A Thought For The Week Of November 30, 2015

"Then they said, 'Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.'" (Genesis 24:57) Over the last few days I've been reading some of the stories in the Book of Genesis. They're fascinating glimpses of a different culture whose stories continue to impact Christian faith today. Genesis 24 - the story of Isaac and Rebekah - struck me as especially interesting. We don't often think of that culture or that era as being particularly respectful of women, but I was struck in this chapter by the respect that gets shown to Rebekah. All the decisions were hers. If she didn't want to travel to Canaan to marry Isaac, she didn't have to. After she made the decision, her family wanted her to delay the journey by spending ten more days with them - but the decision was hers. We tend to think of women in that era and culture being treated as possessions to be bought and sold and traded away for various reasons - to bring wealth or to cement alliances. But not here. Everything is left up to Rebekah. She's not a possession to be passed on as her brothers desire. She's got the right to decide her future. Quite apart from the fact that Rebekah may be striking a blow for women's rights here, it strikes me that there's an important theological point being made here. You can't be forced to do God's will or to be God's servant. God just doesn't operate that way. Our willingness to be faithful to God has to come from within. It has to be a choice. I find this meaningful as we stand at the beginning of the Advent season and reflect upon the call of God to a young woman named Mary. She - like Rebekah - made the choice to devote her life to God's will, whatever that might bring her. Perhaps that's one of the challenges for us to reflect upon as we progress through Advent toward Christmas.

November 29, 2015 sermon: The Beginning Times

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

(Luke 21:25-36)

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     It occurs to me today that I’ve never in my life heard Bing Crosby sing “I’m Dreaming Of A White Advent.” When I see Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer on TV I don’t notice Burl Ives singing “Have A Holly, Jolly Advent.” Nor was there ever a movie called “National Lampoon’s Advent Vacation.” Advent is perhaps the only “season” of the Christian year that people - even Christians - prefer to just ignore. Lent may not be fun, but there are all sorts of traditions around Lent that people get involved with. Christmas and Easter are times of great joy. Pentecost only lasts a single day - but it’s a party, at least in church, where it’s a celebration of the birthday of the church. And then there’s Advent. Poor, little noticed and barely remembered Advent. There are some Advent songs, but they really haven’t entered the popular imagination like Christmas carols have, there are no Advent TV specials, and nobody makes Advent themed movies. It’s the forgotten season. In the world - out there, that scary place beyond these walls - people call this the Christmas season. And we’d kind of like it to be that way, too. Actually, there have been signs of Christmas around us for a while - Costco usually puts its Christmas trees and assorted other Christmas items out around August or so. About the only Advent themed item you see in stores are the ever-present Advent calendars, which most people associate with chocolate and a countdown to what really counts - Christmas!

     But Advent is about more than just getting ready for Christmas. Christmas, after all, wasn’t the end - it was only the beginning. It was the appearance of grace in Jesus Christ, as we’re told in the letter to Titus; it was the incarnation of God in human flesh. But not everything was accomplished with the birth of Jesus. Much is left  to be done; much remains to happen. If I can be forgiven for paraphrasing Winston Churchill, who spoke these words in obviously very different circumstances, Christmas is not the end, and it’s not even the beginning of the end, but it may be the end of the beginning. And if that’s Christmas - then what’s Advent?

     The birth of Jesus didn’t happen out of the blue. The coming of Messiah had been prophesied for centuries. Every generation was looked to as the generation from which Messiah would spring forth. People watched and waited with great expectation and hope. People read the prophecies. As the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed:

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will fulfil the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.’”

     The days are coming, surely - but they haven’t yet arrived. The birth of Jesus was yet another foreshadowing; the life of Jesus was yet another foreshadowing; the resurrection of Jesus was yet another foreshadowing. Much remains to be accomplished. And so Advent not only directs our attention to Christmas - it directs us far beyond Christmas.

