Sunday, January 13, 2008 - Our True Identity

A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) That is the Voice of Affirmation for Jesus and for us as to our true identity -- who we are and to whom we belong! There are 2 stories circulated in the internet:

The first story: Who’s your daddy?
A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One morning, they were eating breakfast in a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, “I hope he doesn't come over here.” But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. “Where are you folks from?” he asked in a friendly voice.
“Oklahoma," they answered.
“Great to have you here in Tennessee,” the stranger said. “What do you do for a living?”
“I teach at a seminary,” he replied.
“Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really good story for you.” And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.

The professor groaned and thought to himself, “Great... Just what I need -- another preacher story!”

The man started, “See that mountain over there?” (pointing out a restaurant window). “Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, “Hey boy, who's your daddy?” Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would tease him with the same cruel question. “Who's your daddy?” His life’s miserable!
He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question and the B word hurt him so bad. When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, “Who's your daddy?” But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, "Son, I’ve only seen your mama, but who's your daddy?"

The whole church got deathly silent. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to that repeated question!

The new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to the frightened little boy: “Wait a minute!” he said. “I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.” With that, he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, “Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.”
With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, “Who's your Daddy?” he'd just tell them, “I'm a child of God.”

The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, “Isn't that a great story?” The professor nodded. As the man turned to leave, he said, “You know, if that new preacher hadn’t told me that I was one of God’s beloved children, I probably would never have amounted to anything!” And he walked away. The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, “Do you know that man who just left that was sitting at our table?” The waitress grinned and said, “Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He’s the former governor of Tennessee!”

We all need a reminder that we are God’s beloved children. When the voices of the cruel world try to tell us differently, when our experiences in life challenges us to doubt, in the midst of despair, think of this story! “Who’s your daddy?” Listen to the voice of love from heaven! Don’t let other noises drown it out! Don’t listen to the voices of insult, condemnation and guilt. By faith, through our baptism, we can also claim our true identity as God’s beloved sons and daughters! No one can take away our inheritance from us.

The Second Story: Take My Son...
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam war broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock on the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, “Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.” The young man held out this package. “I know this isn't much. I'm not really a good artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.”

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. “Oh, no sir, I could never repay for what your son did for me. It's a gift.”

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home, he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected. This man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their own collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. “We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?”

There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.”
But the auctioneer persisted. “Will somebody bid for this painting. Who will start the bidding? $100? $200?”
Another voice angrily, “We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!” But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long-time gardener of the man and his son. “I'll give $10 for the painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
"We have $10, who will bid $20?"
"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."
"$10 is the bid; won't someone else bid $20?"
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn’t want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"
A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over."
"What about the paintings?"

“I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!”

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: "The son, the son, who'll take the son?"

Often, we are distracted in our search for treasures like the Van Goghs & the Rembrandts, yet we miss out on the one treasure in life that really counts!

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything. -- that is our inheritance! Will you claim it today?

Fr. Victor
(www.stjd.ca)