sermon excerpts: "In Simeon's Sandals" (Luke 2: 21-40)

A couple questions: longevity at what cost? Consider the balance between quality of life versus quantity – not just for us as individual human, biological beings, but as communities and organizations, as a congregation. How we live is more important than how long we live. Just putting that out there.

More than that, the story of Simeon raises a question about living life as a recipient, waiting for something to happen, for someone to arrive. What did he do in the meanwhile? How much did he miss in the present day, in the here and now while he was busy watching and waiting for what was to come? Did he skip out on dinner parties, trips to the countryside, excursions to other cities because he was waiting for something else to come along? What might we be missing out on while we wait for rescue, for someone else to come along and fix things?

It is important to remember that when that magical moment came, Simeon was more than an observer, more than a consumer or recipient, he became a participant. He was active and involved. He took the child in his hands and made great pronouncements, sharing the bigger story, building the tradition, putting a grander sense of importance on an ordinary dedication.

Even though his life was defined by what would happen to him, by the people that he would see, he took destiny into his own hands (literally) and made the most of his moment. How easy would it been for him to stand on the sidelines, watch contentedly and go home knowing his life was fulfilled? Filled with the purpose and energy of the Holy Spirit, he stepped up, spoke up and no one was the same ever again. Just putting that out there too. Merry Christmas.

Moderator's message re: Copenhagen Conference

This link to the United Church's webpage on the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change has more details and information.

for Dec. 27 - Luke 2: 21-40

After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.

* * *

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: "In Mary's Sandals" - (Luke 1: 39-55)

In the leadup to this account of Mary’s visit and her song of praise, the angel Gabriel visits, drops the bombshell that she will give birth to the Saviour. In one verse she says yes, the next she’s heading for the hills to see her relative Elizabeth. Why the rush? We can only imagine the reasons … was Mary sent away because of her condition, to be kept out of sight? Did she go to escape the community rumours, the murmuring and tsk-tsking?

Elizabeth, and her unborn son, responds to the news of her kinswoman Mary with elation and understanding. Here they are both unexpectedly pregnant and suffering from the public scrutiny and accusations of lying and infidelity. Maybe Mary went somewhere where she knew she’d be understood, where she wouldn’t be judged, where her joy would be shared.

That is what church should be – a place where we are accepted, our stories are shared and our good times are celebrated. The atmosphere of respect and a sense of empathy, connection, to the situations of others, is the prevailing ethic.

Even in utero, Jesus was able to bring people together in common cause, to focus attention on the needs of the world. The celebratory song of Mary tells of great and wonderful things to come. This song of hope and certainty arises in a time when giving birth was fraught with danger and uncertainty for both mother and child. They have comfort and knowledge that God is with them, that they have a ministry, a mission, a purpose.

If only we could be so certain in church. We know that God is with us, of course. We know that we are here for a reason. We can imagine the void that our absence would leave in the community. Yet we know that even as we try to nurture and sustain a vision and living ministry, there is no guarantee of our ensured existence.

Still, our song might be one of certainty and hope, born out of a sense of justice, action and activity. By this time next year, our churches will have made some difficult choices. By then, things will be well on their way to being fixed or folded.

But in the big picture, from our piece of the ancient story, we think back to humble beginnings: a mother too young to give birth, another one too old, and a backwoods town that never amounted to much in the way of industry, commerce, arts or innovation. From these roots came great and marvelous things. Same for us.

Moderator's Christmas message 2009

Great minds think alike? I had shared her example of community readiness for the Messiah from Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policeman's Union at a church board meeting a few months ago.

Trinity Visioning Survey Results

The Visioning Committee of Trinity United reported back to interested and available members of the congregation last night the results of a circulated survey.

Copies of the presentation as well as a one page summary are on hand for those who may want that information. The full scope of "raw data" is also available.

The variety and vigour of the comments and suggestions did not reveal anything new: grave concern about the declining finances and attendance at church and reluctance to worship elsewhere on Sunday mornings (for Rural Regional services, etc.)

The next stage is for further discussion and exploration with Appin United and some possible options for action to be outlined at the February Annual Meetings.

for Dec. 20 - Luke 1: 39-45

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb.

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

* * *

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.

Trinity's White Gift and Potluck

Last minute reminder for Trinity United that worship is at St. John's Anglican across the street at 11:10 a.m. Join us as the Sunday School leads us in a Western-themed Christmas message (that's Western as in cowboys, not as in the university in London).

Last minute development: a potluck lunch is being convened for anyone wishing/able to stay after the service. After all, church gatherings are more fun when food is involved, aren't they?

Moderator's Advent message 2009

Carol Call

In preparation for the coming Advent and Christmas season, we're taking requests for favourite carols and hymns. There are sign-up sheets in both churches or you can list them here as Comments by clicking below.

So far we have:

• Joy to the World
• O Come All Ye Faithful
• Away in a Manger
• Handel's Messiah
• Silent Night
  

Regional Worship at North Ekfrid

It's already the coming up on the 5th Sunday of November; our rural regional network is worshipping together at North Ekfrid United Church (6110 Olde Drive, at Springfield) this Sunday the 29th at 10:30 a.m. Nursery is available for children up to 6-years old. Lunch is provided afterwards.

This means Appin United and Trinity United will be closed this Sunday morning. We'll be back in our respective places and times on Dec. 6 for White Gift Sunday at Appin and Pennies from Heaven will be received at both churches.

sermon excerpts: "Beginning and Ending of Discipleship" (Rev. 1: 4-8)

...The scripture verses give praise to God, recounting the glory and promise of Jesus, and putting humanity in its place as witnesses and recipients of divine power and might. The overarching theme is of the greatness of Christ, ruling over all and our part is to simply obey. This is the tradition and heritage of Christ the King.

It is a difficult translation for us to make in a democratic society where our leaders are elected by the populace, where merit and ability determines who governs, not family lineage or military power. We live in a society where church and state are separate and distinct – where one is considered strictly private and personal and the other most decidedly public. So we trip over the words and images of Christ the King because it comes across as elitist, classist, sexist and medievally-historic and therefore inapplicable.

But the fact remains that Christ continues, and completes, the line of kingship that began with Saul and David and Solomon. Not only is there a legacy and legitimacy to this image of Christ the King, there is value in the Saviour’s use of personal power and privilege to uplift the status of those on the outside, of sacrificing and serving others. ...

