Hearing The Word

A weekly newsletter delivering context and insight into the Sunday Gospels.

6

January 11, 2026

Baptism of the Lord

Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan

to be baptized by him.

John tried to prevent him, saying,

“I need to be baptized by you,

and yet you are coming to me?”

Jesus said to him in reply,

“Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us

to fulfill all righteousness.”

Then he allowed him.

After Jesus was baptized,

he came up from the water and behold,

the heavens were opened for him,

and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove

and coming upon him.

And a voice came from the heavens, saying,

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

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The Pleasing Gift of Humility

~Deacon Joe Boyle

Saint Mary Magdelene Catholic Church + Media, Pa.

Matthew 3:13 -17 marks the beginning of Jesus’s teaching ministry and missionary journey. When Jesus comes to the Jordan to be baptized, John immediately recognizes his own unworthiness and insists that Jesus baptize him instead. Yet Jesus gently responds, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” In Matthew’s Gospel, these are the first uttered words of Jesus. They are words of humility and of perfect obedience. Jesus acknowledges John’s unworthiness yet affirms that this is so for the fulfillment of prophecy, righteousness, and the Father's will.

By choosing to be baptized, Jesus identifies Himself with humanity in its sinfulness, despite being sinless. He is willing, though John sees Him as the superior one, to step into the waters crowded with repentant sinners. He does this for the sake of salvation. His baptism foreshadows the greater immersion He will undergo in His passion and death, where He fully bears the weight of humanity’s sin. This humble act is the first public sign of the redemptive mission He has come to accomplish.



As Jesus is baptized, the Spirit descends in the form of a dove, and the Father proclaims, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The splendor of the theophany is the Father’s gift to the Son and to man. In this moment, the Trinity is revealed, united in the mission of salvation. With the Father’s words, we realize that the call to obedience, the call to humility, will be answered with acceptance and love. For ourselves, this passage becomes an invitation to embrace our own baptismal identity—one rooted in obedience to God’s will and strengthened by the Father’s eternal love.

A Father's Voice and the Baptism of Jesus

~Thomas Volkert

Saint Vincent de Paul + Philadelphia, Pa.

When I was in my twenties, I went to Oakland for a six‑month internship focused on the Church’s work for social justice. It was the first time I had been that far from home for such a long stretch. It was challenging, but it shaped my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined.

My dad unexpectedly began writing to me every week during his break from his job on a loading dock. Each letter was a single sheet, folded into four parts, filled with events and thoughts—mostly about our family of ten. He also included his feelings about what I was doing and his support, even though he wished I were home. Every letter ended the same way: “with love from me and all of us.” Those love letters sustained me, and I remember them fondly fifty years later.

I think of that when I hear today’s reading. Jesus’ own ministry begins with a message from his God and Father: “This is my beloved Son.” While Matthew surely wants his readers to hear this, I wonder how much Jesus needed to hear it too. It was this love that galvanized his ministry and fueled his desire to help others recognize that God’s promises were being fulfilled in him and for them. I also wonder whether his prayer involved abiding in that moment—and other precious moments—when he knew himself to be deeply loved by his God and Father.

As with Jesus, so also with us. We begin with the experience of being loved; we abide in that love; and we are destined to be welcomed into it fully.

When things become discouraging or feel as though they are drifting, it is good to treasure the moments that remind us how God sustains us in love.