Immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him. We see the Spirit hovering over the face of the waters. We hear God speak. But this time God's word is the word made flesh. The one who was with God and is God has come to us. And in his holy baptism, the Trinity, all three persons of God, are revealed. Our Lord Jesus taught of baptism that baptism is to be born from above. To be born of water and the Spirit. We see the water and the Spirit at the dawn of creation. And so when our Lord speaks of the water and Spirit, he is inviting us to a new creation. That is what it means to be baptized. To belong as firstfruits to the new creation that God is working even now. Your covenant with the devil is broken. The way to paradise is open to you. This is why the holy scriptures instruct us not to sin. Because our covenant with the devil is broken. We desire to serve him no longer. But, the scriptures say, if we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father. The one who says, if you have eaten the fruit of the devil, restore yourself by drinking from this cup that is mine. This is why the devil doesn't want you to see that baptism is not only a washing away of your sins, but your true re-entry into paradise. And the tree of life is no longer removed from you. And I don't mean any of this in a kind of metaphorical way. The tree of life is precisely the tree of the cross. And the fruit that hangs from that tree is the body and blood of our Lord. And so by here partaking of the body and the blood of the Lord, you are partaking of the fruit of the tree of the cross. This tree of death that God has transformed into the tree of life. So that the one who overcame us by our eating is now overcome by our eating. All poison of sin and death are overcome by the tree of life that baptism grants us access to. On the last day, people will marvel that all of this was in our midst, hidden in plain sight. But it was accessible only to those who believe. And it is revealed only to those to whom the Holy Spirit has revealed it. So baptism is a new creation. Peter, the first and most prominent of the 12 disciples, compares baptism to the flood. He says baptism, which corresponds to the flood, now saves you. He means that just as the waters bore up and saved Noah and seven others. So now the waters of baptism bear up the Holy Christian Church and save you. He continues that this salvation is not a removal of dirt from the body, but an appeal to God for a good conscience. What is meant by appeal to God for a good conscience? In the first place, we have to say that few today understand the absolute importance of a good conscience. A bad conscience has led countless to suicide and despair, to drinking and gambling and every other kind of self-medication. A bad conscience is the root for many creating their own religions and today their own spiritualities, which are in fact just religions of one. In short, a bad conscience drives men mad with sin, mad with every attempt at self-righteousness and covering over that sin. And finally, mad with the despair of death and damnation. Only God can give a person a clean conscience. And that's true both because the conscience is God's instrument and servant, but also because his voice is the only voice that is greater than man's conscience. As St. John puts it, even if your own heart condemns you, there is one who is greater than your heart. So God bestows the only medicine there is which can heal a bad conscience and set it right. Baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience because it appeals to what God himself has done for us. In a word, baptism so covers us that we say to God, I am yours. Save me. Let my heart, my soul, my conscience rest in this dear Lord that you have given me this new birth, that you have washed me and cleansed me. All my help and all my hope are outside of me and in you. And in this, the conscience can finally find rest and peace. That Christ, who was crucified for us, has removed all of our sins, and it is precisely in baptism that we are united both to his death and also to his resurrection so that we may stand before God without fear. So in baptism, you have an appeal to God for a clean conscience and God granting this to you. You have the appeal of a clean conscience, even in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation, so that you can stand in clean conscience against the world, which is, of course, at enmity with God. And so our friendship is with him and our enmity is with the world. In First Corinthians, Paul writes of baptism, comparing it to the Red Sea crossing. Just as the people passed through the Red Sea, they had a baptism in Moses through the cloud and the sea, paralleling our baptism into Jesus with the cloud of the Holy Spirit over the waters of holy baptism. Paul goes on to say that not only did the Old Testament people have this baptism, but they also had a spiritual food, the manna from heaven. And a spiritual drink, the water that flowed from the side of the rock that followed them. Paul's or Paul's point is not only that we would see continuity with ourselves and the Old Testament people, and not only that we would see how the New Testament is superior to those previous gifts. But also his words come with a severe warning. Because we remember that as those people pass through the waters of baptism into Moses, as they ate the manna and drank the water from the rock, even so they wanted to go back to Egypt. And that is very much parallel to us having all these gifts of God and yet being tempted to apostatize, to return to the devil. That's what it means to go back to Egypt. And when they realized they could not go back to Egypt, to the devil, they decided that they would like to take the devil along with them. And so they made the golden calf. And so, too, we must be weary of these very things. The baptismal life must be a constant renunciation of the devil and all his works and all his ways. And a constant confession of Christ. We see this in the events immediately following our Lord's own baptism, that the Holy Spirit, after he was baptized, drove Christ into the wilderness to contend with Satan. And so also we follow this one who is our master. Thus, the baptismal life is also one of spiritual warfare. Confession of the one true and triune God. Renunciation of the devil. Putting on the full armor of God and learning to wield the sword of the spirit, the word of God, which is a sword wielded not with the hand, but with the lips. So, too, this baptismal life is one of the spiritual warrior, the spiritual athlete who trains strictly, as the scriptures say, who runs boxes and wrestles in the spiritual arena in order to win a crown that is imperishable. This is why lackadaisical Christianity, hobby Christianity, convenience Christianity, all forms of apathetic Christianity are described by our Lord himself as lukewarm and so displeasing to him that he promises to spit or vomit it out. And I can't help but see that that is what has happened in the West, in the church in America, regardless of denomination. So many are no longer Christian. And what looks like and is apostasy is God revealing the apostasy that has already occurred in the heart. So what looks like people leaving Christianity is, in fact, God spitting them out. Even more than the responsibilities of marriage or parenthood or career path or any other calling of life, baptism itself calls us to a deeper identity, to action, to duty, to renunciation of the devil and the world and all their lies and to bold confession of Christ, his church and all that is true. So then we see that baptism is foreshadowed not only in creation, not only in the flood and the salvation of Noah, not only in the Red Sea, but in numerous other Old Testament texts, including that of today, where the ark is brought through the waters of the River Jordan on dry ground. And it is that very place where God sends John the Baptist to baptize as if to indicate to all the people that he is creating a new Israel. So our Lord Jesus himself goes to the baptismal waters. John's baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. But Jesus needed no repentance and he needed no forgiveness. So John would have prevented him saying, Lord, you don't need to be baptized by me. I need to be baptized by you. Then the Lord said, let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Everything that the Old Testament promised was coming to fulfillment in Christ. All of the righteousness of God, by which he has mercy on man, was coming to fulfillment in Christ. And so Christ entered those waters and God indeed laid on him the iniquity of us all. As he plunged into those waters, we see a kind of type and foreshadowing of his own descent into death and hell. And as he came up from those waters, we see a foreshadowing of his glorious resurrection and ascension. The Holy Spirit descends upon him, not as a dove, but like a dove, not in the bodily form of a dove, but in something that visually imaged a dove. And then God speaks, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And so the father speaks of the son and the spirit descends upon the son and the son is anointed with the spirit. And here becomes the Christ of which all the Old Testament scriptures pointed. Christ then invites us into this very baptism that is truly his. That's why he instructs after his death and resurrection that his disciples would also make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them everything that he has commanded. This continues to be our mission today. And this continues to be our goal and great desire that we would call others whom God has placed into our lives, into these waters of holy baptism. And if they have already been placed into those waters of holy baptism, to call them back into the baptized life. As we enter into these waters, we enter into the waters with our Lord Jesus. And there, just as our sins were laid on him, so his righteousness is laid upon us. And the miracle of baptism is that since we are joined with Christ Jesus, what happened to him happens to us. The Holy Spirit descends upon us and fills our hearts. And the father himself says to each one of us in Christ Jesus, you are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. In the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, illuminating the profound truth of Epiphany, where Christ's arrival grants us insight into God's nature and intentions. As we reflect on the teachings of Saint Paul and the epistle to the Hebrews, we recognize Christ as the image of the invisible God, the radiance of God's glory, and the exact imprint of His nature. This revelation is not merely theological but deeply anthropological, revealing not only God's identity but also our own. Through Christ, we understand our true selves, our value, and our purpose, which cannot be discerned through human wisdom alone. Isaiah's prophecy underscores this, depicting Christ as the light that dispels darkness and ignorance, allowing us to see ourselves and our world clearly. As we step into this new year, let us embrace the light of Christ, reflecting His glory and love, and striving for unity and maturity in faith, so that we may truly shine as lights in the world, giving glory to our Father in heaven.

