Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Eve 2011


The Story Thus Far

Isaiah and Luke 2:1-7

We have all heard the story, if not at church in the last few years, then maybe on television, or you read it in a book, or something. It seems part of the collective consciousness to say that once a long time ago, in a little town, in a stable behind an inn, a baby was born.

We are also told that the heavens rejoiced, that kings trembled, that wise men searched him out.
It happened to fulfill a prophecy…

It happened so that the people who walked in deep darkness might see a dawning light on the horizon… It happened so that God might increase the joy of a people struggling in a time of uncertainty.

Legend has it that a German Priest by the name of Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees. 
One crisp Christmas Eve, around the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods, thinking about the Christmas sermon he would preach.  Time slipped away from him and it began to get quite dark. Luther began to get nervous as the shadows lengthened and he could hear the howls of wild animals around him. 

Just then, he looked up at the night sky to see it filled with tiny pricks of light – twinkling blue and silver stars. As he looked around, he was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches were dusted with snow and shimmered in the moonlight. 

He was no longer afraid
When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lit in honour of Christ's birth. All of a sudden the image of the birth of Jesus as God's light shining in the darkness for everyone made more sense to him…

This is the same light that the prophet Isaiah talks about when he tells us that God sends light to those who walk in darkness. It is as true now as it was then.

Wonder

Do you know what an Angel is? Most religions have them, but we in the Jewish Christian and Islamic tradition know them as Messengers.

Angels come to bring a word from the Lord - When Mary first conceived, it was the Arch-Angel Gabriel who broke the news to her and helped her to be excited about what would transpire. Joseph moved from anger to understanding about the whole pregnancy situation only when an angel appeared to him in a dream.  

And after the birth of Jesus, it was a choir of angels that brought the good news to the shepherds, and in that moment, “the glory of the Lord shone around them…”

I see that as awe… everything lit up, it overwhelmed them, God was present…

I don’t know what most of you do tonight when the presents are wrapped and the kids are asleep and everything is ready… I remember when I lived with my five brothers for a brief period of insanity that the 11pm on Christmas Eve was magical.

We would sit in the living room, only the lights on the tree illuminating the world. Outside would be dark and quiet. No one would be fighting, we were usually allowed some rum in our egg nog… and it was somehow, momentarily, perfect.

The Celtic folk call this a thin place – a time where the line between heaven and earth is a little blurry. A time where you realize there is more than meets the eye going on. Those moments are indeed quite rare, but they often happen on Christmas Eve.

Whether it is as a child waiting for Santa, or seeing the presents under the tree, or the quiet of a night filled with significance…. If we are open to it, the Angels are still bringing a message from God.

And the message is the same as it always has been, a message of God’s glory and of peace for us.

Treasured in the Heart

In the 119th Psalm we are told that God has hidden love deep within our hearts. In fact, there is a tradition that says we spend our whole lives searching outwardly for that love, and it is only when we realize it is hidden within us that we become capable of loving fully.

I think too often we forget the last words of the Christmas story, that Mary “Treasured these things in her heart.”

I was listening to an interview with Rabbi Harold Kushner the other day and he was talking about how it is a good idea to go to the graveyard and read the tombstones every now and again. He pointed out that never once will you come across ones that say things like: Brett Anningson, good with numbers; or exceptional preacher; or anything remotely like that… what you will see is devoted wife, loving son, you will see expressions of the heart.

Too often we have those moments in front of the fire, or sitting around the tree, or opening presents, or feasting with family, and then go back to work the next day as if it is all over. We forget to treasure those moments that allow us to see the world from a different perspective.

Christmas is a time that we can let seep into our soul. It is the coming of the light into an otherwise darkened world. And it is not just right now, it is forever.

So enjoy it, revel in it, relax in it, but let it seep into your very soul. Tomorrow the light is dawning.

 Words of Reflection:  Sharing the Light & Blessing

Look around this sacred place and see all the lights that are burning. 
See the light that shines in each of us.

From the Light of the World comes light for every one of us to take into our corners of the world. 
Take this light with you tonight and remember who you are and who has made you.

Tonight, light has broken through the darkness.
New life is starting right now!
Go forth and live in the light.
Go forth in peace to love and serve our God.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

ADVENT 4 - B 2011


God with Us

Please note, as with many of my sermons what is written is not "Exactly" what is preached. I usually end up ad-libbing and changing things on the fly. In this case, the entire conclusion of this sermon was done differently. But the written conclusion is still valid. grin.

Introduction

In the beginning…. We walked in the Garden with God.

Ever stopped to think of these stories figuratively, rather than historically? Once upon a time the people were so close to God that we were friends, walking in the cool of the evening… Then we rebelled, or got uppity, or something, and strained the relationship…

Still being our friend, God intervened when we needed help, was always there to lend a hand, walked with us through the desert and gave us his prime vacation property when we had nowhere to live, the Promised Land…

We still didn’t see the true value of that friendship and went ahead and worked on things that were really important like nation building and politics. Eventually getting some kings to take the place of our friend God.
Well – God was still there, but there were fewer visits, after all, we thought we could do everything all by ourselves…

Eventually God thought we were so far off track that God decided to try something new, to relate to us in a new way, instead of an equal, God became the person who needed the help, a tiny little baby… still full of the same wisdom we needed to hear, still trying to help us along the way… but maybe this way we would be more welcoming…

This morning our readings start with King David. They tell us that he wanted to bring God closer, to build a home for God, but that he was going about it the wrong way… he was that king who was too self-reliant to really need God anymore and so…. Still the promise was made: I will still be with you, and your family, and someday, we will walk together again…

With the Kids

Jesus Birthday Party

Exalted Forever

I think most of the encounters people have with God in the Bible go this way:

“…but, God, things aren’t working out like I planned!”

“It’s ok, I will still be with you, and all of your family forever…”

That was God’s promise to Adam and Eve after they left the garden, it was the promise to Noah, to Moses, to King David, to us…

More than that – imbedded in that statement, “I will be with you” is another deeper promise – “things will get better.”

