When I was about to be ordained my mother pulled me aside. She said, You will probably do many weddings in your ministry. Just make sure the couple loves each other. Sure, Mom, I said, puzzled about where this was going. I’m serious, she answered. Being married is so hard it is necessary during the rough periods to remember that at least at one time I really loved this person. I wonder if that memory of first love is why Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained. In the face of opposition and difficulty he went back to where he first heard the voice of God say, “You are my beloved,” where he experienced the descent of the Holy Spirit, where there was clarity about his mission. His memory of that first love steeled him for the coming challenges. In our prayer today, we should go back to those times when we felt the love of God clearly and rely on that memory in today’s troubles.
