By coming to his cousin John to be baptized, Jesus introduces a humility that reverses how things were thought to have been done. John says, “You should be baptizing me!” But righteousness is fulfilled by his agreeing to fully enter his role as baptizer of the Messiah.

Reflection, scripture, and works of art for the first Sunday of Epiphany. Christ comes into our lives as light itself, without fanfare: quietly, unexpectedly, in weakness, right into our disarray. Light has come into our humanity, showing us a new way to be human.