Easter 4 A Baptism Love Letter St Patrick's Cheektowaga, April 17, 2016

+Good morning, I’d like to thank Karen for her kind invitation to be with you today. I’m especially happy to be here on a day when, at 10 am, we’ll baptize Gemma Lyn Cleveland. Baptisms are great because it is in and through our baptisms that we are linked, marked and sealed as Christ’s own forever. And, such a day is a  wonderful opportunity to consider our ministries as Christian people. For although the church sets aside certain people for discreet ministries—deacons, priests and bishops--- the singular most important ministers in the church are her baptized members…the laity…. all of you. For without the community of the baptized, we have no church. So, when we have a baptism in a parish we rejoice, for through baptism we are strengthened as individuals and as congregations. Therefore today, is a GREAT day.
As a parish priest my tradition, on baptism days, was for the sermon to be in the form of a letter to the baptized. I do this, not because I think 3 month old Gemma will remember what I say, but to remind us of the promises God, our Godparents and parents, church family and friends made to us at our baptisms; because the Body of Christ in this world is fueled by us, the baptized beloved of God. And reminders of this always helpful.
Dear Gemma,
God is smiling today. Nothing makes God happier than a baptism, for on a baptism day everyone is smiling! Your parents and Godparents are thrilled for you, this, your new church family is happy for you, all the friends and family here today are rejoicing. It’s a great day as we welcome you to the family, Gemma. Today we promise to pray for you for the rest of your life. Today we promise to be there for you, come what may. Today we promise to protect you, to encourage you, to support you and to love you. Forever.
And God? Well, God promises to make sure that the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ himself will do everything EVERYTHING to protect from danger, to find you if you are lost, to untangle you from any sticky situation and to always, always, welcome you home.
On this day, as Pastor Karen pours the holy water of God over your head, as she looks into your eyes with love and hope, saying those words that never fail to make me cry: “Gemma Lyn I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, you will be changed…and so will all of us.
You’ll be changed because on this day, and for every single day from now on, you’ll know that you are God’s beloved child. Of course, you’ve been God’s beloved child since the moment of your birth, but on this day God, through all of us, let’s you know that this Love, the love that surpasses all other love, is yours. Always and forever.
Because this is the whole point—God’s love is yours, it’s mine, it’s ours it is everyone’s ----now and forever. No exceptions.
God is so thrilled by this, God has given us the greatest Love poem of all time to mark the occasion---
The 23rd Psalm.
The Lord is my shepherd….HONEST! God will always be there for you, Gemma. Always.
He makes me lie down in green pastures…leading me beside still waters….Revives my soul…..Gemma, when you feel the most overwhelmed, the most scared, the most distant, the most lost…you will be revived…maybe through coming to this altar for communion, maybe through running into a church member out in the community, maybe by going through a box of memorabilia and finding your baptismal certificate, maybe by picking up your BCP or reading a favorite Bible verse, maybe by strapping on an apron and working at the fish fry…how it happens isn’t nearly as important as knowing that it will happen, you will be revived…in and through this community and in and through the love of God for you, in Jesus Christ, today and always.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil for you are with me
Gemma, there will be dark days, there will be times when it’s so dark in your soul that you may forget God, you may lose sight of God, you may, no matter how hard you try, be unable to find God. But this is what I want you to know---God is there. God is always there. Jesus is there, Jesus is always there. The Holy Spirit is there, for the Holy Spirit is always there, even if you feel so lost in the mire, so alone in the dark, so stuck in the bramble---the One Holy and Undivided Trinity is there.
 When a shepherd is looking for a lost sheep and it is dark and dank and the shepherd can’t see her hand in front of her face, the shepherd takes her staff and taps it on the ground. TAP TAP TAP so that the sheep can find its way home.
Gemma, even in the darkest night, the Good Shepherd is tapping that staff.
God is always looking for us when we are lost.
God is always rejoicing when we are found.
Today, you are surrounded by the joy and love of people who will always reach out to you, who will always look for you when lost and who will rejoice when you are found.
Today, along with everyone here, I want you to remember that God’s goodness and mercy as well as the “tap tap tap” of that staff, will follow you all the days of your life…and that you, as well as all of us, will dwell in the house of the Lord forever because you, as well as all of us, are marked, sealed as Christ’s own. Forever.  Amen and Alleluia!

