The Rev. Dan Rondeau
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church & School
Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28 | Psalm 31:1-5, 19-24 | Romans 3:21-25a, 28 | Matthew 7:21-27
Note: Benjamin Hecht and Spencer Keenan were to receive the Sacrament of Baptism within the Service. Their parents, godparents, family and friends gathered with the people of St. Margaret's for this sacred moment.
Benjamin and Spencer in just a few moments your parents and godparents will present you for baptism. You will, by God's gift, be raised to a new life of grace. As your parents and godparents share their memories of this with you in years to come, I pray that they will share the joy of receiving of God's gift, grace itself, with you. I pray that you will live and grow in the gift of God's grace.
You see, our brother, your brother, God's great Apostle, Paul, understood the words of God through Moses and the words of Jesus (read here this morning) perfectly: strive with all your might, achieve great things with sheer will power and dedicated service, even use the name of Jesus to accomplish great things and know this—you will fall short, you will not measure up, you cannot achieve heaven by merit.
Knocked down on the road to Damascus, blinded to the world he knew so well and the path he knew so well, Saul was raised to a new understanding of God's graciousness and was given the sight of a new life of grace in Christ Jesus. Paul, raised to a new life of grace applied his energy to convince others, to convince you and me to accept the gift of God's grace.
Here is the good news of the scriptures shared on your baptismal day: God, through his messenger Paul, has shown us a great gift in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus; as God's messenger, Paul, urges us to accept this gift, and give thanks. Your parents and godparents have understood this, and they help you accept this gift.
Parents, godparents, brothers and sisters in Christ, we have all been students at some point in our lives. We know about studying and exams and being graded. And from this knowledge perhaps you can better understand Paul in his letter to the Romans.
Denise, aspiring to be a Youth Minister, tells her story:
In the spring of 2002, I left work early so I could have some uninterrupted study time before my final exam in the Youth Ministry class at Hannibal-LaGrange College in Missouri. When I got to class, everybody was doing their last-minute studying. The teacher came in and said he would review with us before the test. Most of his review came right from the study guide, but there were some things he was reviewing that I had never heard. When questioned about it, he said they were in the book and we were responsible for everything in the book. We couldn't argue with that.
Finally it was time to take the test. "Leave them face down on the desk until everyone has one, and I'll tell you to start," our professor, Dr. Tom Hufty, instructed.
[I turned my test over], to my astonishment every answer on the test was filled in. My name was even written on the exam in red ink. The bottom of the last page said: "This is the end of the exam. All the answers on your test are correct. You will receive an A on the final exam. The reason you passed the test is because the creator of the test took it for you. All the work you did in preparation for this test did not help you get the A. You have just experienced…grace."
Dr. Hufty then went around the room and asked each student individually, "What is your grade? Do you deserve the grade you are receiving? How much did all your studying for this exam help you achieve your final grade?"
Then he said, "Some things you learn from lectures, some things you learn from research, but some things you can only learn from experience. You've just experienced grace." 1
Benjamin and Spencer you are here this morning because your parents and godparents have experienced grace—and they want you, with all their hearts, to experience the same. We—your new brothers and sisters—are here this morning because we have experienced grace. We want you to be part of our family that gives thanks for God's great gift.
Justified by grace as a gift, that is what Paul said. That is what we believe.
Benjamin and Spencer as you come to the font, as you are baptized, may you remind us that this is all gift. May you remind us that you have not earned this any more than we have earned this.
Father Certain will offer a prayer after your baptism: "Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace" 2 As we hear this prayer, and see the joy of your families, may we be reminded, as your older brothers and sisters, that we too have received this gift. And, full of grace, may we give thanks with your families—today, tomorrow, and everyday of our lives—for such a wonderful gift. Amen.
1 Denise Banderman, Hannibal, Missouri. Retrieved 28 May 2005 from www.preachingtoday.com
2 The Book of Common Prayer, page 308