Named by God

Matthew 3:13-17

Father Mark reflects on Jesus’ baptism, where Jesus is publicly named by God as “my beloved Son,” and connects this moment to a personal story from seminary, when he was mistakenly accused of owing money on a Sears credit card. Though innocent, he was treated as a liar and criminal, an experience that deeply unsettled him and revealed how painful it is to have a false identity imposed on you. That moment raises a central question of the sermon: Who gets to name us, and define who we truly are?

In Jesus’ baptism, the voice from heaven is not only for the crowd but for Jesus himself, affirming his deepest identity as God’s beloved. Father Mark explains that this identity is not unique to Jesus alone; Christians share in it through baptism. Jesus’ mission, awakened at the Jordan, is to awaken all people to their true identity as beloved children of God. Yet we often live from false identities—our jobs, politics, nationality, religion, race, or social status—which shape how we see ourselves and, in turn, how we treat others.

When we fail to see ourselves as God’s beloved, we project harmful identities onto others, judging and demeaning them rather than recognizing them as fellow children of God. Father Mark reminds us that through Christ’s incarnation and baptism, we are drawn into the life and love of the Trinity itself. Our only lasting, true self is our “child of God self.” In a world quick to label and divide, we are called to trust God alone to name us, hearing the same words spoken to Jesus spoken over us: “You are my child, my beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.