John the Baptist said it this way – the one who is coming is someone far greater than I am… And in fact, fart greater than anyone you have ever heard of; a greater father than Abraham, a greater leader than Moses, a greater prophet than Elijah, a greater king than David, a greater Hockey player than Sydney Crosby… Whatever you imagine, whatever you think the best was… There is still more…

This is partly why I don’t get upset with shopping malls and Christmas elevator music – or sappy movies and holiday cheer. It is not the competition – it is the exact same message: Life can be better. People can be happier. Love can be more real.

I think of Charles Dickens as the best prophet for the Spirit of Christmas we ever had – he was always on about Christmas changing hearts – about how even the hardest heart could be softened by the season.

The Angel Gabriel

Have you ever woken up and found an angel at the foot of the bed?

I haven’t. I know people who have. If you ask me, this is the scariest of all ways God might communicate with you.

I mean, I have felt the gentle push, I have known a calming presence, I have had unexpected things happen. All of these seem to me to be God speaking… but to wake up to Gabriel in the middle of the night telling me some unimaginable thing…

Right in the middle of that proclamation is this line:

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you”
It is that which changed everything. I want you to imagine that literally in your life right now… what if the spirit of God came upon you – what if you felt God’s will and presence so completely that it overpowered you?

How would the world be different if we were so convinced of God’s way that we never rebelled?

It is said God chose the most unlikely place, the most unlikely person… and that is just like God…

Conclusion
I think the old promises are still true. I think that God still whispers to us that everything will be all right.

It might not seem it in the heat of then moment, and it is totally possible that the bad things out weigh the good right now, But Christmas was and is a time to see the horizon, a time to recognize that something new is always happening and to set out in hope. 

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Advent 3-B 2011


A Cup of Joy

Introduction

There is nothing like seeing the world through the eyes of a child. I remember the first Christmas with each of my kids. I remember the magic they felt seeing the decorations, the excitement of Christmas morning, the joy of tearing open presents.

Luckily I still feel most of that myself. I try to enter into it with the excitement and wonder that I first felt.

Today is the Sunday of Joy, the Third week of our preparations for Christmas. The thing is, Joy is something I think we cannot limit to one day a year. I also think it is one of the things we have the most control over.

Joy is an approach to life. Joy is the ability to look at an event with wonder. It is seeing the decorations on the tree for the first time every year. It is driving around looking at the lights just like you are a kid again. And… it is taking that first sip of coffee and enjoying it like it was meant to be enjoyed.

I truly think approaching life with joy and wonder is a religious practice. And I want this Sunday to be a reminder for you to see beyond the stress, beyond the hustle and bustle, and enter the magic.

Isaiah and Words worth Preaching

When Jesus was first asked, as a wandering preacher, to give a sermon in church, he stood up and read from this passage in Isaiah. It was, for him, the Good News.

I just want you to think about that – what brings you joy? What is good news for you? How does it relate to the idea that the more people we can make happy, the happier we are?

To console the broken-hearted, to help those who are captive to break free, to be with those who mourn… these are the things Isaiah suggests would be Good News…

So take my attitude problem theory and put it here:  There are usually external factors that make us think we cannot be joyful – we lose the ones we love, we get sick, we cannot afford the lifestyle we think we need, 
those type of things make us see the world in a way that is clouded over…

What if our religious duty was to look deeper, to be able to see that those things are real, and true, but do not have the last word? What if we are to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour – in spite of

Life sucks, you know what, laugh and have fun anyway…

With the Kids

(adapted from sermons4kids)
John the Baptist said repent - turn around and reflect God
- Flashlight and a Mirror 

Magnifying the Lord

I remember the first time I heard Emily’s heartbeat. I mean, it was pretty obvious that Mary was pregnant, but for some reason, that little ultrasonic scanner picking up the thump thump thump brought tears to my eyes.

I imagine that for the woman carrying the child, that feeling is multiplied a hundredfold.

Now – not having any sort of medical equipment – I want you to understand that this is that moment for Mary… the child has lept in her womb… she knows it is real… I think this might be the first time she feels little Yeshua kick…

So she prays, or sings, and her soul magnifies the Lord…. God saw me, God blessed me, and she is filled with Joy!

Now, certainly this is a moment of joy that will change Mary’s life forever, but she can see something even further… she can see that if God notices her, little old Mary in her backwater village, well, maybe God really does care…

Maybe God does restore fortunes, and bless people, and care about them…

It is little wonder that down through the centuries this song has meant so much – who among us has not been in this place, alone, desperate, hoping that God notices and does something about it…

Up all Night

Do you remember waiting for Santa as a child? Ever lie in bed straining for the sound of sleigh bells, or the patter of tiny hooves on the roof. Ever try to stay up all night? How excited where you?

I remember going through the Wish Book from Sears as soon as it came, circling all the things I wanted a hundred times – or cutting them out, and sending them to Santa.

And then we grow up and realize that there might be something self-centred, something a little selfish about hoping for presents, and having it all focus on us… is that really what the season is all about.

But instead of moving from the exciting joy of childhood to a joyful anticipation of the season, many of us seem to lose the magic instead… we forget to, as Dickens said, Keep Christmas in our heart.

Alice Walker, who wrote The Colour Purple told a story about a little girl names Meridian. It seems one day Meridian was playing in the back yard and she dug up a bar of dirt encrusted heavy metal. She went to the shed and got some sandpaper – and the more she cleaned, the prettier it became. To her wonder, she had discovered a bar of gold.

Running into the kitchen she put the bar on the counter and tried to get her mother’s attention.

“Move that thing,” was all her mother said, ‘can’t you see I’m busy getting these peas ready for supper?”

“But… it’s gold!” Meridian said, “It will make us rich!”

“I’m busy!”

