The Rev. Anne E. Bolles-Beaven August 19, 2007
St. Columba’s Chapel, Middletown, RI Proper 15 C BCP

Jeremiah 23:23-29
Hebrews 12:1-7, (8-10), 11-16
Luke 12:49-56

“Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” May I speak in the name of the Living God. Amen.

It’s a pleasure and a privilege to have been invited to preach this morning at the baptism of five beautiful girls: Taylor Ann, Alexandra Rose, Hayley Jean, Clara Keeler and, particularly dear to me, Lila Foster, my niece. Thank you Chris, thank you Kate, at least I think I thank you. I must admit when I first read the lessons I thought: note to self: read lessons before accepting invitations. They’re not exactly my first choice for such a joyous occasion—with their promise of struggle, discipline and trials but, as with so many things, here we are.

First the prophet Jeremiah tells us we have a God who sees us in all our hiding places whose word is “like fire, like a hammer that breaks the rocks in pieces.” Then in the gospel Jesus says he has come to “bring fire to the earth” “not peace but division.” Meanwhile the letter to the Hebrews urges us to enter a race of Olympic proportions—surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses each of whom is already a gold medalist for running the furthest, leaping the highest, sacrificing the most for the goal of the uncompromising God set before us. No pressure there.

Hmmm—judgment, discipline and no place to hide...no wonder so many of us are happy enough to munch popcorn on the sidelines watching as others run the race set before us.
It’s not that we’re lazy. We’re just smart enough to be wary of committing to something marked by “painful discipline,” that caused Jesus to “endure such hostility against himself” as a cross. There’s a reason “Fear not,” and “do not be afraid” are recurring themes of Holy Scripture.

So why are we here? Why are we baptizing the children we love more than life itself in this God’s name? Why do Olympic athletes spend their entire youth training? Why do the heroes of the faith persevere despite horrendous situations? Because of the PRIZE. Because of the prize. No sane person undertakes suffering, persistence and endurance for its own sake—but most of us will agree that a lot of things worth doing involve a certain amount of suffering, persistence and endurance—being a parent comes to mind. So does being a spouse or a friend.

Eyes on the prize. Our son read all seven Harry Potter books in 140 hours this summer. He read for days on end. Did he always feel like it? Maybe not. But he had a goal. Our daughter had never been away from home for more than an overnight at a friend’s house. This summer she spent 17 days in China on a student ambassador trip. Was it easy? No. Was it scary? Sure. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

We all have goals. What are yours? What are mine? “Aim at nothing and you’ll hit it.” Is having a relationship with God among them? Because that is the “goal” of baptism—a relationship with the living God. Baptism gives us three gifts that can never break or grow old, three gifts that we can never lose. In baptism we become the child of God, a member of Christ’s Body the Church and an inheritor of the kingdom of God. That’s why we’re here today. We want Lila and Taylor and Alexandra and Hayley and Clara to know that God made them loves them and will never let them go. No matter what they do. No matter how scary life gets.

When I was first ordained deacon I served the sick and shut in of a parish in Brooklyn. I called for several years on a man named Conrad Holder. I had our daughter Emma on his 80th birthday: “Best present I ever got,” he told me. Mr. Holder was a very tall, thin, African American gentleman who greeted me with wonderful formality week by week, month by month, dressed in pajamas, bathrobe and a cap, carrying a cane. The section of Brooklyn where he’d bought his brownstone had once been nice. Now the neighborhood was marred by street crime and drug dealers: “I don’ know,” he’d always say, shaking his head at this sorry state of affairs. “I really don’ know.”

He’d worked in an iron foundry for 20 years—on his knees—pouring molten iron into molds in the ground. His knees were bad. Sometimes he was afraid to go out. “I sits here,” he said to me gesturing to his chair by the barred window, “and I says: Not in my strength but in the strength of Almighty God. Not in my strength but in the strength of Almighty God. I says it until I feels it and, when I feels it, I gets up and I goes out.”

Mr. Holder had a relationship with the living God. In the words of the baptismal liturgy he” put [his] whole trust in Jesus’ grace and love.” He knew where strength was to be found and he knew how to get it. He didn’t say: I’m going to carry a gun. He didn’t say: I’m not going to leave the house. It’s not that he found a way to be self sufficient. He knew he had a relationship of trust and love with a God of immense love and power—whose word can break stones in two and cast fire upon the earth. You’ve heard of the Fantastic Four? This is the Blessed Trinity, a God who will do whatever it takes to empower us with the divine love so strong that we can not only experience it for ourselves but also take it out into the world, into all the places life sends us. That’s what all this fire and hammer language is about. It’s about God’s power to transform us, to strengthen us so that we can run the race that is set before us—the race that is set before US, not the race we wish we had, thought we ought to have had, but the one we actually have. God is with us on our race just as it is not as it might have been if things had been different.

Today is the beginning of a great adventure for these 5 children about to be baptized in Jesus name and in his power. When you talk about this day with your children remind them of that. Tell them it was the day they became the child of a God with x-ray vision (they’ll like that!) Jeremiah’s God who sees us hiding in all our “secret places” and who will hide there with us until we’re ready to come out, a God whose words: You are forgiven, You are worthy, You are loved can shatter the rocks of guilt and despair that weigh us down, whose companionship can strengthen weak knees, and set our hearts on fire, a God of action, a God who calls us to make choices about who were are and what we stand for because our lives matter.

That’s why Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace but division.” Not because he’s trying to stir up trouble but because when people encounter Jesus they have to decide where they stand. If Jesus stands for justice, then he stands against injustice. If he’s for truth, then he’s against falsehood. And if we’re on Jesus’ team—and that’s the second gift of baptism it makes us a part of Jesus’ team—part of his own Body, the Church—then we’re called to stand with him. Not with power to lash out at our enemies—no matter how convinced we may be that they’re super villains—but with power to conquer the enemy in ourselves—to conquer our fears, “lift our drooping hands,” to do what we can to make straight paths of integrity and welcome for every human being, loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Not everyone’s going to like that. Not everybody liked it when Jesus did it either. He didn’t win a popularity contest, he won a cross. But our God is STRONGER than death and on the third day Jesus rose from the dead. As a 5 year old friend of mine once pointed out “that’s some super power! I’m sticking with him.” Our God is stronger than death and shares that power, eternal life, with those who follow him.

Now, if by following him we just mean dragging along behind him pulled by our mom, our dad or our conscience we’ll probably see some glimpses of that power, maybe even encounter it from time to time. But if we really want it to experience it we’ll have to ask. We’ll have to, dare I say it, show a little persistence. How? As a priest friend put it recently: “Just show up. Sit quietly and listen. Read the words of someone whose spirituality you respect. Play music that lifts your soul. And ask: Show me yourself. Starting here, starting now, I will be watching for you.” (Barbara Crafton, Almost Daily eMo, August 16, 2007).

I will be watching for you. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus because he is watching for US. And remember we’re not alone. There are a lot of people on this team. People you can see by looking around you right now—it’s OK you can look around—and millions you can’t see. So no matter what happens to us, we are never alone. There are people on our side. People praying for us and running alongside us or walking alongside us or sitting alongside us if we aren’t going anywhere fast. We’re surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses—people who were reborn by water and the Holy Spirit in Baptism and by that grace and love and power helped to transform the world. We are called to join them. Eternal life doesn’t start in heaven—it starts here and now by power of the Holy Spirit. A power God is yearning to share with us now—there’s more to live for, more to hope for. There’s purpose and meaning and love and joy. Let’s go to the font, my friends, and let the race begin!