“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:17
In our Gospel reading from Matthew for today we hear the story of Jesus’ baptism. It is so brief and to the point that you could easily miss it, but that would be very unfortunate. Because within very short story is a golden nugget of information about Jesus, God and each and every one of us. For this is a story about identity. It is a story about Jesus’ identity and it is about your identity and my identity. “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”
This is what God shouts from the skies as Jesus is being baptized. We have just heard God proclaim Jesus’ primary identity. Sure, Jesus was other things too—carpenter, brother, Jewish man, Messiah and so on—but those are all just secondary identities. What really matters is who Jesus is under all that other stuff. When you dig down as deep as you can go, what you find is that at Jesus’ deepest, most real level, Jesus is God’s Son, the Beloved, with whom God is well pleased. And I will tell you that at your deepest and most real level and at my deepest and most real level our primary identities are exactly the same as Jesus’ primary identity. No matter what identities we have piled on top of our primary identity, at our core each and every one of us is God’s child, God’s beloved with whom God is well pleased.
This is what God shouts from the skies as Jesus is being baptized. We have just heard God proclaim Jesus’ primary identity. Sure, Jesus was other things too—carpenter, brother, Jewish man, Messiah and so on—but those are all just secondary identities. What really matters is who Jesus is under all that other stuff. When you dig down as deep as you can go, what you find is that at Jesus’ deepest, most real level, Jesus is God’s Son, the Beloved, with whom God is well pleased. And I will tell you that at your deepest and most real level and at my deepest and most real level our primary identities are exactly the same as Jesus’ primary identity. No matter what identities we have piled on top of our primary identity, at our core each and every one of us is God’s child, God’s beloved with whom God is well pleased.
Now, many reading this message have also been baptized. It may have occurred when we were babies—before we can remember. Maybe it was when we were older children or adults when our baptism occurred. There are others reading this message who have never been baptized, but perhaps you have been a part of someone else’s baptism. Have any of you at either your own baptism or someone else’s ever seen the heavens opened up and the Spirit descending like a dove on the newly baptized person, and have any of you ever heard God say about that person, “You are my son/daughter, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased?” If you have, please let me know. I would love to hear your story, but I suspect that you have not had such an experience. I certainly have not. However, that does not mean that we can't imagine what it might be like to experience such a miraculous event.
I want you to try to imagine what I am about to describe. I want you to think about yourself at your baptism (either your actual baptism or how you might imagine it was or might be). In this image you might be an infant cuddled in the arms of someone who loves you. Maybe you are a child or an adult standing on your own two feet, but still surrounded by people who love and cherish you. Now what you imagine might come to you as an image or it might be a feeling or a sensation. It doesn’t really matter, just experience whatever comes to you. Now, imagine that as you are being baptized, as the water is being sprinkled on your head, or you are being immersed in the baptismal pool, imagine that a loud booming voice, one loud enough for you and everyone else to hear, announces to you and to all present, “You are my son, you are my daughter, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Get a picture or a feeling inside of you of what that feels or looks like. “You are my son, you are my daughter, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” How does that feel, what does that look like? I can tell you that for me when I imagine myself in this scene, I feel warm, I feel loved, I feel confident, I feel joy, I feel whole. So try to hold onto that image or that feeling for a moment.
Now I want you to try to imagine something else. I want you to recall a time when you were at your best. This would be a time when you felt most alive, most involved, spiritually touched, or most excited about your life. This could be at work, at home, at play. This could be a recent happening or something that occurred long ago. Just get an image of it in your mind. What are you doing in that recollection? Who is there? What does it feel like? What is it about that time that made you feel so alive, so involved, so spiritually touched or so excited about your life? For me, when I recall a time when I was at my best it feels very similar to what it felt like when I imagined my baptism with God proclaiming that I was God’s daughter, God’s beloved; with me God is well pleased. I feel warm, I feel loved, I feel confident, I feel joy, I feel whole.
