"Dear Samuel"

I Samuel 3 - The Call of Samuel, the Prophet.

 The sermon this morning is in the form of a letter to our son Samuel on his baptism day. It’s still a sermon, a biblical message for the congregation, but it’s written as a letter to him.

 I’ve been keeping a journal of letters that I write from time to time to both Ben and Sam. I write to them about life today, current events, the times we live in. I write about our family and what we do together, and I write about being a Christian and having faith in God. I plan to give these individual collections to them when they each graduate from high school. This is what I’ll include in Sam’s collection for today, November 25, 2001.
 

Dear Samuel,

 Today is a wonderful day! It’s your baptism day. It mark
s the beginning of your life lived for Jesus Christ. It marks your entrance into his family, a fellowship of modern day disciples.

 Aside from all the theology and symbolism of baptism there is the basic desire of your Mother and I to say "Thank You" to God for you. You are truly a beautiful blessing and a gift from God! And we could not be more grateful. I think this is the real reason why for centuries parents have brought their newborns to houses of worship--to say "Thank you, God, for this incredible gift. We pledge ourselves to gratefully and wholeheartedly love this child you have given to us forever. Thank you, dear Lord, thank you."

 Evie Fitzpatrick gave us a lovely plaque which reads, "A child is God’s opinion that the world should go on." And, Sammy, you are proof that God believes that the world should go on with a smile. You are proof that Jesus does indeed desire to give us "life abundant," as he spoke about (John 10:10). For you have life and joy in abundance. I have never seen a child smile so much, whether you’re healthy or sick, or whether it’s 2:00 pm or 2:00 am, you’re always smiling. I think that part of our basic job as your parents is simply to not mess that up.

 So baptism is saying "thanks" for you, Sam. It’s also a sign and symbol of God’s love for you, a love that is there even before you ask for it or can do anything to earn it.

 On June 11th of this year, you were born at 8:12 am. Our nurse that day was Jerri LeConte. After Jerri had finished her initial check of you, she turned to me and said, "Rich, put your hand here and touch your Son." And then a little bit later, she bundled you up and said, "Here Rich. Here’s your Son." And I held you.

 Sammy, you have no idea how much love filled my heart at that moment! And you had done nothing to earn it. You didn’t have to! The love was just there. Instantly. Wholeheartedly. It was as if my heart was enlarged, more bigger than I could ever have imagined.

 That’s exactly how God loves us. New Testament scholars call this type of love, "first love." It’s based upon I John 4:10 - "In this was love, not that we first loved God, but that he first loved us." I never completely understood this verse until you and Ben were born. You didn’t have to earn my love or even ask for it. It was there instantly. God’s love is just like that. It’s a first love--instinctual, uncontrollable. God can’t help but love us, in the same way that I can’t help but love you.

 Infant baptism symbolizes the unconditional, first love of God. Even before we can ask for it, before we can do anything to try and earn it, God loves us. God simply loves us, unconditionally and wholeheartedly. This is why we call baptism a sacrament of grace, for it celebrates the gift of God’s unconditional love, the gift of grace.

 This is also what we’re talking about when we say that baptism washes away our sins. We use water to cleanse us, to wash ourselves clean. In the same way, baptism is a cleansing, even before we know that we need it, before we can even ask for it.  God doesn’t hold our sins against us. They don’t cancel out God’s love for us.

 Parents of newborns often ask me if I believe that their infants are sinners who need to be cleansed. I usually say, "Well, perhaps not yet, but their fallen human nature will catch up with them soon enough." (It’s funny, parents of two year olds never ask me that question! They know their children are sinners!)

 Baptism symbolizes the unconditional acceptance of God, a cleansing even before we can even ask for it or need it. That’s grace.

 Baptism also marks your entrance into the church of Jesus Christ. Baptism is the initiation rite of Christians. You can’t belong to a church unless you are baptized, because the heart of the gospel is being acted out through the gracious act of baptism. The church is the "community of the baptized," those who have received and celebrate the grace of God.

 I long for you to love the Church, Samuel. I want you to love it -- its people, its music, its hymns, its feel, its taste, its smell, its scripture, its prayers, its sacraments, its faith. I want you to love it all.

 But this will not always be easy for you. For several reasons, the chief one is that you will be STRONGLY encouraged to attend! And it’s only human nature to resist what we are forced into. I only hope and pray that God will captivate your heart and you’ll see what this strange church world is all about . . . it’s about God and Jesus, and trying to be close to Christ and follow Him.

 I want to say a few words about your biblical name’s sake, Samuel the Prophet. He is not as well known as other prophets, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. But he was more influential than all of them.  (he hand-selected the first 2 kings, Saul and David)

 The name Samuel means, "The Name of God." It was Samuelís calling to give testimony to the Name of God. In the Bible the "Name" of God refers to the character or reputation of God, such as when we say, "So & So has a good name around town." It refers to who they are, their character, their reputation. Samuelís calling, as evidenced by his name, was to give witness in his life and teaching to the character and nature of God. In the same way that Christ-ians are to give witness to the character and nature of Christ.

