tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58551670814019953462024-03-13T14:01:09.739-02:30Rev. MiriamAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-80097399946195366322017-05-27T12:39:00.003-02:302017-05-27T12:39:27.844-02:30Unknown Gods <div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The first time I read the words from the book of Acts, I was struck by the line that Paul found inscribed on an altar. “to the god nobody knows.” Mostly because the preacher in me admired what Paul does with his next breath. Paul is in Athens. The centre of intellect and rhetoric. The homes of Zeus and the whole pantheon of Greek Gods and Paul says, “</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white; font-size: 24pt;">. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">” (Acts 17:23) It is just as powerful thousands of years later. Is it any wonder that Paul is responsible for introducing so many communities to the good news of Jesus? Paul travelled extensively and wherever goes, he finds a group of people interested in hearing about Jesus. He goes to people’s homes and public squares and finds a way to connect their everyday lives to the good news of Jesus. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">I’m going to press rewind on our reading because Paul wasn’t supposed to preaching in Athens. At the beginning of chapter 17 it describes how Paul had to be taken by stealth out of Thessalonica. The leaders in the community did not like the Word that Paul was teaching in their community. With the help of his friends and supporters Paul makes his way to Athens where he is waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As Paul explores Athens he sees idols everywhere. One translation of this text says he was deeply distressed by all the idols and another says, “The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white; font-size: 24pt;">the angrier he got—all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">” (Acts 17: 16) It it is almost like Paul can’t help himself. He sees the idols everywhere and needs to share a message of hope. So Paul begins talking about the good news of Jesus with the Jewish community and other like-minded people in the city. Some philosophers hear what Paul is saying about Jesus’ resurrection and they want to know more. They take Paul to a quieter place at the Areopagus to hear more. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Up to this point, Paul’s message has been directed to the Jewish community. This a new audience filled with the Athenian elite which requires a different kind of message. It says in Acts, “</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white; font-size: 24pt;">So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">to the god nobody knows</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white; font-size: 24pt;">. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">.” (Acts 17: 22 – 23) </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">The God that Paul introduces the Athenians to that day is one we know. It is the God who created the world, a God who doesn’t need human shrines, a God who is always near. Then Paul quotes a poem by the Greek poet Aratus, “For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 24pt;"> </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">‘For we too are his offspring.’” (Acts 17:28) Then comes Paul’s big conclusion, “Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:29 – 31) </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paul’s preaching that day did not spark faith in everyone. It says in our reading, “When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” At that point Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” (Acts 17: 32 – 34) </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You may be wondering what a sermon preached over 2000 years ago in Athens has to do with us today? We are in a time when fewer people know the good news of Jesus. People haven’t heard about the ways that Jesus touches our lives with hope. People haven’t the message of God’s deep and abiding grace. It is up to us who’ve heard the story to share it. And just like Paul did in Athens, to use the things that people are familiar with to inspire curiosity and faith. Music, poetry, art, justice, community, compassion can all be reminders of God’s deep and abiding love for us in Jesus. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">Dr. Matt Skinner writes, “The gospel sounds different everyplace it is told. That's because the gospel does not exist in some unadulterated form in isolation from human language, culture, or presuppositions. It's always enfleshed in some way--linguistically, culturally, personally. How would we understand it, or recognize it as good news for us, if it weren't?</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 24pt;">” <a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=886"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(5, 99, 193); color: #0563c1; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24pt;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=886</span></a></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">In every age they found ways to proclaim the gospel. In April of 1894 right here at Cochrane Street there was a successful missionary service with preaching by a variety of preachers. That was one tool. What tool to share the gospel can we use for today? We live in a time of increased curiosity about faith and spirituality. The spiritually section in our books stores keeps growing. People have question and want to know more. As the culture shifts and changes, we need to find our own way to respond to that culture and to make the good news come to life for today.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">Perhaps you can take some time this week to think about the ways that good news has touched your life or ways you’ve felt God come close and share that moment with a friend. Maybe as you listen to the radio or read a book you will find something that reminds of the ways that God is at work in your life. Maybe that will help others connect to God. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whenever those moments happen, it seems to me that God is reaching out to me in the most unexpected ways. A few years ago, I was struggling with what to do for one of our Holy Week services. I was sitting in my car, the radio on, and I heard a song by Great Big World called “Say Something.” It was like I heard Peter’s story of denying Jesus three times in song. Here are the words, </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 24pt;">“</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white; font-size: 24pt;">Say something, I'm giving up on you</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><br />
</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white; font-size: 24pt;">I'll be the one, if you want me to</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><br />
</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white; font-size: 24pt;">Anywhere, I would've followed you</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><br />
</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white; font-size: 24pt;">Say something, I'm giving up on you” (Great Big World, Say Something)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God is always finding new ways to reach us – to make those great introductions. We too can be like Paul who saw that shrine to the god that nobody knows and took it upon himself to introduce people to God. The story of God’s love and mercy is all around us. It is our calling to make that unknown God known and as we do God’s guiding grace will be with us. Amen. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-73512861760224785522017-05-15T06:37:00.001-02:302017-05-15T06:37:25.557-02:30And When They Lifted Their Eyes<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">At the 3pm service on May 14</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"> 1882, the day the first building on this site was dedicated, the Rev. David Beaton of the Congregationalist Church rose to give the message. He preached on one line from the Gospel of Matthew, “And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.” It comes from the story of Jesus’ transfiguration. Jesus, Peter and the brothers James and John head up a mountain to pray. While they are there, Jesus is changed, transformed and he becomes dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appear. Peter wants to build a dwelling place. Then that voice from heaven comes saying, “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5) Then the disciples, filled with fear, fall to the ground. Jesus touches them and tells then not to be afraid. Then comes the line that was used as inspiration 135 years ago, the translation from </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 24pt; font-style: italic;">The Messages</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"> puts it this way, “When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus.” (Matthew 17:8)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">My friends as we sit here today, 135 years after the first building on this site was dedicated, we are still gathering for worship and trying to figure out what it means to lift up our eyes and see Jesus. 135 years later we are still following in the ways of Jesus. 135 years later and that same passage of scripture which we normally hear at the beginning of lent can be a reminder of what we need to be about as a people of faith. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In that 135 years some things have changed. The hymns, the music, the choir gowns and in January of 1914 that first building burned down. But one important thing has not changed. With their eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, 101 years ago they decided to rebuild even though the war was coming, even though it was expensive, even though they knew it would be hard. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I’m in awe of our forbearers who took the chance to build a church here in this place not once but twice. They were a people of faith and vision. They lived in a time when the church was expanding and growing. Sundays schools were filled to capacity. They had a message to share and a vision of people to gathering in faith. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">Over that 135 one of things that changed is the churches place in society. One time churches were the centre of community. Today that is not necessarily the case. We hear regularly that the church is dying. Just week I read an article from the Washington Post, “If it doesn’t stem its decline, mainline Protestantism has just 23 Easters left.” The author writes, “The news of mainline Protestantism’s decline is hardly new. Yet the trend lines are showing a trajectory toward zero in both those who attend a mainline church regularly and those who identify with a mainline denomination 23 years from now. While the sky isn’t falling, the floor is dropping out. The trajectory, which has been a discussion among researchers for years, is partly related to demographics. Mainline Protestants, which has been the tradition of several U.S. presidents, aren’t “multiplying” with children as rapidly as evangelicals or others of differing faiths. And geography matters. Places where Protestants live are now in socio-economic decline, and parts of the country like the Sun Belt are become more evangelical with every passing winter.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-size: 24pt;"> (<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/04/28/if-it-doesnt-stem-its-decline-mainline-protestantism-has-just-23-easters-left/?utm_term=.13ffd67196c1&wpisrc=nl_faith&wpmm=1)"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(5, 99, 193); color: #0563c1; font-size: 24pt;">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/04/28/if-it-doesnt-stem-its-decline-mainline-protestantism-has-just-23-easters-left/?utm_term=.13ffd67196c1&wpisrc=nl_faith&wpmm=1)</span></a> </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It sounds pretty daunting doesn’t it. 23 Easters left. We don’t only hear this story of decline and hopeless in the papers. We talk about it in our churches and in our meetings. We lament over all the things we’ve lost – lower attendance. No children. No youth. No volunteers. Where have those good old days gone? Here is what I know. The message of Jesus Christ is timeless and there is no amount of change that can diminish the good news of Jesus. He isn’t going anywhere and neither are those who follow in his way. The church may be changing but it isn’t dying. As Paul writes in Hebrews “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) We can choose to look at the statistics of decline and nod our heads in agreement. We can remember the good old days when pews and Sunday schools were full. We can look back with longing for days long gone. There is no future in looking backward with longing. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">Jesus’ invitation is here and it is now. It our turn to do what our forbearers did when they first built a church on the site. We can lift up our eyes and see Jesus, only Jesus. We can find new ways to tell the stories of his love, of his welcome, of healing, of the new life. We can reach out and meet people where they are. We can follow in Jesus’ footsteps and offer care and support to those on the margins of our community. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Perhaps the most powerful thing we can do is tell our story to others. I know, we are out of practice. We accepted that idea that we don’t talk religion with other people. We need to start. If we don’t share our story with others, if we don’t tell people why we come to this place each week, how will they know? The time has come for us to be brave and share with others why we believe in God and how sometime it’s not easy because doubt creeps in. Talk about the times when God comes powerfully into our lives offering healing, hope and help. Find new ways of telling that age-old story. Like those who went before us, we lift our eyes to Jesus who guides us as we dream new dreams. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This congregation over the generations has worked with tenacity and hope to share message of God’s love and to help the people of this city. That legacy continues in all of you today. Just three short years ago, this congregation faced a challenging choice: close our doors or take a chance on something new and different. Once again, this community of faith lifted their eyes to Jesus and made another big change. Your courage held create Cochrane Centre, a not for profit that has built 10 homes for people in need in this community. The legacy of people who first had the foresight to build a church on this site continues in a new way. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We do not know what the future will hold for us as a congregation. Here is what we know. Whatever tomorrow brings, we face it with our brothers and sisters in faith. God continues to guide this congregation as we dream new dreams. And we know, that when we keep our eyes lifted to Jesus, we will have all that we need to continue to share the good news of Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-76971768806653924972017-05-07T13:01:00.004-02:302017-05-07T13:01:45.607-02:30Get Loud<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">This week is mental health awareness week. The hashtag for social media is “Get Loud” about mental health. Perhaps you saw the video of the Stella’s Circle Inclusion choir singing the new song they wrote with Amelia Curran called “Be the Change” at Rawlins Cross. Maybe you’ve heard the story about the new yellow bench at Gonzaga High School that encourages the students to pause, talk about and take care of their mental health. Individuals have shared their personal stories about their struggles with mental health. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">It’s not something we talk much about at church. And yet it affects a lot of people. It affects members of my family and maybe its touched yours. As I listened this week to the stories, I started to wonder what Jesus would have to say about mental health. The bible is full of healing stories. It seems to me that Jesus ministry is about love and in particular those who find themselves on the margins. Jesus welcomes the ones who struggles the most and offers hope and healing. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">When it comes to mental illness, whether it is for ourselves or for someone we love, we long for help, hope, the right medication, welcome, community, healing and most of all an end to their suffering. There are no simple answers or miracle cures but there is help and hope.