Unpacking The Mass with Keith Nester

Episode: Baptism of the Lord - Year A
Date: January 7, 2026

Overview

This episode of Unpacking the Mass focuses on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Host Keith Nester leads listeners through a detailed reflection on the upcoming Sunday Mass readings—Isaiah 42:1-7, Acts 10:34-38, and Matthew 3:13-17—exploring the theological and practical significance of Jesus’ baptism. Keith emphasizes themes of service, humility, divine love, and openness to the Holy Spirit, inviting listeners to both contemplate the meaning of Christ’s actions and apply these lessons in their daily lives.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Baptism of the Lord: “To Fulfill All Righteousness”

• Central Question: Why did Jesus, who was sinless, choose to be baptized?

• Keith notes that even John the Baptist questioned this:

  “Why are you coming to me? I should be going to you.” [00:01]

• Jesus’ response:

  “‘Let it be done to fulfill all righteousness.’ We’re gonna talk about what that means, what it meant for Jesus and what it means for us.” [00:03]

• Theological Significance:

  • Jesus’ baptism is His public acceptance and inauguration of His mission as the suffering servant.
  • It marks the beginning of His ministry and is closely linked to the cross and resurrection.

“Christ’s baptism is about His mission. The mission of Christ begins at His baptism in some sense and is fulfilled, of course, in the resurrection and the crucifixion. All these things are connected together, my friends.” [00:03]

2. First Reading – Isaiah 42: The Suffering Servant

• The servant is identified as the chosen one upon whom God has put His Spirit and in whom He delights.
• Keith emphasizes the radical difference between the Messiah’s servanthood and other “gods”:

“The Messiah doesn't come… to be served, but rather to serve. Which is a complete contrast to the gods of the heathens… Here comes the anointed One. And this prophecy says He is coming to be a servant.” [00:10]

• The nature of Jesus’ service:
  • Oriented toward others, not Himself
  • Motivated by love, not obligation
  • Invites us to imitate this other-centered, loving service

Notable Analogy:

• Keith uses the example of restaurant service to illustrate the impact of serving with love versus obligation:

“You could be served the best meal of all and still walk away going, ‘I’m never going back there again,’ if the service is bad… Christ, He serves with love. Why is that important? Because that’s Jesus’ way. And if we’re going to follow Him, hey, it’s got to be our way too.” [00:19]

• Gentleness of Christ’s Service:

“A bruised reed He will not break. What does that even mean?... He’s not going to pile on. He’s not going to kick us while we’re down. His mission is not to crush us, it’s to build us up in Him.” [00:33]

3. Second Reading – Acts 10: Peter’s Explosive Message

• St. Peter affirms that:
  • God shows no partiality—salvation is open to all
  • Jesus’ mission was empowered by the Holy Spirit, beginning “after the baptism which John preached.”
• Keith’s response:

“Wow. I love that stuff. Boom. Acts is amazing.” [00:08]

• Universal Scope of Salvation:

“This is radical because a lot of the Jews believed it was just about them. But this servant has come to all.” [00:35]

4. Gospel – Matthew 3: Jesus’ Baptism

• The dialogue between Jesus and John highlights the surprising nature of Jesus’ choice.
• Jesus’ actions echo His role as the Lamb of God, symbolically entering our place as sinners.

Catechism Quotation:

Keith reads from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (536):

“The baptism of Jesus is on His part, the acceptance and inauguration of His mission as God's suffering servant. He allows Himself to be numbered among sinners… submitting Himself entirely to His Father's will out of love.” [00:50]

• Connection to the Cross:

  • Jesus’ baptism foreshadows His crucifixion—both acts are done for us, stepping into our place.

• The Trinity Revealed:

“Of course. We also see this picture of the Trinity here. The Son, obviously, the voice from heaven, from the Father and the Spirit descending upon Jesus. Powerful, that voice. ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ The Father is pleased with the Son's obedience.” [00:59]

5. Application: How Do We “Fulfill All Righteousness”?

Keith gives three practical takeaways for listeners:

1. Give Thanks to God for Jesus

“Every servant loves to be appreciated… Part of our disposition toward the Father needs to be one of thanksgiving… We are given the grace of Jesus’ baptism so that we can be saved and set free.” [01:06]

2. Allow Christ to Serve You – Don’t Block His Grace

• The best response to God’s service is humble acceptance, not prideful refusal.
• Keith connects this to Peter’s initial refusal to have his feet washed by Jesus, referencing John 13:

“‘If you don’t let Me serve you, you can’t have relationship with Me.’ That is the key right there.” [01:13]

• Work of Salvation:
  • Our “work” is to cooperate with God’s saving action in our lives.

3. Imitate Jesus by Serving Others with Love

• Service should be motivated by love, not by what we gain in return.
• Serve out of love, even anonymously:

“Find a way to serve somebody anonymously. You might say, ‘Well, how can I love them if I am anonymous?’ Sometimes that’s the best way. When you just do something for someone, they don’t even know it was you… that’s a loving thing to do.” [01:22]

• Don’t limit service to those who can repay us or benefit us; Jesus’ love is universal.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Jesus’ Baptism and Mission:

  “Jesus steps into our place. He is accepting our place, sinners. And Pope Benedict talks about this… the crucifixion is connected to baptism. Because the reason why Jesus has to be baptized is the same reason that he has to be crucified: to step into our place.” [00:52]

• On Service Oriented by Love:

  “Have you ever served someone but let them know you did that out of obligation and you really didn’t want to? …Can you imagine Jesus washing the feet of His disciples going, ‘Man, I can’t believe I have to do this’?” [00:22–00:24]

• On Trusting Jesus’ Service:

  “He loves us. He wants what’s best with us. So that means we don’t have to look over His shoulder when He’s in the act of serving us, because we know that He knows what He’s doing and that He loves us.” [00:29]

• On Allowing Others (and God) to Serve Us:

  “Sometimes the best thing you can do for another person is to let them help you… We might do it out of pride or a sense of humility, but really it’s pride.” [01:12]

• On Humble, Anonymous Service:

  “There’s literally nothing on this thing that we bought that indicates who it’s from. …the Holy Spirit hit me, like, ‘Nope, doesn’t matter who it’s from. From a parishioner.’ …When you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” [01:20]

Important Timestamps

• 00:01–00:03 – Introduction, statement of main theme: Why was Jesus baptized?
• 00:09–00:22 – Reflection on Isaiah 42; Jesus as the servant; contrasting divine servanthood with selfishness
• 00:33 – Gentleness of the servant (bruised reed, dimly burning wick)
• 00:35–00:37 – Peter’s message in Acts: Salvation for all
• 00:50–00:59 – Deep dive on the Catechism; baptism as “acceptance and inauguration” of Jesus' mission and the revelation of the Trinity
• 01:06–01:13 – Application: thankfulness and allowing Christ to serve us
• 01:18–01:22 – Serving others with love, especially anonymously

Conclusion

Keith Nester’s exploration of the Baptism of the Lord encourages listeners to approach Christ as the loving servant who steps into our place—not out of obligation, but out of love. We are invited to give thanks, receive His loving service with humility, and imitate His example by serving others. The ultimate call: openness to the Holy Spirit and a willingness to “fulfill all righteousness” by trusting, accepting, and loving as Jesus did.

“Are you gonna do it? John did that. He put himself aside and he served Jesus. And in the same way, Jesus served him. Pretty cool, huh?” [01:25]