Easter 3 Yr C Ordinary Us, Extraordinary God St John's Grace

+ Now I know we’re well into the 50 days of Easter, I know that we’re weeks—months—removed from the season of Advent. That the focus of Easter is not on Jesus’ mother Mary at all.
 But today, on the day we hear yet another story about how the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples in the most ordinary of settings, I want to talk a little bit about Gabriel’s extraordinary visit to Mary on the most ordinary of days and in the most regular of circumstances. I’ve always envisioned the visit as taking place while Mary was gathering laundry off the line. I see Mary as a bit disheveled, busied by ordinary household texts. Nothing special, nothing unusual. I think that’s an important frame through which we view the entirety of Jesus’ life. In fact the entirety of what we call salvation history.
It’s important to remember that experiences of the holy are less Charleton Heston on some sound stage mountaintop and more peasant girls saying yes and being brave.
It’s also important to remember that the work Jesus has left for us to do—feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, loving the unlovable, embracing the outcast and seeking justice for all forever---isn’t work only for the strong and mighty, the rich and the famous, the wise and the wonderful, but that it’s also for the regular and the routine, the plain and the ordinary, the you and the me of this world.
You see, the power of God is simply a bunch of “sound and fury signifying nothing” unless and until we invite that power to work in and through us. Only then will God’s power, wonder and Grace be able to do what it needs to do---change this world once and for all.
And that’s why, as we shout alleluia and celebrate the empty tomb, we remember Gabriel and his visit to Mary. Because only then can we understand the significance of the simplicity of Jesus’ appearance to his friends on the beach, over a breakfast of broiled fish.
When the angel Gabriel visited Mary he didn’t tell her that God had chosen her because she was perfect, pure, and immaculate. No, the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she’s loved by God and because of that love, God’s going to use her to set into motion the greatest story of all time.
Fast forward some thirty years and the story continues with that same God incarnate showing the disciples that the story must continue through them-- not because they’re perfect or exceptional or even above average, but because they’re loved by God and God will use them to spread that love to everyone, everywhere, always.
  The miracle of Christ’s birth and the miracle of the empty tomb isn’t because of God’s omnipotence; the miracle of the virgin birth and the empty tomb is because of God’s penchant for using the ordinary and the mundane to do the extraordinary and the awesome.
The magnificent thing about Mary wasn’t her alleged purity, or her youth or her devotion, nor was it even her incredible bravery and her outstanding witness. No, to me the most magnificent thing about Mary was her ‘yes.’ Her willingness to open herself up to be used by God and to, through God, give us Jesus. It’s easy to say we’d never have the bravery or the fortitude of Mary, and perhaps we wouldn’t, but the fact is we could. We can. God didn’t ask Mary to sing a song of protest, or to be there from crib to cross, God simply asked Mary to be an instrument. And Mary said yes, she lived yes, she is the embodiment of yes.
The story of God living and moving in this world, from Abraham and Sarah to Moses and Miriam to Ruth and Naomi, to Elizabeth and Mary, is full of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Of ordinary people saying yes to God. Sometimes with trepidation, other times with annoyance, still others with defiance, but in the end the yes said by young peasant women, shepherds, fishermen, tentmakers, silk merchants and carpenters has changed the world.
Which is why the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus are so fascinating. When Jesus discarded the bounds of death, when he emerged from the tomb, it was not in a blaze of glory, but in the regular and the usual:  a quiet hello to Mary, ‘Peace Be With’ instead of a rageful ‘how could you’ to the disciples behind those locked doors. A ‘go ahead and touch my wounds’ to the trembling Thomas, a shared meal on the road to Emmaus and then this morning, a simple fish breakfast on the shores of the Sea.
The “big moments” in Jesus’ life are simple encounters between God and humanity, between an angel and a girl, between a hoped for messiah and his band of sisters and brothers, between a teacher and his students, between God in the flesh and God’s beloved….you and me.
And right there is our Easter message---
We needn’t look for God only in the magnificent and the awe-inspiring. Because that’s not how God reaches out to us. You see, God understands that we expect to encounter the Holy in the big, the dramatic, and the amazing. But God doesn’t want to see us ONLY in our Sunday best. God is much more interested in our regular-ness than in our spectacular-ness. God does most of God’s work in the regular and in the routine. Like fishing off the coast, walking in the garden or in the breaking of the bread.
       Our Easter task, my friends, is to listen for God in the whispers of daily life.
Our Easter task is to hear God.
Our Easter Task is to see God.
Our Easter task is to be God ‘s hands and feet in the world. To follow Jesus. And to take care of Jesus’ lambs. Each and every day.
Our Easter message then, is this:
God speaks to us in the ordinary.
God speaks to us in the mundane.
God speaks to us.
All we need to do is say, Yes, here I am.
For when we do that, God joins our Easter song of Praise:   Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
Amen!

