Monday, December 13, 2010

Advent 3 C 2010

Remember to take these sermons with a grain of salt. I tend not to say the exact same thing as I write. So the two are distinct...


Streams of Joy
Introduction

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times...” Someone once said that in a book or something...

ok, ok, opening line of A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens. Nonetheless, a very poignant opening line and very, very wise... life is like that... best of times, worst of times... sorrow and sweetness all wrapped up into one.

Sometimes it is not easy to figure out which is which... take the story of Mary – unwed, pregnant, potentially alone, trying to convince others that it is a miracle, about to be moved off to another city, told by angels she will birth a saviour, welcomed with open arms by her cousin Elizabeth and even her betrothed, Joseph... the best of times, the worst of times.

How about the Israelites, forced into exile, city abandoned, finally granted freedom, returning to ruins, planting their own gardens... again, best of times, worst of times... and yet... and yet...

People who embrace the reality that life is both sadness and joy at the same time come to such a deep understanding that it can lead to song... nowadays it leads to the blues... but once upon a time, it led to songs of praise to God... and we are going to hear one of them in just a couple of minutes.

Deserts Rejoicing

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you." Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert...”

You know what... I believe that!

I have been in shanty towns in the American South. I have lived in a refugee camp in Guatemala. I have been a soldier. I have worked with abused kids. I have lived on the street. I have seen drug addiction up close and personal. I have been abused. My life is NOT Pollyanna-ish in any sense...

But I am here; I do what I do, because I believe that Isaiah knew something I do not! For just a few moments today – I want you to believe too. Put aside the pain. Put aside the doubt. And LISTEN.... listen for what God has been saying...

There is a reason that our most popular hymns are things like Joyful, joyful we adore thee... or Amazing Grace how sweet the sound...

We know, deep down, that God is that gracious power behind the goodness of the universe. God is that feeling of love that overwhelms us in darker moments. God is the joy to be found in a blooming cactus.

Because you know – people like Isaiah, and the writer of the Psalms – they felt this so much that they wrote love songs to God. The idea of God’s grace brought them such joy that love overflowed in worship... So much so that they could even imagine the deserts rejoicing with them...

If I came up to you and said that even the trees seem to be singing today, everything is SO beautiful, I am just moved to tears... you might be thinking that I have fallen in love... Well, Isaiah has – he has fallen in love with God.

Baby Love

I have never been pregnant. I have however done two things that I think are the emotional equivalent. I have sat in an obstetricians’ office and listened to the heartbeat of a foetus that took 5 years to conceive; and I have watched my wife give birth to a daughter who was literally not alive, strangled on the umbilical cord – and then brought back to life by incredible nurses within three minutes.

In those moments I understood Mary – “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.”

It was also one of those rare moments that the needs, desires and passion of the individual completely overlap the needs, desire, and passions of all people. Mary wanted a son, she loved her unborn son, and somehow, she knew, as did Elizabeth and Zechariah, as did others who encountered them, like the inn keeper, Herod, the Wise Men... that this was no ordinary baby.

This was the beginning of something truly different. This was a reason for joy.

Elizabeth says that John leapt in her womb because of joy the minute their bodies touched.
And more than that – Mary felt it in her body, in her spirit, in her soul... we are not talking about happiness here. We are talking about something that goes beyond the simple pleasures that make us happy – something that touches us so deeply and so passionately that we cannot help but sing.

That sense of joy is not just rooted in here – it is rooted in her God – her understanding of how God has blessed her in this moment.

It is a sense of joy that is alien to us today. Perhaps we don’t let ourselves get so wrapped up in new life that it overwhelms us...

But there are times. Like when we celebrate Christmas for the first few times, or get our drivers licence and go for the first ride. Or fall in love for the first time, or hear a heartbeat for the first time... It is not that we don’t know such joy – it is that we stop ourselves from feeling it for all but the most exceptional of circumstances.

But we should...

Seeing with Different Eyes

So we are not always sure that things matter.

Does it matter that we come to church? Does it matter that we hold the door open for someone who does not say thank you? Does it matter whether we make a couple of little environmental choices? Does it matter whether we give a dollar to the person begging for change?

Go ahead and make your own list… we could all do it… does it matter whether I put on a clean shirt, or whether I visit a comatose relative in the hospital, does it matter whether I try to be nice to people that always irritate me…

“John says we should come and check if you are for real…” says one of John’s disciples to Jesus. Behind that question I hear another… the world does not seem to be getting any better, so does any of this stuff matter?

I mean come on, the rich are still rich, the poor are still poor, the government is still corrupt, the rabbis don’t listen…

And Jesus says this: “look closer.”

Thousands of turkeys collected. Hundreds of thousands of meals served at the Karing Kitchen, Millions raised for Pakistan and Haiti, doctors volunteering to treat cholera, wallets returned, doors held open, smiles at strangers, seats given up at the bus, volunteer visitors at the hospital…

What do you see when you look around?

THE BULLETIN

People have asked me how the multiple stage sermon fits into a service. It varies from week to week a little, as we try to balance music, spoken word and reflective space... but just to give people an insight, this is last weeks bulletin:




Advent 3 December 12, 2010

Carol Sing:

Welcome and Announcements:
This is a reminder that there is coffee and conversation every Sunday after the service of worship. Everyone welcome.

Gathered in the Spirit

Call to Worship: Please see the back of the bulletin

*Hymn: O Come All Ye Faithful #60

Introduction of Theme:

Gathering Prayer: Please see the back of the bulletin

Hebrew Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10 reader: Cathy Elderkin
The desert blooms and rejoices.

Message:

Lighting of Advent Candle: readers: Ina Freeman

After 3rd Advent candle is lit:

…our hearts shining bright on the coldest, darkest winter day.
All: God, you know that we do not always feel happy. Sometimes we feel sad. Sometimes we are worried. Sometimes we feel lonely. Touch us with your strong and joyful Spirit, we pray, so that laughter, warmth, and delight may fill our hearts and souls. Help your joy run deeper than all our sorrow as we know your gifts of new life today and always. In the name of Jesus, joy to the world. Amen.

Written by Jane Doull, while at Three Harbours PC, Wallace, NS. Gathering, Advent/Christmas/Epiphany 2010-2011, page 51-52. Used with permission.


After Candles are lit and the litanies are read please sing together (to the tune of Silent Night # 67):

Candle light, sacred light,
Mystery flames, burning bright,
We are waiting for Jesus’ new birth.
Shine his joy over all of the earth.
Thanks for the gift of joy, thanks for the gift of joy.

Written by Catherine MacDonald, United Memorial Church, Halifax, NS. Gathering, Advent/Christmas/Epiphany 2010-2011, page 84. Used with permission.

Listening for God’s Word

Congregational Response: Luke 1:47-55 (Refrain 1) #898
Mary’s song of Justice.

Second Scripture Reading: James 5:7-10
Wait patiently for the coming of the Lord.

*Hymn: The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy #73

Message:

Gift of Music: Gesu Bambino (The Infant Jesus) Senior Choir

Our Response

Minute for Missions: Janet Skinner

Offertory Invitation:

Offertory: Building a Snow Fort Craig & Hannah Townsend

*Presentation of Our Gifts: To the tune of Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

Joyful is how we seek to live, Joyful is what we each can give, #541
Joyful in what we speak and hear, And joy in what we offer here.

*Offertory Prayer:

Gospel: Matthew 11:2-11
John’s disciples visit Jesus.

