Now it happened that when all the people had been baptized and while Jesus after his own baptism was at prayer, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical form, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, today I have fathered you." Luke 3:21
When I think of Bethlehem I must never imagine the love of God to be small, like a baby. But God's love is radical (radix = root) and wild.
It doesn't make sense: a God who joins sinners in the river of repentance. Eastern Christians sing about God's re-possessing all of creation, beginning with the waters of the world, as Jesus stepped down into the river. And we are made primarily of water! This means, it's God's world no matter what happens.
And everything is changed now as Jesus joins the river scene. Here, God is searching, forgiving, restoring, healing, reconciling. As sad and as awful as the world can be at times, the first truth is this good news - it is God's world always. Pity, a lot of people, even many Christians, no longer believe this.