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">Our Gospel reading this morning gives us some clues about Jesus’ response. The disciples are still shaking from the near drowning. Jesus has just rebuked the winds and calmed the raging seas. They are finally on dry land in the land of the Gerasenes. As they step out of the boat, a man who had a demon meets them. Nothing was working in life for him. He couldn’t wear clothes and he had no home. In fact, he made his home among the tombs. The demons take one look at Jesus, fall to the ground and cry, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the most high God? I beg you, do not torment me.” (Luke 8:29) Then Jesus asks the demon its name – Legion for there were many. They begged to go into the pigs instead of the abyss. When the towns people come to see what’s happened they find the man clothed, in his right mind and sitting at Jesus feet. The people from the community are so filled with fear that they asked Jesus to leave. The man healed begs to go with Jesus. Jesus says to him, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” (Luke 8:39)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">This is not an easy story. In part because we don’t talk about demons in the same way as they did in Jesus time. It’s a struggle to understand. Maybe you are wondering the same thing. A few things helped me on the way. The preacher Nadia Bolz Webber writes, “I’ve confessed this before but I don’t always know what to do when it comes to talk about demons in the Bible. Especially when the demons talk and have names and stuff like that. I’m never sure if back then they had the exact same things going on that we do, but they didn’t know about things like epilepsy or mental illness so they just called it all demon possession. But I do know that many of you, like myself, have suffered from addictions and compulsions and depression – things that have gotten ahold of us, making us do things we don’t want to. Or making you think you love things, or substances or people that are really destructive. So maybe if that, in part, is what having a demon is, maybe if it’s being taken over by something destructive, then possession is less of an anachronism, and more of an epidemic.” <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/2013/06/demon-possession-and-why-i-named-my-depression-francis/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(5, 99, 193); color: #0563c1; font-size: 24pt;">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/2013/06/demon-possession-and-why-i-named-my-depression-francis/</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">Michael Rogness, a professor at Luther Seminary, writes “</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; background-color: white; font-size: 24pt;">all the “demons” Jesus confronts have three things in common: they cause self-destructive behavior in the victim, the victim feels trapped in that condition, and they separate the victim from normal living in the family circle. Sound familiar? Don’t many of us suffer from the same kind of snares and burdens?” <a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1719"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(5, 99, 193); color: #0563c1; font-size: 24pt;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1719</span></a> </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">So maybe we do know demons – they have names like anger, depression, addiction, fear, compulsion, and they claim our lives and make it impossible to remain part of the community, to remember that we are loved. We can’t remember those words God whispers in our ears. “You are loved. You are mine.” When Jesus steps off the boat and finds this man whose been suffering for so long, and says those words of hope and love, is it any wondered that those demons know their days are numbered? Love, community and hope help banish isolation and loneliness. The last thing that Jesus does before he returns to the boat is to return this man to his community, to his family circle. He asks to go with Jesus. He does not want to lose this new feeling. Instead of an invitation to follow, Jesus invites him to return. “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” (Luke 8:39)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">With all healing stories, we need to proceed with caution. I’m not saying if you pray hard enough faith will cure you. I’m saying that God stands with us. I’m saying that Jesus shows us a path to healing and then walks with us. There is a hymn in our hymn book called “Silence, Frenzied, Unclean Spirit.” It is hard to hear because it sounds out of key and jarring. The words of the last verse are: “Silence, Lord, the unclean spirt in our mind and in our heart; speak your word that when we hear it, all our demons shall depart. Clear our thoughts and calm our feeling; still the fractured, warring soul, By the power of your healing, make us faithful, true and whole.” The music does not get easy to hear until the last words of the last verse as we sing “true and whole.” </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">In the season of Easter, we are reminded that Jesus offers us new life. It is a free gift and with it comes peace for our fractured souls and an invitation to wholeness. What Jesus does for the man possessed by demon spirits, he does for all of us. Jesus sends the demons away and invites us to wholeness and to community. As the body of Christ, we are called to work for the health and wholeness of all our brothers and sisters. No matter the challenges we face, we are God’s beloved children and we never walk alone. Amen. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-79704087117411724662017-04-14T16:23:00.003-02:302017-04-14T16:23:52.334-02:30The Shadow of Burial<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 24px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Scripture Reading: Matthew 27:57- 61</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">When I learned to read, I found a new world in books and I loved it. They type of book didn’t matter. I loved Jane Austin, L.M. Montgomery and Jane Eyre as much as I loved Harlequin Romances and the tales of the Sweet Valley High Twins. But there were limits. I was not one for suspense. I had to know how the book ended. Every book that I read in those day, I flipped to the back of the book and read the last chapter first. There was no worry I’d be disappointed by a book that ended badly or in a disappointing way. I knew where the book was heading from the very beginning and that was just how I liked it. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So you know that my younger self appreciates Holy Week because we already know how the story ends. We know, with each candle that is extinguished that even with Jesus crucified and the tomb sealed up tight that come Sunday morning the stone is rolled away and Jesus is risen. We know on already the good news that is waiting for us in three short days. Perhaps it’s like the chorus of one REM’s song “It’s the end of the world as we know it – and I feel fine.” We have the luxury of knowing how the story is going to end. We can feel fine even though the story of Good Friday is far from good. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">It was not fine for the disciples. The disciples, Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, Joseph of Arimathea don’t know what lies ahead. They heard Jesus promise to rise in three days. But they are filled with the sorrow and grief because that his words faded from their memories. They don’t know that not only is it going to be fine, it is going to be glorious. They know the hell they’ve lived and are living through. They know it went from jubilation to terror in a few short days. The distance between hosanna and crucify is alarmingly short. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">Through the whole story, looking on from the distance were the woman who followed Jesus. In Matthew’s gospel, it is Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. They watch as Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27: 470); as Jesus breaths his last; and as the curtain of the temple is torn in two and the earth shakes and rocks split. It is only after all this that the harsh reality of death hits them. Jesus is no longer there to teach or heal or encourage. He is no longer the shinning hope that one day they will defeat the Roman empire that has oppressed them for so long. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I’m guessing that for the disciples who’d been with Jesus since the invitation to fish for people, that it was like someone turned out all the lights; that hope was lost. Maybe they asked questions like, “How could this happen? How did hosanna become crucify?” Maybe Peter is still angry at himself for denying Jesus three times. While the questions and sorrow lingers, there is no time to sit and wait. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;">With death comes things that must be attended to. The Sabbath is at hand and Jesus’ burial needs to happen quickly. Joseph of Arimathea takes charge. He goes to Pilate and gets permission to bury Jesus. He takes a clean linen cloth and wraps the body and lays it in the new tomb. He rolls a great stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and leaves. Jesus is buried. Mary Magdalen and the other Mary watch it all. Disbelief. Sorrow. Pain. There is nothing more that can be done. They go home to wait for the Sabbath to be over. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 24pt;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now we must do the same. Watch, wait, pray until the sun rises on the third day. Amen. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-118167308778779852017-02-27T10:44:00.003-03:302017-02-27T10:44:15.802-03:30Six Days Later <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Six days later it says in our scripture reading. Six days after Peter says, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) Six days after Jesus says, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18. Six days after Jesus tells the disciples “that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Matthew 16:21) Six days after Jesus rebukes Peter saying, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling b block to me;” (Matthew 16:23) Six days after Jesus tells the disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)<br />
Six days later – after all this, Jesus invites three of the disciples to come with to pray. This was not and unusual request. Jesus often took time away from the crowds to pray and to recharge his batteries. Perhaps without much thought about what would happen next, Peter, James and John went with Jesus up the mountain to pray. While Jesus is praying something amazing, something inexplicable happens. Jesus’ clothes become dazzling white and his face “shone like the sun.” (Matthew 17:2) We don’t know exactly what happened in that moment, but I’m guessing that Jesus comes face to face with the eternal and living God. And you cannot stand in God’s presence and not be changed. Just ask Moses – he meets God and the people are so terrified that he must cover his face.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But it doesn’t stop there. Moses and Elijah appear and they are talking with Jesus. Peter not knowing what to do or to say, says, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (Matthew 17:4) and with the words barely out of his mount, something else happens. They are overshadowed, and a voice says, “This is my Son, the beloved, with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Is it any wonder that the disciples fall to the ground shaking with fear? Who knows how long they stayed there. Jesus comes to them in their fear and says, “Get up and do not be afraid.” (Matthew 17:8) As they are walking down the mountain Jesus says, “Tell no one about the vision until after the son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (Matthew 17:9)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This story is pure mystery. I cannot explain how the improbable and impossible somehow become real. But this story – told in all three Gospels is our story of hope. Ever year, in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday, we tell this story of Jesus transfigured. Of Peter saying how good it is to be here. Of the commands “Listen. Get up. Don’t be afraid because it is the heart of the Gospel message. In God’s love, we are changed. By God’s grace, we are all transformed. And there is no time more important to remember this, then before the season of encountering our mortality and deepening our relationship with God. During Lent, we make our own journey of drawing closer to God. And God drawing closer to us that we are transfigured. Changed.<br />
A few years ago I watched a movie called “Salmon Fishing in the Yemon. What I loved about this movie is the journey from what is deemed improbable – maybe impossible – salmon rivers in the desert into a reality. It is about hope. The Sheik who wants a sustainable food supply and industry for his people. A woman lost in grief. A man closed to other possibility. By the end of the movie the impossible becomes possible and each character in their own way is looking at the world as full of hope and potential instead of dead ends.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
The impossible becomes possible on Mountain top. God came close and changes Jesus. Strengthens him for crucifixion and death. Holy and mysterious moments give us what we need for the journey ahead. We all take with us God’s words of promise. Jesus is God’s beloved. Listen to him. And we are reminded that in our fear, it is Jesus who touches our shoulder gentle and says, “Get up. Don’t be afraid.”<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Our fears are all different. Not two of us face the same challenges. David Loose in his column In the Meantime writes, “…the prospect of job loss, the potential to betray our national identity and values, the fading possibility of a better future for our children, dread illness, unexpected death, the list goes on. Fear is a part of the common fabric of our lives even though it manifests itself differently. And to all these different fears, the Gospel reply is the same: Because God is God of the past, present, and future, we need not fear. This is not the same as saying that we will have no problems, or that we will avoid all harm and hardship. Rather, it is recognizing that when we trust God for our individual and communal good and believe God is with us always, we need not fear.”<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Perhaps you have your own story of God’s presence in your life. Holy moments when it seems that God is present in ways we cannot explain. Moments when God says “Get up. Don’t afraid. Perhaps you’ve been touched by God’s healing, helping, grace filled, loving, abiding presence. These are not the everyday experiences. They are brief moments of wonder and mystery that always seem to come at exactly the right time. And it is hard to find the words to describe it. Sometimes it is a dream that brings peace. Sometimes it is the feeling of not being alone. Sometimes it being surround by a warm light. Whatever and however it happens there’s a sense that God has come near and life is changed.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we head into Lent, let that Gospel message “don’t be afraid” sustain you. Our beloved, Jesus, leads us not only up the mountain to the place of mystery, but into our daily living. Showing us always the pathway to new life and transformation. Amen.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-8061890965603926032017-02-14T19:21:00.002-03:302017-02-14T19:21:57.404-03:30Love Lifts Us Up <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Today we did something new. I was worried that my crazy idea – was a little too crazy. Singing songs that we hear on the radio in church. I almost called Evan on Tuesday to call it off. We gather together each week for an hour and in that time we sing hymns, read scripture, and pray. All this so we can learn more about the nature of God, who Jesus is, and how the Holy Spirit guides us in our daily living. We listen for that still small voice of God to lead us. I often think that Sunday morning is our shelter, our calm place, our rejuvenation that reminds us we are God’s beloved ones and it helps get us through the week whatever it holds.<br />
And then, after church we leave this community and we spend most of our time living world and filling our time with work, family, friends. Each day we are influenced by all the things around us – colleagues at work, family, friends and strangers. Whether it is the songs on the radio or the movies we watch or the people we meet. They all impact how we live. And my question is always – how do we find God in the world around us? How do those stories of Jesus come alive in our work or as we play? How do we learn to find God beyond our Sunday morning worship? Because God is everywhere and God can speak to us in the most unexpected ways. Maybe just maybe if we tune our all our senses we can catch a glimpse of God.<br />
That’s why the last activity I do with confirmation classes is something that helps explore ways to find God in our everyday lives. I ask each person to find a piece of music that they hear on the radio that makes them think of God. It can be any song as long as it makes them think of God. Last time we had a variety – Katy Perry’s “Fireworks”, Bay City Rollers’ “Safe and Sound”, Rufus Wainwright’s version of the Leonard Cohen classic “Hallelujah”; Beyoncé’s “Hallo”.<br />
There are times when I’m driving in my car and I hear a song and it makes me think of God or of a bible story. The first one was a LeAnne Rimes song “I Need You” She sings:<br />
I need you like water Like breath, like rain I need you like mercy From heaven's gate There's a freedom in your arms That carries me through I need you.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That’s how I feel about God. I can’t do without that holy presence – like breath, like water. This week Carrie was singing Cyndi Lauper’s “I See Your True Colours” and I thought that what God sings to us.<br />
But I see your true colors Shining through I see your true colors And that's why I love you So don't be afraid to let them show Your true colors True colors are beautiful, Like a rainbow.<br />
God see us and we are beautiful to God. And sometimes, we need that reminder – when things look grim that love is what binds us together and lifts us to that place where we belong. The heart of God’s message to us is love. God’s love for us, our love for friend and stranger and love for God. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment he says simply, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. And the second is like it, “you shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22: 37 – 40)<br />
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians tells us how to live that love day t day. Today we mostly hear this passage of scripture at weddings. But Paul was writing to the gathered church in Corinth. Paul is describing the kind of love we are about as a people faith. One of the challenges facing the church in Corinth was the community was diverse and they didn’t always agree on how they should live out their faith. In part, it was because they didn’t come from the same socio-economic backgrounds. Some were wealthy and some were considered slaves. They had different backgrounds. Some were leaders in the Jewish community and some Gentiles. Brian Peterson writes “What is often missed, and perhaps actively ignored, is that this text was first written to a community that was having a very difficult time staying together. …It is in the difficult realities of relationships and communities that the love described by Paul needs to be lived out in costly ways.” https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2734<br />
1 Corinthians 13 is an invitation to dig deep into what binds us together as brothers and sisters in Christ. Shiveyly Smith writes, “Make no mistake. The love Paul is talking about here is not passive and fluffy. This kind of love is an up at dawn, feet on the ground, tools in hand, working kind of love. It builds communities.”<br />
https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2595n<br />
The love that builds communities takes commitment and hard work. It means trusting that our disagreements will not stand in the way of being united as brothers and sisters in faith. Paul writes, “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 13:1 – 8)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The love that binds us means that we must draw our strength for our daily living from God’s love. Brian Paterson writes “We are not simply left to our own capacity for love. We can love because God has already fully known us and loved us anyway, and is working to make our lives and our communities look more and more like this busy, active, tireless love.<br />
