Beloved

Matthew 3:13-17

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.’

       Perhaps you have wondered where I got the name for this blog, Beloved Gay Disciple. There are two reasons in my mind, one of which is the mere possibility that Jesus had a disciple whom he loved, and I mean L-O-V-E , loved. Of course that is up for interpretation. The part B of that is of course that I am gay. gay. Gay! for sure and I consider myself a disciple as well. They are not mutually exclusive as some would have you believe. There are several books and some really legitimate and scholarly texts on the subject of the disciple "whom Jesus loved." ( John 13:23 )  Depending on one's specific beliefs this may also be the stuff of heresy and excommunication.

       The second reason I chose this title is that 'beloved' part.  In today's passage the voice from heaven announces that 'This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.' We all know what that means. We all have the experience of someone we love and hold them as 'beloved'. It is not a light comment or feeling. This is heartfelt, the stuff poems are made of and honest professions of 'I'd die for you'. So the title here is not just to point out how God feels about His son, Jesus. It is my hope that this blog will convey that God feels that each and every one of us is His beloved as well.

     The feeling of having and being beloved is not a foreign feeling. We need to know that about ourselves and we need to know that God feels that way about everyone else. If this fosters appreciation, respect and more love, I will be very happy.