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Today’s text
Luke 3:21-22
Now it
happened that when all the people had been baptized and while Jesus after his
own baptism was at prayer, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him
in a physical form, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son;
the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’
Reflection
A picture is awakened in my mind. Jesus prays quietly by
himself. He emerges from the water and settles into a place where he can hear
his thoughts and listen for the Voice we all want and need to hear.
Some say it is our deepest voice, the voice of our true self
or the voice of conscience deep within. It is that Voice we hear when the noise
of life fades away, and we can feel our lives and hear once more who we are,
what we need and what God is saying to us.
In the silence of his soul, Jesus hears the Voice for which
we all hunger, ‘You are mine. You are my true beloved. My pleasure rests on
you. Live as one who knows my pleasure surrounds you.’
We all arrive in this world hungry for a food found only in
the sheer delight of our mothers and fathers. We yearn for that look, that
smile, those words that fill us with the knowledge of love, the awareness of
our belovedness.
It makes us shine and glow, giving us the freedom to
discover and become the uniqueness we each are. Souls that know and receive the
glow of such love are more likely to grow in generosity and grace, becoming
what they receive.
Without this blessing, we wither. We feel empty, and our
hunger grows
There is no emptiness in this picture of Jesus. Baptized
alongside other human souls, he prays, rests and hears that Voice of Blessing
that fills and completes his soul.
It tells him whose he is. His entire life, the totality of
his service, his words and ministry flow from this moment, this awareness.
His invitation is to us is to come, … sit by him, … listen,
… hear … and know.
Know what he knows, hear the Voice he hears, hear him as he
speaks to you and shares the belovedness that is in him.
‘You are mine. You are my true beloved. My pleasure rests on
you. Live as one who knows my pleasure surrounds you. Live your life in
constant knowing.’
The message of Jesus baptism and our own is that the light
of God’s loving eyes rests on us. Always.
Imperfect and sinful we are. But the delight of God’s love
is constant and unchanging. We can ignore and deny our relationship with this Love
that looks on us with delight and longing.
But we cannot turn it off. This One, this blessing, this
Belovedness is always there, waiting for us to listen … and know.
Pr. David L. Miller