https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2734<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The love that binds us together means listening for the still small voice of God, in scripture, in hymns, in art, in music. God is speaking to us today and not just here on Sunday mornings but in all that we do. Stay attuned for that still small voice of God that can come to is in the beauty of this world, in art, in poetry, in music, in friendships, on the radio. We need those reminders so that we can be God’s people in the world, so we can live in community, so that we can love God and love others. It is God’s love that lifts us to where we belong and calls us to love others. Amen.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-89172121635566960772017-02-06T18:19:00.003-03:302017-02-06T18:19:45.827-03:30God-flavours & God-colours Our reading form the Gospel of Matthew picks up from where we left off last week. After Jesus tells them about the blessing. He continues with his teaching. I particularly love the translation of this passage from the Message. “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours of this world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on the light stand—shine!” (Matthew 5:13 – 16) Isn’t that a wonderful way of saying what we are about as a people of faith? We are the seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. We are the light that brings out God-colours of this world.<br />
This is not some future promise or hope of something to come, it is present. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth – right now. Present tense. Dr. David Lose in his weekly reflections “In the Meantime” writes, “Once people believe that they are salt and light – not simply becoming or hoping to be but actually are—then you can encourage them to continue to be salt and light, letting their light shine so that people will see their good works and give thanksgiving and glory to God.”<br />
I think right now we need to bring out the God-flavours and God-colours of this world that we can get. I, like many of you, woke on Monday morning to hear the news of 6 people murdered and many more injured as they prayed in their mosque. It was terrifying. I like to think I live in a country where this wouldn’t happen. But it did. As the week unfolded we learned that this terrible attack was motivated by racism.<br />
Something else also happened this week. Something that reminded me of the God-flavours and God-colours that we sorely need. People from across this country sent letters of support and began organizing. Our Moderator, The Right Rev. Jordan Cantwell in her letter to our Muslim Brothers and Sisters writes, “The heinous violent act and other recent attacks targeting Muslims in Quebec and elsewhere are designed to instil fear and divisions within and between our communities. We will not let this happen. The United Church of Canada stands with our Muslim neighbours. We share your grief, as we share your determination to stop the forces of that that seek to divide and destroy us. … May the Creator, Allah, God, who gives our common humanity, give us the strength and will to walk in unity and love in these troubled times.” <br />
All week long in communities across this country have stood up and said no to hatred and violence. People of all faiths gathered to support and surround the Mosques with love and prayers. Right here in St. John’s hundreds of people gathered to surround the Mosque on Logy Bay Road on Friday. It was called Human shield. The crowd included religious leaders, politicians, citizens, one teacher took her class, children, seniors and teens. Woven through all the words was the need to let love guide us not hatred.<br />
The words that stood out for me, came from the Imam who gave the sermon on Friday. He said something like – “we have taken precautions; we’ve increased security and spoken with the RNC. It is a time to be vigilant but not fearful. We still will welcome people to our community. There will be love not hatred. There will hope be hope not fear.” Friday marks the beginning of what needs to be an ongoing dialogue of friendship between our communities. It is the beginning of sharing the God-flavours and God-colours in our broken world.<br />
Jesus says, “Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) Today we gather at the table with our brothers and sisters to be fed with gifts of bread and wine. This spiritual food nourishes our bodies and souls so that we can go into the world and be the salt that brings out the God-flavours of the earth and the light that brings out the God colours of this world. May your salt and light burn brightly this week. Amen. <br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-7121270729387393112017-01-29T16:29:00.001-03:302017-01-29T16:29:23.048-03:30To Seek Justice, Love Kindness & Walk Humbly with God<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes, the readings from the lectionary seem to line up with what is happening in the world around us. We have two powerful passages of scripture that remind us what is at the heart of our faith. First there is Micah 6 – the words are so familiar. “He has told you O mortal what is good: and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and walk humble with your God.” (Micah 6:8) Sometimes, when the words are so familiar it is helpful to hear them spoken in new ways. Here is the translation from The Message “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It is quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour; be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself to seriously –take God seriously.” (Micah 6:8)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Why was it necessary for Micah to remind people what was important? The people were doing all the right things. They went through the motions of following in God’s ways. But it was just actions and nothing more. God decides to put the people on trial with the mountains as judge. God treated the people with mercy but they do not remember it. God begins his opening statement: "O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.” (Micah 6:3 – 4) In turn the people question God, “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"” (Micah 6:6 – 6:7)<br />
All of these are the most amazing offerings, each offering greater than the one before. The average citizen would eat meat once a month – to offer a calf a year old was like offering a large part of their income – thousands of rams would have been a near impossibility for most citizens. Rivers of oil? Not a chance. Kings and royalty often made such extravagant sin offerings but that did not change their heart or their actions. God counters with a request that seems so simple. God says through the prophet Micah, “and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8) “It is quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour; be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself to seriously –take God seriously.” (Micah 6:8)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All week these words have been running through my mind. Then I hear of a news ban on refugees and people travelling from seven Muslim countries and I wonder how this can be? There are stories of people who’ve lived in the United States for years with homes, families and jobs detained in airports around the world. There are rumours that there will be an executive order that will force Muslims to register. I find myself in a state of shock. That refugees, people who are already suffering, people who’ve been cleared through an extensive security vetting are now deemed a threat. It seems so far from the justice and compassion that is at the heart of Micah’s message.<br />
Then you add to that conversation Jesus’ reading from the Beatitudes – a portion of the sermon on the Mount. In Matthew’s gospel this does not take place in front of gathered crowds. It is just Jesus and the disciples. He begins by teaching the disciples what it means to be blessed. We have to be careful here – blessing the in the gospels is not necessarily how we use the words.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes, when everything is going well, we call it a blessing. Sometimes people who have plenty of everyting – they describe themselves as blessed. Perhaps if you’ve reached the top of your profession you’d say your blessed. Perhaps you’ve had a gathering of friends and you say blessed. I know I’ve said it.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But then take a look at our reading and it sure isn’t how Jesus used the word. Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3 – 11)<br />
The blessings of God’s kingdom are for all – for each and every one of us. They are the blessings that will sustain us in the most challenging of times. The Beatitudes are a reminder that God blesses us in our weakness and times of challenge. God calls us to be a blessing to others. That means providing welcome, shelter and hope to those in need. It means welcoming refugees fleeing from danger. It means standing up for those whose voices has been silenced.<br />
The invitation to bless others, to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God is not one we can take lightly in these days of rising racism. The call to seek justice is not something we do alone. All around us people are raising their voices. Canada has agreed to welcome all the refugees turned away by the ban. The United Church of Christ – our partner church in United States along with others faith communities are raising their voices to keep the doors open to refugees. The Mayor of Boston promised to offer sanctuary in the city of hall to refugees and immigrants affected by this ban.<br />
In these bold actions, I am reminded that living out our faith is an invitation to draw the circle wide – to provide welcome to everyone. A living faith invites us to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God. As we do this God’s kingdom of love becomes a reality. Amen.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-11014989280918357072017-01-16T10:21:00.003-03:302017-01-16T10:22:25.666-03:30Here I Am <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A few years ago I listed to the an interview with scientists at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario on The Current. The Perimeter Institute specializes research into understanding of the fundamental laws of nature. I was struck by the passion they had for their work as theoretical physics. One scientist said, “The laws of nature are mysteriously beautiful. People around here want to be a part of understanding where that road is going and why it is that way. It turns out that what physics is discovering that the law of nature are incredibly beautiful and it does not have to be that way. It’s sort of a mystery.” (CBC, The Current).<br />
That search to understand is not only a scientific pursuit, but one we can all engage in as we attempt to understand the mysteries of life, of love, of faith and nature. No book of the bible engages in this search better than the book Psalms filled with both beautiful poetry and the true search to understand both life and how God is at work in the world. There is a Psalm for every occasion and it is one of the few books of the bible that reflects a wide range of human experience.<br />
Psalm 40 is reflects on themes of survival and discipleship. The writer of Psalm has clearly been through a difficult ordeal. The psalmist says, “You lifted me out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay and set my fee upon a rock, making my steps secure. You put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.” U2 in their song simply called 40 offers this version of the Psalm:<br />
“I waited patiently for the Lord He inclined and heard my cry. He brought me right out of the pit, out of my miry clay. I will sing, sing a new song” (U2, 40)<br />
“I waited patiently for you, O God” says the psalmist. Not an easy task! Patience can be hard to come by. Whether it is patience with other people or with children who won’t cooperate or dealing with difficult situations, patience is hard. He waited in faith that God would act. And God responded, life returned to normal, as U2 sings, “He set my feet upon a rock and let my footsteps be heard.” It can be hard in the moment to name when God is at work in your life. Sometimes, it is only when you are firmly planted on solid ground and you gaze through the rear-view mirror that you can see what God has done. The Psalmist does just that and finds beauty in God’s presence during the time of struggle. He sings, “O God, my God you have multiplied your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us, none can compare with you!”<br />
With our feet planted on solid rock again. We are invited to follow in ever new ways.. The psalmist sings, “But you have opened my ears to hear and I said: “Here I am.” God’s invitation to us each day, to respond in faith saying, “Here I am.”<br />
And even as we respond in faith sometimes it can take a lifetime to know whether or not it’s made a difference. This is certainly true for one man who sent a letter to a Sunday School Teacher after many years. He wrote from his hospital bed: "You probably do not remember me, but I visited your Sunday School class back in 1978 when I was staying with my grandparents during the summer. You were very kind to me and you said something that day which led me eventually to ...become a Christian. The reason I am writing you now is to say thanks, because my faith is very important to me. You see, I have cancer." Well, the woman was very touched by the story but the problem was that she did not have the faintest idea who this person was. She had no recollection at all of anything extraordinary happening in Sunday School in the summer of 1978, so being a diary keeper - she went to her diaries and looked up the entries for the Sundays of that summer. On the fourth Sunday of July in 1978, she found this entry: "I was tired this morning and I did not feel well but I went on to church and to Sunday School just the same and I taught my class of little boys. There was one in particular who was a real handful. He was a visitor and he could not sit still. I sat beside him and tried to give him a little extra attention. I don't know whether it did him any good or not." (www.goodpreacher.com)<br />
All around us there are people who do small acts of kindness that have a big impact on people’s lives. God’s call to each of us is not always to take on huge projects but by offering a helping hand, being present to offer encouragement or giving extra attention we can change peoples’ lives. Each day, God invites to respond in faith to the invitation to follow by saying “Here I am.” Amen.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-14155179682856287072016-12-11T17:01:00.003-03:302016-12-11T17:01:55.730-03:30There Is No Such Thing As Ordinary<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is something powerful about stories. They have a way of moving us from one place to another. Think of the stories we hear at this time of year. There to story of the “Grinch” who hated Christmas. “No one quit knows the reasons. It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right. It could be, perhaps that his shoes were just too tight. But I think that the most likely reason of all. May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.” By the end of the story he realizes that Christmas is so much more than presents. “Then the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day!”<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is not only the Grinch that is changed by the Christmas message of hope but Scrooge in Dicken’s famous “Christmas Carol.” Overnight Scrooge is visited by the angels past, present and future who change his heart. On Christmas morning he wakes a new man. Then there are stories like, “The Gift of the Magi” that remind us of what it means to give from the heart. It the story of two people who gave everything they had for the other.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then there is the Christmas story. So much more than literature. A story that contains a deep truth about life and faith. “Carolyn Sharp writes, “In the shadow of the Cross, we understand the Incarnation as a sign of hope clothed in vulnerability, conflict, and suffering. The Gospel shout is rooted in joy, to be sure! But to be meaningful, it must reflect an understanding of the loss, fear, and pain at the core of human existence.” www.workingpreacher.org<br />
Marry knew all about those ups and downs of human existence. She was young, but one day he life was changed forever. The annunciations, the day the Angel Gabriel announces that Mary will literally bear God into the world, is a day described in so many ways. The poet Killian McDonnell imagines Mary’s story this way in his poem called In the Kitchen:<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bellini had it wrong.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was not kneeling<br />
on my satin cushion<br />
silently at prayer<br />
head slightly bent.<br />
<br />
Painters always<br />
skew the scene,<br />
as if my life<br />
were wrapped in silks,<br />
and temple smells.<br />
<br />
Actually I had just<br />
come back from the well,<br />
placing the picture on the table<br />
I bumped the edge<br />
spilling water on the floor.<br />
<br />
As I bent to wipe<br />
it up, there was a light<br />
against the kitchen wall<br />
as though someone had opened<br />
the door to the sun.<br />
<br />
Rag in hand<br />
hair across my face,<br />
I turned to see who was entering,<br />
unannounced, unasked. <br />
<br />
All I saw<br />
was light, white<br />
against the timbers.<br />
I heard a voice<br />
I had never heard.<br />
I heard a greeting,<br />
I was elected,<br />
the Lord was with me,<br />
I pushed my hair back,<br />
I stood afraid.<br />
Someone closed the door.<br />
And I dropped my rag.<br />
(Killian McDonnel, Swift Lord You are Not page 46 – 47)<br />
<br />
In scripture it says, an angel of the Lord appeared to her. Not in a dream. Not in her imagination. But in person and says, “Greetings, favoured one. The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28) Now I don’t know about any of you. But I think that I’d be shaking. This is unexpected and confusing and probably scary. To reassure Mary, the angel says, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.” (Luke 1:30)<br />
