Just as he came up from the water,
suddenly the heavens were opened to him
and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting on him.
And a voice from heaven said,
“This is my Son, the Beloved,
with whom I am well pleased.”
—Matthew 3.16-17
Jesus has taken you into himself;
this is your blessing.
The heavens—the divine heart of all being—
are open to you.
You are divine in nature,
having been created by God in love.
God’s Spirit is in you.
It is who you are.
You are God’s child, offspring of God,
emanation of the Holy One.
You are the Beloved.
This is your true identity and true calling.
You are the Beloved.
This is the first and hardest learning of the spiritual life:
to let yourself be the Beloved.
With you God is delighted.
In that phrase is the echo of God’s servant
in Isaiah 42, begotten and called to bring forth justice.
Go, then, and do justice and practice mercy,
knowing you are blessed and sheltered,
healed and forgiven,
and empowered to do so.
You are God’s Beloved, in whom God is delighted.
Breath prayer:
Beloved… Beloved
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
January 8, 2020