Dec 20 2019 Matthew 3: 13-17

And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My Beloved, in whom I am well pleased.”

This famous phrase comes at the end of a great passage about Jesus and John the Baptizer. John’s been baptizing, and Jesus has not been in the picture yet. The local religious and political leaders show up to be baptized, and John responds with the equally familiar, “you brood of vipers”. John’s upset that people are coming for the idea of baptism, rather than any genuine re-turning to God.

Jesus arrives, and is baptized by John. Upon Jesus’ rising from the water, Jesus saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove on him, and a voice from heaven said, This is my Beloved, in whom I am well pleased.

The pre-trip reflection encourages us to reflect on the immensity of that statement, and how although it was said to Jesus, it is equally true to us. I am God’s beloved. With me, God is well pleased. Those are powerful words, and the source of my all. It is the source of my faith, and my light, and my existence. It is the source of me having any fleeting chance of carrying out God’s commandment; Love God. Love your Neighbor. Because I am beloved by God and please God, I love God back. Because I am beloved by God and please God, I can love my neighbors, whoever and wherever they are.

It is hard to fathom that God says that to me. And I believe deep in my core that upon baptism, the Spirit alighted on me like a dove. And from the water of baptism, a heavenly voice repeated those words. This is my Beloved, in whom I am well pleased. This is shocking, and true.

The part of this story that I’m wrestling with this morning, is the bit right before the heavenly proclamation. John has been baptizing, saying that he’s just the messenger for the one to come later, for the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. John says he’s not worthy to even tie the shoes of the one coming next. John is absolutely playing a secondary role to Jesus, and trying to point people towards Jesus. From this place of deeply humble and secondary role, John is shocked when Jesus presents himself to John to be baptized. John tries to stop the baptism, saying that John needs to be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around. But Jesus will not hear of it. He responds that John needs to permit this baptism to happen, to fulfill and complete God’s work throughout the centuries. John concedes and baptizes Jesus.

But if the voice from heaven is spoken to me, if I am a beloved and pleasing child of God’s, than it is equally true for John, right? And yet, John is reluctant to do to Jesus what he’s been doing to others. John is showing that very human tendency of unrighteous humility, where we shy away from what we are asked to do because we think we are not good enough. Jesus is there to encourage him on.

  

This morning, I’m thinking about the requests made of me to do God’s work, where I feel ill-equipped. I’m reminded of when I served as a chaplain in the jail in Seattle. I always felt horrible, when the inmates would ask for a chaplain, and they’d get me. I did not feel equipped, or trained, or ready. I’m not suggesting that humility is bad, but when it makes us shy away from the work God’s calling us to do, it kind of is.

In John’s case, God was present in human form, to encourage John on to do the work God was calling John to do. We do not have that luxury. But we do have the lingering Advocate, or Holy Spirit. We are beloved. God is well pleased with us. We are called to do big and little things for God. We are perfectly equipped. At the end of the day, we are called to Love God. Love our Neighbor. We can do that, because we are first loved by God.