February 23 Sermon

Every four years it seems that we pause as a country to watch the Olympics. I love keep up with the results and watching just about every sport. It is the only time that I watch hockey. There is something special about watching the joy as our fellow Canadians achieve their goals and sharing in the sorrow of when it does not go as planned. While I tune in every four years to watch these sports, the athletes spend countless hours working, training and living their sport. I can’t begin to imagine what kind of dedication it takes to become a top ranked athlete who has the skills to compete at the international level. It is a labour of love.

            In many ways it is like the work of faith. Faith is a gift but it also requires work, time and dedication. It means being open to challenge and change. It means having the courage to get up again when life’s hard knocks come our way. Our gospel reading today tells just that kind of story.    

            She was a woman with no name – she probably did but it is not recorded.  She was from the wrong country. So she was of no account – except for the fact that she was the first one Jesus told the truth about who he was. Except she was the first person in John’s gospel to invite others to come and see Jesus. Except that even without a name and being from the wrong country her story has been told by generations and generations of believers.

            It is midday – high noon. Jesus is travelling from Judea back to Galilee. On the way, they stopped in a Samaritan city. This was a challenging place to stop because although both Jews and Samaritans believed in the same God they lived out their faith in different ways. Which means that the two peoples hated each other. They wanted nothing to do with each other.

            Jesus is at Jacob’s well – the disciples had gone to the closest city to find food. Jesus is taking a breather. A Samaritan woman comes to draw water from the well. What happens next breaks every rule. Jesus says, “Give me a drink.” (John 4: 7) Sounds innocent enough doesn’t it? But she is a Samaritan and he is Jew. They do not talk to one another. But even greater than that men and women unless they are related do not talk to one another. And they are at a well.

            Wells are significant places in the bible. They mean someone is getting married. It is like when you know who is going to fall in love in the movies based on how much the two hate each other or that special music or the slow motion meeting. Some pretty important people met at wells – think Jacob and Rebecca. A man and a woman at well in the bible means someone is getting married. Everyone in the story knows it.

            The woman can’t believe it and she says it, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (John 4:9)  She asks good questions. This woman with no name could have just walked away, instead she wants to know more. As Jesus and the woman talk, it becomes clear that she’s had a hard time in life. She’s had five husbands – that means five funerals, five heartbreaks. A woman without a husband then was in a precarious place. She found herself in that hard place five times.  

Barbara Brown Taylor in her book An Altar in the World writes, “The practice of getting lost has nothing to do with wanting to go there. It is something that happens, like it or not. You lose your job. Your lover leaves. The baby dies. At this level, the advanced practice of getting lost consists of consenting to be lost, since you have no other choice. The consenting itself becomes your choice, as your explore the possibility that life is for you and not against you, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.”

 

            The woman in our story must have refused to stay lost. Every time she picked herself up again and kept going. This is one of the hardest things to do. Now here she is standing at the well with Jesus talking about deep matters of faith. Hearing the promise that soon nothing will divide his people from her people. Hearing that the living water Jesus has is for her. Knowing that Jesus see her as someone of value.

            Jesus says, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) The woman goes back into the village and tells her story to anyone who will listen. “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” (John 4: 29) At her word the people form the village came to meet Jesus and hear him speak. Because of her invitation, many people came to believe in Jesus. Amazing.

            This woman with no name invites us to come and see Jesus. The one who knows everything about us. The one who loves us and invites us to come and drink the life giving water that sees us through life’s ups and downs. Now that is a promise. Joyce Cowley inspired by this passages wrote the poem “The Quiet Pool”

There is within each of us

a quiet clear pool of living water

fed by one deep Source

and inseparable from it’

but so often hidden

by a tangle of activity

that we may not know

of its existence.

 

We can spend the proverbial forty years

wandering in strange deserts,

sinking unrewarding wells,

and moving on, driven by our own thirst,

but when we stop still long enough

to look inside ourselves, really look

beyond our ideas about water

and what and where it should be,

we discover it was with us all the time,

that quiet clear pool which is ageless,

the meaning of our existence

and the answer to all our wanderings.

