Looking Forward to April 30, 2017 -- Easter 3, The Road to Emmaus

This week we are celebrating the Sacrament of Communion. Normally our next Communion service would be May 7th but as the Youth Group is providing service leadership that day Communion has been moved up one week.

The Scripture Reading this week is Luke 24:13-35

The Sermon title is Known in Bread

Early Thoughts: How is the Risen Christ recognized? What breadth of things might Easter mean?

Most of us associate the experience of Easter with the empty tomb stories. However a further reading of Matthew, Luke and John (Mark's original ending only has an empty tomb story and the women fleeing in fear) suggests that people experienced the Resurrection in a variety of places. Matthew and John suggest that some only truly got resurrection once they went home to Galilee. Luke and John suggest that a meal (in John a fish meal following a miraculous catch of fish, in Luke a simple breaking of bread) was a part of the Easter moment for some.

Which brings us to this week's story.

Two people traveling away from Jerusalem. A third joins them (the text is not clear--does he overtake them on the road? or does he just appear?). In response to a couple of questions they pour out their fear, their grief, their uncertainty, their shattered hopes following the arrest, trial and execution of Jesus of Nazareth.

Which cues the stranger to explicate Scripture to them, to review what those old passages might mean, to open their hearts to the possibility of Easter. Later the two will realize how their hearts burned during this part of the journey. Is this burning the fire of hope taking hold? Is it the Spirit stirring the embers back into life?

Then the journey comes to an end. It is evening. As a simple act of hospitality the two encourage the stranger to stay with them. But then...

The stranger takes on the role of host at the table, and as he breaks bread he is revealed as the Risen Christ.

It wasn't in the hearing from the women who went to the tomb early that morning that Cleopas and friend felt the reality of Easter. It was not from the reminder of what Jesus had foretold. It was not in the detailed exploration of Scripture they heard along the road. It was in the Breaking of the Bread.

Gathering at table was a marker of the Jesus community throughout the Gospel account. Gathering at table remains a marker of the Christian community for most of us. We trust that we meet God at the table. We Break the Bread and we share the cup and we remember Jesus. But we also meet Jesus, the Risen Christ, the one who invites us to the table.

I suggest that it is not only at the Communion table that this is true. I suggest that, if we are open, if we allow our vision to be cleared, we meet Jesus at a variety of tables. Maybe at the lunch following a funeral. Maybe at the church picnic. Maybe at the community BBQ.

There is an old joke about the United Church (or sometimes about other denominations -- this version comes from a Methodist source).

A kindergarten teacher gave her class a "show and tell" assignment. Each student was instructed to bring in an object that represented their religion to share with the class.
The first student got up in front of the class and said, "My name is Benjamin and I am Jewish and this is a Star of David."
The second student got up in front of the class and said, "My name is Mary. I'm a Catholic and this is a Rosary."
The third student got in up front of the class and said, "My name is Tommy. I am Methodist, and this is a casserole."

We sometimes laugh about the fact that so often in the church we find an excuse to eat together Personally I have been known to refer to the Sacrament of the Potluck. But maybe it is not a joke. Maybe we eat togehter so often because we know that in eating together we build community. We know that in eating together we meet Jesus, the Word made Flesh, the Risen Christ.
--Gord

Looking Forward to April 23, 2017 -- Stephen, Witness and Martyr, 2nd Sunday of Easter

The Scripture reading this week are some portions of the Story of Stephen, the first Christian Martyr. (The whole arc of Stephen's story starts at the beginning of chapter 6 with the decision to appoint deacons and continues through to his death and burial. The majority of chapter 7 is a sermon by Stephen which leads to his stoning.) We are reading Acts 6:8-7:2a; 7:54-8:3

The sermon title is Witness and Reaction

Early Thoughts: Who knows who Stephen is? For much of my life the only reference I knew of to Stephen was in the first line of the carol Good King Wenceslas where we are told that the king looked out "on the feast of Stephen". And then even the first few times I was referred to his story in Acts it was in relation to the end when we see a man named Saul watching Stephen's execution with approval (reading into chapter 9 we find Saul having an experience on the Damascus road which leads him from persecution to proselytizing and , name changed to Paul, becoming the leading spreader of Christianity in the New Testament).

