Monday 30 June 2014

A Thought For The Week Of June 30

"You see, you have not received a spirit that returns you to slavery, so you have nothing to fear. The Spirit you have received adopts you and welcomes you into God’s own family. That’s why we call out to Him, 'Abba! Father!' as we would address a loving daddy." (Romans 8:15, The Voice) I've always loved "Abba." Not the musical group (although I like them as well) but the way the word is used by Jesus and then in the letters of Paul. "Abba." It's often said that the word means "daddy." Basically, it's the word that was usually used by children when they addressed their father. It's a familiar and even intimate form of father. And, at least in Mark's Gospel, it's how Jesus addressed God, and by doing that he expressed the intimacy of the relationship that he felt with God. It's meaningful to me that Paul - in both this verse in Romans and also in Galatians 4:6 tells us that we can also use that intimate term to talk to God. In fact, since it's the Holy Spirit who moves us to call God "Abba," then we could say that our faith almost demands an intimate relationship between us and God, whether we use the word "Abba" in prayer or not. After all, if God was "Abba" to Jesus, and we who follow Jesus today are the body of Christ, then why wouldn't we speak and think of God in those very same terms? Sometimes we lose sight of the intimacy we should have with God. We fall into a trap of thinking that God is distant or even absent. It happens to all of us. When it happens to me, I find myself drawn back to the word "Abba." This is what God is to me - and to all of us who follow Jesus. God is our "Abba." We need to claim and to nurture the quality of relationship with God that the word "Abba" implies. Have a great week!

Sunday 29 June 2014

June 29 sermon - Blessing To Start - Blessing To End - Blessing Between - Blessing Forever

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:  'The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.' So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.'”
(Numbers 6:22-27)

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     “The Lord bless you and keep you ...” The words have a very familiar ring to them. They're the beginning of perhaps the best known blessing included in the Bible – the blessing Hannah just read for us a moment ago. The words are very familiar and very important to me because I use them in some of the most important and significant pastoral occasions that ministers are involved in. By now, the words should be fairly familiar to at least those of you who've been with us for the last two Sundays. We use this blessing at baptisms. Last week at Gwendolyn's baptism, and this week at Shaye's baptism.  The words are a little bit different than what we heard a few moments ago, and we sing them rather than reading them: “The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen.”  The same words, just using a bit of a different way of expressing the blessing – a blessing that's often bestowed upon us at the beginning of our lives. And I've used this blessing quite a lot over the last couple of months, because as many of you know I've conducted a lot of funeral services in that time, and this is the blessing that usually takes place at the interment service at the cemetery after the funeral. Again, the words I use are a little bit different: “May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his face to shine upon you; may the Lord look upon you with kindness and grant you peace.” Again, these are the same words, just using a bit of a different way of expressing the blessing – a blessing that's often bestowed upon us at the end of our lives. And I've recently been meeting with the couples that I'll be marrying over the summer and fall, and I reflected on the fact that I often use a variation on the same words at weddings – so they're also a blessing bestowed upon us over the course of our lives. Again, the words are a little different: “may God bless, preserve and keep you; may God look upon you with favour; may God look on you with kindness and give you grace ...” Again, these are the the same words, just using a bit of a different way of expressing the blessing – a blessing that's often bestowed upon us at moments of great change and transition (with all the hopes and fears that accompany great change and transition) in our lives. The words are invoked at the beginning and at the end, and so blessing must be involved in both the beginning and the end. The words are also invoked in between. I suppose you could say that blessing abounds.

     And I hope that you heard exactly what I just said: blessing abounds. Not blessings abound, but blessing abounds. We have a tendency to think of God's blessing in the plural. As if they're one after the other after another. Multiple blessings, coming to us in multiple forms. IN this morning's Call to Worship, we used a line from an old gospel hymn that speaks in those terms: “Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done.” And it sounds so obvious, doesn't it. When good things happen to us – whatever the good things happen to be – we speak of it in terms of yet another blessing. So we get blessed multiple times over the course of our lives. Now, I'm not saying that there's nothing to that. The Bible does speak of God's blessing in the plural: 68 times the word “blessings” appears. But I thought it was interesting when I looked it up that the word appears in the singular “blessing” 222 times. And I started wondering whether there might be a problem with thinking of individual and isolated blessings that come to us only when good things are happening to us – because it's the good things that are the blessings – right? So we get married. It's a blessing. So a baby is born. It's a blessing. So we get a good job. It's a blessing. So we come into a lot of money. It's a blessing. So we recover from a terrible disease. It's a blessing. We win the big game. It's a blessing. But I started to wonder: is that all blessing is about? Is it just the list of good things that happen to us over the course of our lives? Because if it is, that creates a problem. Then we're tempted to keep score.  Who's more blessed? How many more good things has one person received compared to another? We then start to measure blessedness not in God's terms but in human and worldly terms. Or some people – and some of them very devout and faithful people – seem not blessed at all, because they live in abject poverty or with terrible illnesses or they suffer unbearable defeats, or they lose their job and have no idea where they're going to turn. Has the blessing of God suddenly disappeared from their lives because bad things have happened? Can we really begin to use the plural form “blessings” honourably and honestly without at least implicitly suggesting that some are more blessed (and therefore presumably more loved) by God than others. And then I thought about this blessing from the Book of Numbers, that begins with the simple words “the Lord bless you ..”