 

And as we drink,

we know what Jesus meant when he said

we’d never be thirsty again.

 

The invitation to a life of faith comes with the blessing of living water. It does not mean that it will be an easy road. It does mean that we won’t be alone. Like athletes preparing for sports, we prepare for a life of faith in prayer, in caring for others and by giving thanks that with Jesus we will never be thirst

February 9th Sermon

In John’s Gospel this story of the cleansing of the temple marks Jesus letting the world know that he is God’s son. We’ve had some clues about Jesus. There is the invitation he gives to his first disciples to come and see, there is the gift lavish gift of joy in the gifts of water turning into wine. But it seems like it is all leading to this particular moment and place.

            The place is important – it is the temple mount in Jerusalem.  Today it is home of the Wailing Wall where people from all over the world come and tuck their prayer requests into the wall. It is home of Al Aqsa mosque where the Prophet Mohamed was transported in a dream from Meca. It is a place considered holy by Christians as they retrace Jesus’ footsteps, to Jewish people who pray at the wall, and to Muslims who make pilgrimages to the mosque.  

            In legend it is connected to one of the rivers flowing through the Garden of Eden. It is home of Mount Moriah where Abraham bound Isaac. It is where David brought the ark of the Lord – God’s presence and where Salomon built the temple. It was the centre of faith until the Babylonians destroyed the temple and is later rebuilt. It is the place where earth and heaven meet.

            Just before Passover, the celebration of God leading the people to freedom in the Promised Land, Jesus and his disciples go to Jerusalem. People from near and far were gathered for the Passover celebrations.  When they arrive at the temple, the first thing that Jesus sees is the normal business of the temple. He’s probably seen it most years as comes for holy days at the temple. The money changers, the people selling animals for sacrifice. Something happens with Jesus. It is not clear what. He makes a whip, he drives them all out of the temple, turning over the tables and dumping the money of the ground as he cries out, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a market place!” (John 2:17)

            Then there is a strange reaction from the people watching. They don’t run and hide wondering what this person is doing. They don’t try to stop him. They ask him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” (John 2:18) Really? That is their reaction? And then to make it worse the answer Jesus gives is a strange statement that is nearly impossible to understand unless you know about Jesus’ death and crucifixion. Jesus says “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) Is it any wonder the crowds starts muttering and saying things like, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, you will raise it up in three days?” (John 20) And they walk away shaking their heads in disbelief. What just happened here?

            It is a hard story to make sense of – especially if you don’t know how the story ends. It is only after Jesus’ death and resurrection that the disciples remember that it is written, “Zeal for your house will consume me” (John 2:17) and that the narrator can say “But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead the disciples remembered that he had aid this; and they belied the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.” (John 2:21 – 22)

            In Matthew, Mark, and Luke the cleansing of the temple happens at the end of the Gospel as though this is the culmination of Jesus’ frustration with the authorities. Not so in John. It is at the beginning only a few short verses after Jesus turns the water into wine. But in John it happens at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It is an introduction of who Jesus is – God’s son. It is a reminder that with Jesus everything is changed.

            As the tables are turned and the animals used for temple worship are sent packing, Jesus is making a point about who he is and his ministry. It is like he is saying “something new is happening starting today and our relationship with God will never be the same.”  In the place where earth and heaven meet, the place where God dwells, Jesus is makes it clear that God’s presence is with him. It is a complete shift in how people meet God. Once it was only in the temple. Now we meet God in Jesus and we are all invited to come and see what this means.            The author Phyllis Tickle who wrote the book The Great Emergence argues that the church today is in a period of major transition. Not as major as the day Jesus clears the temple of vendors. She argues that this happens every 500 hundred or so years. Think of the Reformation as Martin Luther as he nailed his statements on the wall. She says it is like the church is having a giant rummage sale and is trying to pick what parts of our tradition to take with into the next period, what do needs to let go of, and what do needs to be reclaimed.

