My wife and I were going through some boxes, and we uncovered pictures of our daughters when they were babies. We are grateful for them, for what they mean to us, and for the joy they bring to our lives. However, getting them into the world was an ordeal.
I suppose the first child is the most “interesting” because we had no idea what to expect. Well, Jessica announced herself fairly quickly … mostly in the morning. Patty would wake up and be queasy and nauseous. As time went on, kind of like a bonus, she was typically tired … all the time. She would get home from work and take a nap. Wake up, eat supper, and then go to bed. So, I guess you could say Patty was sick and tired because of Jessica. She wasn’t sick and tired OF her, but she was certainly sick and tired.
Later in the pregnancy, Jessica became more active and started kicking. I thought it was pretty neat watching Patty’s stomach go up and down as Jessica’s feet were moving. Patty assured me that it wasn’t all that great. We don’t know if it was by accident or intention, but Jessica often found Patty’s bladder, which meant that when she was active, Patty had to go.
Finally, on the day of her birth, powerful contractions came, as painful as any muscle cramp could be. And then, after being sick and tired, after frequent bathroom visits and a constantly sore back, Patty looked at the alien that had just arrived in the world and declared, “She’s beautiful! I love her so much.”
This was love without reason. A deep and abiding passion without performance. It was love – freely shared for the sake of love.
Certainly, this is a theme that can be extracted from the story of Jesus’ baptism, especially in the Gospel of Mark. This is the very first activity recorded in Mark’s account of Jesus’ life. There are no infancy narratives like Matthew and Luke, which point to Jesus’ divine status. There is no philosophical statement about the pre-existent Word like John. Mark begins his gospel with an introduction of his purpose and immediately turns to John the Baptizer. Jesus isn’t mentioned until verse 9, and other than being named; there isn’t anything of substance about his previous 30 years of life. Yet, we are told, “And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’”
In these words, Jesus hears of his special relationship with God. In these words, Jesus hears God say, not Mary say, not Joseph say, but God say, “You are my son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” There, at the Jordan River, Jesus is given access to the truth of his identity. He is God’s Son. He is God’s beloved. In him, God is well pleased.
It is important to note the timing of this heavenly revelation. This is a statement of who Jesus already was. God already had claimed him, even before he preached his first sermon. God already loved him, even before he performed his first miracle. God already had treasured him, even before he obediently set his face to go to Jerusalem, there to die for the sins of the world. Even before he had done one thing to fulfill his mission and purpose, God stated who Jesus was – God’s beloved.
These same words were offered to us at our baptism, and the timing of the words is similar. Before we take the first step on our discipleship journey, before we do our first missional task for the Kingdom of God, before we utter the first word of witnessing for Jesus, we are already loved and claimed by God. We tend to believe, or at least act like we must do something in order for God to love us, that we must earn God’s grace or merit God’s mercy. But in the waters of baptism, we realize that God calls to us even before we have actualized our divine dignity.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE NEW YEAR – start with this truth: You are claimed by God. You are beloved. No matter what you do or don’t do, you will still be God’s beloved. So go ahead and plan. Make goals and work hard to reach them. Invest yourself fully in your relationships and your dreams. Do your best. Be faithful in the tasks you discern God calling you to do. But always remember, you are more than what you do. You are more than your achievements and much greater than your failures. You are a child of God. You are a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords. You are God’s beloved, with whom He is well pleased.