I don't know about you, but I have a thing about words. There are some words, which have an image that seems to go beyond the word itself. I guess these are different for each person, but for me one is sojourner. It carries with it the romantic sense of more than a journey, more than tourism, but the idea of living in and amongst without belonging. This concept of the nomad, who lives here in this place but doesn't. I just like the word, but I must admit I do find it difficult to place into every day conversation.

Another word that has struck a chord with me is abide. This is a word, which has more than just a sense of being with, but the sense of being intertwined in some way. Perhaps it is a bit like marriage in that way. Couples who live together may show to all the world the outward signs of marriage, but except there is one important difference - with marriage, there is the commitment expressed in the public act.

Marriage is more than just the outside but the inside as well. It is a bit like this when it comes to abide. There is a sense of integration involved in this, not just coexistence.

When we approach the Gospel reading that I read earlier, we cannot assume that these are just accidental words, just padding out. There timing comes in the vital hours before Jesus death, and they were directed to the disciples who would shortly be commissioned with the task to carry on Jesus work, and there is the sense of urgency about them, as Jesus tries to prepare them for what is to come. They are words also for we who continue the task as disciples and they are words for James and Elizabeth and their parents and godparents as they begin this Christian journey - this Christian sojourn.

The image that Jesus presents us with is a key to the way forward. Perhaps it is the key to the whole Christianity thing. It shows us what Jesus was talking about with his vision of the church that would come into existence through his death and resurrection

"I am the vine," he says "and you are branches". This is more than just the idea of a casual relationship. When we think about the relationship between the vine and the branches, there is this sense of interdependence, integration and relationship. In as much as the purpose of the branch is to bear fruit, the purpose cannot be achieved without the connection to the centre to the vine. In the same way, we who claim Christianity cannot achieve these things without this abiding.

James and Elizabeth, you will remember little of this day. It is the task of your parents and godparents to make it a reality. Their task is to prepare these children to take their place as branches in the vine. Indeed each of us here has this task; that of abiding. Now this seems a perfect opportunity to remind you to come to church more often. To remind you that we are open every Sunday and that to abide, is to be a faithful member of the congregation. But this is the trap that we can fall into if our focus is on the numbers.

There is always huge pressure in these small country congregations to keep the numbers up. And I believe equal pressure in the city churches - to out do the competition. It is as if our worth is in the quantity. How totally opposed this thinking is to the gospel message today. Numbers do not matter it is the quality that counts. Indeed the gardener will prune the numbers to see greater fruit. Quality fruit will not always eventuate when there is quantity. And the fruit that Jesus is talking of is not more branches, but the same fruit of the Spirit that Paul talks of - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Each of us must ask the question of ourselves - are these things happening in our lives? Is this fruit in evidence? We are not talking here about coming to church. Abiding does not mean congregating. You will often here me say, that it is what you do in the world outside that is the evidence of your Christianity, not your presence here. The evidence of your abiding.

Christianity is not the hour on Sunday but the week that comes from it. Parents and Godparents, your task is not to get these kids into church or Sunday School or Youth Group. You task is much harder than that. It is to show them how to abide - to show them Jesus' presence in the world through his influence on his disciples.

This is where the church comes in. We gather to worship God. We gather to encourage each other and we gather to equip ourselves better to face the world. This is not a show or place of entertainment. My task is not to meet transient human needs, but to provide space for you to encounter and dialogue with God. This is not an excuse for something deadly and dull, but at the end of the day, the measure of our gathering is not that we had a good time, nor that we learnt something, but that we met with God.

Our aim is to abide and like marriage, this is more than just coexistence this is about an intimate relationship.

Each person here, from James and Elizabeth up, is in a different place on their Christian sojourn. Jesus has called us all to abide. This is not just in this building, but in our everyday walk with him. Abiding is about a consciousness of the other at all times. About learning to live with the total awareness of Jesus' presence. Like marriage, this does not happen overnight, but through the process of growing together.

So as we witness these baptisms, let us remind ourselves of our own baptism and reflect on the quality of our abiding on the fruit in our own lives. Jesus offers each of us a way forward. His death and resurrection means a new start for each of us, each day. He is not so concerned with the past, but the journey from this point on.

Let us take a moment now to listen to John Michael Talbot, before we continue.