Acts 16.9-15; John 14.23-29

Neither of today’s Bible readings was chosen specifically because we have a baptism in our service this morning. They are the standard lectionary readings, but both are appropriate for today.

The first reading - from the book of Acts - reminds us that baptism is something that goes right back to the first few weeks and months of the Church. In fact, Jesus himself was baptised, and one of the tasks he gave his own disciples was to baptise.

In today’s story, we see Lydia becoming a Christian. She had listened to what Paul had to say about Jesus and decided that she believed him. She was, from now on, going to live her life as a follower of Christ. The sign and symbol that she was going to do this was her baptism.

Baptism is a rite of initiation. It’s something that happens at the beginning. For Lydia it was the beginning of her life as a Christian, a member of the Church.

Primrose is also at a beginning. She is still young. But her situation is obviously different in some ways from that of Lydia. Primrose is too young to decide for herself whether she wishes to be a follower of Christ; that, we hope and pray, is something she will do for herself when she becomes older.

As with Lydia, for Primrose, this baptism is a beginning, which will find some kind of completion on the day when Primrose decides for herself to follow Christ.

Our baptism this morning is a visible, public sign of a deep and wonderful truth.

We will see four different symbolic acts during the service this morning, each of which says something, not mainly about Primrose, but about God’s attitude towards her, and to each one of us.

The first symbol that we will encounter is the signing of Primrose with the cross. The cross acts today as a symbol of all that God has done for us in Christ. All of us, however hard we try, will fall into the trap of sinfulness. We, as humans, can’t avoid that.

There are different kinds of sin - some sins are things we actively do that are wrong. People sometimes get in a muddle about what sin is - they think that only big things like murder or theft count as sins, but that’s not the case. Whenever we do something that is contrary to the ways of God, contrary to the path of love, then that is a sin. Anything that shifts our focus away from loving God - giving God first place in our lives - and other people and putting them before ourselves - is defined as sin.

And a sin is not just something we might do that is wrong. We also sin if we neglect to do something that we should have done - for instance accepting responsibility for things we have done - how easy it is to blame others when we’ve got it wrong - and sin too can be about our attitudes - an angry, hateful or selfish attitude is as much sin as anything else.

But the cross is not predominantly a sign of our sinfulness but of God’s forgiveness. That’s what we celebrate at baptism. That rather than condemning us for our sins, which none us can avoid, God gives us the gift of forgiveness.

And, the water, the second symbol that we will see this morning, is a sign of that forgiveness. That when we do sin and then come to God for forgiveness, it will be as if all the dirt and badness is washed away - think of receiving God’s forgiveness as a bit like bathwater going down a plug-hole. That water has made us clean and then it disappears taking our dirt with it, and we don’t see it again.

God’s community of Christians is open to all people, and that’s why an important part of the baptism ceremony is found in our third symbol - our words of welcome to Primrose. We are saying to her that she is welcome to join us as we follow Christ. The welcome we extend to her is a reflection of the love God has for each of us.

And today’s fourth symbol will be the lighted candle that we will give Primrose at the end of our service, a symbol of Christ’s light and goodness in our world, a light that never goes out, and that will be there for the rest of Primrose’s life, if she wants to follow it.

So four signs - cross, water, welcome and light, each of them telling us something of God’s love and forgiveness.

There’s one more thing that will be important for Primrose on her Christian journey, as it is for every Christian. And we heard a little about it in our Gospel reading. None of us are expected to follow the Christian path alone. Jesus told his disciples that when he went back to heaven after the resurrection, he would not leave them alone, but would give them the Holy Spirit to be with them, and teach them and remind them of all that he had said to them.

That gift of the Holy Spirit is still available for us today, and without it, we cannot live the Christian life to the full. The Holy Spirit is God dwelling alongside us and within us as we follow the path of the Christian journey.  Primrose is at the beginning of that journey today. The end of today’s process will come if and when she decides for herself to follow Christ, but that particular end is also the beginning of another journey.

All Christians who have a living relationship with God grow and develop and change, as they allow God’s love to transform them through the work of the Holy Spirit.

So, as we come to Primrose’s baptism, let us hold before us what it says about God - that God offers us all forgiveness through the work of Christ, that that gift is available to everyone, that Christ’s light will never diminish, and that God is with us on our Christian journey every step of the way in the form of the Holy Spirit.