     In context, the blessing was to be offered to a nation; to Israel. And it was a promise of God's blessing at a very hard time. Freed from slavery, Israel was wandering in the wilderness. The promised land was a long way off. They had repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with God; they had over and over again turned away from God; they had fallen into idolatry and rebellion. Things at this point (in worldly terms at least) weren't looking that good for Israel. But - “the Lord bless you ...” In the midst of all their troubles and trials and tribulations, when the neighbouring nations might have looked at them and thought them cursed, the word from God was “the Lord bless you ...” Blessing doesn't imply and isn't meant to imply that all sorts of good things are happening in your lives. The real blessing is to know that whatever's happening in your life – God is there and God is holding you close and God is never going to let you go. That's the blessing. You don't get blessed just on certain wonderful occasions. The blessing is ongoing regardless of your circumstances.

     We offer this blessing to babies as they begin life. The babies don't understand it. They have no concept of God or faith. But when we use these words at the beginning of life we're saying that no matter how much or how little we understand, God still blesses us. We offer this blessing to people embarking on the excitement of new beginnings in life. Often, perhaps, they don't even hear it – so fixed is their attention on their own lives and their own futures that thoughts of God are easily squeezed out in the midst of the hustle and bustle and emotion. But even if we become oblivious to God's presence, God still blesses us. We offer this blessing to people who have ended their lives. The body is dead. This may be the most hopeless of times in worldly thought because death seems so final. And yet, as final as we may think death looks, God still blesses us. Blessing abounds – not because really good things are happening to us, but simply because God is with us, which leads to one last point. The blessing goes on.

     This is our hope. God's blessing isn't restricted to certain happy occasions. Nor is God's blessing confined by minor things such as time or space. God dwells in eternity – beyond things like time and space that govern our lives so completely. And since God blesses us – that blessing continues throughout all time and space. The blessing is that we're never separated from God – ever; by anything. Not by life, not even by death, Paul says in Romans. We're simply never separated from God. That's the real blessing we have. It's not a matter of keeping a scorecard to determine who's been more blessed. Neither is it a matter of thinking one person blessed because they've experienced a lot of good things and another person not blessed because they've experienced a lot of bad things. That's not the point. We're blessed because we're in the presence of God – at the beginning of our lives, at the end our of lives, all throughout our lives, and forever, through eternity. That's the blessing. That's why blessing abounds – because it never ends!

Monday 23 June 2014

A Thought For The Week Of June 23

"Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness ...'" (Genesis 1:27a, NRSV) I've been reflecting this morning on what it means to be made in the image of God. It doesn't mean that we look like God, of course. I've always thought that being made in the image of God refers to human intelligence and creativity; to the ability of humans to shape and manipulate the environment around them. And, yes, I'm sure that's a part of it. But somehow this morning I started to think of something else while I was walking the dog. I'm of course aware of what many have noted - that "dog" is "God" spelled backwards. But surely dogs are not the opposite of God. In fact, I found myself thinking about the fact that while humans may be made in the image of God, dogs are actually (in some ways at least) a much better likeness of God than we are. I'm thinking here in terms of what seems to me (based on all the dogs I've known over the years) to be the nature of dogs to offer unconditional love and forgiveness and to defend those to whom they offer that love and forgiveness. And quite often dogs even offer those things to humans who don't treat them especially well. Really - isn't that what God does? God loves us and God forgives us - even though we have a tendency to take that love and forgiveness and thrown it back repeatedly in God's face, so to speak, almost daring God to lash out at times. If all of creation reveals God in some way (and I believe that what God has created tells us a lot about God, just as a painting tells us a lot about about the artist or a novel tells us a lot about the author) then surely dogs (and their loyalty and love) reveal that loving and forgiving nature of God, who never forsakes us, no matter what. Have a great week!

Sunday 22 June 2014

June 22 sermon: Walking The Way Of The Lord

Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.
You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.
Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.
When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.
Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.
All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.
Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead.
(Psalm 86:1-13)

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     Someone asked me a couple of weeks ago as the week was drawing on, “Have you started your sermon for this Sunday yet?” To which I replied, “Life is a sermon, so in that way the sermon is always started. The real question is – have you finished your sermon for this Sunday yet?” I stand by that answer. Indeed, life is a sermon. If you're someone who preaches on a regular basis, then everything you see and everything you experience is fodder for preaching. Everything you come across has the potential to stir sermon thoughts in your head. No matter how simple or how profound, every moment is a sermon waiting to be preached. And quite often the simplest things are the ones that leap out at you and say: “hey – here's a sermon just waiting to happen.” Something like that happened to me a couple of weeks ago when I was visiting at the Welland Hospital. I parked my car on the east side of the main parking lot and got out and started walking to the main entrance. There are sidewalks that have been built for our convenience for us to walk on. So, I was walking along the sidewalk heading south, and then at the end of that sidewalk there'd be another one turning east leading to the driveway, leading to the hospital door. Nothing complicated about it. Until I got about halfway down that north-south sidewalk – and this is what I saw:




     And the light bulb went on! Here was fodder for a sermon! Remember the rule – the simplest thing can be a sermon crying out to be preached!

