Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

When Geese Disagree

Introduction

So, today is the Sunday which falls on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It is a celebration held each year by the World Council of Churches. The council first met in Amsterdam in 1948. It was like the United Nations only from a Christian standpoint; in the wake of the two world wars it was felt maybe we should learn to work together more. So now it has some 349 churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 560 million Christians.

Now all that being said, if you look in your bulletin you will see that there are some 41,000 different branches of Christianity while only 349 belong to the World Council of churches; there are about 2 billion Christians in the world and the WCC represents some 560 million… What I am getting at is that ¼ of all Christians can reasonably work together on most things; while ¾ probably cannot.

So, when we talk about Unity, we are talking about it from a place of division… and I want us to think about that.

Each and every week we come to church and talk about the good things of the world, we talk about love and peace, and hope, and working together… and I really believe that those are the things God wants us to be focusing on… but in the midst of that we also have to be realistic. Most of us live in a world where we have a few close friends, where we know a few other people, and then there are a whole lot of people out there that we know nothing about, or don’t want to know, or whatever…

How do we get from where we are to a place where we are working together more? And should we?

Kids Story

Welcome – we are trying to see things differently during this time of Epiphany… and I want us to see the doors of this church differently… what do you notice about the doors? Why do we have doors? What would make them more welcoming?

A Prophet in His Hometown

I went to junior high school and high school while living in a place called Hampton, New Brunswick; you may have heard of it. Because my parents were divorced I moved in and out, living also in Calgary and Halifax during that time. I was always an outsider in Hampton, even though I was, sort of, from there. My Dad had moved there when I was in grade four and I had went to grade four and five there… in grade 8 when I returned I rekindled some old friends… sort of…

Anyway, I was both from there and an outsider… I got into a lot of trouble, and at the time it was a town of 1500 people and I spent the other weeks of my year in Halifax, the roughest toughest town in these here parts…

All this to say I really did relate to this Jesus story, and I get what Jesus is trying to say… the people that know us to be one way are often the people who find it very hard to see that we have changed. We also have a lot of pre-conceived notions about people, we make assumptions and we judge – based on looks, based on money, based on the way they talk… just about anything really. 

I wonder if the reason for so much division in the world is really that simple, that we see people as being different than us, and so we do not think of them as the same. Jesus for sure, was a carpenter from a small town, a Galilean, and when he came back to church to try and preach they thought of him as an outsider, as someone who had changed, and besides which, who did he think he was, talking to them that way…

Yeah, the story makes a lot of sense to me… not that it is right, but it does tell us a lot about human nature.

The Heart of the Matter

So if it is simple to find what divides us. And I know I am oversimplifying, but often it is that simple, and dumb… I wonder if it is as simple to figure out what we have in common? After all, even if we know that everyone on the planet thinks and acts differently than I do, there still must be something that connects us, right?

Paul thinks that something is love. Paul thinks if we understood love completely, and from a divine point of view, that we would see the way God sees.

And he has a point, there is nothing in this passage we could argue with, love should be patient, and kind, and calm, and open, and all the things that he says… we know that. And when you look at what he is talking about from the other side, we know that those are our bad qualities too… the impatience, the rudeness, the self-centeredness, the meanness…

But beyond that, when we get to look at it from a religious point of view – there are none of us, in any church, who are going to argue that love each other is not a central point for our faith. If you are Catholic, or Pentecostal, if you are traditional or liberal… love is at the centre of what we believe God and Jesus were on about all this time.

I do, truly, wish it was that simple… but perhaps it can be. Perhaps all we need is a little shift in our thinking and to put one simple principle into place… and then we can start to be different.

I talked about welcome in our children’s story today, because I think that the most practical way we love is through hospitality… how we treat people who come to our homes, how we make them feel welcome, what sort of effort we put into making other people feel comfortable. I really think that this is a practice of loving our neighbours the way that Jesus wanted us to.

