A few years ago I was privileged to write music for As a River of Light, which is the story of Jesus’ passion according to Luke.* The librettist, Michael Dennis Browne, and I had a good time conceiving the opening scene in which many different people approached John the Baptist and spoke out their names as they were baptized.

Michael was away from home, but we needed specific names for the people. So I went to a friend who is also a scholar of the scriptures, Fr. Dennis Hamm. I told him I wanted names of people from the New Testament era, but I did not want them to sound formal and starchy: daily names that people used for short. Could he think of any? Dennis paused a fraction of a second and said, “you mean like ‘Jack the Dipper’?”

The hilarity of the moment did not mask the fact that the word baptism does derive from a word meaning to dip.

After we got a list of names, I went off to compose music for the scene, with Jesus as just another person in the lineup of people to be baptized. This emphasizes Jesus’ humility.

As you know, Jesus’ baptism had a spectacular climax. The heavens opened and Jesus saw the Holy Spirit descending upon him like a dove. He heard from heaven the following words: “You are my beloved and in you I am well pleased.” I loved writing music for these words. As it happened, the first violinist for the recording showed up with a Stradivarius, making the violin solo particularly poignant.

The words are also echoes of the First Reading (from Isaiah) we will hear this Sunday.

Here is my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit … ; a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth.

Both readings are loving, gentle and filled with promise.

What I did not realize—even after several performances and a recording session—was that such a short sentence, put to music, would be the one everybody would chose as their favorite moment from the whole musical: the tender voice of God, saying “You are my beloved and in you I am well pleased.” It seems to have captured many hearts. I suspect people hear God’s voice saying the same thing to them, even today.

God’s love for us naturally evokes our mutual love for God. Jesus heard the voice of love and immediately went to the desert to prepare the giving of his whole life to God in gratitude. If you and I ever begin to grasp the meaning of “you are my beloved,” we too will begin to live our lives out of thankfulness to the one who stands behind the words.

That strange name, “Jack the Dipper,” started me toward an understanding of the sacrament of Baptism, even if it is the Baptism of the Lord himself. It says loud and clear to the infant or the adult being baptized, “Come in. Be washed. You are much beloved to God and to the Church.”