Weekly Lessons and Sermon
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always
acceptable in your sight, oh Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
acceptable in your sight, oh Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord our strength and our redeemer.
Lessons: Acts 8: 26-40, Psalm 22: 24-30, 1 John 4: 7-21, Gospel: John 15: 1-8 In a normal week, I would be WAITING for this week to come up in the lectionary. Today’s readings are a preacher’s dream. The words about abiding, and loving are beautifully poetic to say the least. The image of the vine and the branches is almost a sermon in itself. It’s also possible that I’m biased, because today’s lesson from First John is my all-time favorite piece of scripture which tells us that “We love, because God first loved us.” I think I could write a hundred sermons on today’s texts: Which is really unfair, Because there are other days where its hard to come up with anything! And on top of ALL of it: We are blessed with the celebration of baptism today. Today, we will welcome Hazel into the family of God. It’s a significant and important day for her, and for her family. Hazel will receive a certificate: (which you need to keep, in case she wants to be a priest some day) HA! And her name will be added into the parish register: A book that has the names and dates of many other baptisms. (as a matter of fact, her brother Rhett, was the last baptism recorded). And I bring up the parish register because a baptism isn’t an individual thing. Today’s celebration is not just about Hazel. It’s a celebration for all of us: Because baptism is about family. About God’s Family: Which includes every single one of us. Throughout the book of First John, John writes to the church, And continuously calls them Beloved. He says, “Beloved: We are God’s children now.” WE: All of us. All of us, are the branches on the vine. Notice: Jesus doesn’t say, I am the vine, you are a branch. He says, “I am the vine: You are the branchES” There’s one vine: With many branches: Our baptisms unite us to each other. Not just those of us who are physically present: But ALL baptized people: All the baptisms recorded in all the parish registers, All baptized people, Going all the way back to the first disciples: All of us together: The family of God. Our baptisms make us one family: and each of us, Are witnesses of that family. Soon: at the baptism: I’ll turn to all of you: And ask if you who witness these vows, Will do all in your power to support Hazel in her life in Christ. And (I hope) you will LOUDLY respond: “We will!” When we witness a baptism we don’t just “see it take place.” We also promise that we will accept our responsibility to love, support, and care for the baptized through the whole of their lives. Baptism requires us to acknowledge our connection to one another because we are brothers and sisters in God’s family. Witnesses to each other. As John would (AND DID) say: Beloved: We are God’s children now. Baptism is a formal commitment: One that the church keeps record and proof of. But we must remember that our baptisms are not just a commitment to God: But a commitment that we make to each other: To walk with each other: To help each other: To care for each other: Because Beloved, We are God’s children now. After we commit to witnessing Hazel’s baptism, We will renew our baptismal covenant. (which is actually kind of a weird thing to call it.) Because the baptism itself is the covenant. The questions in the baptismal covenant remind us of how we must respond to what God has already done in baptism. Earlier in the letter, John says to the church: “Beloved, we are God’s children now. What we will be has not yet been revealed. What we DO know is this: When he is revealed, we will be like him.” RIGHT NOW: We are God’s children. God has ALREADY done this. What we will be in the future: In our life after this life, is unknown; But what we DO Know, is that we will one day be like Jesus. And the questions in the baptismal covenant: Push us to become more like Jesus. They remind us, How to be WITNESSES of God’s love in the world. Will you Continue in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers? Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord? Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ? Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being? Doing our best to do these things, we live lives of witness: We become more like Jesus. It’s our response to the gift that God has already given us: The gift of adoption as God’s children. We ARE God’s Children. And because of that, We must respond. Beloved: BECAUSE we are God’s children: We MUST seek Christ in all people, BECAUSE we are God’s children, We must love our neighbors as ourselves. BECAUSE we are God’s children, We must strive for justice, peace, and dignity for every human being. BECAUSE we are God’s children, We must name our mistakes and persevere in not repeating them. BECAUSE we are God’s children: We strive to be a witness to Jesus: And to become more like him. But remember: We can’t do it alone. With every single question, We respond, “I will, with God’s help.” And with every single question, We respond together: Not as individuals: But the whole chorus of God’s family. And this family can never be broken. The prayer book tells us that “The Bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble.” Indissoluble: As in Completely UNABLE to be destroyed. Ever. The bond of baptism can never be broken. No matter what. My favorite part of baptism is at the very end: After we pour water on Hazel’s head, I’ll say some of the most sacred, significant, and beautiful words that any priest ever says: I’ll tell her that she is sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever. Forever. Indissoluble Beloved, We are God’s children now. Forever. With God’s help, The help of each other, The help of all the baptized: Those who came before us, And those who came after. We are already God’s children. Now are you ready to be a witness? Amen.
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