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| SERMON 1st Sunday after the Epiphany January 10. 2010 The Rev. Charles W. Messer |
| 667 Mount Road, Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 |
| Small Parish - Big Heart The little church you've been looking for! All are welcome! |
| Our Mission: To worship the Lord To serve the community To grow the church |
The sweetest word ever spoken, to me at least, is, “Daddy.” I will never get tired
of hearing that. Something inside of me rings true, centers me into who I am and
what I’m supposed to be. No amount of money can buy that feeling. I can’t
imagine a world without my children. They bring me such joy and delight.
For those of us with children, we know that there is nothing our kids can do to
make us love them more. Nothing. When their at their worst, when they’ve made
horrible choices and have run as far away as they can from mom and dad, there
is nothing that can stop our love for them. Our arms never close to sweep them
up in. Our love is free and is unconditional. There is nothing our kids can do to
keep us from loving them forever.
“When Jesus had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened, and the
Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven,
“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. We celebrate that special relationship
he shared as the beloved Son of God. Moreover, today we celebrate the baptism
(s) of Addison, Brianna, Lindsay, and Grace. We also celebrate our own
baptisms today and that special relationship we have as the beloved sons and
daughters of God.
The Christian faith isn’t a series of philosophical dictums or a sentimental
approach to life. I dare say that most of us think that the Christian faith as
something we’ve decided to take on ourselves. I’d like to tell you that I am a
Christian because I made a careful study of the world’s religions, carefully
comparing their beliefs and ethical systems and decided that Christianity was
superior. But that’s not the case. I am a Christian because my parents raised me
as one. I am a Christian, not because of something I do, or decide, think or feel,
but rather because of something that God through Jesus Christ has done to me,
continues to do to me, something that the church lives before me and tells me
who I am and who I belong to.
The Christian faith isn’t a matter of digging down deep within yourself, thinking it
through, closing your eyes and trying real hard to believe – like the tooth fairy or
the Easter bunny. The Christianity isn’t a genetic trait passed on from parent to
child. It’s about relationships; it’s about an experience with God. It’s about God
coming down to us right where we are, loving us, calling us his children.
Christians are made at baptism. My favorite part of baptisms is where oil is
placed on the forehead and makes the sign of the cross and the priest says,
“You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own
forever.” Sealed and marked forever. And somewhere the sky parts and a voice
from heaven says, “This is my beloved daughter, my beloved son, in whom I am
well pleased.”
There is nothing comforting in knowing that our relationship with God is
dependent on us being perfect, or staying out of trouble; dependent on us
staying off drugs, getting married to the right person and staying married. We’re
not perfect. These sweet, innocent children whom we baptize won’t be perfect
either. Lindsay will get herself into trouble, Grace will make bad choices,
Addison and Brianna will do things that will hurt themselves and others BUT…
that will not break the seal nor erase the mark that they are forever God’s
beloved in whom he is well pleased. There is nothing in their power or ours or in
anyone else’s that can break this relationship that is sealed this morning in
baptism.
This may come as a shock, but I don’t always think like a Christian, I don’t
always talk and act very Christ like, and there are times when I haven’t felt very
Christian. But how I think, how I talk, the words I use, the person I marry, the
things I do to myself, my race, my gender, my nationality, my political affiliation,
my sexual orientation, and most of all, how I feel, is not the basis of my
relationship with God.
Our relationship is based not on us, and what we do to make God love us more,
but on God and what God does. In our baptism God has sealed and marked us
forever as a beloved daughter, a beloved son. This is what we call grace, the free
and unearned love of God.
I barely knew my great-grandmother. I remember that she was very old and
smelled bad, her sight was failing and her hearing was about gone. I think I was
about 5 when we went to her house. My dad took me to her and she motioned
for me to come to her. I didn’t want to, she seemed scary to me for some reason,
but with a push from my dad I came close to her. Her wrinkled hands began to
feel my head, my ears, my mouth and nose. I remember her saying to my dad,
‘this one is a Messer for sure.’
In a deeper way when we’re baptized, God holds us close and says, “I know this
one, this is Grace. I called Lindsay and Addison by name. Brianna belongs to
me.
You out there, remember you are baptized. Remember you are and who you
belong to. When – not if -- when the difficult times come, remember who you are
and who you belong to. You are God’s beloved when cancer has you scared to
death, remember you are baptized. When you find you’ve made a mess of
things, when the money is all gone, when the things in life no longer give the
satisfaction that we thought it would give, when the marriage is broken,
remember who you are – God’s beloved sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as
Christ’s own forever. And when we breathe our last on this side of eternity,
remember who you are, you are baptized.
One of the ways we remind ourselves of who we are is this (sign of the cross). In
my mind, no matter what I think of myself, I am sealed and marked forever. In my
heart, no matter what I feel or think of myself, I remember I am baptized. In my
hands and feet, I remember that wherever I go and whatever I do; God goes with
me and what I do matters. I remember that I am baptized (make sign of the cross)
when I come to receive communion because I am sustained and fed in the body
and blood of Jesus. Remember who you are.
Heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove. And a voice came
from heaven, “You are my son my daughterss, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased.
of hearing that. Something inside of me rings true, centers me into who I am and
what I’m supposed to be. No amount of money can buy that feeling. I can’t
imagine a world without my children. They bring me such joy and delight.
For those of us with children, we know that there is nothing our kids can do to
make us love them more. Nothing. When their at their worst, when they’ve made
horrible choices and have run as far away as they can from mom and dad, there
is nothing that can stop our love for them. Our arms never close to sweep them
up in. Our love is free and is unconditional. There is nothing our kids can do to
keep us from loving them forever.
“When Jesus had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened, and the
Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven,
“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. We celebrate that special relationship
he shared as the beloved Son of God. Moreover, today we celebrate the baptism
(s) of Addison, Brianna, Lindsay, and Grace. We also celebrate our own
baptisms today and that special relationship we have as the beloved sons and
daughters of God.
The Christian faith isn’t a series of philosophical dictums or a sentimental
approach to life. I dare say that most of us think that the Christian faith as
something we’ve decided to take on ourselves. I’d like to tell you that I am a
Christian because I made a careful study of the world’s religions, carefully
comparing their beliefs and ethical systems and decided that Christianity was
superior. But that’s not the case. I am a Christian because my parents raised me
as one. I am a Christian, not because of something I do, or decide, think or feel,
but rather because of something that God through Jesus Christ has done to me,
continues to do to me, something that the church lives before me and tells me
who I am and who I belong to.
The Christian faith isn’t a matter of digging down deep within yourself, thinking it
through, closing your eyes and trying real hard to believe – like the tooth fairy or
the Easter bunny. The Christianity isn’t a genetic trait passed on from parent to
child. It’s about relationships; it’s about an experience with God. It’s about God
coming down to us right where we are, loving us, calling us his children.
Christians are made at baptism. My favorite part of baptisms is where oil is
placed on the forehead and makes the sign of the cross and the priest says,
“You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own
forever.” Sealed and marked forever. And somewhere the sky parts and a voice
from heaven says, “This is my beloved daughter, my beloved son, in whom I am
well pleased.”
There is nothing comforting in knowing that our relationship with God is
dependent on us being perfect, or staying out of trouble; dependent on us
staying off drugs, getting married to the right person and staying married. We’re
not perfect. These sweet, innocent children whom we baptize won’t be perfect
either. Lindsay will get herself into trouble, Grace will make bad choices,
Addison and Brianna will do things that will hurt themselves and others BUT…
that will not break the seal nor erase the mark that they are forever God’s
beloved in whom he is well pleased. There is nothing in their power or ours or in
anyone else’s that can break this relationship that is sealed this morning in
baptism.
This may come as a shock, but I don’t always think like a Christian, I don’t
always talk and act very Christ like, and there are times when I haven’t felt very
Christian. But how I think, how I talk, the words I use, the person I marry, the
things I do to myself, my race, my gender, my nationality, my political affiliation,
my sexual orientation, and most of all, how I feel, is not the basis of my
relationship with God.
Our relationship is based not on us, and what we do to make God love us more,
but on God and what God does. In our baptism God has sealed and marked us
forever as a beloved daughter, a beloved son. This is what we call grace, the free
and unearned love of God.
I barely knew my great-grandmother. I remember that she was very old and
smelled bad, her sight was failing and her hearing was about gone. I think I was
about 5 when we went to her house. My dad took me to her and she motioned
for me to come to her. I didn’t want to, she seemed scary to me for some reason,
but with a push from my dad I came close to her. Her wrinkled hands began to
feel my head, my ears, my mouth and nose. I remember her saying to my dad,
‘this one is a Messer for sure.’
In a deeper way when we’re baptized, God holds us close and says, “I know this
one, this is Grace. I called Lindsay and Addison by name. Brianna belongs to
me.
You out there, remember you are baptized. Remember you are and who you
belong to. When – not if -- when the difficult times come, remember who you are
and who you belong to. You are God’s beloved when cancer has you scared to
death, remember you are baptized. When you find you’ve made a mess of
things, when the money is all gone, when the things in life no longer give the
satisfaction that we thought it would give, when the marriage is broken,
remember who you are – God’s beloved sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as
Christ’s own forever. And when we breathe our last on this side of eternity,
remember who you are, you are baptized.
One of the ways we remind ourselves of who we are is this (sign of the cross). In
my mind, no matter what I think of myself, I am sealed and marked forever. In my
heart, no matter what I feel or think of myself, I remember I am baptized. In my
hands and feet, I remember that wherever I go and whatever I do; God goes with
me and what I do matters. I remember that I am baptized (make sign of the cross)
when I come to receive communion because I am sustained and fed in the body
and blood of Jesus. Remember who you are.
Heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove. And a voice came
from heaven, “You are my son my daughterss, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased.
To contact us: Calvary Episcopal Church 667 Mount Road Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 OFFICE The Rev. Charles Messer, Rector Fr. Chuck: frmesser@calvaryepiscopalrockdale.org Website: mail@calvaryepiscopalrockdale.org Office: calvaryoffice1@verizon.net |
