[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, January 11, 2026, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
This week's episode is entitled: God's Beloved, and this week we are reminded that just as Jesus was chosen and beloved by God, so too are we - through our Baptism.
As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following:
As Baptized people, every one of us has the Spirit of God dwelling within us… even if we don't always act that way. So, let's change how we act!
And let's begin in prayer:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the blessing of each new day. Help us to live every day enlightened by your Holy Spirit so that we can show your goodness to the world. We ask this through your beloved Son, Jesus. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures.
[00:01:21] Our Gospel this week is from Matthew 3: 13-17.
[00:01:28] “Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
[00:02:18] The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord was instituted in 1955 by Pope Pius XII. But in 1969, Pope Paul VI set the date of the feast as the Sunday after Epiphany. Now, the traditional date of Epiphany is January 6th - which would mean that the Baptism of the Lord would be on the Sunday after that. However, in the United States, Epiphany is transferred from January 6 to the Sunday between January 2 and January 8, which then calls the date of the Baptism of the Lord into question. According to the Roman Missal, when Epiphany is transferred to Sunday, then the Baptism of the Lord takes place on the following Sunday… unless Epiphany falls on either January 7th or 8th, in which case the Baptism of the Lord is then celebrated on the following Monday.
[00:03:29] Are you confused yet?
[00:03:32] If so, that's not at all surprising… I worked in my parish's liturgy office for ten years, so I have a pretty good idea of just how confusing the Church's liturgical celebrations can be. And for those of you who aren't immersed in it all the time, you have my sincerest apologies. Regardless of when it is celebrated, however, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord brings the Christmas season to an end. There's one other thing I'd like to mention before we go on. Pope John Paul II instituted the practice of baptizing babies himself on the Feast of the Baptism of the lord back in 1981. It started with just nine babies in the Pauline Chapel, which is the Pope's private chapel, and was later moved to the Sistine Chapel to accommodate a larger number of infants.
[00:04:33] Pope Francis continued that tradition, and by all accounts, Pope Leo will do so as well. Can you imagine what it must be like to be told that you were baptized by the Pope? I've never even seen the Pope in person, but what a beautiful tradition.
[00:04:54] So, with that in mind, let's turn to our Gospel for this year. All the Synoptics record the Baptism of Jesus… Matthew's version, which we hear this year, is the most detailed. As a matter of fact, only Matthew tells us of the verbal exchange between Jesus and John the Baptist. Mark's account is slightly shorter and Luke's is the most succinct. And although John's Gospel doesn't actually relate the Baptism itself, it does acknowledge that it took place. This passage marks the first appearance of an adult Jesus in Matthew's Gospel.
[00:05:37] And it follows immediately after we hear John preaching a baptism of repentance in the desert, which, if you remember, we heard on the Second Sunday of Advent. So, let's delve into Matthew's account of Jesus' baptism…
[00:05:56] “Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.”
[00:06:03] With those words, Matthew tells us that this was no spur of the moment decision… Jesus made a conscious and deliberate choice to journey to the Judean desert so that he could be baptized by John. That was not an easy trip! Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, was in northern Israel - about halfway between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea. John was baptizing at the River Jordan at a site not too far north of the Dead Sea… that's a distance of about 60 miles. That seems insignificant to us since we could get there pretty quickly traveling by car, but Jesus walked there. It would have taken him two or three days to get there on foot.
[00:07:02] I will post a map on my Instagram this week showing where Nazareth is in the north compared to where John was baptizing at the Jordan River.
[00:07:14] Matthew then tells us that despite such a long journey…
“John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’”
[00:07:29] John clearly recognizes Jesus, and his words reaffirm his role as the precursor… as one who is insignificant on his own merits, but highly significant as one who points to the Messiah - to Jesus.
[00:07:48] “But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.’”
[00:07:57] Those are the first recorded words of Jesus in Matthew's Gospel. And Matthew uses the word fulfill over and over in his Gospel - remember, Matthew was writing to Jewish Christians… Christians who converted from Judaism and as such possessed extensive knowledge of Jewish scriptures, Jewish traditions, Jewish teachings, and Jewish prophecies and promises. So, Matthew devotes a lot of time and effort in his Gospel pointing out the many ways that Jesus fulfills those teachings, prophecies, and promises. And notice Jesus says: “to fulfill all righteousness” - so what does he mean by that?
[00:08:49] Well, that encompasses a couple of different things. One is that righteousness is the appropriate moral and ethical conduct of one who is obedient to God's will - Jesus certainly fulfills that. The other is that righteousness both acknowledges and is obedient to God's plan for salvation… meaning that the one who is righteous understands and advances God's will, specifically in regard to God's plan for the salvation of all mankind - Jesus certainly fulfills that as well.
