Last Sunday we kept the Feast of the Epiphany, the revelation of Christ to the gentiles as represented by the Magi. Today we jump three decades in Jesus’ life to the turning point in his adult existence – his baptism. We know very little about Jesus’ childhood, adolescence or his twenties save that he was recognised by Simeon and Anna in the Temple as a baby and that when a little older stayed behind in Jerusalem in that same Temple, engaging in dialogue with the learned, causing his parents no end of worry.

Then we hear nothing until the day of his baptism and what a momentous day that was because it was at this point in Jesus’ story that we are given insight by God to whom Jesus really is. God proclaimed from heaven:

“This is my Son, my beloved, on whom my favour rests.” Matthew 3:17

This was also the moment that Jesus is inspired and motivated to begin his preaching and healing ministry; sharing the love of God and calling God’s people back to their Creator. Through his baptism Jesus is catapulted daily into our lives, just as much as he entered the lives of those around him during his earthly life and ministry. Jesus’ baptism was a new start for him, a significant turning point in his life and if our own baptisms echo his, then, through baptism we too have been given the opportunity of a new start. It is appropriate, today, that we remember our own baptisms as well as celebrating Jesus’. As such we should do so with thanksgiving for the ways in which our baptism into Christ has changed our lives and the world. In doing so we need, however, to look both backwards and forwards, for all of us, like Jesus, need to know where we have come from before we can go forward. One of the images that work for me, especially at this time of the year, is that of the double faced Roman god ‘Janus’. Janus, after whom January is named, is the god who it was believed stood at the gate of the year looking backwards into the old year and forward into the new. He is able to both assess what has gone before and to predict what might come in the future and he does it simultaneously. We have to look at Jesus’ life before and after his baptism to read the signs that tell us who he is and to follow his ways into the future. When Jesus was born he fulfilled the promises of the prophets, something the Magi acknowledged by calling him their king. When he was baptised he became aware of what he had to do and how his life to that point had led him to that new start. In doing so he submitted to God’s will and promptings and began the ministry that would ultimately lead him to death, but would open the path of new life for us. All of us can make new starts and begin to follow new paths, at any time in our lives and at any age, and the New Year is as good a time as any to do so. What resolutions have you made this New Year? What changes do you want to make in your life that will set you along a new path? There may be many decisions that you have already made but it will be the ones that stick and that you really follow through, that are the important ones. Perhaps these are the ones that you have been guided by God to make. If your resolutions flag or fail then they are not the ones that you need to be following, they are not the right paths for you to take. I like to think of these paths through life that we follow as a pilgrimage - a daily journey closer to God and nearer to eternal life in him. Like all pilgrimages or journeys there will be stopping off points along the way; times to rest, to learn from, or just to admire the view. There will also be opportunities to reassess the path taken and to move off again, sometimes in a new direction. As individuals we are all called to pause for a moment and to look back over the last few years and to try and discern where we are called to go in the future. Where does God want us to go next? We can begin to answer this; through prayer, debate, discussion and through dreaming. Who knows what we will hear as we seek to listen to God’s ‘still, small voice’. I find that exciting and I hope that you do too ‘Take heart and be bold’ could be our watchwords this year and who knows where any of us will be this time next year. Just as Jesus’ life changed at his baptism so will our lives change this year as we continue to follow his ways and to put into practice those things he calls us to do but we do this with hope and trust in Jesus Christ, our Lord. As the old hymn says: All my hope on God is founded; He doth still my trust renew. Me through change and chance he guideth, Only good and only true. God unknown, He alone Calls my heart to be his own. If we go forward in hope and trust, we ‘shall not fall’ for the one thing we can be assured of is that we have a faithful God, who keeps his promise to loves us always and who never wants anything but the best for us. At times things may be difficult but we will never be left alone by God and hopefully we will also be supported by friends and loved ones too. As Jesus’ life shows us, the pilgrimage of life is not always easy but we will be supported by others if we let them and as the hymn goes on to say: Christ doth call One and all: Ye who follow shall not fall.