     So, why was this so important to me that I decided it was a sermon crying out and that I even decided to take a picture of it? It's a path. It's a path across the lawn on the west side of the Welland Hospital. So what? Well, I started to think about what this path represented. It was easy enough to get to the main entrance of the hospital without having to walk across the lawn. You just use the sidewalks. Depending on how fast you walk, maybe you'll save about 30 seconds to a minute by cutting across the lawn. To me, for whatever reason, that well worn path spoke to me at that moment. It represents a lot of things that can affect and afflict a Christian life: impatience, laziness, lack of good stewardship, lack of respect for God's creation. All of these things flooded my mind on that day as I gazed at the well worn path outside the Welland Hospital.

     The path is a reminder that we don't always walk the way that's been prepared for us. The path demonstrates that the extra 30 seconds it's going to take to use the prepared sidewalk is too much for us to be bothered with. The path demonstrates the casual way in which we as humans disregard our responsibilities as stewards of God's creation. The path is a reminder of what we see all too frequently – that we don't care about how we mar and distort that which God has created. If it's to our advantage we'll just take what we want (in this case a shortcut that saves us a few seconds) and not care about the consequences we leave behind. The path itself, I suppose, isn't all that important. But it's the image that got hold of me that day, and reminded me of an important truth: God has a path for us to walk; God has laid that path out. It's the way of Jesus, the way of faith and faithfulness. Choosing to walk any other path (either deliberately or thoughtlessly or for whatever reason) is a sign that something's out of kilter in our spiritual lives. This particular image struck two chords with me that I want to share briefly this morning.

     The first is the biblical principle that we're stewards of the earth. The earth doesn't belong to us and it's not there for us to do with it whatever we please. Psalm 24 tells us that “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it ...” In the creation story of Genesis, it's written that “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” I think the principle extends to all of what God created. We're “to work it and take care of it.” Instead, we too often choose to abuse what God has given us; to exploit it for gain rather than to care for it for God. And when we commit ourselves to acting in that way there are inevitable consequences. On a micro scale, like in a green space outside the hospital, our unwillingness to use the way that's been prepared for us and to instead trod across the green space leaves an ugly scar in the middle of the green space; a constant reminder that people have been here – and that people have been either too lazy or too impatient or just too thoughtless to use the way laid out for us. On a macro scale we see it in many ways: pollution, climate change, the extinction of species, water shortages in many parts of the world, famine, drought. We see it clearly. But just as people continue to walk the path outside the hospital for no particularly good reason, so do we keep doing the same things that are rapidly leading us to environmental disaster. Why? Because we haven't taken our responsibilities as stewards seriously, and we haven't followed God's way, and we haven't cared enough to really think about the consequences. Since it's for our convenience, we're quite happy to let young Gwendolyn (who we just baptized) and others like her deal with the consequences of our actions. It's sad, but it's true. Even sadder but still true is that this attitude is so ingrained in some people's lifestyles that I know of serious Christians who either deny the obvious and clear scientific evidence of the calamity that awaits if we don't do something or who actually believe that it's true but that we shouldn't do anything to stop climate change and other environmental problems because it's God's way of bringing about the apocalypse. Seriously. I've heard that. And it happens because – stubbornly – we don't want to follow the way of the Lord.

     The second thing this image reminded me of was the havoc we can wreak in our own lives and in the lives of those around us when – again – we choose not to follow the way the Lord has laid out for us. If this path represents physical laziness and impatience, then it's important to remember that spiritual laziness and spiritual impatience are equally serious issues that have the potential to bring about equally devastating repercussions. You know, God's way is really not that hard. Love God and love others. Care for those who are in need. In fact if you want to really simplify it, from an ethical point of view all of Christianity could probably be summed up in three words: “don't hurt anyone.” But we do it all the time – out of laziness, out of impatience, out of indifference. How many of us have been hurt by poorly chosen words (or by deliberately hurtful words) or by the careless and thoughtless actions of those around us? There's an easy answer – all of us. At one time or another all of us have been. And, the sad thing is, at one time or another all of us have been in the position of being the ones doing the hurting in one way or another. Because we don't want to follow the way of the Lord. It's really not that hard – but maybe it does require a little more effort than we're willing to put out, or a little more thought than we're willing to put into it. Maybe it means offering a little more forgiveness than we're willing to offer; extending a little more grace than we're willing to let go of. And the result is broken relationships; barriers erected in our own families, barriers erected within the family of God. All because we don't want to follow the way of the Lord.