At the beginning of Chapter 6 it is evident that the Jerusalem church is not the utopia described back in Chapter 2.  Earlier we were told that all things were held in common and distributed to each person according to need, now in Chapter 6 we find that there is dissension about this very distribution. And the 12 seem to think that waiting on tables is below them, they have "more important" things to do (which may well be a possible future sermon, remembering the Christ who knelt down and washed their feet). And so they decide to name a group of 7 deacons whose task it will be to serve the community. Stephen is one of those 7. Which brings us to our reading...

Chosen to serve, it becomes obvious that God has other things in mind for Stephen. HE becomes known for being " full of grace and power," and doing "great wonders and signs among the people.". And this attracts attention (how could it not), which leads to Stephen being put on trial [with charges that seem eerily reminiscent of those laid at the feet of Jesus] for his preaching about Jesus and The Way.

Then follows one of the longer sermons in Acts (and there are some long passages of sermon/instruction in these earlier chapters of Acts). Stephen rehearses the entire salvation story from Abraham, through Moses, into the building of the temple,and the work of the prophets into the execution of Jesus (the Righteous One). He further accuses his accusers and those who stand in judgement of being in opposition to the Holy Spirit.

And this is where our reading jumps back in, at the end of the trial. For some reason the trial panel is not feeling warm and fuzzy after being called stiff-necked and labelled as betrayers and murderers. In the face of their fury Stephen remains grounded and trusting in Christ, sharing a vision of Christ standing by the throne of God. ANd then even as he is being stoned he dies in ways that are indeed reminiscent of the death of Jesus on the cross. Stephen becomes the first martyr for the sake of Christ.

Sometimes sharing God's vision for the world causes complicated reactions.

What do we do with a martyrdom story in 21st century North America?

Do we ask what the price is for being part of a counter-cultural movement (as the church is becoming once again)?
Do we remember our brothers and sisters in Egypt whose churches were bombed on Palm Sunday?
Do we ask how willing we are to witness and test the reactions?
--Gord

Breaking Bread Together

(A column for the local paper on April 21st)

Was there a time in your life, maybe the time is now, when you ate most of your meals alone? I always found it a strange feeling. Meals became more a matter of sustenance than an occasion. There is so much more to a meal that is shared with friends or family.

While looking for lyrics to something different I came upon a Johnny Cash song which contains these lines:

It's not the barley or the wheat It's not the oven or the heat

That makes this bread so good to eat

It's the needing and the sharing that makes the meal complete.

Our English word companion speaks of sharing food. The Latin roots are together (com) and bread (panis). WE use it to talk about someone who shares a portion of life’s journey with us. Because we know that life is almost always better and easier when we share it with one or more others. We mark events and anniversaries by eating together with one special person or a group of special people. It isn’t about the food, we can eat alone if need be. It is about the people.

Yesterday I saw a video (actually a commercial for President’s Choice) where a couple of young women set up a table in the hallway of their apartment building. As the video progresses more and more people gather, each bringing something to share with the table. And as they gather they meet each other (how many of us never get to know our neighbours?) and there is laughter. Community is built when we eat together. As I watched it I saw the sacrament of the neighbourhood potluck.

Another song. There is an African American spiritual that I learned as a child (long before I knew what an African American Spiritual was) which says:

Let us break bread together on our knees;

let us break bread together on our knees;

It is a song often sung at communion services, the time when we gathered at God’s Table to celebrate the meal of faith and hope.