Think about the story of the good Samaritan… here is exactly how and why the story is told – a man comes to Jesus and says, what is the most important religious principle; and Jesus says, love your neighbour. So the man says, but who is my neighbour… And Jesus picks the worst possible social outcast, a Samaritan – and tells a story in which the Samaritan goes out of his way to take care of a stranger…. That, in essence, is being religious… that is being Christian… that is the one thing that might reverse all of our turning away from each other.

The Sense of a Goose

In all of this what we are talking about is trying to be more like a goose.

Ok, that might seem like a little bit of a tangent, but consider this… In the Spring, when you see geese heading North for the Summer or South in the Fall, flying along in "V" formation, you might be interested in knowing what scientists have discovered about why they fly that way. It has been learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following.

By flying in "V” formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

How about this, whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front. When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

And do you know why the Geese are always honking, to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

Finally, when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out, two geese fall out of formation and follow him down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is either able to fly or until he is dead, and then they launch out on their own or with another formation until they catch up with their group.

Now, all of this is the way that a group of people, or birds, would act if they all had the same goal, if they all cared about each other, and if they all worked together… People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are helping each other as they go along. It also pays to take turns doing hard jobs, with people or with flying geese. Finally, we will stand by each other, encourage one another, protect one another and sometimes make new friends who seem to be going in our direction.

If we put this in religious terms I am pretty sure we are saying what Micah was saying… God is love, and so we are required to do justice, or loving works to help each other, we are required to love kindness, or to take care of one another and be nice to one another; and finally, to walk humbly… which in the end, means to think of the other person as being just as important as you.

Conclusion

It is not so much an epiphany this week as a pointing out things we already know, instinctively, deep down… but it is good to be reminded.

The person who is on welfare, the rich guy in another country, the Presbyterian down the road…we really do have more in common with them than we think.

And as much as we fight against it the way forward is clear, it is to love everyone.

So I am going to celebrate the week of prayer for Christian Unity by trying, at least as much as I can, to take these lessons to heart, to try not to focus on the things that divide but the things that unite. I hope you can too.

Baptism of Jesus - C

The Beloved

Introduction

Epiphanies come in many forms. Some of us have realizations about our personality. I remember the day I was dealing with something my daughter did wrong and I all of a sudden found myself saying the exact same thing my father would say. Here I was…. Growing up to be just like him… an Epiphany.

Other people realize that the person they should have been with all along was the girl next door. You get the idea; an Epiphany is a sudden, out of the blue realization about how the world really is and what needs to be done.

The type a lot of us can understand is a job epiphany. We wake up one morning and say, what am I doing? I never wanted to be a mortician; I wanted to be a lion tamer; and off we go to lion taming school; or some such thing.

Jesus was a tradesperson. He grew up in a family in which his father, and his father’s father were also people who worked with their hands. The word in Greek which got translated as carpenter could also be the word for stone cutter, tekton; but either way he built things and worked with his hands.

Then one day he realized that he was supposed to do something else, destined to do something else. Maybe he was listening to the monks over at Qumram, maybe he was hanging out at the back of the crowd listening to his cousin John; but he sensed, at the end of his 20’s; that his life was going to go in a different direction.

Called By Name

The prophet Isaiah seeks to comfort the people in rough times. It is like he looks out at a person who is struggling with the questions as to why life is like this, and he says: don’t be afraid, don’t worry, it will all be all right.

Why? Because you are God’s.

Formed, called by name, created as precious… this is what you are. And in knowing that you can face anything.

I think this is the beginning of any epiphany we have about our career or purpose. Whether you are thinking you might take up the ministry, like Jesus, or that whole lion tamer gig I was talking about – there comes a time when you think about who you are deep inside, what you were created to do, and how you feel about that.

Isaiah is right, there is a lot of strength that can come from the simple knowledge that we were created for something… that we were loved into life by God. That we were formed in a way that was intentional and that none of this is a mistake… not the way I look, not the way I think, not the way I feel.