      Advent isn’t supposed to focus our attention on what we already know - that Christ was born, that Christ is “God in flesh made manifest,” as one hymn tells us. Advent pushes us yet farther. Advent pushes us to consider the ultimate and complete fulfilment of God’s promises to us. Advent pushes us to recognize God’s coming reign as one in which perfect hope, complete joy, unconditional love and unending peace will be the ever-present realities. What we see in Jesus is a taste - a mere hint of what it will look like when all things are completed. The example of Jesus - that sample of God’s reign lived out in one brief life so long ago - pushes us to say with the author of Psalm 25 that “you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.”

     “For you I wait.” That’s Advent. We wait; we watch; we make ourselves ready - not for Christmas, but for God! Not for the birth of Christ, but for the coming of Christ again! Jesus said in today’s Gospel reading that “... when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.” A couple of weeks ago I pointed out that such words in one sense don’t mean a lot . The things described by Jesus don’t help us set a time, because these things have always been happening. Maybe the point Jesus is making is that even as these things are happening, you shouldn’t doubt that the Kingdom of God is near. And maybe the nearness isn’t necessarily in time - but in space. Maybe Jesus’ point is that the Kingdom of God is all around us - even within us - and that we just have to reach out and grasp it and commit ourselves to living in it. Maybe that’s the point, and maybe that’s what Advent is to remind us of. Many people read passages like today’s and think of “the end times.” But Advent is really about “the beginning times,” as we look ahead constantly with hope about what God is going to do, and our passage really tells us not to be afraid. Don’t be “weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life …” Don’t let it get to you in other words. The hope God gives is right there with you, and will always be there. Advent reminds us of all that.

A Thought For The Week Of November 23, 2015

"God doesn't favour princes. God treats rich people and poor people the same. God's hands created all of them." (Job 34:19) The point of this verse is clear: God doesn't play favourites. Rich and poor are the same in the eyes of God - all are created by God. If one were to read this improperly, mind you, it could be a troubling verse. It could be taken to mean that God created certain people TO BE rich or poor. In other words, that God assigned to each their station in life. Perhaps even that God desires that some people be rich and that some people be poor. That I don't believe is the case. Rich and poor are human creations. Socio-economic status is the result of human choices - not that people choose to be poor, but that humans have created a system that creates the two categories. And it's very tempting to place the blame for that on God. (Or, I suppose, to give the credit for that to God, if you're among the rich.) So it becomes an opportunity to declare the rich to be blessed and the poor to be cursed, or at least to suggest that the poor are to blame for their own poverty. That's not the case, of course. That's "prosperity gospel" thinking - a line of thought you can detect in some Old Testament writings, including the Book of Job. This verse to me, however, actually seems to be a counter to such thinking. Here we see that the rich  are neither more loved nor more blessed than the poor, and the poor are neither cursed nor unloved by God. Both groups are created by God and loved by God equally. God shows no partiality. Neither should we allow the distinctions of rich vs. poor to affect how we treat people.

A Thought For The Week Of November 16, 2015

"Jesus said to them, 'Watch out that no one deceives you.'" (Mark 13:5) This is a part of the passage I preached on in church yesterday, and I thought these words deserved a little more reflection. There are many within the Christian community who unfortunately choose to trade on fear and to send those who pay attention to them into fear. And yet, from a Christian perspective, is fear not always a deception? Over and over again in the Gospels, Jesus says the words "do not be afraid," or variations on them. Faith is supposed to fill us with assurance, not consume us with fear - and yet filling people with fear seems to be a part of the strategy for some preachers, and you can't deny that in some ways, unfortunately - it works. Most recently I think of someone like John Hagee, who made ridiculous predictions about the so-called "blood moon" - but nothing has happened since the blood moon that wasn't already happening before the blood moon. And what astounds me is that many will still listen to him and pack his church. It's kind of like Halloween or any good horror movie - we like being scared! The difference with Halloween or a horror movie is that the fear goes away, but some preachers just keep piling it on as if it's actually what the gospel is all about. If you look at the first part of Mark 13, you see an apocalyptic passage that's tailor made to instill fear into the hearts of Christians.  But is "fear" really what Jesus was going for? Did he actually want his followers to cower as bad things happened? I find it interesting that Jesus describes the events of Mark 13 not as signs of the end, but only as the beginning. That can also sound ominous, but ... he also describes them as the beginning of birth pains. I have no personal experience of birth pains to call upon, but while I assume that they're difficult to bear I've never talked to a mother who regretted them. Birth pains, after all, lead to something wonderful and not something frightening. They lead to life and not death; to hope and not despair. I want to hold on to Jesus' repeated words that we shouldn't be afraid or alarmed. I choose to trust Jesus - who offers peace and not fear. And where I see fear being offered and promoted, I see deception rather than gospel.

