Gracious God, may we pause in this moment to take notice of your Spirit’s presence in this place, in this community, and in our very hearts. May your Spirit fall afresh on us, fill us, renew us, inspire us, and meet us in our places of need in this time. Amen.
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When Jesus first stepped into the River Jordan, much of the focus wasn’t on him. It was on John instead. John had been causing quite a stir calling people to repentance for their past wrongs, baptizing anyone who wanted a fresh start, and proclaimed that, as they were doing these things, they were collectively preparing the way of the Lord.
According to Luke’s gospel, people were filled with expectations and questions. Was John the Messiah incognito? But John, of course, dismisses this claim and points out that the one who is on his way is who they are really waiting for – the one who will baptize them not just with water, but with the Holy Spirit.
Then Jesus shows up. And, despite John’s claim that he isn’t worthy to untie his shoes, Jesus approaches John to be baptized in the river with everyone else, just like everyone else.
And, after he comes up out of the water, as he’s praying, the Holy Spirit descends upon him like a dove. And a heavenly voice proclaims: “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”
You know, it’s interesting that at this point in Luke’s gospel, Jesus hasn’t done a whole lot on his own yet. He was born. He was celebrated and received with joy by a number of different people as a baby. He did ditch his parents to hang out in the temple with the academic crowd in Jerusalem at age twelve (that he did do, for better or for worse). And now, all of the sudden, he’s all grown up.
And his ministry is really only about to get started, just about to begin (after he spends forty days in the wilderness, of course). He will heal people. He will gather disciples. He will teach the crowds. He will bring God’s grace to others in concrete ways all the way until the end. But, at this point in time, at the moment of his baptism, all of that is still in the future.
And yet, it is at this moment of his baptism, at the beginning, when he is named and claimed by God as beloved. Yes, Jesus was already faithful (and perhaps already extraordinary), but he was also just an ordinary guy in many ways, alongside other ordinary people standing in the Jordan River. And John may have doubted his own worthiness to baptize Jesus, but Jesus evidently didn’t doubt John’s worthiness.
This is important because it illustrates that Jesus didn’t have to earn God’s love. He was God’s beloved from the beginning. He didn’t rack up enough purity points and righteousness rewards to achieve Platinum Beloved Status. He just was beloved – from the beginning.
And so was John. And so are you.
This message is for us too. The Divine affirmation Jesus receives in that moment of baptism is also the Divine affirmation we all receive by God’s grace. “You are my beloved.”
Jesus isn’t God’s only beloved one. In fact, he spent his whole life trying to show us that all humanity and all creation are beloved of God too. You are God’s beloved. You have been since birth. This is something we affirm at every baptism too.
And you don’t need to earn God’s love. It’s a given. You are loved from the start. You are created in love and are blessed from the beginning to be a blessing in this life.
And isn’t it good news that there is something this important in life that you don’t have to earn?
So much of our culture tends to focus on spending a lot of our time and energy on getting and earning… getting good grades, getting a job and a career, earning a living, getting the job or task done (whatever it may be at the moment), accomplishing a goal, getting friends, getting plugged into a community or group. And, of course, it’s also nice to get some recognition and acknowledgement for what we get done, what we accomplish in life.
Now there isn’t anything wrong with wanting to get stuff done. There are a lot of good things to do, a lot of necessary and worthy things to get done.
But sometimes we can get trapped by the tendency to define ourselves by our accomplishments, successes, and contributions. I’ve been there.
And, of course, that can also sometimes lead to too much self-critique about what we didn’t accomplish, didn’t get done, our failures, our missed opportunities.
Honest self-reflection, accountability, and necessary course-correction is good. But too much self-critique can take us to an unhealthy place. And fear of failure can actually keep us from taking some worthwhile risks. You know that famous quote from Wayne Gretzky? He said, “I missed all the shots I didn’t take.” There, I used my one sports metaphor for 2025.
The truth proclaimed by the gospel is that you are not only what you do. You are so much more than what you do. You are God’s beloved. And you have been from the start – before you did anything. I think this is a message we need to hear as children, teenagers, and adults.
So, when you didn’t get that thing done that you really needed or hoped to get done, you are still beloved.
We you goofed, messed up, missed the ball, made a mistake, and need to regroup, need to ask for forgiveness, or need to start over, you are still beloved.
When you are stressed out, frustrated, feeling down, or facing a difficulty, you are still beloved.
When you have doubts, hard questions, fears, or a faltering of faith, you are still beloved.
In times of joy, in times of struggle, in times of celebration, in times of sadness, in every place in between, in every circumstance, you are beloved.
I’ve often pondered and wondered who heard that heavenly voice at Jesus’ baptism. Did everyone hear it or was it just Jesus? According to Luke, he was praying at that moment.
And that is an important detail, I think, because perhaps it is the posture of prayer, the openness and intention of prayer, that can help us hear that heavenly voice for ourselves. If we are struggling to hear the voice of God calling us beloved, then maybe we need to find a little space, take a little time, clear out a little of the mental clutter, and pause in silence to listen.
I actually believe that God is calling to us all the time. It the United Church of Christ we like to say God is still speaking. God’s call is not a one and done kind of thing.
Beloved. Beloved. Beloved. Hey you, yes you… Beloved!
Can you hear? What do you need to hear it today? What will you hold onto, to keep you centered and steady, that will help you remember?
This is one of the reasons why the sacrament of baptism is important. It’s why the rite of confirmation is important too. These are touchstones to help us remember who we are. They are mile markers on the journey of faith. They are places within our spiritual landscape to which we can return again and again when we need to.
Baptism is a fresh start. It was for John and for Jesus. And it is for us too. It’s a washing away of whatever needs to be washed away so we can live more fully and remember who we are and whose we are.
And we can return to our baptism simply by remembering it and honoring it. If you don’t remember your actual baptism because you were a tiny baby, that’s ok. Maybe you have a photo or a memento. Or you can simply honor the vows you made (or your parents made on your behalf) to take this journey of faith. And you can honor and trust the grace of God whose Holy Spirit still flows through the baptismal waters every time someone is sprinkled, dribbled, or dunked.
Go there in your memory. Or just go there in your mind. Take a bath, a shower, a swim, or splash a little water on your face and look in the mirror and say to yourself, “You are Beloved.”
Maybe it seems silly. But maybe it’s needed.
Jesus’ ministry and vocation began in this place of deep love and affirmation. And I think that is what strengthened him and enabled him to step out into the physical wilderness, into the wild unknown of his future, and to face the deep challenges it would hold with faith and courage, with love and hope, and with commitment to all that is good and just.
That ministry and vocation is ours now. So is the wilderness journey. And it starts in the same place.
And so, friends, to our confirmands and all to of you, at this point in your journey, I want to leave you with this beautiful blessing from poet and artist, Jan Richardson:
Beloved Is Where We Begin
by Jan Richardson (© Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com)
If you would enter into the wilderness, do not begin without a blessing.
Do not leave without hearing who you are:
Beloved, named by the One who has traveled this path before you.
Do not go without letting it echo in your ears,
and if you find it is hard to let it into your heart, do not despair.
That is what this journey is for.
I cannot promise this blessing will free you from danger,
from fear, from hunger or thirst,
from the scorching of sun or the fall of the night.
But I can tell you that on this path there will be help.
I can tell you that on this way there will be rest.
I can tell you that you will know the strange graces
that come to our aid only on a road such as this,
that fly to meet us bearing comfort and strength,
that come alongside us for no other cause
than to lean themselves toward our ear,
and with their curious insistence, whisper our name:
Beloved. Beloved. Beloved.
Amen. And blessings on the journey, beloveds!