            In some ways, that is what happened in the temple. It was a complete shift in how people are invited to meet God. We are in a shifting and changing time in our world today too. Our culture, our way of living, our faith are all in transition. We hear it on the news in movements like the Occupy movement and the Arab spring. We know it in our churches. So many people are spiritual but not religious or fall under the category of none when it comes to religion. We feel it on Sunday mornings with fewer people in the pews. As individual churches and a denomination we are having to make hard choices about how we will live our faith into the next generations.

            It is a challenging time to be in the church. It is filled with so many uncertainties and challenges. But it is not a time without hope. No matter the challenges and changes we face we remember these words from Hebrews, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) This time of challenge and change is an invitation from Jesus to go deeper into our faith. It is time to share our story and to boldly proclaim that as followers of Jesus we are given a gift that is truly priceless – grace. Grace is not earned. It is freely given. Every time we gather at Jesus table for gifts of bread and wine we are reminded of that grace. For in them we are given new life, a love that will not let us down and strength for the coming day. Amen.

A Blessing Of Abundance

There are so many reasons to love today’s Gospel reading. Need I say more than water gets turned into wine! But it is more than the blessing of wine. It those unwritten/ unspoken words between Jesus and his mother. It is the reminder that God’s call to us begins with blessing and abundance. 

Our reading today opens with the words “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.”  (John 2:1) The third day of what? I’d always assumed it was the 3rd day of the wedding which could often last about a week.  But it is not the third day of the wedding. The text says on the third day there was a wedding. Another question, why is it so important the Jesus mother is there? It is a curious way to begin a story.

It seems to me that this story takes place so early in Jesus ministry that you can count the days on your hand. It is so new that every little detail matters. It is as though John who began with such beautiful poetry, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) And now he needs to move away from poetry and become a chronicler of a narrative. 

On the first day – John the Baptist points to Jesus as the Messiah and that he is the one who comes to baptize with the Holy Spirit. Day two begins with a repeat of day one, John exclaims as Jesus walks by, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” (John 1:

36) and is followed by Jesus inviting Phillip and Nathanael to follow him. 

On the third day Jesus is at the same wedding as his mother in Cana. He and his disciples have been invited to the wedding and the wine ran out. This was 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 then it was a big deal – more because of what the wine represented. Wine is the sign of God’s abundance – running out of wine was like running out of God’s blessing and no one wants to start a marriage with the reminder that God’s blessing is running out. 

The wine is gone and Jesus’ mother hears about it. And Mary does what mothers can do with their children when they know what they are capable of. Mary gives her son a knowing look. Maybe you’ve seen it on your mothers face. If you are a mother, maybe that looks has been on your face. She says, “They have no wine” she says to Jesus (John 2:3) She begins to walk away when the protests starts, “But mom, why is that my problem? Why are you looking at me like that? As if I can do something about. My time, my hour is not here.” 

Then she does something else only a mother can do. She completely ignores him. Walks up the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5) It is the bible’s version of mother knows best. She knows his time is here.

What comes next is the abundance of God’s blessing. The servant does as Jesus says and they fill the six stone water jars – each holding 20 or 30 gallons and then they take them to the chief steward. By the time the water jars reach the chief steward for him to sample,  it is wine. Not just any wine but the best wine. 

The chief steward exclaims, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:10) And this – the gift of the good wine is the first of Jesus’ signs. I’ve often wondered why it was this particular sign. Doesn’t it seem strange? The first sign of Jesus’ ministry could have been a healing miracle or a feeding miracle or a banishing of demons. Instead God begins Jesus' ministry with a sign to remind us of God's abundance. In the blessing of wine Jesus first reveals his glory – in the gift of wine, in the gift of God’s abundance. That is a great way to begin a ministry.

And it all started because his mother knew he was ready even when he didn't. Oh, he was definitely getting there. John the Baptist had already publicly said, “He’s the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” He even has disciples who are following him. And yet he tells his mother he’s not ready. His hour is not here. 