 Tony Campolo says, "A Christian is one who’s heart is broken by the things that break the heart of God. A Christian is one who is angry over the things that anger the heart of God. A Christian is one who has joy over the things that bring joy to the heart of God."

 Christians are to have the heart of God so that they live and give and love in such a way that they bring honor to the Name of Christ.

 In Old Testament times, Samuelís name would have been a reminder to the people that we all are called to honor the Name of God, to honor God’s nature and character by how we live.  Samuel, "The Name of God."

 The story of the boy Samuel and Eli the Priest, recorded in I Samuel 3 is one of my favorite Old Testament stories. It has so much to teach us. I pray that it will be one of your favorite chapters in all the Bible, Sam.

 Jewish tradition says that Samuel was 12 years old when he was assisting Eli in the temple. Eli the Priest was very old and his eyesight was failing, so Samuel served in the temple with him to assist him in his priestly duties.

 One night they were asleep in the holiest place in the temple, the place where the ark of the Covenant was. That was a box that contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments. This was Israelís most precious and sacred possession, for the tablets came from God and literally had God’s handwriting upon them.

 While sleeping late at night, Samuel hears a voice, "Samuel! Samuel!" The boy runs to Eli, "Here I am, for you called me." Eli says, "I didn’t call you. Go lie down." Then it happens again. Samuel hears his name and he runs to Eli, who says, "I didn’t call you. Go lie down again." Then when it happens a third time, Eli realizes that it is the Lord calling out to Samuel. And so he tells Samuel what to say, how to respond to God. "Say, ‘Speak Lord for your servant is listening.’"

 Sammy, I believe that I am to play the role of Eli in your life, not because I’m a minister but because I’m your Father. And so it’s my job and your Mother’s to teach you to recognize the voice of God and to teach you how to respond.

 (Last Spring I realized that I wasn’t doing my job when it came to Benjamin. We read a lot of books together and I realized that he knew the name of every Sesame Street character and every Thomas the Train engine, and he knew the difference between a loader, a backhoe and an excavator! And yet I had not taught him much about Jesus and Moses and Noah and Jonah. And so I went out and bought every children’s book I could find. One of the best one’s by the way is the book that the Women’s Fellowship is making available, S is for Star. It teaches our faith in a beautiful way.

 Santa’s Village. I knew I was being successful when this past summer we went to a place called Santa’s Village up in the White Mountains.  It’s a pretty neat place. We saw reindeer and an elves workshop. One of the most moving things is a life size Nativity Set. There’s an enormous stable, sheep, camels, & everything. I said to our two and half year old, "Ben, who’s that in the manger?" "That’s Jesus." "And who’s that?" "His Mommy, Mary. And that’s Joseph."  I was so proud. But I was even more proud when we walked up to Santa’s House--the North Pole. And there’s Santa--red suit, red cap, white beard, the perfect Santa. I said to Benjamin, "Who’s that? Much toy delight, he replied, "I don’t know." Now that’s good Christian parenting, my friends!

 We need to teach our children the faith in our homes. We need to reinforce what the church teaches. The Puritans said that our homes our to be "Little Churches," where the faith is taught.)

 So Sammy, I will try to teach you to hear God speak to you through the scriptures. Jesus words, "Come, follow me," are to you and me today. I will teach you to hear God’s voice through silent prayer, through praying and meditating upon the Psalms. We will experience together hearing God’s voice through music, though nature, and through the sacraments. We will also hear God’s voice calling out to us in the cries of the poor. And together with the help of our church we will respond.

 This wonderful chapter in the Bible reminds us to regularly ask ourselves these questions:   What is God saying to me?
  What is God calling me to today?
  and How shall I respond to God?

 Samuel heard God’s call and he responded with a willing heart, "Here I am. Speak Lord, for your servant is listening." And when God gave him a job to do he did it.

 Samuel is a model of a willing heart, and obedient heart, a heart eager to serve God.   And God does beautiful things through hearts like that.

 Cultivate that kind of heart within you, Sam. Young Samuel spent a lot of time in the temple (almost as much as a Preacher’s Kid) and it put him in the right place at the right time to hear God’s call. We all must practice our faith to be ready when God calls us.

 Always know, Sam, that we will listen for God’s voice together. We will learn together, pray together, make mistakes together, and grow together. And your Mother and I will be here for you every step of the way.

 I Samuel 3:19 says, "Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground." In other words, his life mattered. He made a difference because of his devotion to God. I’m sure that your life will be similar, because Samuel, the Lord will be with you, for you have been baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Rich Knight