Now if we’re looking at metaphors and definitions of kingship, we should also examine the theme of our past few weeks: discipleship. We’ve discovered that being a disciple is not about magic and miracles, that we’d still be limited in what we can do when, and that in spite of our missteps and excuses, we have a message to share. But we have not discussed what a disciple is.

The word “disciple” comes from the Latin verb discere which is connected to discernment, to discipline and means “to learn”. So in essence, all anyone needs to be a disciple is a willingness to learn. That’s it, that’s all; a disciple is a learner. We admit that we all that we don’t know and commit to discovering more, about life, faith, Christ, God, the spirit…

Surely, we can do that much, can’t we? The message from Jesus, King or otherwise, is the timelessness of God’s presence, that even on the cusp of utter destruction, the holy calls us to worship, work, and learn in faith. I, for one, would like to find out what the world could be like if its leaders, kings or otherwise, all worked for a cause bigger and longer-lasting than their own reputations and legacies. That would be a revelation worth waiting for.

Harvest Brunch Harvest

Many thanks to the workers and supporters of Trinity United's Harvest Brunch on Sunday. Reports show 87 people were served a scrumptious menu of eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, toast, muffins, and fruit salad. Such is the success of working together: feeding body and spirit of the community!

Visioning Updates

The respective Visioning Committees have been hard at work, at different times, over the past few months. Both have circulated questionnaires to the congregations and Appin presented its findings last month. Trinity has been compiling the received data and hopes to have a report put together soon.

As a broad, introductory overview, there have not been any startling discoveries; the responses have confirmed what was generally suspected. There are concerns about finances and attendance and the future, and a great number of suggestions and ideas which shows interest in what might be in our future.

One of the next steps would involve the Visioning Committees of both churches meeting together to share findings and explore common points of interest and cooperation. Stay tuned; progress is being made!

for Nov. 22 - Revelation 1: 4b-8

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.
‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

* * *

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: "The Secret Life of Words"

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight O God our Strength and our Redeemer. Maybe you recognize that litany as a prayer before sermons uttered by preachers.

I had a mentor in Kingston when I was studying for ministry who confided in me that his body reacted very queasily every Sunday morning at the thought of climbing into the pulpit to share the sermon message. Not from performance anxiety but from the fear that what he would say was not actually from God, but his own distorted version of that vision.

...

Words are tricky. Language changes and adapts. The use of words shifts and slurs as new slang and jargon as well as cyber-speak with all of its acronyms and shorthanded terminology, spreads faster and farther than before.

In the call of the great prophet, Jeremiah, there is early assurance that our hero is exempt from such concerns. God literally put words in his mouth. What he speaks is not of his own accord but from a greater source and a higher power. He is but a boy when God commissioned him to a life of speaking out against the powers that be. He is one who would uproot, pull down, destroy and discard, calling to account the sins of the people.

...

Jeremiah is a prophet to the nations – not just to Judah in the south where he lived, but to Israel in the north, to Babylon, to Egypt. What might his message be to the nation of Canada, a confederacy beyond his wildest imagining, thousands of years after his ministry?

He was preaching a message of impending doom and disaster at the hands of enemy armies because the people had rejected God and worshipped other false gods and idols. The people had failed in maintaining their side of the agreement to live fairly, treating each other with respect and above all, recognizing the supremacy of God over any human enterprise.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Our present society has entrusted more in its own devices and schemes than in God’s providence and abundance. Success is attained at the expense of others, winning over losers and part of me wonders if the decline in mainline churches is akin to the Temple in Jerusalem being overrun.

Even before he was born, God had plans for Jeremiah. This raises all kinds of theological questions about predestination and freewill, why bother making choices and decisions if God has already decided these things for us? Or we wonder why do some people have a great plan and purpose laid out for them in life and others have to figure out what they will do?

AJ Jacobs once spent an entire year living all the laws, rules and regulations of the Bible. He soon discovered that he could not. One of the consoling pearls of wisdom that a Rabbi offered him was this truth: “The words of the Bible are eternal. The meaning evolves.” That’s the comfort and challenge both: God’s message is with us, we have to figure out what it means for us.

for Nov. 15 - Jeremiah 1: 4-10

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’
But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, ‘Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’

* * *

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: "Here, There and Everywhere"

(Psalm 139; Matthew 28: 16-20)

In the psalm we learn of how God is everywhere, eternal and everpresent, there is no place we can go that we can escape. One interpretation of this truth is God as bogeyman – being everywhere, lurking nearby, watching everything. Kind of like Santa Claus who was tallying good and bad behaviours, my parents used this aspect of God to keep us kids in line. That even if they couldn’t catch us in a misdeed, God sees and would know. ...

The psalmist writes that even before our birth, God sees us. God is everywhere, can go everywhere. Technically, I should say that God is already anywhere that we might go: whether we are able to find and see the holy presence is a matter of choice, willingness and focus.

By contrast, we can only be in one place at one time, we can only be aware of so much. That is the folly of our being. Trying to find a meeting time that works for everyone on a church committee, is but one example. In the management of our time and resources, we have to make decisions and choices about where we spend our time and with whom. I should also express gratitude and encouragement for those who gather on Sundays for the spiritual nurture found in communal worship with family, friends and neighbours.

We can never be entirely certain what exactly Jesus had in mind when he gives the great commission, his last set of instructions to the disciples. It’s pretty clear that the word must spread, that the world needs to hear the story of Christ, and that we go to do so with the eternal accompaniment of Christ.

This good news cannot be restricted to one specific set of people to a specific time in a specific place. The story of love and discipleship, of resurrection and hope is a universal one that needs to find its existence and expression in all places. Just like the presence of God: in all places for all people.

The disciples had to resolve this difference for themselves, having an eternal, unlimited mission with limited resources. Just like our church. So we do our best to continue in the history and tradition of Christ, to carry that spirit wherever we go. Not to make everyone exactly like us, but to help others find their own expression of faith and witness. ...

When God looks at us, our entire being is revealed, nothing is hidden. The interaction the other way is not equal. We are at a decided disadvantage: we look to God and we only get a small glimpse of what we can experience of the infinite divine. We cannot grasp the full measure of God’s intent, purpose or perspective. We look to God and try to take in what is described as more than all the grains of sand.

... We do not have the benefit of being everywhere all the time for everyone. We have the assurance of God who experiences and understands what we go through, the abiding sense that we are not alone. Personally, it has become a comfort now, that thought of God being with us – ever present always watching. No matter where we go, or what happens, God is there.

