God created us, each and all, in the Divine Image. Almost from birth, however, we have apparently been dissatisfied with that image and have spent our lifetimes trying to create our own individual personas that correspond to the ideals of our particular cultures. At some point in our lives, often at midlife, we come to realize that our culture is not all there is—that it leaves us empty, no matter how successful we may have been. We begin to yearn for something more to satisfy what seems to be a hole in our hearts that none of the ordinary things we have tried can fill. That desire, that readiness for something new, is what God has been waiting for, no matter how long it takes us to get there.

As I’ve often said, God meets us where we are, as we are. Our merciful and loving God reaches out and begins the transforming work of love deep within as we open ourselves to the Divine Presence who enables us to grow in grace. As Paul tells the Romans in our second lesson, “. . . we have been buried with [Christ] by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” Paul frequently calls this new life as “in Christ.” As we surrender to this new identity, we come to realize our connection to the Source of all, to trust in the truth of Jesus’ parable of the Vine and the branches (Jn.15) as we change, grow and develop into the imago dei we were created to be.

As we settle into this new relationship with the Holy One and abide in the enfolding, indwelling Presence of the Beloved, we will notice our perspective on life changes. Reality is very different from our previously limited view as we awaken to the mystery of the Incarnation that Christ Jesus came to reveal and to model for us—that we, each and all, are also both human and divine, as hard as that may be for us to comprehend with our finite minds. May we walk henceforth into this newness of life and all it holds in store for us.