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Father of all, speak to us by your Spirit, that our lives may reflect
more the character of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
This service has turned out to be a marvelously catholic affair. That's
'catholic' with small c = universal, worldwide. It is great to have the
Da Camera Singers here, from Edmonton in Canada. Thank you again for your
visit and supporting our worship. We welcome other visitors from across
the pond, James' family from the US. And Alice has brought family and
friends from the deep south. This is a great visual symbol that the church
is worldwide. When anyone of any Christian denomination gets baptized,
it is not into the local church; they are being baptized into the worldwide
community of faith; that invisible body of believers who seek to be disciples
of Jesus Christ. So thank you for providing a visible reminder this morning
that we are part of something much bigger.
And yet, and this is where it gets serious, what you as parents are doing
this morning, by presenting Alice and James for baptism, makes very little
sense, in 2007. The way that the average person lives today means they
would find what we are doing here today pretty non-sensical. To use some
jargon, baptism is 'counter-cultural' and socially-deviant.
I remember at theological College being told that we were being deviant.
I'm pretty sure it was John Gladwin who told us that, now Bishop of Chelmsford
(was Guildford) in a lecture on Sociology. And he was right. We were seriously
deviating from what is normal in society, by becoming Ministers in the
Church. So too are Alice and James. I hope they're not listening because
it might upset them, but today they are being socially deviant by becoming
members of the church! In lots of ways, but I will identify three…
Firstly, society (and by that I mean Western society), values the individual.
'Be your own person' is the mantra today. 'Let nothing stifle your individuality
and who you are. You are unique and no-one should tell you what to do.'
Individual freedom of choice must be protected almost at all costs.
Secondly, related to that, contemporary culture values spirituality -
it's cool to search for the inner 'you', to meditate and find your own
meaning. But this kind of DIY spirituality tells you that you don't need
external reference points; i.e. you don't need an institution such as
the Church to guide you.
Thirdly, society values the signs of 'success'. If you have succeeded
you will be financially independent and enjoy the things that wealth can
bring.
Let's briefly consider each in turn and see how Alice and James fit into
these, and indeed anyone who counts themselves as baptized followers of
Jesus.
Back to the first one. The 'individual' counts above all else. Be your
own person, do your own thing. You don't need other people. This of course
is a myth. We are all totally dependent on others all the time, from our
energy to our food supply. We are all interdependent. Baptism is a great
symbol here. No-one baptizes themselves. It's not something you do as
an individual. You depend on others. You join a worldwide family of God's
people. They are there for support and challenge. Following Christ is
not easy today and we need others to support us and hold us to account.
If Alice and James grow up without any Christian nurture, their baptism
today will be the symbol without the substance. Parents and godparents
will promise to help them grow in their faith.
The myth about being an individual today is exposed further when you look
at the way we live. We have never been better connected to others. Most
of us carry around a little box which can link us to anyone else in the
world. And we have built virtual communities. Every night my son 'talks'
to people around the world (especially Canada and the US!) without leaving
his room over there! We need to belong. And baptism means joining the
best worldwide community there is - the one with our Maker at its head.
Of course, the cost is that sometimes He will know better than we do how
we should live, and he reserves the right to tell us! Our individual right
to chose is over-ruled by obedience to a better way.
That leads us onto our second way of being deviant…
Our society encourages me to say 'I may value spirituality - I want inner
fulfillment and harmony' but I reserve the right to explore this in my
own way; I don't want anyone trying to tell me how to live and what to
believe.' Baptism runs counter to this: it recognizes we need help, we
can't go it alone. When the Dean asks the questions you will reply: 'With
the help of God we will'. In baptism we join a community of other helpless
people - weak and needy people yes, and we recognize our need of others.
Spirituality is, in the end about love, love of ourselves, love of others
and love of the eternal. Once again, the Church holds the trump card;
we have been called to live in fellowship with THE eternal, with God who
IS Love! We have direct access to the supply source!
Finally, the biggest challenge of the 3. In the world that Alice and James
will grow up in, they will learn that what defines you is the job you
do, the status you hold, the car you drive and the clothes you wear. Wealth
counts. What about this question today: 'Do you renounce the deceit and
corruption of evil'? What does the Bible say is at the root of all evil?
The love of money. Jesus understood this and spoke strongly about the
seduction of wealth and its dangers. "Take care! Be on your guard
against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance
of possessions." (from our Gospel). Those who rely on wealth to be
their security and peace of mind are being foolish, says Jesus. 'Do not
let money define you or dictate your decisions.' So much of the way we
live in the Western world is decided on the basis of cost. For example...
How do we choose what to buy and where to buy it? Usually by looking at
what we call the best 'value'. But we measure value only by what we pay
for it, whether it is a pair of trainers or a bunch of bananas. When we
purchase something, how much do we value the person who has produced it?
If my trainers have been stitched together by a nine year old girl working
a 12-hour shift in Bangalore for a pittance, I may be happy with their
cost, but can I really be happy with their value?
Baptized people are those who are called to live at odds with the values
of those around, to be deviant in their choices. Why? Because Jesus challenges
us to live by Kingdom values and bring those into the way we live on earth.
So what we are about to do is socially deviant but powerfully prophetic.
We are declaring our intention to live differently because we have accepted
Christ's challenge to do so. Rather than protect individual choice at
all costs we commit to the Community of faith. Rather than put together
our own spiritual menu, we commit to the diet offered by the universal
church, recognizing it may be hard to swallow at times but has nourished
generations before us.
And rather than let our status, position or symbols of wealth define us,
we chose to be rich towards God. And in doing so we think about what the
use of our wealth does to others.
St Paul encourages the faithful in Colossae to do the same:
"If you have been raised with Christ …. You have died and your
life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col 3:2)
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