We Last Sunday we celebrated Our Lord’s first epiphany - his debut to the rest of the world beyond the Jewish nation.  The symbolic action was the publicly accepted presentation of the gifts from three Gentile Wise Men, or Kings from the Orient, as they are sometimes referred to.

 And the gifts they presented were pretty important stuff: gold, frankincense, and myrhh.  Not just routine gifts given casually.

 So there was a clear recognition and acknowledgement that in the person of this little child in a crib in a stable outside a hotel that had no rooms available, that here was Somebody very, very special!

 Today we commemorate Jesus’ second epiphany: His baptism in the Jordan River by His cousin, John.

 Now, in the dry land of Israel, people were well aware that water was a necessary resource for life.  They needed it for cooking, washing clothes, and even washing themselves.  And since they didn’t have running water piped into their homes like we do, they would therefore have to be going to the water source, in this case, the Jordan River, quite often.

 Just think of the many times during the day you go to a sink or a fountain and just turn the faucet or push a button to get the water you need.  And think of the showers we take to bathe ourselves.

We use water so much and so often that we take it for granted.

At any rate, riversides, back in the time of Jesus and John the Baptist, were crowded places, teaming with lots of social contact.

In fact, when John the Baptist wanted a place to preach, he set up shop right there at the river’s shore line.

When his listeners showed that they were willing to repent and straighten out their lives, John would dunk them in the flowing water.  And after he pulled their dripping bodies out, they were to begin their new lives making God’s ways their ways.

So one fine day, Jesus shows up for John to baptize Him.

After some respectful protestations of humility, John gives in and baptizes Jesus.  And this was so that Jesus could show Himself to be as much like us as possible.

But the really important moment of that event - the moment of His second epiphany - came when He comes out of the water, and the heavens open, and the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon Him, and then all the people standing around hear God the Father’s voice from up in the sky saying very clearly: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

 Other translations add the words: “Listen to Him.”

 And that’s our challenge - to listen to Jesus, to what He says and what He does, and then to say and do the same things in our lives.

 That’s what our own personal baptisms mean for us.

 Last week, marking His first epiphany, we remembered how it is we do lots of different things as a new baby arrives in our family.

 And we pondered what then we should be doing about this new baby born in a Bethlehem stable.

 Today, on His second epiphany, we can have one very good answer: “Listen to Him.”

 Everyday of our lives we’re making choices and decisions.  How much more peace and justice there would be if more people would listen to Jesus first, and then say or do what He would say or do!

So, Thank you.