Then the angel tells Mary that she has a special calling. Unmarried, young and she was going to conceive a baby by the Holy Spirit. “And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.” (Luke 1: 31 – 32) Many people would have run away because it is such an unbelievable story. I sometimes wonder how many people turned down this offer from the angel before Mary said yes. It was Mary who had the courage to say yes, to say, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord: let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One Voice sings a song called “Hey Mary” The words say:<br />
<br />
Hey Mary there’s an angel in your house<br />
Said Mary have I got some news for you<br />
You seem to think your nothing much<br />
but heaven’s coming close enough to touch<br />
Hey Mary God is coming here through you.<br />
<br />
There is no such things as ordinary now.<br />
God is here.<br />
Every life and breath is blessed<br />
You never know when God might appear.<br />
<br />
Mary’s impossible, improbable and yet somehow gets to the very heart of the Christmas story. Mary was ordinary. She probably had some of the same struggles that we all have. Maybe she wondered why God chose her for the important job of bearing God into the world. Maybe she was filled with doubts. Whatever else we remember about this amazing story, remember that no matter how impossible or improbable – Mary said yes. And Mary’s yes changed everything in our world. “There is no such thing as ordinary now. God is here.” Mary said yes to bringing God’s word to the world. And then she sings the most hope filled words we can hear at Christmas. It says in Luke 1:44 – 55:<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I’m bursting with God-news;<br />
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.<br />
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—<br />
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!<br />
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,<br />
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.<br />
His mercy flows in wave after wave<br />
on those who are in awe before him.<br />
He bared his arm and showed his strength,<br />
scattered the bluffing braggarts.<br />
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,<br />
pulled victims out of the mud.<br />
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;<br />
the callous rich were left out in the cold.<br />
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;<br />
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.<br />
It’s exactly what he promised,<br />
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.<br />
<br />
Mary’s song is one of hope and promise. It is a story that changes everything. Because of her brave yes, her story becomes our story. We too are invited to say yes to the impossible and improbable. With God all things are possible and the ordinary becomes extraordinary.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In this seasons of stories, God’s story with humanity echoes in the story of a maiden who inspires all of us to say yes. The end of the song “Hey Mary” is our invitation to say yes to God’s ways of hope and new life.<br />
Hey People there’s angel in your house.<br />
Said listen have I got some news for you<br />
You seem to think your nothing much<br />
but heaven’s coming close enough to touch<br />
Hey People God is coming here through you. Amen<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-15720887212585723532016-12-11T16:56:00.001-03:302016-12-11T16:56:23.065-03:30Prophets Call<div><br></div><div>I love the excitement that comes with this time of year. I love the lights on houses and the cards that come in the mail and the festive moved. I love the generosity that seems to move people to do wonderful acts of kindness. I love time with family and friends. I even love the Christmas movies – the more the better. They all end with relationship repaired and people in love and everything looking perfect. </div><div>But this Advent season of preparation for Christmas joy is not a time of joy for everyone. For some it can be a season of mixed blessings and for some hard time of year. I think of people who are coming up on the first Christmas without their loved one or perhaps there is a bad diagnosis that dampens the cheer or challenges in relationships. There are some who carry private burdens that are not visible to those around them. Added to that there are people who don’t have enough money to buy food let alone gifts. For parents, or at least this parent, it can be challenging as the excitement builds to maintain some normal routines. This season of joy can be a season of challenges. </div><div>Part of the season of preparation is knowing that God comes to us. Dr. David Lose writes, “God as God is too terrifying for mere mortals to behold, let alone receive, and so God comes to us as one of us: vulnerable, weak, frail, subject to illness and disappointment and rejection, all so that we can perceive that God is with us and for us and will not abandon us, as [Martin]Luther shares in a Christmas sermon from 1530: If Christ had arrived with trumpets and lain in a cradle of gold, his birth would have been a splendid affair. But it would not be a comfort to me. He was rather to lie in the lap of a poor maiden and be thought of little significance in the eyes of the world. Now I can come to him. Now he reveals himself to the miserable in order not to give any impression that he arrives with great power, splendor, wisdom, and aristocratic manners.” (In the Meantime, Dr. David Lose) </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In the midst of the joys and challenges comes the message at the heart of the season. It’s about preparing a space, a way for the Lord. It’s about what God did in Jesus and the coming of God’s kingdom. The promise of the prophet Isaiah is that “A shoot shall come out form the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Righteousness shall be a belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb. …They will not hurt or destroy on my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:1, 6, 9)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Isaiah shares with the people who are like that stump with no hope that God promises a future where peace will reign. God promises a day when there will be harmony among the nations. The promise of a world remade in God’s image is what drove John the Baptist out into the wilderness crying out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 3:3) </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This is an invitation to something new. When John says “Repent” he is not sharing a message of condemnation. Repent quit literally means to turn in a new direction. John is inviting people to turn to something new. John says, “Repent” as invitation to do everyday tasks in the light of God’s love and see life in a new way. The true gift of advent is preparing for a world remade in God’s image. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It is a gift that transforms the world and individual lives. Barbra Lundblad writes “There is a man on my street I've known for years. We often met in the morning at the newsstand. Then, his wife died – forty-two years together changed to loneliness. I watched him walking, his head bowed, his shoulders drooping lower each day. His whole body seemed in mourning, cut off from everyone. I grew accustomed to saying, “Good morning” without any response. Until a week ago. I saw him coming and before I could get any words out, he tipped his hat, “Good morning, Reverend. Going for your paper?” He walked beside me, eager to talk. I could not know what brought the change that seemed so sudden. Perhaps, for him, it wasn't sudden at all, but painfully slow. Like a seedling pushing through rock toward the sunlight. There must have been an explanation, yet he appeared to me, a miracle.” (www.workingpreacher.org) </div><div>In this season of watching and waiting, let us listen to the words of the prophets who call us to live out our faith by following in the footsteps of Jesus. His earth shattering, world changing ministry changed lives and communities. Jesus reordered the world around him and transformed lives with the gifts of welcome, healing and wholeness. Do you hear the prophet calling you? Let us prepare the way of the Lord! Amen. </div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-55397084961227761462016-11-27T17:05:00.001-03:302016-11-27T17:05:25.924-03:30Between Times<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It does not seem possible to me that we’ve arrived at the First Sunday in Advent. Perhaps because it’s been so mild or perhaps because this fall has flown by. The signs are all there. Christmas music in stores; lights on houses; it is frightening to go near a store. The lobby is on our house for when the tree will go up. But I still feel like it’s October. I haven’t even put my snow tires on. Sometimes we arrive at seasons before we are ready. That is why we need Advent. It’s four weeks to focus our hearts and souls on getting ready for the mystery of Jesus’ birth. Advent also marks start of something new. It is the first day of a new Christian year. </div><div>So in spite of me not being ready, it seems Christmas is in the air – the joy is building. It is one of those challenges with face as a people of faith. The world tells us Christmas is here. But in church we sing Advent carols like “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”, we light candles that help us prepare for Jesus birth and we wait. Even the scripture readings are challenging. Like the one for this morning from Matthew: </div><div>“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be standing in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24: 36 – 42) </div><div>You would be in good company wondering why we are reading this passages at the beginning of a festive season when we are getting ready for the birth of the babe in the manger. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Apocalyptic literature; eschatological texts are text that deal with the end of time and the coming of God’s reign. There is a long tradition in the bible of apocalyptic literature. At the heart of apocalyptic literature is the promise of God’s coming reign and it is a theme that runs throughout the bible. </div><div>Sometimes the words are so beautiful and sometimes that can seem a bit scary. The book of Revelation describes the new heaven and new earth in which God will be at home among mortal, God will wipe every tear from our eyes and offer us water from the spring of the water of life. (Revelation 21) Our reading from Isaiah says “He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come let us walk in the light of the Lord!” (Isaiah 2: 4 – 5) This passage does not describe current reality neither for the people Isaiah spoke to or for us. This passage is a future hope for God’s coming reign. </div><div>Our reading from Matthew is less clear. Two people are standing in a field and one is taken. Two people are grinding meal and one is taken. There seems to be no rhyme or reason. Both are going about the same task. It is a mystery. There is no scientific data or reasoned argument that can prepare us for the mystery that is at the heart of our faith. We can try to think through how one gets taken up and one gets left but the answers are few. Many theologian, preachers and writers have tried to make sense of it. One commentator writes, “Christians look backward, remembering God’s mighty acts of salvation over the generation, and forward, anticipating the vindication of God’s ways in a new heaven and a new earth. They live as Karl Barth said, “between the times.” (Feasting on the Word Year A, volume 1 page. 20)</div><div>As a people of faith we live between the times. Just this past week on the CBC morning show Anthony Germain recalled spending New Year’s 1999 locked in the basement of the CBC because it was the dawn of a new millennium. Do you remember the build-up to year 2000? Can you remember the panic? Toilets were not going to flush. Computers were going to crash. The really big computers that store all our banking information – kaput all that data gone. Everyone had to be Y2K ready. The world was going to end as the clocks moved from 11:59 pm on December 31st, 1999 and as we entered 12:00 am January 1st, 2000. But the world did not come to an end. Computers worked. Toilets flushed. And all was well. </div><div>Jesus said that two people would be work one would be taken and one left behind. The ones left in the fields or grinding meal had to keep going about the tasks of daily living. They had to keep working for justice, for mercy for compassion. We do not know what God has in store for us. Jesus said, “Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ... Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” (Matthew 24:43 – 44) The call of Advent, Jesus call to each of us, is to keep working in the fields – to keep working for a world remade in the image of God. Jim Strathdee describes this work well in his hymn “I the Light of the World.” The work we are called is </div><div>“To find the lost and lonely one,</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>to heal the broken soul with love,</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>to feed the hungry children with warmth</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>and good food,</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>to feel the earth below, the sky above. (Jim Strathdee, I am the Light of the World, Voices United 87)</div><div>Living between the times means that we live with the Advent tension of waiting for that which has been – the angels proclaiming the joyful birth of the one called “Emmanuel – God with us” and we wait for that which will be – God’s coming reign. We live into the mystery of the in between times as we wait with Hope, Joy, Peace and Love for the birth of Jesus that changes hearts and lives. Come, let us walk in the light of God Grace. Amen</div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-6160923498076214282016-11-14T10:47:00.001-03:302016-11-14T10:47:24.761-03:30There is a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">This has been one of those weeks that will stand out in our memories. On Friday night the news Leonard Cohen’s death spread quickly. Whether it is his own recordings or Jennifer Warnes <i>Famous Blue Raincoat</i> or k.d. lang’s haunting recording of Hallelulujah or The Once singing Coming Back to You – his music resonates. Leonard Cohen can weave together life, love and religion in a seamless stanza. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Then there was Wednesday morning. We woke up and found that the world had changed not necessarily for the better. I don’t usually comment on politics but somehow this seems different. The news is filled with stories of people afraid for the future. My children wanted to know if they could still go to Florida if there is going to be a wall. Immigrant children wonder if they will have to leave the country they call home. On Wednesday morning at Baylor University in Texas, a young black woman named Natasha Nkhama was walking to class when someone knocked her off the sidewalk saying, “No 'N. word' allowed on the sidewalk.” Another person walking behind, said, “Dude what are you doing?” His response was, “I’m just trying to make America great again.” <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/hundreds-of-students-walked-a-girl-to-class-after-she-was-al?utm_term=.vjAnOq3ZL1%23.tyxJZxDjn6"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(5, 99, 193); color: #0563c1; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: normal;">https://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/hundreds-of-students-walked-a-girl-to-class-after-she-was-al?utm_term=.vjAnOq3ZL1#.tyxJZxDjn6</span></a></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 233); color: #0000e9; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: normal; text-decoration: underline;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"> On Wednesday morning my father sent my brothers and I an email that reflecting on his deep concern over the results of the American election. He left us with these words of hope “Yet somehow I hold to Leonard Cohen’s understanding that “there is a crack in everything and that’s how the light gets in.” I am attaching a poem written by WH Auden as Germany invaded Poland and the 2nd world war began. It resonates with me.” The closing verse of WH Auden’s poem September 1, 1939 is this: </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Defenceless under the night</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Our world in stupor lies;</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Yet, dotted everywhere,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Ironic points of light</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Flash out wherever the Just</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Exchange their messages:</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">May I, composed like them</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Of Eros and of dust,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Beleaguered by the same</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Negation and despair,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Show an affirming flame.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Both Leonard Cohen and WH Auden in their poetry remind us that hope lives. In “Anthem” Leonard Cohen writes: </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Ah the wars they will</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">be fought again</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The holy dove</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">She will be caught again</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">bought and sold</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and bought again</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the dove is never free.