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!