This is a very special Sunday for 3 reasons.
First, because we say Happy Birthday to St Mary’s, consecrated in 1094 by St Anslem, which makes us 931 years young.
Second, we congratulate Spire Watch, and everyone associated with St Mary’s Spire restoration. As our website says: “Standing tall after 550 years, it is currently undergoing major renovations made possible through your generous donations.” Well not ‘currently’ anymore – it is finished. The spire is standing secure and tall again and will hopefully do so for another 550 years!
Third, it’s a special Sunday because it’s a celebration of the Baptism of Christ – a story told in all 4 Gospels including in our St Luke reading today. Today I want to talk about Christ’s baptism in the context of our Church birthday and the completed Spire because:
Baptism (like a birthday) is a new start
Baptism (like the Spire) is a witness
Baptism is something Christians do.
First – baptism, like a birthday, is a new start When St Anselm consecrated St Mary’s, who could have imagined what was starting. Even if there was an Anglo-Saxon Church here before, this was a new start, leading to these 931 years of witness. Likewise, the baptism of Jesus, 1000yrs before Anselm, was a new start. St Luke says the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and God the Father spoke, ‘you are my son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased’.
We’ve just celebrated Christmas and the Christ child. On the 1st Sunday after Christmas, we read about the young man Jesus ‘increasing in wisdom and in divine and human favour’; and now here in his baptism, Jesus the adult, begins the work he had been born to do. A work that would be very demanding and ultimately lead to the cross. And as this work begins at baptism - Jesus is encouraged and enabled to make this new start with the help of the Holy Spirit, and the Father. As our new years have begun, we too have challenges ahead. Yet for the baptised, the presence of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - will be with you, in all the new starts and challenges of the year ahead. So, baptism (like a birthday) is a new start.
Second - baptism (like the Spire) is a witness You can tell a lot about a Church (& congregation) by the posters outside. An old favourite is: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’; or the one at St Edmund the King, which simply says ‘praying for the community’. As we celebrate the Spire, we celebrate its witness – much more impressive than a poster. I’ve had lots of conversations about the Spire and I’m sure you have too. It is a landmark, a visual comfort, a sense of home, a north star in people’s lives, and a witness to God.
As Father James Power kept telling us – the roots of the place-name Harrow, and this Hill, speak of a place of worship – of seeking God – and our Spire is an amazing witness to that God. We should be proud of this witness. Baptism, like the Spire, is also a witness. It is a public act that takes its inspiration from Christ. In baptism we witness to our community, family and friends, and to our belief and commitment to God. Baptism, and confirmation, is a personal and conscious decision in our lives when we choose to follow Christ and join the Church – to become a disciple, just like Christ’s original followers did 2000 years ago. So, baptism, like the Spire, is a witness.
Third - baptism is something Christians do Modelled by Jesus and practised by the disciples; Jesus declared in the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matt 28:18–19 Baptism is a physical act with spiritual significance – a sacrament. It involves water for the washing away of sin; promises and words of faith; a sign of the cross, representing death; and an openness to receiving the Holy Spirit in the words: "I baptise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"
In Church tradition Baptism was done at Eastertime. Last Easter several St Mary’s people were baptised by the Bishop of London on Holy Saturday at St Paul’s Cathedral, the day before Easter Sunday. If you were baptised as a child - but you are not yet confirmed (that is, as an older person, you have not confirmed the promises made over you as a child) then you can be confirmed at St Paul’s on Holy Saturday. Alison and I are keen to encourage baptism and/or confirmation for all – perhaps especially members of our Choir – supported by their mums and dads. Please do come and talk to us – and we will help you prepare. If you are feeling ‘I want this, I believe this is the right time’ then the Holy Spirit is speaking to you - and you are being urged to be baptised. So baptism is something Christians do.
In conclusion I’m delighted you are here to celebrate St Mary’s birthday – and celebrate the completion of our Spire. But the reason St Mary’s was born and is still thriving, is more than bricks and mortar and beams – it is water and Spirit and fire. John the Baptist says in Luke 3: ‘I baptise you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire’. This spiritual promise of John is available to us today. Jesus has come, he has completed his mission on earth and as we learned during Advent, he will come again. On this very special birthday – the Spirit of God calls us to a new start; and on this special day of Spire completion, we are called to be a witness. As Christians have done since the Church began - if you want to be baptised or confirmed – we would love to talk to you and help you make that happen.