Trinity 16

A sermon for the baptism of Maddie and George. Preached by the Reverend Anna Matthews.

St Paul is considered to be one of the most important people in the history of the West. His life’s work and his thinking changed politics, society, architecture and philosophy. He was responsible, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for the spread of Christianity across Europe and Asia Minor and parts of the Middle East. No mean feat when you consider that almost all his journeys were on foot – that’s around 10,000 miles.

This wasn’t how Paul thought his life would go. From what we know about his background, Paul (or Saul as he was called then) had a clear sense of direction and ambition. He knew what he was about, and he was doing well at achieving his life’s aims. He tells the Christians in Philippi, in Greece, that he was a proud ‘member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless’ (Phil. 3.5-6). In other words, he was brought up in the Jewish faith, kept the law, was taught by one of the best respected rabbis around, and had his vision set on becoming one of the leaders of his people. He had a brilliant mind, a great education, the opportunities afforded by being a Roman citizen, the respect of his people, zeal and energy for doing God’s work – which included stamping out this heretical new movement that followed Jesus – everything was lined up for him to achieve his goals.

 Until he set out on the road to Damascus to hunt down more Christians, and had an encounter that turned his world upside down. Paul met Jesus. Or perhaps more accurately, Jesus stopped Paul in his tracks and said ‘what are you doing?’ ‘Why are you persecuting me?’

 From that moment on the entire course of Paul’s life changed. All the things that he’d brought to his goals before then he now put at the service of Jesus: his education and intelligence, his freedom and energy and commitment – all these were now given to Jesus and his church. We don’t get to hear what people from his former life thought about this, but it’s not hard to imagine that some will have felt betrayed, others confused, some might have been angry and others would think it was a complete waste.

But for Paul that encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road, and his ongoing relationship with Jesus, inspired and powered the whole of the rest of his life. So that towards the end of his life, as he looks back over all that’s happened, he can be glad. We heard from one of his letters to Timothy today, which was written either by Paul or by someone close to him. Timothy was someone who Paul had worked with and ministered with, a younger man ordained by Paul, and to whom he now writes, as he nears the end of his life, with real affection and encouragement.

And he writes with encouragement because it’s quite hard, at this point in history, to be a Christian, let alone a Christian minister or missionary. Paul himself is in prison, and he knows the only way he’ll get out of prison is when he’s led away to be executed, because the Roman state doesn’t like this troublesome gospel or those who believe it. Christians say that Jesus is Lord, and that means that the emperor is not, and that means that Christians don’t make very loyal citizens of the Roman empire. They won’t worship the emperor or the old gods. They treat everyone as equal, which unsettles all the dividing lines that exist in society between rich and poor, women and men, slaves and free. They care for the ill and the poor and the very young and the very old as made in the image of God, rather than just leaving them to fend for themselves. They live as though this kingdom of God they say they believe in is real. And that makes them very suspicious in the eyes of earthly kings and rulers.

So Paul writes to Timothy to encourage him to be confident in the gospel, and in Jesus. ‘Don’t be ashamed’, he says, of the good news of Jesus. And don’t be ashamed of me, the Lord’s prisoner. ‘Join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace.’

Think about that. As a younger man, Paul had a glittering career ahead of him, one that would have won him respect and authority and esteem among his people. He writes, here, at the end of his life, as a prisoner, an enemy of the state, who in the course of all those journeys he undertook has endured beatings, shipwreck, other imprisonments, having stones hurled at him, being ridiculed, disbelieved, falsely accused and arrested. And there is no regret, just confidence in Jesus his Lord, and the desire to encourage Timothy to have a similar confidence.

All this Paul did because he knew Jesus and the power of his gospel, and he wanted others to know that too. He did it all for God’s purpose, which is that we might all know and respond to the love with which God made us, and the life he wants to share with us. ‘I know the one in whom I have put my trust’, writes Paul. From the moment he heard Jesus addressing him on the Damascus road Paul knew Jesus. He knew him alongside him on all those journeys he undertook preaching the gospel. He knew him in his sufferings and he knew him in his joys. He knew Jesus as the constant companion of his life’s journey, and the hope of his journey’s end.

Maddie and George, today you put your trust in Jesus. He claims you for his own and marks you with the sign of his cross. This is the day your life turns around, just like St Paul’s did. You can’t yet know what lies ahead of you, what you will make of life or what it will ask of you. But you can know this: Jesus is with you in it all, and loves you in it and through it all. Your lives are now open to his life, and through the Holy Spirit that is given to you today, you have God’s promise that you are his, and that nothing has the power to separate you from his love. That’s where you can put your confidence and your hope. And as you do that, your calling, like all the rest of us who have been baptized, is to live in a way that helps others know Jesus. Because today isn’t just about you putting your trust in Jesus. It’s also about Jesus putting his trust in you, to show others who he is and what he’s like.

That means loving people, and especially those whom others think are unlovable, or who think themselves unlovable. It means being people who care about truth and justice. It means forgiving, and knowing when you need to ask for forgiveness. It means being people who are full of God’s light, and who shine with that in places and situations that are dark and difficult and sometimes seem hopeless.

We don’t, and can’t, do any of that by ourselves. We do it in the power of Jesus, and in the company of the Holy Spirit. At the end of my life I would like to be able to say with St Paul that I know the one in whom I have put my trust, that I have lived my life in his company, and that I have helped others come to trust him. What do you want to be able to say at the end of yours?