With today’s feast of the ‘Baptism of the Lord’, we finish the Christmas season.
In past centuries the Christmas season, like Advent, was much longer, lasting up to Candlemas, 2nd February.
However, this feast is in fact wearing two hats, it is also the First Sunday of Ordinary or Ordinal (counted) Time and from Monday we enter into the first week of Ordinary Time, which will last a bit over a month this year before being interrupted by the seasons of Lent and Easter beginning with Ash Wednesday (17th February 2021).
With his Baptism, Jesus begins in earnest his earthly mission of the announcement of the coming of the Kingdom of God for all peoples and we will be journeying with him in this announcement in the weeks to come.
However, this mission of Jesus, of announcing the coming of God’s Kingdom (the Gospel) has continued now for over 2000 years. It continues with and through us, God’s Holy People.
Fr Andrew Lotton