Better Safe than Sorry

Once more, I'll be tending to things from home, nursing my daughter back to full strength. I'll be into the office later this afternoon for a while before lining up for my flu shot.

-Kenji

for Nov. 8 - Matthew 28: 16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

* * *
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.

And again ...

Home with my recovering daughter again - I should be back in the office tomorrow.

-Kenji

Working from Home

Due to my daughter's fever, I'm staying home with her and working from here. Hopefully, she'll be back to school soon, but if her friends' afflictions and absences are any indicator, we've got a couple more days like this...

I can be reached by email or on my cellphone and will get out about as much as I can when things calm down here (and when my own coughing and sniffling abates).

Be well,
Kenji

sermon excerpts: "Do You Believe in Magic?" (Exodus 7: 8-13; Acts 8: 9-25)

Now, any honest magician will tell you that the tricks are just that: tricks, illusions, misdirection and distraction. Their show is a disciplined routine of deceit to entertain and amuse in the best case, to defraud and humiliate in the worst. The smoke and mirrors act is an avenue to consider the possibility of living outside the laws of nature.

Aaron and Moses demonstrated power beyond this world in their meeting with Pharaoh. The miracle of their staff turning to a snake and overwhelming the other stick-snakes of Pharaoh’s magicians was not enough to convince someone who didn’t want to be convinced.

And that is the necessary ingredient of faith, being open to the divine message. It is not about changing the physical properties of other substances, but about changing one’s own spirit. It is a willingness to listen, consider, and adapt our behaviours and priorities.

Back to Simon Magus in Samaria, he almost got the message. He was attracted by the nature of what he was hearing, of Christ’s love, sacrifice and resurrection, of what all of that meant for him personally. He stayed close to Philip because of the signs and miracles that were performed.

I wonder if he really understood what was being asked of him, of the hard work of required of the Christian way, of the suffering he would experience at the hands of the persecutors, of true humbleness and service. His over-eager attempt to add a new trick to his bag exposed him and his motivations.

The magic attention grabbing tactics are self-serving and not for the greater good of the world. Of course, it shouldn’t surprise you when I say that magic is not the answer to the troubles of the church. But following the story in scripture, and the Stewards might curse me for saying this, but neither is money.

For Simon, money was the answer, but it turned out to be a symptom of the problem. Too often and too easily it is the substitute for the time, energy and effort needed for the work of faith. It is a long journey of hard work, slow progress, trust in one another, perseverance in hardship, and as Peter and John said, it is the rightness of one’s heart before God.

What must we do for our hearts to be right with God? A clear sense of ministry in our community, what will we do that makes this world better for those in need. What needs can we identify? How can we best respond?

I’ll leave us with these questions now, just like we don’t know what happened at the end of the story with Simon Magus, we don’t know the end of the story that we’re in now. With or without magic or money, all we have is the intent of our hearts.

sermon excerpts: "Worry as Thanksgiving"

(Matthew 6: 25-33; Joel 2: 21-27)

Like so many of the prophets, Joel is saying “Don’t worry, things will work out in the end”. Which was laughable for the people to consider given all they’ve been through with famine, drought and wars, one after the other.
...
Jesus was another one who said, “Don’t worry.” If it was only as simple as not worrying turning off our mind, our conscience, our natural inclination to fret about things out of our control or things unresolved. There isn’t a switch that we can throw in our mind and suddenly be calm, assured and composed.

We know the effects of stress, ulcers, high blood pressure, of Type A personalities, on our health. We know that worry is bad for our health, that worry doesn’t add a day to our lives. But we do it anyway. We can’t help it.

We cannot avoid worrying. That is part of what we do. I would go as far as to say it is what makes us human. No other animal or life form frets or stews about things so abstractly out of our control, thousands of miles away or months into the future.

Jesus offers a bit of perspective based on lessons from plants and animals. Even the ugliest of birds can look graceful soaring in the sky. We see trees growing out of solid rock, or glorious flowers coloured in ways that our most brilliant artists cannot copy. Nature knows that things will be taken care of and that worry won’t do anything good. In some ways, in many ways, if we just get ourselves out of the way, God will do the work. There’s a saying you may be familiar with: “Let go and let God”.

Let us simply be. God was urging nature to do exactly that through Joel’s prophecies, to simply be and trust that nature will take its course. Goodness will flow.

Jesus wants us to worry about the right thing. We are not to be worried about where our food, or drink or clothing will come from. God will take care of us. We know that, we see how abundantly and extravagantly all creation is cared for. We are part of that same creation and partake of God’s providence.

But it is our Christian duty to worry about the needs of others. Where will the poor find food? Where will clean drinking water come from for people in Africa? Who will clothe the street people in winter?

The gap between rich and poor is so great, and the needy and those who have too much, are both unfulfilled and unhappy. That is our call to serve this world, to act upon our worries and concerns about the state of the world, the condition of all people and to imagine what might be done.

Let our worry spur us to action. To speak out against what is not just or life-affirming, to support ministries that tend to the needs of others in ways we ourselves cannot, to remind others of God’s love and care for us. To cherish the precious moments we have with our loved ones. To give thanks for each opportunity.

sermon excerpts: "A Place at the Table" (Hebrews 1: 1-4, 5-12)

...From the letter to the Hebrews, this trend continues as the write attempts to outline the hierarchy of heaven. Christ ascends to the right hand of God, a virtual equal, much superior to angels, being more excellent than them. Within this ordering is the placement and promotion of mere mortals. In spite of God’s infinite and immense power and presence, we as individuals limited to a single lifespan in one limited range of geography merit more consideration than all other aspects of creation.

It is humbling and amazing that puny us, as people of mistakes and misfortune, rank only a little lower than angels and have great glory and honour. And this ordering is not permanently fixed. Because the verse states that it is only for a little while that we bear this lower class. We see the writer note that for a time Jesus himself was lower than angels, equal to all humans tasting of death. This sacrifice was made and remembered so that we might all taste of eternal life.

We are perfected through our sufferings, leading to the axiom “that which does not kill us only makes us stronger”. It is hard in the midst of anguish and loss to see the lessons that might be taught, that we need some time and perspective, maybe a sympathetic ear or an outside opinion. For this reason, a community of faith relies on the people to come together in common cause, to support and serve one another, to sacrifice our effort and energy as we each take our place as a follower of Christ’s teaching.