Today, as we continue to celebrate the Christmas season, we reflect on the profound mystery of the incarnation, where God's Son, Jesus Christ, became man, fulfilling God's original plan for humanity's redemption and ultimate glorification. In the Gospel of Luke, we encounter Simeon, moved by the Holy Spirit, who recognizes the infant Jesus as the Messiah and sings a prophetic hymn that we echo in our liturgy, acknowledging Christ as the light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. This event not only confirms Jesus' divine mission but also foreshadows the division His presence will cause, leading to both rejection and salvation. Turning to Isaiah, we see the prophecy of a new Davidic king, anointed not with oil but with the Holy Spirit, a theme fulfilled at Jesus' baptism, marking Him as the true Messiah. Lastly, in Paul's letter to the Galatians, we are reminded that through Jesus, we are made God's children, receiving the Spirit of the Son in our hearts, calling God "Father" in a profound expression of our new identity and unity with the Holy Trinity. This divine action invites us to live in joyful anticipation of the eternal glory promised to us, transcending our current sufferings and binding us together in the love of Christ.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, revealing the glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. This profound truth encapsulates the miracle of the Incarnation, where God, while remaining divine, embraced humanity in Jesus Christ, uniting the infinite with the finite, the eternal with the temporal. In this act, not only did God take on human flesh, but He also bore our sins, transforming the sinless Son into the bearer of our iniquities, thereby canceling the debt of sin that stood against us. This divine mystery underscores that through Jesus, the Light of the world, we are called out of darkness and made children of God, born not of human will but of God's sovereign grace. As we embrace this new identity, we become partakers of the divine nature, reflecting the light of Christ Himself. The Word not only became flesh but also tabernacled among us, linking the Old and New Testaments and establishing a new, everlasting covenant of grace through which we receive life and light. In Christ, we see the Father, and through Christ, we are brought into eternal unity with God, anticipating the fullness of this union in the glorified life to come.