Message:

*Hymn: Good Christian Friends, Rejoice #35

*Commissioning & Benediction:

Postlude:

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Christ the King (c) 2010

The End of an Era

Introduction

What if God was our King? What if Jesus was the Lieutenant Governor? What does that even mean?

Just some questions to get you thinking.... today is New Year’s Eve in the world of liturgy – this is the last Sunday of the church year; and next week we begin Advent, we start over with a new beginning...

So this is our opportunity to reminisce a little, to think about what it all means, and to truly begin the New Year on the right foot.

“For the days are surely coming, says the Lord....” that is where we open our service today – wondering what tomorrow will bring, and what we would need to do to start over on the right foot.

Zechariah and the Promise (with the kids)

What would you like to be when you grow up?

Do any of you think your parents want you to be something special when you grow up?
My father wanted me to be a doctor – do you know why? Because he was a doctor....

What do you think Jesus father wanted him to be when he grew up?

Do you think Mary and Joseph expected Jesus to be a king? Do you think they knew he would be someone special?

I think that is really what all of our parents want for us, for us to grow up to be who we were meant to be, someone special who makes a difference in the world.... doesn’t matter if you are a prophet, or a king, or a doctor, or a painter.... you matter to the people who love you, and that includes God. That is why Jesus came, to remind us of just HOW MUCH we matter.

Waiting... Hoping

You know, there are those out there who think that what really matters is what God wants us to be when we grow up. Not just as individuals, but as a world... what is it that the world is supposed to be like, what is it that we were created for? What exactly will it be like when the day finally gets here that everything is perfect.

Writers have always called it “Utopia” and the images vary – instantly available food, scientific exploration, peace between the races, equality of the sexes, a purpose for everyone... that is the utopian vision of Star Trek, in case you didn’t see it right away.

Star Trek was just one of many visions of a perfect future – but make no mistake, it was a political ‘movement’ in the shape and guise of science fiction writing. The first inter-racial kiss, ever, on television... Star Trek... the first completely racially balanced cast on television... Star Trek Voyageur...

They were selling a vision of the future – and it was immensely popular... so what is your vision? What would you most like the world to be like.... is it in line with what you think the world SHOULD be like?

Enter the King

When Jesus was crucified there was a sign above his head. Rumour has it that it was the abbreviated words, which we see on a lot of stuff in church, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Or, in Latin, where there is no such thing as the letter J, You get Iesus Nazorene, Rex Iudeum. INRI...

Pilate asked Jesus during his trial, Are you the king of the Jews? And you might remember that Jesus was a bit cagey about the answer... you say I am, isn’t that all that matters?

You see, the problem was that the only possible way to get Jesus killed before sundown was to prove he was a traitor to the Roman Emperor. Someone who declared themselves King, was, by definition, a traitor.... it was this that Jesus was finally put to death for, political sedition...

Nothing religious, nothing to do with working miracles or forgiving sins... but inciting a new world order... trying to topple the Roman Government....

Kind of strange eh, if you think about it Jesus tried to change the government in the same way that Rachael and Emily try to change me. They just, be themselves, and as I watch them, I sometimes see a better way to be myself...

Jesus was all about living life differently. Make no mistake... that is dangerous.

What was the first thing that President Bush said Americans should do when the economy tanked a couple of years ago? Go Christmas shopping! Nothing was going to affect change more than the idea that people might want to save their money... it was a dangerous thought, it would change the world, and it just could not happen.

Go and spend what you have. Heck, I will send you an incentive cheque and you promise to use it towards a high def television... Just, whatever you do, don’t stop overspending... don’t stop being individualistic.... don’t stop competing....

2000 some odd years and the world keeps winning over Jesus simple message: Be nice, care for people and things, love everybody, be honest in all your transactions, be honourable, listen more than you speak, share....

That is the stuff that can topple governments... no, seriously.... Ask Karl Marx. Ask Lenin. Ask the guys down in Nicaragua who had the US invade them because they wanted to share....

~

Jesus had one sermon. Over and over again he talked about the Kingdom of God. He said, even now the kingdom is at hand. He said, the Kingdom of God is like. He sent the disciples out to preach the Kingdom. He often said, I want to tell you about the good news of the kingdom. In fact, throughout the four Gospels Jesus uses the term, “The Kingdom of God” a stunning 104 times; more than anything else he ever talks about. Almost everything he said was pointing to this “vision” of the kingdom.

So what is the kingdom?

Well – we actually know full well what Jesus was talking about. Everyone throughout the ages of Biblical History who was anywhere close to a prophet talked about it too.... a land flowing with milk and honey, the lion laying down with the lamb, no more hurting or killing on my holy mountain....

The problem is that far too many of us think that this is so idealistic that it must be talking about life after death... but it never was... it was always about what the world COULD be like.
What the world could be like if God was our King.

Or, to put it a different way – what if we put all of the things that we think of as divine, all of the qualities that we think of as good, all of the lessons that the religious prophets of every place and time have taught us; ahead of personal gain, ahead of fame and fortune, ahead of jealousy and envy....

What if.... what if we could have a revolution.... what if it started simply by making love more important than everything else?

~

Anyone know who Juan Mann is? He started a campaign a couple of years back that got him into a lot of trouble... the free hugs campaign. If you are on the internet go and look it up... but here is his story in his own words:

"I'd been living in London when my world turned upside down and I'd had to come home. By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles; No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me. To hug me.

So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign. I found the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city and held that sign aloft, with the words "Free Hugs" on both sides.

And for 15 minutes, people just stared right through me. The first person who stopped, tapped me on the shoulder and told me how her dog had just died that morning. How that morning had been the one year anniversary of her only daughter dying in a car accident. How what she needed now, when she felt most alone in the world, was a hug. I got down on one knee, we put our arms around each other and when we parted, she was smiling."


Everyone has problems and for sure mine haven't compared. But to see someone who was once frowning, smile even for a moment is worth it every time.

Shortly thereafter he was banned from the streets of Sydney. But instead of hugs, he went out and got signatures... and he got 10,000 signatures in a short matter of time. The campaign is still out there, still a powerful expression of what Jesus was all about – and still scaring a lot of people.

This is what Jesus died for..... to change the world... to make us put more value in love, to make God’s way of doing things more important... Jesus died for the Kingdom of God.

Wrapping it Up

So, I don’t know... Go out and hug somebody....

Or really spend this week thinking... think about what it is in this year that you want to change for next.... think about where you find yourself right now on the eve of God’s coming.... Think about what Christmas REALLY means; and what incarnational theology is all about... a hint, God was not just born in Jesus, God is borne in you....

But whatever you do – believe that there is a better way, There is!



Sunday, November 14, 2010

Pentecost 25 (C) 2010

The World Is About To Turn

A New Thing

"See, I am about to create a new thing!”

How many of you would believe that if, say, you told me something that was really going wrong in your life and I responded, “God says.... “

How many of us expect each and every day to be better than the one before?

I guess Remembrance Day, and Fall, and a whole bunch of things have just got me thinking.... Somewhere along the way I stopped believing that the glass was half full. Which is odd, as it is the only reason I got into ministry in the first place....

And I know that much of the time, I believe good things are just around the corner.... but not... not... enough of the time.

And because of that I don’t think I risk enough, or play enough, or enjoy what is right in front of my eyes enough... so how about it... do you agree or disagree?