When you know this and truly feel it do you start to think about what is motivating you, about whether you are living up to your full potential and it just makes you see the word differently. This is what Isaiah was on about, he was telling his friends, his fellow people that they needed to get back to basics, that they needed to remember who they were and that God was at the very heart of what they believed about the world, and if they did that, they could face anything.

So this is where we start our exploration of baptism, we start by knowing that there is a purpose in life, and that we are created for a purpose… life is never an accident, our life is never an accident… we were formed
for some reason, perhaps a reason we have not even begun to imagine…

Down by the River

There is an American Folk Spiritual I love, I am not going to sing it for you, but it is a simple tune with a haunting melody – the words go like this:

As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good ol' way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way!

O sisters let's go down
Let's go down, come on down
O sisters let's go down
Down in the river to pray

Now, in the way I picture everything like a story, this is what they were singing while heading down to the banks of the Jordan to be baptized those many long years ago. And I think it happened like this; people heard there was this crazy preacher… they went out to watch… they got captivated… they started to warm to the message… they came back the next day, then the next…. They started humming along… they had an epiphany, they made a decision, and they waded out into the water…

And they went back to their lives…

Well, most did. Jesus had quite a different experience. He heard the voice of God calling to him, welcoming him, reminding him, challenging him…

Perhaps he was more open to it. Perhaps he was more suited to it.  Certainly, as he preached throughout his life he told his followers over and over that they could hear that same voice, take up that same calling, and feel that close to God.

But for now, right now, he was the only one that came to know God’s love so strongly that he was ready to give his all… in fact, he was so in tune and close to the divine that he called God father, and felt God call him son.

I think that part of what happened to Jesus has to do with what Isaiah had been talking about, about the purpose of life, and discovering it. Imagine if one day you knew, just knew, why God had put you here… and the ideas of what you could accomplish just came pouring into your mind… For Jesus he finally saw his destiny, and knew he needed to set out in a new direction.

It was a powerful moment and it changed his whole life. It changed him. This was his epiphany moment.

The Beloved

So there is the very real sense of purpose that we are talking about embracing… but there is something deeper happening here as well, there is a sense of belonging, of love, of acceptance of the person. Jesus knew he had a destiny; but what he felt was loved.

He felt that God had accepted his crazy dreams and ideas, that it was ok not to be just like Joseph, that no matter what was coming God was on his side.

When we put these two things together, a sense of purpose and a sense of love, we have created the most powerful force in the universe.

Jesus spent the rest of his albeit short life trying to get this same thought across to us – you are God’s beloved. You are just as much created by this sense of love and acceptance and Jesus was. You are just as capable of living out a great destiny as Jesus was.

I wonder why we feel it is so hard to accept this? Perhaps it was that I was clumsy when I was a kid, or that I had friends make fun of me for the way I looked, or that I actually look at the celebrities on the screen or magazine covers and know I am not like them… but there is always this nagging sense that I am not enough… not smart enough, not skinny enough, not compassionate enough… a whole slew of things…

Anyone else ever feel that, or is it just me?

So here is the thing. Because of that sometimes I think I have nothing to offer and don’t bother. You can take that in whatever way you want… I sometimes do not paint because I am not a master artist. I have not yet learned to play the guitar because every time I pick it up I know I am not as good as other people… and sometimes I am too shy to start a conversation.

Just think how much a pervasive sense of love could change this. To know that we were totally accepted, totally loved, totally liked… unconditionally.

What an incredible difference that would make if we could just feel it, just know it… we would throw down our nets and follow…. Oh wait… that is the point of these stories isn’t it.

Jesus heard God’s voice at the moment of baptism and left everything to share God’s love. James and John heard God’s voice in Jesus acceptance and left everything to share God’s love. Paul heard God’s voice while on his way to Damascus through a vision and left everything to share God’s love….

