A Baptism Talk
It’s
wonderful to be welcoming Alba Rose on this milestone in the story of her life.
In baptism, we are welcoming her into God’s family. What do we mean by baptism?
It’s as if God is freely giving her a blank cheque, which she can fill in and
cash when she is old enough to make up her own mind. And of course, we hope and
pray that she will.
And
we particularly hope and pray that Alba Rose will grow in wisdom.
What
is wisdom? I wonder if I were to ask for a show of hands to the question
"Who is wise here this morning?" how many of us would feel confident
enough to respond positively...
Well,
consider this riddle: Johnny's mother had three children. The first child was
named April. The second child was named May. What was the third child's name? (Many
answer "June"). You see, the answer is Johnny of course. Johnny's mother
had three children. Wisdom is often thinking differently to the world
around you.
True
wisdom is to hear Jesus’ words, and put them into practice. The wise person
builds firm foundations for life by hearing Jesus words and putting them into
practice, just like the wise builder building his house on a rock.
Bad
weather came. The rainiest winter since records began… howling gales… rivers
bursting their banks...” But the wise builder’s house stood firm because it had
strong foundations.
I
expect you’ve seen those TV programmes like “Cowboy Builders” where someone
buys a dream holiday home that later shows serious design faults. The builder
goes bust which makes the warranty not worth the paper it’s written on and the
property worthless.
“This
could be your desirable property. OK, it needs a little redecoration but look
at that swimming pool in the foreground! I’m sure you’ll fall in love with it
when we show you the view from the south.”
“There.
A property with rare features, ideal for the outdoor enthusiast. Oozes
character doesn’t it? As you can see, it’s light and airy, with a modern,
open-plan design and a superb, unobstructed view of the bay.”
Jesus
said that if we don’t hear his words and put them into practice, we will go to
pieces when bad times come, just as the house of the foolish builder fell down
in the wind, rain and floods, because his house was built on sand. It fell
down, not because it was a bad house, but because it had had poor foundations.
Like a sand castle when the tide comes in.
As
she grows up, Alba Rose will hear hundreds of alternative views on how to live
wisely. The world has lots and lots of them. But we hope and pray that she will
see that true wisdom is found in following Jesus.
Our
reading ends by telling us that Jesus speaks with real power. The people who
heard Him at the time noted that he spoke with amazing authority. He was
nothing like the pompous, self-important religious leaders of his day.
And
even 2,000 years after Jesus said what he said in the gospels, it is still
really radical, and totally revolutionary when you read it.
And
notice, Jesus is not embarrassed about drawing attention to himself. He says
that it’s his words that need to be put into practice. Not
what you say, or what I say, or what my wife’s uncle Eddie says. Jesus says
you’ve got to put what he says into practice or you’re building your whole life
on sand.
Not
even the greatest people we know claimed anything like that. Winston Churchill
or Nelson Mandela never said “build your life on what I say”. So either Jesus
was very, very wrong or he was claiming to be the most important figure in
world history.
It
wasn’t until I was 17 that I became convinced that what Jesus said and did were
the most important things in life, and that the only possible response was for
me to change the direction of my life and start to put his words into practice.
That was when I cashed my blank cheque that God gave me at my baptism.
I
used to believe that because I had been christened (aged 2 months), and took my
first Holy Communion (aged 6), and went to a school run by nuns (aged 5-11),
and had got confirmed (aged 12) that that was it. I was sorted. That was all I
needed to be a Christian.
But
just like the one essential ingredient for a milkshake is milk, the one
essential ingredient to being a Christian is faith.
Some
people say “Well, I’ve lived a pretty good life and I’ve done more good things
than bad things. I’m sure God will love me because I’m good.”
But
God doesn’t love us because we’re good. He loves us because he is good.”
What
are you building your life on, sand or rock? Let me finish with a three point
construction manual for building your life on the rock of Jesus’ words.
Firstly,
“a” is for admit. We all need to admit that we do not always
live like we know we should. If you’re not sure about that, raise your hand
please if you have never told a lie. How many do you think you’ve told in your
life? So “a” is for admitting to God “I can’t boast about how great I am, and
I’m sorry.” Alba Rose will hopefully one day see the truth of that.
Secondly,
“b” is for believe. We need to believe that Jesus is who he says he
is. This is faith. Either Jesus was a deranged lunatic, or he was an
ingenious con man or he is the real deal. Billions of people down the years
have come to the conclusion that he is who he says he is. We pray that Alba
Rose will make that decision to believe.
Finally,
“c” is for come. Jesus said “Follow me.” That is always personal
but it’s never private. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest.” Are you willing to follow Jesus in a
new life of obedience?
Our
hope and prayer for Alba Rose today is that she will grow in true wisdom, that
she will hear Jesus’ words and put them into practice, that she will follow
Jesus all her life.
Then,
like the house built on the rock, her life will be on firm foundations, able to
stand up to all the ups and downs which she will face.
Sermon
preached at Saint Mary's Long Newton, 20th October 2013
1 comment:
GREAT Message!
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