Once we had a visit from a neighbor,
the mother of three children, and she looked both tired and relaxed.
She explained, "My husband and the kids are back east for
a week. I'm having a great vacation!" She was pleased
to have some time and space all to herself. Whether her husband's
absence or the kids' absence—or both—provided the most
satisfaction was unclear.
Small stretches of time to ourselves can be important. It's
a chance to take stock, to listen to the Voice that's more
than all the chatter within and outside. It's God's
voice. If we have a two year old or a ten year old or a twenty
year old or a fifty year old around all the time it can be tough
to find that space. But it's crucial to the spiritual life
that we stay in touch with the One who speaks the deep truth
about life to us. Then we'll have the resources to be God's
person to the people around us.
In each of our scripture readings today we're thinking
about the Voice. Our creator speaks to us! In Genesis, He speaks
the world into being and also blesses it. "God saw all
that He had made, and said, Very good."
Psalm 29 describes the voice of God as one of terrible power—shaking
the earth itself. But that's not all, for the psalm ends
like this: "the Lord gives strength to His people; the
Lord blesses His people with peace."
This morning at the Baptism of Jesus we hear God's voice
again. "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased." Or
we might borrow from Isaiah and translate, "My soul delights
in you." It's that quality of delight, of joy in
the other, that grabs our attention.
What is it to delight in a child, in a partner or friend, in
a parent? It's easy to do when there's a winning
performance, or straight A's, or complete cooperation,
or expensive presents. But those things are often lacking. Is
there a sense of pure joy in the gift of the other person, even
apart from performance?
Please note, God's rich and generous affirmation of the
Son comes not at the end of Christ's work, but at the beginning.
It's true, he was a grown man at baptism, but as far as
we know His biblical ministry was just starting. God said I am
well pleased with you—already. And in the gospel, grace
is not poured out on us as a reward; it comes to us freely by
God's prior love. Through faith, God has the same love
toward us that he has toward the only-begotten Son. In a very
real sense He says to all who receive Christ, "You are
my much loved daughter or son. I take delight in you. I think
you're awesome."
While the Gaylord family has been waiting for the cable TV guy
to show up, we've been watching rented movies on DVD. It's
a miracle: a family with two teens watching the same thing at
the same time. The other night we saw a movie called Rebound.
It'll never be up for a Golden Globe award, but it had
some socially-redeeming merit. A famous basketball coach gets
banned from the NBA for his bad temper and selfish ways. His
reputation is so damaged that the only job he can find is as
coach of the junior high team at the inner city school he himself
attended years ago. You couldn't find a sorrier collection
of misfits than that team—and none of them tall than 5'3".
Their new coach tries to cut their triple digit losses to 80
or 90 points. But the boys can tell he doesn't care about
them very much, and they play up—or down—to his expectations.
In spite of himself, he starts to care about them as individuals.
Attitudes change, and because of the coach's belief in
them, they begin to believe in themselves. In the end, of course,
this unlikely set of players go on to win the state championship
at the final buzzer. Their famous coach could have his lucrative
old job back in the NBA—but he turns it down because he's
totally committed to those kids now.
No, we don't love in order to get winning performances
out of others. But our love, and God's, can liberate others
to be themselves and to live boldly and maybe do better than
they ever dreamed. It isn't a magic formula. Difficult
people—even within our own family—often remain that way
for a long time. But we are called to maintain that underlying
love as best we can.
So maybe that neighbor lady had it right. We need that alone
time to restore and refresh ourselves. We need to hear God's
tender words of sheer delight in us, and let them sink into our
souls. Then we'll have strength to love those in our care,
even when they're being difficult. God's love can
equip to endure, to persevere, even as it equipped Christ to
go to the Cross.
Rev. Lawrence Bethune of University Baptist Church in Austin
tells this story. A priest stopped by to visit one of his parishioners
and her five year old daughter, Carmine. Carmine had a new jump
rope, which the priest showed her how to use. After a few misses
she was jumping the rope three times in a row. Her mother and
the priest applauded loudly and congratulated her. Carmine wandered
off to hone her new skill while the priest and her mother visited.
After a few minutes she came back into the room, dragging her
rope behind her. With sad eyes, she exclaimed, "Mommy,
I can do it—but I need lots of clapping!"
We all need lots of clapping. The Bible calls it the gift of
encouragement. God gave the gift to His Son, Jesus. Through the
Son—by faith—He pours out His love on us, too. His voice tells
us that He cherishes us with all the divine power. And through
us, God is determined to make His love known to a hungry, lonely,
and warring world. Let us pray.
God, at the River Jordan, you spoke your deep, rich love for
your Son Jesus Christ. Help us to be witnesses to His baptism,
to hear your Voice, and to realize that by faith you love us
with the same love you poured out on Him. Empower us to heal
broken hearts, to feed hungry people, and to speak your words
of caring and encouragement; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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