A Catholic Clergy Perspective: Baptism of Jesus (A): Baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist Clarifies His Presence on Earth, Relates to Our Salvation, Why He was Baptized and How Our Baptism Needs to Mirror That! by Deacon Jim Merle

Friday, January 9, 2026

Baptism of Jesus (A): Baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist Clarifies His Presence on Earth, Relates to Our Salvation, Why He was Baptized and How Our Baptism Needs to Mirror That! by Deacon Jim Merle

It has been more than 20 years since my ordination on April 30, 2005. During that time, I have baptized nearly 1,000 children under the age of seven. It is a Sacrament of much joy which has helped me to better understand why it is so needed and how it makes so much difference in one’s life.

My reason for speaking about Baptism is because today we celebrate the feast of Jesus’ Baptism by John the Baptist, which ends our Christmas season and begins the public ministry of Jesus. But more than that, it begins a clarification of why the Son of God came to earth, what the many manifestations mean to us as it relates to salvation, why Jesus was baptized and how our Baptism needs to mirror that of Jesus.

The manifestations are explanations of God’s plan for us. The first one is the birth of Jesus at which the shepherds, representing the social outcasts of this world (poor and sinners) were the first to be visited by the angels and to see Jesus as a newborn infant. The second manifestation, the Epiphany was Jesus’ introduction to non-Jews; people of every country and every race everyway. The third manifestation is the Baptism in which Jesus’ ministry starts, and His service is confirmed by God. The fourth is the Marriage at Cana at which Jesus performed His first miracle uniting us in the marriage of Christ and the Church in fulfillment of the of the law in which the old order has passed away and the new covenant is a faith filled grace with a dowry of salvation.

However, the Baptism of Jesus by John always makes us ask the question as to why? If He indeed is the Son of God who is sinless, why did he need to be baptized by John the Baptist with water as a sign for repentance for one’s sins?

The first answer to this is that Jesus was expressing His solidarity with humanity. He wanted to identify with fellow human beings so they could understand that He was both human and divine. Solidarity is a higher priority than any social status because the needs of the sinner are more important to Him than His reputation with the self-righteous.

Another reason is His acceptance and endorsement by His Father in respect to the mission He has been given in obedience to His Father’s will as voiced in Matthew 3:17b by God in when He says: “This is My Beloved Son. My favor rests on Him.” This is Jesus’ Pentecost experience and what our Baptism is about.

In the second reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear about the first gentile baptized by the Apostles with both water and oil with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was anointed with water rather than oil and implies that He is King and Lord, the Anointed One and the Messiah.

In the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, we learn about what Jesus’ mission is such as bringing true justice, serving the cause of the right, opening the eyes of the blind and freeing captives from prison to name a few. These last two will be quoted by Jesus Himself as the proclamation of His mission in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth.

All of this is contained in the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan; a great manifestation of God’s presence among us through the Person of Jesus our King and Lord.

This brings us to our own Baptism as we reflect on how it relates with that of Jesus.

Simplistically, our Baptism removes Original Sin and makes us children of God. For those of us who were baptized as infants, we may tend to see it as a one-off ceremony imposed on us by our parents which binds us to a way of life in which we have no further say. On the contrary, it is not an isolated ritual. It takes place in the context of our whole life.

Baptism establishes a foundation for all we believe. We become incorporated, embodied into the Christian community, whether baptized as a child or an adult. The sinful influences that pervade our world become reversed by our exposure to the vision of Jesus and the lived experience of a community is based on love, justice and sharing.

Like Jesus’ Baptism, our Baptism brings with it a serious obligation to share our faith with others both by word and example, much more than simply saving our souls and leading sinless lives. We are called to be living witnesses of the Gospel, united with the others in our Christian community in the building up of God’s Kingdom.

All the words of Isaiah are to be applied to each one of us. Our Baptism is a living reality which is to be constantly deepened and enriched. So as Jesus took the plunge to be one with us, let us also take that same plunge to do the work for which we are created. It could make a significant difference in our lives.

Reading 1: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
Psalm: 29:1-4, 9-10
Reading 2: Acts 10:34-38
Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17

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Bishop Kevin W. Vann, JCD, DD, D MIN