The feast of the incarnation celebrates the profound mystery of God becoming man. As the heavenly hosts exult in song, we reflect on the Spirit of God overshadowing the Virgin Mary, heralding a new creation greater than the first. Mary, the new Ark, carries within her the Word made flesh, establishing a new and superior covenant. This Word, who crafted the universe, now humbly enters creation, embodying full divinity in frail humanity. In this act, the infinite becomes finite, the eternal enters time, and the divine descends to dwell among the lowly, fulfilling God's will for our salvation and glorification. Through His birth, life, death, and resurrection, Christ reverses the curse of sin, breaks the chains of death, and opens the way to eternal life, inviting us to partake in His divine nature and join the celestial chorus in praising His holy incarnation.

Rejoice, for the Word was with God and has now become flesh, assuming our nature to unite us to His glory and save us from our sins. This divine and human child, Jesus, bears our sins and sheds His blood for our atonement, offering Himself to us in the sacraments to internalize this salvation. Astonishingly, He who knew no sin became sin for us, taking upon Himself the curse of the law, that we might be freed from sin and its consequences. Rejecting this gift is folly, for even animals recognize their master, and Christ our master offers us not just earthly joys but eternal life. As we receive Him, believe in His name, and embrace the authority to become children of God, we are called to grow into the fullness of Christ, transforming sin into righteousness and death into life. This transformation is the heart of Christmas: God became man so that we might become like God, celebrating not just His birth but His indwelling in us through grace.