[00:09:36] “Then he consented.”
So, John the Baptist consented and baptized Jesus.
[00:09:44] “And when Jesus was baptized,”
[00:09:48] So often people question why Jesus was baptized in the first place, since John's baptism was clearly a baptism of repentance and Jesus was without sin himself.
[00:10:05] Some of the greatest theological minds throughout history have sought to explain that.
[00:10:11] Two of my personal favorites are Saint Ambrose and Saint John Chrysostom, both of whom date back to the 4th century.
[00:10:20] Saint Ambrose wrote that Jesus was baptized in order to sanctify the waters of baptism for all time.
[00:10:31] Saint John Chrysostom wrote that since Jesus came to fulfill the law - being baptized by John allowed Jesus to first fulfill the law before he then transcended it.
[00:10:50] And remember, in the Sacrament of Baptism, Jesus first chooses us! During his earthly life, Jesus entered the waters of Baptism to fully unite himself to sinful mankind so that we could have a way to reach out for him… a way to respond to him… to be grafted onto him… and become adopted sons and daughters of his heavenly Father.
[00:11:33] After that baptism…
“[Jesus] went up immediately from the water, and behold,”
Matthew uses that word throughout his Gospel like a trumpet blast to get our attention! And it's always for a very good reason - in this particular instance, it's because we are being given a glimpse of the Trinity!
[00:11:59] “behold, the heavens were opened”
Meaning the heavenly realm is being unveiled to those on earth.
[00:12:09] “and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him;”
[00:12:17] So, now we have God the Son (which is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity) and the Spirit of God - the Holy Spirit (the third Person of the Holy Trinity) descending upon God the Son.
[00:12:34] And when Matthew says descending like a dove - we need to hear an echo of creation in that - when the Spirit of God hovered over the waters and, from the story of Noah, we need to hear the echo of the dove that brought back an olive branch, indicating that the flood waters had receded and the earth was again safe for mankind to inhabit.
[00:13:07] “and lo, a voice from heaven,”
And there we have the appearance of God the Father (the first Person of the Holy Trinity).
“saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
[00:13:28] The identity of Jesus is slowly and deliberately revealed in Matthew's Gospel… first through the angel in Joseph's dream who said Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, then through the Wise Men from the East, the Magi, who worshiped Jesus because worship is reserved for God alone, then through the preaching of John the Baptist who predicts the coming of one who is “mightier” than he, and finally, in this place, we hear the voice of the Father declaring Jesus to be his own beloved Son.
[00:14:22] When we are Baptized, God speaks to us, too! I'm not saying that the heavens open up and God speaks to us directly… that's not what happens. But through the Church, God does speak to us and declares each of us to be his own beloved sons and daughters… because we are grafted onto Jesus, because we are united to him, we become adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus and adopted sons and daughters of the Father, with God's Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
[00:15:09] But we don't always act that way, do we?
[00:15:13] So, we need to change how we act!
[00:15:16] First and foremost, we need to set aside our own self-importance and develop humility. There is an old saying, it goes back to when I was in Catholic school (back in the dark ages) that we have to be third… not first, not even second, but third!
[00:15:39] The order goes… God, then others, then us. We have to be third!
[00:15:48] That's not easy to do, but it is the right order. We have to think of the Gospel - of what God tells us we should do - and do that first.
[00:16:02] Now, that message typically involves others… love others, care for others, forgive others, lay down our lives for others. And once we figure out how to do that, imperfectly though it may be, then we have put God first, others second.
And after that, then - and only then - are we free to think of ourselves. We have to be third. And we can't achieve that on our own… we can only do that with God's help, strengthened by God's grace.
[00:16:47] But if we allow God to work through us, then we can show God's goodness to the world, we can be his light in this world - every day.
I will include some pictures of the River Jordan on my Instagram feed this week. I've done that before, but I will do it again this week.
[00:17:10] That takes us to our First Reading, which is from Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7.
“[Thus says the LORD:] Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not fail or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the islands wait for his law. ‘I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.’”
[00:18:28] This passage comes from Second Isaiah (which is chapters 40 to 55), and it was written by a follower of the real historical prophet Isaiah during the Babylonian Captivity. It is the first of four passages about the Suffering Servant in Isaiah. Now, this passage certainly confirms that the Jews are God's Chosen People and - historically - Isaiah saw the exiles - the captives being held in Babylon - as the Suffering Servant.