November 15, 2015 sermon: Hoping Mechanisms

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

(Mark 13:1-8)

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     I don't know about the rest of you, but I find that the warnings Jesus gives his disciples about the future in today's reading from Mark's Gospel have an unfortunate resonance right now. Jesus talks about destruction and wars and various human tragedies that are going to occur over the course of time. Last week was a disheartening example of the sorts of things he may have been talking about. The week began with a ridiculous example of a few silly Christians - because there's no other word for it - proclaiming that there's a renewal of the so-called "war on Christmas" because - heaven forbid - Starbucks redesigned their Christmas coffee cups (which was surely what Jesus had in mind when he spoke of his followers being flogged.) But then a couple of things brought us crashing back to ugly reality. For some reason it didn't get much notice in the western media, but on Thursday, 43 people died and over 200 were wounded in a terrorist attack in Beirut, Lebanon. I guess the media thought, "well. It's Beirut. It's Lebanon. It's the Middle East. These things happen." And some people still worried about Starbucks. And then - the very next day - came Paris. We paid attention to that. Wall to wall by the hour coverage. It was sickly reminiscent of 9/11 and New York City; perhaps not as much destruction and death and perhaps not quite so close to home, but shocking enough and close enough to bring forth a feeling of deja vu. And I don't know about you - but I found myself in need of some hope. How do you find hope in a crazy, violent world like this? Well, I guess you turn to Jesus.

     Hope was at the centre of virtually everything that Jesus taught and if the Bible tells us that “perfect love casts out fear,” then it’s also valid to suggest that hope makes fear disappear. Generally speaking, when we’re afraid, what we fear is the future. Whatever we’re afraid of, it’s something that hasn’t happened; it’s something that might happen. Jesus addresses fear of the future in a variety of different contexts. In the Sermon on the Mount he told his disciples not to worry about tomorrow. That’s good advice, because some people get so caught up with worrying about tomorrow that they forget to live today! Jesus didn’t tell us to ignore either the future or its challenges. In fact, he discussed the future at length with his disciples in today’s passage from the Gospel of Mark. Here, Jesus looks ahead to the culmination of history; the fulfilment of God’s plan for the world’s redemption. “The end times” some people call them. On the surface, it doesn’t sound especially promising - and passages like this are often co-opted by so called “doomsday prophets” who like to predict the end of the world in ominous, threatening tones. And yet - wars, famines, persecutions and earthquakes - none of these things have ever been absent, so it’s not likely that Jesus was offering his disciples a sort of code for them to predict the end of the world, the imminent arrival of God’s Kingdom or the pending collapse of human civilization (whether by nuclear war, terrorism or zombie plague.) I think Jesus was just saying that we have to be prepared for whatever might happen on any given day - in Ajax or Pickering, in New York or Ottawa, in Paris or in Beirut. And for Jesus, even the end was a thing of hope, not fear. Today, people speak of coping mechanisms - things they do to get themselves through stressful or frightening times. In today’s passage, Jesus told his disciples about three hoping mechanisms that I hope all of us might find valuable.