It was the same with her brothers, it was the same with her father… and not knowing what to do, Meridian decided to put the gold in a shoebox and bury it in the backyard under the Magnolia tree.

Each week she would go out, dig it up, look at it and dream about it, but as time went by, she dug it up less and less, forgetting about it entirely after a while.

I think this is the same story of John the Baptist – here is a guy who has struck it rich, he has found Gold, he knows God has blessed him to bring a message of hope that will change everything – the saviour is coming!

And here he is running around filled with excitement, trying to teach us how to anticipate with joy – someone is coming… who is so great… I cannot even describe it... And we know that his enthusiasm is contagious, everyone is coming out to hear him, everyone is repenting and getting baptized and preparing….

But Jesus doesn’t show up that afternoon. And there are peas to get ready. There are jobs to do. There are taxes to pay and kids to worry about… and time goes by… and the joy fades.

The joy of spending the whole day swinging on a swing set, of catching frogs, of waiting up for Santa, of a new born baby… life gets the better of us and we start to focus on the problems, on the stress, on the pain.

So here is your wake up call. Here are some stories of our faith that remind us – there is something to be joyful about… always!

Da Ro Dor Me

Anyone ever read The Grinch who Stole Christmas….

Here is the conclusion:

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so? It came without ribbons! It came without tags! "It came without packages, boxes or bags!" And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!" 

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Advent 2- B 2011


Of Prophets and Kings

Introduction

What are you waiting for?

I sort of asked that question last week as well, but the thing is, Christmas has context… It doesn’t just happen, there is a reason. 

The thing about being a Christian is that you are supposed to be an “as if” type of person.

Let me explain. As Christians we are called upon to live as if God’s promises were true, as if the world were what God meant it to be, as if the goodness of God was more powerful than the evil we see around us.

Or think of it this way - We live in a time of war and terrorism, but we are called to live as if peace were more important. We live in a time of instant communication and gratification but are called to live as if peace and tranquility were of a higher value. We live in a time of natural disaster but are called to live as if there was security. We live in a time of poverty and chaos but are called to live as if people have more value than things.

So when we say, Christmas is coming… we are making a powerful theological statement. We are saying, something changed, something will change again, and we recognize and celebrate it.

Comfort O Comfort

Imagine for a second that you live in the time of the prophet Isaiah – Isaiah was the counselor to the king, during a time when two different nations wanted to drive the Israelites off of their land, the Syrians were at war with them, and the Assyrian Empire was waiting in the wings to take what was left. It was a time of darkness, despair and utter hopelessness, a time when people wondered why God had abandoned them, and this is what Isaiah called to his beloved people in the temple:

“Comfort, O comfort my people… Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength… lift it up, do not fear… Here is your God! See, the lord comes… he will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom…”

White Gift (children’s time)

White Gift Sunday dates back to 1904 in Ohio. The wife of a Methodist minister and her two daughters came up with the idea of giving gifts wrapped in white paper at Christmas time to people in need.
Gifts are wrapped in white so that they will be anonymous. People who can only give a little will not be embarrassed.

There is a Chinese tradition where all the people gave their king a gift wrapped in plain white paper so that every gift would look the same. Each person gave the king what they we re able, and the king welcomed them all.

The White Gift shares in the spirit of Christ and the God of love at Christmas. We give gifts of love to people in need. These gifts are often nonperishable food items which are distributed to people in the community.

White Gift Sunday celebrates the stew a rdship of Go d’s love and giving at the time of year when we remember the coming of the King of Kings.

Prayer of Dedication of White Gifts
Holy God, you are the giver of all gifts. We come before you today with these white gifts given in our Lord’s spirit of love. May they be offerings of love, symbols of our faith in you and signs of the work of Christ’s church. Bless us as we dedicate these gifts in the service of others. AMEN

The Struggle

This is the second Sunday of Advent, and I have to say, the world does not seem very “Christmassy” maybe it is the lack of snow, maybe it is that the radio stations are not playing any Christmas music yet, I don’t know; what do you think, does it seem as Christmassy as other years? Does it feel like it is three weeks away?

The Psalmists and Paul try their best to remind us that even in the times that life seems hard, Christmas is on the Horizon. They do not say it quite like that – but listen again:

“Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God… A voice cries out: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.”

“Surely his salvation is at hand… Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.”

So believe in tomorrow, have hope, keep the faith, something is about to happen… we forget that urgency, but that is what people have always felt, that the world is changing out from under them… And it truly is, we live in those changing times…

Repent

And the context of Christmas is the very real world we all live in; a world that, as we all know, can make us lose sight of all these Advent words, Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.

Jump ahead 500 years and we come across another prophet, this one closer to the original Christmas; Jesus’ cousin, John; who we sometimes call the Baptist. This wild and crazy prophet shows up outside of Jerusalem wearing a camel skin cloak and eating locusts with honey. He is so out of place that he draws a crowd – and then he begins to preach:

“Repent. The Kingdom of God is at hand.”

Now what we sometimes miss in this story is that John is pretty much recreating Isaiah for his generation. The people are still stuck in a war torn country – this time it is the Herodians and the Romans who have divided the spoils, and they are still wondering where God is.

The writer of Mark saw this – he even quotes Isaiah when he describes what John is doing – preparing a way for the Lord in the wilderness, making level every mountain and hill and raising up every valley and smoothing every rough places.

Now what else did Isaiah say? “Here is your God, see, the Lord comes!” Both Isaiah and John start with where we find ourselves and offer us a message filled with grace – a message about God’s presence with us – and how that can change everything.

There are people out there that think Christianity and other religions are “quaint” that they are from another time and another way of seeing the world… I think the messages, and the problems faced, are timeless…

Why does this world suffer from more depression, more suicide, and more pain than we ever have?  Could it be that the same sort of injustice, the same sort of poverty, the same sort of misery that was there in Isaiah’s time, or John’s time, is still there with us now?