Do you believe, wholeheartedly, with every fibre of your being, that God promises tomorrow to be better than today – and so it will be?

The Holy Mountain

So what is it we want?

I am going to be exploring that a little more with the kids - so for now, let’s talk about Isaiah...

Here is the thing that I find really interesting. This is ‘Third Isaiah”... perhaps a different author than we had at the beginning of the book; but certainly a different purpose in the third part of the book – this is the “after”

First Isaiah has the prophet warning the people that if they don’t smarten up and live right, something bad will happen.

Second Isaiah is the “I told you so” part of the book, written in exile while in Babylon. Actually, there s very little I told you so – there is mostly discussion about what it is like to be faithful to God, even when things are terrible... the poem, song, etc... “By the Rivers of Babylon”...

Third Isaiah – well – they have come home. Years later... and well, buildings are falling down, fields are fallow, and kids don’t remember their own history....

But see – God is about to do a new thing... we are home... and the world will be just as you always hoped... Peace, Justice, You, Health, Food, Home, and no more weeping!

Ah... but...

There is always a “but” isn’t there? Well, it is not such a terrible thing – but Isaiah points out that there is no sitting back and waiting for this to happen. God is doing it in our midst; God is doing it THROUGH us.

Perhaps this is where we always get stuck. It would be VERY, VERY nice to have someone come in and rescue us, would it not, the knight on the white charger, or the divine parent that can come in and sooth us while putting the world back together again.

And that is what some people really believe in; really hope for. Both God and the whole host of angels are going to swoop in and rescue us or at the very least, there will be pie in the sky when we die; to paraphrase a friend.

Of course, if we read our Bibles a little more closely we will see that those pesky miracle things are not only few and far between – they also take a whole lot of work on our part.

A quick example... God rescued the Israelites from Captivity in Egypt right? You remember the whole Moses and the Red Sea Miracle that cinched the deal... but consider what had to happen first: Moses agrees to speak for God. Moses returns to Egypt where he faces certain death as a killer and traitor. Then the people need to make up their minds to follow Moses. Then they need to pack everything up and leave everything behind and head out into the desert facing certain death.... then God interceded for five minutes to create a causeway.

Who is it that does most of the work?

So... that is the story that we fit into – that is the promise that is unfolding. We are jointly responsible for making the world what it should be... but there is a good question... what do we wish the world was like? I want you to think about that for a couple of minutes and then I will explore it with the kids.

God's New Creation

With the Kids

Start by drawing pictures of what would “be” in a perfect world - creating the perfect world as an idea.

Talk about how God wants to help us create this world filled with these things and more.

Repentance

We are, although some of us might be less prepared for it than others, coming to the end of another church year and the beginning of the Christmas season; Lights are up and carols blazing in the malls. People are digging out the decorations early this year too I notice.... perhaps we are just hoping to inject a little joy into a dreary fall.

From a religious point of view the Christmas season always begins in the same place – it begins with Advent... with preparing....

And Advent always begins in the same place as well. It begins with the story of John the Baptist.

And, for that matter, John the Baptist always begins at the same place – Repent!

When I went to Manitoba a couple of weeks back I went to a United Church Conference called TURN. It was a get together of all the people who are in decision making places within the social justice world of the church. It was a conference about our institutional repentance...

Which actually literally means, turning around... the questions being asked were these: What should the world be like? What is our part in creating it? How can we empower more people to join in? How can we begin once more to work towards the light....

The answer that John the Baptist gives us as we begin each year wondering what to do next, is to turn and face a new direction.... face God... and then, as Paul said to the Thessalonians, do not weary in doing what is right.

For the Days are surely coming....

But then... then we have Luke.

The world is meant to be a wonderful place – all puppy dogs and kittens and rainbows... Or as Isaiah might have put it, lions and lambs lying down together....

And God is there inspiring, pushing, even helping along the way...

It is, however, not yet.

And you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.

~

London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior.

As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.

"Forget about the repairs," the buyer said. "When I buy this place, I'm going to build something completely different. I don't want the building; I want the site."

~

Or there is the classic Biblical apocalyptic vision which is not just in Luke but peppered throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation: Wars and rumours of war – rivers overflowing their banks with blood – the moon and sun being extinguished – Cats and Dogs living together – complete and utter chaos....

But here is the thing – do you know what the true definition of an artist is: “Someone who can create harmony and beauty from chaos.”

Think about it... Jazz musicians to individual voices in our choir, an artist with a mess of paints and a blank canvass, the potter with a lump of mud and some piles of minerals for colour.... Chaos, ugliness, emptiness....

See, we are reading a snippet, an exhortation, a warning perhaps... and it sounds awful... but then again... it sounds sort of like the world we live in... does it not?

And every time we get here, whether the Babylonians invade, or the stock markets crash the faithful voice of God echoes – ‘These things must happen first.... but see, I am doing a new thing...’

I watched the most amazing video this week. I shared it with all my clergy friends on Facebook which was talking about church. I will post it on all of our websites just to try and give you the opportunity to watch it this week – because you need to see it... it is... what church is...

And it ends with this line: “Church isn’t a community in the Sanctuary – but a Sanctuary in the Community.”

And there it is. That is us. That is UP TO US. We are called to turn towards God and risk being the sanctuary in the chaos – we are the artists of the new creation...

Conclusion

So what are you going to turn around in your life? What can we do as a church to turn towards what God would really have us be? I know – I am leaving this with more open questions than answers... but isn’t that the way it really is?

Saturday, October 30, 2010

All Souls (c) 2010

All Hallow’s Eve exists because of All Soul’s Day

Introduction

OK, has anyone ever stopped and considered the definition of the word “Hallow”? It is a verb, by the way, and it means, “to consecrate: to render holy by means of religious rites.”

Hallowe’en, technically, means the night before everything is made holy!

A friend of mine recently said we have to rescue Hallowe’en from the world – take it back as the religious festival it is... So today, we are going to learn a little history before we head out into the darkened skies to beg for candy and threaten mischief.


"Children’s Story"

The light within... the story of pumpkins


History


So, November 1st is All Saints Day; the day we commemorate all the known and unknown saints of the faith. Then comes all Soul’s Day which commemorates all the faithful dead. In Mexico it is called the Day of the Dead.

But I want to back up a bit first... Some 2,000 years ago the Celts, crazy purple people that they were, celebrated the New Year on November 1st. The day marked the end of the warm, growing, harvesting season; and the beginning of the cold, dark, dying season. They also believed that on the night before the changing of the seasons the veil between the two worlds - physical and spiritual - was weakened. This made it easier to see the future and to determine where fate was leading you. So they built bonfires, wore animal skins, danced, prayed, sang and celebrated.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honour Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honour saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honour the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the Eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

You can see how this all comes together... but for now I want you to consider that this is a festival of everything that is holy and good about people.


Zacchaeus

So... what makes a perfect person? What makes a saint? In truth... nothing special.

That is what we learn from the story of Zacchaeus. A wee little unloved tax collector... except.... well, except that God loves him. Jesus loves him. Everything gets turned around because of that realization.

Conclusion

On this, the eve before we celebrate what is good and right and holy in the world, may we remember that it is our faith

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Pentecost 21 (C) 2010

Breaking through

Introduction

Buddha said that all life is suffering.

He meant that there is always going to be pain; and that the only way we can escape that pain is to try and become detached from it. Jesus backed him up, claiming that the poor will always be with us, that we are a broken people, that the cross of life, the pain of life, looms large.