Doubt's Not Bad, Seeing is the Last Step of Believing and They'll Know we are Christians by our Love. Easter 2 St Matthew's Buffalo, Baptism

+Good morning, my name is Cathy Dempesy Sims and I’m Bishop Franklin’s Canon for Connections. That means I get to go to a different church every Sunday, getting to know the nuances of each parish and helping congregations with anything I can.
I’ve been working with Deacon Pat and Kale for the past month or so as you move into the next step of your life as St. Matthew’s. It was important to Bishop Bill and to me that I be present with you on the first Sunday of this new phase…and what a great blessing that I get to do a baptism as well!
 When I was a parish priest I had a tradition for the sermon on baptism days---the sermon would be in the form of a letter to the newly baptized. I’d like to continue that practice this morning.


Dear Kaleb,
We’re so happy to officially welcome you into the church today. God loves a baptism so I have no doubt that our creator God is smiling extra wide upon us this morning.
Today is often referred to as Doubting Thomas Sunday, because each and every year, on the Second Sunday of Easter, we read the gospel story of Doubting Thomas.
 Here’s the thing you need to know Kaleb, Thomas gets a bum rap! There is nothing wrong with doubt!!! Kaleb, in your life you’ll have many moments of doubt, of confusion, even of anger. You’ll wonder if you really can love everyone, everywhere, always, no exceptions. It’s not always easy! But regardless of the times you may DOUBT, remember that God ALWAYS loves you and God knows that you believe.
      This is what people forget about Thomas. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe that Jesus could be raised from the dead, he believed it. But believing something could be true is different from seeing that something is true. I don’t think that Thomas doubted Jesus could be alive, I think he was just so heartbroken at Jesus’ death that he wouldn’t allow himself to accept that it was true until he saw it for his own eyes.
     And you know what Kaleb? I get that. In your life there will be things that you believe are possible but you might not be willing to accept have actually happened until you see it.  Like the Bills winning the Super Bowl…we believe that it’s possible, we pray that it happens soon but until we see Mr. Pegula holding the Vince Lombardi trophy and we have a parade down Delaware Avenue, I don’t think any of us will allow ourselves to fully believe it.
This is where Thomas gets a bum rap--- there’s nothing wrong with needing to see something before fully accepting that it’s true---seeing as the final step to believing ---isn’t a bad thing.
You see, one of the things we must absolutely, positively do, as Christians, is to show people that we are Christians.
There’s an old hymn called, “They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love.” It’s a perfect name for a song, because it is exactly what we, as Christians, are called to do. This idea--- that people will know we are Christians by Our Love is so important Kaleb that I never want anyone here to forget it. And a baptism is a really good reminder.
In a few minutes everyone here is going to make all sorts of promises for you….and in doing so we’ll “renew” the promises that are fundamental to our faith and absolutely key to our understanding of what it means to be a Christian.
• We will promise to keep believing in our Creator God.
• We will promise to keep believing that God came to live among us in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. We’ll promise to believe everything that happened to Jesus in his life, in his death, in his resurrection and in his ascension.
• We’ll promise to believe that the Holy Spirit lives and moves among us, creating communities of faith that are designed to change the world.
• YES, Kaleb, we promise to change the world.
And you know how we do that?
• By following the teaching set forth by the apostles--by coming to church and breaking bread in community and doing our daily prayers.
• By, when we make mistakes, and trust me Kaleb we all make a LOT of mistakes, when we make mistakes, apologize and return to God for the forgiveness and love God always, never any exceptions, gives to us.
• By seeing Christ in everyone whom we encounter, even those people who anger us, frighten us or make us uncomfortable.
• By always making sure that peace and justice are available to everyone, everywhere, always.
• And, finally, to proclaim by word and example all the Good news we have received through Jesus Christ.
“Proclaim by word and example.” Kaleb, that’s just a fancy way of saying, “showing people---everyone, everywhere and always----that we are Christians.” And how do we do that? “By our Love.”
So, dear Kaleb, as we welcome you into the fullness of the church on this day, as we seal you with the Holy Spirit and mark you as Christ’s own, forever, you are helping us to remember that the only way the world will know the incredible, awesome, never-ending, no exceptions, always available to everyone everywhere forever love of God is if we show them.
If we show that love in all that we do, there will be no doubt that Love, the source of all that is good in this world, is being spread by us, through us and between us.
Kaleb, remember that you are loved, not only by all of us here today, but by your Creating, Redeeming and Sustaining God. Take that love and show it off!
This is the message Thomas teaches you today and all of the wonderful people who make St. Matthew’s a beacon of hope on Seneca Street in the City of Buffalo and beyond: they will know you are a Christian, by your love, by your love.
 Welcome to the fold young man and may God’s blessings flow upon you today and forevermore. Alleluia and Amen.