We all struggle with meaning, and we all wonder if things will ever get better…

So here is the good news – here is the Gospel – as told by the Archangel Gabriel to a lonely young girl afraid for her life: “you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son… he will be great, and of his kingdom there will be no end…” And you remember what Isaiah said the kingdom of God would be like? The Lamb and the lion, the baby and the snake, will all live in harmony with one another.

Conclusion

See, God still has a message for us in these dark times. Peace, I leave you with – not as the world understands peace, but as God does – wholeness, love, wonder, joy, and safety – peace. This is the grace of God and the love of God which Jesus came to show us.

So as we wait remember that our calling is to be the ‘as if’ sort of person that the world needs. The birth of Jesus in the dark of midwinter was a reminder that nothing bad ever gets the final say…

I heard a great quote this week and I want to finish my sermon with it…
A Candle is a message to the darkness – saying, “I beg to differ!”

Christmas is coming.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Advent 1 - B 2011


Heavens Breaking Forth

Introduction

Christmas has broken out all around us. Santa is back in the malls, the carols are blaring and the preparation has begun in earnest.

What are you doing to prepare? Have your shopping all finished? Planned all the meals? Baked all the goodies? House all decorated?

Advent is the name we give to this season in the church. It is also the beginning of our yearly cycle of living along with Jesus. In four weeks we will remember the birthday and all of the Bethlehem part of the story. Then we will grow up with him, head towards Jerusalem and try to follow along like the disciples.

But we are still four weeks away from Jesus. We are still preparing for Christmas.

And I get that, I really do, I understand that it takes a lot of work to get ready for a celebration like this – but on another side of it all – what is it we are preparing for?

Jesus is born in Bethlehem. So what?

Children’s Story

Deck the Halls – Adapted from sermons4kids.com

In his book, "Oh, the Places You'll Go," Dr. Seuss talks about a place called "the waiting place." He describes it as a useless place where people are just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

I don't particularly like waiting, do you? I don't like it, but I don't know of any way to avoid it. We all have to spend some time in this "waiting place" that Dr. Seuss talks about, but I don't think it has to be a useless place. While we are waiting, life goes on, and we must make good use of our time. What can we do? Well, we could read a good book or call a friend on the cell phone. We could make a list of things we need to do today or, we could even study for our weekly spelling test. Well, maybe that's going a bit too far, but there are many things we can do besides just waiting.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent means "to come." Do you know what's coming? Of course, Christmas is coming. This is an exciting time, but it may also be a difficult time of waiting -- especially for children. Waiting for the day when you can open the gifts that you see under the tree. What can we do to make this time of waiting for Christmas more than just a useless time in the waiting place? Well, we can think about the true meaning of Christmas. We can think about Jesus and his love. We can think about giving instead of receiving. We can enjoy all of beautiful music and the decorations of the season. When we do those things, we will find joy in the waiting place.

We are waiting for Christmas, but we are also waiting for something else. We are waiting for Jesus' return. He told us that he would come again and he told us to watch and be ready for him. What should we do while we are waiting? We should worship and praise him, love and serve him, and share his love with others. When we are doing those things, we will be ready for his return, and we will find joy in the waiting place.

Strengthened till the End

The Psalms and Paul’s writings are always filled with affirmations that God is here, that God is good, that God is coming… These people were seriously sure that they were waiting, and that they would probably not have to wait that long, until something happened – God rescued them, or Jesus came back, or their enemies were defeated or they were justified in front of the naysayers…

Paul sure has a high opinion of the faithful… I only wish I was thinking about the things that he is on about – instead, I am thinking about what to buy everything for Christmas. I am thinking about how great the ads are on TV and what they make me wish I was getting for Christmas.

It makes me go back to my original question – what is it all about? What does Christmas mean?

The Little Apocalypses

Charles Dickens arguably brought Christmas back to life in the Western World. He was the biggest proponent of the season and its effect on people. We all know Scrooge and the Ghosts of Past Present and Future – but there are poems and other stories of the season that Dicken’s wrote as well.

In them, he was almost speaking of the future – of the way that Christmas can change someone… he was almost talking about the Kingdom of God, coming on earth…

At the same time, he was a realist – he knew a thing or two about human nature… and dear old Mr Scrooge would never have changed without a little bit of the old fear of God.

I like to think of passages like we have before us today as the “Stick” to Jesus “Carrot.”  He knew enough to try different teaching methods, and he knew enough to be able to say that sometimes we have to hit rock bottom if we are going to be able to change… so here it is – the bad news… the world can end in a second.
In fact, for many of us, it does. A stroke, a car accident, getting fired… And you have to be ready, you have to be prepared, you have to keep awake…

But if we are awake to it, Christmas, the spirit of it… will be all around.

Conflicts? What Conflicts?

I don’t get that there is something bad about the secular Christmas. I think if anything, we should be celebrating it. I mean, ok, don’t go borrowing money for gifts… but the idea of celebrating, of sharing presents, of feasting, of visiting, of decorating…

There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, each of those things, in their own way, are a reflection of God’s love.

And perhaps that is what we are preparing for… the inbreaking of God’s love into our otherwise grey worlds. 

Monday, November 14, 2011

Pentecost 22 -A 2011


A Brand New Day

Introduction

As Children of the day we are called to walk in the light, trusting God and supporting one another. There are moments when we feel like our lives are being destroyed, as if a thief came in the middle of the night and stole it away from us.

You have all been there – an unexpected death, a layoff from a job that you were not expecting, a sudden diagnosis of illness…

There are moments of despair, difficult devastating issues and circumstances arise that knock the wind out of us.

We all of a sudden realize we are living a dead end job, or we remember some half-forgotten moment of trauma from our childhood…

And the thing is, we can choose to respond in one of two ways, as children of the day or children of the night…

These are Paul’s words not mine, but in the end, it is about recognizing the light and hope and possibility, trusting that we will get strength from the divine.

