Alice in Wonderland

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17 ESV). In Alice in Wonderland, Alice encounters a caterpillar, smoking a hookah, who stares disdainfully at her through a cloud of smoke and asks, “Who are you?” Isn’t that a question that all of us ask at one time or another? I find very few people who really know the answer to that question. Our reading today helps us look into the mind and heart of Jesus and recognize that there was no doubt in him about who he was. We would do well to seek the answer of our identity early. Henri Nouwen said that most people define themselves in two ways. First: I am what I have. I have a house, a marriage, a job, and various possessions. Together, all these things form my identity. But what happens if I lose my home, my spouse, my job, my possessions? Then who will I be? The second way people define themselves, said Nouwen, is this: I am what people say about me. We go through life trying to please people, fretting about our popularity rating, hoping others will speak well of us. But what happens when people stop speaking well of you? So we go through life, said Nouwen, accumulating possessions and worrying about what people are saying about us. And then one day we die. And when we die, we don’t have anything anymore, and nobody talks about us anymore. What a strange way to live. However, when your identity comes from possessions and popularity, which is what Jesus called “belonging to the world,” you cannot possess a clear understanding of your identity. We simply don’t belong to the world. We belong to God. Just as Jesus rose from the water of the Jordan River and heard the voice of His heavenly Father say, “This is my beloved Son”, we also shall rise up in death and hear that clear claim on our lives. We are God’s child, through faith and nothing can change or alter that position. Perhaps it is time for you to acknowledge that in your journey. Regardless of what others may say, you are His and He is yours! Live determined in that truth!