Jesus' baptism utters "Ephatha"! It connects us to the healing of the deaf and dumb (Mk 7:34). Why? In contemplating the mysteries of Jesus, we must recognise that each mystery is connected with the other. Each mystery unfolds God's consistency in His redemptive work. Hence, Jesus' baptism relates to the openness of our senses, especially the ears of our heart to hear and receive God's assurance of labouring unceasingly in us, which is already an act of gracious liberation from the slavery of sinful self-absorption, indifferent to the needs of others. Baptism heals us. It has the effect of purging away our sinful absorptions.

We hear from Isaiah - A voice cries out in the wilderness "prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Though it sounds like a lonely cry at the barren land, could it be our own cry of hope from within our remotest domain, to get out from self-pitying? The voice of hope is urging us and beckoning us, not to silence them, but to heed promptly. Then we hear "And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with You I am well pleased.'" This is the awe inspiring and most assuring voice of liberation from being unloved to being embraced lovingly. Here, see and experience the movement from inhibited voices of hope to assuring voices of love.