Those who were baptized by John acknowledged the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is the ability of God to ‘reach’ out to humanity in order to validate them. God’s righteousness is manifested in Christ Jesus re-establishing (making straight) the relationship that exists between God the Creator and humanity. In disobedience to God’s ways, humanity had deviated from the path of relationship that God had created for it. And although humanity has always resisted God’s attempts at once again making straight this relationship, God has never stopped reaching out. It is God’s righteousness that has been the content of the preaching of the prophets in the history of humanity. And it was this that John the Baptist was doing when he descended on the rivers of the Jordan to baptize. Those who took John’s preaching to heart and accepted his baptism recognized what God was offering them. They accepted the plan God has always had for humanity: to raise it from ruins in order to restore it to its former glory.
As those created in the image and likeness of God, we are called to a life of righteousness. Like God our Creator Father, we are called to live in, and preserve the right relationships into which God created us. While the sin of Adam and Eve which we have all inherited does frustrate our efforts to live righteous lives, Jesus Christ has come into our lives to help us regain our rightful standing by the side of God. As we listen to Christ’s life giving words, and as we strive each day to turn away from situations that lead us away from God, may we join John the Baptist and those whom he baptized into acknowledging the righteousness of God. May we show by how we lead our lives that our God is righteous.