So think less of your own struggle and try and help diminish others… that was one of Jesus’ answers. Not so different than Buddha.

So what do you think? Has anything bad ever happened in your life? Have you ever felt pain? Have you felt despair?

Sure you have… There are so many choices, so many commitments that pull us from one thing to another each day. From the time we wake up we are bombarded with questions and concerns – some of which are horrific and stressful – for example today we are thinking about world food day… and we all, like it or not, hear tidbits of scary information about food. Half of the time it seems something is poisonous, deadly and recalled. Then there is that fact that it has what, quadrupled in price in the last couple of years. How about the fact that most of the world woke up hungry this morning and will go to bed hungry tonight. With global warming a lot of the world’s crops are failing and soon enough there will be a lot more starvation than we expect.

Cheery, is it not… but I don’t want to stay there. I want to move beyond that… I want to ask you to think about where you turn for answers about what to do…

Some Stories

I want to tell you some stories:

A long time ago God came to Abraham in the cool of the evening and said, “You are going to be a father” and Abraham actually questioned God, saying, “How is that possible?”

God told Moses to lead the people out of Israel and Moses wondered if God might have chosen the wrong person.

Nichodemus came to Jesus at night and questioned how one could be ‘born again’.

You see what I am getting at? There has never been a person – from the greatest saint in recorded history right down to each and every one of us, who has not had some questions, some doubts, some struggles with their faith.

Augustine’s most famous prayer is this “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!”

“The days are coming,” says Jeremiah, “when the people of God will be scattered. When no one will seek the Lord… When the church will lose its influence… and when the world forgets the values that Christianity has fought so hard to instill in us. The days are coming – the days are here – when faith will be filled with struggle.”

Of course, he doesn’t end there – he says that even when there is doubt, even when the world turns away from God… there is another day coming as well, a day when the laws of God shall be written on our hearts.

I love that phrase….

A time will come when we will know our faith so intimately, when it will be so much a part of us, that we will no longer need to search everywhere for answers – we will intimately know God’s love and that God is with us.

An article I read about motivations calls it an intrinsic rather than an extrinsic sense of reality… when we will act out of what is inside us, instead of from a place of wanting acceptance, or needing to look good.

Of Being Alone

Is God out there? NO!

Is God with you? YES!

A lot of people know that my own personal image of God is much closer to the idea of the force. I try not to think of God as the old man in the sky, or in any personally specific way – it is difficult, but for me, the idea of the force from Star Wars resonates the best,

The Force is that power that is both within you and connecting you to something larger – it is the creative aspect of the universe which flows and empowers us.

When I think like that it is easier for me to say that God is with me always.

Because you see, that is another thing we learn when we look back to Abraham, to Moses, to Jacob, to Jesus, to Paul, to Augustine, to Martin Luther King Jr…. – in the midst of their struggles and their doubts, there was an assurance that God was there with them – and it made all the difference.

God never said, “Go on ahead alone”, instead, our scriptures tell us that God called to the faithful and said – “I know you are scared and uncertain, but go on – I will be with you.”

So God is there, offering strength and support in the midst of life. God is there, urging us on – challenging us to be better people.

The Judge!

So what is wrong? Why don’t we feel God’s presence?

Well – the truth is the problem lies with us, not with God.

What if I tell you that the historically we have completely missed the point of this story Jesus is telling. In fact, they missed the point right off the bat, saying, ‘We should be persistent, just like the widow!”

No…. we are not the widow in this story… we are the judge.

Think of it a second, are people not a lot more like the judge than the widow? Is not one of the problems with the world that we tend to think only of ourselves, not having regard for others, or for God? Do we stubbornly try to go our own way and do what we want? Not all of the time, to be sure, but there are those moments…

So here we are, living in the world, dazed and confused, dazzled by the wonders of all that advertising and “me first” propaganda – and there is God, the persistent widow, pleading his case over and over and over…

God came to Abraham, but the people forgot, God was with Jacob, but the people forgot, God led Moses, but the people forgot, God spoke through Elijah, God was in Jesus, God has always been there – and we forget… we turn away… we don’t listen….

“The day’s are surely coming”

And for many of us they are here. Or we are close. Faith is something that is a part of us, something we have known for a long time. Our hearts beat in tune with God – we understand what it is that the Lord requires of us, and we do it – imperfectly to be sure, but we throw our hearts and minds and bodies and our souls into working for God’s kingdom and the good of all our brothers and sisters.

I feel Jeremiah’s words deeply in my soul – because I have been there, I know what that exile feeling is like, when you feel lost and lonely, and frightened that things will never be okay again. And I know what it is like when people don’t understand who you are, or why you do what you do, or how you could possibly have faith after all that has happened. And I am sure you feel those things too.

And my heart leaps for joy because I know that God’s word does eventually break through to each and every one of us. I know that God never gives up – that God is as persistent as we can imagine.

So where does that leave us? Listen to Paul’s letter to Timothy:

"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness… I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction… But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

Life is a struggle. But we have all learned something along the way. There is much that is written on our hearts: Loss and loneliness, joy and success, love and hope – faith. And as Paul reminds us we have a responsibility to share that faith, those words of scriptures, all which is God-breathed into our lives, so that we can continue the ministry that Jesus has called us to.

May God continue to inspire and challenge us that our faith might grow. Amen.

Thanksgiving

GIVING THANKS

Introduction

There is an obvious place to start – I can start by asking everyone what they are thankful for. I can suggest that you take a moment and thank God for the good things in your life. Perhaps I should remind you that no matter what happens or what you feel there are still reasons to be thankful; maybe this should be a there but for the grace of God go I type service...

Of course, there is also the stress of this day – of heading off to family, or preparing dinner for 462 and realizing you have forgotten the cranberries....

But instead I want you to think about something for me... what is your favourite television show?

Stories to Tell

This is the thing. I think that the stories we tell make a huge difference. Does anyone remember the “little engine that could?” what was the moral of that story? How about a Christmas Carol... what are supposed to learn from that?

And they affect us, don’t they? It is like a ‘self fulfilling’ prophecy. When we tell stories about how great life is, we see life that way; and when we tell stories about how terrible things are... well... they seem that way.

Our moods, our attitudes, and our lives are affected by stories.

Each of us has a personal story, each of us has a family story, and we also have a religious story.

So what are yours?

Here is a quick one of mine... When I was just starting out in Seminary I took half a year off. I went to Guatemala and did some “International Observing” of a refugee camp and return.

One day a friend and I were driving a pickup truck through the countryside surrounding the camp and we came across a habitat for humanity build, just completed. The folks actually flagged us down and got us out of the truck. It was at that point that one of them hoped onto a motorbike and sped off.

We were a little bit nervous. Norm and I each had our own secret police tail, and we had lost them to head out here for some freedom. We thought the guy had gone to get the cops on us two gringos... a few white knuckle minutes later back comes the motorbike with another guy on back. The other guy was carrying beer and corn tortillas... turns out the only thing they were thinking was they didn’t have enough for these huge white guys to eat.

That story changed my mind about people – about hospitality – about a lot of things.

Children’s Story

How easy is it to rub the belly and pat the head?

OK how about bad stories, things that make you sad....

What about thinking good thoughts; your own good stories...

Can you think both at once?

Thanksgiving is a time to remember the good stories, the good times, and allow them to push all of the bad things out....

Relating

I am always curious how we relate to the stories of our faith.