     In Psalm 86, the author (and the psalm is commonly attributed to David) understood all that God had done for him. There's a whole litany of what God has done for him, and how God has blessed him, celebrating God's continuing and never-ending presence, faith, support, mercy, forgiveness and goodness. And yet, for all that the author understood what God had done (and how God acts toward us is surely a sign of how God expects us to act) the author still has to say “Teach me your way, Lord ...” And with that plea, the author represents pretty much all of us, because all too often we just don't get it, or we don't want to get it. We prefer our way to God's way – and the consequences can be devastating. My hope is that we're not just going to ask God to teach us God's way – my hope is that we're actually going to be willing to learn it and to follow it!

Monday 16 June 2014

A Thought For The Week Of June 16

"For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.'" (Galatians 3:10) It's so easy to forget the idea and the meaning of grace. A checklist is a lot easier. God tells us what to do or what not to do, and we either do or don't do those things and we keep a checklist of sorts, hoping that more checks fall on the "I did what God wanted (or didn't want) me to do" rather than on the other side, and then we're saved! It's so simple - and over the years I've known a lot of Christians who seem to want to live their faith that way. Christianity becomes about following the rules. What seems to be forgotten in the mix, though, is that being a disciple of Jesus should mean following him and not simply following the rules. What does that mean? Jesus is the grace of God come to earth. Scripture tells us that. If we live by grace (by and through Jesus) then we live in freedom from the law. Law condemns; grace gives life. To live by the law requires following all the law - not just some of it or most of it, but all of it. And who among us can claim to be able to follow every rule perfectly? Grace doesn't mean that we have license to live as we please. License would imply that God doesn't care about our conduct, or for that matter about us all that much. But God does care. That's why God gives us grace. Grace is a combination of both freedom and challenge. Grace frees us from law but then challenges us to go deeper in faith, becoming more and more like the people God would have us be, without fear of condemnation or punishment for not doing it perfectly. Law condemns us; license allows us to be satisfied with things just the way they are (and just the way we are). But grace tells us that while God accepts us as we are today, God expects us to continue to move forward and deepen our relationship with Jesus as time goes by. I hope that happens for all of us this week! Make it a good week - full of God's grace!

Sunday 15 June 2014

June 15 sermon: A Trinity For Daily Living

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
(Philippians 3:12-17)

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     It was a simple and yet at the same time a profound question. It was asked on an online discussion group and it consisted of only nine words: “What are the qualities of a good Christian person?” Simple, and yet profound. What's a good Christian? What does a good Christian look like? How does a good Christian act? I want to veer away from the idea that a good Christian is only defined by what a good Christian believes. I do that because belief somehow has to show itself in a way of life. It's no coincidence that the very first Christians were known as followers of “the Way.” A good Christian person has to in some way be defined by the quality of their life, and by their actions. But what is a good Christian and what does a good Christian do? I'll avoid the words of Jesus that should come to the forefront whenever anyone speaks of good Christians or claims to be a good Christian. Remember what Jesus said about goodness? “Only God is good.” True enough. But this was the way the question was worded, and I think we understand the meaning. “What are the qualities of a good Christian person.”

     Last Sunday, I mentioned a little bit about how many in the the world see Christians; the negative assumptions that they make about Christians; the caricatures that they draw of Christians. Those are all too common and can't be denied. But, of course, those negative assumptions are also caricatures of Christians; they don't reflect the reality of a typical Christian person. On the discussion board, someone's answer to the question was “ Loving. Joyful. Peaceful. Patient. Gracious. Faithful.” That's a kind of summary of the fruit of the Spirit that Paul, in Galatians 5, says we're supposed to show: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” That's all well and good – and I believe those qualities should mark a Christian's life – but, as someone pointed out later in the discussion, “these could be qualities of a good Muslim ... . We don't hold the monopoly ...” And that's true. Those qualities are on display in people of all faiths and in people of no faith. We'd like to think that the Holy Spirit helps us to show them in greater abundance, but still – Christians, warned by Jesus to remember that “only God is good,” should never claim any monopoly on these qualities of goodness, because by doing that we'd set ourselves up as better than everyone else. So I puzzled about this a bit for a few days. What are the qualities of a good Christian? And I found myself led by the Holy Spirit to this passage we read earlier from Philippians, and especially to this verse: “one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” This verse appealed to me – partly because I knew that today was Trinity Sunday, when the church typically spends time reflecting on the doctrine of the Trinity. This verse seemed to me to be very trinitarian. We believe that God is one God in three persons. Here Paul says that he does one thing – and then he mentions three: he forgets the past, he strains toward the future and he presses on toward the goal. It seems to me that Paul (in this quasi-trinitarian view of how to live a good Christian life) has a lot to teach us.

