Christ the Cornerstone
Giving witness to peace, Jesus shows us how to live
The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered: ‘This is my beloved Son, listen to him.’ (cf. Mk 9:7)
The Gospel reading for The Baptism of the Lord (Mt 3:13-17), which we will celebrate this Sunday, tells us that John the Baptist tried to prevent Jesus from participating in this ritual cleansing.
“I need to be baptized by you,” John protests, “and yet you are coming to me?” (Mt 3:14) Jesus’ response does not dispute the truth of John’s statement. “Allow it now,” Jesus says, “for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15).
St. Matthew makes it clear that Jesus was not driven to this baptism of repentance because of his sinfulness. He did not need to do this.
On the contrary, Jesus freely chooses to undergo this ritual of cleansing and healing because he believes it is important to “fulfill all righteousness,” in other words to be someone who chooses to do what is right—not for his own sake, but for the sake of others.
This free decision that the Son of God makes is in keeping with his mission. He humbled himself, as St. Paul tells, and became a man for our sake.
In fact, everything that he did during his brief time on Earth was done deliberately to save us from ourselves. His healing, his teaching, his words of comfort and of warning, and all his gestures large and small (the signs and wonders he performed) were all for our benefit. Our Lord was under no compulsion to do anything. Everything was freely chosen in conformity with his Father’s will for him.
That is why when Jesus was baptized by St. John in the Jordan River, the voice of the Father “came from the heavens, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’ ” (Mk 1:11).
A simple sign of solidarity with the sinful human race (all of us) is treated as an event of profound Trinitarian significance. The One God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) acts with perfect unity in affirming the importance of our repentance as a necessary condition for recognizing and accepting God’s unconditional forgiveness. God is always forgiving, but we can only accept this Divine Truth if we repent and allow our souls to be washed clean by God’s healing power.
In Sunday’s second reading (Acts 10:34-38), we hear the testimony of St. Peter:
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:34-38).
God’s grace is available to everyone. He shows no partiality but freely embraces anyone who turns to him seeking forgiveness with an open heart. God was with Jesus in the most intimate and profound way imaginable. He was the “Beloved Son,” the Incarnate Word of God, whose every breath brings healing and hope to “all those oppressed by the devil,” indeed to all of us who are subject to the power of sin and death.
The Baptism of the Lord, which takes place at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, is a powerful sign that justice and mercy have come into the world in a radically new way.
As the first reading (Is 42:1-7) tells us:
Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the Earth. (Is 42:1-4)
The Just One has come tempered with mercy. He gives witness to a quiet and tender peace. By freely choosing to “become sin,” Jesus fulfills all righteousness and shows us how to live as free women and men no longer subject to the slavery of sin and death (2 Cor 5:21).
Unlike Jesus, you and I were baptized out of necessity because as sinful human beings we needed Christ’s saving grace. Let us fulfill our baptismal promises by choosing to live as faithful missionary disciples of Christ, whose free decisions in the Jordan River and on the Cross have cleansed us from our sins. †