This is the amazing and frustrating thing about God. God calls us even when were not ready. God calls, invites, pushes, nudges us to follow whether we are ready or not – whether we expect it or not. 

Malcolm Gladwell the author of many books and staff writer for the New Yorker certainly never expected to find faith sitting in the backyard of someone he was interviewing for a book. He was working on his latest book called David and Goliath when faith found him once again. He describes what happened in an article called, “How I re-discovered faith.”  He writes, “I was raised in a Christian home in Southwestern Ontario. My parents took time each morning to read the Bible and pray. Both my brothers are devout. My sister-in-law is a Mennonite pastor. I have had a different experience from the rest of my family. I was the only one to move away from Canada. And I have been the only one to move away from the Church. 

…What I understand now is that I was one of those people who did not appreciate the weapons of the spirit. I have always been someone attracted to the quantifiable and the physical. …I have always believed in God. I have grasped the logic of Christian faith. What I have had a hard time seeing is God’s power. 

…I put that sentence in the past tense because something happened to me when I sat in Wilma Derksen’s garden. It is one thing to read in a history book about people empowered by their faith. But it is quite another to meet an otherwise very ordinary person, in the backyard of a very ordinary house, who has managed to do something utterly extraordinary.

Their daughter was murdered. And the first thing the Derksens did was to stand up at the press conference and talk about the path to forgiveness. “We would like to know who the person or persons are so we could share, hopefully, a love that seems to be missing in these people’s lives.”

Maybe we have difficulty seeing the weapons of the spirit because we don’t know where to look, or because we are distracted by the louder claims of material advantage. But I’ve seen them now, and I will never be the same.”.”  (http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/books/how-i-rediscovered-faith)

The invitation to faith and the reminders of both God’s power at work in the world and the abundance of God’s blessings come at the most unexpected times. There is no way of truly knowing. What we need to know is that it God’s abundance is always with us. The Chief steward said, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:10) That just how things are with God. The best wine is served last. 

And we are invited, whether we are ready or not, to follow, to shine God’s love into the world, to share with others the blessing of being one of God’s children and followers of Jesus. Amen

Joseph: Jesus' Dad on Earth

In theology school they tell us we are not supposed to mix together all the Christmas stories. Tonight I ignored that sage advice. It’s not Christmas eve without reading the story from Luke. I love Mary—how she treasures things in her heart, how she ponders all the events. It makes a great story. But of Joseph we hear very little. We had a Sunday where we sang all the hymns about Mary. But there are no hymns about Joseph. He is the unsung hero of the Christmas story. I’ve had a couple of people say to me to – well my husband really mention that Christmas isn’t all about Mary. So tonight both readings so we can hear about Joseph who is featured in Matthew’s gospel. Without Joseph our Christmas story would fall flat. One of the children when I asked who Joseph was said it so well during children’s time, “Joseph is Jesus’ dad on earth.” 

Joseph is important. The angel visited him too. Mary and Joseph were engaged but before they were living together. It wasn’t unusual in those days for engaged couples to live together before they were married. But this was before that. Joseph found out the Mary was with child. He, being the good guy that he was, didn’t want to embarrass her so he planned to send her away quietly. That night, the Holy Spirit visited him in his dreams. The angel said, “‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 
 ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ (Matthew 1:20 – 23) And Joseph did just that. It was Joseph who went with Mary to Bethlehem. It was Joseph who found Mary a place to give birth to Jesus. It was Joseph who stayed at her side through it all. Without Joseph where would Mary have ended up? Mary would have been alone. 

Perhaps this is why Ann Weems writes a poem about Joseph. It called, “Who Put Joseph in the Back of the Stable?”

Who put Joseph in the back of the stable?
Who dressed him in brown,
put a staff in his hand,
and told him to stand
in the back of the creche,
background for the magnificent light
of the Madonna?

God-chosen, this man Joseph was faithful
in spite of the gossip in Nazareth,
in spite of the danger from Herod.
This man, Joseph, listened to angels
and it was he who named the Child
Emmanuel.

Is this a man to be stuck for centuries
in the back of the stable?