     Paul suggests first that we are to forget “what is behind.” Or, you might say “let go of the past.” I know a lot of Christians who have trouble doing that. They won't let go of the past. They won't move on. They harbour anger and bitterness; they remember every hurt that's ever been inflicted upon them and they're not shy about telling people that they remember every hurt that's ever been inflicted upon them. There are Christians who are lost in grief. They've lost someone or something precious to them, and they're unable to move on from the pain and sorrow. Tears are their constant companion. Sadness is their ever present reality. They yearn to get back what they had, but it's impossible and life becomes a pit of despair. Or some Christians are stuck in guilt. They remember all the ways they've failed God and all the way they've hurt others, and they won't forgive themselves. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't learn lessons from our mistakes and commit ourselves to not making them again, there does come a point when we have to forget them at least in the sense of not letting them burden us with guilt or shame. And I know a lot of Christians who are very bad at doing that. Christians who are awash in guilt. But this isn't the way for a so-called good Christian person. Christians let go of the past. They don't forget the past. Paul didn't say we should forget the past. He said we should let it go; we should free ourselves from the bondage the past can hold us in. In this we have the example of God the Father: who forgives us by grace and who doesn't hold the past against us, but allows every day to be a new start. So if we want to be this so-called “good Christian person” - perhaps we start by letting go of the past and simply starting anew, not harbouring bitterness or anger; not awash in guilt; simply freed to love and serve God and to love and serve others.

     Paul suggests second that we are to strain “toward what is ahead.” Letting go of the past isn't enough. Letting go of anger or bitterness or guilt isn't enough. If all we do is let go of the problems of the past then we can too easily fall into disinterest and spiritual laziness. Every day we can just say, “well, yesterday was yesterday, and tomorrow today will be yesterday, and I'll just be able to set it aside.” But being a good Christian person requires more than that. It requires us not to stand still as we are in the knowledge and hope that God sets aside our past, it requires us to step boldly into the future and seek the change that God wants to bring about within us and strive for the change that God wants to see in the world around us. God doesn't want us to simply rest in the knowledge that God has given us a new start. That could too easily lead to spiritual laziness, and spiritual laziness has all sorts of unfortunate consequences and Paul warns against that in 2 Thessalonians, another of his letters: “We hear that some among you are idle,” he wrote. “They are not busy, they are busybodies.” If we're not about the business of Christ, then we're going to be inserting ourselves into the business of others and, frankly, nothing much productive ever comes from that. In this we have the example of God the Son. Christ was never a busybody. He was never idle. Even when he withdrew and took time away from the crowds, he wasn't idle. He used that down time to nurture his relationship with his Father. And he always strove toward what was ahead, even if what was ahead was unpleasant, such as his resolve to go to Jerusalem even when he knew that going to Jerusalem would mean his death. So if we want to be this so-called “good Christian person” - perhaps we have to move boldly forward, doing the work and sharing the ministry of Christ that he entrusted to us.

     The third thing that Paul suggests is that we should “press on toward the goal ...” If I'm reading Paul right what he means is that we should be living out our faith. Pressing on toward the goal is to essentially say that we need to have faith – faith in our belief that God will never abandon us, but will always hold us close no matter what this future that we're moving into holds for us. Sometimes the future can be a frightening thing. From day to day we don't know what the future holds. None of us know for sure what's going to happen even five minutes from now. On the other hand, if you look at the future from a long term perspective, I guess the truth is that we all know what the future holds, but generally speaking we prefer not to think about it. But pressing on toward the goal means that neither the uncertainty of how the future will unfold or the certainty of what the future holds should hold us back in faith. We are promised eternity. We are promised a life that will not end. Exactly how that comes about and exactly what that looks like is a detail I feel very comfortable leaving to God. I simply know these things. My faith tells me that; I believe it.  In this, we have the help of God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Counsellor and the Teacher, who constantly reminds us of the hope we have. The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us into all things and who ensures that the presence of God is never far away from us and that the promises of God are certain.

     I think back to the person who asked, “What are the qualities of a good Christian person?” It seems to me that Paul did a pretty good job of explaining it. “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” The one thing he does is to have hope in all circumstances; one hope existing in three ways: hope that the past is set aside no matter what it held, hope that the future can be bright no matter what it may hold and hope that our goal is the eternity God promises to us. It's all about hope. As Psalm 62 says, “my hope is in God ...” I hope we can all say that.

