God Calls Us (1) God Calls Us “Beloved”

Epiphany 1

Jesus is immersed into the waters by John’s steady hands. The water swirls over his shoulders, encloses around his face, until he is surrounded by liquid quiet. Then, a slight pause, a weightlessness, the glimpse of sunlight streaming through water, before John’s hands pull him up. He breaks the surface of the water, passing into the light. The babbling noise of many people rushes back into his ears as the water streams from his hair into his eyes. He brushes the water away from his face, when a voice pours down upon him like liquid love. “This is my beloved son. In him, I am so pleased.” Jesus is immersed in the waters of belovedness BEFORE he has done anything to earn it.

Have you ever felt seen, known, and celebrated by someone? Not for what you do, but just for who you are? Have you ever felt that kind of delight for another person, not because of what they do for you, but simply for who they are? What would it feel like to know that God sees you that way? To hear God say: 

“You are my beloved. I love you, not because of what you do for me. Not because of how you serve me. Or how you fill my needs. Or how you serve others. Or how you fill their needs. You could walk out of this church and never return. You could walk away from all you do for me. And you would still be My Delight.”

Just then, a dove flutters down over Jesus, the Holy Spirit bird—God, manifesting in creaturely form. Jesus, God incarnate, hears God’s voice, and sees God the Spirit’s fluttering form. It’s a beautiful convergence of Divine Love in all three forms—a beautiful trinitarian affirmation of divine SELF-LOVE—God speaking words to God’s very self: “You are mine. I delight in you. I am pleased with you. You are my beloved.”

Have you ever dared speak such words of favour over your existence?  “I am mine! I am pleased with myself! I don’t have to prove the worth of my existence! I am beloved!”

God wants us to join Jesus in the baptismal waters of belovedness, drawn deep down until we are immersed in the waters that embrace us and claim us unabashedly,  “You are mine!”

I love seeing how the Spirit of God speaks freshly through surprising voices. Much like the wise men who came from far outside the Jewish tradition yet were guided to Jesus through Divine Revelation. This week, Liz Gilbert, in the podcast “We Can Do Hard Things” talks about a practice that helps her soak in Divine Love. As she described a twenty-year daily journaling practice, I realized it felt uncannily familiar, reminding me that God is closer than my breath, closer than my hands and feet, and wanting to draw even nearer. Here is a snippet:

“Every single morning when I wake up, I say to this force, which I sometimes call God and sometimes call Love and sometimes call Source, “What do you want me to know today? What would you have me know today?”

“For the first twenty years, all it told me again and again was I love you so much—because I needed twenty years of that. I was so wounded from lack of love… it wasn’t digesting. I didn’t have the enzymes to be able to receive love…

“But now, as I’ve gotten more and more well through my recovery, now I find that it gives me instruction. Because it can, because I’m willing and open to that. And also, I believe that I’m loved! It’ll say like, “Call this person, check in. I want you to do this today.”

Deep peace and blessing, 

—Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, The Church at Southpoint