God chooses what is weak in the world to shame the strong, exemplified through the humble beginnings of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Elizabeth and Zechariah, despite their old age and Elizabeth's barrenness, were chosen by God to bring forth John, the forerunner of Christ. This miraculous conception echoes the stories of barren women in the Old Testament, highlighting God's pattern of working through the seemingly impossible to fulfill His promises. Similarly, Mary's virgin conception of Jesus, announced by the angel Gabriel, contrasts with Zechariah's disbelief with her humble acceptance, which leads to the fulfillment of God's salvation plan. Both events underscore the theme that God's strength is made perfect in weakness, and His choices often defy human expectations, emphasizing humility, faith, and reliance on God's power rather than our own. Through these narratives, we are reminded that faith is not about human strength or ability but is a gift from God, cultivated in humility and trust in His promises.

We conclude our meditation on the Te Deum, recognizing its petitions for salvation, governance, and mercy, deeply rooted in Christ's role as our future judge. Paul's words to the Corinthians remind us that our deeds in the body matter, for we must all appear before Christ's judgment seat. Our salvation, though assured by grace through faith in Christ's sacrifice, calls us not to complacency but to active preparation for eternal life with Him. The Te Deum, a hymn of ancient faith, earnestly implores Christ to prepare us for this judgment, celebrating His ongoing work in our lives. It emphasizes the transformative power of Christ's blood, the incarnation's profound mystery, and our ongoing sanctification. As we live in this tension of already being saved but still being sanctified, we are urged to embody virtues that reflect Christ's character, continually growing in faith and godliness. The hymn culminates in a plea for daily preservation from sin and a steadfast trust in God's mercy, encapsulating the Christian journey as one of humble reliance on God's grace, leading us to ultimate glorification with Him.

Blessed is the one who is not offended by me. Today, on Gaudete Sunday, we are called to rejoice despite the challenges, symbolized by the unlit pink candle, reminding us of the difficulties in igniting joy amidst our struggles. This season offers a pause in our Advent fasting, a time to reflect on the profound mystery of Christ's incarnation--His divine union with humanity, making us one with Him. This union assures us that our sins are covered by His righteousness and our stresses are temporary, as Christ has transformed even death into a tool for our sanctification. We recall the prophets Isaiah and Malachi, who foretold the coming of John the Baptist as the forerunner preparing the way for Jesus, confirming the Old Testament's anticipation of Christ. John's baptism of repentance was to ready the hearts of the people for their Messiah, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Yet, even as John faced doubts while imprisoned for his boldness in truth, Jesus reassured him by pointing to the works He performed, fulfilling prophecies and demonstrating His divinity. Christ's final message to John, and to all who suffer or feel abandoned--blessed is the one who is not offended by me--echoes through our trials, calling us to steadfast faith amidst suffering, affirming that true blessedness comes in unshaken faith in Jesus, our Savior who partook in our sufferings to bring us into His glory.

In the heart of the Te Deum Laudamus, we focus on the profound Christological confession that celebrates both the divinity and humanity of Christ, the everlasting Son of the Father. This ancient hymn acknowledges Christ as the King of Glory, a title rooted in Psalm 24, which portrays a majestic king, yet reveals this king as the Lord Himself, both God and man. The hymn beautifully articulates the two natures of Christ: His divine nature, shared eternally with the Father and the Spirit, and His human nature, assumed through His birth from the Virgin Mary. This act of incarnation is not a transformation of divinity into humanity but a humble assumption of human nature into the divine, maintaining the unity and singularity of His person. Christ's incarnation and His subsequent life, death, and resurrection are the ultimate expressions of divine love and humility, a self-emptying where He took on the form of a servant. This profound mystery not only underscores the unity of Christ's divine and human natures but also elevates human nature itself, offering redemption and inviting us into the divine life. Thus, Christ's life and mission culminate in His death and resurrection, defeating death and opening the kingdom of heaven to all believers, calling us to unity with Him and each other in the glory of the Father.