Actually, Joseph probably stood in the doorway
guarding the mother and child
or greeting shepherds and kings.

When he wasn’t in the doorway,
he was probably urging Mary

to get some rest,
gently covering her with his cloak,
assuring her that he would watch the Child.

Actually, he probably picked the Child up in his arms
and walked him in the night,
patting him lovingly
until he closed his eyes.

This Christmas, let us give thanks to God
for this man of incredible faith
into whose care God placed
The Christ Child.

As a gesture of gratitude,
let’s put Joseph in the front of the stable
where he can guard and greet
and cast an occasional glance
at this Child who brought us life.

On the eve of Jesus’ birth we give thanks for all those who made this journey possible. For Mary who pondered and treasured and bravely said, “Yes, let it be with me according to your word.” For shepherds who journeyed to Bethlehem to see the child who changes everything. For the wise men who travelled from a far off country, ignored Herod and returned by another way. And for Joseph who stayed by Mary side, who ensured the baby's safety, and most importantly was Jesus dad on earth. Thanks be to God. Amen.  

Advent 3 She Walked in the Summer

Solo: Oliver Dingwell

1          She walked in the summer through the heat on the hill.

            She hurried as one who went with a will.

            She danced in the sunlight when the day was done.

            Her heart knew no evening who carried the sun.

(She Walked in the Summer, #12 Voices United, Miriam Therese Winter)

           

The incarnation of God is messy business. You never guess it based on the serene images of Mary so meek and mild in her flowing blue gowns and golden halos. For centuries in art Mary has been depicted as a model of perfection.  How can God entering the world be neat and easy? How can the person charged with bearing God into the world be meek and mild? It reminds me of all the books for new mothers that show mothers gentle cradling their babies on the cover. They don’t depict how you manage sleep deprivation or troubles with nursing or crying babies. That might us scare too much to become a parents. The poet Killian McDonnell imagines Mary’s story this way in his poem called In the Kitchen:

            Bellini had it wrong.

            I was not kneeling

on my satin cushion

silently at prayer

head slightly bent.

 

Painters always

skew the scene,

as if my life

were wrapped in silks,

and temple smells.

 

Actually I had just

come back from the well,

placing the picture on the table

I bumped the edge

spilling water on the floor.

 

As I bent to wipe

it up, there was a light

against the kitchen wall

as though someone had opened

the door to the sun.

 

Rag in hand

hair across my face,

I turned to see who was entering,

unannounced, unasked. 

 

All I saw

was light, white

against the timbers.

I heard a voice

I had never heard.

I heard a greeting,

I was elected,

the Lord was with me,

I pushed my hair back,

I stood afraid.

Someone closed the door.

And I dropped my rag.

(Killian McDonnel, Swift Lord You are Not page 46 – 47)

 

Solo: Oliver

 

2          Fresh as a flower at the first ray of dawn,

            she came to her cousin whose morning was gone.

            There leaped a little child in the ancient womb,

            and there leaped a little hope in every ancient tomb.

(She Walked in the Summer, #12 Voices United, Miriam Therese Winter)

 

The incarnation of God is messy business. Maybe Mary was in the kitchen going about her daily routines. We will never know. Here is what we do know. Mary was young – 13 or 14. The weighty theological term for Mary is “Theotokos.” Which quit literally means God bearer. Because Mary said yes to God and she bore God’s son into the world. This is how the bible describes it: 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)

 

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. 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)

 

Solo: Oliver

3          Hail, little sister, who heralds the spring.

            Hail, brave mother, of whom prophets sing.

            Hail to the moment beneath your breast.

            May all generations call you blessed.

