Most women I know are better at this than guys. Remembering important dates. The three month anniversary of the first time they looked at each other across the room. The six week anniversary of the first kiss. (ad infinitum (-; ) Birthdays, ordination/wedding anniversaries; the first time you fell in love. All those occasions which mark the passing of our lives and years. And of those days, what was the most important day of your life, so far?

I was 17 days old when it happened for me. The most important day of my life. On that day, my deepest identity was determined. On that day, I was immersed into the one meaning and the one story that would make sense out of my life. It was June 2, 1957. One that day, I was baptized. Every other day has been the unfolding of the implications of that one day...

And the funny thing is, I don't remember a thing about that day. I am sure that I cried. And pooped. And ate that day. And pooped some more. And slept. My uncle Wally officiated at the Baptism. My Godparents were Jim and Mary Burke. But everything important about that day was spoken for me. By my parents. By my Godparents. Not by me. So how can I own such a day? How can it be for me the most important day of my life?

Matthew gives us the hint in the voice that is spoken, not to Jesus, but to the bystanders around Jesus: "This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased." Christ's true identity is revealed at the time of his baptism. Ah, now there is a truth to sink a life into. "Beloved Son". Can you imagine what that moment must have been for him - especially in a culture where identity comes from the family. To be called 'beloved son'. To let that be the identity that moves within Jesus as he preaches and teaches and heals and loves. You are the beloved Son of God.

But notice that Jesus does nothing to earn that title. He has not preached one word publicly yet. Not performed one miracle. Not begun his public ministry. The identity, which is revealed on the day of His baptism, is a gift from God to him. It is a given. A given.

It is why a date that I don't remember anything about personally is the most important day of my life/our lives. I, - who struggled for so long in a family of six, to feel like I was important, like I was the beloved Son, even when it was clear that another brother owned that title with my mom - that I could have saved myself a ton of energy and reflection. For June 2, 1957 disclosed my truest and deepest down identity. And the day of your baptism did the same for you as well. You are the Beloved daughter. You are the Beloved son. That is who you are. And because of that, Christ is your brother. Because of that, God becomes your Father. And suddenly, the story that surrounds my life is that of love and gift. And I can do amazing things because I know that I am loved.

In my life, this is a truth that I have needed to return to again and again in prayer. Because I have been told by every ad in every magazine and TV show that I am not fast enough, good enough, smart enough; that I smell, have bad breath, and that I need something outside of me to complete me. There are a lot of messages I receive which try to convince me of a different truth than the one that I know at my baptism. So I invite you this week to let a sentence be the way that you live into today's Gospel. In every choice you make, in every decision before you, let your awareness be this: "I am the beloved of God." Put that on a post it note where you can see it, let it be the refrain in the song in your head - I am the beloved of God. In your prayer and reflection, in the way you treat your roommate and neighbor - I am the beloved of God. And so are they.
Then, won't this be a great world we live in...