There is a song from the film Alfie that begins with the words - What's it all about - Alfie? The song speaks of the uncertainty of life, and how hard it is to understand what is going on some times. Indeed many songs that we hear, books that we read and films that we watch tackle this sense of uncertainty about life. Like it or not, there is in life itself, the struggle to understand what it is all about and for centuries, the prophets, philosophers and priests have attempted to help people deal with these issues.

Sooner or later, there is the conclusion, that there is something greater than ourselves. There is a sense of emptiness if we as humanity are all there is. Indeed it is interesting that in our society which has significantly rejected the notion of God, that there is this increasing belief in alien or extra-terrestrial life, offering hope for humanity.

In addition, this hunger for things beyond oneself has seen many turn to 'old' ideas and this can be seen in television programs like the Sentinel where the spiritual powers of primitive Indians from the jungles offer the transformation of the individual into a Super-human.

This is the world in which we live. A world, which is seeking for something which is beyond the humanity that we are part of. And this is no accident. God has created us to respond to him. Part of being human is having an in-built response to this higher power, and if for some reason that we do not look to God, then we will find some other explanation, something else to put our trust in.

In our culture, there is an underlying belief in God, which is in many ways the result of our strong Christian heritage, but in our society there are many conflicting messages, many alternatives offered to our young people and many find that the concept of God is hard to take. And it would be wrong to blame them. It is not the generation that is missing from the church that are at fault, but rather the proceeding one who failed to show them what it was all about. The vision of God as the Law-giver and Judge, may portray some truth, but the failure of the church to show that the prime motivator of God is love and not judgement, has alienated one and now two generations from the love of God. Collectively we stand condemned and the searching by this generation is the result of the failure of the church to show God as who he is.

So what is it all about? What is it that Parents and Godparents will promise to impart to their children and Godchildren? What does God want us to know about him?

In a few weeks, we will celebrate Easter - more than just an excuse for a holiday - it is the focal point of the Christian message. Our Gospel reading explains it in this way:

This last part is probably the most well know part of Scripture but what does it mean? It encapsulates the message of Christianity. It is about God, it is about love and it is about eternal life. I am old enough to remember when TV was black and white. It was good, we knew nothing else, but then came colour. Suddenly black and white TV seem a bit short of the mark. This is the meaning of eternal life - We all have life and experience in one way or another, but this eternal life promised by Scripture is to life as Colour TV is to Black and White. This is the fulfilling of the emptiness that we experience from time to time, that sense that there must be something more. And God has made it so simple - Just Believe and act on that belief.

Indeed the rest of the passage explains this:

For parents and Godparents and indeed the whole church our task is simple. For each child, we must show them this God of love - this God who wants to save not judge, who wants to give life that is greater than the life that we experience on this earth. Our calling is to share this belief with the next generation, so that they will have no need of seeking a greater power other than God.

When I grew up, there was very much the sense that God and Christianity was about rules, about doing the right thing and so on… Christianity was about the thou shalt nots… But it is not this at all.

Christianity is about the experience on a personal level of the unconditional love of God. There is nothing in ourselves that merits this. And yet God loved us anyway. About the encounter with Jesus, who loved each of us, enough to die on our behalf and who offers us the gift of eternal life. (This is what is the Easter message is all about).

Each person then has a choice.

We can choose the light or the darkness; aliens or mystic nature-spirits or Jesus, but Jesus offers you and I the gift of life eternal. Perhaps it is best put if we see this for what it truly is - a personal invitation -

If we replace the world with our own name then we have its true meaning.