Pleased? With me?

     So here we are, a week in to the start of the new year.  If you're a resolution maker, perhaps you are feeling really great about how your progress is going.  As for myself, well, resolutions are just too hard for me to keep and after years of making resolutions and failing, I quit.  So now I make goals.  The difference may just be in the semantics here, but for me it makes all the difference in the world.
     With a resolution, it felt like there was no room for mistakes.  You resolve to do something, therefore you simply do it.  If I resolve to eat more fruits and vegetables yet find myself tempted by those tasty treats on Sunday mornings, it feels as if my resolve is weak and it isn't even worth it anymore.  If I resolve to clean one room in the house per night, rather than waiting to clean the whole house on a Saturday, but find myself walking in the door at 9:00, getting some dinner, and hoping to catch my favorite show, it is 10:00 before I even think about cleaning - and at that point the bed is oh so much more appealing.  So my resolve is weak, my house is as messy as it was the day before, and I have failed my resolution.
     Now goals - goals are different.  If I make it a goal to eat more fruits and vegetables, there is wiggle room.  I can grow to increasingly eat more fruits and vegetables, and if there is a day where I get stuck at the goodie table, well my goal is still attainable and I haven't failed.  If I make it a goal to clean one room of my house each night, and I clean two rooms in one week, I am really making progress toward my goal!
     So when I read the gospel lesson for this coming Sunday, I am struck that we don't need resolutions OR goals.  Because, according to God, we are as we ought to be.  This Sunday we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, as told from Luke 3.  Oh, there is surely the part at the beginning of the reading about Jesus burning the chaff with unquenchable fire.  But, if you recall, it wasn't so many weeks ago that we had this reading during Advent.  We didn't have the benefit then of having it tied to Jesus' baptism, but rather was John the Baptist talking about right living: how tax collectors should make their living without exploiting anyone, how soldiers shouldn't abuse their power, how the wealthy ought not turn a blind eye to the poor.
     But when we hear the reading this time, on the baptism of Jesus, we have the benefit of knowing how John's sermon ends.  At the end of all the talk about being burned with the Spirit and fire, Jesus is baptized.  And the moment he comes out of the water, the Spirit descends on him and he is declared God's son, claimed and named by God as being loved and being right.

John Baptized Jesus

     As readers of this story, the imagery draws us in, to imagine ourselves on the bank of the Jordan River, standing there, dripping wet from our own baptisms, and then Jesus comes out of the water.  What started exactly the same as every other baptism suddenly turns different.  There is a strange sound, like the crack of thunder except it is a sunny afternoon.  And then there is something, shimmery, like a dove but not any dove you've ever seen, and it lands on Jesus.  You rub your eyes, thinking you must be seeing things when you hear this voice.  Not loud or booming, but almost a quiet whisper, as if the voice is speaking directly to your own soul, sharing the most intimate secret that only you and the voice know, "This is Jesus, my son.  I am pleased with him."
     And the beautiful thing?  These words aren't just for Jesus.  They are for all who hear.  "You are my child. I am pleased with you."  Now God doesn't speak these words after we've made and kept all of our resolutions.  God doesn't speak these words after we've attained all of our goals, made certain changes, or being a certain way.  God loves you.  God loves me.  Just the way we are. 
     Since most of us take stock of our lives at this time of year, I am especially grateful for the reminder of our baptisms and that God loves us.  Just the way we are.  And as I take stock of my own life, set my goals for the year, I can't help but seriously question: God is pleased?  With me?