From the beginning of the movement that followed and continues to follow Jesus meals have been crucial. Jesus knew the power of sitting at the same table as others. Indeed on more than one occasion people sneer at and complain about Jesus because he is willing to eat with tax collectors and sinners and people of ill-repute. Jesus knew that to eat with people is a way to let them know that they belong, that they are loved, that they are accepted. Then, just before his death, Jesus told his friends to continue to break bread and share a cup of wine in remembrance of him. The common table, and the fellowship shared there, was a marker of what it meant to follow Jesus.

To this day the church continues to break bread and share wine or juice and remember Jesus. And when we do this together we meet God. We meet God in the bread and the cup and in the neighbours with who we share the meal. It is not about the ritual. It is not about wine vs. juice. It is not about what kind of bread is broken. Or rather it is about more than all those things. It is about the community which gathers to share and to support each other.

One of my favourite Easter stories takes place in Luke 24:13-35. A pair of travellers encounter a stranger on the road. They discuss the life and ministry of Jesus with him for many miles, and then invite him to spend the night with them. He breaks the bread and they recognize that Christ is with them. When we break bread together we enter a holy place, and Christ is revealed in our midst. Christ is in the bread and in the gathered community. In one of his books Bishop John Spong suggests that for some portion of the early Church Easter became revealed and real to them when they continued doing what Jesus had done and gathered people together at the table. Then they knew that Christ was still with them. I would tend to agree. A meal shared is a sign of grace.

Christianity is a faith based on being in community. We are a faith that knows that we are stronger in community. We know that we meet God in community. And so when we invite each other to eat, be that at a ritual Communion meal or at a potluck or at a neighbourhood BBQ we are inviting each other to a holy time, a place where we can meet God.

When we eat together, we are stronger as a community. Thanks be to God. Let us break bread together.

Looking Ahead to April 16, 2017 -- Easter Sunday

The emotional life of Holy Week is a true roller-coaster.

• We start in triumph on Palm Sunday with the parade into the city.
• Then we get somber with the Last Supper.
• Then we go down in to the valley of the shadow of death as we watch the crucifixion and burial.
• and then...

then there is a BIG SURPRISE!

This year we will be reading the Easter story as it is told by Luke (Luke 24:1-12)

The Sermon title is Risen!

Early Thoughts: The climax of the Christian year has come!Without the Easter story we would not tell any of the other stories. We would not talk about a baby in a manger. We would not talk about a Cross on a hill. Without Easter there is little reason to believe that the other stories of Jesus of Nazareth, that the movement that coalesced around him, would have survived long past his death.

The women go to the grave to weep and mourn. They go to perform that basic act of mourning (anointing of the body) that was not possible before the burial. And when they get there...

A new beginning! New life! New possibilities!

AS Natalie Sleeth says in hymn (VU #175):

“This is the day that God had made!
Rejoice! Rejoice, and be exceeding glad!
This is the day that God has made!
Rejoice! Rejoice! Hallelujah!
Christ has conquered death at last,
Left the tomb that held him fast!
Gone the sorrow, gone the night,
Dawns the morning clear and bright!
Jesus lives who once was dead,
Lives forever, as he said!
Risen now our Saviour, King;
Songs of gladness let us sing!”

The world is changed. Life wins. Can we believe it?

The other disciples couldn't. They dismissed the women's story as an "idle tale" (one commentary suggest a more idiomatic way of saying that might be "a load of...", or more politely "wishful thinking"). Jesus was dead. They all knew it. Only when he went to the tomb himself did Peter believe.

Can we believe it? Can we trust that the end is not the end? Is the Risen Jesus here alive and among us?

More from Natalie Sleeth (VU #703)

In our end is our beginning, in our time infinity
in our doubt there is believing, in our life eternity 
In our death a resurrection; at the last a victory
unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Christ is risen! Life wins! Hallelujah!
--Gord

Looking Ahead to Holy Week-- Maundy Thursday (April 13) and Good Friday (April 14)

Thursday
Traditionally folks gather on the Thursday before Easter to remember key elements of the Passion story. We remember the stories of what happened the night before Jesus was executed. Here at St. Paul's it is our practice to gather for a potluck supper during which we have our worship service. This year's service will be at 6:00 in the West (or Small) Basement. Please use the Northwest door of the church if you are attending.

