Pentecost 9         John 6:24-35, Eph 4:1-16                8/6/06

                                    “Grow Up!”

 

Today, we have the privilege of baptizing Isaac Roy McElfresh.  The family has overcome some obstacles in their journey to this day.  As a military family the date had to be worked around duty to country and then, of course, there was the long trip here from North Carolina.

 

While I know it’s an exciting day, I suspect there is a mix of feelings.  There is certainly, love, joy and pride flowing freely.  There may also be tiredness and frustration as schedules are adjusted to meet an infant’s demands.  Somewhere in there also, may be wonder.  I’m not talking about wonder as awe, though I imagine there is plenty of that.  Rather, I mean “wonder” as in, “I wonder what Isaac will be and will be like when he grows up.

 

As time goes on, especially when Isaac takes you through the “Terrible Two’s” and later, the “Terrifying Teens” you may secretly (or even openly) be thinking, “Oh, I can’t wait for him to ‘grow up.”  At some point in the distant future, he may have a wife who in a moment of anger says to him, “Why don’t you GROW UP!”.

 

There is another kind of “Grow up” you need to hear and say to Isaac regularly.  It is a kind of growing up that we are all called to do.

 

In baptism the baby or adult is called into discipleship and community.  Baptism is not just about what we receive – forgiveness of sin, salvation, the Holy Spirit and adoption into God’s family.  These are important and profound gifts from God.

 

They are only the beginning though.  We are given gifts and called into God’s family for a purpose beyond ourselves.  Whether you are here in Cambridge Springs, back in North Carolina or somewhere far far away, you are called to be part of a community (a family) of believers.  It will be your duty to see that Isaac grows up in such a community.  It will be your duty to model for him what being in a Christian community means.  It will be your duty to encourage him to develop and use the gifts God gives him as a disciple of Jesus Christ throughout his life.

 

This is an awesome and even scary responsibility, but one that will be shared by the rest of the community of believers wherever you are.  Thus, it is vital that the community of believers – both here at St. Paul’s and at a church you may join – take seriously the command, “Grow Up!”

 

This is what the writer of Ephesians was addressing and what Jesus pointed to in the Gospel.  Christians are called not just to keep growing in faith, but also to “grow up”.  The people had experienced a miracle.  Jesus had multiplied the loaves and fishes so that the people who had come to Him could eat to the full.  They were so impressed that they followed Him across the lake to Capernaum.  They wanted more.

 

The trouble is that their following at this point was all about them and what they wanted.  To truly be followers and disciples (meaning learners or growers) they needed to grow up and look beyond their own needs.  Being a follower of Jesus is about forgiveness, salvation and the abundant grace of God, but it is also about taking up the cross as Jesus did.

 

Jesus wanted to give them so much more than just bread and fish or even God’s grace.  He wanted to give them identity and a sense of true purpose for their lives.  He would do this by having them form communities where people could be helped to grow up into Him.  Growing up into Him means looking beyond the self.  It means placing the needs of others first.  It means seeking what God wants and doing it.

 

It’s okay for a baby like Isaac to be totally centered on himself, on what he needs and wants.  It’s normal for him to see himself as the center of the world.  But, to become a truly happy, well adjusted, productive adult he will need to learn that he is one of many people and he is called to use the gifts God gave him for the good of the community. 

 

He and we, just like the people of the early church, are ultimately called to lead a life worthy of the our calling, to treat others with humility and gentleness with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  This is what it means to “grow up”.

 

To grow up in this way is a huge challenge and we fail regularly.  We slip back into “This is my life, my church, my project, my gift, my power, my, my, my, my.  When we slip we will hear God saying once again, “Grow Up!”

 

Grow up and recognize that you were given gifts to use in my service.  Grow up and realize that your leaders (both lay and ordained) are called to equip you to for the work of ministry.  Grow up and see that you are part of a larger body whose head is Christ., and that it is the head that is to direct the body.  Grow up and experience your true identity and purpose.  Grow up and know what joy really is.

 

This is all part of what we are about today as we baptize Isaac.  We welcome him into not just the St. Paul’s family, but also into the larger family of God.  We issue God’s call of discipleship to him.  We call you, his parents, to help him grow up, not just physically or emotionally, but most of all grow up in Christ.  We encourage you to become part of a Christian community wherever you go so that you have the help of other believers in helping him become all that he can be.  We invite you and hear the invitation ourselves to “grow up”.  Amen