You see, we are meant to be able to understand that they are our stories too. So if I say, My great, great, 24 times great grandfather was a wandering Aramenian...

Does it mean anything to you? Can you see yourself in the story? Does it mean anything to you?

What if we re-tell it in a slightly different way?

In the Book of Deuteronomy in our Bible (hold up Bible) there is a story about Moses gathering the people together to say something very important to them. They had been many years travelling in the desert without much food, but they had trusted God and always had enough to eat.

And they gathered regularly to praise and thank God for all God’s love and care, in their hard times. Now they were moving into the land that God had promised them. It was filled with bees for honey and olives and grapes and dates and figs, and many other wonderful foods grew there. Moses was afraid that the people might forget God when things were so easy for them and they had lots to eat.

So Moses asked the people to have a special festival every year to say “Thanks” to God for all that God had done for them. They were to come to their place of worship and bring some food from their crops before they ate any themselves, and take time to tell the story of how God had helped them through their difficult times and brought them to their new land. Then they were to have a big feast and share what they had with those who had very little, and with people who had come from other countries to live in their land...

Now tell me... Was Moses right? Do you think it is easy to forget to say thank you? I do it all the time....

Conclusion

So of course, I am thankful for things. I am thankful for many, many things... but the trick is that it has to come more than once a year. I am a glass half full type of guy; and I want us to celebrate each and every day as thankfully as we can. Because all life is filled with grace and beauty.... even the dark places.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

World Wide Communion 2010

One Bread... One Life...

Introduction

Now, you have to appreciate that this is an impossible statistic to keep track of, it has probably changed countless hundreds of thousands of times since I wrote this... but for the sake of argument – there are 3.7 million Christian churches in the world.

Within those churches there are somewhere in the 2 billion range of people.

I imagine that this number really means nothing to us ... either we use billion too often without understanding it, or we just can’t imagine it.... so let’s put it into perspective:
To count to one thousand, counting one number every second continuously, it would take 17 minutes. Counting to one million at the same rate, it would take 12 days (counting nonstop, day and night). But counting to one billion would take 32 years! Two billion would thus take 64 years to count.

Imagine if we tried to say all their names?

Clearly – as a group – we would have almost nothing in common. Some live in the desert and some in the snow, some are rich and some are poor, some are old and some are young....

Today – we all – everywhere – at just about the same time – are going to do the same thing.
Two billion people will celebrate the sacrament of communion this morning.

Communion Basics

- What do you do when you want to remember something?
- Is it easier to remember with a reminder?
- Communion is like that – a reminder – what do you think we remember with communion?
- What is the bread? What is the Juice?
- Is there anything that all of your friends do?
- Isn’t it cool that we all are celebrating communion this morning?

What are We Doing

World Communion Sunday began in 1936 in the Presbyterian Church and was adopted by the Federal Council of Churches (predecessor of the NCC) of the United States in 1940. Since then, the celebration has grown into an international ecumenical celebration of Christian unity.

The key word for World Communion Sunday is communion, or unity. It is a day when we mark the almost universal Christian practice of breaking bread with one another and remembering that last night Jesus shared a meal with his followers — when Jesus instituted what we now call the Lord’s Supper as a lasting remembrance.

But it is more than just remembering – it is a statement of faith.

That statement says two things – first, and probably most importantly, it talks about our sense of continuity; our belief that no matter what, things will still go on.

Jesus knew something bad was on the horizon. He knew he might not be around for very long – and he wanted to created a community; togetherness, by sharing an event and having it mean something. No matter what happened, they could keep doing it.

I want you to consider that this is what Lamentations is all about – Jerusalem used to be a mighty city, it is not now, but it will be once again. That is the promise, that is the belief, that what allowed the faithful to hold on...

In essence, Jesus created the same thing with the Last Supper – Soon I will not be with you, but the spirit will come and be with you, and each time you do this, you will remember.

Increase Our Faith

So, the disciples wanted a magic bullet to increase their faith – and I have to say, there isn’t one.
I think that is what Jesus was getting at too... the point is to keep on keeping on.
Eating the bread, drinking the cup – that alone does not make us more like Jesus; it does nothing to increase our faith...

The thought, however, of being connected to Jesus, to the disciples, to 2 billion other people who are all saying, “Increase our faith” - well, that has power.

And so Jesus says that we should have just the tiniest bit of faith, we should allow that what we do, we do because we believe in something bigger than ourselves... do it because it is the right thing to do... not for some reward, not for some future hoped for payback – but because we believe.

Conclusion

I want us all to go out from here with a feeling that if it comes right down to it, we are all one family. We have more in common than the things that separate us – perhaps it does not always feel that way; and perhaps we should

Monday, September 27, 2010

Pentecost 18 (c) 2010

The Sky is Falling

Introduction

What is hope?

What do you hope for? Are there trivial things? Are there things that would change everything?

What would you do if things did not work out the way you hoped?

I truly believe that we are supposed to live “as if” ... “as if” good things are always going to happen; as if the thing we hope for is right around the corner... Some people call this positive thinking, another person made a fortune writing a book called “the Secret” and had some of her own hopes come true because of it.

However you look at it – there is some sense that life flows positively or negatively depending on how we approach it.

So our attitude truly makes a difference.

There was an expression once that said that faith is the assurance of things hoped for.... in other words, to have faith is to believe it is going to happen...

So what do you believe is going to happen?

Henny Penny

Once upon a time there was a dear little chicken named Henny Penny.

One morning as she was scratching in her garden, a pebble fell off the roof and hit her on the head.

"Oh, dear me!" she cried, "the sky is falling. I must go and tell the King," and away she ran down the road.

Turning up a shady lane they met Cocky Locky. "Where are you two going?" asked Cocky Locky.

"Oh, we are going to tell the King the sky is falling," answered Henny Penny. "How do you know?"

"A piece of it fell on my head," cried Henny Penny... and Cocky Locky decided to go along.

By and by they came to a pond where they met Ducky Lucky. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"The sky is falling and we are going to tell the King," answered Cocky Locky.

"How do you know?" asked Ducky Daddies. "Henny Penny told me," said Cocky Locky.

"May I go with you?" asked Ducky Lucky.

"Certainly," they answered.

By and by whom should they meet but Goosey Loosey, carrying a basket of gooseberries to market.

"Where are you four going?" she asked.

"The sky is falling and we are going to tell the King," answered Ducky Daddles.

(and what do you think Goosey Loosey did?)

Who do you think they met next but... Turkey Lurkey.

"Where are you going?" asked Turkey Lurkey.

"The sky is falling and we're going to tell the king," answered Goosey loosey.

"How do you know?" asked Turkey Lurkey.

"Ducky Lucky told me so," answered Goosey Loosey. "Cocky Locky told me," answered Ducky Lucky.

"A piece of it fell on my head," cried Henny Penny! "May I go with you?" asked Turkey Lurkey.

"Certainly," said Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky and Goosey Loosey.

(we could go on this way forever...)

By and by they became tired, and sat down to rest, when out from behind the rocks jumped Foxy Loxy.

"Where are you all going?" he asked, with a sly grin.

"The sky is falling and we are going to tell the King," they all replied together.

"You are not going the right way. Shall I show it to you?" said Foxy Loxy.

"Oh, certainly," they all answered at once and followed Foxy Loxy, until they came to the door of his cave among the rocks.

"This is a short way to the King's Palace; you'll soon get there if you follow me. I will go in first," said Foxy Loxy.'