     Jesus first offers a caution that his followers are not to become enchanted with human achievements. As this passage opens, the disciples are awestruck by the magnificence of the temple buildings in Jerusalem. “Look teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” The temple was built on a massive scale. It was the second temple. The temple built during Solomon’s reign had been destroyed centuries before. This one was built by Herod the Great about twenty years before Jesus was born. Herod’s plan was to build something that would match and even exceed the magnificence of Solomon’s table, and he succeeded. The Jewish historian Josephus described the stones as massive - 45 cubits by 45 cubits by 8 cubits, Josephus said. I confess that I’m not 100% sure how big a cubit is - but that sounds pretty big! There were 162 columns in Herod’s temple - they were each 50 feet high and had a circumference the equivalent of three men with outstretched arms. This temple was massive - anyone who saw it would assume that it was going to last forever, but actually it lasted for less than a hundred years. About 40 years after Jesus died, Herod’s temple was reduced to rubble by the Romans. Jesus understood the danger of placing your hopes in anything built by human hands - because no matter how huge, it’s going to be fragile. Sometimes Christians become enchanted with the potential for human achievement. We think we’re going to change the world - we think we’re going to create God’s Kingdom on earth, but the truth is that - while we should try hard to do the best we can - only God is going to create God’s Kingdom on earth. That, I think, was Jesus’ point - not that we shouldn’t be impressed with human achievement, and not that we shouldn’t strive to achieve more, but simply that we shouldn’t put our faith in human achievement to solve every problem. Our faith is placed in the one who continues to stand even as everything else fades away: Jesus himself - our ultimate hope, and our new beginning. Our faith has to be placed in God and not in ourselves, no matter how impressive we may sometimes think ourselves to be.

     The second hoping mechanism Jesus offered was a reminder that we should keep our eyes fixed firmly on God’s Word. Jesus tells us that while we can’t take the word of God and use it to predict exact dates and times, we should pay attention to God’s Word. Jesus tells us to keep our eyes open, and to be especially prepared for whatever might come by truly knowing the word of God. We can discern between falsehood and truth by keeping our eyes fixed on what God has revealed - in Scripture and through Jesus. “Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.” How do false teachers lead people astray? There are two ways: they either tell people exactly what they want to hear, knowing that they’ll attract followers by doing that, or they take advantage of those who don’t know Scripture well enough to see the contradictions between what it says and what they teach. That's how ISIS manages to convince people that Allah - described repeatedly in the Koran as "the merciful" - actually thinks that the wholesale slaughter of innocent people is a good and holy thing. So Jesus teaches his followers to be attentive to God’s word. Don’t just believe what people tell you about God’s word - be attentive to God’s word yourself. Test everything anyone says about God’s word - test it not against your own likes and dislikes, not against your own wants or needs, not against your own understanding of right and wrong. Test what others say about God’s word by truly knowing God’s word. That’s the second hoping mechanism for any person of faith: knowing God’s word; being immersed in it; being captivated by it; always wanting to know it better. Because God is a god who gives hope, and if you truly know the word of God, you’ll always have hope and you'll always live in love.

     The final hoping mechanism Jesus taught (maybe the most important for us today) was that while we should be alert to events around us, we shouldn’t be alarmed by events around us. People who get easily alarmed also give up easily, and they start to cower for safety - and they look for that safety in all the wrong places, so that they’re easily manipulated - sometimes by the doomsday preachers, sometimes by the government. Since the Paris attacks some have called him naive for saying it and suggest that he probably wishes he hadn't said it, but just hours before the attacks in Paris our new Defence Minister - Harjit Sajjan - said that while we should be prepared, we shouldn't fear ISIS. I hope he doesn't regret those words. I hope he clings to them. I hope we cling to them. Because living in fear isn't really living. And, of course, they're called "terrorists"for a reason. If you choose to live in fear - well, the terrorists win, no matter how many bombs we drop on them; no matter how many of them we kill. To be alert but not alarmed is to follow the example set by Peter, James, John and Andrew in today’s passage: they sat at the feet of Jesus and they learned all that they could learn from him. They asked questions, and they listened to his answers. And the answers of Jesus are always answers which give hope.

     Today is a day of hope. Nothing should be able to take away Christian hope, because it comes from God. How can you see three babies get baptized and not have hope? Oliviah, Steven, Wylie - hope is embodied in those lives that have only just started. Who knows what they'll achieve? And real hope - abiding hope; hope that can never be defeated - was embodied in Jesus, who taught us three hoping mechanisms: to place our faith in God and not in our own abilities, to be knowledgeable about God’s word, and to be aware of but not alarmed by what happens around us. No matter what - no one needs to be without hope - and hope is what we as followers of Jesus offer to the world.

