Remind me who I am
Epiphany B, Baptism of Our Lord
January 8, 2012
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.”
I was thinking a lot about that sentence this past week.
What had Jesus heard about John?
And who told him? How did the news travel?
Perhaps his mother mentioned that she’d heard that Jesus’ cousin was doing some awesome things in the Jordan just north of the Salt Sea.
Perhaps word came from something Jesus overheard at a wedding celebration he’d attended recently -- or maybe from a customer in the carpentry shop.
No matter, however the news about John traveled, Jesus knew it was something he had to see. He knew it was SO important, that he could even leave his carpentry work for a while. He may not have understood why he had to go. He just knew it was something that he had to do.
How much DID he know about himself in those days?
Some think he was aware of just who he was—both God and human.
Others wonder if it wasn’t till he was baptized that his identity burst upon him fully.
Perhaps he didn’t go there alone. Maybe he invited a few close friends to travel with him. Imagine for a few minutes what that trip must have been like.
They set out from Nazareth in the dry hills of northern Palestine and traveled by foot for a few days, down a valley between the hills, drawing closer to the great rift valley where the Jordan runs south from the Sea of Galilee. It was a downhill walk all the way to the river. Once they were on the river’s floodplain they were struck, as always, by how flat it was there.
And how hot.
And how dry.
They were always surprised by these things.
That environment was often so inhospitable.
And once they were on that floodplain they knew their journey wasn’t over. It was another few days of walking south toward the Salt Sea. They went through the hot, dry town of Jericho, with its ancient ruins and memories of Joshua, Jesus’ namesake.
They had to walk a good distance south to find John. John was baptizing just this side of where the Jordan runs into the Salt Sea. It was closer to Jerusalem there, and that’s where many of his devotees lived for most of the year.
And Jesus may not have known why he was there. But surely he felt drawn by that strong inner voice he knew as God his Father. It was a presence and a command he couldn’t run away from. He had to submit to the cleansing baptism of John and thereby celebrate his obedience to his God and Father.
And he waited his turn, like everyone else.
John was surprised to see him, but he baptized him just the same.
Jesus stepped into the river and plunged under its cooling and cleansing waters. And he became one with the waters.
And maybe a fish nibbled on his toe.
And just as he was coming up out of the water he looked up and oh!
The sky seemed torn in two and he felt a lightness and a shimmering presence playing about him. The light was twinkling as pure energy surrounded him and lifted his spirit.
Ah!
I wonder if he had the fleeting thought that this was the One he knew so well before—
but before what?
When was that?
And his reverie was interrupted by a voice from the sky, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
And his friends were frightened by the natural and the supernatural. And John was not surprised.
Ah!
Finally here was the one who was to come and take over.
Here he is and God’s voice of blessing makes it abundantly clear.
He was announced from above as God’s beloved, in whom God is well pleased. And I wonder how he must have felt when he heard those words of unconditional, crazy-in-love affirmation? How did Jesus feel inside? Our gospels are silent on this question. We can only wonder.
And God who loved him abundantly immediately drove him out into the Judean desert to the west, up into the dry, brown hills, where he was tested with temptation and the wild beasts were there and angels took care of him.
***
And today William takes his place in that long line of Christians baptized after Jesus. He will be marked as the latest heir to the legacy of Jesus and the promises of God. And we will once again see a person reborn as God’s own beloved child, sent into a wild world of temptation and wild beasts, and protected by angels.
And this is so for all of us.
Baptized by water and the Holy Spirit, sent into a world of temptation and wilderness, and protected by angels. God’s beloved children. That’s who we are, each one of us.
* * *
There’s a recent music video that’s called “Remind Me Who I Am.” The musician’s name is Jason Gray. You can watch it on You Tube.
He sings to God, “In the loneliest places
When I can’t remember what grace is
Tell me once again who I am to you
That I belong to you.
“When I can’t receive your love
Afraid I’ll never be enough
Remind me who I am…
And over the words we see pictures of various people holding up crude cardboard signs, made from the sides of old cardboard boxes. One sign reads “addict.” Another says “I don’t matter.” Another says “victim.” One reads “anxious” and another reads “betrayed.” One guy holds up a sign that says “my life doesn’t work.”
And the song moves on to this lyric,
“If I’m your beloved
can you help me believe it
Tell me once again who I am.”
And then we begin to see in this video the same people holding new signs. And each one says “beloved.” Even the signs of the addicts, the victims, the betrayed, the empty. Now they all hold the label “beloved.”
What a wonderful statement of the Good News. God calls each of us his beloved.
That’s who we are, each of us, deep down inside. No matter our past and no matter our present. We are God’s beloved.
Like Jesus we each had our baptismal moment. But unlike Jesus most of us were babies when it happened. We forgot it almost as soon as it was over. We forgot the sound of that voice, “You are my beloved.”
So may God help us crawl back into the divine, loving arms in our prayer. We can try on again the identity that is ours. Beloved. Cherished. More than good enough—despite the labels that threaten to blot out this good news.
And then may we LIVE in this depth of insight, so that other people can see it and wonder where all this joy is coming from. It comes from knowing we’re beloved of God.
Amen.
| 
| 
Share