This morning we gather around a table, to recall a moment in our faith tradition shaped by betrayal, political cowardice, great suffering and humiliation. Yet from this low point comes assurance, comfort and hope that our sins are forgiven, we are made new and that the evil in the world cannot ever conquer love.

In the letter to the Hebrews, we are called brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus, that we are of the same generation, of the same parenting, to be praised and glorified. So we are called together around the table to taste and celebrate a gathering of family, remembering past stories, to find nourishment for our spirit and make preparation to leave the table for a world that needs our care and compassion.

sermon excerpts: "Go Blue!"

For the 20th and 27th, the same message will be shared at both congregations - much like any other Sunday only this will be spread over two weeks, given the special circumstances of Anniversary Sundays and Glencoe Fair weekend.

And rather than the repetition of how the church can be like water - offering life, flowing to itself, flowing to a greater source, taking the shape of its own container, I'll post the Evian "Waterboy" clip that graphically demonstrates these principles (excuse the toilet humour at the 1:09 mark).

sermon excerpts: "Do the Smart Thing"

(Mark 8: 27-38; Proverbs 1: 20-33)

How frustrating it must be for Wisdom. She sees things so clearly, it is so obvious to her, and the people just don’t get it. She takes to the streets raving and raging; she rants and rips the citizens’ ignorance. How long will they seek and search, wonder and worry, when the answer is right there in front of them?

How fitting it is for the stupid people to suffer for their ignorance, for their unwillingness to see what is true and real. Wisdom is right in front of our eyes, waiting for recognition and acceptance. If we fail to see it, we get what we deserve. That makes sense, but only in the way of the world and not as Jesus’ way.

The battle between the wisdom of the world and that of the cosmic divine rages to this day. It began as soon as humanity realized its own consciousness and ability to think, decide and act, as far back as the Garden of Eden. There’s another instance of this conflict in the gospel reading. Peter is accused of being Satan, a strong accusation, of being an opponent.

But the outcome come is that even those who oppose Jesus, they too will follow. If we’re paying attention to the preposition “behind”, Satan, the opposer is behind, following Jesus. Just like all of us who seek to live in his way. Ironic, isn’t it?

All this happened when Peter figures out who Jesus is and the great, wonderful secret that he had been keeping … not that he was God’s own Son but that he was the Messiah. The legend, the story, the hope and dream was of a mighty and fearsome leader who would defeat all the enemies of Israel, restoring the natural order of the world – everlasting peace with all nations subservient to Israel.

Jesus wants to keep that truth a secret, the revelation that he is the Messiah would shatter what he was trying to do. Jesus ushers in the kingdom of God in his own fashion, with substance over show. And if word leaked out that he was The One, all of the expectations and distractions would prevent him from being able to live and teach the message of his gospel in his way for as long as he could. The claim to Messiah-hood would be questioned by the self-abasing, humbling nature of his message. So it was important that the secret stayed safe.

Although there is another irony at play: for all the secrecy that was needed in Jesus’ lifetime, we in our lives would be condemned for keeping our faith a secret. It’s the same message vocalized by Wisdom in Proverbs: pay attention, seek God, don’t be afraid to ask. Those who ignore Christ, his message, those who are ashamed of his ministry of inclusion and care will ultimately find themselves excluded and shamed themselves.

If we follow Jesus, listening to the wisdom he embodies, we have refuge and safety in the end. In the meantime there will be hardship and persecution, but endure the sufferings of life and there will be an eventual reward. There is a bit of reap what you so, karma will get you in the end. What do we make of this religious triumphalism?

What is the point of doing the right thing, living the right way, if in the end Jesus wins out after all? Do we choose to follow God because we want to be on the winning team? Isn’t that why Jesus wanted to avoid the Messiah label?

That isn’t faith, that’s self-interest. Surely divine wisdom would see through such a transparent motivation. Can we do the right thing for the right reasons? Or will the notion of judgment and division in the end cloud our motivation?

The smart thing to do as churches, as individuals, is to pool our resources, to work together, to support one another, to seek the greater good and the higher power and find common cause. But knowing what the smart thing to do is and doing it for the right reason is the learning that we have to do.

sermon excerpts: "Ruining the Good Name of Faith"

(James 2: 1-10, 14-17 and Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23)

As the wisdom from Proverbs reveals, our good name is more valuable than any investment portfolio, lottery ticket or roadshow antique. It is built upon deeds, actions and goodwill demonstrated over years and years. We stake our reputation on it, acting as references for someone’s job or passport application.

It is somewhat ironic that the validity of our words depends on the merit of our actions. What we say or profess, our words, are defined by that which is unspoken, our deeds. Yes, actions speak louder than words.

...

Much of the Bible has this message paying attention to what you are doing and saying. James, for instance, presents the hypothetical situation of how welcoming are you really? Is it only certain types of people that are welcomed in your assembly of worship? Or do you really and truly live in Jesus’ radical inclusion and welcome of anyone and everyone, especially the poor and dispossessed?

According to James, if we follow God’s law, we are held accountable to all aspects of it. Which is fine and well and good in intention, but even reading the Bible we find it is difficult to determine what exactly this is supposed to mean. How can we know God’s law when so many elements of it appear to contradict one another?

Even James with his proclamation that faith without works is dead is in direct violation of his contemporary Paul who claims that faith alone is sufficient to merit salvation. In Romans, Paul writes that righteousness is attained through faith. So who do we believe? What is the law that we need to follow?

I’m inclined to apply a United Church collaboration, conciliation and compromise and suggest that we try to live and do the best as we can, to expand and enhance our understanding of what we believe. We act in good faith and trust that our belief is enough. Controversial columnist Michael Coren would disagree, as his rambling op-ed piece in last Saturday’s London Free Press skewered the hypocrisies and failures of the United Church.

In many places and on many issues, the United Church has put its money where its mouth is. (And also put its foot in that same mouth, several times as well). Yes, even as an open and affirming community, we still make judgments and choices. And given the choice between a richly dressed visitor and a poorly dressed one, who knows how that might be handled on any given Sunday?

That is the work of faith: everyday we make choices, judge between options and alternatives, trying to do what Jesus would do. Trying to live up to the higher calling of God’s mercy, love and justice. In doing so, we hope to build a good name for ourselves, as individual people of faith and a collective community. Through proving ourselves time and again with what we do for others, following through on promises, reaching out to those in need we find our good name.

