You Can Go Home Again: A Homily for the Baptism of Our Lord

Preached at All Saints, Collingwood, and Good Shepherd, Stayner, Sunday, 11 January, 2026, the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.

Readings for this Sunday:  Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17

“And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with

whom I am well pleased."

There’s an expression that goes, “You can’t go home again”, which seems to ring true for many of us once we reach a certain point in our lives.

Have you ever had a moment when you realized that this was true for you?

Perhaps it was when the house or cottage where you grew up in was sold or demolished, or when your family church was closed.  Perhaps it was when your parents were both passed away or had become frail and untethered to memory and identity.

As teenagers, many of us longed for independence, couldn’t wait to get out in the world and be free of the demands of our parents.  But as adults, I think many of might acknowledge a certain wistful sadness that we can no longer go back to that place where we were once cared for, nurtured and protected.

Today I’d like to think with you about how the story of Jesus’ baptism is actually an invitation to return home, to find our place and our grounding in a deep relationship with the God who loves us profoundly and whose love gives us strength and purpose.

So let’s begin briefly with baptism.   It’s worth noting that while most of us were baptized, probably as infants, Jesus’ baptism is in fact not Christian baptism, it’s unique.     The baptism that John was offering in the River Jordan was about repentance, a cleansing and washing away of sin and guilt and an invitation to lead a better life going forward.

John the Baptist understood that Jesus was clean, with no sins to repent of, and so he protests.  But Jesus, when he stands in the muddy footsteps of all those who have already come to John, stands with all of us, who need to be cleansed.  

Now in one sense this can be seen as an act of solidarity, of Jesus coming to be with us in all of our messy humanity, and that is certainly part of it.  It’s why Jesus’ opponents accuse him of spending too much time hanging out in taverns with a bad crowd.  But Jesus’ ministry was about much more than just hanging out with sinners.  It was about calling sinners to come home.  

Jesus’ baptism is an invitation to come for us to come home.  We hear that invitation in the words from heaven, “This is my son, the beloved, with whom i am well pleased”.    Matthew’s use of the demonstrative pronoun, “This”, is important, and suggests that these words are meant to be heard by others, and particularly to be heard by us.   

The words from heaven are not just a statement of Jesus’ identity, but are also about our new identity as followers of Jesus.    Our baptism brings us into the mysterious and wonderful life of the Trinity that Jesus shares with the Father and with the Holy Spirit.  The early Christian writer Justin Martyr wrote words to the effect that Jesus is born every time knowledge of him is born in people.   So baptism, and this is a wild thought, allows us to be part of the Incarnation, it allows us to be born into the life and family of God.  And because we are part of the life and family of God, then we always have a place to come home to.

So what would having a life and a home with God look like?   We might think of being with God as our final destination, a heavenly home, but I think scripture offers us more interesting visions of what coming home to God might look like, depending on where we are.

If we’re feeling lost or alone, it might be the shepherd who leaves his flock to come find us and protect us (Luke 15:3-7).   

If we’re ashamed, it might be the father waiting at his gate,  who will pull us into his embrace and forgiveness.

If we’re feeling joyful, it might be the wedding guest sitting across the table for us, his eyes laughing as we drink from the finest wine we’ve ever tasted.

And if we’re suffering and distressed, or coming to the end of our earthly lives, it will be the crucified king beside us, who promises us that there will be a place for us in his father’s house.

The baptism of Jesus makes all of these things possible because it opens the way for us to share in the rich life and love and community of our three personed Triune God.    Our baptism is the cure for our sin, but it is also the cure for our loneliness and isolation because it gives us a place we can always come home to.

Or, in the words of the old Shaker Hymn, 

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where I ought to be;
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.