Proper 20 -- Cycle B, September 23, 2018
The first movie I ever say was Sleeping Beauty. It began with a christening. All the people and all the fairies of the kingdom came to greet the little Princess Aurora, to offer gifts and wishes and blessings.
And here we are this morning for little Josephine, with gifts and wishes and blessings. The corporate blessing, the blessing we have gathered to offer is this: that Josephine may lead a life that matters.
In this great big world that ignores all but the powerful and mighty, first we say that Josephine herself matters. She is a precious child of God, a princess in her own right, in the kingdom of God.
And then we are here to lead her to live a life that matters.
The last several weeks our lessons have been about wisdom. To know what is a life that matters and then to live it -- what could be wiser than that?
That is our wish, our blessing for Josephine this morning.
I remember the evening after my son Jacob was born. I held him in my arms and prayed that he would be happy. Isn't that what parents say, "I just want my children to be happy."
A friend in Costa Rica said something similar for himself a few years back. He was feeling sorrowful, as he often does, and was in his cups, which he thinks would make him less sorrowful. But it doesn't. He said to me, "All I want is to be happy. Is that asking too much?"
He asked as though he thought I would have the answer, me being a priest and all. Now, it's not my first rodeo, and I don't counsel people while they are drunk.
But I did have an answer. I'm saving it for him.
No, to be happy is not asking enough. The thing is, if what you are pursuing is happiness, you will never get there. Oh, you might experience pleasure. You might distract yourself temporarily from your sorrows. But it's when you lose yourself in something else, when you create, or help, or stand up for something important, or love, when your own happiness is forgotten, that's when it comes.
The first movie I ever say was Sleeping Beauty. It began with a christening. All the people and all the fairies of the kingdom came to greet the little Princess Aurora, to offer gifts and wishes and blessings.
And here we are this morning for little Josephine, with gifts and wishes and blessings. The corporate blessing, the blessing we have gathered to offer is this: that Josephine may lead a life that matters.
In this great big world that ignores all but the powerful and mighty, first we say that Josephine herself matters. She is a precious child of God, a princess in her own right, in the kingdom of God.
And then we are here to lead her to live a life that matters.
The last several weeks our lessons have been about wisdom. To know what is a life that matters and then to live it -- what could be wiser than that?
That is our wish, our blessing for Josephine this morning.
I remember the evening after my son Jacob was born. I held him in my arms and prayed that he would be happy. Isn't that what parents say, "I just want my children to be happy."
A friend in Costa Rica said something similar for himself a few years back. He was feeling sorrowful, as he often does, and was in his cups, which he thinks would make him less sorrowful. But it doesn't. He said to me, "All I want is to be happy. Is that asking too much?"
He asked as though he thought I would have the answer, me being a priest and all. Now, it's not my first rodeo, and I don't counsel people while they are drunk.
But I did have an answer. I'm saving it for him.
No, to be happy is not asking enough. The thing is, if what you are pursuing is happiness, you will never get there. Oh, you might experience pleasure. You might distract yourself temporarily from your sorrows. But it's when you lose yourself in something else, when you create, or help, or stand up for something important, or love, when your own happiness is forgotten, that's when it comes.