Once we strip away our possessions, all that we have is who we are, what we’ve done and how we’ve done it. In place between faith and works, what we have is the commonness of one Creator, of justice and blessing intended for all. It is our humanity and spirituality that sets us as equals in God’s eyes, it’s up to us to live this standard in our works and in our faith. After all, our good name depends on it.

sermon excerpts: "A Spiritual Getaway"

the Song of Songs, for all of its steamy implications and suggestion, is poetic and evocative in its lyric. This morning we heard the invitation to come away, to leave behind the cares, concerns and distractions of our world that we may more fully be who we are. We go to find the true nature of our being in relationship with another.

The lover arrives upon the scene and urges that the time is come for renewal, in the newness of springtime. The time of dreariness and gloom has passed and there is energy and life buzzing in the air. Arise and come away. Leave behind the slumber, the dormancy, the hibernation, and live the adventure of life. Be alive. Be in love.

We are awakened and called into relationship with the divine, to leave our comfort and coziness. It is easy to build a refuge and haven from all that is wrong in the world. Maybe that is why we are here today, in worship, to gather in faith so that for the span of an hour, or for a few meaningful minutes where we can leave behind the world and its problems. We are here to pray and sing, to listen to scripture, to be with friends, to look at the ceiling or the stained glass windows. Here we are to be still and know that God is God.

Whatever it is that brings us here, if it’s misplaced guilt or a sense of obligation, or if coming to church is a wonderful uplifting habit, or if we merely want to see friends, or if we’re seeking to be challenged or comforted in faith, we all have our reasons. However, we can’t stay here. Sooner or later, for those thinking of brunch, hopefully sooner, we will leave this place. We can’t hide away in our Sunday best, in our liturgy and hymnody; we do live in a world of road rage, swine flu and reality TV.

As much as we’d like to escape this world and run off with the Lord to some wonderful mystical union, there is the grim reality that there are bills that still need to be paid, an economy still on the downturn, and weather that defies prediction. We might consider the scripture lesson as a gentle invitation to leave our sanctuary and explore the world that awaits us. A world of wonder and longing, with the steadfast companionship of a deep, pervasive and abiding love that goes with us, calling us forth to new adventures.

It is a journey undertaken with excitement and joy, to go away with the Lord, to embrace the wonders of life and love in a topsy-turvy world where nothing makes sense and all that we have is each other. The Songs of Songs shows how energizing, inspiring and life-giving being in love is. That is what we are about, that is the message for this day: love life, love yourself, love God, love love.

for Aug. 30 - Song of Songs 2: 8-13

The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, there he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.

My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away."

* * *

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: "This Is the Church" (1 Kings 8)

Finally after many years, the Temple was completed, Solomon cuts the ribbon and God "comes home". It was such a powerful moment that the priests could not stand to minister in that place overwhelmed by God’s great presence. It must have been quite the moment. And I wonder what it would be like if we could feel and know the divine surrounding and filling this very sanctuary so much that we could not bear it. Could that happen here? There’s no reason why not, is there? What would it be like?

In the Temple on that first day, the presence of God was known. Then the promise of God is remembered. Solomon gives thanks for God’s loyalty and providence for bringing success and victory to David and his family line. Solomon publicly proclaims and celebrates the fact that God keeps promises.

From there, the prayers of God’s people ask for continued good grace and providence, mercy and forgiveness for all who pray towards that place. While the grandest human construction cannot contain the smallest aspect of God’s being, we hope that God’s favour would rest upon what we seek to do, upon everything that centres on the Temple.

But we know, as Solomon did, that nothing can limit or bottle up God. Not a temple, or synagogue, or cathedral, or church. The power and prestige of God goes beyond religious and cultural boundaries. God’s approval and blessing is shared with anyone, even foreign visitors from distant lands with different customs and traditions. Anyone who prays toward the Temple, that respects its purpose and its spirit will find favour with God.

All of that was what Solomon announced at the opening ceremony of the first Temple in Jerusalem. The presence of God, the promise of God, the prayers of God’s people and the power and prestige of God’s activity in the world. It was a big event with grandiose gestures and eloquent words. But more than just words, defining truths: presence, promise, prayer and power.

It’s safe to say that our own churches intended to embody and embrace these same principles. For all of the riches and opulence that Solomon outfitted the Temple with, he preached and promoted not the majesty of the building but of God’s activity in the world and our relationship to the Holy One.

To change around the words of the nursery rhyme: more than doors and steeples, the church as a people need to be open. I know that doesn’t even come close to rhyming in a catchy way and lacks accompanying hand action, but that needs to be a key feature – openness.

... The initial goal was to create space and opportunity for people to come to know God, in worship, contemplation, thanksgiving and confession. That’s where we were supposed to begin. Maybe we can get there still.

sermon excerpts: "Schadenfreude"

In scripture, the Cushite messenger figured he was the bearer of good news when he tells King David that the usurper to the throne, Absalom, was dead and that the battle was won and he could return to the royal city and reclaim his rightful place on the throne. The story gets even better – the enemy Absalom was totally humiliated, caught up in a tree, defenceless and ridiculous. ... So when the Cushite messenger arrives in David’s court, he figured he was the bearer of good news. The enemy was defeated, royal order was restored and life could get back to normal.

David mourns the loss of his son, thinking that he deserved a better end, that he needn’t have died in the first place, that they might have resolved things in a more constructive fashion … all the regrets and guilt that grieving and loss bring to mind. Last week, I mentioned that we could look upon David as a symbol and figurehead for the Israelite people, answering to the accusations that the prophet Nathan made. How he, and the people, strayed from God’s commandments, acting selfishly and without care for one’s neighbour. This week, we could look upon David as the metaphor for God’s unconditional love – that in spite of all the harm and pain that Absalom caused him, David the Father, grieves his death.

In the end, the love he had for his son could not be undone by the hurt and pain inflicted through their words and actions. David wishes that he could have been killed instead of his son. Would that not be a similar sentiment to seeing Christ on the cross, the Father wishing that the son could be spared, that such a humiliating death could be transferred?

We know that as we go through life, we won’t be friends with everyone, that too often for someone to succeed, another person must fail. That is how victory and accomplishment is measured. An example from the news of this past week is the reported death of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud; one side celebrates while the other side mourns.

How does the very human experience of schadenfreude, of personal joy from another’s pain, match up to our call to divine relationship? Yet we are called to love our enemies, easier to say than to do. What does that actually mean for us? If we can’t hope and cheer for those who oppose us, we can at least begin with not wishing harm or disaster upon them. It’s a start.

for Aug. 9 - 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33

The king gave orders to Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom." And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.

