You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.
A few years ago, when I was in the seminary, I was
walking down one of the random hallways, reflecting. And in the middle of the
hallway, I stopped. This verse hit me. God was saying it to me:
You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.
We all know well the age in which we live: an age of
critique and criticism where we are more agile in tearing down than building
up. It is so easy to focus on what is wrong and what needs fixing in others and
in ourselves that, really, does anyone feel “beloved”? I mean, when was the
last time someone told you that they were “well pleased” with you?
* * *
Just over two weeks ago, we celebrated Christmas, that
day when Jesus our Savior was born. On that day, we see that God has entered
into the darkness of our lives and has shined His radiant light; He is not
distant, but indeed has come very close: so close that His divinity is married
to our humanity. Today, this same Jesus, now a young man of thirty years, enters
into the Jordan River, the portal to the heavenly Promised Land, and plunges into
those historic waters our frail humanity. After He does this, something
profound happens: the Holy Spirit comes upon Him and a voice from heaven is
heard: This is my Son.
This voice that we are hearing is the heavenly Father’s
voice, the voice that reveals His heart’s love for His Son. This is for our
benefit: that we may know the dignity of Jesus.
But notice: Jesus has taken upon Himself our humanity.
When the Father looks with love upon Jesus, the Father looks with love upon all
our humanity, too. The voice, then, speaks not only to Jesus, but to you and to
me:
You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.
This is at the heart of Jesus’ gospel proclamation: that
we may know the Father’s love and return to Him in love. Hence, Jesus’ parable
about the Prodigal Son returning to the Father—the definitive expression of
which is God the Father tenderly receiving His Son, Jesus, as He hangs upon the
Cross. Here is where the relationship with God and man is definitively
reconciled.
But because this relationship is not simply corporate but
personal, Jesus emphasizes the importance of Baptism. Indeed, His final words
while He walked on earth were:
“Go, and make disciples of all nations… baptizing them in the Name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:20).
Baptism, therefore, is the personal application of the
graces won by Jesus’ crucifixion and offering to the Father—such that, when we
come up out of the waters of Baptism, the Father no longer sees our brokenness;
rather, the Father looks at us and sees His Son with whom He is well pleased.
You have become another Christ!
Therefore, the same love which the Father has for His Son
is now the love that the Father has for you. St. Paul expounds on this when he says:
Brothers and sisters… you have received the spirit of sonship. When we
cry, "Abba! Father!" it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with
our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of
God and fellow heirs with Christ… (Romans 8:15-17).
This is to fulfill what we heard on Christmas morning,
that
to all who received him, who believed in his name, [Jesus] gave power
to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).
This is the heart of Baptism: that we are given a new
birth as a new creation, in a new relationship, as a child to God our Father.
* * *
What does this mean for us in day-to-day life?
Well, it is so easy to fall into the way of thinking that
says that “I have to be somebody in order to be loved.” Or, “When I’m
successful, then I’ll be loved.” Or—on the other side of the coin—“I’m a loser,
nobody loves me. How could anybody love me?” It is so easy to fall into that
trap that says that I have to earn God’s love—that, until I choose it or “be
good” or “be holy”—only then will I be loved.
But our Father already loves you! You are already His
beloved child! You don’t have to earn or win His love! I mean, do your children
have to win your love? So, why do we place that on God? Perhaps it’s because we
consider Him more as a Force than as a Father. Isn’t Star Wars really a story
about Fathers and Sons?
I will admit: this is one of the hardest teachings for
some of us to hear—harder than any of the “hot button” teachings. Throughout
our culture, we hear the message that your dignity is tied up with what you do,
what you own, and what you achieve.
But you are chosen. You are beloved.
This is, actually, one of the reasons that the Church baptizes
infants. Baptism isn’t firstly about us choosing God. It’s about Him choosing
us. Before we could even choose, the Father looked upon us and said, “I want
you. I want you above all else.”
This actually makes Him more of a Father than our
biological fathers. Our dads didn’t really have a choice in us. Ok, yes, to some
degree, they did—but they didn’t know that they would get you, the all of you,
the teenage you, the grown up you and everything in-between.
But God the Father did. And He chose you anyway. Because
your are His child. And He loves you.
* * *
Children long to please their parents—even when we don’t
realize it. Children really do long to make you, parents, happy. In our
culture, however, there are many miserable children walking around thinking
that they aren’t good enough, and that their dignity is tied up with whether
they get an A or whether they become a Somebody.
When I get a chance to take a child aside—whether in the
hallway or in the confessional or on the playground—and I tell them that I’m
proud of them… this has such an incredible impact. I’m realizing more and more
that our young children have never heard these words: “I’m proud of you.” Or, “Hey,
you’re doing a good job.”
And sure, we can be of that culture that says that there
are a multitude of things that our children are doing wrong. Sure, we could
focus on that.
But notice the Father of the Prodigal Son. Even after
that son had done horrible things and walked away, the Father still loved His
son. These are Jesus’ words! So, when the son returned, the Father didn’t focus
on what was wrong; He focused on him whom He loved! “My son was lost and is
found! He was dead and is now alive!”
The Father is so pleased to have His son back!
When we emerge from the confessional, this is what our
Father says to us! Even after we have confessed all of our worst stuff; even
after we point out all the things that we have done wrong; even as we are
saying “Father, I don’t deserve to be loved” and so on—even as we do that, the
Father places His hand under our chin, and looks at us with love, and says, “My
child, you are my beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Can you imagine if we lived everyday with those words in
our heart?
I think we would be a more peaceful people. I think we would
be more confident-- and less concerned about the frivolous pursuits on which we
so often spend our lives. We would be stronger— and less swayed by the crowds
of people or our own thoughts that keep replaying how horrible we are. I think
that if we really took a moment and received these words into our hearts, we
would be more likely to love and less likely to sin. We would live in this embrace.
You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.
No comments:
Post a Comment