HOMILY AT BAPTISM

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2002

CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER 

Dear Nina, Skyler, and Frances, 

Well, here we are on All Saints Sunday 2002, and you are about to be baptized, inducted into the huge family known as Christians, a family that has followed Jesus Christ for nearly two thousand years.  The irony about today is that you don’t know you are being baptized, nor do you know that we are observing the Feast of All Saints.  In fact you don’t know what a saint is, much less a sinner. But one historical name for Christians is “saints”. This letter will have to be put away in a special place, so that when you are older your parents and godparents can read it to you and begin to explore the wonderful story of Christian life, your own Christian life. 

Today it seems a very long time before you will be able to understand and read this letter.  But time will go all too quickly, and before long you will hear these words, unless someone loses the letter.  I hope that your parents will treasure this letter and share it with you at just the right time in a few years. 

Many promises will be made in your behalf today, every one of them important and connected to the kind of person you will be.  Note that I say, “the kind of person you will be” rather than, “what you will be”.  There’s a big difference, and that is totally where your Christian life truly counts.  You can surely be anything you want to be.  In fact you may decide to be a teacher or a doctor or a gardener or a mechanic, a computer expert, or an astronaut.  The possibilities are endless.  I hope nobody has decided in advance for you.  Cherish your choices, my friend. 

However, I, like your parents and godparents, am seriously interested in what kind of person you will be, in the light of our promises, and within the faith, hope and love of Christianity.  You are about to become a full-fledged disciple of Jesus Christ, and that discipleship comes with some requirements.  In order to be a good disciple, you have to work at it.  Just as in tennis or skating or any of life’s pursuits, just wanting to be “it” will not suffice.  Simply to assert, “I am a Christian” and to do nothing about it is nonsense and hypocrisy.  You need to know early in your life that while being a Christian is not a burden, membership brings responsibilities.  We are not asked to give up our belongings or family, as some of the early followers of Jesus did, but we do have to form our lives in particular ways.  Let me try to illustrate what I mean. 

As a Christian you will be a person of faith; that is, you will believe in God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Having faith means that you never walk through life alone, but that God will always be with you, particularly when the road is rough or scary or dangerous.  You will believe that God created you on purpose and that God loves you, no matter what.  God’s love is called “unconditional” love.  But when you make mistakes and are tempted to sin, you have to say you are sorry and resolve not to make such errors again.  It is God who helps you do the right thing. 

As a Christian you will need to learn about God and Jesus Christ.  Such learning will begin at home and will be emphasized here at your church, first in Church School, then in all your experiences at worship.  If your parents reject God, then you will have a hard time learning.  However, by bringing you here for baptism today, they are swearing to God and in front of all these people that they do believe and want you to share in the richness of faith.  God gave you a brain when you were born, and in church as in all other places where you grow, you are expected to use it.  Ask questions, challenge the easy answers, and combine your brain and you feelings as you try to get nearer to Jesus.  One place we learn about Jesus is the Bible.  I am enclosing a copy of today’s gospel (Matthew 5:1-12) for you to keep.  The Beatitudes are a wonderful summary of Jesus’ teaching.  From them you will learn the behaviors that Jesus asks you to follow. 

As a Christian you will pray and worship God with other Christians.  Making a commitment to your church, this one or another, means that you will come to the church building often to sing and pray and receive the sacrament of Communion.  You cannot be a good Christian just on your own; you need to be part of the community of believers.  When you are not in church, then you need to learn how to pray on your own, such as the Lord’s Prayer and Thanksgiving before meals.  In prayer we talk to God, saying thanks and asking God’s help in all kinds of important things.  For example, we ask God to heal those who are sick or suffering and to clue us in as to how we can help those in need. 

However, as a Christian you will accept and welcome people of other religions, races, and opinions.  Christianity is not a club.  The church cannot be exclusive; the church as the family of God must be inclusive.  If you make fun of those who are different from you or condemn them or hate them, you are a bigot and a seriously weak Christian.  Being a snob and a Christian at the same time is really a sin.  Your job is to respect the real worth of every person, of every living creature, and of God’s created world.  You may disagree or even quarrel with others; you might even feel angry about something mean or unfair.  But when all is said and done, you are to forgive and forget, moving on to real integrity as a child of God equal to everyone else.  You are different; you are a Christian.  But you are not superior or better.  All religions seek to make people and God closer in understanding and the good life – don’t sell the others short. 

And finally, my hope and prayer is that as a Christian all your days you will find joy and fellowship and happiness because of your faith and your practice of the Christian religion.  Many events and individuals will challenge you, earlier as well as later in your life.  But you can hold fast to the faith courageously, be proud of your Christian heritage, and live your days in anticipation that God will be there for you.  Never forget that real Christians laugh just as they cry.  The life you are beginning today will sustain you and lift your hearts up in such a warm light, that you will laugh for the sheer fun of being loved by God.  Gloomy Christians are dreary souls, and something tells me that you will never be dreary.  I thank you and your families for inviting me to be part of this great day.  I am proud to be your friend. 

                                                                                    With love, 

                                                                                    The Rev. Richard H. Downes

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