Blessed be God.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit. Fill us with joy.
Set our hearts ablaze with Your presence.
My friends, this opening prayer fits today.
Because the good Lord shows up.
He shows up in person.
Not in theory.
Not in symbol.
Not in spirit alone.
He shows up—
Fully, faithfully, incarnationally.
And that matters for you and me.
In Matthew’s Gospel
Jesus steps into the Jordan.
And when He does,
He’s making a statement:
“I came in the flesh.
I stepped into your mess.
I entered your water.
Now you—show up in yours.”
All four Gospels tell this story.
Each one from a different angle.
Each one from lived experience.
Because they listened.
Because they stayed close.
Because they saw how God reveals Himself
in real places,
real people,
real moments.
And Matthew wants us to see this clearly:
Jesus chooses the Jordan.
Not the clean river.
Not the pretty river.
The Jordan—
where Joshua crossed,
where Naaman was healed,
the lowest place on earth.
From the highest of the high
to the lowest of the low—
that’s where Christ goes.
And He goes there in person.
And then—heaven opens.
Not a whisper.
A tearing wide.
A breaking bright.
A voice from above:
“This is my Beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased.”
The Spirit descends.
The Son stands in the water.
The Father delights.
One God.
Three Persons.
Love moving toward us.
And the Incarnation becomes visible.
God in our muddy water.
God in our need.
God in our story.
He enters the river
not because He needs cleansing—
but because we need blessing.
And if He blesses the waters,
then grace is wide.
If His blessing is universal,
then His invitation is universal.
No one is beyond the reach of the Jordan.
No one is beyond the voice that says,
“You are my beloved.”
His baptism reveals ours:
We are claimed.
Chosen.
Named.
Beloved.
The Spirit rests upon us.
The Father delights in us.
The Son walks with us.
Baptism is not a moment—
it is a way of living.
A way of loving.
Every time we touch holy water,
we remember who we are:
children of the Father,
sealed with the Spirit,
joined to Christ.
And everywhere Jesus goes,
He goes with purpose.
Cana.
The synagogue.
The homes of the sick.
He does not stay at a distance.
He arrives.
So if the Lord of heaven and earth shows up,
then you and I must show up too.
Because grace is found where God is encountered,
and God is encountered
where we place our bodies,
our hearts,
our lives.
If Mary Magdalene had stayed away,
she would have missed the Risen Christ.
If Thomas had stayed away,
he would have missed the wounds
that healed his doubt.
So the question today:
Will we show up?
Will we step into the river—
even if it’s muddy,
even if it’s low,
even if it’s uncomfortable—
because that’s where Christ stands waiting?
Friends, know this:
Jesus is not merely teacher,
not merely prophet,
not merely holy man.
He is the Beloved Son.
The Anointed One.
The Savior of the world.
And because He steps into our water,
every human life
becomes sacred ground.
Be good, be holy,
and let the grace of baptism
shape the way we live
and the way we love.
Praise be to Jesus Christ,
forever and ever. Amen.
The Jordan Prayer
Lord Jesus,
You stepped into our water.
Step into our hearts again.
Call us your beloved,
steady our steps,
and give us the courage
to show up where You are.
Make us faithful,
make us present,
make us Yours.
Amen.
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