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Ring the bells that still can ring</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Forget your perfect offering</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">There is a crack in everything</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">That's how the light gets in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Those bells that can still ring are our voices holding on to hope and reminding ourselves and others that love not fear will have the last word. This is a promise reflected throughout scripture. Isaiah tells of day when the world will be changed. Those things that would divide us one from the other will no longer exist. God says through Isaiah “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.” (Isaiah 65:17 – 18) </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Isaiah writes this after the destruction of Jerusalem and after the Babylonian exile when things looked pretty grim. Yet, in the midst of all these challenges – God says I am doing a new thing. This is God’s promise: </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">They shall build houses and inhabit them;</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">They shall not build and another inhabit;</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">they shall not plant and another eat;</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">They shall not labour in vain,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">or bear children for calamity;</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">and their descendants as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Before they call I will answer,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">while they are yet speaking I will hear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">the lion shall eat straw like the ox;</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">but the serpent—its food shall be dust!</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">They shall not hurt or destroy</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">on all my holy mountain,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">says the Lord. (Isaiah 21 – 25) </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Challenges may come, the world may look bleak and terrible things may happen. But God’s promise endures and you can count on it. The world is being rebuilt in God’s way of love. They wolf and lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like an ox. They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain says the Lord. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is God’s promise to us. This is God promise for us. We may not be able to see that right now. But every now and then we catch a glimpse of what a world shaped with love looks like. It is hands reaching out in care. It is working to support one another. It is people standing for what is right. It is the 300 students at Baylor University in Texas who walked Natasha Nkhama to class on Friday. In tears Natasha said, “I just wanted to thank everyone for being here, and I want everyone who sees this to know that Baylor is a campus of love. To whoever defended me that day, I don’t know who you are but I thank you for being an example to everyone on campus.” <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/hundreds-of-students-walked-a-girl-to-class-after-she-was-al?utm_term=.vjAnOq3ZL1%23.tyxJZxDjn6"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(5, 99, 193); color: #0563c1; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; line-height: normal;">https://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrulla/hundreds-of-students-walked-a-girl-to-class-after-she-was-al?utm_term=.vjAnOq3ZL1#.tyxJZxDjn6</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Challenging weeks come and go, what remains is God’s unshakeable word of hope. It is the promise that love drowns out hate and that love is stronger than fear. Let us make God’s love real in the world. “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” Amen </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-7456861099314803432016-11-13T09:48:00.004-03:302016-11-13T09:50:46.881-03:30Hallelujah<div>
This was written for a service on October 28th, 2012 when The Tenors sang at Cochrane Street United Church and sang Leonard Cohen's famous song "Hallelujah"<br />
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“I’ve heard that there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the Lord. … It goes like this fourth, the fifth, the minor fall the major lift.” (Leonard Cohen) Don’t you wish you knew that secret chord? To that know that special combination of thoughts acts and deeds that allows us to live close to God? I hope I’m not alone when I tell you that sometimes the special connection with God gets lost in the busyness of life. Between work, the endless to do lists, the never ending laundry, bill paying, meal prep, kids to and from all the places they need to get – somehow God gets lost in all. Somehow in it all I get lost in it all.<br />
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That’s when I notice that no matter how you really feel when people ask, “How are you?” The answer is fine or good or okay. Even when you know deep in your soul that things are not fine. Even when you know that things are not good. Even when you know that things are not okay. Don’t you wish on days like that, that you knew the secret chord that David played that pleased the Lord? I know I do. That way, when those hard days come and they will come– we know how to draw strength and comfort from God.<br />
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David knew just how to do it. He was the one of greatest king of Israel. He was so great that when they wrote down the story of Jesus’ life Jesus was of the descent and lineage of David. It was David who defeated the giant Goliath with a tiny stone; it was David who soothed Saul’s troubled mind with his beautiful music; it was David who wept at Saul’s death even after Saul tried to kill him; it was David who wept for his son who betrayed him crying “Oh Absolom, my son, my son.” But for all his greatness on the battlefield and in politics, his personal life was a mess. At every turn with David there are broken relationships and sorrow. But here’s the thing about David, he’s human. He did great things, he made mistakes and he did some terrible things. Oh yes, Hallelujah was always on David’s lips. But more than once he turned from God, he forgot about God’s ways and did things that the bible describes as, “Evil in God’s sight.” Yet somehow David always found his way back to God. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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David knew the secret chord. It wasn’t perfection because he was far from it. It wasn’t doing always doing the right thing because he often did the wrong thing. This morning’s bible reading tells that story well. It follows on the heals of David falling in love or in lust with Bathsheba. He saw her bathing on the roof. Even though she was married to Uriah, David wanted her for himself. He was the King and the King gets what he wants. And when he couldn’t get his way, he had Uriah killed on the battlefield.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not a smart move – a terrible thing really. It displeased the Lord. But David was the king so who was would have the nerve to say, “Wait a minute you can’t do that?” God called Nathan, his faithful prophet to remind David of God’s ways. Nathan tells David a story, a simple story of a rich man and a poor man. Now the rich had many herds of sheep and the poor man had one lamb that he loved. The rich man stole the poor man’s lamb and used it to prepare a feast for a passing stranger. When David hears the story he is outraged. He cries out to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’” (2 Samuel 12:5 – 6)<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nathan turns to David and says, “You’re the man! …Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife” (2 Samuel 12:9) In that moment David knows the truth of what he’s done and there is nothing for him to do but turn to God seeking forgiveness.<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This same pattern happens over and over in David’s life. Living, making bad choices, seeking forgiveness, return to God. Through it all God loved David. The secret chord that David played for the Lord was not perfection and nor was it always doing the right thing. It was always to turning to God in joy and in sorrow for support and for comfort. Through it all David sings “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.” (Psalm 42 and 43 Voices United)<br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Is it any wonder David is attributed with writing the bible’s hymn book, the book of Psalms? He knew the ups and downs of life. But in his private moments of prayer he finds solace as he sings to God, “Day and night I taste only tears, while they steadily belittle me, saying, 'Where is your God?' But I remember - though my soul is distressed - how I went with the crowds to the house of God, our voices joyful and filled with praise, a multitude keeping festival.” (Psalm 42 and 43 Voices United) Leonard Cohen says it well: </div>
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I did my best, it wasn't much …And even though it all went wrong I'll stand before the Lord of Song With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah</div>
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That secret chord that pleases the Lord is trusting in God’s loving kindness. That secret chord is relying on God’s grace. Isn’t that we always strive for in our lives? To return to God again and again in our need and in our joy. Not easy but worth the time in study, in prayer and praise. David’s story reminds us that God’s goodness is there for us. Holding us. Calling us back to God’s ways. Not because we are perfect or doing everything right but because God loves us exactly as we are. That is God’s grace. That is the good news. So let us stand before the Lord of Song with nothing on our tongues but Hallelujah. Hallelujah. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-5430653133733358042016-11-01T22:46:00.001-02:302016-11-01T22:51:48.518-02:30A Letter<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Paul spent a lot of time writing letters to Christian communities. The letter to the Thessalonians is one of many. He wrote letters filled with ways for communities to live out their faith. He wrote letters reminding communities that they were struggling to get along of the importance of love. He wrote letters about how to be the body of Christ in the world. As I read the text for today, I wondered what Paul would write to us today at Cochrane Street United Church. Here is where my imagination led me. A letter from Paul to Cochrane Street United Church</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I, Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, greet Church of Cochrane Street in the name of God and Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>“You need to know friends, that thanking God over and over for you is not only a pleasure; it’s a must. Your faith is growing; you’re love for each other is developing. It’s only right that we give thanks. You are steady and determined in your faith despite hard times. We tell people in the others church all about you. We’re so proud of you; you’re so steady and determined in your faith despite all the hard times that have come down on you. We tell everyone we meet in the churches about you. ” (1 Thessalonians 1:3 -4)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I am so thankful for the pleasure you take in one another’s company as you gather for worship or to do work. I can see it as you share tea and conversation, as you greet one another with the peace of Christ, as you work together towards a common goal. You are a church family shaped by friendship and care for one another. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>As church family, the last year has been challenging for you. We keep you in our prayers as you continue on the journey. I have no doubt that after a year being away from your church home you are feeling a bit weary of being on the road. It is not as easy to do the activities that you are accustomed to doing when you have no permanent home. Yet, in faith, you carry on with worship, groups and all the things that make you a church family. Even in the midst of the challenges you continue to support and care for one another. I am grateful that you have you are keeping the faith. </div><div>I know being in a temporary location is not the only thing that has made this past year difficult. There have been losses along the way. Beloved members whose lives of faith were an example to so many are missed in the life of the church. And there are some faces that we do not see in as often and that is yet another loss.</div><div> In spite of the losses and challenges, you keep going. You reach out your hands to care for one another and for people in the community who need extra assistance. I give God thanks for the work you’ve done in the name of Jesus. The way you reach out to care for people. As I look back over the last few years, I’m amazed at the journey you’ve been on and the ways this church family has stepped out in faith. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that you were wondering how you were going to pay for oil and keep the church doors open. </div><div>Even when things were at their most difficult, when you did not know what the future would hold for you as a church family you continued to reach out to help others. Gathering together to get ready for deal of a meal or bbq in the park or bringing food for Bridges to Hope or hosting a meal for Stella’s Circle Inclusion choir. You have a heart for God’s people and do all that you can to care for others. I’m grateful that you’ve persevered.</div><div>Your faith through the many meetings and big decisions has remained firm. Even when the task seemed daunting, even when you didn’t always agree on the way forward, you did your best to discern a way for you a church family to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. I’m guessing that it was with both fear and faith that you decided to use all that you had to provide for others – whether it is homes or community space or a place to create beautiful music. In those difficult moments, when the weariness kicks in, remind yourselves of the good work you are doing, of the lives your faith will touch. Through your generosity, many people will get a chance at a new life. Imagine people getting a new start looking out the beautiful views from the windows in their apartments. The way of Jesus is all about new life and second chances. </div><div>As you live your faith, give thanks for those moments God is guiding you as you dream new dreams. Whether it is the right people coming forward at just the right, the windows in the right places or the right number of doors – the Spirit of God is at work. Those holy moments are reminders that you are headed in the right direction. That God in Jesus will be with you as strength, courage, love, grace and guide. </div><div>Remember to continue to offer prayers of thanksgiving for God’s abiding presence and for the Holy Spirit who both inspires and guides. Continue to pray for one another, for the leaders in church, and for the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit as you follow in the way of Jesus.</div><div>As you move forward, may the grace of Jesus, that changes lives go with you. “May ... the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole and, put you together – spirit, soul, and body – and keep you fit for the coming of Jesus. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it. Friends, keep up your prayers. Greet all the followers of Jesus there. Make sure this letter gets read to all the brothers and sisters. Don’t leave anyone out. The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23 – 28) </div><div>Paul</div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-83779192235857331722016-02-07T16:35:00.001-03:302016-02-07T16:35:14.845-03:30Jesus and the Disciple Climb a Mountain. What Happens Next Will Amaze
You<div>You know on Facebook how there are these videos that get shared. They headlines that grab your attention with phrases like “When You See What He Does With 2 Binders Clips, You’ll Rethink Their Entire Purpose” or “This Groom Kissed a Woman in Front of The Bride. Seconds Later The Bride Was in Tears.” I’m sure that there is a great name for this type of headline. It got me thinking about what the headline would be for our gospel reading this morning. “Jesus and the 12 Disciples Climb a Mountain. You Won’t Believe What Happened When They Got to the Top” or maybe its “Jesus Climbs to the Top of the Mount. Guess Who He Meets There?” </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It is the kind headline worthy of our gospel reading. It is a strange, maybe weird, miraculous, and hard to explain story. It’s difficult to know what to say about the transfiguration – which I say every year on this particular Sunday. And yet every year I stand in church and tell you about this amazing thing that happened to Jesus, Peter, John and James. The heart of the story is God, that holy divine presence touching their lives in a moment of splendour. An encounter with God. Such moments always leave a mark on our lives. When Moses came down from Mount Sianai with the tablets containing the 10 Commandments his face glowed with the light of God’s presence and people were afraid. No one wanted to come near to him. So Moses had cover his face with a veil and only removed it when he stood before God. God came near and Moses was never the same again. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Perhaps you’ve had one of those moments when you know that God is near, when God touches your life. These are not the everyday experiences. They are brief moments of wonder that always seem to come at exactly the right time. And it is hard to find the words to describe that moment. Sometimes it is a dream that brings peace. Sometimes it is the feeling of not being alone. Sometimes it being surround by a warm light. Whatever and however it happens there’s a sense that God has come close and life is changed. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>One ordinary day, Jesus invited his friends to come away to a quiet place to pray. This was nothing new. Jesus often took time away from the crowds to pray and to recharge his batteries. Sometimes he took the disciples and sometimes they go alone. Together, they made the journey to the top of the mountain and then Jesus goes a little farther off, to take so much needed time for prayer. As he prays, the most amazing things happen. Jesus’ clothes become dazzling white and the appearance of his face changes. In that moment, Jesus comes face to face with the eternal and living God. Jesus is transformed right before the disciples’ eyes. It says in our scripture reading that Jesus’ clothing not only became dazzling white but Moses and Elijah appeared. </div><div>Then, Luke says that as Jesus was talking with Moses and Elijah and they “were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:31) In the midst of all this, the disciples nearly miss it all! They nearly feel asleep. They managed to keep their eyes open, they see Moses and Elijah and catch a glimpse of what lies ahead for Jesus. It is not the road they expected for Jesus. They thought he was here to change the political landscape not the landscape of their lives. Then, a voice from the clouds comes saying “This is my son, my chosen. Listen to him.” (Luke 9:36) Echoing the words spoken at Jesus baptism, “You are my beloved son. With you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22)</div><div>The transfiguration, that holy shinning moment with prophets long dead and that voice from the heavens, mark Jesus, reminding him of who he is and to whom he belongs. It is also the moment that Jesus’ ministry changes focus. Now he begins the long journey to Jerusalem, to cross, crucifixion and new life. As he heads to Jerusalem, Jesus carries with him the wisdom of the prophets and God’s deep and abiding love. It is the road we are all heading on as we prepare for Lent. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of our journey deeper into faith – a journey deeper into that which is holy. Nadia Bolz-Webber writes this about Lent, “Lent isn’t about punishing ourselves for being human – the practice of Lent is about peeling away layers of insulation and anesthesia which keep us from the truth of God’s promises. Lent is about looking at our lives in as bright a light as possible, the light of Christ.”</div><div>www.patheos.com/blogs/nadiabolzweber/2014/03/ash-wednesday-sermon-on-truth-dust-babies-and-fltuunerals/#disqus_thread </div><div>In the same way that Jesus was claimed as God’s beloved so are we in our baptism and in our daily walk of faith. On Wednesday we begin our Lenten journey. We are marked with the ashes that remind us that we are mortal formed of the earth and return to the earth. As we make the journey through all stages of life, we are invited into deeper relationship with the ever-living, ever-loving God who through Jesus brings new life. </div><div>This is no easy journey but one we take with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In Paul’s words, “Therefore, since it is by Gods’ mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.” (2 Corinthians 4:1) As we head into this Lenten season, we are offered gifts of bread and wine to strengthen us for the road ahead. Perhaps our headline could be, “They Took a Chance on God. And Amazing things happened.” Amen. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-31217393090566035032016-01-31T21:39:00.001-03:302016-01-31T21:39:32.823-03:30The Greatest of these is Love<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Today we get one of the most beautiful passages from the Bible: “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (I Corinthians 13:4 – 7) writes Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>They are so beautiful and it sounds like it should be easy to live out. Yet, I read these words and I know deep in my soul, that I don’t live up to them. I get frustrated. I say things that are unkind. Sometimes I want what others have and I like to have my own way. Paul’s words seem like an impossible measuring stick. They are so beautiful but on any given day I’m sure that I fall short. </div><div>That is when a little context helps out. Paul is not writing these words to people who are succeeding at loving one another. He is writing to the Christian community at Corinth because they are barely hanging on to their community. They are not getting along. Really 1 Corinthians 13, which is so often read at weddings, is the home stretch of Paul’s lecture. In Chapter 12 Paul, writes about how all the parts of the body are necessary and how the body isn’t complete unless everyone is part of it. The members of the community were in a sense fighting about whose spiritual gifts are the most important. Each person wanting to establish that theirs is the best. At the end of Chapter 12 he writes, “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:29 – 31)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The more excellent way is love. Not romantic love which the Greeks called eros or fraternal love found in families but a third kind – harder to describe called agape. Agape is word for love which was seldom used in the Greco Roman world and the word for love used in this part of Corinthians. Agape is love in action. It is in the most challenging kind of love. It is the love that puts others ahead of self. It is love reaches out. It is easy to lose sight of the more excellent way of love. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In many ways, it is relief that church communities are the same in every age. I have yet to find a church community that doesn’t fall short. It also means that whatever it is we can get through it, we are not alone as we face these kinds of challenges. Nadia Bolz-Webber who started House for all Sinners and Saints in Denver writes this about community in her book Pastrix, “Every human community will disappoint us, regardless of how well-intentioned or inclusive. But I am totally idealistic about God’s redeeming work in my life and in the world. … [at our quarter welcome events]I tell them … I too love being in a spiritual community where I don’t have to add or take away from my own story to be accepted. But I have learned something by belonging to two polar opposite communities… and I wanted them to hear me: This community will disappoint them. It’s a matter of when, not if. We will let them down or I’ll say something stupid and hurt their feelings. I then invite them on this side of their inevitable disappointment to decide if they’ll stick around after it happens. If they choose to leave when we don’t meet their expectations, they won’t get to see how the grace of God can come in and fill the holes left by our communities failure, and that’s just to beautiful and real to miss. Welcome to House for All Sinners and Saints. We will disappoint you.” (Pastrix page 65 – 66) </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The beauty of God’s grace is found in that “love that will not let us go.” God doesn’t just send us out into the world with our all to human imperfections and say, “Love one another.” First God loves us into being – just as we are, with all our imperfections and mistakes. Then God gives us Jesus as that reminder of what love in action looks like. And finally, God invites us to love others, just as God loves us. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Do we always get it right? No. But we sure do get it right a lot of the time. Love is what binds us together as brothers and sisters in Christ. Love is what makes the difference when we fail and disappoint one another. Love is what binds up hurts. In Paul words, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:12 – 13) Amen. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-5237790459643284812016-01-24T16:13:00.001-03:302016-01-24T16:13:05.124-03:30The Spirit of the Lord<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>For so many reasons this is a great passage of scripture. As I preacher, I like it because Jesus missed the mark on his sermon. Comforting to me. The hometown crowd were not impressed with his preaching. Luke writes, “When they heard this, all the in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.” (Luke 4:28 – 29) </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>That’s a pretty serious reaction to a sermon. And not a normal one. I’ve had many reactions some positive and some not so positive. Some for good reason. We preacher don’t always get it right. We miss the mark. One of my early supervisors, who normally used poetic language to describe my work, called one of my sermons, ‘adequate.” I knew it wasn’t great but when she said adequate, I knew it was terrible. But this is not the same thing as wanting to through someone of a cliff. So what happened that day in Nazareth? It says, “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came form his mouth.” (Luke 4:22) So it wasn’t that he was speaking. It was probably that they heard something that so challenged their essential beliefs that they couldn’t hear what he was saying. Add a little of the hometown boy getting too big for his britches – and well you get an angry crowd. Whatever happened, it was impossible for Jesus to do his usual teaching, preaching, healing ministry.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In terms of the chronology, this passage follows Jesus’ baptism and then being tempted in the desert by the devil. Jesus has invited the disciples to follow and he is speaking to groups large and small around then Galilean countryside with growing success. Then he goes to his home church, his home synagogue and he does what he’s always done. He goes and he reads these powerful words form the book of Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18 – 19) He sits down and adds, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:20) That’s when the whispering starts. “Isn’t that guy, the carpenter’s son? Isn’t that Joseph’s boy?” Who does he think he is? Then Jesus has to make a quick escape before getting thrown off a cliff. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Here’s the thing about missing the mark or not quit managing to get people to hear your message – you learn a lot. Maybe the next time Jesus spoke he refined his message. Sometimes getting it wrong is the first step to getting it right. There is a great line in one of my favourite TV shows. I liked it so much that I wrote it down. The show is called Scorpion and it is about a group of geniuses who save the world every week. In one episode, Walter O’Brian and the members of Scorpion try to save a high tech building that was attacked by a computer virus. As the owner of the building and Walter sit watching the building burn down (after of course rescuing all the people inside). The owner looks at the building and says, “Next time it will work.” Walter says, “Next time? You’re going to do this again? This failed.” The owner says, “Walter, people think that I’m some kind of brilliant visionary. The reason I am successful is because on the heals of defeat, I start all over again. Failure is part of the process. You don’t know where you are vulnerable until you’ve failed.” (From Scorpion, Tech, drugs, and Rock ‘n Roll (Season 2 episode 6 October 26) </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Failure can be our greatest teacher. It helps us know how to improve. My guess is that Jesus learned that if you’ve a message that’s hard for people to accept you need to refine how you say it. Just because the people in Nazareth couldn’t hear the good news doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. The challenge for the people in Nazareth was that the good news meant change. It meant looking at the world with a new set of eyes. That is not always easy to do. In fact, it can be one of the most challenging things to do. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Even though it is hard to hear, Jesus’ words are an invitation to new life. Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18 – 19)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>These words are an invitation for all of all who follow Jesus to live into that promise of good news for the poor and sight for the blind and release of the captives. It is an invitation to discipleship. Perhaps we can say it like this, “The Spirit of the Lord is on us, Cochrane Street United Church, because he has anointed us to bring good news to the poor. He has sent us to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The Spirit of the Lord certainly has been at work in this congregation. We are building homes and community space. It is wonderful and amazing. At the same time, I know it is not without its challenges. We miss our church. We miss the comforts of home. Our choir is practicing one place and men’s club, UCW, Messy Church and bridge are meeting in others. It is harder to do the things we’ve always done as a church family and we miss the comforts of home. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>And yet that is only one part of the story. There is more. There is our calling, that invitation from Jesus to step out – to move beyond what is comfortable and known to bring good news. There is the good news are bringing to people who need homes. In those difficult moments, when it seems that it is too hard, remember that our God is with us always nudging us in the direction of new life. ““The Spirit of the Lord is on us, because he has anointed us to bring good news to the poor. He has sent us to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Amen. </div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-76508455719042017122016-01-17T12:58:00.001-03:302016-01-17T12:58:19.455-03:30Grace<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There is a hymn that I love called, “My Jesus I love Thee.”. Its found in the old “Song of the Gospel” hymn book. I heard for the first time in a little church in Aspen Cove. Every verse tells of something wonderful Jesus has done and the last line of every verse concludes with the words, “If ever I loved thee my Jesus tis now.” Being a follower of Jesus is both joy and challenge. There are times when it is hard to be a follower of Jesus, there are times when it is a joy and there are times when it see that the calling to love and serve others is something beyond my capabilities.</div><div>But then you come to the first of the miracles or “signs” in John’s gospel and doubts someone wash away. Water becomes wine. I admit that I love any story that turns water into wine. And we are not talking in this story about the cheap stuff – but good wine. This is a “sign” of blessing is a reminder that our starting place as followers of Jesus is God’s abiding abundance and grace. The wedding at Canna is the first of the “signs” or miracles in John’s gospel. It follows hot on the heals of baptism and Jesus calling the disciples with the invitation “come and see.” Next scene a wedding. Not quite like the weddings of today which are a day long affair. A wedding in Jesus’ day lasted a week and was a community celebration. Jesus was there with his whole family, disciples and community. </div><div>Over the course of the celebrations, the hosts ran out of wine. Now this may not sound like a big problem. Today we’d probably think nothing of it. If the wine runs out, we pop up to the store and buy another bottle. Not a big deal. But it was major social faux pas in Jesus’ day. Mostly it was a big deal because of what the wine represented. Wine was a sign of God’s abundance and to run out of wine was like saying that God’s love had dried up.</div><div> Upon hearing the news, Jesus’ mother turns to him, with an expectant look in her eyes. I think it’s the look only a mother can give and says, “They have run out of wine.” Can’t you just hear Jesus saying back to her as he rolls his eyes, “Oh Mother, why are you worried about that. Besides which, this not my time, it is not the hour.” But she pays no attention to him. Son of God or not, she knows best. Not only does she know him best, she knows its his time. She is the one whose watched him learn and grow. So Jesus mother takes matters into her own hands. She turns to the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you to do.” </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I’m guessing that Jesus reluctantly tells the servants to fill six huge containers – each holding 20 to 30 gallons of water and to take them to the wine steward. The wine steward tastes the wine and is amazed. He calls the bridegroom and compliments him for saving the best wine for the last days of the celebration. This is the first of what John calls the signs of Jesus and other gospels call miracle stories. These signs that point us to God and the nature of God’s grace. </div><div>Sometime it helps to put things in context. Today can be mass produced and shipped easily from one place to another. Not so in Jesus day. In today’s measurements “A standard bottle of wine is 750 milliliters (ml), meaning a case of 12 bottles contains 9 liters, or 2.378 gallons. At 150 gallons per ton, a ton of grapes becomes 150/2.378 gallons per case, or a little more than 63 cases of wine. With 12 bottles per case, we have 756 bottles in total.” (www.workingpreacher.org) For Jesus to change the ordinary gift of water into extraordinary wine was amazing. That is just like God’s abundant grace. It is unexpected. It is good wine when you are expecting the cheap stuff.</div><div>In the words of the psalmist, “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” (Psalm 36: 7 – 9) Grace upon grace. It is like the words we heard last week form Isaiah I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. … Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured and I love you.” (Isaiah 43:1 – 2, 4)</div><div>God’s infinite grace is hard to understand sometimes because all too often we operate in the scarcity mode. One of my theology professors said that the good news is so good that it is hard to believe. And it is so true. Living in faith, living with God’s grace daily doesn’t mean that life is perfect or that there is a magic that cures all our troubles. Barbra Brown Taylor in her book, Learning to Walk in the Dark, writes, “I call it full solar spirituality since it focuses on staying in the light of God around the clock, both absorbing and reflecting the sunny side of faith.” (Learning to Walk in the Dark page 15) Faith that only endures when life is good, doesn’t stand up when life tragedies come to our door step. And invited or not, we know to well that sorrows and tragedies come our way. </div><div>Here is the thing about God’s grace – it walks with us in times of faith and times of doubt. Grace is the comfort that comes after a night of pain. Grace is knowing that even the worst of mistakes are forgiven. Grace is being loved just as we are. Grace is the hope that rises from despair. It reminds me of the scene in the third book in the Anne of Green Gables books – Anne of the Island. Anne has just found out that her life long nemesis is dying. It is in that moment that she realizes that she loves him. She spends a long night hoping, praying for good news. In the morning she goes for a walk and finds out that Gilbert will make it. “The trills and trickles of song from the birds in the big tree above her seemed in perfect accord with her mood. A sentence from a very old, very true, very wonderful Book came to her lips, “Weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning.”” (Anne of the Island, page 651)</div><div>God’s grace never runs out or is in short supply. It is like 756 bottles of the best wine when you least expect it. It is the surprising hope that comes in spite of evidence that would have us give up. The wedding at Cana is an invitation into come and see God’s abundant grace. The last line of our reading from this morning says, “Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:11) It is the same invitation we receive today. Come and see -- grace upon grace. God’s abundance. How can we not make our song each day an offering of praise? “I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death. And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath; If ever I loved thee, my Jesus it is now.” Amen. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-83656886148384380302016-01-10T15:57:00.001-03:302016-01-10T15:57:35.206-03:30Because You Are Precious in my Sight<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I have read the passage from Isaiah many times. It comes up in the lectionary every three years. And yet this week it was like I was reading the words for the first time. Tears welled up in my eyes and I was overwhelmed by the beauty and the promise of it. It was like God was speaking directly to me reminding me that I, Miriam, am precious and honoured and loved. And somehow down through the ages these words have spoken to hearts reminding all of us that we are precious in God’s sight – beloved children of God. </div><div>This particular passage of scripture from Isaiah was written during the Babylonian captivity. After the destruction of the temple, after the people of Israel had been dragged from their homeland to some strange land where they were not really welcomed. Isaiah 49 describes the people of God as, “deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers” (Isaiah 49:7) It was a time when they wondered how to worship God in a strange land. And this is God’s word to them, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. … Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured and I love you.” (Isaiah 43:1 – 2, 4) </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In the time since those words were written, many things have changed, but one things remains firm. God says to each one of us, “you are precious in my sight, and honoured and I love you.” (Isaiah 43:4) It’s not always easy to take these words to heart. After all it is much easier to believe the worst about ourselves. But God says no to that. God says, “I have called you by name, you are mine.” When we say ugly, or dumb or screw up or idiot or worthless or shameful, God says, “precious, honoured, loved, mine.” </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Talk about good news. The kind of news that changes hearts and lives. Callie Plunket-Brewton tells this story. “A month or so ago, I met a man who has two names. His given name is Jeremy. He’s been called “Twitch” for years. Twitch, he told me when we met, was the name he went by when he was in and out of jail before he got clean. I said that I would call him Jeremy, thinking he wouldn’t want to be called a name associated with his pretty harsh past. He then said the most extraordinary thing. He said he wanted people to keep calling him Twitch so that it would be clear to the people who had known him before that he was a transformed man. He was afraid that if he started to go by Jeremy people might not realize that he was the same Twitch who’d been in jail with them, used with them. He comes around pretty regularly to the homeless ministry where I sometimes serve and hangs out with our homeless guests. Many of them know him. He wants them to recognize him and to take heart that God can transform their lives, too.” (http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2747) </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There are so many things that come with terms and conditions – but God’s love is not one of those things. It is gift. It is grace. It is promise. It is new life. One of the ways we recognize that grace is through baptism which is a visible reminder of the invisible grace. Baptism is so important that each of the Gospels begins Jesus’ ministry with his baptism in the Jordan River. Matthew and Luke both tell stories of Jesus birth, John’s begins with poetry, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God.” Mark skips all that stuff and goes right to the heart of the matter – baptism. In all found Gospels, the waters of baptism are barely dry when Jesus begins his teaching and healing ministry. </div><div>In Luke’s gospel, John the Baptist is preaching up a storm in the wilderness. He is preparing the way for Jesus. He says “‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’” (Luke 3:16) What happens next is a powerful reminder that Baptism is God’s work alone. John the Baptist was arrested by Herod and in jail and does not baptize Jesus. It is the work of God through the Holy Spirit. </div><div>Luke describes it this way, “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21 – 22) With that promise ringing in his ears Jesus sets out on his ministry of healing and teaching.</div><div>Baptism is the daily reminder that "You are my child, with you I am well pleased." This is not just a message for Jesus it is for us today. God said this to us the day we were baptized and every day since then. A lifetime of ups and downs cannot erase that promise, that gift of grace. Whether you remember your baptism or not it doesn’t matter. The grace that comes with baptism has no expiry date. With the sign of the cross, we are chosen, claimed forever as God’s beloved children. </div><div>That is the good news. On those bad days, those days when we are tempted to believe the worst about ourselves, we can remember the words that Gods speaks to us all, “You are my child with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22) “I have called you by name, you are mine. Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you.” (Isaiah 43: 1, 4) Everyday God whispers those powerful words in our ears. How can we not share them with others? Precious, honoured, loved, mine. Say them to yourself everyday – tell them to others. So everyone knows deep in their hearts that God’s love is for all. Precious. Honoured. Loved. Mine. Precious. Honoured. Loved. Mine. Amen. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-78829052069042703532016-01-09T21:25:00.001-03:302016-01-09T21:25:28.969-03:30Home by Another Way<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ever since the new star went up on Signal Hill – the one that shines so brightly across our city I’ve been thinking about the Magi – the wise men. The ones who saw an ancient star. The ones who were so wise that the people thought they were magic. The ones who knew the meaning of every star in the sky and couldn’t believe it when they saw a new one at its rising. The ones who wondered what all this could mean. Should they follow it? Should they see where it was leading them? Perhaps they wondered what people would think about embarking on this journey to an unknown destination. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>And yet they went. Their wondering led them to walking and a journey like no other. Their story – taking a chance on that unknown path reminds me of Mary and Joseph. When they said yes to God’s promise about their child they had no idea what it would mean for them – and yet they too left behind all that was familiar to follow in God’s way. They left their home in Nazareth to travel a strange city to be registered and then fearing for their lives they journeyed to Egypt. The sign at St. Mark’s Church before Christmas said it well, “Christmas: A story about a Middle East Family Seeking Refuge.” It reminds me of the Syrian refugees who arrived this week and indeed of all the refugees who come to Canada leaving behind all that is familiar to travel to a foreign land hoping for a new life. Like the Magi the set out not knowing what the future would hold but they go anyway – following that star that shines so brightly or following a dream or seeking hope.</div><div>It is a story that we can understand as a congregation. Our church family made the bold choice to follow an unknown path – to follow that star, that hope, that dream. No church in the city has done what you’ve done. It’s a decision that means uncertainty and traveling new directions – like worshipping here. It means living with a bit of uncertainty and lots of questions and as with anything new fears. As we head down this new road, no doubt there will be other firsts and new things along the way. </div><div>So today we begin our journey. We are as a church family worshipping in a different place. And it is not familiar. It is not our church home. But as it says in the song “Home” by Phillip Phillips “Hold on to me as we go. As we roll down this unfamiliar road, and although this wave is stringing us along. Just know you’re not alone. Cause I’m going to make this place your home.” This is our church home for the next few months. And we are not alone. We have one another, the hospitality of our friends here at St. John’s Seventh-day Adventist Church and a God who is always with us helping us down this unfamiliar road. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In the story of the Magi who travelled their own unfamiliar road we find a story of faith and blessings. Listen to what it says in Matthew, “When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. “(Matthew 2:10 – 12)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There is the joy of arrival. There is the gift of finding what you’d been searching for and meeting the holy child. There is the moment they offered prayers and blessings. But like any journey, it leaves a mark on your lives and the Magi go home differently. Jan Richardson describes the story this way in her poem called, “The Blessing of the Magi”</div><div><br></div><div>There is no reversing this road. The path that bore you here goes in one direction only, every step drawing you down a way by which you will not return.</div><div><br></div><div>You thought arrival was everything, that your entire journey ended with kneeling in the place you had spent all to find.</div><div><br></div><div>When you laid down your gift, release came with such ease, your treasure tumbling from your hands in awe and benediction.</div><div><br></div><div>Now the knowledge of your leaving comes like a stone laid over your heart, the familiar path closed and not even the solace of a star to guide your way.</div><div><br></div><div>You will set out in fear you will set out in dream</div><div>but you will set out</div><div>by that other road that lies in shadow and in dark.</div><div>We cannot show you the route that will take you home; that way is yours and will be found in the walking.</div><div>But we tell you you will wonder at how the light you thought you had left behind goes with you, spilling from your empty hands, shimmering beneath your homeward feet, illuminating the road with every step you take.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>As we embark on this journey into the unknown as a church family, there will be times of uncertainty and fear and there will be blessings all along the way. As we move into this new and uncertain time, we are reminded of that light the glows from the stable that brings hope and lights our path. God is with us as we go guiding us, supporting us and by faith we know that we are no alone. The light that guided the Magi so long ago on their journey guides us today. By God’s grace, with God’s help this unfamiliar road will be a blessing for our church family and for others as we build for the future. And so like so many before us we travel in faith and in hope. Thanks be to God. Amen. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-34705871884016412922014-08-24T15:07:00.001-02:302014-08-24T15:07:49.170-02:30Living God, Living Church<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This is one of those gospel stories we’ve probably heard dozens of times before. Jesus goes into the district of Caesarea Phillipi with the disciples. Now this isn’t any old city. It is a Roman city and they are surrounded by the god’s of the Roman Empire. In this of all places, Jesus says to the disciples “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>And they come up with a bunch of possible answers. “Some say John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus turns to all of them and says, “But who do you say that I am?” (Mathew 16:14) Peter says, “You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God.” Talk about a bold proclamation! Especially in a place where they are surrounded by stone carvings of the Roman god’s. Jesus turns to Peter and says, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18)</div><div>Amazing isn’t? We sit here worshipping together and in some strange way it starts with Jesus saying, “You are Peter and on this Rock I will build my church.” Now I don’t think Jesus had in mind churches like we know today. He probably imagined people worshiping this living God in the synagogues. Still, here we sit gathered in Jesus’ name because Peter and others had the nerve to proclaim boldly to anyone who would listen that “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God.” More than two thousand years later that church with all its successes and all its failures still clings to the promise of a living God. </div><div>But churches, not just United Churches, are faced with hard times. Some of it is bad PR on our part. People think that churches are judgement, unfriendly and unwelcoming. Some of it is the changing place of church in society. Sunday mornings are no longer reserved for church attendance. It is hard for those of us who remember full pews and Sunday schools bursting at the seams to know that we are faced with budgets that are stretched to the limit and buildings that are beautiful but bigger than we need or can afford. And it makes me wonder what is next for this church – the church of Jesus, the messiah, son of the living God. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Recently Scott attended some church meetings by the Edge Network which is trying to help congregations who are wrestling with some of these hard questions. He brought home the gift of a new word – well two words linked together in a new way. Discontinuous change. “Discontinuous change” happens when we struggle to understand why the ways we have functioned in the past no longer produce the same results. </div><div>And isn’t that where we are in the church? The things that worked once no longer produce the same results. The things we’ve always done seem to fall flat. The world has changed and that leaves who sit in the pews on Sunday mornings trying to figure out what to do. We wonder if the church even has a place in this new world. And if we do, what is it? Hard questions with no easy answers or instant fixes. </div><div>Sarah Cunningham’s book Portable Faith writes about finding new ways of being church. She begins with a story of a middle aged woman behind the desk at the local bond office who says to her, “There’s at least a dozen churches within a four block radius of here and that doesn’t change anything. … The city is the same as it’s always been. Same problems, same hardships, same cycles. Churches hold weekly services for anyone who wants to come, but I don’t think there’s any reason to believe they impact people beyond their own buildings.” (Portable Faith, pg. 1) </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Cunningham continues by writing, “…despite growing up as a pastor’s kid and logging hundreds – maybe thousands – of hours in church pews. I knew in the sinking, what-is-true part of my gut that “coming” was not the verb that Jesus had used in his parting shot to the disciples. “Come join us” was decidedly different invitation than “go into all the world.” And “inviting ones” was almost the polar opposite identity as “sent ones,” the term attached to those first believing apostles who bore the message of Jesus.” (Portable Faith page 3) </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Peter was a sent one. He started life doing what his father before him did – fishing. Then he met Jesus and everything changed. He quite literally left everything to follow Jesus. He went to places he’d never been and he even got a new name, “Peter.” Rock. After Jesus’ resurrection, he didn’t stay in his hometown. He went and spread the word about Jesus wherever he could because he knew that Jesus was the son of the living God and that is what made all the difference. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Now it is our turn today to pick up from Peter and all the faithful who’ve gone before us left off. It is our turn to share the good news of Jesus, Messiah, son of the living God. And we can. We’ve just gotten out of practice. We all grew up hearing that religion and politics aren’t something you talk about in polite company. Here’s the problem, if we don’t talk about why we come to church, if we don’t talk about what God has done for us, if we don’t talk about why we are followers of Jesus, how will anyone know about the living God whose love changes everything?</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>And here something else we’ve forgotten, people want to know. If you go to the Spirituality section in the bookstore it is full of books for people searching for answers to the meaning and purpose of life. Why not share ours? There are several longitudinal studies that link attendance at religious services with lower rates of depression. So going to church is good for you. We have something so special in the church and we need to share it with others. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>We don’t have the luxury of being polite or holding back. There was a time when I was outside the walls of churches that I would actively work at not telling people that I was a United Church minister. I would dread the question, “And what do you do?” And then watch the people who clam up or worse apologizing for swearing in front of me – like I’d never heard the words or said them. But no more. We have a message of the living God to share and if we don’t tell our stories then no one will know about it.