Monday 9 June 2014

A Thought For The Week Of June 9

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8) I'm often amazed by the number of people who shy away from the word sin. After church this past Sunday I was speaking with someone who said, "we don't sin anymore you know. We just have obstacles to overcome." I think he was joking - making his own personal commentary on how unsettling it is that even Christians prefer not to discuss sin. Still, I'm willing to acknowledge that to some extent the language of "obstacles to overcome" works. What is sin if not something to be overcome? Something that entangles us? Something that gets in the way of our relationship with God. As an analogy, "obstacles to overcome" isn't bad, but maybe it isn't powerful enough. Maybe we need to reclaim the word "sin." I don't mean that we should overdo it, and pile guilt on people and make them feel more and more hopeless. But I am suggesting that the word "sin" captures a reality that "obstacles to overcome" doesn't. If they're just "obstacles to overcome" then it's basically about us. We've done something wrong, we need to overcome it. It's too easy to leave God out of the equation with that language. Not so if we talk about "sin." Sin is a trespass against God; it's doing that which God does not want us to do. And if it's a trespass against God, then it follows logically that only God can release us from the consequences. I don't propose to define sin any farther than that here, but just to suggest that we need to reclaim the word "sin" as a means of making sure that we understand the severity of the obstacles that are to be overcome - they're obstacles we erect against God - and so that we understand the source of the strength we need to overcome them. It's not by our efforts alone that we'll do it, but by God's grace and strength acting within us: a grace that came to us and is with us in Christ, and a strength that's available to us always through the Holy Spirit. Reclaiming the word "sin" encourages us to claim these God-given qualities and to live a renewed and transformed life as a child of God. Have a great week.

Sunday 8 June 2014

June 8 sermon: Dangerous Assumptions

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs - we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'  (Acts 2:1-21)

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     Some people say that, as the title of a well known book suggests, everything they ever needed to know they learned in kindergarten. I'm not too sure about kindergarten, but I will say that a lot o the stuff I ever need to know, I learned from sitcoms on television – like a little bit of learning I picked up in this scene from a well-known sitcom of the 1970's. It's a short scene from "The Odd Couple," in which Felix and Oscar have been charged with ticket scalping. Felix has chosen to serve as their defense counsel, and he's about to question a witness:


     I don't think that anyone could ever have explained the dangers of making assumptions better than Felix Unger in that clip from “The Odd Couple.” In fact, it's very possible that on that first day of Pentecost so many centuries ago, Peter might have appreciated having Felix around. Some dramatic and amazing and even miraculous things were happening on that first day of Pentecost, as the Holy Spirit fell upon the followers of Jesus and signs appeared. Visions and sounds and strange speech. Nothing seemed normal, and as people are often tempted to do, some who were present and saw unusual things happening jumped to a quick conclusion based on nothing more than a dangerous assumption: Some people asked  “'What does this mean?'” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “'They have had too much wine.'” Like the young lady on the stand in the Odd Couple episode, many of those present chose to jump to a conclusion – and they based their conclusion on what's an all too common principle: rather than expecting the best, too often we choose to assume the worst. The early disciples of Jesus were acting in an unusual manner. For some the only explanation was that they were drunk. And in answer to those assumptions, Peter chose to become the defense attorney:  “Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you”

     I'm not sure, being here centuries later, that the particular events of the Day of Pentecost need to be explored that much. But I work on the principle that Scripture leads us to themes and ideas rather than to specifics, and that Scripture is about the spirit rather than the letter of what's written. For me, the point of the Day of Pentecost isn't that the disciples suddenly found themselves speaking in a variety of languages that people from scattered parts of the Empire could hear in their own language. That's interesting, but I really am not sure it's the point. The point is that there are signs of God's presence everywhere, and that it's too easy for us to dismiss them by making assumptions that whatever the sign is, it can't be from God. What happened in this story to lead people to false assumptions in the first place? Yes, it was the disciples of Jesus speaking in tongues. More to the point, though, it was that the people of God were acting in surprising ways – ways that shocked those around them. And the people who saw them chose to assume the worst. This couldn't be God – so they must have been drunk. It was an unfair assumption.  What was really happening was what would be written about later in Ephesians: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”

     It still happens today. There are a lot of false and dangerous assumptions that get made about Christians. Some people “assume” that if you're a Christian you must be some dangerous religious fanatic – a “Jesus freak” to use the term that was coined in the 1960's. Others “assume” that you're going to beat them over the head with the Bible, because that's all Christians ever do, is beat people over the head with the Bible. Some people “assume” that all Christians are frauds and that Christian churches are scams who are just trying to take advantage of the gullible. Some people “assume” that Christians are stupid people who reject the teachings of science. Some “assume,” because of the scandals that have received so much publicity over the years, that all clergy are – well – dangerous and not to be trusted. Over the years, I've come across all of those assumptions that people make. And sometimes Christians make “assumptions” about other Christians as well. So, to use the example that came up on the first day of Pentecost, come Christians “assume” that if you don't speak in tongues you don't have the Holy Spirit, and other Christians “assume” that if you do speak in tongues you're just doing it for show and it isn't real. And Christians also make a lot of assumptions about those around them.

