Baptism on Pentecost 2018

What does it mean to be baptized? How many of us even remember the occasion? If we don't we are blessed if there are some around us who do: who can say to us later, we remember when you were baptized and this is what we undertook. Not only to remind you of your baptism, of your Christianity, but to remind you of your humanity. Baptism is an occasion to call each one of us and all of us to our best selves - in the presence of Christ. It is a call, as we will find when we recite four baptismal promises, to become fully ourselves in several ways, not as individuals only or tribal members but as human beings. Alone and together we are all in the image of God. In baptism we are called to remember this solidarity - and this individuality. Will you - on behalf of the newly baptized and as members of the house of faith, recall the devotion expressed in the body and bread, the cup and the blood, the oil, the water, the story, and the people, that mediate grace to you - that bridge you between sacred and simple? These little things - these words, these actions, these tastes, and touches - draw us near to the holy - and nearer to being fully ourselves. So go now and prepare - for a life of joy and sorrow, of hope and faith - of hope beyond any surrender, and of faith in what is beyond imagining but abundant in each of us - the enduring presence of a gracious and faithful - and loving - God.

welcome diner

Yesterday at the Welcome Diner I sat at the counter alongside four women, all of whom had got up early to watch the royal wedding. He preached about love, they said, and he quoted Martin Luther King. Two of them introduced themselves to me as mother and daughter. What are you doing? Talking to you... and working in alumni relations at the university. The other said, I'm a labor nurse. The one said to the other, I could never do what you do. And the other said to the first, I could never do what you do. Different gifts. 

And the same spirit. 

And yes that is what Pentecost is about. A celebration of love, love of God in each other, exhibited in different gifts, all expressing one common spirit. A spirit of love. And of welcome, at a feast. 

The feast we celebrate today - what is on the menu at this place of welcome - is no less than the feast of the first Eucharist: the Thanksgiving Dinner of the Lamb of God. We welcome each other and are welcomed, we celebrate in each other our different gifts - and the one gift we all share - as we come together at the Lord's Feast. The supper of the Lamb, the Lord's supper. The Eucharist. 

And from here we go, and are sent, to spread that love. The message we preach is simple. The words may be different from the royal wedding sermon, but the lesson is the same. God loves you. Jesus proves it. Let's go live it.