Happy New Year

I'll be away for a week of holidays (December 29 to January 5) - the Rev. Richard Golden is available for any emergency pastoral situations.

Continued wishes for a merry Christmas (8 more days, you know!) and a happy new year.
~Kenji

sermon excerpts: "A Bouncing Baby Boy" (Luke 2: 22-40)

Jesus, even as a newborn, was fulfilling destiny and bringing hope. As he grew in the tradition of his faith, he was presented at the Temple with an offering. Following in the steps of Abraham, he is circumcised and blessed. Just like any other Jewish boy.

A pious and faithful man named Simeon just happens to be there and is incredibly moved. He speaks words of wonder and we find out that he has lived to see the fulfillment of his lifelong wish – to witness the consolation of Israel, Christ the Lord. How many other people at the temple that day simply went about their business not knowing that their Saviour was there? How could they know that the one that all the ancient prophecies spoke of was squirming over there, alongside two turtledoves?

But it is a time of mixed messages. While proclaiming praise and glory, such that people would remember Isaiah’s promises, there is assurance that great things are ahead for Jesus. But then Simeon further says to Mary, “by the way, great and terrible things will happen and it will feel like your soul’s been stabbed.”

While Jesus the Messiah would deliver God’s people to a new, more profound relationship with the divine, ushering the kingdom of heaven, he would also divide nations and families, causing conflict and turmoil. This is a lot of expectation to place on a baby. Yet there is something that rings true in this double-sided message.

It is true that our own actions work to unite and divide, to bring solace and pain – a mixed blessing that is our own existence. I’m guessing this might not be unique to me, but shortly after our kids were born came the thought, not quite a regret: what have we done? Is this a world that I want to raise my children in? What pain and heartache and loss will they suffer in life? What kind of life will be left for them given the state of the environment, freshwater and air quality, and market-driven food supply? I was feeling all the panicked doubts of a new parent.

But that is not what we focus on if we are to maintain our sanity – instead it is the promise and potential that each of us, children or not, have to offer. Going back a couple thousand years, the hopes and fears of all the years are wrapped up in the form of a bouncing baby boy.

A colleague of mine mused thoughtfully about some thoughts he had during one particular baptism. What if this child is the one who finds a cure for cancer? What if! What if we treated all of our children like that? All people like that?

What if we saw each other as bearers of great and wonderful news? What if we saw one another with the eyes of Simeon and Anna, to speak truth about what is needed, and to allow for other viewpoints? What if? Then we wouldn’t need Christmas to remind us that Christ is already here. Until then, we hope and dream, struggle and strain, live and love. Merry Christmas.

sermon excerpts: "Scared by an Angel"

It isn’t like that God is asking Mary's consent to agree to this venture. ... I emphatically believe that we all have free will, but it appears that Mary has little choice in this matter. So much of it was out of her hands already, her betrothal to Joseph who was of King David’s line, her own family relationships connecting to her cousin Elizabeth and Zechariah, a priest at the Temple in Jerusalem who were expecting their first child, to be John the Baptist.

It was a perfect opportunity of factors coming together. Who was she to stop it? It must have been a little bit terrifying.

Why is it that messages from God more often than not include the assurance, “do not be afraid?” I remember in Grade 7 my teacher trying to teach the point that the reason why people say “don’t panic” is because there is something worth panicking about. So God tells us to not be afraid, even though something very scary is happening.

For all of the cherubic, peaceful happy, glowing presentations of trumpets and light, the idea of an angel visiting is a bit unnerving. Never mind sitting on your own, minding your own business, when a glorious presence of power suddenly fills the room and overwhelms you, it is the notion of being presented with God’s own personal message that is a daunting and unnerving experience.

And I wonder, what if Mary said, “No. Not me. Somebody else can incubate the Saviour. I’d like to live an ordinary life and just fit in.” Would Gabriel accept that? Even though it reads like everything is in place and ready to go. Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder what if? Until we turn that critical lens upon ourselves. And how often is it that we get in the way of God’s work?