[00:19:04] However, if we read this passage closely, we see that it's not quite that simple. The Suffering Servant Songs in general, and this passage in particular, also suggest that the Suffering Servant is an individual - the promised Messiah. In the second half of this passage, we hear three very specific descriptions that suggest to us that the Suffering Servant is the Messiah rather than the Chosen People. And I will go through those in depth as we encounter them in the text. But given that this passage does - so clearly - portray the Suffering Servant as an individual - as the long awaited Messiah - it's easy to understand why Christians, since the earliest days of the Church, have recognized Jesus in all of the Suffering Servant Songs, and why this particular passage is read for the Baptism of the Lord. So, let's listen to what Second Isaiah has to say…
“[Thus says the LORD:]”
[00:20:23] Remember, those words always indicate that a prophet is speaking for God.
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights;”
This passage begins with words that describe an individual… and notice how the words here resemble the words in Matthew's Gospel: “with whom I am well pleased” - here Isaiah says: “in whom my soul delights” - but those two phrases have very similar meanings.
[00:20:58] “I have put my Spirit upon him,”
[00:21:02] Remember I said that Matthew is all about fulfillment of those Old Testament prophecies. Well, this is one of those instances… so in his Gospel, Matthew tells us that God's Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove at his baptism.
“he will bring forth justice to the nations.”
If we think back to our Gospel, we talked about righteousness being moral and ethical conduct, as well as acknowledgment of and obedience to God's plan for salvation. That is exactly what Isaiah is saying the Messiah will do… that's what he means by “bring forth justice” - and not just for the Jews, but for the nations (and that's nations – plural) - meaning the Gentiles as well as the Jews.
“He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wicked he will not quench;”
Meaning that the Messiah's ministry will be marked by kindness, gentleness, and encouragement.
[00:22:21] “he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not fail or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth;”
The promise there is that the Messiah will not be disheartened or daunted, no matter how many hardships he is forced to endure. And then we're back to the idea of justice or righteousness.
[00:22:47] Second Isaiah bookends this passage with references to justice in order to emphasize that now this justice is both personal AND societal… that's what he means by “in the earth” - that this new justice will be lived by all peoples of the earth according to God's will.
“and the islands wait for his law.”
The islands refer to those who are far off… indicating that even long distances will not hinder the spread of God's justice through the world.
[00:23:27] “I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you;”
[00:23:36] God is reminding the Chosen People that he first chose them, he called them - despite their lack of fidelity; that he always cares for them - despite their lack of faithfulness to him.
[00:23:58] God is saying the same thing to us - that through our Baptism we are called… although we don't always act like it, and that God watches over us - even when we turn away from him through sin. Then the focus changes… slightly!
“I have given you as a covenant to the people,”
[00:24:24] This is the first of those three descriptive statements I said I would explain as we encountered them - and we can tell from these words that the focus has shifted away from the Chosen People to an individual - to the Messiah. God isn't talking about the Chosen People here because the Chosen People can't be the Covenant God formed with the Chosen People! And God isn't talking specifically about the Covenant established at Mount Sinai because he says: “I have given YOU as a covenant” - meaning a person… meaning the promised Messiah. And the Covenant that God's Messiah will establish will create a new and radical relationship between God and his people, not just the Chosen People, but all of his people, establishing connections where none had previously existed.
[00:25:31] Christians see that as the New Covenant that Jesus established through his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. And God says the Messiah will be given not just as a covenant, but as…
“a light to the nations,”
[00:25:50] And by “light” God means a source of wisdom and salvation.
“to open the eyes that are blind,”
This is the second of those three descriptive statements that refer not to the Chosen People, but to the Messiah… the Chosen People would be unable to give sight to the blind, since they themselves are blinded by their own infidelity, which resulted in their captivity in Babylon. And this clearly does not mean only physical blindness… it does mean that, but more than that it also means the spiritual blindness that results from unwillingness to obey God's law, spiritual blindness that results when we turn our backs on God and embrace the darkness of sin.
“to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
[00:26:51] This is the last of those three statements that describe the Messiah… and this task is clearly not one that is assigned to the Chosen People! Just as the Chosen People can't rectify their own blindness, they also cannot be the ones to release prisoners from their dungeons, since they themselves are prisoners… prisoners of their own infidelities, prisoners of their own bad choices - choices that led them into captivity in Babylon.
The second half of this passage is a snippet, a preview if you will, of what will be heard - in detail - in Isaiah 61… the passage that Jesus reads in the synagogue in Nazareth. The passage that is - in essence - the job description of the Messiah! Jesus himself tells us that he is the fulfillment of that promise… we hear that in Luke 4 when Jesus says: “Today this passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And it reminds us that all the peoples of the earth are called to live in in justice… in righteousness. God calls us to live in justice and righteousness through the Sacrament of Baptism… through our unity with his Son, Jesus, the Messiah… through the grace of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
[00:28:30] That means we have all the tools we need to live as God has called us to live, now we have to act like it!
