Looking Forward to November 2, 2014 -- The Healing of Naaman

This week marks the beginning of a series of readings  from the prophets which will last until the Sunday before Christmas when we will begin to follow Matthew's Gospel.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• 2 Kings 5:1-14
• Matthew 8:2-3

The Sermon title is Go Take a Bath!

Early Thoughts:  Wash and be clean.  A simple command.  So why does Naaman get so upset?

As it happens, I wrote a short devotional based on this passages from 2 Kings a couple of weeks ago.  Here is what I said there:

Why do we make it so hard?? Why do we think we have to jump through hoops to be clean and whole in God's eyes?
Maybe, like Naaman, we want a sign of wonder and power. Maybe, like Naaman, we think we are so important we deserve such a sign.
But remember the beginning of the faith story, where God calls all things good. Remember the Christ who told the lepers that they were clean, the Christ who proclaimed God's forgiveness.
It is easy to be whole in God's eyes. Easier even than bathing in the Jordan. We just have to say “here I am, heal me”. Why do we make it harder?
Action Step: On those days when you feel unlovable or unclean stop and look in the mirror and say “I am a beloved child of God”. For that matter do it at least once everyday.
Parent God, help me always remember how easy it is to place myself in your loving arms. Amen.

 In part I am wondering what does it mean to be clean?  To be unclean?  I don't think the story is about leprosy (a term which covers a whole range of skin conditions in Scripture).  Or at least I don't think the story is ONLY about leprosy and the power of God revealed in Elisha.  It is about contagion and how we respond to the unclean in our midst.

The Levitical law approach to "leprosy" had nothing to do with curing it.  It had everything to do with containing it, with limiting the spread. Much of the Levitical law is, in essence, a Purity Code -- it tells you what to do to remain "pure" or "clean" (and how to become clean again after something has made you unclean).  But this is not enough for Naaman, or for Elisha, or (apparently) for God.  It is not enough to limit contagion, why not get rid of it altogether.

It seems to me that many people have been told that they are somehow unclean or unacceptable or a source of contagion.  How do we respond?  Jesus, when faced with a leper, said "I do choose, be clean".  As followers of the Risen Christ we are constantly told that we are made clean.  Even without bathing in the Jordan.  Do we believe that we are clean?
--Gord

Looking Forward to October 26, 2014

The Scripture Reading this week is 1 Kings 3:4-28

The Sermon title is The Gift of Wisdom

Early Thoughts:  What is wisdom?  What makes one wise?

Early in his reign Solomon is commanded by God to make a request.  "Ask what I should give you" God says.  Is it an offer or a test?  Apparently a test--one that Solomon passes.  Solomon asks for "an understanding mind" instead of wealth or power, and this so pleases God that in addition to wisdom Solomon is promised "riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you".

But what is wisdom?

The second half of our passage is one of the stories that purports to show Solomon's wisdom in action.  And it is a story many of us have heard many times over the years.  A version of it shows up in a Cosby Show episode (doesn't work there) and another version of it shows up in an episode of Murdoch Mysteries (with more profitable results).

Wisdom is threatening to cut a baby in half?

Dictionary.com defines wisdom as:
the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.

So wisdom is not necessarily about knowing all the facts.  That is knowledge.  But many of us know people with lots of knowledge but little wisdom.

Wisdom is something deeper.  Wisdom is aided by facts and knowledge but wisdom allows/helps/enables us to make best use of those facts.  Wisdom comes from an ability to see deeper, to put the pieces together, possibly in a wholly different order, and see the picture as a whole.  In some ways wisdom comes from age and experience.

Where do we find wisdom in the world around us?   Do we always recognize it at the time?  OR do we sometimes look back and see/understand the wisdom that was shared with us decades before--that we thought was really weird at the time?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 12, 2014 -- Thanksgiving Sunday

The Scripture reading this week is Joshua 24:1-18

The Sermon title is Thank God! Serve God?

Early Thoughts:  After the conquest there is remembering.  And in the remembering there is a reminder.  Thank God for where you are, God has led you to this place and here is everything God has done for you.

Remembering is, I think, an integral part of thanksgiving.  Remembering is what clears space for us to say thank you.

But Joshua takes it another step.  Joshua challenges the people to not only remember and be thankful, but to serve.  In essence Joshua challenges them to put their money where their mouth is.

I want to encourage us to make the same challenge.  We are fairly good at reminding ourselves (periodically if not on an ongoing basis) how we have been blessed.  We are fairly good at reminding ourselves to say thank you.  But as people of faith our story and tradition pushes us to take the next step.  Do our actions show that we understand ourselves to be living in service to God? Or do our actions show that we understand ourselves to be living in service to ourselves/our families/some other god?  Which comes first?

If God is the source of our blessings, of our abundance, of our life then what is the appropriate response?  Service, says the faith story (Joshua and Moses and the Prophets and Jesus all appear to agree).  Commitment, says the faith story.  Putting God first, says the faith story.