A Thought For The Week Of November 9, 2015

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." (Proverbs 16:3) We find Proverbs 16:3 in the midst of a somewhat scattered collection of proverbs - which is often the case with the Book of Proverbs (and it's worth reading perhaps all of Proverbs 16:1-9 to get the full context) - but the basic point of it all seems relatively clear and simple to me: as human beings, we all have our own plans - as we should. What would life be like if there were literally nothing to strive for; nothing that we seek to accomplish? But this verse and its surrounding context raise perhaps the most important question for a person of faith: are our plans and dreams and desires and goals  consistent with what God has planned for us? I don't believe that God determines every detail of our lives, but I do believe each of us has a calling - a plan that God has laid out for us. It's our choice whether or not to respond to that calling, but it's not always easy to figure out. The Book of Proverbs notes that sometimes (to us) our plans seem good and right and pure - but they just aren't God's plan for us. So we have to wonder: how do we discern when our plans are consistent or inconsistent with God's plans? After all, we aren't "called" to do everything that seems good, because we only have so much time and so many gifts and talents. This collection of proverbs doesn't really give us any specific guidance, but there are a few hints. If your plans are prideful - if you want to do something (even something good) primarily to be seen doing it and to get credit for it, that's a sign that it may not be a calling from God. If your plan requires you to be less than honest to succeed, that's a sign that it may not be a calling from God. And even when our plans and our motives seem pure to us, we still have to place ourselves in the hands of God's grace, because it may still not be God's calling on my life. In that case I trust God to "establish my plans" and still be able to work through me for the benefit of others.

November 8 2015 sermon: Yet Still He Suffers

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

(Hebrews 9:24-28)

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     As often gets pointed out when such events happen, there are people in many parts of the world who are looking at Canada right about now and shaking their heads in amazement. Three weeks ago each one of us had the opportunity to cast a vote and to participate in choosing a new parliament and government for our nation; and just a few days ago we witnessed once again a party voluntarily surrender power at the will of the electorate and another party assume power at the will of the electorate. These are not things we should take for granted. As I said, many in the world, suffering under brutal regimes that regard public opinion as a threat and free elections as a joke, probably find what’s gone on in this country over the last few days and weeks little short of a miracle. It’s appropriate for us, at least once a year, to take time to remember that freedom is not won at no cost, and that freedom is not sustained without responsibility. No one would have upheld that belief more passionately than Jesus.

     Today’s reading speaks of the sacrifice of Jesus, who won us freedom at the cost of crucifixion. His sacrifice wasn’t made in a time of warfare or in combat - unless you consider his death to be an example - or perhaps THE example - of the very real costs of spiritual warfare; as a sign - or perhaps THE sign - of the confrontation between good and evil; between that which is holy and that which is profane. But perhaps there we see the link. When one considers the life and teachings of Jesus, what could be more profane and more evil than war. I say that with no disrespect toward those veterans whom we honour this week. In fact, most of the veterans I’ve known over the years - and I have known veterans of World War II, Korea and Afghanistan - would agree that war is an evil thing. Anything that causes suffering is an evil thing that causes us to confront the question of where God is in the midst of it all. God, I believe, is present even in time of war - not as a combatant, in spite of the assertion by every warring nation that “God is on our side,” but as one who suffers along with those who suffer - be they combatants or civilians, our allies or even our enemies. The author of Hebrews said that Jesus would not have to suffer “again and again” - that he offered himself once and never again. That may well be true from the perspective of Christian redemption, but is it true that Jesus no longer suffers? It seems to me that Jesus suffers any time that any of those he loves suffers - and what is there that causes more suffering than war?

     If almost two thousand years ago Jesus was to suffer once and for all and never again, then it’s worth remembering that almost a hundred years ago the Armistice that ended World War I was supposed to have ended the war that would end all war, with the symbol of that armistice being the words “Never again!” Of course it hasn’t worked out that way.War continues. A little bit of research on the internet last week revealed that in the world today there are 65 countries currently with wars taking place within their boundaries, and a total of 663 sub-national groups such as militias or terrorist organizations involved in fighting. Those are astounding numbers - the more so because most of us probably had no idea that they were happening. War is such a common feature of our world now that we take it for granted, and unless it directly involves us we’re largely ignorant of it.

