Exhortation

In many churches, the Sunday after Epiphany commemorates the baptism of Jesus. It is one of the moments when He shows Himself to the world. At the water, the Father declares Jesus to be His Son by giving the Spirit of sonship.

When we were baptized, we received a share in Jesus’ one baptism. Every baptism is an epiphany, as the Father shows we are His sons by water and the Spirit.

But that’s not all. Jesus also received the Spirit to empower Him for His mission. For us as for Jesus, baptism not only declares who we are, but calls and enables us to become what we are, God’s light in the world.

Jesus shines in and through as we trust Him to kill our sin and to supply us with His resurrection power. Because we died to sin in baptism, we manifest His righteousness in our bodies, and so share in His epiphany to the nations.