What does it meant to say, as Joshua does, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"?  How do we live that out?  I think it is shown in how we use the blessings and gifts we have been given.  What we do with our time, our talent, and our treasure shows who we serve.  I also think it shows something of the depth of our thanksgiving.
--Gord

Letter to the Ministry Personnel of Northern Lights Presbytery

To my friends and colleagues in Northern Lights Presbytery:

Did you know that October is Pastor Appreciation Month, (also known as Clergy Appreciation Month)?

I had never heard of such a thing until about 6 years ago when I got a card from the Clergy Support Network in celebration of it. Apparently it was started by Focus on the Family 20 years ago and has since been adopted by Hallmark as another reason to sell cards.

To tell you the truth I am of a mixed mind about Clergy/Pastor Appreciation Month. Mainly because I think the supposed need for such a month shows how poorly we do as faith communities of living the Gospel. If we lived our faith fully then we would not need to be reminded or have special times to say thank you to our clergy, to our volunteers, or to God.

But I am also a realist. And I know that sometimes we DO need to be reminded to show our appreciation to others, we do forget to say thank you. As I often say to couples during pre-marriage discussions, it isn't that we intend to take each other for granted, it is just that we fall into a routine and we forget, and it seems that we take each other for granted sometimes.

So as this month begins I wanted to take time to say thank you to all of you for all that you do. As we all know, ministry is a career with many blessings and also many burdens. There are long weeks full of difficult meetings, there are times we hear stories that break our hearts. Then there are the blessed moments where we are invited to share the deepest moments of others lives, where we experience the wonder of sharing deep discussions about life and meaning. Then there are the myriad “other duties as required” that we are not always sure anybody notices we did.

For all these things I say thank you. For the service in your local community, for the time spent on the work of the wider church, for the many ways you live out your faith day by day, for all the times you were sure no one even thought about saying it I say thank you. Each one of you is a gift to the church, a gift to your community. And trust me people notice. They may not say it enough, but people notice.

God bless you all as you live out your ministry!

And yes, Happy Pastor/Clergy Appreciation Month!!

Gord Waldie

Chair of Northern Lights Presbytery

Or here is the Video Version....

October Newsletter

Let us talk about money.

I know I know, it isn't considered a proper topic for polite company. But then some would say religion is also not a topic for polite company and the church talks about it all the time.

On the 14^th of September I shared a dream. I shared my dream that we would one day be able to use the “Christmas Miracle”, the large upsurge of givings that happens in most churches in November and December not to balance the budget for the year but for special projects, new ministry. The only way that dream comes to reality is because givings (and other revenues) for the whole year keep up with expenses. On September 21^st there was an insert in the bulletin that let people know that the year-to-date deficit as of August 31 was $30 000.

What was I thinking?

I knew we were running a deficit for the year (but had no idea what size it was). But the thing is I truly believe that my dream is achievable. Honestly I do. I have that much faith in this congregation.

It is hard to take my dream seriously with the numbers in the bulletin this week. It would be easy to start to worry. After all, we are more in the red this year than we were last year at this time and last year we burned up most or all of our accumulated surplus. But I choose to be a person of hope. I honestly believe that if this congregation chooses we can not only overcome our current deficit but we can start to expand our ministry possibilities. But only if that is what we choose.

For me a deficit is always a symptom, never the problem. Certainly it looks like the problem. It is right there in black and white (or black and yellow given the colour of the bulletin inserts). But it is really a symptom of some deeper cause.

At one level the cure is easy. We need more money. Which means the same number of people giving more each, or more people giving, or (preferably to be honest) both of those things. And I truly believe both those things are possible to a greater or lesser degree.

But there is something deeper. How do we invite and encourage folks to commit themselves to the church with their money and their time (remembering that we have some committees that exist in name only)? What is that we are doing which intersects with the passions and needs of the people in our congregation and with Grande Prairie at large? How are we changing the lives of each other and our neighbours? How is God working through and in us as we share the vision, the passion, the hope of Jesus?

You see I think those questions are the deeper ones. I think if we live out our faith, if we can then share the difference made by committing time and energy and money to the church then my dream will come true. We will never balance our budget or fill our committees by making presentations on the need in worship, though that is part of it – we need to let people know what it takes to live out our shared ministry. We will balance our budget, fill our committees, and more, when we catch the fire of the Spirit and hold the torch high. When we live out our faith and our ministry, when we carry ourselves and our understanding of Christ to the world we can set fire to other Spirits.

Yes we balance our budget, we share in Christ's ministry in the world, by sharing the gifts we have been given. But more important is that this is how we live out our faith. And that is the more important part. The work of God is not about a balanced budget. The work of the church is about allowing God to transform the world through us.

Let's do that. I believe it will change the budget picture, but even if it doesn't, we will be more faithful to those who have gone before us by burning brightly than by spending all our effort keeping the fire burning.

Are you in it with me?