     In times past, some Christians “assumed” that slavery was a fine institution because, after all, they also “assumed” that blacks were inferior to whites. In a debate on emancipation in the US Congress during the Civil War, Fernando Wood – who had been the Mayor of New York – said “ The Almighty has fixed the distinction of the races; the Almighty has made the black man inferior, and sir, by no legislation, by no partisan success, by no revolution, by no military power, can you wipe out this distinction.” And there are a lot of other examples. There are Christians who “assume” that women are inferior to men. There are Christians who “assume” that AIDS is God's punishment against homosexuals. There are Christians who “assume” that poor people are to blame for their own plight because they're lazy. You know – they justify that with “the Lord helps those who help themselves,” ignoring the fact that those words aren't found in the Bible and that they contradict the basic message of the gospel, which is that the Lord helps those who CAN'T help themselves! If some people make false and dangerous assumptions about Christians, Christians do the same about those around them.

     But today is Pentecost. Today we celebrate the coming and the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And the desire of the Holy Spirit is that there be unity among God's people, and as it's written in Ephesians 4:3, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” The Holy Spirit seeks to bring people together; the dangerous assumptions we sometimes make keep us apart. What happened at Pentecost is that the Holy Spirit – by allowing the message to be heard in all the languages of the Empire – broke down all the divisions that had been created and all the negative assumption people made about whoever they considered “others.” The Holy Spirit broke down all the divisions of a huge multicultural and multilingual Empire so that the message could be heard by all. Then people began to rebuild those divisions with the “dangerous assumption” that the disciples were drunk and so the even could be ignored. But we should never ignore the work of the Holy Spirit. It seems to me that if there's one lesson to be learned from this story – it's that we should look for the presence of the Holy Spirit in everyone we encounter, and that rather than assuming the worst about those who are different from us, we should strive to expect the best from them – and to give the best of ourselves to them and to God!

Monday 2 June 2014

A Thought For The Week Of June 2

"But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:15) This is a kind of a harsh verse, isn't it. But it does illustrate a point. I've been thinking a lot about forgiveness lately. We're all in need of it from time to time. How many of us have never hurt someone else - even those we love? It is, unfortunately, a part of life. It's not hard for me to think of ways in which I've hurt people, and I want their forgiveness for the hurts I've inflicted. But I have to show some grace to those I've hurt as well - because I've also been hurt, and from that experience I know that offering forgiveness is hard work. It doesn't always come naturally. It's one of the awe-inspiring things about God. Where others have trouble forgiving me, God is willing to forgive me. I don't think this verse - as harsh as it may sound - makes divine forgiveness a sort of quid pro quo arrangement. God forgiving me is not dependent on me forgiving others. That would place a limit on God's ability and willingness to forgive. I think the verse is meant to illustrate that we have to work to make forgiveness a way of life. If we are forgiven by God we need to be able to display a spirit of forgiveness to those who hurt us. I think the Gospels are clear that, for Jesus, it was always the spirit of the law that mattered and not the letter. It's the same with forgiveness. The spirit of this verse is simply that forgiveness has to be offered because it has been given. I've heard people say that they won't forgive someone who's hurt them because "they have to ask me to forgive them first." What they fail to understand is that we don't forgive because someone asks us to forgive them; we forgive because we recognize that God has forgiven us. Forgiveness is hard. This verse is probably intended to make the point that forgiveness is hard. But we have to forgive. It helps to build our relationship with God; and it helps us to let go of bitterness and pain and anger so that we can live the life Jesus calls us to. Think of someone who's hurt you and who you've had trouble forgiving - and then forgive them. Let it go. Move on with life. And rejoice that you can be both forgiven and forgiving. Have a great week!

Sunday 1 June 2014

June 1 sermon: After The Meal Comes The Real Challenge

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him,“Follow me!” Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumour spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” (John 21:15-22)

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     Last week, we left Jesus and the disciples eating a hearty breakfast of fish and bread. I don't know about you, but after I eat a big meal, I kind of like to sit back and relax for a while. I've been doing some reading on a few medical websites to discover if that's a good thing to do or not. The myth is that being active immediately after a meal helps us digest the food, but apparently that's not true. It actually prevents us from digesting food efficiently. The ideal situation is to relax for about 15-30 minutes (but not go to sleep) and then engage in some moderate exercise. That's supposedly the healthiest thing to do. Well, like I said, I like the “relax after a meal” part of that. I think most people do. The hardest part is to stop the relaxing and actually get back up after the 15-30 minutes and start to get some exercise. That's tough. For me, it doesn't really matter what the meal is. Breakfast, lunch, dinner – after eating, I usually don't feel much like getting up and about. Having a meal and then being asked to actually do something is a real challenge.