(She Walked in the Summer, #12 Voices United, Miriam Therese Winter)

 

The incarnation of God is messy business and that’s good news for us. God enters the world with all its messiness, with all its imperfection, with all its failings and offers us a gift like no other – God own self wrapped up in human form. When God’s love comes in the world, it takes courage and faith to follow and to trust that love. There is nothing meek or mild about Mary. Bellini may have had it wrong but David Wynne got it right with his statue at Ely Cathedral. Mary still in blue but this time a vibrant blue. There is no golden halo. She stands with her arms stretch upwards and open to God – standing strong for whatever comes next. Ready to ponder the meaning of her son’s birth. Ready for the day Jesus disappears and heads for the temple. When Mary finally finds him, he says, “Well duh, Mom where did you think I’d be?” Ready for the worst of day of all as Jesus hangs on the cross. Ready to be overwhelmed by the joy of his rising.

 

The good news for us is that God is here with us in our best moments and in our worst moments giving us courage for what lies ahead. As we prepare once again for Jesus’ birth, pause to give thanks for those who made it possible. For Joseph who walked with Mary. For the shepherds who dared to leave their flocks to see what the angels were talking about. For the Magi who travelled from a far off country, who were brave enough to ignore Herod’s command to return to him and instead go home by another way. And for Mary, for her faith and courage as she bravely said, “Here I am. The servant of the Lord: let it be with me according to you word.” (Luke 1:38) Mary Theotokos. God bearer. Mary brings us a saviour, Emmanuel. God with us.

 

Solo: Oliver

4          When you walk in the summer through the heat on the hill,

            when you're wound with the wind and one with Her will,

            be brave with the burden you are blessed to bear,

            for it's Christ that you carry everywhere,

                        everywhere, everywhere.

(She Walked in the Summer, #12 Voices United, Miriam Therese Winter)

Advent 2 -- The Prophets

            The Sunday of John the Baptist is always the most challenging Sunday for preachers during Advent. We don’t expect to hear his harsh words at this time of year. In this Advent/ Christmas time of year we expect to hear words of hope and peace. That is part of the magic of this season. I love the lights and the Christmas movies. People are more generous. There is so much to love about this time of year. And we are filled with expectations for each other, our families and our community. Then we come to church and hear the gospel reading and instead of hope, peace, joy, love and we hear “Repent!”

But if we are being honest about this time of year it is not always easy for people. I think of the 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. Advent, the season leading up to Christmas can be difficult for so many other reasons. A loved one is away from home. You or someone you care about is sick or dying. Or perhaps there’s been a death of a loved one tints the season with sadness. Or maybe there is a private burden that you can’t find the words to talk about. This season of joy can also be hard for so many.

            Those Christmas movies I love, sell us short on the fullest or deepest meaning of this season. It’s not all tree lights, festive parties and family gatherings. It is about preparing the way of 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)

            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)

            Prophets are hard to listen to. They tell us things that we don’t want to hear. The call us to live in new ways. When John says “Repent” he is not talk about saying I’m sorry but how to turn to something new. Repent is like an invitation do and see things in a new way.  

            Prophets don’t only live on the pages of the bible. There are modern day prophets – like Martin Luther King, like Mother Teresa, like Ghandi. They all called for a turn from oppression and suffering to justice, mercy, compassion and love. This week the world lost another prophet. Nelson Mandela called for, demanded, invited and led the way to the end apartheid. In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela wrote, "I have no epiphany, no singular destiny, no moment of truth, but a steady accumulation of a thousand slights, a thousand unremembered moments, produced in me an anger, a rebelliousness, a desire to fight the system that imprisoned my people."

What is more amazing is that after all those years in prison, when he finally had the power seek vengeance for all that had been done to him and for that system that imprisoned his people. He could have done it. Instead he called for reconciliation – a far harder path. It reminds me of Isaiah words, “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:6, 9)

Nelson Mandela started the work and it is now ours to carry on as we find ways to live into the promise of all God’s people living together in peace, with justice for all and compassion for all God’s children. That is the true gift of Christmas – a world remade in God’s image.

            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)

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.  

Advent 1

I want you to imagine the desert around Jerusalem. For miles you can see nothing but sand in various shades of tan. The desert is not flat but hills and mountains of sand.  In the Godly Play stories that are told in the sand we are reminded that the desert is a dangerous place and people only go there if they have to. It is dry. There is no water and without water we die. It is cold at night and by day it is hot and the sun burns your skin by day. When the wind blows the mountains of sand change their shape and it is easy to get lost. The desert is indeed a dangerous place.