So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.

Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.

And ten young men, Joab's armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him. Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, "Good tidings for my lord the king! For the Lord has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you."

The king said to the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?"

The Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man."

The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"

* * *

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.

Satellite Ministry

With the church office being formally "closed" for July, I am continuing to do some work for the first couple weeks: visiting, reading, planning for fall and Advent, presiding over a couple weddings. So while the worship planning and delivery portion of my work week has been removed for this month, the work continues!

Sunday morning worship is led by our respective Presbyterian neighbours. Messages can be left on the church voicemail or phone my cell number; email will be checked and I'll be in the office at various times through the week.

See you in August when we're hosting Sunday worship and the work schedule reverts to "normal".

Reconnected

I can say that my cell phone service has been restored. No, I didn't find the missing phone but I dug out an older model from the kids' toy bin, put a new SIM card in it and avoided paying for a market-priced replacement.

So you can call me and I will answer.

for June 21 – Mark 4: 35-41

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.

A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’

He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’

And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

* * *

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.

Happy Anniversary Trinity!

A reminder that Sunday is Trinity's anniversary service at 11:15 a.m. Appin United is invited to join the celebration with guest speaker from Canada Foodgrains Bank. Lunch is provided afterwards.

Sunday School Service at Trinity

It's June already!

While it will be "business as usual" (worship as usual?) at Appin this Sunday at 9:45, church at Trinity will be across the street with St. John's Anglican, led by our Sunday Schools, at 11:10.

Weather-permitting, it will be outdoors so bring lawn chairs. A potluck lunch follows - with a barbeque available for burgers and hot dogs - so bringing salads and desserts would round out the menu.

Rural Regional Worship

This Sunday, being the 5th Sunday of the month, is a shared worship service of the Southwest Middlesex area United Churches. As such, worship at Appin and Trinity United will occur at Bethesda United in Kerwood at 11 a.m. with lunch to follow.

Perhaps it's fitting that we meet together to celebrate Pentecost?

sermon excerpts: "All You Need Is Love" (John 15: 9-17)

This is what the Harlequin webpage tells its prospective writers (click here). It’s pretty straightforward and self-explanatory - after all, love is a universal story, isn’t it? But we know that real life is complicated and resists cookie-cutter attempts to simplify our humanity into mass-marketed paperback narratives.

Even still, we try to distill truths into one memorable message, one witty mantra, into a cogent life mission statement. Jesus, facing his death and crucifixion, is trying to summarize his ministry for his followers. This is the practical application of the gospel: “Love one a
nother, as much as I have loved you.”

Easy as that. All you need is love. Love is all you need. But we’re not talking about a Harlequin love, a breathy, steamy, consuming obsession that addles the mind and distracts us. What Jesus speaks of is the gritty love for any and all other people, to accept them as they are and to give of ourselves for their well-being, going so far as to give up our own life for another person.

Can we love like that? Our own prejudices, loyalties and priorities will always cloud the issue. We, as finite beings with limited time and energy, are not able to love infinitely and unconditionally, not the way that Christ loves us. He must have known this, but still he commands us to do this. But is it really love if it has to be commanded?

Must we be coerced into faithful and peace-seeking relationships with one another? Is that being true to ourselves? At the Faith Fair on Wednesday, the Muslim presenter explained one of the misconceptions about Islam is that their deep respect for other people’s beliefs. They don’t go around trying to convert people, he said that when you expect to change others, you only frustrate yourself.

Jesus goes as far as to say that we are his friends if we do what he commands. That doesn’t sound quite right, of course he’ll be our friend if we do what he wants us to! What about unconditional love and respect and acceptance? What about friends are friends forever?

Although this notion of friendship is something new. Jesus describes the progression of their relationship from master and servant to being friends. Jesus states the new status of who they are: “no longer do I call you servants, but friends.”

A servant blindly follows directions, not knowing the how or why of the instructions. Jesus has taken great pains to clarify and explain his parables, his philosophy, the scriptural connections to his life so that his friends would know the fullness of who he was, of his truth and his being.

In spite of all that the group of friends would go through, jealousy, infighting, betrayal, persecution, it was their love for the Saviour and for one another that saw them through the rest of their years. They did not have comfortable lives, they did not have a public place to gather for worship, there was no organ, or baptismal font, or stained glass windows.

All they had was one another. And despite the tension and rivalry between John, Paul, George and Ringo, The Beatles were able work together and creatively because of a love and respect they had for each other’s gifts. All you need is love, love is all you need. That is the circular logic of our faith, but it is inescapable truth of Jesus’ teaching. We love in an imperfect place, as ordinary people seeking holiness in our days. May this truth be more real than a paperback romance, commanded by Christ, revealed in scripture and grown within our very selves.

Spring Study Leave

After a busy week of meetings, confirmation class visit to a mosque, a memorial service, Reiko's 6th birthday festivities and a pulpit exchange, I'm off for a week of Study Leave.

I'm headed to Princeton's Forum on Youth Ministry (just arrived in Scranton for an overnight pitstop) and will be back to work May 4. In the meantime, Rev. Birchall is available for any pastoral emergencies. See you when I'm back!

sermon excerpts: "When in Doubt"

The events of that first Easter must have been frantic and mindboggling for the disciples. What was anyone supposed to believe? Amid the confusion and chaos, Jesus appears in a locked and sheltered room to the disciples. His words are ones of comfort and care – peace be with you, the Holy Spirit be with you, forgiveness be with you, the implication being to go and share these gifts and new understanding of life and faith. Those gathered receive those words and are amazed. All except for one person, who wasn’t there.

Thomas is another one in the Bible who bears the brunt of a one-sided telling of a story. The poor guy comes back to the room; he had been out so he misses out on the experience of Jesus’ resurrected reappearance. He could only go by what the others told him. We don’t know of the group dynamics of the 12 or what the full extent of Judas’ betrayal did to their sense of trust and safety with each other.

Nevertheless, I’m sure there were practical jokes and laughter at the expense of others, so Thomas might have dismissed this tale as a warped and cruel joke. Somebody’s expressing grief in a peculiar fashion. Thomas’ reaction can be expected and understood.

