Washing the Waters
A Sermon for the First Sunday After the Epiphany
Isaiah 42:1–9 | Psalm 29 | Acts 10:34–43 | Matthew 3:13–17
Epiphany is the season of revelation.
It is the season in which God refuses to remain hidden.
At Christmas we proclaimed that God has come among us—flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone. Epiphany now asks a different question: Who is this child, really? And more importantly, what kind of God does he reveal?
The feast of the Baptism of the Lord stands near the beginning of Epiphany because here the veil is drawn back. The identity of Jesus is made public. The mission of Jesus is made clear. And the heart of God is spoken aloud.
“This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
Epiphany and the God Who Steps Forward
Epiphany is not primarily about human insight—it is about divine self-disclosure. God shows us who God is. And what God reveals, again and again, is not distance but nearness; not condemnation but communion.
That is why Jesus goes to the Jordan.
