This one's for you, too.

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; 

with him I am well pleased.” --Matthew 3:17

The Revised Common Lectionary passage for 12 January was Matthew's version of the baptism of Jesus, first by John the Baptist and then by the Holy Spirit. In many, many sanctuaries and halls, people gathered to hear a word from the Word, and this was what they received.

It doesn't get much better than this.

John the Baptist, who has been pounding the streets for a long time, announcing the presence of the Messiah since-- well, since before he was born (Luke 1:41-42), now encounters Jesus face-to-face, and is at first puzzled by Jesus' request that he baptize Jesus, Son of God.

Jesus simply replies, "Let it be so." And so, presumably in front of many others also gathered to receive the baptism of water that John offered, Jesus is baptized in the waters of the Jordan River. (Try very, very hard to set aside your Christian imagery of baptism; instead, imagine John offering a different sort of symbolic cleansing.)

And as Jesus emerged from the waters, the heavens parted and the Spirit descended upon him "like a dove," and a voice spoke those words.

"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

It is good to stop right there and take in the beauty of the imagery. The heavens opening . . . Spirit like a dove resting on Jesus . . . God's loving stamp of approval.

Beautiful. 

And guess what?

Each time a baby or a child or an adult is baptized, the same thing happens for those with a heart desiring of God.

As the symbolic dunking (or sprinkling) occurs, the Holy Spirit is present, and announces to those who would hear:

This, too, is my beautiful Child, whom I love; with him [or her] I am well-pleased.

Each one of us. Each one-- of you. We are, each and all, beloved children of the Almighty. And God finds each one of us pleasing. 

Stop for a moment and simply rest in that thought. Because there is more. But you will need to rest in this first.

The Lord Bless You and Keep You

Now, here's the next part of the story.

After Jesus emerged from the waters, after the voice from the heavens proclaimed his blessedness, that same Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by the devil.

Jesus had very little time to actually enjoy those amazing words of affirmation before he was experiencing forty days in the desert. 

And that is important to remember, for two reasons:

First, some people get it in their minds that being a Christian brings with it some kind of promise that we will lead a "charmed"life free of distress. That simply is not so. (Nor is it scriptural.) Jesus, to paraphrase Linda Ronstadt, never promised us a rose garden. Jesus did, however, promise to sit with us, even amongst the thorns and brambles of life's desert times.

And equally important: Jesus knew he would be ill-prepared for the wilderness time ahead without the blessing and infilling of the Spirit to carry him. He could do nothing in his own, limited, human strength.

Listen. Step away from the busy-ness of the world for a few minutes. Still your anxious soul. Do you hear it? Can you hear God's sweet whisper?

You, my Child, are my beloved. In you, just as you are, I am well-pleased, simply because you are Mine. 

Now, the bigger question: 

Do you believe it? Do you believe, deep in your soul, that God loves you, whether you're having a good hair day or not; whether you drive the speed limit or not; whether you lose (or gain) ten pounds? 

It's true. 

And it's enough.

And it is likely the best news you will ever receive. It is, at its core, the Gospel message Christ brought to us all. 

Amen