Fulfilling All Righteousness
“And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
Matthew 3:17
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord marks the end of the Christmas season and ushers us into Ordinary Time. Do you remember your baptism? Chances are, if you are a cradle Catholic, you probably do not as you were most likely baptized as an infant. However, if you were baptized as an adult, I am sure it was quite a moving experience for you. Today we celebrate the baptism of Our Lord, which may seem odd since the point of baptism is the forgiveness of sins and birth into the life of God. Jesus is God and had no sin so baptism really was not necessary, but He insisted so that sinners might live and all righteousness might be fulfilled.
The Church Fathers and Doctors of the Church tell us that for us going into the waters of baptism cleanses us and gives us the gift of sanctifying grace, but when Jesus went into the water He sanctified the waters so that we might be made clean by it. In getting baptized Jesus humbled and emptied Himself so that He might take on our sins and fill us with His own life. All that God does is for us. He created the heavens and the earth for us. He sent His Son for us. He suffered for us. He died for us. He rose from the dead for us. He sent the Spirit for us. In His baptism, Jesus made it possible for us to once again walk with God for all eternity. God revealed to us who He was once again at Jesus’s baptism, that Our God is three Divine Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — in One God, a relational God, a God of communion, in whose life we now share by our baptism.
When John tried to stop Jesus from getting baptized by him, He told him that he must so that all righteousness be fulfilled. What exactly is this “righteousness?” St. John Chrysostom says that righteousness is “the fulfilling of the commandments.” And the Lord taught that the greatest command is to love, and since He is love itself, then to fulfill all righteousness is to fulfill the Law, which then is to put on Christ, to be in right relationship with God, to be in communion with God. And Jesus fulfilled this righteousness by doing the will of His Father perfectly.
We who are baptized are baptized in Christ and in His life and death. As a result, we become adopted sons and daughters of the Father, true coheirs to eternal life. What a gift! So, then, brothers and sisters, let us give thanks to God for having so loved us. May we thank God for the gift of the Lord’s baptism in which we are baptized, opening up for us life eternal.