      But that is not all that happens in the desert. In the early days of the church, the church Fathers and Mothers went to the desert to draw closer to God. Jesus was in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights following his baptism. The desert is where God’s people wandered for 40 years as they journeyed to the Promised Land. With one rainfall the desert is transformed into a sea of beauty as the desert wildflowers bloom in every colour of the rainbow. The desert is dangerous but it is also significant.

      Isaiah knows about the desert and the amazing beauty when it blooms. If you read Isaiah in sequence, todays comes as a total surprise.  So much of what Isaiah has to say is about doom and gloom. And then we get this beautiful passages promising something new, something different. In chapter 34 Isaiah is talking of destruction and desolation. And then, “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom abundantly, and rejoice with singing.” (Isaiah 35:1 – 10)

      Good news is like that isn’t? It doesn’t come at the expected moment. There is no time to get ready for it. One minute is ordinary and then… “The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; …for waters shall break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert; he burning sand shall be come a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water; … a highway shall be there called the Holy Way; …they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighting shall flee away.” Isaiah 35:5 – 8, 10)

      From desolation to great joy in a heartbeat. We know that it doesn’t always happen like that but every now and then joy breaks through. Barbara Lundblad, shares this story:

      “For many years Chuck Campbell taught preaching at Columbia Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. He required students in one of his classes to lead worship and preach at the Open Door Shelter for homeless people in downtown Atlanta. One day he was leading worship in front of the shelter, amid the noise of rush-hour traffic. After the call to worship and a song, Chuck’s plans were interrupted. “I noticed one homeless man waving to me and pointing to himself. I was surprised when I saw him for the man can neither hear nor speak and is normally very reserved.

But there he was, eager to do something. He stepped into the middle of the circle, bowed his head in silence, and began to sign a hymn for us. It was beautiful, like a dance… In that moment our notions of ‘abled’ and ‘disabled’ were turned upside down. The rest of us had been shouting to be heard, but the noise was no problem for our friend…Our worship became a token of the resurrection in the midst of the powers of death, a glimpse of God’s beloved community.” Even Isaiah couldn’t have imagined the glory of that moment in downtown Atlanta as the hands of the speechless were singing for joy!” (http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1941)

Sometimes that highway – that Holy Way for God’s people breaks into our ordinary days and something extraordinary happens. That’s what happened with the shepherds in our Christmas story. The shepherds in the fields watching the flocks. Perhaps they were sitting at the fire trying to stay warm. Maybe one of the shepherds was keeping watch while the others were by the fire. It was an ordinary day for ordinary shepherds. But it didn’t stay that way for long. An angel of the Lord stands before them and the light of God’s glory was all around them and they were terrified. Knees shaking, heart pounding fear because this is not something that you expect when you are in a field, taking care of sheep or really ever as we got about our daily routines.

“Don’t be afraid” says the angel, “I bring good news for all. As saviour is born and you will find him in a stable wrapped in bands of closing lying in a manger.” And then, and then more angels – a multitude of angels singing, “Glory to Godin the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!”

We’ve heard the story – we know what happens but every year it is amazing. God’ breaks into the world and changes everything. That is what advent is all about, waiting, watching hoping, looking, remembering that Emmanuel – our God with us, comes in the ordinary moments of life and changes everything.

After that day the shepherds are changed. How can they go back to watching their flocks by night? The glory of the Lord shone around them and it was like waters in the wilderness and streams in the desert. God still breaks into ordinary moments in our lives and in our world in amazing ways. Sometimes it’s hard to see, sometimes it’s there but we just can’t or won’t see it.

Today it happens as we gather at the table to share gifts of bread and wine. God comes to us in ordinary gifts bread, wine and reminds us that our Emmanuel, our God with us, our Jesus is with us calling us, blessing us to be God’s people in the world. Amen.