seen coming.
I will say as well that -- speaking of liberation -- as yet, there is nothing in this for the people of Venezuela. The dictator has been removed but his regime remains in place. Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has assumed the presidency -- no one knows for how long -- and, in the words of opposition leader (and Nobel Prize winner) Maria Corina Machado, Delcy Rodriguez has been, for well over a decade, "one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narco-trafficking" and other crimes and offenses in Caracas.
There have been no scenes of jubilant crowds in the streets celebrating the downfall of a murderous dictator because the murderous dictator has been replaced by his murderous second-in-command. I do not know a single Venezuelan, inside the country or scattered about the hemisphere, who trusts Delcy Rodriguez to do anything but continue the repression which has kept her and the rest of this regime in power, despite their losing the July, 2024 presidential election in a proven landslide.
There are no doubt strategic reasons, related to American aims in Venezuela, for the decision to work with the regime. As I say, it is early, way early, for any real analysis here. For the time being, I can say only that for the overwhelming majority of Venezuelans, in practical terms, nothing has changed.
But of course, something HAS changed. Leaving aside arguments about the legality of it all, what's done is done. I harbor a hope for Venezuela today that I have not felt in seven years; not since the 2019 challenge to Maduro's rule launched by the then-opposition-led national assembly. When that huge, long-lasting -- and frankly brilliant -- revolt against Maduro's tyranny failed, I...lost hope. To the point where I quit praying for the liberation of Venezuela. I assumed that the nation and its wonderful people were lost to dictatorship and to poverty for a generation or more to come.
Events this past week suggest that I was wrong.
My seven-month sabbatical ended with seven days in London and Paris; I got back Sunday evening. Classes at O'Dowd started Tuesday -- I managed to arrive two minutes late for my Period One class that morning, so that most of my students were there, as I walked in. I was about to apologize to them when they as a group stood up and applauded. "Welcome back, Father!" they called out; "We've missed you!" they said; "Yay! Father Jim's back!"
I was...very pleasantly stunned. And all week (it is Friday afternoon as I am wrapping this) it has felt almost magical, being back. The hugs, the shout-outs, the smiles, the simply joyous welcome back -- hugely gratifying. I had reached the point with the sabbatical by Thanksgiving where I was ready to lighten up and take a breather. The time away was seven full months, but in fact, six was all I needed. I was ready, I could feel it, all last month, to come back to campus, and now that I am back, and picking up the academic reins once more, it feels like a magic carpet ride.
Really, really glad to be back. I've got a good thing going right now, between the high school, the parish and San Gabriel Media. I am deeply appreciative of just how blessed my circumstances are, and I am thanking the Lord for them daily. At the high school, this week, really, I was thanking the Lord hourly. Man, I have missed my teens. And my colleagues. Been walking on air all week, at O'Dowd.
Okay. Gonna wrap it here.
Take good care. God bless.
Love,
Fr. Brawn
A quick note to any who might be interested: I will be offering a Pre-Lenten Day of Reflection at St. Clement, Saturday, January 31, 830 AM to 230 PM. The day will start with a continental breakfast (some folks will actually be starting it with the 8 AM Mass, which I have that morning); there will be two morning talks, a big lunch and then a final talk in the early afternoon. The topic is Lenten: Women Saints of the Passion.
This schedule mirrors the day-of-reflection schedule we always kept way back in the day when I used to do these talks with my mom in Pleasanton and Fremont; later on, on my own in Brentwood. We had to let go of this powerful ministry when I arrived in Hayward; our gym is for the kids. But we managed to schedule a D-of-R last August; it was hugely successful, and we were able to schedule this one as well. RSVPs by January 28 greatly appreciated. Call the parish office or e-mail Lisa Fisher at lfisher7544@gmail.com
January Schedule (all Masses English):
Saturday, January 10, 5 PM
Sunday, January 11, 8 AM, 1115 AM
Saturday, January 17, 5 PM
Sunday, January 18, 630 PM
CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF PLEASANTON, Sunday, January 18, 11 AM
Sunday, January 25, 8 AM
Sunday, February 1, 8 AM, 1115 AM, 630 PM
Weekday Masses (again, all English, all 8 AM):
Sat., Jan. 10
Mon., Jan. 12
Sat., Jan. 17
Mon., Jan. 19
Sat., Jan. 24
Mon., Jan. 26
Sat., Jan. 31