     In the poem “In Flanders Fields,” Lt. Col. John McRae wrote “if ye break faith with us who die …” In context, he was referring to the need for others to continue the battle that was ongoing, and not to allow those who had given their lives to have died in vain. But I wonder if there wasn’t a broader message McRae was sending: that breaking faith with those who died would also mean not learning the lesson of warfare; not making sure that “Never Again” became a reality rather than just a slogan. “If ye break faith with us who die …” And, for us here today, what about, “if we break faith with him who died?”

     Jesus would surely want us to honour those who lay down their lives for their friends - and for others. I’m grateful for those who laid down their lives so that I wouldn’t have to do so. I’m grateful for those who fought in war so that I could live in peace. We remember them today, and we’re grateful for them today - but how do we honour them today? I would suggest that we honour them best by standing for peace; by being a living witness to the words “Never Again!” Too often in the world today - as the numbers I shared a few moments ago suggest - war becomes the default solution rather than the last option. Too often, war is portrayed in noble terms rather than being acknowledged as nothing better than the lesser of evils. We may not be able to do away with war - as Jesus himself said, “you will hear of wars and rumours of war” - but we can commit ourselves to not seeing it as a normal state of affairs, especially for followers of the Prince of Peace. We can choose to see God not leading armies into battle, but weeping with those who are killed and wounded in battle and as a result of battle.

     If war becomes a normal state of affairs for the followers of Jesus, then Jesus suffers. Of that I have no doubt. In 1849, Edmund Hamilton Sears wrote the beautiful Christmas carol “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear.” In that carol, we find the words “and man at war with man hears not the love song which he brings.” For the first three hundred years of the church’s existence, Christianity was largely a pacifist faith. Christians refused to serve in the armies of the Roman Empire, sometimes at great cost to themselves as they were accused of disloyalty to and even treason against the Empire. Times changed, the church went from being a marginal force to living at the centre of power, and the church began to find ways to justify war rather than to oppose it, although still today there are Christians such as Quakers who cling to pacifism as the way of Jesus and as the only way for a follower of Jesus. We may not choose to go that far. We might accept that sometimes war is, indeed, the lesser of evils; that perhaps in the tension between being called to love our neighbour and to love our enemies we find ourselves having to act when our neighbours are being hurt by our enemies. But still we can keep faith with Jesus - and “with those who died” in McRae’s words - by at least accepting that war and violence are aberrations, and even abominations before God; by striving always to be instruments of peace - living with peace in our own lives, bringing peace to the lives of others and striving for peace in the world around us.

A Thought For The Week Of November 2

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness ..." (2 Timothy 3:16) This verse has, for me, become a guiding text in how to understand what we mean by the inspiration of Scripture. I don't accept the traditional understanding of the absolute inerrancy of Scripture. I accept that there may be mistakes in the Bible, and that there are some contradictions. To me, that's to be expected - and it even strengthens the witness of the text. After all, when you're dealing with the Bible you're dealing with writing that encompasses literally thousands of years and dozens of authors. Why wouldn't there be contradictions here and there? It's actually quite spiritually liberating for me to realize that I can accept that and not have my faith shaken. But what of inspiration? Do I give up on the idea of the divine inspiration of Scripture? Of course not, and this verse helps me find a way forward. After all, this verse doesn't declare Scripture to be either inerrant or perfect. It declares it to be (1) inspired by God and (2) useful (or, in some translations, profitable) for various things. Perfection or inerrance is not a prerequisite for something to be useful or profitable - and by accepting that the Bible need not be perfect I find myself much more in sync with the biblical authors. Maybe they were a lot like me - or any of us. Maybe at times they struggled to interpret what was happening around them and to them. Maybe at times they struggled to figure out just what God was saying in the midst of it all. Maybe God didn't dictate the Bible the way some seem to imagine, but rather tugged at the hearts of those who wrote. Maybe this is as much an inspired WITNESS TO God as it is the inspired WORD OF God. These inspired words are Scripture because the wider Christian community accepts them as such, but perhaps there are  words that don't become Scripture but are still inspired by God in the same way. Such a view of inspiration requires us to think deeply about our own experience of God and to listen carefully to the experiences others have had of God.