We are like Mary, given news that we are to give birth (figuratively) to a new expression of faith. We are facing the news that will change the way the world looks at faith. Mind you, the angel Gabriel didn’t arrive with news that we shouldn’t be afraid. The news comes to us in the grim financial reality of our times. When the expenses of our church outstrip its income by several hundred dollars every month, the message is clear. And frightening.

Where, then, is the accompanying promise of glory and success? As we have come to know, things are not as they seem. Our message seems to carry more doom and gloom than any promise of birth and new legacy. Our job is to craft our response, to chart our course of action, to make the preparations for the new arrival that is the United Church of Canada in southwest Middlesex in 2009.

Our inspiration comes from Mary, barely begun puberty, but called to develop and nurture the life within herself. Maybe she didn’t know any better, or maybe she knew better than to resist God’s plan. From this extraordinarily ordinary young woman, we find a response of faith and trust that inspires scripture and song.

Let her life be as an angel’s visit: a message of hope amid fear, of risk amid chaos, and life, light and love in our world.

for Dec. 21: Luke 1.26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’

But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’

Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’

The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’

Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

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What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture?
What about hymn suggestions or ideas for Children's Time? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

sermon excerpts: "Advent of Uneasy Peace"

I’ve quoted Oscar Romero before in worship and that same remark is found in our Voices United hymn book, #683: “Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silence of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and duty.”

The coming of the Messiah was thought to bring peace as he delivered the people to the seats of power and conquest. It was assumed that the peace that would reign would be the enforced peace of military victory and dominion over one’s defeated enemies.

Instead we find the prophet in the desert is calling us to a profound, soul-affecting peace of right relationships and equality. What we have is a call from Isaiah, repeated again by John that this world is not as it should be, that our own self-interest has harmed the well-being of others?

Alone in the desert, reminding us again that a life of faith, of following God means moving out of our comfortable areas and into uncertainty, reclaiming our heritage, following in the steps of a saviour. But real peace is uncomfortable because we all have a part to play. And much like being environmentally responsible, we’re all for it … as long as we don’t have to give up too much.

Leveling the playing field means that we have to give something up. No wonder the underprivileged were drawn to John the Baptist, and Jesus. For the poor and dispossessed, these men called for equality and justice, representing hope and a chance to gain.
...
Following in the way of peace does not mean peace of mind, but it does mean we do what we can to bring peace to others. Knowing this, we venture forth anyway to lift up valleys, bring low the mountains and hills, level out the uneven ground and smooth the rough places. We go forth down a highway for the way of peace, justice and faith.

for Dec. 7: Mark 1.1-8

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” ’,

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

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What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture?
What about hymn suggestions or ideas for Children's Time? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

December Letter to the Congregations

For those that can't wait for paper copies to be picked up at church, or mailed out:

Dear friends and supporters of our congregations,

As we work to get ready for a Merry Christmas, the Advent theme of preparation echoes in churches around the world. Yet, in these uncertain times, what do we prepare for? With each passing year, commercial interests and advertising campaigns overtake the Christmas message. The church seems to be a relic and reminder of a time gone by that we can no longer claim.

This fact is not lost to the leadership of The United Church of Canada. “I dreamed of leading our church for a time from a place of strength, wisdom, and creativity. Instead I have been offering my weakness to the church,” says our Moderator, the Rt. Rev. David Giuliano, speaking candidly about his cancer. While he admits this journey is not by choice, “I cannot deny that it has been a gift to me and to others.”

Perhaps this is the Christmas gift of our current situation: a gift of diminishing resources and humility. Such is a dubious blessing, but one that echoes of a Saviour born to in a stable to an ordinary family of a defeated people. From this is born a new revelation of what faith in the world means. From this is born our own future.

In the meantime, we hold fast to the lights of hope, peace, joy and love. Is that enough? Yes, with God, it is more than enough and the only way to change the world.

The blessings of the season to you and yours,
On behalf of Appin and Trinity United Churches,
Kenji