Just as the little feathered folks crowded around the dark narrow hole, eager to follow the sly fox, a little gray squirrel, with very bright eyes, jumped out from behind the bushes and whispered to them: "Don't go in, don't go in, all your little necks he'll wring, and you'll never see the King."

Happy to escape from the wicked old fox, away ran Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and all the rest...

By and by they came to the beautiful palace in which lived the wise King, and upon being brought before him, they all shouted at once; "Good and wise King, we have come to warn you that the sky is falling!"

"How do you know the sky is falling?" asked the King. "Because a piece of it fell on my head," said Henny Penny.

"Come nearer," said the King and leaning from his velvet throne, he picked the pebble from the feathers of Henny Penny's head.

"You see it was only a little pebble and not part of the sky at all," said the King. "Go home in peace and do not fear because the sky cannot fall; only rain falls from the sky."

Weary but wiser, the little feathered folks left the palace and started on their long journey homeward.

SO – WHAT IS THE MORAL OF THE STORY... and I have to warn you, there is more than one....

- Don’t believe everything you hear?

- Be careful who you ask for directions...

- Panicking only makes it worse... check out the truth...

A Little Bit Deeper Now

So – our sky is falling almost every day – global warming and a ruined economy might just be the cause... others would say it was Greed. After all, Timothy says that the love of money is at the root of all evil; and he is not so wrong....

But let’s forget about blame – I want to talk about attitude... that is what today is all about. Henny Penny, the Little Engine that Could, Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Lattes... and a thousand other examples talk to us about how the positive can turn around the negative.

What we are really talking about in all this is hope... and there is no better story about that then Jeremiah buying the field.

Everyone in the world says that Israel and Judah are going to be taken over... some army or other will march in and destroy them in just a few days.... so what does the King’s prophet do? He buys a field; plants a garden...

It is as if Al Gore suddenly bought property and moved lock stock and barrel to the sea shore. Or Ken Tobias moving back to his home town of Saint John.... it is a powerful statement of ‘believing in.’

And it is a practical example of it... Jeremiah puts his money where his mouth is; he does not just say that God will be with them in the future – he buys land, he plants crops – he puts effort and energy into something that a lot of people might think is dumb – the sky is falling after all... But essentially, he models hope.

Jesus always Takes it Further

Jesus always takes things further - right? Too bad too – because he is always making it harder... Ten Commandments tell you to honour your father and mother? I tell you not to even think bad things about them... as if.... Lusting is adultery, wishing is coveting.... in Jesus world we have to try and be perfect and that is just not a lot of fun....

Of course, Jesus was answering the question – always answering the question – that we keep asking: How can I be happy? How can I do what God wants? And his answer is to work at it... BUT... and this is a big interjection – to work at it in the here and now.

It is not like you can “hope” to get around to it one day – and that is the cautionary tale of the Rich Man – who has his hopes set on the future, and fails to see Lazarus sitting in his doorstep.

It is not enough to know that one day you will get around to repenting, to acting properly, to noticing... because what if you die – and find yourself unable to get around to all those things you wish you had....

This Lukan passage is essentially the story behind A Christmas Carol – where the Ghost of Marley comes back and gives his business partner Scrooge a chance to repent...

But in the original – in Jesus’ version – there are no second chances....

Conclusion

You see, what matters is how we live our lives. There is no second chance. And to live our lives properly is to live them not only with hope, but with expectation.

I want to invite you to live AS IF every good thing has already happened – as if God was right this very second helping to bring your hope to fruition – as if the good always wins.

This is the way we are intended to live, and it is the counter to the negativity that surrounds the world each and every day.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Pentecost 17 (C) - 2010

My Heart is Down, My Head is Turning Around....

Introduction

I said over the summer that I am reading a book on Philosophy. It is actually a novel that tells the whole history of Philosophy as the story unfolds – it is called Sophie’s World.

Now what is really neat in the book is that for the first two thirds, Sophie, our heroine, has no idea what is going on... a lot of the things that happen don’t make sense... There is this mysterious girl, Hilde, who could, or could not exist, who might or might not be Sophie herself... It is quite confusing to her – and the reader genuinely has no better idea what is going on.

Then – two thirds of the way through we switch narrators – Hilde becomes the heroine... and almost immediately we are told the answers. All of a sudden we have this “AH HA...” moment when it all makes sense – and is so easy... such a simple solution....

But until that point nothing made sense.

Do you ever wish God would explain some things?

Ever wish that there WAS an answer that made it all make sense?

Ever wish you could yell at God about the things that don‘t?

Well – perhaps some times we should....

Are We Saved

So – here is an interesting question: “The summer is over, the harvest is ended, are we saved?” Why not?

Why is it that no matter what we do, no matter how faithful we are – there are still so many problems? You know, this week I honestly thought I would have to resign my membership in the Christian church. There was this guy down in Florida, Terry Jones, who is a Pastor of some unheard of evangelical church; who decided he was going to burn all the copies of the Qu’ran he could get his hands on on September 11th.

Luckily common sense, God, and the President of the United States talked him out of it... but still, my gut reaction was, do I want to be associated with this guy? Are he and I, as pastors, thought about in the same way by people? And the reason I considered leaving for a day is that yes, to many people, we are....

Most people see Christianity as pretty ineffectual. It doesn’t do a whole lot of good. We pray for rain and there is still a 50/50 chance of sun. We live according to our faith and we are no more likely to live long lives, or get rich, or be happy than anyone else.

So what good is God?

Is it enough that God would weep for the people who lost their lives on 9/11? Is it enough that God is there silently loving us when we are in pain? Is it enough?

I guess this week I am feeling a little like raging against God. Just wait till we get to the Psalm...

How Long O Lord?

It used to be, in almost all of our lifetimes, that the church was the centre of society. Heck I have even talked to people who chose Saint John’s over Central just so they could be seen by the right sort of people....

That is not the case now, is it... my how the tides have turned in a few short years. The truth is, we are back to being much closer in societal position to the people who wrote the Bible... Those guys who wrote the Psalms... they felt a whole lot of neglect.... they felt like outsiders.... and they never got the respect they deserved.

So they cry out to God, HOW LONG! How long are you going to sit by and let the good be punished? How long are you going to stand idly by while the wicked prosper?

If ever there was such a thing as a bolt of lightning from God, I have a few suggestions...

Of course, that is probably why I am not in charge of the lightning bolt aiming device...

But seriously... the church seems to be relegated to the sidelines, Christians are dismissed as lunatics, mainly because the craziest of us get the most press; and what exactly is the point of all this?

Why do we come here every week? Why do we say prayers? What difference does it make?

Just because I know some things stick in our heads and we get distracted by them; I want to remind you, this is a rant. This is me being upset with God for all the bad things I have seen in my lifetime. And like most of you, I suspect, there have been a ton of them. Instead of pretending they don’t exist, I am bringing them out into the open and asking God, what are we supposed to do in light of all this....

Did I ever tell you the story of the starfish?

There was this old man, walking the beach at dawn, who noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up with the youth, he asked what he was doing. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun. 'But the beach goes on for miles and miles, and there are millions of starfish,' countered the man. 'How can your effort make any difference?' The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. 'It makes a difference to this one,' he said."

The Parable that Makes no Sense

Let me re-tell this story according to someone who wrote a Master’s Thesis on this parable, Dylan Breuer, an Anglican Priest in the states...

