“This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.”  Matthew 17:5

“Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message.” Malcolm Muggeridge

Did you hear the inner voice of love this past week? If so, when? Where?  What did it sound like? What did the voice of love, the voice of Christ say to you?

I imagine the voice of Christ sounding soothing, calming, and comforting.  Not like the voice of James Earl Jones.  More like the voice of Norah Jones or perhaps Alan Rickman; maybe Morgan Freeman? I invite you to give some thought to whose voice you imagine Christ’s sounding like.

It’s not so much the tone of Christ’s voice, but the content.  What does Christ say to us?

In my church tradition Christ or God started off by reminding me of what a bad boy I was.  How I had misbehaved.  In adulthood that was translated into being a “sinner in thought, word, and deed.”  I imagined being in the Presence of Christ kind of like being sent to see Mr. Carlson, my grade school principal, who was certain to dole out punishment.  Those were the “good old days;” you know, when they still practiced corporal punishment.  Spankings were the rule, not the exception.

When I consider carefully the story of Christ Jesus, I don’t think of him talking, or acting that way at all.  I hear, and see him saying many things, most of which are wonderfully reassuring.  For me the best two things Christ says is “You are my Beloved,” and “You are forgiven.” 

The first one of these he says in a variety of ways, often times conveying that message in actions, and by using different words.  Examples include how he engages the Woman at the Well in John 4 in conversation; or how he commends the woman in Luke 7 for showing him love; or how he repeatedly invites Peter to feed and love his sheep in John 21.

The words “I forgive you” he speaks clearly throughout the Gospels, like when he heals the paralytic in Matthew 9.  But whenever there is restoration and healing, it is the result of Jesus speaking in his very body, the forgiveness of sins.  It’s one thing to read these words of his, or even meditate upon them, and another to personally apply them and put them into practice. 

I heard these words personally applied to me this past Thursday.  I wasn’t in church, or even with another folloeI was giving a presentation about how to speak the language of love with people experiencing cognitive challenges.  In one part I demonstrated how to listen with our whole body by looking at the other person, holding their hand or touching them, and feeling deeply with compassion for them.  I had previously told the participants about my mother’s long dementia journey. The person who I chose as named Susan.  I spent a few moments in meaningful connection and non-verbal communication with her.  At the end of our time, I asked her what she thought.  She said, “I think your mother was fortunate to have you as a son.”

Those words initially convicted me and brought back a sense of great guilt.  For in many ways, I feel that I failed my mother as a son during her long descent to her death caused by her dementia.  But Susan’s words were also healing, for she assured me that there was real forgiveness and redemption, not because of what I had or hadn’t done, but because of the love, care, and compassion of Christ that is exchanged in more than just words.

The only antidote that I know of for the guilt that often ambushes us in life is forgiveness.  It is a forgiveness that is based upon and motivated by love.  A love that is much bigger than we are.  A love that transcends time.  A love that is experienced in the words of forgiveness, spoken most clearly by the Christ not only in what he said, but in what he did with others, and for others.  A forgiveness that is gifted to us in the words of scripture and made personal in the words of other people.

“Do you hear Me calling you?

The voice of a mother, and a father, and a child.

Would you recognize the Truth?

Do you feel the Love that’s falling, from my eyes?”  Lucinda Drayton