Imagine a garden. Quiet and serene.
Peaceful and a bloom with greens.
Silent yet full of life
In the leaves, among the branches.
Deep in the earth, under the stones.
In the air and afloat in the wind.
A fountain gushes forth with water
Springing forth to nourish that life.
Something sacred is happening.
I imagine the first garden.
Planted in the East.
Made for a special couple.
Everything they need is here.
There is beauty, peace and wholeness.
Man and woman, He made them. Special. Beloved.
A sacred river runs through it. Holiness.
Something sacred is happening here.
Another place, another time.
Along a river. In the waters.
A man proclaiming the Good News.
Love, Forgiveness. Peace. Wholeness
Baptized in the waters.
A voice saying “This is my beloved.”
Son.
Something sacred is happening here.
My here and now.
Appreciating life and love.
Wanting forgiveness and peace.
Seeking wholeness.
Longing for affirmation.
Straining to hear a voice that will say
“This is my beloved.”
Something sacred must be happening here.
After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:13-17