January 11, 2026.
“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, «This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.»” (Mathew 3, 16-17)
Scarcely a few days alter celebrating Christmas; the Church proposes to Christians the public life of Jesus. A public life that began not with the wedding in Cana, but with the baptism of the Lord in Jordan. In a very short time, the liturgy makes us go from the crib to maturity, as in the movies. This has the difficulty that is causes us to forget what constituted the major part of Christ’s life: the time in Nazareth. This way we don’t run the risk of forgetting that Christ, with all the urgency that he had to solve humanity, was thirty years “without doing anything”. In reality it wasn’t that he wasn’t doing anything, but lived without making miracles – at least in public – and without preaching. He was God and, as such, was love also in this stage, despite that he kept it to himself, letting time pass, that in our eyes, was precious and, surely we would have advised him to take advantage of in another way. But, as God he is wiser than we are, and we should learn from Him and try to imitate Him, also in something as paradoxical as the obscure life in Nazareth. Imitate Jesus in this long stage of his existence is, oddly enough, within our reach. We imitate Him, for instance, fulfilling well our professional obligations, taking care of our family, being good citizens, being good patients, good young people, and good retired people. It is not within our reach to perform miracles – although yes to ask for them -, but we can live well the normal life and current that is ours to live. Also without calling attention one can be a saint and do it well. Like Jesus.
Intention: Fulfill well our professional obligations. Take care of our responsibilities with the family, with society. Be aware that even the routine can be done for love and with love.