He was ordained on May 30, 1981, and was assigned to graduate studies in canon law at the Angelicum in Rome, with residence at the graduate house of the North American College, the Casa Santa Maria dell’ Umilta. Pope Leo XIV, when a priest, also attended these classes at the same time. Upon returning to the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, Father Vann participated in the work of the Diocesan Tribunal and the Tribunal of Second Instance in Chicago. He served as pastor of parishes ranging in size from 35 to 1,300 families, two which had large schools. He taught canon law at Kenrick Seminary. Before he was named bishop, he was pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield, Vicar for Priests and the Diocesan contact for Hispanic Ministry. Bishop Vann was ordained and installed as the third bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Forth Worth, Texas, on July 13, 2005, at Texas Christian University’s Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. In Texas, he collaborated closely with other bishops through the Texas Catholic Conference and Region X, which includes dioceses of States of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. He is the former Texas Bishops’ Liaison to the Texas Mission Council and Texas Catholic hospitals. And, through the U.S. Conference of Bishops, Bishop Vann was a leader in the Texas Conference of Bishops, providing leadership for various initiatives at the national level, including service on ad hoc committee which assisted the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) to guide the incorporation of Anglican groups into the Catholic Church of the United States. On September 21, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI announced Bishop Vann’s appointment as the fourth bishop of Orange, the 11th largest diocese in the country and the second-largest west of the Mississippi with 1.3 million multicultural Catholics. He continues to lead the historic effort to transform the former Crystal Cathedral from a world-renowned center of Protestant worship into the West Coast’s most visible center of Catholicism.

Father Glenn Baaten

A priest of the ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, a community with the Catholic Church made up of former Anglicans and Episcopalians. He Currently serves as Parish Administrator of St. John Henry Newman Catholic Church in Irvine and as Chaplain of Santiago Retreat Center in Silverado. His ministry within the Diocese of Orange, California, is a collaborative appointment by Bishop Steven Lopes and Bishop Kevin Vann. Fr. Glenn was ordained to the Catholic priesthood on June 24, 2016, the Feast of St. John the Baptist. His journey to the Catholic Church followed years of faithful ministry in Protestant communities. He was ordained a Presbyterian pastor in 1998 and served a PCUSA parish in Cincinnati, Ohio. After returning to California in 2010, he discerned a call to Anglican ministry and was ordained in the Church of England tradition in 2013. He relinquished his Anglican holy orders and, after catechesis, was received into the Church on Christmas eve of that year. Fr. Glenn has been married to Cathy for 42 years. They are the blessed parents of two adult children and grandparents of three. His ministry is marked by a strong commitment to evangelization, Christian unity and sacred beauty of the liturgy. As a follower of Christ these many past decades – most especially as a priest – Fr. Glenn is committed to sharing the grace and love of Jesus to all and living the depth of that faith in the fulness of the Catholic Church.

Deacon Jim Merle

Deacon Jim was ordained 20 years ago on April 30, 2005, and lives in Southern California where he has served the Catholic Church on parish, diocesan and national levels. He periodically writes Pastoral Letters for church bulletins, as well as articles for the Diaconate community’s “Bowl & Towel” and the diocesan newspaper in addition to “A Catholic Deacon’s Perspective,” recently renamed “A Catholic Clergy’s Perspective” with the addition of Bishop Kevin W. Vann and Fr. Glenn Baaten as periodic writers. On the parish level he has served at three parishes involved in helping with Sacramental training, Faith Formation and annulments. His diocesan involvements include a six-year term on the Diaconate Personnel Board, a founding committee member of the God’s Servants Committee (an educational component of quarterly meetings for active deacons), as a Master of Ceremonies at Confirmations, ordinations, installations and other ceremonies, an Advanced Master Catechist Certification to teach theological and certification classes and recently was selected to head up a Deanery Council of Deacons and their wives to support their ordination faculties and activities in each of the seven deaneries. On a local and national level, he coordinated the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) diocesan board for 14 years. CCHD is the domestic social justice arm of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) which distribute parishioner’s donations for non-profit organizations to empower the impoverished, marginalized and disenfranchised who have social justice needs. In his early career he was a writer/reporter for a well-known Chicago newspaper, as well as owning a public relations/advertising firm. He is now semi-retired and works parttime in two professional practices he owns. On a personal note, he is married 57 years, helped rear four children with his wife, a grandfather to 10 grandchildren and a great grandfather to six great grandchildren.

BLOG INTRODUCTION

Scripture is like the eyes into God’s soul. Whether from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) or the New Testament, we can garner, as best we can, who God is (what He feels and how He thinks in human terms). The original and current purpose of this blog, which began in 2019, is to take a three-year cycle of A, B and C Gospels and readings from each Sunday and provide a perspective as it pertains to our current lives as seen through the eyes of a Catholic clergy who serve Catholics in words and deeds per their ordination. Since completing the three-year cycles, it has been expanded to investigate the areas of Commentaries, Scripture and Theology. It is because of that the blog will now have writings from Bishop Kevin Vann, Ordinary of the Diocese of Orange, California, Father Glenn Baaten, a former Anglican priest, ordained into the Roman Catholic Church as a priest, and Deacon Jim Merle, who recently celebrated his 20th year ordination and started this blog. Bishop Vann and Father Glenn will author articles on a periodic basis based upon the time they have to devote to the blog. Deacon Jim will continue to offer weekly articles, still based on the three-year cycle along with various current events that challenge us to balance our humanity with our spiritual lives. The hope is that you, our subscribers, will see this as something of value to help you grow closer to the Lord.