And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” – Luke 3:22
Baptism washes away sin, so why did Jesus need to be baptized? He was sinless: “…he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). This is why John the Baptist tried to prevent him from being baptized: “‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness’” (Matthew 3:14-15).
The righteousness to fulfill was ours, not Christ’s. In Baptism, we were brought into right relationship with God (righteousness). St. Paul taught, “For our sake he [God the Father] made him [God the Son] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Even more wonderful, through acceptance of God at Baptism, we became children of God: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right 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). Jesus is God’s beloved Son (Luke 3:22). Through Baptism, we become like Jesus in God’s eyes; we have a share in His belovedness. We are God’s beloved sons and daughters, too.
God loves you with an everlasting love (cf. Jeremiah 31:3). You are His beloved. It doesn’t matter how many times you have fallen down or turned from Him, He loves you. Nothing on earth can separate you from His love (cf. Romans 8:35). For some people, the idea of being a beloved child comes easily. For others like me, particularly those who had difficult childhoods, this concept can be more difficult. No matter where you are on this continuum, an excellent book for embracing your belovedness in God’s eyes is Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen.
God, sometimes I forget that I am your beloved child. I mistakenly think I have to earn Your love when You have already given it to me. Help me to live as Your precious child each and every day.
Readings for The Baptism of the Lord, January 9, 2022
- Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7
- Psalm 29:1-10
- Acts 10:34-38
- Luke 3:15-16, 21-22