Today we are going to hear some passages from the Bible that on the surface seem pretty harsh – but as we explore them deeper, you can see that the good news for us is about recognizing how God is already active in our lives.

Flashlight People (with kids)

Ever used a flashlight? Why? What do they help us to do?
-         Have you ever been lost? Ever been afraid in the dark?
-          Didn’t know what to do
-         A long, long time ago there was group of people who felt lost… and they were afraid and there was this big bully being mean to them... They went and talked to this wise woman, named Deborah.
-          She was a leader of all the people around – and she helped them to find their way.
-          She sent someone, like her Big Brother, who was he and strong, to talk some sense into the bully…
-          Sometimes in our lives there are people like Deborah – people who help us to see the right thing to do, or where we need to go… I like to call them Flashlight People… cause they are just like a flashlight, a light in the dark…

The Light of Day

Do you remember the story of the Chilean miners? I remember thinking when I heard how long it was going to take to dig down to them, that they would certainly be dead by the time they got there… how long was it… like 2 months trapped underground, trapped in the dark… If they had not died they would surely have gone insane… right? Imagine spending that time alone with just a few people, not able to move very far, never knowing just what was going to happen next… wondering if the rest of the mine was going to collapse and kill you.

But they made a choice. They chose to live. One of them jogged the narrow, darkened mine passages, one prayed, others thought of family to give them strength…. They could easily have chosen the other way, despair, darkness, death.

It may sound harsh, but Paul says to this bunch of Christians, in a brand new church, facing oppression from both sides, that they have that simple choice to make…

You don’t know what will happen next, none of us ever do, death waits like a thief in the night, there are going to be a lot of hurdles to overcome, but we should live in hope… we should always act in a way that brings strength not only to us, but to those around us.

Ever tried to actively make people happy around you? Smile at people you walk by, tell a joke really loud on a bus full of unhappy looking people? Compliment a person who is on their feet for their eighth hour behind the cash register… what happens? Everything changes… Not only for them, but for you…

Living in the light is not denying that life is hard, it is a choice. It is waking up and saying, a lot can happen in a day…

 Ostriches and other Cowards

I saw a movie last night, “In Time” it was a really interesting movie, sort of science fiction like, about a time in the future when everybody is given 25 years to live – and there is a clock on your arm, like a watch, ticking down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the end.

Life, in this world, becomes currency. You can trade minutes for a cup of coffee, hours for a night in a hotel, years for a brand new car.

What the movie pointed out is the huge divide between the rich and the poor. For us, not being able to pay our bills means a lot of stress and a lot of hardship – but for the people in this story, debt means death.
The rich in this world had hundreds, perhaps thousands of years on their arms. No one aged after 25 anyway, so you could technically live forever – unless you fell down a flight of stairs, or ate some bad chicken, or drowned… or died of any of what we might call “accidental” causes.

So no one drove, no one swam; no one took any risks of any type, for fear of losing their immortality.
In other words, fear kept them from living life.

Jesus parable is terribly harsh. It is not fair by any stretch of the imagination. We feel sorry for the slave who does what he thinks is the safe thing, and buries his money.

But what if Jesus is really talking about being afraid? What if he is saying that if we choose to live without taking those risks, stepping out, or living the day fully as God intends, we risk losing everything; what if we are therefore choosing to live in the darkness.

Fear closes the door tightly on God’s love, you can’t feel it, you can’t let it in, you can’t see what is possible; all hope disappears.

And fear is something we all deal with. It can be subtle, like the fear of saying the wrong thing that stops us from talking to people. Or it can be extreme, like the fear of disappointing parents that causes us to choose to be a doctor even though we hate everything about it.

It comes in all shapes and sizes, like the fear that no one loves us that causes us to be a bully or the fear of being different that causes us to dress like everyone else.

Over and over Jesus said he came that we might have life, abundant life, hope filled life… do you think you can have that if you are crippled by fear?

It is a daily choice. Perhaps it is a daily struggle, but we are given the talents, the moments of our lives, and asked what are we going to do with them – so are you going to bury them and play it safe, or risk it abundantly and live in hope?

Conclusion

When was the last time you stopped to watch the sun rise?

I actually managed to do that the morning of the Pancake breakfast. It is a lot easier in the winter… but to see the pinks, then orange, blossom across the sky into light, into the pale blue dawn is kind of magical….
Sunrises are one of those experiences of nature that can move people to tears, we stand in awe as if God is standing in front of our very eyes.

But, it is not a very special event, it is not a once in a lifetime thing, we could watch it every single day of our lives…

So why do we find it so captivating and emotional? Perhaps it is because it is the beginning of a brand new day… a day filled with possibilities and hope, with new beginnings and new light.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Pentecost A 20 2011


Occupy Life

Introduction


All over the world there are “Occupy” movements starting up – they began in New York City with the Occupy Wall Street crowd – but pretty much everywhere there are people who are protesting, including downtown Moncton.
The interesting thing is that there are a lot of different things being protested, from the environment to the economy and everything in between. There are no real leaders; it is a grass root movement that is spontaneously erupting all over.

The one thing, however, that ties it all together is the idea that there is something wrong with the way the world is today – that 99% of the people in the world are in trouble, and that the 1% better start changing things or get out of the way.

It gives me hope. And on top of that, it sounds to me like a religious revolution – these are exactly the types of things that Jesus and the prophets before him tried to say.

We are not called upon to let the forces of power and market economies overcome us, we are called to occupy our lives and do something about it.

The River is Wide – Kids

-          What do you think the people were afraid of when it came to crossing the river?

-          What are you afraid of that keeps you from doing what you know is the right thing to do?