I want you to try to imagine what I am about to describe. I want you to think about yourself at your baptism (either your actual baptism or how you might imagine it was or might be). In this image you might be an infant cuddled in the arms of someone who loves you. Maybe you are a child or an adult standing on your own two feet, but still surrounded by people who love and cherish you. Now what you imagine might come to you as an image or it might be a feeling or a sensation. It doesn’t really matter, just experience whatever comes to you. Now, imagine that as you are being baptized, as the water is being sprinkled on your head, or you are being immersed in the baptismal pool, imagine that a loud booming voice, one loud enough for you and everyone else to hear, announces to you and to all present, “You are my son, you are my daughter, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Get a picture or a feeling inside of you of what that feels or looks like. “You are my son, you are my daughter, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” How does that feel, what does that look like? I can tell you that for me when I imagine myself in this scene, I feel warm, I feel loved, I feel confident, I feel joy, I feel whole. So try to hold onto that image or that feeling for a moment.
Now I want you to try to imagine something else. I want you to recall a time when you were at your best. This would be a time when you felt most alive, most involved, spiritually touched, or most excited about your life. This could be at work, at home, at play. This could be a recent happening or something that occurred long ago. Just get an image of it in your mind. What are you doing in that recollection? Who is there? What does it feel like? What is it about that time that made you feel so alive, so involved, so spiritually touched or so excited about your life? For me, when I recall a time when I was at my best it feels very similar to what it felt like when I imagined my baptism with God proclaiming that I was God’s daughter, God’s beloved; with me God is well pleased. I feel warm, I feel loved, I feel confident, I feel joy, I feel whole.
Now I want to tell you the story of a teenager I once knew many years ago. This young woman was a part of the very first youth group I ever led as an ordained person. She came to my church without her family. She was an odd girl. She didn't dress, talk or look quite like the other teenagers. After attending for a period of time, she disappeared for a few months and then reappeared again. We learned that she was now living with an aunt and uncle because she and her siblings had been removed from her parents' care. Their parents' had been physically and emotionally abusing them for their entire lives. When she returned to our youth group she was stick thin, cried a lot and never said a word. I worried for her and wondered if she would ever be able to recover from her traumatic childhood.
Over the next few months and years, as I watched her I saw a miracle gradually unfold in her. She started to gain weight. She stopped crying. And after about a year she started to talk. And let me tell you, once this girl started talking we couldn't shut her up. She was actually a raging extrovert. She eventually reached her senior year of high school, was accepted into college, and as far as I know is living a happy healthy life somewhere in the Midwest. And I know why this miracle occurred, because she told me the miraculous story of her transformation and healing before she went off to college.
When she was removed from her parents' care her uncle and aunt found her a very good therapist. She told me that when she first went to see this therapist, she could not talk at all. She sat week after week in her sessions, and cried without saying a word. Fortunately her therapist was very patient, compassionate and kind. She didn't try to rush the young woman she simply waited.
Finally after several weeks of silent tear-filled sessions, the therapist decided to try a new strategy. She said to the young woman, "I bet that everyone is asking you to talk about your past and what happened to you with your parents. Let's try something different. Let's talk about your dreams for the future." The young woman told me that she was surprised by her therapist's question, but had grown to trust the woman because of her patience with her, and so she shyly answered her. The young woman told her therapist that she had always wanted to be a princess. And as the young woman told the therapist this she found that her crying stopped.
Over the next few months and years, as I watched her I saw a miracle gradually unfold in her. She started to gain weight. She stopped crying. And after about a year she started to talk. And let me tell you, once this girl started talking we couldn't shut her up. She was actually a raging extrovert. She eventually reached her senior year of high school, was accepted into college, and as far as I know is living a happy healthy life somewhere in the Midwest. And I know why this miracle occurred, because she told me the miraculous story of her transformation and healing before she went off to college.
