In St. Matthew’s Gospel the baptism of Jesus and the Transfiguration both are highlighted by a heavenly voice: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus like all of us had as his starting point the unconditional love of God. It was bestowed upon him because of who he was and is bestowed upon us simply because of who we are, children of God made in the divine image. Because Jesus knew himself as the beloved Son he was able to launch into his ministry after the baptism and was able to move ahead with his journey to Jerusalem to face suffering and death after the transfiguration. We must also launch out into life with the rock foundation of God’s love for us. Yes, we are not like Jesus in our sinfulness but we are like Jesus in our belovedness. We might be a mess but we are God’s and God will bless our mess.