-          How do we find courage?
God’s Word at Work

When Paul wrote to the churches he was always thankful - today he says that he is thankful for God’s word being at work in the people of Thessalonica…
Of course, when we hear such a small passage of a long letter it is hard to know what exactly is going on, but we have heard a lot of Paul lately. We know some of what he said off by heart – so I think if I ask this question you will think of something:

What did Paul think happened when God’s word was at work in you? Think about it for a second – you don’t have to answer out loud, but what did Jesus, Paul, the Apostles expect of their followers?
You know, it was really always about how you live life. It was about challenging authorities that dehumanize people. It was about overcoming your fears so you would do the right thing, it was about caring for the widows and orphans, the most vulnerable people…

It is about living a life worthy of what we have been given. All of this is a gift and all of it is meant for everyone. So Paul encourages us…

Paul wants us to be humble, blameless, courageous, gracious, all those things that might echo God’s way of being that we have witnessed in Jesus.

In essence Paul is thankful that the people of Thessalonica were living their lives with integrity.

The question for us is, how do we do that?

Do Not Be Like the Pharisees

To be honest, Jesus was obsessed with this idea of living a life of integrity – he called it, living as if the Kingdom of God was already here – or in a prayer you might be familiar with, “thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven…”
For Jesus it was about living as God would live if God was walking around right here with us.

And he knew that sometimes, we get the point quicker if you talk about the negative – today Jesus starts with a “what not to do list…”
Unfortunately, he says, don’t be like the religious leaders… the Pharisees and Scribes, who instead of being good leaders who were trying to make God known in the world, they focused on their own wealth, their own prestige, their own power.

Don’t do things for show – do what is really important..
Ever watch the Keeping Up Appearances show? There is this rather ordinary woman… Hyacinthe Bucket – but whenever anyone addresses her as Mrs. Bucket she says, “no no no my dear, it is pronounced Bouquet…”

In essence this is what the Pharisees are like – they want to make themselves better than they really were…. And let me clear, they weren’t bad evil people; they were just like me and you…
Jesus was challenging the people to make radical changes in the way they were living –

Today is Reformation Sunday as well… a movement that was all about radical change.
We don’t celebrate it much in our church, but it is an important part of our faith heritage…

Disconnect

So there is a disconnect between who we realyl are and how we are living our lives
Because of this disconnect that happens naturally, every now and again we need to have our own reformation (and so does society) we need to occupy our lives and live them more authentically. We need to take control of the thigns that have got us so off kilter and we need to find a space where we can reflect on where we find ourselves and where we are going and see if this matches up to who we really need to be…

It is like nailing our own list of problems to the door and saying, we need to go back to basics.
We miss out on pivotal and wonderful moments of life because we are busy worrying about the wrong things

What if the Israelties were worried about getting their clothes wet? What if they never risked the first step? The Pharisees missed out on experiencing Jesus who was right in front of them because they were too busy upholding an image and trying to live a good life.


Monday, October 24, 2011

Pentecost A 19 2011


Face to Face

Introduction

 Have you ever thought about what it would be like to meet God?

There was a song I really liked last year by the band, the Fray; it was called “You Found Me”. There have been a lot of songs lately where God has crept into the secular music on the radio – but this one was really intriguing, here is how it starts:

I found God
On the corner of First and Amistad
Where the west
Was all but won
All alone
Smoking his last cigarette
I said, "Where you been?"
He said, "Ask anything".

Where were you
When everything was falling apart?
All my days
Were spent by the telephone
That never rang
And all I needed was a call
That never came
To the corner of First and Amistad

Now, the Fray are not a Christian band, they do not even seem all that religious as people by a standard definition. But this song is really deep, about how lost and alone we feel and how we all have questions we would ask God.

A Prophet like Moses

The Bible records that there has never arisen another prophet the likes of Moses – why? Because Moses spoke to God face to face; Moses actually knew God.

There are a couple of times when Moses goes up a mountain to have a chat with God and comes down all glowing and translucent; which is pretty much what is said about Jesus when he goes up the mountain and talks to God.

Moses was 120 years old – but his sight was not dim, he had all his faculties, nothing about him was aging… he simply had finished what he was set out to do by God, and so he died. It might have happened when he was 20 or 220 – it would not have mattered.

It didn’t matter because he was so in tune with God that his life was merely a reflection of God’s plans for us.

With the Kids – Keeping in Tune

The tin whistle played incorrectly causes cats to run in fear and dogs to howl in pain…
What is the difference between being in tune and out of tune?
What does it mean to be in tune with God?

Second Hand Paul

Paul once referred to himself in a very Shakespearean way as a man born out of time, a man born too late for the place he was supposed to be. He said this because more than anything else Paul felt he was born to be an apostle of Jesus.
Along the road to Damascus one day he had a vision of Jesus – he “saw” Jesus. And perhaps this did not make up for spending three years out doing ministry with him, but it changed Paul forever. In a sense, he felt he had seen God face to face.

Now, vision is another word for dream… we really don’t know what Paul saw – whether it was a conversation with Jesus, or God pointing a finger at him and like the Ghost of Marley in A Christmas Carol – but it changed Paul forever.

Before that time Paul was an arrogant religious official who persecuted people he did not agree with. After that time he wrote things like we read today – things about how much he cared for people, things that seemed genuinely humble… he really was a changed man.

The thing is this – he did not see God face to face. At least, not ion the way we are told Moses did. Paul had a different experience of God, one very like you or I do. He saw God in a dream.

I have had moments where I thought God was speaking to me; sometimes inside of me, sometimes in a dream, sometimes through circumstances or the people who are speaking to me.

I also read the stories of the faith, I go to church services, I sing hymns, I hang out with people who are religious and want to talk about their faith…

And through it all I find that I don`t actually have to meet God face to face or converse on a mountain to ‘hear’ God.

There are just moments where God shows through the ordinary things – moments that make me aware of how I should live and how much I am loved. Moments that change everything much as Paul was changed that morning on the way to Damascus.

So what is it all about?

I know we hear it a number of times – but it bears repeating. There is a simple answer as to what God would say to us if speaking face to face… In fact, Jesus summarized it:

Love God, Love neighbour, Love self.

Back in Moses day God tried a more complex set of rules – we heard them a little while ago – the Ten Commandments – which in fact were followed up by over 1000 sub clauses.