When she was removed from her parents' care her uncle and aunt found her a very good therapist. She told me that when she first went to see this therapist, she could not talk at all. She sat week after week in her sessions, and cried without saying a word. Fortunately her therapist was very patient, compassionate and kind. She didn't try to rush the young woman she simply waited.
Finally after several weeks of silent tear-filled sessions, the therapist decided to try a new strategy. She said to the young woman, "I bet that everyone is asking you to talk about your past and what happened to you with your parents. Let's try something different. Let's talk about your dreams for the future." The young woman told me that she was surprised by her therapist's question, but had grown to trust the woman because of her patience with her, and so she shyly answered her. The young woman told her therapist that she had always wanted to be a princess. And as the young woman told the therapist this she found that her crying stopped.
Now you might find it funny to think of a 15 year old girl telling her therapist that she wants to be a princess, but the therapist did not laugh. Instead she took the 15 year old girl very seriously. The therapist asked the young woman to explain to her what it meant to her to be a princess. The young woman explained that princesses do things for other people. They are like Princess Diana and they help people. Over the next few months and years, the therapist was able to pull more and more from the young woman, and she eventually was able to talk about the traumatic things that had happened to her. By the time that she finished working with this therapist, the young woman had concluded that the best way to become that princess she had dreamed of becoming would be for her to become a therapist herself, and indeed this young woman is today a practicing psychologist.
What that therapist did with that young woman was to help her get in touch with her “beloved” nature. That therapist helped that young woman peel off all of the layers of stuff that had been piled on top of her true identity until she got down to the deepest and most real layer. The therapist helped the young woman understand that at her most real and true level, she is a princess, she is God’s daughter, the beloved, with whom God is well-pleased. And I want to tell you right now that when you imagined your baptism and when you recalled a time when you were at your best, you too were getting in touch with your most real and true level, you too were peeling away all the layers to get in touch with your “beloved” nature.
Each and every one of us was created by God for a purpose. We were created to be children of God. We were created to be God’s beloved. Each and every one of us is someone in whom God is well pleased. And we are most in touch with our beloved nature, we most closely manifest God’s purpose for us when we have been at our best, for it is at these times that we have most closely manifested the image of God that God created us to be.
What that therapist did with that young woman was to help her get in touch with her “beloved” nature. That therapist helped that young woman peel off all of the layers of stuff that had been piled on top of her true identity until she got down to the deepest and most real layer. The therapist helped the young woman understand that at her most real and true level, she is a princess, she is God’s daughter, the beloved, with whom God is well-pleased. And I want to tell you right now that when you imagined your baptism and when you recalled a time when you were at your best, you too were getting in touch with your most real and true level, you too were peeling away all the layers to get in touch with your “beloved” nature.
Each and every one of us was created by God for a purpose. We were created to be children of God. We were created to be God’s beloved. Each and every one of us is someone in whom God is well pleased. And we are most in touch with our beloved nature, we most closely manifest God’s purpose for us when we have been at our best, for it is at these times that we have most closely manifested the image of God that God created us to be.
Imagine what your life would be like if you spent more time doing what you do when you are at your best. Imagine what your life would be like if you spent more time being in touch with your primary identity. Imagine what this congregation would look like if each and every one of us fully embraced our beloved nature. Imagine what this city, this state, this country, the world, would look like if we could embrace our identity as God’s beloved. Perhaps it would be like the kingdom of God.
What you focus on will become your reality. Good and bad is in each of us, which one do you wish to draw forth from yourself?
What you focus on will become your reality. Good and bad is in each of us, which one do you wish to draw forth from yourself?
I vote that we focus on good. For it is in finding our true identities as God’s beloved that we will find life and not just life but abundant life. Who you are at your best is your DNA, for it is when you are at your best that you are closest to being the image of God that God created you to be. What would your life be like if you got to be at your best each and every day? Embrace your inner prince or princess, embrace your beloved nature.
And a voice came from heaven, “You are my son. You are my daughter, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
And a voice came from heaven, “You are my son. You are my daughter, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.”