[00:28:41] That takes us to our Responsorial Psalm, which this week is Psalm 29 and the refrain is:
“May the Lord bless his people with peace!”
And here are the verses:
“Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of God, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name; worship the LORD in holy attire.”
“The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the LORD, upon many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful, the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.”
“The glory of God thunders, and in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’ The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king for ever.”
This Psalm is a Hymn of Praise to God, and it teaches us to marvel at God's power, might, and majesty, using a thunderstorm as a visible representation (something that we can see and know) of an invisible reality (God's might - which we cannot see directly).
[00:30:01] Now I am fully aware that some people are really quite afraid of storms, but I have always found them to be reassuring and comforting - an awesome demonstration of the power of God who loves and cares for us, and whose might - which can be glimpsed in thunder and lightning - is gentled to cradle us in the waters of Baptism, so that he can make us his own.
[00:30:33] That leads us to our Second Reading, which is from the
Acts of the Apostles 10: 34-38.
[00:30:41] “Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the word which he sent to the sons of Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
[00:31:29] The Acts of the Apostles was written by Saint Luke to provide an accurate account of the development of the early Church.
[00:31:40] In this passage, Peter talks about Jesus' baptism, which is why we hear it on this Feast. But why, you may ask, does Peter feel the need to talk about that event? What is the setting?
[00:31:54] Well, earlier in chapter 10, we learn that there was a devout Gentile living in a city called Caesarea Maritima who wanted to be baptized and we are told that Peter was instructed, in a vision, to travel there and baptize not only the Gentile, but his kinsmen and friends as well. That is the setting in which Peter makes this speech - it is essentially a sermon that Peter preaches on the occasion of the baptism of this Gentile, named Cornelius, and his entire household.
Caesarea Maritima is now part of an Israeli National Park, but in Biblical times, it was a port city on the Mediterranean Sea. We visited the ruins of that ancient city when we were in Israel, and I will include pictures of it on my Instagram this week.
So, what does Peter have to say in his sermon?
“Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality,’”
Meaning that no one nation should receive favoritism over another - that Gentiles should be fully accepted into the Church, just as Jews were.
[00:33:18] “but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”:
In other words, anyone who knows and loves God and lives in a just and righteous manner is acceptable to God. And notice, Peter doesn't stop at anyone who knows and loves God! He includes behavior in that same sentence. That should be a good reminder to us that we cannot stop at our Baptism, we cannot stop at just knowing and loving God… we also have to act like it, we have to do what is right AND acceptable to God!
[00:34:03] “You know the word which he sent to the sons of Israel,”
[00:34:07] By that, Peter means the good news of Jesus that was being spread by the early Church, initially to the Jews - the sons of Israel - but which very quickly extended to the Gentiles and as well.
“preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea,”
Meaning the teaching and preaching of Jesus himself.
“beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:”
The baptism of repentance that John the Baptist preached in the desert… the same baptism that Jesus received, though he was without sin himself.
[00:34:50] “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power;”
[00:34:57] We typically think of anointing as being associated with oil, but - while that is typically the case - oil is not required.
[00:35:09] An anointing can also be a blessing, and we hear that in the Gospel, don't we? The Spirit of God descended upon Jesus like a dove, and the voice of God declared Jesus to be his Beloved Son. That is the anointing to which Peter is referring.
“how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil,”
Peter is talking about Jesus’ public ministry - his preaching, teaching, and healing.
“for God was with him.”
What were the Father's final words at Jesus' baptism? “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” - notice the present tense in those words. God doesn't say this was my beloved son, he doesn't say I was well pleased - he says, this IS my beloved son, I AM well pleased - meaning that God is with Jesus… God will always be with Jesus during his earthly life, just as Jesus is now at the right hand of the Father in the kingdom of heaven.
We become God's beloved sons and daughters at our Baptism… truth be told, none of us deserve that - none of us are worthy of such an honor!
[00:36:30] But God loves us so much that he bestows that upon us anyway. But do we live as if God's Holy Spirit is dwelling within us?
[00:36:43] If God came to us today, would our words and actions… would the way we live be enough for him to declare that he is pleased with us?
[00:37:00] The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord brings the Christmas season to an end, but it should also remind us to keep Christmas in our hearts throughout the entire year… by being a bit kinder, more tolerant, by forgiving more easily, and being more loving.
[00:37:22] If we do that, then we can live as Jesus taught us to live… we can be righteous… we can be a light to the world… and we can do good!
There's no time like the present to change how we act… so - with the help of God's grace… let's act like Christ every day!
[00:37:51] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me, and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you - safe and secure - in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and God bless.
