Dear Sisters, dear brethren, on Tuesday last we began the celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord – a word which means His manifestation in majesty. I say that we began the Epiphany then, and as those of you who have been at Mass during the week just past will know, we have continued this throughout the following days. In the coming of the Magi we celebrated the manifestation of the infant Lord to the pagans as their King, Lord and Saviour, as much as He is to the Jews who were expecting Him. And not only His manifestation, but also His adoration by the same Magi, fulfilling the words of psalm 71 which has been the responsorial psalm at Mass all week: ‘All nations on earth shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.’ For the Magi not only recognized the infant as King, God and Saviour – as the three gifts they brought show – but they fell on their knees and worshipped Him. In this way they showed the way for us, too, to follow them and to worship God made man.
Today we continue the Epiphany, but in another way. The Baptism of our Lord, although it took place some thirty years after the coming of the Magi, is nonetheless connected with that event. Why? Because, in the first place, this is a unique manifestation of the presence of God in Christ. It is the only time in the whole Gospel, indeed in all history, when all three persons of the One God are made manifest in different ways at the same time. That alone surely makes this event, the Baptism of our Lord, a moment of singular importance in His life in the world. As the Son of God rises from the water, He sees the Holy Spirit descend to rest upon Him in the bodily form of a dove, and the Father’s voice is heard from heaven pronouncing the solemn and majestic words: ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom am well pleased.’ On two other occasions in history is the Father’s voice heard: at the Transfiguration and shortly before the Passion in St John’s account; while the Spirit is seen in a visible manifestation on one other occasion alone: at Pentecost in the form of what the Apostles could only describe as what seemed to be tongues of fire.
This is a wonderful manifestation, an epiphany, of all three divine persons. But for now I do not intend to examine this threefold epiphany, but rather I want to examine in detail what our Lord says to John who was at first anxious to avoid baptising His cousin. ‘I need to be baptised by you,’ he said to Jesus, ‘and do you come to me?’ John therefore can be seen to recognise that he himself, for all his holiness, is incapable of giving Jesus anything that He needs. John is baptizing as a sign of repentance for those who accept his baptism, but he knows already that Jesus not only has no need of baptism, no need of repentance, but even more than that, he knows that Jesus has something which he, John, is in need of. This is what makes Our Lord’s reply even more difficult for us to understand. He says to John, ‘Let it be so for now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.’
What can this mean? What does our Lord want John to understand from this? ‘Let it be so now’, says our Lord, meaning that He and John should accept that this is something which applies particularly to this moment. Why should it be only at this moment? Well, our Lord goes on to say, ‘for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.’ Jesus’s coming for baptism is therefore something which John must accept not because Jesus needs it, but because righteousness, which is another word for justice, will be fulfilled through this particular baptism.
Jesus needs no repentance for Himself. Both He and John know this. That is why John tried to resist. Yet Jesus asks for baptism not for Himself, but to fulfil ‘all righteousness.’ But what is ‘all righteousness’? Herein lies the mystery. By the word ‘mystery’ I mean not a puzzle to tease out, but a hidden power at work through a visible sign. This is what the sacraments are: hidden powers at work through the means of signs that we can see, hear and feel. In other words, the mysteries which we call the sacraments are all powerful works of God concealed in sensible signs, whether of things such as water, oil, bread and wine, or the laying on of hands.
In His baptism, our Lord shows God’s hidden power at work. If you ever wondered what baptism really is, learn from today’s feast its true meaning and power. Baptism is not just a ceremony for naming a child. It is not just a form of enrolment in the Church. It is the fulfilment of righteousness in us. This is what our Lord was speaking about when he came to John for baptism: in His own entry into the waters of the Jordan, Jesus was Himself creating the sacrament of baptism for us as the effective and powerful instrument by which we are made righteous before God. Jesus accepted baptism for us, and not just as our representative, but to forge an instrument of salvation for us. This is what happened when we were baptized: we were taken out of the realm of sin, which is alienation from our Creator - and we were incorporated into the living body of Jesus Himself – His flesh became our flesh, and His Spirit has become our breath of life and the source of our faith.
Without baptism we cannot become sons and daughters of God. Without baptism we would not have entered the life of grace leading us to heaven. For this sacrament of baptism, then, we must not only thank God, but also resolve continually to live our lives in union with the one who has in this way transformed us bodily and spiritually. We must continually renew the grace of our baptism by frequent confession. We must strengthen His life in our bodies and souls by holy and worthy communons. And we must encourage all those we may know who do not understand or appreciate the greatness of this sacrament to ensure that they seek this source of eternal life for their children as soon as possible. Our Lord underwent baptism to fulfil all righteousness in us. Let us not ignore or undervalue so great a gift.
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