It’s a little like being a parent. When you start out you think if you regulate everything – if you create a rule for everything – you will keep them safe. Then later on you come to realize that the best you can do is hope you instilled in them the right values so that when they make their own choices, they do it in tune.

Well –here is a more mature statement from God – following all the rules will keep you safe – but so will concentrating on the basics… and at its most basic level life is about loving God enough to treat the world the way God would – it is about loving your neighbour enough to always be looking out for them and placing their needs high on a list of priorities, and it is about loving yourself in such a way that you would always try to be in tune with God’s way of living.

This is what our faith hinges on …

I have been very inspired lately by the “Occupy” movement. It seems to me in a grass roots sort of way that they are taking the more mature approach of not focusing on one demand – but of saying, life isn’t being lived the way it should be… we don’t have a society where the very basic principles Jesus talked about are honoured… so how do we get there….

Conclusion

That is for us to figure out… there are no easy answers as to how to live a mature faith – but the thing is, we have been given all we need to go out there and do it on our own.

We don’t need to see God face to face in order to get our lives lined up with God. We don’t need Jesus speaking to us at the foot of the bed in order to know what is right and good…

We just need to remember what we already know, and live it beyond these walls…

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Pentecost 16 (A) 2011


Responsibility

Introduction

Anyone remember the song, “He’s got the whole world, in his hands… he’s got the whole wide world, In his hands…”?

Usually we think of that song as referring to God, I don’t know, it was written that way or something; but I want to suggest that it is really about us… we have the whole world in our hands, that is the responsibility we have been given, and more than that, the whole world is holy, it is sacred, and it is a pretty awesome responsibility…

It is also a responsibility we share… WE have the whole world in our hands…. It is not up to me, or you, but us… this is one thing we all have in common, we all need to make the world a place of love and peace and hope… and we all need to work together…

But how? I want to suggest that it is by recognizing our need to cultivate our spiritual side, and then by recognizing that we all have responsibility that has been placed on us by God.

The Ten Commandments (with Kids)

Object: A coloring book

Do you remember when you first started to learn how to color? If you were like most children, you probably coloured all over the page without staying in the lines. I imagine that some of your pictures looked a lot like this one (show picture coloured without staying in the lines). And your choice of colors probably wasn't very good either. You might have coloured the cow purple! I've never seen a purple cow, have you?

As you got older, your pictures probably looked more like this one (show a picture coloured in the lines). You began to stay in the lines and your color choices were much better too. There aren't any purple cows in this picture. This picture is much prettier than the other one, isn't it?

These pictures remind me of the way some people live their lives. God gave us the Ten Commandments to tell us the things that we should and should not do. Some people don't pay any attention to these guidelines that God has drawn for them. They just do whatever they want to do. Often their choices are not very good. They are like the child who doesn't stay inside the lines on the coloring page. They think their life is beautiful, but when God looks at it, He sees that it is just a big mess.

There are other people who read the Bible and follow God's rules. They try to stay within the guidelines that God has set. Oh, they may still get outside the lines at times, but most of the time they make pretty good choices. When God looks at their life, He is pleased.

Do you want your life to be like this one (show the messy picture) or do you want it to look like this one? (Show the pretty picture) Let's pray and ask God to help us.

Dear Lord, help us to remember that you set boundaries for us. Help us to stay within those boundaries so that our lives will be pleasing to you. Amen.
Towards the Goal

What is your spiritual resume? Have you been, to quote a Christmas tradition, Naughty or Nice?

Paul writes that he has every reason to believe that he is better than all the rest in terms of doing what God wants. His resume is filled with sacrifice, and commitment, and passion… he has singlehandedly created the church of which we all, 2,000 years later, are still a part…

But really, it counts for nothing. Really, the question is, what are you going to do next.

Perhaps more to the point, Paul seems to be saying that we should never be content, that we always need to hunger for more, to do more, to be more…

Of course, Paul only makes that point because he knows he does not have to go it alone.

I did a funeral yesterday and one of the son and laws read a gospel passage and commented on it. When I heard what he was going to talk about I had not idea what he would say – for a funeral he chose to tell the story of Jesus going to the well and meeting a Samaritan woman and confronting her about her five husbands and current boyfriend… then he goes on to offer her the living water…

I was totally unsure how he could make this into a funeral reading – but he went on to talk about the amazing love and constant invitation of God. Here was this woman, a Samaritan, and outsider, someone who was either unlucky in love or not easily satisfied… and Jesus was treating her as an equal and offering her God’s presence in her life like he would anyone else…

You see, Paul had a lot to boast about, but he knew that it really meant nothing, that we are all equal in God’s eyes, and that because of that, we all, each and every one of us, have a part to play…
The Vineyard of Violence

This is the third week in a row that the Gospel passage is about a vineyard… perhaps there is something important about this…

Most people agree that the vineyard is a stand in for the place we are asked to be, the work we are asked to do, it might even mean the whole world… and we are told stories about the rightful wages of workers in the vineyard, about God’s intention for the vineyard, and finally about how we can go off track in the vineyard…

You see, sometimes we forget that we are doing all this for the greater good. Sometimes our lives get so focused on our own needs that we would do anything to “get ahead” in the world. Sometimes we forget what our responsibilities are…

We don’t realize it anymore, but Jesus is actually quoting scripture back to the religious leaders… he is weaving together Isaiah five where God plants a vineyard and expects grapes but discovers that they have all gone wild, with Psalm 118 which talks about the people rejecting the stone but God making it the cornerstone.

It is not the pleasantest of passages, but it is a good reminder, a wakeup call to the fact that we all fall short of what is expected of us – and because of that, we might even overlook the most important things in our world.
Conclusion

The table of God is open to everyone. Sure, we are supposed to colour between the lines… but like my youngest daughter, we often get tired of that and just colour any old way we want… But this community, and the unity of God’s people, gives us courage to try again – to try and live with the responsibilities of being the agents of God in the world.