     This morning, we've moved on the the second half of John 21. Last Sunday, we left the disciples having a breakfast of bread and fish with the risen Jesus. It's not exactly the sort of breakfast my mouth would water for. I actually tried it once in Newfoundland at a Good Friday breakfast I was invited to speak at at the local Salvation Army Church. Fish and brewis it's called in Newfoundland. Boiled cod and boiled hard tack bread mashed together and covered in pork fat. Not exactly my choice for how to start the day. In fact, as the meal was being served, one of the cooks said to me, “Reverend, we know you're a mainlander, and this isn't your kind of breakfast, so we have some bacon and eggs we're gonna cook for you.” Well, I wasn't going to be the only one there eating bacon and eggs, so I ate the fish and brewis because of the simple principle: when in Newfoundland, do as the Newfoundlanders! In John's Gospel there's really no hint offered about whether or not the disciples enjoyed their breakfast of bread and fish. They were fishermen, so I suspect they did. What I do know is that Jesus didn't really want them to do very much relaxing after the meal. In fact, Jesus offered a challenge – specifically to Peter. It wasn't one that required a great exertion of energy, but it wasn't easy, either. “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?' 'Yes, Lord,' he said, 'you know that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Feed my lambs.' 

     I've often said that this has to rank as one of the most confusing passages in the entire Bible. You read through the exchange between Jesus and Peter and you're left scratching your head a bit. Three times Jesus asked Peter “do you love me.” Three times Peter replied, “yes, Lord, I love you.” Three times! It's kind of a hard passage to figure out. Why did Jesus need to keep asking the same question? Did he doubt Peter's love? Was he suffering from a bit of an inferiority complex, needing affirmation? The reality is that Jesus was challenging Peter; challenging him to a depth of love he had never before known. 

     What doesn't come across when you read this passage in English is that Jesus changes the basis of the question. I'm going to do a bit of paraphrasing here, hoping to bring out a bit more clearly exactly what's happening in this passage. The first two times Jesus asks Peter “do you love me,” he's asking about agape love. He's saying to Peter – “would you be willing to give up everything for me,” is essentially how you might paraphrase the question. And Peter responds by speaking of a very different kind of love, called filia. Essentially he says: “well, Jesus, the truth is I love you like a brother.” They're two very different things. What comes across in English as a very strange conversation is actually, when you understand the language this was written in, a bit of a disagreement, or even an argument. Jesus is challenging Peter to give him the deepest kind of love imaginable, and Peter's saying, “sorry, Jesus, but here's my limit.” Jesus then asks the question the third time in a different way, basically saying, “all right – if that's all you're willing to give me, are you sure you can give me even that?” That third question is a bit of a rebuke, which is why Peter is hurt. Peter's not hurt because Jesus kept asking him the same question; Peter's hurt because the third question was different and suggested that Jesus might had lowered his expectations of Peter and might have doubted his faithfulness just a bit

     But what do we learn from this exchange? Why does it matter to Christian faith in the 21st century? I struggled with this passage for a long time until I came to understand the nuances of the language it was written in – and then, all of a sudden, in a strange sort of way, I started to see this as a very comforting passage that's actually filled with a lot of hope. It tells me a lot of how and what Jesus thinks about me – and, for that matter I suppose, about any of us. It also tells me a lot about myself. What we learn first is that Jesus expects a lot out of those who dare to be his followers. Those first two questions were tough: “would you be willing to give up everything for my sake?” That's a tough call, a demanding challenge – and a huge compliment. It's always a compliment when someone sees in you the potential to do something that you never thought you'd be able to do, and Jesus clearly sees in his disciples the potential to be more and to give more than we ever thought possible. The second thing we learn is that Jesus' expectations of us aren't unrealistic. Jesus challenges us to great things, but in the end Jesus accepts what we're able to offer. That's what was going on with the third question. Jesus lowered his expectations of Peter. It was no longer “would you be willing to give up everything for my sake?” Instead, it became, again to paraphrase, “all right, if you can't do that will you really love me like a brother?” Peter was hurt by that question. I find it comforting to realize that, when all is said and done, Jesus won't demand more from me at any given time than I'm able to give. Knowing that Jesus is prepared to lower his expectations actually frees me to do the best that I can do, knowing that while Jesus might want me to give more, he'll graciously accept what I'm able to give at any given time. But if this account teaches me a lot about Jesus and what Jesus expects of me, it teaches me even more about myself.

     In the end – Peter said “yes” to Jesus' first two questions as well. “Would you be willing to give up everything for me?” Remember? That was the start of the challenge. And Jesus knew that, however unable he was at the time to give everything, and however many times Peter had and perhaps would fail him, in the end, Peter would say “yes” to the first question: “when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” It's a look ahead to Peter's ultimate destiny. We often forget that Peter also ended up being crucified for his faith. I don't want to be crucified – not for Jesus or anyone else to be honest. But what I learn here is that in spite of my weaknesses, my failures, my sins or my lack of understanding, I'm capable of greater things for Jesus than perhaps I can even imagine. At that moment, I'm sure that Peter didn't realize that he would be crucified, but he probably appreciated Jesus' affirmation of what he was capable of doing for the Kingdom of God. So should we all.

     And it all came after a meal. Holy Communion is a meal. It's the stuff that nourishes us, and that equips us for the life of faith, love and sacrifice that Jesus calls us to. And when the meal is over, and when we've been fed, and when we go our separate ways – we do so knowing that in some way we can rise to the challenge of doing greater things than we ever thought possible as we serve the Kingdom of God.