</div><div>So here it goes. I love the church. I love that Jesus loves me as we sing in church, “Yes, Jesus loves, Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me the bible tells me so.” I love the stories in the bible call me to see things in every new ways. I know when it seems like my life is crumbling around me God is holding me. I love that I can feel the Holy Spirit pushing, nudging, inspiring me to try something different. Church is one of the few places I truly felt comfortable. I think it saved my life when I was a teenager because it was the only place I felt loved for me. On Sunday morning I could walk in through the doors of Edgewood United Church and I could breathe again. I knew that in school I didn’t belong – not with the cool kids and sometimes not even with the people who were my friends. But church was home. My wonderful Sunday School teacher Mary made it a place to explore and think about faith but most importantly to belong. </div><div>Perhaps, if we can find a way to start sharing those stories of grace and forgiveness, those stories of love and acceptance, of our God whose love gives life, we can find every new ways to be the body of Christ for this time and this place. It is our turn to answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” and boldly declare, “You are the Messiah, son of the living God.” And then, we like Peter, like all who’ve gone before us, become the rock upon which the church is built. Amen. </div><div><br></div><div>To listen, please visit http://www.cochranestreetuc.com/?Content=Worship/Archived_Worship_Services </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> </div><div>Links to articles about church attendance and depression: </div><div>http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=6775006</div><div>http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081023120228.htm</div><div>http://o.canada.com/news/national/church-depression</div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-32840848625147652072014-08-17T12:53:00.001-02:302014-08-17T12:53:49.491-02:30Opening our Hearts<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The bible is full of wonderful stories, but this is one of my favourites. Just imagine what was going in this woman’s life that she had the nerve to do what she did in a time when men and women didn’t associate much and men had the final say. When asking didn’t work she demanded something of Jesus. Nadia Bolz-Webber (@sarcasticluther) tweeted this morning, “Personally, I like a text where Jesus commends the faith of a sass-mouthed woman.” Whether she’s sass-mouthed or persistent, what happened that day changed everything. </div><div>For some it this is a hard text because Jesus is downright rude. There is none of that compassion that we are used to seeing. The grace in this text doesn’t come from him that for sure. </div><div>Imagine what it was like that day. Jesus and the disciples decided to go to the region Tyre and Sidon which is the traditionally the land of the gentiles – those who are not the people of Israel – descendants of Abraham. Not long after arriving, a woman approaches Jesus and the disciples. She starts saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” (Matthew 15:22) But no one paid attention. Jesus kept walking and the disciples behind him. She was after all a Canaanite woman, a gentile – there was no need to listen to her. Again “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” (Matthew 15:22) Still nothing. </div><div>But she will not be ignored. Her daughter’s life is one the line. She knows about Jesus and what he can do. Again she says, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” (Matthew 15:22) Finally the disciples are tired of this nagging and say to Jesus, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” We might as well just say it like it is. Jesus is rude. He is guilty of racism. His mission is not for her kind and he says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” And he keeps going. </div><div>This is why I love this story. She will not be ignored or put off or told to go home without first getting what she came for. She puts herself in Jesus path and kneels at before him saying, “Lord help me.” (Matthew 15:25) And still Jesus does nothing. Can you believe it? Our Jesus who heals. Our Jesus who is compassionate. Our Jesus who loves us back to life refuses to help this woman whose daughter is being tormented by demons. And then he compares her to dog. He says, her, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” (Matthew 15:26) </div><div>Most people would have walked away. First ignored, then dismissed and then insulted. But not this woman. She says “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” (Matthew 15:27) And finally Jesus see her – not where she is from – but her. A mother crying, begging for her daughter’s life to be restored. Jesus says, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” (Matthew 15:28) And in that moment her daughter is healed. </div><div>And in that moment that Jesus is changed. Jesus us healed. On the surface this an ordinary healing story except that it does not follow the normal pattern of healing stories. Truly the person healed in this text is Jesus. He has a new understanding of his calling. Barbara Brown Taylor writes , “through the Canaanite woman’s faith [Jesus] learns that God’s purpose for him is bigger than he had imagined and there is enough of him to go around [...]Faith works like a lever on him opening his arms wider and wider until there is room for the whole world in them, until he allows them to be nailed open on the cross.” (Seeds of Heaven. p. 63)</div><div>The woman in our story was praised for her faith. But it is not only her faith that was amazing but her persistence and intelligence. We owe her thanks because she opens Jesus’ heart to a new way of living and being in the world.</div><div>Through her faith is that Jesus is changed. This happens all the time. People come into our lives and leave a mark on us. They change our hearts and set our lives on a new course. It happened with Jesus and can happen with us. It happened to me. When I was at school in Toronto, if I had a lot of work to do for the following week, I would go to the 8am service at the Anglican Church on the corner. It meant that I got to go to church and had more time to finish my assignments. It was a quiet service and usually there were no more than 10 people there. I loved the peace of this service. One Sunday, just before the sermon began I heard the doors of the church bang open and close. And into the peace and quiet of this service walked a homeless man. He said loudly, “Sorry I’m late.” He sat down in the pew and the smell of someone whose life was spent outdoors filled street filled the sanctuary. And I confess that I resented his presence in that service. He disturbed the peace of my morning. </div><div>My heart was closed. I couldn’t see that just as I needed a place to pray and worship – so did he. The sermon came and went. The ushers were taking up the offering and were just about to pass the man by, when he began searching through his pockets. Gradually he pulled out every coin he had and put it in the offering plate and then apologized for how little it was. </div><div>In that moment I knew that I was wrong to be resentful. I was closed minded and judgmental. In short I looked on his appearance and did not my brother in Christ all I saw was a street person. I needed to be disrupted and have the peace of the morning disturbed. I had grown so used to seeing people living on the street that I lost my compassion. He taught me, reminded me that we are children of God. He who showed me the importance generosity and the importance of giving back to God. </div><div>Just as the Canaanite woman helped Jesus see the world in a new way, he helped me. And that is our calling as a people of faith. To be disturbed and disrupted so that we can see something new. It is in learning from one another that we see the face of God and in respecting the diversity of those in our midst that we truly become the body of Christ in the world. God calls us to reach out beyond ourselves and those who are like us to learn about generosity, faith, hope and love from all those who have a story to tell. You never know when your actions might change someone’s heart or when yours will be changed. In expanding our world view we are taking steps that will bring healing and wholeness to our communities, countries and world. Thanks be to God. Amen. </div><div> </div><div>We are going to close by blessing one another. Turn to page 349 in your hymn books. As we say, pray these words look at those around you and bless them as the bless you. </div><div><br></div><div>May the Christ who walks on wounded feet</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>walk with you on the road.</div><div>May the Christ who serves with wounded hands</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>stretch out your hands to serve.</div><div>May the Christ who loves with a wounded heart</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>open your hearts to love.</div><div>May you see the face of Christ in everyone you meet,</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>and may everyone you meet</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>see the face of Christ in you. Amen. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-49425834724728489842014-08-08T21:32:00.001-02:302014-08-08T21:32:25.897-02:30Wrestling with God and Humans<div>I get back from a lovely vacation and what is the first text for the day? Jacob wrestling with God. That's both the gift and challenge of the lectionary and perhaps God's sense of humour at work. The passage of scripture is at once a challenge and beautiful. The text asks us to consider: "What does it mean for Jacob and for for us to wrestle with God?" I’ve been reading Barbra Brown Taylors new book Learning to Walk in the Dark where she says some of the most significant moments happen as we wrestle in the dark with God.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Jacob knows it only too well. Twice in his life he encounters God and leaves with promise and blessing. Jacob is the grandson of Abraham and Sarah, one of Isaac and Rebecca’s two sons. Jacob is the second son only by minutes. His older brother Esau was born first and Jacob came behind him quickly griping his older brother’s heal. It seems from the before the day that Esau and Jacob were born they were competing with one another. And it was Jacob the younger always striving for what was his older brother’s. The bad family dynamics don’t end there it says in Genesis 25 “When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunger, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man living in the tents. Isaac loved Esau because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.” (Genesis 25:27)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The ground work for this family feud was planted in fertile soil. Jacob’s grasping after Esau didn’t end with his heal. First Jacob tricks his brother into giving him his birthright and then he tricks his father into giving him Esau’s blessing. Jacob had taken everything from his brother and Esau was so angry he plans to kill his brother. The first time Jacob encounters God is as he flees and goes to live with his mother’s brother Laban who is a trickster to match Jacob. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Barbara Brown Taylor writes, “Later God would come to Abraham’s Grandson Jacob in the middle of the night, after he fled from the family he betrayed in the worst kind of way. When Jacob could not run any longer, he lay down in the middle of nowhere and fell asleep, dreaming one of those dreams that arrives more like a vision. He saw a ladder with its feet set on the earth and its top reaching toward heaven, with bright angels of God climbing up and down on it. That was when God said more or less the same thing to Jacob that he said to his grandfather Abraham. “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Barbra Brown Taylor, Learning to Walk in the Dark page 92 – 93)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>That is the first time God comes to Jacob. The second is in our passage for today, after Jacob falls madly in love with Laban’s daughter Rachel. After he works seven long years to Marry Rachel and ends up marring Leah. After he works another seven long years for Rachel. After Jacob is tired of being tricked and cheated by Laban. After he finally realizes that the only place for him to go is home – back to the family he betrayed. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>So he makes a plan. Jacob sends Esau presents with this message, “I have lived with Laban as an alien, and stayed until now; and I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male and female slaves; and I have sent to tell my lord, in order that I may find favour in your sight.” (Genesis 32:5) Then return message is this, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” (Genesis 32:7)</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>And you can imagine what Jacob is thinking. He is coming for me. So he sends more gifts and indeed his whole family over to meet Esau. He stays behind by himself for the night.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Now Jacob must face all his fears and shortcomings. All night he wrestles with a man. “When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. (Genesis 32:25) </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>But Jacob is tenacious. He will not let go until he gets a blessing. So the figure asks, “what is your name? And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.” (Genesis 32:27 – 28) Jacob walks away with a new name but he now walks with a limp.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>And isn’t that what we are about as a people of faith? We struggle to understand God and how God calls us to live. We struggle with both faith and doubt. We struggle to live daily as God’s people. And on those nights we come face to face with our fears and shortcomings we like Jacob wrestle with God. And like Jacob, the most important thing we can do is never to let go of God. That means hanging on in spite of doubt and in spite of hard times to God’ promise. </div><div>The breath taking beauty of Jacob’s story is not that Jacob was perfect he wasn’t. What amazes me every time is that God chooses him even though he betrays his family, even though he is a liar and a cheat. God chooses Jacob not for anything he is yet to be but just as he is. Then God blesses him and gives him a new name. And if God will do that for Jacob, then God will do that for you and for you. And that my friends is God’s abiding, amazing, transforming grace. Amen. </div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5855167081401995346.post-29930869219281970572014-06-22T16:54:00.001-02:302014-06-22T16:54:46.646-02:30Bloom Where You Are Planted<div>Bloom Where You Planted</div><div><br></div><div>Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. This is not a book for the Bible for the faint hearted. In part because Jeremiah asks us to look at our lives and our world with care. Not necessarily for the good stuff but the injustices that pit one human being against another and for the times that challenge us to see things in a new way. </div><div>Yet every now and then there is a passage from Jeremiah that did not involve heart wrenching tears. Don’t get too excited – Jeremiah’s version of good news does not call for a party. God’s chosen people are still being held captive in Babylon by the Babylonians – there is nothing new on that front. The Israelites are are living in a strange land far from their beloved home in Jerusalem. The temple in Jerusalem still lies in ruins. What is new, are the false prophets who stand on every street corner predicting a swift end to their captivity in Babylon. Jeremiah looks on and shakes his head and says to the people “don’t believe a word of it. God has something else in mind and it does not involve a joyful reunion in Jerusalem in two years time.” Jeremiah says, “It’s going to take time. Bloom where you are planted.” </div><div>Listen again to Jeremiah’s words. “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:4 – 7)</div><div>What Jeremiah is asking is hard. It means finding a way to bloom in rocky ground. It means looking ahead instead of remembering what has been. Jeremiah makes no promises for a quick return to Jerusalem. Rather he asks the people of Israel to build a new life in Babylon and to pray for the wellbeing of the city where they are captives. In working for the health of this new city, the people of Israel will find their own health. Jeremiah asks God’s people to find a way to give thanks for this new place and to make the most of life in a new land and make the best of a difficult situation because they are going to be in Babylon for a long time. So, says Jeremiah, “Get married. Have children and pray for the welfare of the city where you are living even it means praying for enemies. Bloom where you are planted.” </div><div>This is something I think many people from this province are well able to do. I won’t pretend to be an expert on the history of this place but in the time I’ve lived here I heard stories about people learned how to make do and to survive in difficult circumstances. I was settled on Newtown Lumsden Pastoral Charge in Bonavista North. While Newtown is a beautiful place you would not call the soil fertile and there is only one direction of warm wind. The winters, well it is fair to say I’d never seen anything like it. It is wild when the wind and the snow come. </div><div>I once asked my neighbour, who grew up on a Pinchard’s Island which is a short boat ride from Newtown, how she and her family managed to survive winters on the island. I imagined she’d tell me the winters were terrible. I imagined she’d tell me it was cold because there was no electricity. I imagined she’d tell me there it was a daily struggle. Without hesitation she said, “It was the best time in my life. We all lived as one.” Talk about blooming where you are planted. </div><div>In spite of a land that may seem inhospitable, people found places where vegetables would grow, they would eat what they could fish or hunt and harvested the berries in their season. Somehow, out of land that may seem to a new comer like me as harsh, generations people carved out a living out of the land. They not only made a living, but they gave thanks for what they had. </div><div>It is a good message for us in the church today. We may not face the challenges of living that the people in Jeremiah’s day or the early settlers to this province did. All the same it is a challenging time to be in the church. Everywhere we turn people are saying that the church is dying. Changes in the society mean that church no longer has the place it once did. We know all too well in this congregation that pews are not as full as they once were, what one hard winter can do to an oil bill and how hard it is for us raise the money need to continue worshiping here. </div><div>And yet, and yet Jeremiah’s message to us not one of despair. God calls us to bloom where we are planted. God’s word of hope to us is ever the same and so is the message of the prophet. Bloom where you are planted. Find ways to seek the welfare of the people and place where we find yourselves. That is our calling today. To go into the community and find ways to help those who need help. To find ever new ways to share the good news of God’s deep and abiding love. To be a community of faith. </div><div>Jeremiah says, “For surely you know that plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) We are promised a future filled with hope. So let us go into the world with praise on lips to be God’s people at work in the world. Amen. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11700909110513032785noreply@blogger.com0