Pentecost 9

The Reverend Martha Frances

Year B, Pentecost 9, Proper 13

2 August 2009 

Text:  John 6: 24-35; Ephesians 4: 1-16;

Others:  2 Samuel 11: 26-12: 13a; Psalm 51: 1-13 

      Today we are celebrating the baptism of 2 young children.  Levi's & Zoe's parents have brought their little ones to our community because, at the very least, they understand it takes a village to rear a child, & indeed we are all participating in the rite of initiation practiced by most of the Christian community in some form.  Baptism is one of the two dominical sacraments in the Episcopal Church; that is, the 2 sacraments Jesus commanded us to continue were Baptism & Eucharist.  Today, we celebrate both of these ancient rites &, in so doing, make some pretty radical promises on behalf of these children as well as continuing ancient traditions which we believe are part of our responsibility in building the Reign of God.  We welcome these two children into the Christian Church as commitment to their present as well as hope for the future. 

      The lessons for the day were not specifically designated for baptism, yet the baptismal service began this morning with a salutation taken directly from the Ephesians passage today:  "There is one body & one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one, faith, one baptism, one God & Father of all. . . ."  The book of Ephesians is called a letter yet was probably written as a manual for baptismal training in the 2^nd generation after Jesus' death & resurrection. 

      Notice that this writer is urging the Christian communities to "lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called. . . bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."  Even the earliest Christians needed encouragement to continue to make the main thing the main thing & to maintain unity, loving one another.  All of us are called by our baptism to build Christ's realm in our world just as these Christians were to use their various gifts—talents & abilities—toward the building up of the whole community.  We're often told that the Holy Spirit doesn't choose the equipped but rather equips those who are chosen, & with baptism, we affirm the beginning of such a call to ministry which for most is lay ministry—no less vital & often more effective than ordained ministry. 

      As a priest & member of the Hope community, I tingle with joy & anticipation yet also tremble with sense of responsibility for the upbringing of these young folks.  The parents & godparents who present Zoe & Levi dare to be bold enough to invite us to support them as they are the primary religious educators of their children, yet all of us are part of the teaching staff for our youngsters as well as for each other as we continue to be lifelong learners.  We speak of Christian "formation" because we are called to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit who will transform our lives if we but trust God's process.  Baptism recognizes publicly God's enfolding us as beloved which began with Levi & Zoe—& indeed with each of us—as we were knit together in our mother's womb. 

      Several times a year, even when we don't have baptisms, I invite you to stand & renew the baptismal covenant which is our manual of discipleship for how to increase in wisdom as well as stature in favor with God & with our neighbors.  This is an open book lesson, so please open the Book of Common Prayer in front of you to page 304-305 now.  You'll need this in a minute anyway. 

      First, a covenant is not a contract.  A covenant is a promise, a solemn commitment God & humans make between each other, & it's not between 2 equals at all.  There's no fine print with God, & even when the covenant is broken, the covenant remains.  We renew the Baptismal Covenant fairly often because we not only promise to uphold & support the parents & godparents of our young people in their living out these vows but also because we need reminding what we've promised for our own lives.

      The Covenant is a dialogue because we are community in conversation with one another, so the first 3 paragraphs state our basic Trinitarian beliefs in the Apostles' Creed.  Next, we have 5 questions which we get to answer, "I will, with God's help," knowing we can't fulfill them alone. 

      The first states the elements necessary for developing & maintaining a Christian church family—committing to lifelong learning of the apostles' teachings but also in celebrating through our fellowship with each other, our regular participation in Holy Eucharist, & by our personal & corporate prayer.  Which of these have you gotten slack about lately, family?  Today is a good time to recommit.

      We promise to resist evil, knowing that we will fall into sin, but that's not the last word.  Because God's love is never-failing, we always have the opportunity to repent, & the sooner we do so, the less pain we endure.  Returning to God & to God's community allows us to continue to be made a disciple & to make more disciples.

      The next vow is tricky because we Episcopalians don't really like to talk about Jesus; we'd prefer you just guess that we must be Christians cuz we're such nice people.  We promise in our baptismal covenant to witness to what God is doing in our lives & to behave like our relationship with Christ is the most important one we have.  St. Francis was fond of saying, "Preach the Gospel; when necessary, use words."  Word & example—both are necessary.

      Remember Jesus' 2^nd great commandment?  He said to love our neighbors as ourselves, & then he wouldn't let his followers eliminate even one's avowed enemies from the neighbors' list.  Here's where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.  Here's where we realize just how much we are dependent on the Holy Spirit to fulfill our promises.  I don't know about you, but there are some people whom I just can't love without God's help.  Ain't gonna happen!  It's helpful, though, to remember that each of us is made in God's image so we can serve the Christ in others & even seek them out.  And we get to depend on God's help.

      Finally, we recognize that there are institutions & organizations through which we can & must care for one another, & for those to be just & peaceful, we must commit to justice & peace in our own lives.  If we respect the dignity of every human being, how can we use or abuse those persons or allow the larger structures of society to strip away their dignity either?  Such a task often requires that we become activists & agents of change in our community, & that takes prayer, study, organization, & action.

      Whew!  These 5 promises in the Baptismal Covenant touch pretty much every crack & cranny of a person's life, don't they?  Hmmm.  Do you reckon there might be a reason we need each other in developing as disciples so we can make disciples?  And we need to reaffirm our commitment to these vows frequently. 

      The gift to the gathered community which strengthens us for ministry most frequently is sharing a meal with our sisters & brothers in Christ around this altar.  In today's Gospel, (bet you thought I'd forgotten it, didn't you?), we find the precursor to our Eucharistic meal, the sacrament we will celebrate later in our worship.  Jesus reminds the people that even when they are miraculously & bountifully fed with bread & fish, it is only his gift of himself which brings eternal life.  Just as God set the seal upon Jesus, the Son of Man, so I will pass that oil of Chrism—Christ's oil—on to those we baptize today in God's name.  And we, the Body of Christ on earth in this holy place today, are privileged to stand with Zoe's & Levi's parents, godparents, & family to affirm that we will do our part in rearing them to be vital parts of Christ's Holy People—we will, with God's help!