Fr Marco Lazzaron
e have a very quick fast-forward in the liturgy today: Jesus is now a man, no more the little baby of the crib. After years of a “normal life” (we do not know much about these years), he finally decides to come out into the open. We would have expected a powerful revelation and miracles. And instead, he gets in line among the sinners waiting to be baptized.
While Jesus prays on the banks of the Jordan, the heavens are torn apart; they are no longer inaccessible. In the entire Gospel, God speaks only twice: here and in the Transfiguration. Here to confirm the Son in his choice as a servant, in the episode of the Transfiguration to reveal to us the glory of the Son, so that we may listen to him and become like him. These words resounded for you and me on the day of our Baptism. That day, a voice also said to you: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”. God loves us as He loved Jesus, with the same intensity, the same passion. For each of us there was the same declaration of love: Son, beloved, my pleasure.
The expression “son of God” is not a moving metaphor, but a real condition, an actual reality. Baptism makes us “partakers of the divine nature” (2Pt 1:4). God loves us individually, one by one, just like every parent who loves each child individually. God loves you, like no one else. Everyone is God’s favorite. God loves me regardless of my actions (good or bad as they might be)! A certain mentality insinuates the idea that God loves but under certain conditions (e.g., “if you behave well, then God will be good to you”). For us who are often accustomed to loving, in the hope of being loved, this is truly good news. God does not love us because we are good and kind, but he makes us good and kind because he loves us.
God is well pleased with all of us: God is saying: “You make me happy”. He is happy because we are his masterpieces that came out of His hands. “I love you! Despite everything, I love you”. God loves us for who we are (even sinners and unworthy as we are). The consequence, though, is that we are called to do the same, to love our wife, our husband, our children, etc., for who they are, not for how we would like them to be.
So, then, look for Him in your neighbor who is difficult to bear, in that sick child to look after, in that person who has decided not to greet you, in the boss who never misses an opportunity to make you feel inadequate, in that elderly parent you have to take care of, etc.
The good news of this Sunday? God knows what is in our hearts. He is by our side, He has chosen that place. Let us look for Him there and we will discover that He has already found us.