We begin the Luminous Mysteries with the Baptism of Jesus. It’s his coming out party enjoyed with his cousin John who declared Jesus the Lamb of God. Ready for ministry, trusting his heavenly Father’s backing, but perhaps feeling some emotional reluctance— “My hour has not yet come”—Jesus decides to perform his first miracle. Like many others to come later, the reason is compassion, this time for newlyweds and in the future the lame, lepers, widows, the hungry.

Jesus, the Word of God, gathers disciples to reveal the mystery, the plan in timeless existence. Whom would He select? How could he tell others what He knew and what He was? For Him there was only one message—the Kingdom. How to describe the “kingdom that does not belong to this world” (Jn. 18:36)! Jesus spoke from his fullness of which He and we have a share (Jn. 1:16). Love. Love following upon love. The only message from the Son “ever at the Father’s side” (Jn. 1:18). Let the kingdom begin, grow, and expand into eternal life in this world and the next.