A very, very rich man lives in a big city (like Jerusalem), with a lifestyle of luxury made possible from the income of the estate he owns in the countryside. He's hired a manager (steward) to run it while he parties in Jerusalem, and all of the work of planting and harvesting is done by peasants whose grandparents might have owned the land but lost it in payment to a debt. Now the peasants work the land as tenant farmers, buying what they need from the company store (at prices far above what their grandparents paid for the same goods), with whatever is left over after the exorbitant rent is paid to the landowner. The harvest is never quite enough to pay the rent plus what the family needs, so the family is slipping further and further into debt.

The landowner fires the steward because of rumours that the steward was squandering the landowner's resources. So the steward is no longer authorized to do anything at all in the master's name. The farmers from whom he probably came aren't about to take him in either, given that up until now he's allied himself with the landowner by taking a job that involves collecting exorbitant rents, running the company store, and generally dealing unjustly with the farmers.

So what does the steward do? Something extraordinarily clever. He gathers all of the farmers who owe him money, and he declares that their debts have been reduced from the rough equivalent of "a million bazillion kajillion dollars" to something that maybe could be repaid, (maybe) freeing the family to make choices about next steps. With quirks of how records were kept, this involves a few subtle strokes of the (forger's) pen -- much like what students do in changing a handwritten 'D' to a 'B' on a report card.

The steward doesn't tell the farmers that he was fired any more than he tells them that the landowner didn't authorize any of this generosity. The result is that the farmers believe the landowner is more generous than just about anyone else in his position would be. The landowner is now a hero in the farmers' eyes -- and the steward is also, by extension.

The landowner comes for his customary visit to pick up the wealth the steward has collected for him, and he gets a surprise... The streets for miles before he reaches the estate are lined by cheering farmers. They're shouting his name, telling him he's a hero.

He finds out (probably when he arrives at the estate house) what the steward has done in telling the farmers that the landowner forgave their debts. Now he has a choice to make. The landowner can go outside to the assembled crowd -- the people shouting blessings upon him and all his family -- and tell them that it was all a terrible mistake, that the steward was just making it up.... or... he can go outside and take in the cheering of the crowd. He can take credit for the steward's actions, in which case he'll be a hero.

Now here is the big problem we always see in this story... the steward is clearly dishonest.... and we can’t figure out Jesus is praising him.

So here is a question for you... forget the ethics for a moment and consider: What, precisely, is it that the steward does?

The steward forgives debts.

The steward forgives. He forgives things that he had no right to forgive. He forgives for all the wrong reasons, for personal gain and to compensate for past misconduct. But that's the decisive action that he undertakes to redeem himself from a position from which it seem he couldn't be reconciled, to the landowner any more than to the farmers.

So what's the moral of this story, one of the stories unique to Luke?

It's a moral of great emphasis for Luke: FORGIVE. Forgive it all. Forgive it now. Forgive it for any reason you want, or for no reason at all.

Why do we complain about the way of the world? Why do we rage when things look unjust? Because we genuinely still don’t get it. This is the way God is... God is above all score keeping, above all our concepts of right and wrong... God is love. God is forgiveness. And if we could get there DESPITE how we feel about 9/11, despite how we feel about our neighbours cat, despite how we feel about people who irritate us... well... we would be commendable too.

Why forgive someone who's sinned against us, or against our sense of what is obviously right? We don't have to do it out of love for the other person, if we're not there yet. We could forgive the other person because of that whole business of what we pray in Jesus' name every Sunday morning, and because we know we'd like forgiveness ourselves. We could forgive because we've experienced what we're like as unforgiving people, and so we know that refusing to forgive because we don't want the other person to benefit is, as the saying goes, like eating rat poison hoping it will hurt the rat. We could forgive because we are, or we want to be, deeply in touch with a sense of Jesus' power to forgive and free sinners like us. Or we could forgive because we think it will improve our odds of winning the lottery.

It boils down to the same thing: deluded or sane, selfish and/or unselfish, there is no bad reason to forgive. Extending the kind of grace God shows us in every possible arena -- financial and moral -- can only put us more deeply in touch with God's grace.

Conclusion

SO what is the payoff to being Christian? Why aren’t we seeing it? Maybe because we aren’t there yet. Faith is a journey and it is a journey to the heart of God. That is not an easy place for us to get to. Almost every day I fail. But almost every day I start over. And yes, sometimes I do it for the wrong reasons.

Do you know, a scientific study shows that couples that kiss goodbye in the morning are more than 50 percent more likely not to divorce? Want to know the truly odd thing? The study showed that it made absolutely no difference whether they meant it or not.

So to quote Nike, just do it. Love, with all you can, forgive with all your heart; for whatever reason – eventually you will get where you are supposed to be.

Amen, and thanks be to God!

Pentecost 16 (C) 2010

Commitment

Introduction

Over at the day care at the YMCA there is a ‘fall’ lost and found. It is huge.... there are four large tables set up with hats and mittens, shorts and shoes....

Lost and Found bins always fascinate me. I almost always search through every one I encounter. I think part of it is that I like people and I like stories....

It is fun. You dig down and you come across one red snow boot. Ok; how did the person get home with only one boot? There is a story there, right? I have come across some odd stuff – stuff you are SURE the person would not have forgotten.

Curiously, though, a couple of days ago I found my daughters sun hat. I did not even know it was missing. You see, lost and found is strange like that...

There are two sides of losing things and finding things. Sometimes when we lose something it is no big deal... and other times, when you lose your keys, it destroys everything from plans to your day... on the other hand, finding something is an incredible feeling. It can be relief when you find those keys, or joy when you reach in a pair of pants from the dryer and find a twenty dollar bill.

We are starting a new year. Loss because the summer is over and joy because we are back together; sadness because it will not be the same as last year, and expectation about the future...
So this morning I want to begin by asking you have you ever been lost? Have you ever felt lost? It may sound like a gloomy way to begin the new year; but I prefer to think of it as constructive realism...

Finding Our Way

I think it is easy in today’s world to feel lost.

• Perhaps we feel lost because we are retired, or widowed, or our family has moved across the country...

• On the other hand, those who are working and have a family, running every day; week in and week out – perhaps they feel lost as well. .

• Living with an illness, out living your children, dealing with grief, living with mental illness, bullied, all of this can lead to a person feeling lost.

• For some we can even wake up one morning and ask ourselves, who am I? We have lost ourselves in the fray of life.

You can look both near and far to find them. Some are in your own household, it may be you.

I know I have felt lost, that deep empty feeling of not knowing where to turn or what else to do. That nothing matters, there is no way out.

I want you to conjure up those feelings for a second... For Jesus knew that this is a feeling that plagues us all...

Still – if you have ever felt truly lost, if you are like me... just hearing stories about how God loves us can seem like cold comfort... I wonder how often the line, “"Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?” actually brings us comfort?

I mean, really.... I have to tell you. I might just accept that lamb as an acceptable loss.

So I have sat with these readings this week, from the perspective of feeling lost and empty words and what I have learned is that these parables are not just kind words to offer encouragement rather these are stories that can help us to find what we have lost.

See, these parables do not exist in isolation; they are connected to a larger story, a more complete story of good news and how to live.

The one whom we follow, Jesus, taught his followers so much about how to live, about how to be in this world. When we are feeling lost, alone, frightened, isolated, abandoned – we can turn to scripture, stories about Jesus, these parables and discover a way of life, a way to live today that alleviates our loneliness, our isolation, our abandonment, our sense of being lost, and even when we forget who we are.

