There are some stories in our faith that we keep coming back to. We find that every time we do, they remind us of a deep truth that we had forgotten or that had been pushed to the side by the challenges, hurts, and demands of everyday life.
The baptism of Jesus is one of these stories that we return to at the beginning of each year. We will hear it again this Sunday. We hardly understand why Jesus chooses to be baptized. But as we read and reflect on the story again, what we find is God’s full affirmation for Jesus as his beloved son, even before he has done or accomplished anything.
And as we let this sink in, we find it is good news for us as well. In our baptism, God also affirms that we are beloved children. It is not about what we have done or not done, how good or bad we are or have been, how much we have accomplished, we are beloved by God.
In our January worship series, “Reset and Resist,” this good news is what helps us reset—we are loved unconditionally by God. Through the waters of baptism, God claims us as beloved and declares that in us God is well pleased.
As we reset with this good news as our foundation, it also helps us resist the pressures and the narratives of the world that tell us otherwise.
The resetting happens in the way that we relate to others as well. As we reflect on this story, we realize that the words of belovedness spoken over Jesus are also for us and for all people. Each person that we encounter each day, stranger or family member, friend or enemy, is also a beloved child of God. They may not act like it yet, but God does, and we are invited to follow God’s example.
This understanding compels us to a life of resisting all kinds of negative and harmful thoughts, words, actions, attitudes, and systems that convey that anyone is less than God’s beloved child. We begin within ourselves, and then we seek to influence the world around us to become a space where all can have the support that they need to know and claim their belovedness and support the belovedness of others.
There is so much to be done in this work of resistance that it can be overwhelming. I am thankful to be a part of a denomination that takes this work seriously. In the Social Principles and through our General Board of Church and Society, we have leaders who are doing this work on our behalf and providing a pathway for us to walk on as we work together to live out the promises we make in our baptism.
I hope you will take some time to look at the various UMC resources on the Social Principles and consider how God is calling you to both “Reset and Resist.”