Not my Joey!

Luke 3:15-22

         When my children were very young I had a babysitter that lasted one single day. Her job was to get the kids ready for school and see them to the bus, I would get them off the bus. I came home a bit early to find food coloring all over the house. When my kids got off the bus, the interrogations began. No one fessed up (even to this day!). I decided to call the sitter whose number was pasted to the refrigerator. Alas, there was a note "your children are devil children, I am never coming back!".  She never did return, never returned a call, never returned for even that single days' pay. OMG! Suddenly I had visions of the mass murderer whose mother proclaims 'not my Joey, he's such a good boy'. Were my children devil children? Had I deluded myself?  When I met people in a store and they said 'soo you're their dad', had they meant I was the parent of the evil seeds?  I called everyone I knew, teachers, family, neighbors, clergy, all confirmed they were wonderful children. Children? Yes. Devil children?  No.

         In today's passage the moment of Jesus' baptism by John is captured. The skies open up and the voice of God is heard, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ Would any of us feel any different about our own child?  Further, do you realize that God feels that way about every single one of us? It's true.

        Some of us may be a bit blinded and think our kids are too good or that they can't do anything wrong. That is not true. Being loved unconditionally and totally does not mean you cannot or have not done something wrong. I am not here to preach fire and brimstone and tell anyone they are going to hell in a hand basket. What I would and do preach is the unconditional love of God.

       God sees the innate goodness in all of us even if we have done something wrong. God loves us always, unconditionally and forever. The love the 'blind' parent has for their little cherubic 'Joey' who is hell on wheels is mirrored by that love God has. The parent sees beyond the bad stuff, the miss steps and wrong turns and sees the goodness inside and the potential.  God too looks beyond some of our weakest moments and sees how truly wonderful we are.

        God always see us a children, beloved and is well pleased with what we try to do, even when we may fail. We ARE beloved children of God.

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’