There is an oft told story about a family who had just had their youngest child baptized. On the way home from church the baby's older brother burst into tears. After being asked several times what the tears were about, the older brother finally answered: "The preacher said he wanted us to be brought up in a Christian home, but I want to stay with you guys." To that story we can add our own stories of baptisms we have celebrated … of reluctant children baptized who screamed their way through the liturgy, of adorable babies whose smile charmed, of babies who manage to sleep through the whole thing, of adults baptized whose visible dedication of faith moved us. I remember times of baptismal renewals … most vividly I remember last Easter. I had a front row seat to all of you who came forward to remember your own baptisms – you will recall that we were invited to come to the baptismal font and take a piece of the sea glass that had been a symbol of our theme, "From Brokenness to Healing" during the Lenten season. It was moving to watch how seriously this moment was taken … how many people took the wet glass and touched their foreheads, made the sign of the cross, or touched their children with the water wet glass.

Martin Luther, one of the driving forces of the Protestant Reformation had a tough time being convinced he was worthy. Luther originally studied law because his father felt this was the most promising career of the time. However, after some vivid life experiences Martin Luther decided to become a monk in order to find some peace for the fears that dominated his soul. After years he came to understand that the righteousness of God was not determined by human behavior but instead by the love of God – this understanding became the beginning of the idea that we are saved by faith alone. To the end of his days Martin Luther often went to his dark place … where he doubted God's love for him. For those moments of unworthiness and despair, he kept an inscription over his desk that read: "Remember, you have been baptized." Often he would touch his forehead and remind himself, "Martin, you have been baptized."

"You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased." Today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. There is much to explore in the details of the gospel accounts of Jesus' baptism. Already you note that the political and religious dangers are present … although for the moment that are directed at Jesus' cousin, John. Jesus has yet to go public. And so, in the midst of all the threads woven together in this account, what I'd like to remind us of this morning is this – again, Jesus has yet to go public … he hasn't healed anyone, hasn't uttered a parable, hasn't gotten in trouble for challenging the wrongness of his times, has yet to walk the way of the cross. So, when Jesus emerges sputtering from his baptism in the Jordan River and God says: "You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased," it's not about any of the life giving acts that Jesus will do, it is all about the reality that God loves Jesus simply because Jesus, like all of us, is a child of God. For those of you who are parents – remember what it was like the moment you first laid eyes on your child? How beautiful that moment was? I remember how my daughter Christa opened her eyes and looked deeply at me the moment she was born. Do you remember thinking, there is no wrong this child will ever do? (That thought might have lasted only a second!) Or later … your first crush on someone – how very perfect this person was. How there was nothing that could ever be wrong in this relationship? It doesn't last, does it? Soon, the realities of relationships set in and you are aware of the imperfections the object of your crush has. They talk too loudly, they have this annoying habit … And the joys of parenting are sometimes stretched thinly as our children challenge us. We parents don't always see the "image of God" reality in our children … we get critical as they don't live up to our expectations, we say unhelpful things like – why don't you … when will you … why are you like … We children think everyone else's parents are so much cooler, so much more understanding, so much better.

As relationships build a history it becomes more and more difficult to remember and live from the initial place when all was just right.

The amazing thing we always need to keep in mind is that God always sees us as the beloved of God. As a parent the best way I can capture this reality is to remember the moment Christa and Daniel were born – they were beautiful and there was nothing they could do that would change that. Now, since I'm not God and neither are they, there are moments when that reality is challenged. But all of us … children and parent … are at our best together when we remember that we are children of God and there is nothing we can do to change that. Again, we can only go so far in operating from this place towards others. Again, the awesome reality of God is that this is the way God always sees us! At our baptisms God pronounced – this is my beloved child, I am well pleased. Imagine living from that place all the time!

I believe that is the joy and reality of following Jesus Christ. As he stepped out of the waters of his baptism he went forth to live the reality that God loved him "just because." The gospels remind us Jesus was sent into the wilderness immediately after his baptism where he was tempted in many ways to renounce God … but Jesus remained faithful. Time after time the scriptures tell us of how Jesus reached out to those that society had deemed worthless. Jesus was able to walk the way of the cross because he kept his baptismal reality in front of him throughout his life. "You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased."

In our Baptisms we pledge to order our lives to live in response to God's pronouncement that we are the beloved. And we follow the example of Jesus Christ in doing that. There will be days when it is hard to know the reality of God's "just because" love for us … when we are covered by the grim of the world's pronouncements of us, when we are filled with our own doubts and despair. We will need to do what it takes to remember our baptismal moment of God's love. Perhaps taking a cue from Martin Luther and keeping somewhere before us a visible reminder of our baptisms so that we can remember when we are at our worst that we are indeed the beloved sons and daughters of God.

And we go forth in the example of Jesus Christ to reach out in the love of God – to participate in loving the world with that same love that pronounces us beloved.