Epiphany 4Year C Feb. 4, 2007 |
Let down your nets for a catch… |
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The Reverend John F. McCard, Rector |
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in thine eyes, O Lord our strength and redeemer. When he had finished speaking, Jesus, said to Simon, Put
out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch. Simon answered, Master we have worked all night long but
have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets. When they
had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to
break. When I look out this morning and see our eight
candidates for baptism, I feel a little like St. Peter. At St. Martin’s we
have lowered our nets into the water. And we find this morning that our own
nets are full, not with fish, but with diapers, bottles, and babies…. I also realize that on a baptismal Sunday with eight babies, peace is only a temporary state…So I will speak briefly so we can get to the important part of our service. First you should know that last week, in my sermon, I
talked about one of my favorite books, Charlotte’s Web. Since I know that many new parents are always looking
for new material for reading, I do want to put a plug in for the book. I also
want to continue the literary bent of my sermons by speaking about another
popular novel or in this case series of books for children and adults. How many folks here saw the Harry Potter announcement
this week…..yes apparently on July 21, 2007….we will all discover how the
series ends, What do you think? Does Harry survive? With a title like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,
I am not too optimistic. While I know that the books have caused a certain degree
of controversy, I have always been struck by the strong baptismal imagery
that we find in the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Dumbledore, the wise wizard, explains to Harry why
Voldemort, the chief villain, in the first book’s climatic struggle could not
touch Harry without burning himself. “Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing
Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as
powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign…to have been loved so
deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some
protection forever.” He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. In the same way today in Church, we prepare to mark
these children through the sacrament of Baptism. Unlike Harry though in baptism, we don’t have to worry
about protecting them from magic spells or wizards. We do acknowledge that human life is full of uncertainty
and there is no way we can make predictions about the struggles our children
will face or insure that they will not occasionally scrap their knee. But we stand here this morning with them as God’s
people. We welcome them into this community. We invoke the power of God’s Holy Spirit. We do what
other Christians have done for 2,000 years. We wash them with water, we seal them with water and we
say the wonderful words, “you are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as
Christ’s own forever”. Just as Harry was marked by the love of his mother, we
mark these children to be God’s possession. Baptism reminds us that these children are not ours to
own, but they are ours to raise, as gifts from God. A good friend of mine once wrote, Being Baptized is
being handed over to God. The first thing to say about it, therefore, is that
it is a deeply individualizing act. Having been baptized, that little child
sets out on a journey in which she must learn to love Jesus more than father
and mother. She is plunged into the waters of baptism, in which she must
learn to swim. The handing over that is done this day is not
abandonment. Despite the individuality of God’s claim upon these children,
they will do this swimming in deep and unchartered waters as part of this
community. If baptism is an individualizing act it is also an
affirmation that these children are now members of this community that we
call the church. And this church is where these children will grow up and
learn about the abundance of God’s love and the strength that comes when the
chips are done and evil wizards are all around us. Our lesson captures this type of moment, remember when
we meet Peter he is depressed and tired….he has been fishing all night with
no luck and suddenly Jesus asks him to let down his nets…. How foolish this must have seemed. What did a carpenter
know about fishing? Yet we see Peter letting down his guard….opening himself
up to the abundance and joy of God’s love that is just below the surface of
the water. When Peter plunged into the water, he discovered that
simple nets woven together were not strong enough to contain what God was
offering. Today at this baptismal moment, we also bring our
children to this font, at Jesus’ command, we lower them into the water and
bring them out, reborn, refreshed and reclaimed as God’s own. And we are confident that like those fishing nets, this
small font cannot hold back the abundance of God’s love and spirit that calls
us out of ourselves and into a life of service in this community as Christ’s
disciples. Like Dumbledore, there is no doubt in my mind that Love
that powerful leaves a mark. And this morning as these children are plunged into the
waters of baptism, beginning those first tentative strokes, we will be there
with them in the water, to offer our guidance, to share in the adventure, and
to see that one day, they will be able to swim on their own. |