There is a shepherd – a woman – a God of love and creation- and knowing that starts to change everything....

I can’t tell you how... not in one sermon – not even in a year of sermons... because frankly, we all forget far more than we hear... and something is going to happen to you; maybe this afternoon, maybe in six months... and you will feel lost again...

But this is a starting point for our year. You are the lost lamb... you are the lost coin... and just because God might find you does not mean your life is going to be fine... the work of living is still up to you...

Conclusion

The tricky thing about Jesus was that he talked all about love – but he expected hard work.

God loves you... it helps; it really does... but the world is not the way it is supposed to be; and living faithfully is not easy. In fact, it can be really hard, it takes effort, commitment.

We are blessed to have Jesus as an example, and scripture that shares stories of how to live, how be in this world, how to find new life, and break free of isolation and how to be found. This is our journey every day – to seek and be found. Amen

Pentecost 15 (C) -2010

Commitment

Introduction

Today we will talk about commitment. We will talk about choice. We will talk about priorities. The passages from the Bible we have read this summer are not to be taken lightly. They are passages which define discipleship as costly; which speak of sacrifice; and ultimately call us to make choices that will affect our lives.

Of course, none of these words I am bandying about are very popular. We have become a nation of individuals and self made people. Even religious people say they do not need church – they find God on their own walking in nature.

What has come to matter most in society is how we feel; we are encouraged to choose things that make us feel better. Everyone is selling the quick fix. Happiness means getting what you want.

There is no sense that we are seeking to live first and foremost the way God wants us to; instead, we are living for ourselves.

Stuff

Let me ask you a question.... a serious one: Who are we without our stuff? Here in Canada we are citizens of consumption, mavens of materiality. We are consumers more often than we are voters. And Canadians are brand-identified. Our patterns of consumption define us, and project who we are. Some of us like to project success, and others of us like to project social responsibility with what we have purchased. We are PCs or Macs; Blackberries, Palms or iPhones; Nike or New Balance; fair trade or free trade. We are Toyota, Volkswagen or Ford car owners; we are supporting breast cancer research as we buy pink or AIDS research as we buy red. We know how cool we are based on whether we choose Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Explorer to surf the web. We stick to one preferred airline, West Jet or Air Canada – and we are either Rogers or Bell fans.

I'm not saying I am any different. I have my brand identification down to a science. I know which type of cereal I prefer, and I can justify my choice of big box stores. I know why I use the mobile phone service provider I do. I even know which fast food chain I would rather eat at. I buy as well as the next person.

Hurricanes and Global Warming warnings – economic downturns and the like have put this into sharp distinction for many of us – what happens if we lose everything? Who are we then?

... You know, we often use the words: “children of God” we even tell stories about our relationship to God – but what does it really mean? What if we strip away everything that defines us... what if we lose everything? Does that change anything about who we are in relation to God... the one who poetically is described as the potter who shaped us?

And what do you make of all the talk in the Bible of giving things up for the sake of God? Or for our own sake? What would you be willing to sacrifice? What matters to you MORE than God?

We all have things we would not give up... I invite you to take just a moment and think about them – then join me in our prayer of confession...

Slave for God

There is a story in the Old Testament – it is part of the Sabbath laws and Jubilee year passages, which talks about piercing your ears.

What it says is that you can only keep a slave so long – until the Jubilee year, when everything must be given back or set free. However, if your slave has come to love you so much that he or she would rather stay and work for you as part of your family – there is a ritual... you go to the door jam of your house, you have the slave stand there, and you pierce their ear, with an awl, into the frame; mingling the blood with your house.

Someone with a pierced ear is thus part of the household, a servant because of love as opposed to slavery....

They are there because of the relationship rather than the economic reality.

I read posts on twitter and facebook from people who can’t wait for five o clock. I have talked to people who work just so they can pay the bills. I understand that many people have to do that – and I understand the sentiment of looking forward to time off or the weekend – but I do not understand the attitude which would force you to publicly say you hate your job.

I am a big believer in the idea that we make our own reality – that our attitudes change everything....

Let me tell you what is really going on in the strange passage we just had read where Paul writes to Philemon about Onesimus:

Onesimus is a slave; a bad slave. He hated Philemon and he ran away... eventually he ended up with Paul in Prison; whether by design or because he was arrested I don’t know. Now, somehow, Onesimus, in hanging out with Paul, has become a Christian, and changed his mind about a great many things.

Paul writes to Philemon asking him to take Onesimus back; asking him to forgive him; asking him to accept him as a part of the household... I have to believe that it is the attitude that has changed here on the part of Onesimus – and because of that change Paul suggests that the owner concentrate more on the ideals of Love. If Philemon does this, he will see that Onesimus has much to offer.

But think of the other side – Onesimus is asked, because of his new found faith, to accept slavery... he is asked because of the values of God, to give up everything...

I would suggest to you that Paul is showing a concrete example of how god shapes our lives – just like a potter... if we allow ourselves to be shaped...

As we move into our offering, may we remember that there is reason to be thankful for what we have, but there is also reason to be generous in sharing our good fortune. May these gifts reflect the gifts of God to us. Our offering will now be received.

Leaving it all Behind

The Gospel of Luke passage we heard gives a series of renunciations. "'Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple." The first two are renunciations of family and of life. The third is a renunciation of possessions: "So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."

Luke is always having Jesus talk about giving things up; about stepping away from things; and most fo the time we can see it. Stop trying to get rich if you want to follow God; ok. But walk away from your family? Give up everyone who loves you? This is a little harsh is it not?

Of course Jesus is talking in a different time and space. First off we have to remember that in the ancient world family is status... Jesus ben Joseph was Jesus’ full name – Jesus son of Joseph... of the tribe of David... family was everything...

And what would it have been like to be an orphan in this world? How could you even imagine getting through life without a family? It is, again, a question of what you are willing to give up for God

So what are your priorities? This is always Jesus question.

In the passages leading up to this one, Jesus has been speaking to potential disciples hanging out at the home of a prominent Pharisee. Those listening are described by Eugene Boring and Fred Craddock as "interested inquirers and admirers." These were not committed disciples; these were the seekers of the day.

Here Jesus is speaking to people who are considering commitment, and it sounds like he wants them to have a sense of the import of such a decision. This text is hyperbolic, but it gets the point across. Discipleship comes first, before family, before life, and before your stuff.

A decision to follow Jesus requires thinking all the way through the possible consequences of discipleship. Jesus wants us to do a cost-benefit analysis and a risk assessment. And the Gospel of Luke makes this message sticky by giving examples of what could happen when people don't plan ahead, and by using the language of hate. This dramatic language makes a point: that discipleship is beyond most experiences. It isn't convenient. It might cost us everything. After all, if loyalty to Jesus comes first, then everything, even the fundamental social structures of family and things, comes second.

Conclusion

Our Bible readings have essentially said - "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Seriously, Jesus?

Yes, seriously. Because following Jesus is serious business.

I like a challenge as much as anyone, but I'm not ready to answer this challenge with a definitive yes. What about a definitive maybe? How about a definitive I'll think about it? Perhaps the life of Christian discipleship is a work in progress. We may still be pondering these words of Jesus as we decide, each day, whether we will be disciples.

The question is how are you going to define yourself... and discovering what you were created to be...

It is a challenge. But God knows we have it in us.