I once spoke at a men’s breakfast prayer group. I gave my spiritual journey, my testimony, how I came to faith and my experience of God’s grace.
When I finished it was silent for a few moments and a man raised his hand and said, “Are you John Hardaway’s boy?”
I said, “Yes sir.”
He was quiet for a moment and then he said, “Now I know who you are.”
Where do you come from?
Who are your peoples?
Identity.
Who are we at our very heart?
How do we think of ourselves?
Often we define ourselves by what we do, or who we know or are related to.
I am a father.
I am married to Susan.
I am the son of John and Mary Lynne.
I am from Greenville.
I am the priest at Grace Church.
But is that who I am?
Is our identity based upon likes and dislikes, what we buy, where we shop, what group we belong to or associate with or what we believe? Who or what we oppose?
Where does our identity come from?
What makes us who we are?
I think if we follow all these questions they leave a trail that leads to the gift of love.
Sometimes that love is twisted or denied, but ultimately our identity is made up of what we love and who loves us.
At the heart of life is the great mystery that we are loved by God, precious beyond compare, just for simply being, for existing.
Love is the beginning, the root of creation, the heart of life.
God loves and the world came to be, God loves us and we come alive.
It is a love that invites us to love back, and the invitation never ends, it is never withdrawn.
Today we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, when Jesus comes up from the water he sees the sky torn open, and he hears the words “You are my beloved in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus’ ministry begins with baptism in water and Spirit and love.
In our own baptisms we share in that love between Jesus and the Father, that love becomes ours, those words are given to us, and our failing humanity is renewed.
That love which loved us into life is loving back into the fullness of life.
So who are we?
We are I baptized into Christ.
We are loved.
And we are being loved, renewed and restored into the very likeness of God.
Today we renew our baptisms, we renew our vows, we remember the waters out of which we rise, the waters where we find out who we are.
So take this seriously, remember that we are so much more than a bundle of likes and dislikes, so much more than what we do, so much more than what others think.
We are loved.
And that love has risen out of the waters of human birth so that we may share in who God is, God’s identity is now all wrapped up in humanity, in the world, in you.
May that love be the beginning and end of who we are.
May that love go into the world in you and me.
Remember your baptism, it is never far away, it is always now.