He wants to see the wounds from the cross, to be sure that it was the same Jesus that was crucified. Which would be rather morbid had not Jesus already done so before. All Thomas wants is to have the same opportunity that the others did, to have the same information to base his decision on. Is that doubt or just wanting to be treated equally?

Any reasonable person would do the same and yet he carries the dubious title of Doubting Thomas for all the millennia that follow. That’s what you get for not being there.

For us today, we may be, for different reasons, wondering: Who is not here, who is missing out? What would it take to convince them of what happened here today? Is it necessary to examine and touch scars and wounds? We know the pain and discomfort of poking at injury, stirring up hornets nests long since discarded …

We are known by our scars. They are what distinguish us, show that we have lived life, that we have been scathed by accident, intention or mishap. We have scars and wounds as individual people, as a community, as a church.

We have been hurt, made vulnerable, but survived. They are part of our story, of who we are. As a United Church of Canada, we show the marks of good intentions with First Nations residential schools and the harm they caused. We were beaten up in 1988 with the provocative stance that sexual orientation has no bearing upon the suitability of a candidate for ministry.

Granted our own pain and experiences do not compare to crucifixion, but our scars and wounds tell the tale of who we are. They speak of our presence at the cross. We are not perfect, we have not escaped through life untouched.

We are damaged people, of that there is no doubt. And still, we are renewed and redeemed. There is the Easter miracle. For all our hurt and injury, pain and suffering, we are not abandoned or all.

Doubts and questions, desire for proof, for more information, to be included in the greater knowledge is the one characteristic that Thomas is mocked for. Lost in this story is the message of Christ: peace be with you. The Spirit is with you. Forgiveness is with you – do with it what you will. Thomas does not doubt this. Neither can we.

for Apr. 19 - John 20: 19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

* * *

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: "The Gardener Did It" (John 20: 1-18)

... Mary, at the tomb, gets Peter and John to check things out and they confirm the body of Christ is missing. Overcome by loss, confusion and she does not recognize Jesus as he stands there before her in his risen, resurrected glory. Why would she? It would make no sense for her to expect to see him, as best she could figure, who else would be out there at that time of day … the groundskeeper, the gardener?

And we find again a suggestion that Christ lives on in each of us. In the same way that we can for a minute see a glimpse of a friend or family member in a complete stranger. Or the way memories come flooding back of a person or a place through some random trigger. The risen Christ seen as a gardener reminds me of this.

We are comforted that life is bigger than our own experience – there is a universe beyond our understanding and we have connections by our spirit to this great mystery. Jesus warns Mary to not touch him and this tells of the fact that our spirits are never limited to our bodies. I don’t know if I will ever have a satisfactory answer for what exactly happened that morning in the garden – why Mary didn’t know who Jesus was, being the least of the questions.

Is it a case of soul-rending grief leading to a case of mistaken identity? We’ve come a long way from that first Easter. We know the full story, of Jesus’ resurrection, of the formation of a new religion, and the world changed by 2000 years of Christianity. But are we so different as people from that time, is the world a better place?

While we may as individuals be changed by the conviction of our faith, comforted by the power of life over death, assured by the promise of deliverance, does the world believe this? So much of our medical technology and philosophy is focused on fighting death, preserving life at all costs. Democracy, socialism, communism, dictatorships all pale in the light of Christ’s commands to love and serve one another.

And despite the lesson from the guy in the garden, we tend to discount the divinity in others. And in ourselves. We know how fallible and imperfect we are, especially the driver who cuts us off in traffic, the telemarketer who interrupts our dinner, the customer or proprietor who insists on being a jerk … can the glory of God’s goodness and love for all creation be found in mere mortals?

For this reason, we join together as fellow travelers on the journey of faith. Together, despite our flaws, we are stronger than alone. Together we learn, and grow, and teach lessons of life, love and faith. As we meet people in our lives, as we remember them when they leave our lives, we celebrate the spark of life and rebirth that our Creator has placed within each of us. Gardener and God, Christ goes before us.

Together, we dine together at the table, recalling again the events of the last supper, the Passover of betrayal, the prayers of anguish in a garden. But foremost, we remember the new command – to remember Christ in the ordinary acts of eating and drinking, tasting of earthly flavours, that we might know that our faith in action is ordinary and extraordinary, mundane and divine both.

Good Friday message: "Jesus Remember Me ..."

The plea is for Jesus to remember us when he comes into his kingdom. Surely this isn’t the kingdom that he had in mind. Earthquakes in Italy, pirates in Somalia, life and death choices for terminally ill infants in Toronto, a missing girl in Woodstock, the closing of the Veltri plant … what is the world coming to? This is not his kingdom. It’s not even one that we’d create for ourselves. But it’s the one we find ourselves in. And it seems that our only recourse is to pray that Jesus remembers us.
...
The stories and experiences of the people in the Good Friday gospel are the stories and experiences that we live ourselves. To know doubt and dissent, the dissatisfaction of compromise, the loss of unshakeable truths, we know what is like to be fearful of the unknown that lies ahead. We know what it is like when government systems shuffle cases and issues back and forth, passing responsibility off to another office. We know that people suffer and are ridiculed, even harmed for taking a stand and living their cause with conviction.

Such is the kingdom of today. This is not Jesus’ kingdom. His is a life without fear of being who we actually are and not who we think we should be. Until we find that place where we live fully and wholly has a just and loving worldwide community of peace and graciousness, we find ourselves on the road to the cross.

So we remember that the Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering, is an actual place that still exists. Yet it is so easy to get caught up in our lives, in our own problems, in our own issues that we lose sight of our connection to one another in this community, in this world. Were it not for high holy days such as Christmas and Easter, our society would forget about the faith that has sustained it for so long.

Already it seems we have forgotten much about our leaders and teachers of faith, those who walked this earth and taught us the value of belief in a greater purpose, trust in a greater good and solace in a greater presence. Whether it is Christ or Mohammad or Buddha, or even great-grandparents who have built our churches, their stories become obscured by time.

Jesus remember us, when you come into your kingdom. I pray we might do the same, that we remember him, as we travel the ways of our earthly empires. To give voice to our spiritual needs, to stand accountable for our faith, and through trials and suffering find dignity and inner resolve. If this is the way of the cross, we at least travel together. We do not go alone, and we follow someone who has gone before us. It is his life, and death, that we remember.

