Beloved of God
- Admin
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
"This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3. 13 - 17
On this Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, we hear words come down from heaven which we all long to hear..."my son, my daughter the beloved." I believe that hearing these words, knowing this truth could make a tremendous difference in the course of the world. Some of the most egregious acts by men and women in the history have been done by people who did not know their belovedness.
I also believe that the words and questions of our baptismal liturgy prayed over a person, child, teenager or adult, can change the course of history.
Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?
Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?
Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
On this day in 1983, we presented our first child to be baptized into the Body of Christ, to be marked as Christ's own forever, and we stood with his Godparents in front of God, promising among other things to help him renounce all sinful desires that draw him from the love of God. He received the sacrament of new birth, and somehow in God's miraculous way, the seed of belovedness was planted in him... and it has served him well.
May we all know our belovedness, and may we be people who are evangelizers of belovedness. Then and only then will we be a peaceful world. We are not "Great" when we do not love ourselves.
