Meeting Matthew Again...Anew

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.  John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”  But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.  And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on 
him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

What do you see when you look at the above painting?

I see the waves both embrace/cradle Christ as well as crashing down around him.  Perhaps pointing to the truth that the One claimed as "Beloved" will also face the cross.  Perhaps pointing to the truth that you and I will face moments of profound/powerful love and heartbreaking disappointment.

I see John and Jesus intimately interconnected.  There is a love we can sense of two people sharing in a holy moment. 

I see the dove blessing Jesus.  Just as a dove in the time of Noah showed him the way to dry land, this dove will show Jesus a new meaning and mission in his life.

We are hungry in our world for such a moment.  I wouldn't mind if a dove showed up at my door today and said, "Um, pardon me, but God calls you, 'Beloved,' and you should live that way?"  Only I am not sure that would necessarily give me the kind of map and detailed directions I am searching for.  I am not sure the simply appearance of a dove could break through all the clutter and chaos that swirls around my life/our world to clearly show us the way.

Because the deeper truth is that there are doves all around us. 
But we miss the moments of the sacred stirring.  We miss the kind words timely spoken to ease our harden hearts.  We miss the beauty of a blue sky without a cloud in sight that reveals God's glory.  We miss the holy happening here and now in family...in friends...inside each of us. 

Because the deeper truth is that alongside doves there are waves crashing down.
The moment we are having lunch with a friend, laughing...only to hear that across town another beloved friend was just diagnosed with cancer.  The moment we enjoy our favorite meal...only to realize so many go with so much less. 

Baptism isn't an insurance guarantee for the good life, it is a threshold into the fullness of life.  The beauty AND brokenness sitting side-by-side.  The waves that cradle us and the waves that crash down...simultaneously happening. 

To live, what Richard Rohr calls, "the both/and" of life. 

Welcome to the world. 
Welcome to God's peace.
Welcome to living our baptism in such a time as this...for there is more than a trace of God's grace even here and now.  May you and I see/sense/taste/and encounter/be embrace by this truth this day.

Blessings ~~