The Baptism of Jesus, testified to in all four Gospels, is an important event signaling the start of his public life. In the account of Matthew, which is our Gospel for today, Jesus goes from Galilee to meet John the Baptist at the Jordan river. It is Jesus’ first public appearance as an adult. (Matthew’s first two chapters are dedicated to his account of the genealogy and infancy of Jesus.)
In the verses prior to today’s Gospel, Matthew describes John’s ministry as a prophetic call to repentance: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (3:2). And immediately after this information about his ministry, Matthew narrates John’s altercation with the Pharisees and Sadducees, indicating to us how John preached his message of repentance with urgency and great zeal. It is in this context that Jesus approaches John to be baptized.
If John’s ministry is about repentance, why does Jesus leave behind his quiet, hidden life in Nazareth and go to John? Does this mean that Jesus was living a sinful life during his hidden years? Is he in need of repentance? Obviously not! He is the sinless beloved Son of the Father. In fact, John immediately recognizes Jesus to be far superior to him, and he humbly acknowledges that he should be baptized by Jesus. He is puzzled that Jesus has come to him. Earlier, John had foretold Jesus’ arrival with the words: “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals” (3:11). Clearly, John recognizes and testifies that Jesus does not need his baptism of repentance.
But Jesus still comes to be baptized. His reply to John helps us understand why he did it at all. “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Righteousness is what Jesus is aiming for. For the Chosen People of Israel, the word righteousness resonates with significance. At their origins as a people, their father Abraham “put his faith in the Lord, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness” (Gen 15:6). From the time of Abraham, through the Exodus and the desert experience, to the possession of the Promised Land and then the people’s exile and dispersion, right up to the time of Jesus, the people of Israel have been called on a journey of righteousness – and all too often have failed to respond to that call.
In the hearts of the people was a longing for the coming of a Messiah who would be righteous and faithful, who would help them answer their deep but unfulfilled aspirations. The prophet Isaiah, in today’s first reading, describes the Messiah as a servant of the Lord who will not break a bruised reed nor quench a smoldering wick. In his gentle and upright ways, he will establish justice on earth. Jesus, at his baptism, at the very start of his public life, shows that he himself is that Messiah who has come to fulfill all righteousness, as he will do until the very end of his earthly life.
Jesus establishes a new righteousness in the world by submerging himself in the waters of the Jordan. The motif of water brings us back to the Book of Genesis, where from the very beginning everything was covered with water and “the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss” (Gen 1:2). This primordial water is not pure and pristine; rather it is dirty and murky – like the waters of the Jordan into which Jesus is submerged. Despite his being sinless, he is baptized, both to show his solidarity with sinful humanity and to introduce into it a new opportunity to be cleansed.
Our human condition has been made dirty and murky by the impact of sin, but God has submerged his holiness into it in order to set us free. As St. Peter says in today’s second reading, God shows no partiality; he wants people of every nation and race to be brought into the path of righteousness. Because the whole human family needs repentance, Jesus unites himself with every sinner as he undergoes on our behalf John’s baptism of repentance.
The Liturgy gives us further insight into this action of Jesus. At the start of every Mass, there is a penitential act and a recitation of the Kyrie, “Lord, have mercy!” All of us acknowledge our sinfulness, even those who have just been baptized or who have just gone to Confession and have not committed a sin. We all pray to the Lord for him to have mercy on us all; we show our solidarity with sinful humanity just as Jesus did.
The act of fulfilling all righteousness and showing solidarity with humanity has an amazing effect: it opens the heavens! The Holy Spirit descends and hovers above Jesus just as the Spirit hovered over the formless, dark void at the dawn of creation (Gen 1:2). The presence of the Spirit hovering over the waters is the sign that a new creation has taken place with the coming of Christ. God the Father himself affirms the holiness of this new creation in Christ with the tender words, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
When we receive the Sacrament of Baptism, we become sons and daughters in the Son. The words of the Father are personally addressed to each of us. We are dressed in white robes, signifying our purity in Christ. The Spirit empowers us to maintain this purity, calling us to fulfill all righteousness and to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ every moment of our life.
How do I live in solidarity with others, especially those who are struggling in sin or suffering? In what ways am I striving to “fulfill all righteousness” in my daily life? How deeply do I believe that I, too, am God’s beloved child?
Excerpt from The Anawim Way, Volume 22, no. 2. More information about The Anawim Way may be found here.