And once more, we are sent out to make a difference…


Monday, September 19, 2011

Pentecost 14 2011

Life in the Kingdom 

Introduction 
 A lot of what Jesus talked about was how life should be. He called it ‘The Kingdom’ and he was forever saying what the Kingdom was like, and talking about how to find it, and most importantly, saying it was already here.

The Kingdom of God is like… Well… we could probably fill in the blanks – what sort of world do you think God would want us to be living in, what would it look like? What would we do? How would we treat people?

Everyone in the world really wants a good answer to that question – we try really hard to create our own little piece of heaven on earth, whether it is at a cottage, or our own backyard, or with family… We spend our whole lives searching for happiness. And one of our main problems is that we simply do not know what happiness would look like.

With the Kids – Daily Bread 

So you might remember that last week, in our Old Testament reading, The Israelites crossed the red sea and followed Moses out of Egypt and into the wilderness. Well, when our reading picks up today, they’ve been traveling for quite some time. Have any of you ever been on a really long trip or a really tough hike? How do you feel after you’ve been traveling and traveling and traveling? Bored, Tired, thirsty, and hungry. Well guess what? They felt that way too. In fact they were so tired and hungry that they got mad at Moses and asked him if he’d just brought them all out there to die.

Some of them even wanted to go back to Egypt where they had been slaves, but God heard them, and God sent them some food. Does anyone remember what it was called? Manna. That’s right, the next morning, when the Israelites woke up, they found this fine flaky bread on the ground and they were told to pick up what they needed in order to have food for the whole day. Does anyone know what the manna was like? (Have examples of different breads on hand) Was it like filo dough? Or wonder bread? Or crackers?

Well actually, no one knows. Even the Israelites, who got to look right at it and touch it and taste it, had never seen anything like it. “Manna” actually means, “What is it?” But whatever it was turned out to be good, and filling and the people liked it. Now who do you think got the most manna? The people who got up first? The people who gathered more than others? Moses, because he was in charge?

Actually God told everyone to gather the same amount, and that amount turned out to be exactly what each person needed for each day. If you went and gathered more than that amount, the manna went bad, really bad. It became full of worms and started to stink really badly, so badly that everyone else knew you’d taken more than you should have. Why do you think God made the manna that way? Do you remember the Lord’s prayer?

What do we say in the middle about bread? “Give us this day our daily bread.”

God wants us to trust in him to provide enough for us each day. We don’t have to hoard what we have or be afraid to share because God will always make sure there is enough. God wants everyone to have food to eat and he’s made sure that we have enough here on the earth. The trick, is that we have to be willing to only take what we need so that everyone will have enough. So remember that the next time you have a little more than others, and be ready to share so that everyone can enjoy the good food that God has given us. 

Standing Firm in Rejoicing 

 I don’t know how many of you say grace at home before your meals. I try to remember but I do not always do it myself. I also see other people doing it in restaurants, even in McDonald’s and I think t myself, that I should be doing that too. It is a simple thing, but it changes a lot. What if we remembered to say thank you?

What if, unlike the Israelites in the desert, we did constantly give thanks for what we had around us? I think our attitude towards things would be quite different. The Psalm we read together is a hymn of thanksgiving, it was written to express the joy people felt when they found out that God would really provide for them.

It is not always easy to do – right? We all have things happening in our lives that cause us pain, or wonder, or disheartenment…. But…. But… when you look back over your life; on the other side of the painful events, you can usually agree that there was still much to be thankful for.

For all his faults, Paul really believed in what he did as a Christian, he was sick a lot of the time, arrested, persecuted… his life was pretty uncertain. And he wrote to the churches he had founded and offered advice.

Today, to the Church in Philippi, a Roman sea port, he says this: “Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit…”

Think of it this way – life doesn’t always look like what we wish it would… jobs end, relationships end, sickness sets in, friends move away… but Jesus kept saying, even in the face of massive suffering and hardship, that the Kingdom of God is already all around you – just open your eyes and look.

The Vineyard 

So here is Jesus again telling his followers “The Kingdom is like” and then weaving a parable – but let me ask you this, you have just heard this story… so what is the kingdom like? What is Jesus point? Could it be that the kingdom is like a place where everyone gets a chance to work? Is the kingdom a place where everyone gets the same pay? Is it as simple as that?

This story is totally connected to the story of the manna – you see that right. This is a story in which we are talking about whether something is fair or not, whether some people deserve more or not…

When God provided Manna for the Israelites, the story tells us, they could gather what they could eat. If they tried to take more, it would simply rot; if they decided not to trust and packed away some for tomorrow, again, worms and mildew.

So what about it, The Kingdom of God is like a place where everyone gets exactly what they need, and no one has too much.

Senator McCarthy is probably rolling in his grave, especially because to anyone who has ever read the Bible, it is pretty clear Jesus was a communist. Ok, not a communist, but a socialist. He certainly would have got into trouble preaching these things in Washington during the 50’s. But that is just it. God’s plan for everyone is abundant life. God wants happiness. And having too much of anything, just like having too little of anything, leads to unhappiness.

So what if, whenever possible, we tried to provide for everyone equally? What if we made more choices that were asking how life could be a little fairer for everyone involved? Would that be the Kingdom breaking through?

Happiness 

Do any of you remember the Bobby McFarin song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” it was kind of simplistic – but it was one of those songs that got stuck in your head…

Here are some of the lyrics:
 In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
 Don't worry, be happy......

Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy

The land lord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
 Don't worry, be happy

Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style
Ain't got not girl to make you smile
But don't worry be happy

I know, if only it was that simple… but to some extent it is. The Kingdom of God is like a place where we can let go of our worries and know everything will be all right. I think we can do that because look around, there are all kinds of people here who care about you, who pray for you, and would help you in a heartbeat.

Life is rough, but God’s grace surrounds us… thank God.