From the Gospel of John (which does not have a "Last Supper" story) we remember the story of Jesus kneeling down and washing the disciples feet as a model of servant leadership. Within the Roman Catholic church there is a tradition that the Pope re-enacts this every year, often with a group of prelates [although the current Pope has been known to go to a prison and wash the feet of women or Muslims]. In this same section of John's Gospel Jesus gives his disciples a New Commandment "that you love one another as I have loved you". It is from this that the name Maundy Thursday comes as the Latin for Commandment is maundatum.

From the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke -- this year we will be reading from Luke) the key piece that we remember is the Last Supper, the Passover meal that Jesus shares with his friends and at which he institutes the Eucharist/Communion meal.

The Scripture Readings we will share this year are:

• John 13:3-17, 34-35 Luke 22:24-27 (following which we will wash each other's hands)
• Luke 22:1-23, 1 Corinthians 11:20-26

Early Thoughts: Eat and remember, drink and remember.

From the beginning of the Jesus movement gathering at table has had a special place. On numerous occasions in the Gospels the people mutter how Jesus is acting inappropriately by eating with tax collectors and sinners and people of ill-repute. And after Easter, after they experienced Resurrection, the followers of Jesus continued to put gathering at table at the center of how they worshiped. Paul's words to the Corinthians make it plain how central the Lord's Supper (or Communion or Eucharist) was to the life of Christian faith -- and that the Corinthians weren't quite getting it right.

So it is that we continue to gather at the table to break the bread and share the cup. We continue to find it important to eat together as a fellowship. Because we believe that when we do this, we meet God.

Let us break bread together,  let us drink wine [or some other liquid] together, let us praise God together...


Friday
On Friday there is a lot of story. Some places tell the story from arrest to trial to crucifixion to burial. Some only tell the last part of the story. This year we will be in the latter group.

There are other traditional Scripture passages to read on Good Friday. One is Psalm 22, a piece of poetry that the early church appears to have used as a resource as they told the story of Jesus' execution. Another is from Isaiah, one of the "Servant Songs". While there is a great deal of debate as to who the Suffering Servant in Isaiah was originally meant to be (the Messiah? the Israelites?) the Christian church has largely understood (or re-understood) it to refer to Christ.

The readings we will hear this Friday are:

• Psalm 22: 1-22 (VU p.744)
• Isaiah 53:1-9
• Luke 23:33-38, 44-49

This year we are doing something a little bit different for Good Friday. Instead of telling the story and reflecting on why [if?] Jesus needed to be killed the service will take the form of a funeral for Jesus of Nazareth.

Looking Ahead to April 9, 2017 -- Palm Sunday, Stewardship 3

The Scripture readings this week are:

• Luke 19:29-40 
• Matthew 5:13-16

The Sermon title is Called to Shine, Called to Season, Called to Praise

Early Thoughts: A parade! Do we stand and watch and wait or do we join in?

Is the Palm Sunday story a stewardship text?  Not usually. But it might be.

As Luke tells the story, Jesus tells those who oppose him, those who want the mob to calm down (either to avoid arousing the ire of the Roman soldiers or simply because they disagree with the mob) that if the crowd were silent the stones themselves would cry out. Sometimes [often?] the presence of God in the world is so overpowering that we simply HAVE to respond.

SO how do we respond?

WE often talk about Palm Sunday as the story of a parade. But I think it is more the story of a carnival (Marcus Borg and John Crossan describe it as carefully orchestrated street theatre). A Parade is often a more passive event for many.  It goes by while the crowd stands and watches. Palm Sunday is a time when everybody is getting involved, indeed it is this level of participation that seems to raise the eyebrows of some of the powerful.

When God is evident in our midst the call is to respond, to get involved, not only to watch in awe and wonder.

Is God in our midst? How will we respond?
--Gord