It is truly with joy that we bring Sophie for baptism
today. But we do so in the knowledge
that baptism is a hot topic. I have had
passionate debates with people very near to me about whether we should baptise
children. Famously, this is one of the
defining differences between us and the Baptist church down the road.
The concept is that when we are baptised we publically align
ourselves with Christ and promise to live lives under his lordship and
control. We baptise babies when their
parents and godparents promise to model this life for the child, to bring them
up actively in the faith, and to involve them in the life of the worshipping
community.
The problem is that so few families seem to really be able
to live up to this promise. I have personally
carried our 423 baptisms during my time here at St Michael’s. Even if half of them have moved away, that
should still leave a couple of hundred young people and their families joyfully
sharing with us the adventure of following Jesus. Please understand that this is not said to
blame them or their families.
The challenge is for us, the church. We profess the faith uniquely revealed in the
Holy Scriptures and set forth in the catholic creeds, just as we will do in a
short while in this service; but we are called to proclaim it afresh in each
generation. As Sophie grows up, we must
find ways to help her understand and live this timeless faith in ways that make
sense to her.
The challenge is for us, each of us, for me. In our reading from Matthew Jesus comments on
the way that he was received by the people around him. Some thought he was too straight laced and
boring, while others thought he was too easy living and lax. What they had in common was that they found
it difficult to follow him and obey him.
It seems to be a common human trait to rebel against God.
Paul picks up this thought in this puzzling passage from
Romans 7. We replay the sin of Adam and
Eve: God places us in the perfect garden but we think that we can do better
than God, and improve it. We replay the
sin of the nation of Israel: God rescues us from Egypt and gives us the Law as
a sign of belonging, but we find ourselves unable to keep it. In deeply personal language, this great
Christian leader Paul talks about the paradox that the more we want to live
God’s way, the less we seem able to do so.
Every one of us faces this experience. We may agree with the truths of the Christian
faith, and about what constitutes a good life, but we seem chronically unable
to live them out. The biggest reason I
encounter among people who do not belong is a feeling of inadequacy and
guilt. We do not feel good enough. We might even be tempted to ask whether being
a Christian “works” or not.
For Paul, who learnt from Jesus, the answer is clear. Of course we are not good enough, of course
we are not able to live lives that are pleasing to God. We know that, we have experienced it. If we think that we are living lives good enough, we are fooling ourselves (Jesus said,
Matthew 9:12). We were stumbling around
in the darkness of our lives, and God gave us the Law, like a bright torch that
shines everywhere – and shows us just how disordered we are! We can make frantic efforts to put things
right, but really we are just rearranging the mess. What we need is a complete clear out.
And the good news, the gospel, is that God has done
this. It is as if a kindly friend has
paid for a squad of cleaners to come and sort your life. The contract has been signed and the fee
paid. Your life is sorted, in
principle. But you have to let them in.
Like all analogies this is a pale reflection of the
truth. The death of Jesus on the cross
was a historical event that brought forgiveness for each and every sin that we
have ever committed. God raised Jesus to
life. He is alive today and he promises
to come and share our lives today. Every
one of us who has been baptised and has said the words “I turn to Christ, I
submit to Christ, I come to Christ” is saying that we have welcomed Jesus into
our lives.
Do you see the problem?
It is not just that there might be questions about whether or not to
baptise infants. How could any of us
dare to be baptised? Every one of us who
is an adult believer is challenged to experience the truth of these words and
let Jesus into our lives. Once we have
done so, we are challenged to encounter him afresh and to grow in him – every day.
But how?
Jesus says it all, when he asks
us to come to him. To be a Christian is
more than having a good knowledge of scripture or being able to sing lots of
hymns. To be a Christian is more than
having a good ethical basis for life. To
be a Christian is to know Christ and to be fixated on him. “Be thou
my vision, O Lord, master, commander, of my heart,” “be thou my best thought in the day and the
night, both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.”
Paul’s response to the practical
problem of how to live this out is to say: “Thanks be to God, who delivers me
through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Understand
that God loves you and that Jesus died for you, and open yourself to the
possibility that he wants to share your life and take an active part in helping
you to live.
·
Look to encounter him in his word, as you read
it privately and as you spend time with others exploring its meaning.
·
Look to encounter him in prayer; spend perhaps
four or five minutes in silence each day, asking Jesus to help you come to
him.
·
Look to encounter him in meeting others, as you
discuss and pray together and support each other.
Discussion Starters
1. “22 For
in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I
see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making
me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” What sense can you
make of this?
2. “25 Thanks
be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” What is your practical, day-to-day experience
of this?
3.
28 ‘Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. 30 For
my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’
Spend some time praying, for yourself and for others in the group, to
encounter the living presence of Jesus.
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