Erl Purnell Sermon

cEpiphany Sunday ~ January 7, 2007 ~ A sermon preached by The Rev’d Erl G. Purnell at Old St. Andrew’s Church, Bloomfield, CT

Isaiah 42.1-9; Psalm 89.20-29; Acts 10.34-38; Luke 3.15-16, 21-22

James. Jamie. Jamesie. Here you are. Here we are. And Taylor, you’re here too with your mom and dad. Welcome to this extended family we call the Church. James, we’re all glad that we can share in this special day—your Baptism Day.

When I was just a little boy, like you, my mom and dad brought me to a church a lot like this one. Some friends of theirs were with them and, that day, they became my Godparents. My grandparents were at the church, too, along with my older brother. And so it was that I was baptized. Something very similar happened for lots of us who are here with you at OSA today.

Jesus was baptized but in a river by a man named John. And after he was baptized, Jesus felt that something was different. He knew he had been touched by the spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, and anointed as God’s son. From then on, Jesus lived in a completely new way. He lived knowing that God was at the very center of his life and Being.

When I baptize you in a few minutes, we will be symbolically recognizing what is already true: that you, too, are a child of God, a son of God. You will join with hundreds and millions of other people in this family we call the Church.

And James, please know from your youngest age, that there are other families of God on our fragile earth, too. There are Hindus and Sikhs, Buddhists, Traditional Chinese Taoists, Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Jews, many primal-indigenous religious people, and millions of folks who are unsure about God or who have no religion at all. God alone knows the faith of those people. Regarding the family of the Church—the Christian family—we center in the teaching and life of Jesus, a man who lived and died almost two thousand years ago.

Although most Christians speak of “believing” in Jesus, Jesus taught that people should live in the kingdom of God. Jesus was far less interested in belief than he was in how people lived and treated each other. He cared about justice: for example, if there was enough food. Jesus lived in the presence of God. He didn’t think a person needed to make sacrifices to receive God’s favor or have a priest pray to God for him or her. Jesus taught his friends that they could pray to God directly … Our Father, he said, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. It’s a prayer we continue to say even now. And sometime soon, your mom and dad will teach it to you. It’s a good prayer.

James, what I want you to know most about being in the family of the Church is always to be compassionate, forgiving, just, and loving. Your mom and dad and the people in this Church family will help teach you what this means and how to live in the spirit of Christ.

And, to repeat myself, this is not so much about believing. What Jesus asks of you is that you open your heart to all people, being inclusive and respectful and caring even, and especially, for people who are different from you or who may disagree with you … which will happen far more than you can ever imagine.

I mentioned that there are many families of God. One family of God is called Hindu. Only a short while ago there was a Hindu man named Mahatma Gandhi. He was a great teacher. Mahatma Gandhi said many things. I give two of them to you today. First, he said—and this is so very much like something Jesus would say—he said, “My life is my message.” My life is my message. Mahatma Gandhi understood, like Jesus, that what we say is not as important as what we do, how we behave, how we treat others, what kind of spirit of goodness we have, how generous we are. James, your life is the message you bring to your Church family and to the world.

Mahatma Gandhi said something else I’d like you to take away today. This statement is also something Jesus would agree with completely. It has everything to do with courage and integrity. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see.” Be the change you want to see. Whoa. Now that’s a challenge. But, James, it’s everything. Nobody can make your world new or better or healthier or safer than you. You may be tempted to wait and let somebody else speak up. Don’t.

When you feel compassion for those less fortunate than you, be generous … be wastefully generous. When somebody hurts you, try, with all the spirit and love you can muster, to forgive that person. Maybe you won’t be able to forget the hurt, but if you really want something to shift, to change, you’ll need to forgive. And, when you see injustice—somebody being mean-spirited and hurtful to somebody, for example—say Stop! It will take a lot of courage. It will also be the right thing to do.

One more thing. When you open your eyes in the morning and when you close them at night, say Thank you, Thank you, Thank you God because God has loved you so much all day long. Say to God, “Today, I have tried my very hardest to give away all the Love you have put in me. Tonight, while I sleep, fill me up again so I can give your Love away again tomorrow.” In other words, James, Be the change you want to see.

And so, James, enough of this. I hope your mom and dad will tuck this sermon away and share it with you later. Once again, it’s good that you are here. We welcome you into the household of God.

Blessings and Peace be with you now and always.

Amen.