* * *

And the "malediction":

Let us go forth into a hurting world, aware of loss, betrayal, suffering and tragedy.
Keenly aware of darkness and death, let us resolve to resist the powers of evil, apathy and empire.
So we go, knowing the terror of crucifixion and injustice of popular opinion.
We go, uncertain and unsure, knowing only that Easter and good news will follow somehow.
In the meantime, with the heavy burdens our own spirits carry, we bear a cross of discipleship and discernment.
We go into God’s good Friday. Amen.

sermon excerpts: "Low Rider" (Mark 11: 1-11)

... ["Low Rider" is a term from the 1960's referring to customized cars, which are once again in vogue through movies like "Fast & Furious"]. I mention low rider in reference to the animal that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Although I am using the term as meaning low in stature or status, which is ironic given the tricked out nature of such cars scream to be noticed the drivers and riders want to draw attention to them.

What they’d done was adapt and customize what they had to suit their needs or preferences. This is what Jesus did with his handpicked ride into the city. The colt was a deliberate and predestined choice of the Saviour seeking to manage the fickle nature of crowds, to fulfill the words of Zechariah’s ancient prophecy about the Messiah’s triumphant return, to emphasize his message of peace. ...

So maybe the image of a Saviour on a colt, a mere beast of burden, was so out of place that it caught people’s attention and imagination .... the spectacle of a ragtag group of unimportant people parading with cloaks and tree branches, crying out for salvation to a man on a colt, would warrant a second look because of the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. But it would be a telling snapshot of Jesus’ ministry: the servant king humbling himself for others to follow his example.

And what happens after? Jesus goes to the Temple. He has a look around. And goes to Bethany where he spends the night. It’s kind of anticlimactic, given all the fuss of early that day. The next day he’s back at the Temple and tossing moneychangers out on the street and really making a name for himself. But the triumphant entry into Jerusalem was in many respects, unremarkable.
For all the fuss we wonder what is going on and what it means. We can look at it a couple ways – time was running out. It was too late to do anything. Or, there is always another day, another opportunity to do God’s work.

It is this sense of time, of urgency and pressure that we find our churches facing this Easter season. For all the pomp and ceremony we’ve mustered over our history, "the sense of what do we do now?" has settled in. We’re looking around and suddenly seeing that the hour is late and there isn’t much time left for us to do anything.

Not that I’m trying to alarm or depress you with dire and catastrophic news of impending ruin. I remain firmly convinced that the Spirit of God and our own call to ministry in this community is stronger than financial hardship or flagging resources.

Much like the street racing, automotive-tinkering, low riders, we need to tailor the vehicle that is the church to be more suited to who we are and what we’re trying to do. Not to draw attention to ourselves, but as an expression of identity and a measure of effective stewardship – to use our time, energy and efforts as best we can.

What will that look like? Whether it is the building itself, part-time ministry with more reliance on the congregation’s skills, expanded partnership with other churches, I can’t say. I don’t know. It would be more honest, more streamlined, individualized to suit the personality of our community. But we have the sense that it will be lower in stature that what we’ve been used to – but that isn’t a bad thing.

Jesus rode a colt, simple and steady into what we call Holy Week. People still shouted hosanna. We, in our time, centuries and continents away remember his ministry all the more for it. Let us journey in the same manner, on a path of humbleness and holiness together. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.

Back to Work

It's been a somewhat restful, somewhat productive week of holidays. This Sunday is the Regional Rural Worship service at Trinity United, at 11:15. A common theme from the lectionary readings (listed here) is the sense of time and urgency. This is particularly relevant given our current situation of visioning and imagining our next course of action.

Happy March Break

I'll be off for a week of holidays, spending March Break with the kids, doing little bits of this and that around the house, with a few day trips mixed in.

Rev. Birchall is covering any emergency pastoral needs and I'll be back to work, refreshed and ready for the approach to Easter next Monday.

(And it is a lucky coincidence that college basketball playoffs begin this week too).

In the meantime, be well,
Kenji

sermon excerpts: "Promises in Stone"

Ten Commandments, carved in stone, considered a testament to God’s covenant with the Israelite people as brokered by Moses. It is in this development of the covenant that we see that people are required to become more active and participatory in their relationship with God. ... This one, at Mount Sinai, is the more rigorous understanding of a contractual obligation. The people live by these rules and God follows through on the promise of attendant care, rewards and benefits. Should the people renege on this deal, God has the legal right to opt out of the relationship and leave them to their own devices and the scheming of their enemies.

Ten Commandments, carved in stone. But we know in our life, and in life thousands of years ago: nothing is carved in stone, nothing is black and white. We live in a world full of grays. ... We could investigate the loopholes and questions of each of these 10 commandments. And I’m not saying that I disagree with any of them, it just seems a little sneaky of God to force the people to live by these rules when they’re so open to interpretation and context. It’s like we’re being set up to fail, that there’s always going to be a way for someone to say that we’re not obeying these laws.

Ten Commandments, carved in stone. Which kind of laws are they? Ones that are changeable and depend on people’s agreement and participation? On one hand, yes. But they are universal and unchanging in the sense that we do not break faith with others, by taking their possessions, subverting their relationships and besmirching their reputations. No community can break these commandments and survive as a life-giving gathering of support and care.

Ten Commandments, carved in stone. Permanently revered in the Ark of the Covenant, treasured and fought for many times over. Not so much for the ambiguous instruction they contain, but what they represent. The permanence of God’s care for us, a commitment to journey with us, the expectation that we question and wonder and think of our own answers.
These commandments teach that we all participate in our faith, in the expression of permanent unchanging truth of God’s love for justice, equality and fair treatment of all.

* * *

We look at many of the instructions about the reality of one true god, Sabbath keeping and preserving the sacred secret nature of YHWH’s name and find that these laws are specific to the Jewish reality of escaped slaves trekking through the wilderness. What connection or use do these laws have for us in our present day and age?

The preservation of trust within a community – of prioritizing the importance of God, one god, worthy of worship and praise. We keep faith with one another, through honesty and trust. Theft, betrayal, slander, murder, jealousy, these things all undermine a community.

God was trying to preserve the community and identity for a people that were struggling. They didn’t have a geographic home, there was no stable economy, the leadership structure was just beginning to emerge, how were they going to survive 40 years in the wilderness?

Focusing on their relationship with the divine, keeping the bond of trust and reliance on one another. That’s what the commandments intended to do – keep the community together while they faced great hardship and uncertainty.

The same goes for us: economic instability, emerging leadership strategy, uncertainty about the years ahead or where we’re going … and still we have a wealth of strength and resources – we have each other.