Away for the Week

The CanLead Forum on Ministry begins today in London. It's a national (youth) ministry conference and I am serving as chaplain for the event.

This means I'll be away from the pastoral charge until Thursday night so I will not be attending Office Hours this week. You can still reach me by email or cellphone but please understand my response time and availability will be limited. I'll do my best to keep updates on the blog here, sharing some of the keynote addresses as best I can.

See you again on Sunday,
Kenji

sermon excerpts: "Listen First" (John 1: 43-51)

Who is this Nathanael anyway? All we get from this snippet is that he is probably a close friend of Philip and likes to sit under trees. If we do a bit of research, the implication is that Nathanael was studying the Torah, the law of Moses. Reading between the lines of this encounter with Jesus, I might say that Nathanael is a morally righteous, even snobbish, who appreciates a little flattery.

In some circles, he is said to be the apostle Bartholomew. In John’s gospel, Philip and Nathanael are linked together; in the other gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, it is Philip and Bartholomew that are buddy-buddy with no mention of anyone named Nathanael anywhere. So it seems natural to assume that the apostle Bartholomew and the shade-seeking Nathanael are the same man.

We know (or at least think we know) who Nathanael is based on the people he related to, on the company he kept. ...

How did Jesus know this about Nathanael, that he was an Israelite free from deceit? Was it benign flattery, because who is going to disagree with such a characterization? Assuming that Nathanael was in fact, a noble and honest person, how did Jesus discern this fact from a distance? Cosmic eavesdropping? Body language?

Maybe Jesus heard the stories Philip told about his friend Nathanael, maybe Jesus paid attention to the signs and stories about this man. Is it as simple as thinking that Jesus listened? I mean genuine listening, not merely waiting for your turn to speak again.

In our own lives and in the teaching of our faith, we know the emphasis is on the end product and the required action to achieve this end: our faith requires speaking our truth and sharing our story. The work of evangelization is to spread the word of faith. (Which is different that enticing people to come any particular Sunday service of any particular congregation).

Unless our action is grounded in listening, it becomes less about God and more about ourselves. ... the fact remains that what and who we know influence the way we live our lives and how we orient our faith.

So we listen to those around us. And we listen to the still small voice that calls to our hearts. In the space between all the conversations and ideas and frustrations, God’s call may be uncovered. Who are we as a people of faith? Who am I as a follower of Christ? Who might we be as Appin / Trinity United Church?

Before we can take action, before we can make a decision, before we can speak, we listen.

for Jan. 25: John 1: 43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’

Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’

Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’

Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’

Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’

Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’

Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

* * *

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: "Evolution of the Holy Spirit"

The latest and greatest innovation to the life of faith is not Eckhart Tolle, or The Secret, or Yogic Flying or church Union in 1925 or even the Reformation in 1517 or but harkens back to Jesus. Yeah, that’s the easy way out, but as we heard from the scripture lesson in Acts it is not so much about Jesus crucifixion and resurrection but his introduction of the Holy Spirit.

John baptized into a spirit of repentance, that the water washes away sins. Jesus offered baptism into a way of life that is life-giving, generative and generous. But this is an idea that goes against our natural tendencies. It is easier to think poorly of ourselves, to magnify our negatives, to dwell on our faults than it is to think that we are good enough as we are.

As I read through the scripture lesson, I was reminded of my days as a fundamentalist teenager. One night the director of the summer camp I was working at asked if I was baptized with the spirit. Huh? I had the same reaction as the Ephesians. I knew about baptism with water, but not with the Holy Spirit.

It was a lovely summer night, warm and bug-free. The Perseids meteor shower cascaded overhead, a cosmic blessing upon the events of that night. The camp director was a very earnest and devout Christian, determined to save souls, to unleash the Spirit through speaking in tongues and other gifts.

At the time, I was a like-minded soldier of God and eager to please, so I consented to baptism in the spirit. So at that moment sitting at Vesper Point, she placed her hands on my head and prayed an impassioned prayer asking the Holy Spirit to come into my heart and began to speak in tongues – reciting and incanting phrases in some kind of language. Then she indicated that I should do the same.

So it was my turn. I didn’t feel physically different, was I spiritually changed by the entry of the Spirit into the core of my soul? What the heck, I’d give it a try. I began making noises and sounds that was a cross between babbling and a little Latin-Japanese mumbojumbo that seemed to satisfy the requirements of spiritual speaking.

That was then and this is now. I’ve moved away from that understanding of faith. I do not mean to diminish or disrespect have utmost respect for faith traditions that practise this kind of ministry. Other times I’ve shared this story have been met with skepticism or excused as a temporary lapse of reason. And I’m prepared to meet that reaction again.

Did I believe what I was doing? Yes I did. It was an expression of what was important to me. And such is the journey of faith; there is a different focus or highlight depending on the time, place and people. I was going to call it an evolution of faith, but that implies that one understanding is superior to another and that is not the case.

What happened in Ephesus was the introduction of news that the disciples there hadn’t known of. The Holy Spirit is personal and real presence of God’s power and Jesus’ passion available for each of us. Previously, they only knew of John the Baptist’s baptism that cleansed the body and spirit of sin. While it is a comfort to know that repentance is offered and dispensed, such a mindset still is a burden of guilt, worry and negativity.

In an echo of light coming from dark chaos, we find the light of God’s grace and approval as delivered by the Holy Spirit to be the good news. No longer is fear, shame and guilt the default setting for our spirit; because of Jesus, our soul can focus on life seeking justice, love seeking to serve and hope seeking renewal. And that is the evolution of faith.

for Jan. 18: Acts 19.1-7

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the inland regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’

They replied, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’

Then he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’

They answered, ‘Into John’s baptism.’

Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied— altogether there were about twelve of them.

* * *

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.

Winter Weather

In advance of tonight's forecasted snow and wind (and the work schedule of a couple Elders), Appin's Session meeting has been postponed to next week - Tues. Jan. 20 at 7 p.m.

Planning for January and February worship

I've updated the worship worksheet to show the rest of the Sundays until Lent begins in March. If you care to see what is proposed and have any ideas about them, I'd love to hear from you.

Generally, January's Sundays will consider the notion of call - to be, to listen, to change - with special care to relate to matters of church viability. I figure this might be timely in our season of Annual Reports and congregational meetings.

February focuses on promises (that God makes to us, that we make to one another in community) of strength, healing/wholeness and transformation.

Again, all this is open to change and your input and involvement is most welcome. (Although I beg your indulgence and understanding if your suggestion isn't used - or am I overestimating the volume of responses to think choice between varying ideas might be necessary? I live in hope).

for Jan. 4, 2009 - Luke 14.12-24

We're back, but are going off-lectionary for January. For your consideration this week, the parable of the feast ...

He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’

Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” But they all alike began to make excuses.

The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.” Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.” So the slave returned and reported this to his master.

Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.”

And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.”

Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.” ’

* * *

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.