See a pattern? These epiphanies of love, these a-ha moments, do have the power to change everything. And the reason they can change everything is that love is such a powerful counter to whatever we feel is going wrong with the world… Love, and knowing you are loved, strengthens you from the very core of your being.

Living Your Baptism

I think in the end, this is what baptism is all about – it is about accepting our true nature, accepting our giftedness, accepting the love that God is offering.

And when we know those things deep in our hearts we are so strengthened to love others that we help them find this very truth about themselves as well.

Jesus discovered in the moment of his baptism that God’s love had empowered him to do great things. We might not remember our own baptisms, but as we think about what they meant, about what it means to renew our faith, hopefully we will come to know that very same love and be strengthened by it.

Epiphany

just a quick note to say that this is mostly a sermon written by Rev. Ali Smith. I used it as a starting point for my sermon which was a little off the cuff... 

Contemporary Reading:      “The Journey of Melchyor”

Evening chants had just begun when Baba called to me.

Near to him I advanced, seated close to his knee.

“Melchyor,” he whispered, “we'll leave this very night.

No need to wait for any more word, as we have seen the Light.”

The camels, all twenty, swaggered as they rose,

our congeries in bags concealed from any foes,

with Bab's gift of brand new gold...

'Twas for the great One as foretold.

From the home mountains of Kailash we trekked the Indus plain;

to Balthazar, at Bela, my master had explained--

a scholar so extraordinaire, who knew the dawning light,

though his gift of myrrh foretold a doom,

'twill last for just one night.

From dusk to dawn we walked and rode.

At sun-up we slept then studied our code.

Days changed the weeks to so many moons;

our caravan became known with its gilded festoons.

“Haste, haste to Karbala!” my master cried,

“From King Gaspar we mus not divide.

He brings food, and silks, and frankincense.

His arrival would dash our suspense.”

From dusty, hot sands we plodded on,

until the cooling Euphrates we won.

“Six hundred miles 'til journey's end,”

said Gaspar.  “Look, see where heaven will bend...”

To Bethlehem, in Bethlehem our goal was safe and sound.

While men and beasts stretched on the ground,

too weak we carried Baba in a stall.

Balthazar, Gaspar, and I entered entralled.

Baba, our master, wiped his tears.

He tried to calm our excited cheers.

The child approached and hugged him tight,

and master whispered, “We've seen the Light.”

“We have seen the Light!”

The Wise Men

They followed a star - a single, shiny burst of light out there somewhere in the universe; one piece of cosmic energy among millions. And trusting in that simple light, the Magi went on this enormous journey. 

They didn't quite know what they would find at the end. Something about a child born to be King of the Jews? They trusted that the light would get them there. They let it guide them. And when they got to Bethlehem, they found a poor, powerless child. 

Not quite what they expected. But just like with the star that took them so far, in this small child, they found more light. Light that would guide their way; that would guide their lives. 

By simply witnessing the light, the light became a part of them. They carried it with them where they went.

They became light-bearers. 

The journey that they thought would end when they made it to the newborn king had really only just begun when they looked into his eyes. They were forever changed and went home another way. 

Trusting the Light

Can you find yourself in this story? Have you ever been like the Magi? Do you let the light guide you? Can you even find the light in the first place?

We live in a pretty structured society. I'll admit to being one of those people who carries their calendar with them at all times, depending on it to get through the week. In our now-2013 world, things are scheduled and planned and expected to happen a certain way.

So, picture this: Someone comes to you and says, “I heard a rumour that an important child might have been born... maybe...probably. Drop what you're doing!  Put your life on hold! Go out there and find this person. 

I can't really tell you how to get there but I'm sure you'll figure it out.” What would you do? 

Would you think of a million reasons why not to follow some rumour and shifty advice? Or would you round up the camels and start riding out into the wilderness, looking up the sky, hoping for a sign from the heavens

to point you in the right direction?

