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My sermon this morning is inspired by you, the people who have gathered for this service of holy baptism. Whether this is your first time at St Clement’s, whether you’ve known Sophia and Isabella for a long time or are just meeting them for the first time today, you have a role to play in today’s service. 

Isabella will be presented for baptism by her mother, Sophia, and her godparents, Charlie, Kirstie, and Carolina. Sophia is Ukrainian and a newcomer to Canada. She came over with her parents Alex and Maria, her grandmother Olena, and her brother Akim. Sophia is making her mark on the events and marketing industry in Vancouver: she is an Executive Planner at the Sheraton Wall Centre and recently took part in Vancouver Fashion Week. 

Of course, we know Sophia as a kind and generous member of St Clement’s; Sophia, who helped to raise funds for people in Ukraine displaced by war; Sophia, who a couple of weeks ago helped Diane, our St Clement’s librarian, to reorganize our shelves making the collection of Christian literature here at the church accessible and inviting (I just signed out a book last week!). 

During our baptism preparation class, I asked Sophia what role she hopes to play in Isabella’s spiritual life. She said, “I’ll be her mum—forever!” The forever commitment of a mother to their child is no small thing, something that, if I can reference the words we often say at weddings, “all should reverence and none should lightly undertake.”

Isabella is presented today by Carolina, who was part of the care team from Spectrum Mothers’ Society when Sophia gave birth. Carolina was present for Sophia and Isabella during what could have been a time of significant upheaval, a time of incredible instability. Instead, Carolina brought faithful, consistent care. It’s this same commitment to stability that Carolina will now lend to Isabella as a godparent. 

Charlie and Kirstie were the upstairs neighbours and landlords for Sophia as Sophia began her journey as a single parent. When I asked Charlie what he hopes to bring to Isabella’s life as a godparent, he said, “a place she can always turn to” and “another positive male presence in her life.” As we reflected on the role of water in baptism, Kirstie shared about the water that has shaped her—the ocean, in particular. She told us about a saying that she has in her home: “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.” 

A forever mum; faithful, consistent care; a place you can always turn to; and the healing properties of sweat, tears, and the sea. These are the hallmarks of good, steady parenting and godparenting. They are also the hallmarks of a faithful, Christian life, namely, what the 6th century monk Benedict of Nursia called, “the spiritual practice of stability.” St Benedict was an Italian Catholic monk. He is remembered also in Orthodox and Anglican churches around the world. I bring him up today because, unlike our own St Clement who was heralded for teaching the faith in prison and who was martyred, having been tied to an anchor and drowned in the sea, Benedict is known for a life of “balance, moderation, and reasonableness.” He died of natural causes and was buried next to his sister. This isn’t to say Benedict lived an easy life: he had friends who tried to poison him! He lived with very little worldly possessions in a remote monastery on the side of a cliff! Benedict nevertheless chose the spiritual practice of stability and recommended it for others, too.  

Isabella, as you grow, your family and this community will have no shortage of stories to share with you of times when life was anything but stable—anything but balanced, moderate, and reasonable. You’ll learn of your family’s emergency emigration from Ukraine to Canada. You’ll learn of your humble birth to a young, hard-working single mum. You’ll learn how, despite all of this instability, the people around you sought for themselves and for you a life of consistency, steadfastness, and calm. To bring you up in a place you could always turn to.

The spiritual practice of stability is known by another name. It’s sometimes called, “staying with what’s good.” This is a skill we hone particularly when we’ve been members of a community for a long time. We learn to ride the ups and the downs, we learn to outlast the bad times, to celebrate and stay with the good. As I look out at the pews and consider the members of this St Clement’s community, I see a number of people who are well-practiced in stability. Some of you have been here for upwards of 20, 30, 40 years. You’ve seen this place through immoderate, unreasonable years, through ministry that was imbalanced. You’ve pushed back on priests (this one included!) when things were tipped too much one way at the expense of others. 

Some of you are just beginning your journey with St Clement’s. You are new here, or a visitor. You are taking a chance on an ancient faith, on a community that's been around for a while and doesn't necessarily have the flashy, hallmarks of a start-up or a Church with a brand new building where all of the doors close properly and there's never any issue with the plumbing. Together with those who have been here for decades, you will be asked during Isabella’s baptism today if you will do all in your power to support Isabella in her life in Christ. I’m so grateful that it’s you all who are on the other side of that question.

In our gospel reading today, as Jesus gathers with a group of people who have seen some pretty tumultuous times, he makes a promise to them as their saviour and as their friend. He says, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. . . . [T]he one who eats this bread will live for ever.” Jesus is making a promise of stability. No matter what, he will be there; he will abide with them. He will be their forever mum; a place they can always turn to; a saviour who is as faithful and as consistent as the healing properties of the sea. Amen.