YOU are my beloved Son with you I am well pleased. In today’s Gospel we hear Mark’s account of the story of Jesus’ baptism, this is such an important event it appears in all the four Gospels, although in John’s Gospel it is John who describes the amazing things that happened when he baptised Jesus and what this meant. It is described as a second Epiphany which means to reveal.

Jesus was baptised at the start of his public ministry before he had done anything His Father’s voice from heaven and the appearance of a dove and sign of the Holy Spirit reminds of the Trinity. Even though Jesus had not done anything, His Father was letting everyone know he was loved and that he was pleased with him. I don’t remember my own baptism, like many of you I was baptised as a child, but I know that it involved water, oil, a candle and white cloth and that during the baptism those present made promises on my behalf and together said the Our Father.

An action we remind our young people when they are preparing for confirmation. This time last year our young people and their parents gathered in the Baptistry and were each blessed with water as their parents made the sign of the cross on their foreheads and said You are my beloved Son / Daughter, with you I am well pleased. Perhaps at home this is an action each of us can do as we listen to the Gospel, so that as sons and daughters of God we can feel the water and hear the words that God Our Father is saying to us. And for those who live alone then say the words aloud or listen to a recording which will be on the Cathedral Blog. AMH