Or...to update the situation for our time... would you turn on the GPS and start driving and hope some road signs would direct you where you need to go?

It's hard to muster up that kind of trust, I think. It's hard to believe that God will guide us. It's hard to go forward without a real plan.  After all, we are molded to trust no one and to be ever skeptical. But it hasn't always been that way . . .

Celtic Pilgrims

I think it's true that people used to listen to God more. I don't mean that God appeared before them with clear-cut commandments either.  “Thou shall...”  “Thou shall not...”  No. God spoke through instincts

or through the wisdom of other people or in a plethora of other ways. But people trusted and listened.

Historically, there has been a sense that the winds of God can guide us without us being so afraid or guarded.

I think we've lost the trust that people like the Magi had. We fear risk and the unknown. In this way, we limit what God can do. We continue to live in darkness when we could be walking in the light.

Celtic pilgrims used to get into tiny boats that had no rudders. They would push out to sea and sail forth,

trusting that God would guide them. They believed that amid the waves, there was a guiding force that lured them toward wholeness and holiness. They called the place they ended up their “place of resurrection” -

a place where they would be changed. Perhaps this place was their Bethlehem. 

This is our hope too – that as we journey on our own uncharted waters, we will be guided and end up in holy places that change us forever; that we too will find ourselves in Bethlehem; that we will see the light of God shining just for us.

Being Changed By the Light

No matter how open we are to the experience, though, we do catch glimpses of God in our lives – whether through the birth of Jesus at Christmas time or out in nature or in interactions with other people. And when we see God, we are forever changed. 

Like the magi, once we see the light, from then on we carry it with us wherever we go. But what shall we do with it now that we have found it?

Light is very important Christian symbol. The whole season of Epiphany that we enter into today dances around the theme of light. In fact, the whole Christian year draws upon the theme too. That's why we begin each service by lighting a candle – to remind us that Jesus or the Light of God is present with us always. 

Each week, at the end of our worship time, we share the light. It's an important reminder that we carry the light with us and that we can share it with those we encounter in a week. It's not just a symbolic gesture. 

We really are called to share that light that Isaiah reminded us had come. “Arise and shine, for your light has come,” says the prophet.

Our job is to live in the light... to shine... to show God to people in the things we say and do. When we do this, we make God accessible to other people the way that Jesus did. God goes from being this mysterious concept somewhere out there to being something people can put a face on. 

For the Magi, the face of God was this little child who would grow up to be a man who would do great things and show people how to live. For us, we might picture that face too – as Jesus' example can still very much guide our lives.  But the face of God might also be a kind action. It might be a nonjudgmental presence. 

It might be a helping hand. 

By engaging in these activities, we share the light with people. We let God shine through us. We help people to know God in ways that are real and powerful. We live God.

Conclusion

Being Christian means seeing the light. We've seen the light! So, let's get excited about that. Let's be changed by that. Let's be light-bearers and light-bringers and light-shiners for the world.

In the words of Jan L. Richardson in “Blessing of the Magi”:

There is no reversing
this road.
The path that bore you here
goes in one direction only,
every step drawing you
down a way
by which you will not
return.

You thought arrival
was everything,
that your entire journey
ended with kneeling
in the place
you had spent all
to find.

When you laid down
your gift,
release came with such ease,
your treasure tumbling
from your hands
in awe and
benediction.

Now the knowledge
of your leaving
comes like a stone laid
over your heart,
the familiar path closed
and not even the solace
of a star
to guide your way.

You will set out in fear

you will set out in dream

but you will set out

by that other road
that lies in shadow
and in dark.

We cannot show you
the route that will
take you home;
that way is yours
and will be found
in the walking.

But we tell you
you will wonder
at how the light you thought
you had left behind
goes with you,
spilling from
your empty hands,
shimmering beneath
your homeward feet,
illuminating the road
with every step
you take.