Today my first grandson, Noah Joseph Givens, was baptized. He was, of course, surrounded by everyone who loves him — his parents, godparents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends he doesn’t know he has yet. These are all people who will love and support him for the rest of their lives. Noah is, indeed, beloved.
A baptism is a blessing in the trust sense of the word. Take Jesus’ own baptism, for instance. He comes out of the water of the River Jordan and a voice from heaven says, “you are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.” (Mark 1:11) This, Henri Nouwen once wrote, “was the blessing that sustained Jesus during his life. Whatever happened to him — praise or blame — he clung to his blessing; he always remembered that he was the favorite child of God.”
No voice came from heaven today, but certainly the blessing flowed. Noah, like all of us, is a favored child of God — God’s beloved. No doubt he will be sustained by this day in many ways over the coming years. Like us all, he will be — perhaps unknowingly — nudged and beckoned by a gentle spirit to follow an ancient way that leads to renewed life. All because he is beloved.
Ask yourself in silence: Do I try to live the baptismal promises that others made for me? Am I willing to believe that I am beloved and live my life in response to that love?
