Matthew 3:13-17

Year A - Baptism of “the Lord” - Beloved

January 12, 2014

Matthew 3:13-17

And in one fell swoop we leap from birth to baptism some 30 years later.

Our lives often proceed in the same manner. We have a significant event. And then another. And another. All the while missing some transition point between. Take any timeline of your life and you see this happen. Sometimes we can come up with “lesser” significant moments between, but still miss the ever-present background against which such times emerge for a moment.

I expect there are a multitude of unexplainable moments that just as surely move us from one stage of life to another. And, for some, just as surely keep us stuck in our current stage well-passed time to move on.

Even though we are making this jump to a new time, give at least a moment’s consideration to all the mysterious ways in which you have come to this moment. It is a gift to be cherished and taken advantage of.

Basically, whether we can track our progress or not, the background against which we live is that of Belovedness. Sometimes we can experience it more clearly than others. Sometimes it is a literal dark night of body and soul. Whichever time you are in, whether you can sense it or not, there is a movement of care for you. To have this insight is to have darker nights for the loss and brighter hope to build for those who will follow.

Belovedness does not make everything better; it merely makes it possible to live toward something better.

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A physical analogy to a background of Belovedness before which we live is the 3 Degree Kelvin Background Radiation or Cosmic Background Radiation.