Baptism of Georgina Bailey 28-06-09
Story:
Last week was marred by the death of Michael Jackson
One of the saddest comments I heard Michael Jackson make was when he was being interviewed and he said that his father had never told him that he loved him.
In a speech at Oxford University in March 2001 he spoke very perceptively when he said this:
(Quote): “All of us are products of our childhood.
But I am the product of a lack of a childhood, an absence of that precious and wondrous age when we frolic playfully without a care in the world, basking in the adoration of parents and relatives, where our biggest concern is studying for that big spelling test come Monday morning.
Those of you who are familiar with the Jackson Five know that I began performing at the tender age of five and that ever since then, I haven’t stopped dancing or singing.
But while performing and making music undoubtedly remain as some of my greatest joys, when I was young I wanted more than anything else to be a typical little boy.
I wanted to build tree houses, have water balloon fights, and play hide and seek with my friends.
But fate had it otherwise and all I could do was envy the laughter and playtime that seemed to be going on all around me.
There was no respite from my professional life.
But on Sundays I would go Pioneering, the term used for the missionary work that Jehovah’s Witnesses do.
And it was then that I was able to see the magic of other people’s childhood.
Since I was already a celebrity, I would have to don a disguise of fat suit, wig, beard and glasses and we would spend the day in the suburbs of Southern California, going door-to-door or making the rounds of shopping malls, distributing our Watchtower magazine.
I loved to set foot in all those regular suburban houses and catch sight of the shag rugs and La-Z-Boy armchairs with kids playing Monopoly and grandmas baby-sitting and all those wonderful, ordinary and starry scenes of everyday life.
Many, I know, would argue that these things seem like no big deal. But to me they were mesmerising.
…………Love, ladies and gentlemen, is the human family’s most precious legacy, its richest bequest, its golden inheritance.
And it is a treasure that is handed down from one generation to another.
Previous ages may not have had the wealth we enjoy.
Their houses may have lacked electricity, and they squeezed their many kids into small homes without central heating.
But those homes had no darkness, nor were they cold.
They were lit bright with the glow of love and they were warmed snugly by the very heat of the human heart.
Parents, undistracted by the lust for luxury and status, accorded their children primacy in their lives.
He went on to say… I would therefore like to propose tonight that we install in every home a Children’s Universal Bill of Rights, the tenets of which are:
1. The right to be loved without having to earn it
2. The right to be protected, without having to deserve it
3. The right to feel valuable, even if you came into the world with nothing
4. The right to be listened to without having to be interesting
5. The right to be read a bedtime story, without having to compete with the evening news
6. The right to an education without having to dodge bullets at schools
7. The right to be thought of as adorable - (even if you have a face that only a mother could love).
(end of Quote)
http://myhandwriting.com/news/michaeljackson/mjsource/interviews/Oxford_Michael_jackson2.html
When I read that it really deeply moved.
For as we all know that Michael Jackson spent all of his adult life trying to find the childhood he never had
How we bring our children up WILL determine to a great extent how they turn out
This morning Simon and Nicola have come here because they want to say that they intend to bring Georgina up in the Christian faith.
And so I would like to speak on three verses from the Old Testament this morning
1. Love your children
The first is Proverbs 13:24
”Those who love their children care enough to discipline them “
The Bible takes it for granted that we will love our children
But if we neglect to set them boundaries and children want fair discipline them when necessary, we fail with our love for them
The second is from Proverbs 3:1
2. A morally good upbringing
The first verse is:
“My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments”
(Pr. 3:1)
TS Eliot wrote in Four Quartets:
“In my beginning is my end”
In other words, the input of parents into the early life of a child will generally determine the pattern of life for years to come.
The most obvious input of the Christian faith is its moral teaching.
The book of Proverbs is full of this.
For example, it will be very important to teach Georgina right from wrong and how to choose the company she keeps.
3. A disciple of Christ
The third verse that I would like to look at is from Proverbs 3:5
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding” (Pr. 3:5)
The Christian faith is more than moral teaching.
It is about learning to put our trust in God
It is more than believing in God
It is becoming a disciple, a follower of Christ.
What is the difference between believeing in God and trusting in God?
Story: In 1859, the famous tioght rope artist Blondin spanned a tightrope across the Niagara Falls from the USA to Canada
He the proceeded to walk across it with a wheelbarrow in front of him.
Having reached the other side, he stepped down to the applause of the crowd.
He went up to members of the crowd and asked: "Do you believe that I can walk back on that rope without falling off?"
"Yes" they each replied.
"Do you really believe I can make" he asked.
"Yes" they replied. "We’ve just seen you do it"
"Then" said Blondin "Get in the wheelbarrow we are going back across".
"Oh no" they replied "It is far too dangerous".
They believe he could do it – but they wouldn’t TRUST him.
This is the difference between simply a believer and being a disciple.
We might believe in the existence of God.
We might believe that we are sinners and that Christ died to save us from our sins
We might believe he rose again and is alive
But in the Bible belief is more – it means action.
It means to trust God with our lives
To be his disciple requires us to get into the wheelbarrow.
That is the challenge of Christian baptism
Jesus put it very well in a parable:
He said this
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Mt 7:25-27)
We need to put into practice Jesus teaching in our lives.
That requires both prayer and Bible Study and inviting the Holy Spirit to dwell within us
And I would encourage Simon and Nicola to bring Georgina to church regularly
3. Prayer
So what can we do practically for Georgina.
Some of you will be an active influence Georgina’s life.
Others will not have that close relationship with her.
However we can all pray for Georgina
We can pray that God will fill her with his Holy Spirit
We can pray that when she is old enough to decide for herself - she will take up her baptismal vows and decide to become a disciple of Jesus.
So I would like to encourage you all to pray for Georgina and do not give up.
I am sue that I became a Christian in no small part because my Auntie Molly, a Roman Catholic nun prayed for me
You may think that your prayers are getting nowhere. But don’t give up.
Prayer is extremely important because God has chosen to work through prayer.
In conclusion may I challenge you, as Georgina’s family and friends, to
1. Love her by spending time with her and setting boundaries in her life. Make sure she is given a good moral upbringing
2. Pray for her, read the Bible to her and
3. Make sure she has a good example that will encourage her to decide for herself when she is old enough to become a disciple of Jesus
May I leave you with a prayer from Sir Francis Drake who said this:
O Lord God, when you give your servants to endeavour in any great matter, grant us also to know that it is not the beginning but the
continuing of the same to the end until it is thoroughly finished, which yields the true glory through him, who for the finishing of your work, laid down his life, Our Redeemer Jesus Christ -
Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596)
