Looking Ahead to May 17, 2020 -- Easter 6A

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Isaiah 49:13-16
• John 14:15-21; 25-27

Early Thoughts: We will not be left orphaned. We will not be forgotten -- "Can a mother forget her child?". An Advocate, the Spirit of Truth will be sent.

Do we really believe that?  All the time?

I am not sure we do. At least I am not sure I always do.

It can be hard to believe sometimes. Say, for example, when the world has been totally turned upside down by a pandemic. Even then can we believe that we are not alone?

Maybe. Or Maybe not. But does that change how God is acting?

Still some basics remain. We are commanded to love each other, to let love be our identifying mark. As John's Jesus has told us in Chapter 13, we are to love each other as we have been loved. Jesus, I think, knows that it will be challenging to remain true to the Kingdom when he has gone. This, I think, is why he is promising to send a helper, and Advocate, the Paraclete. The Spirit will abide in us just as we already abide in the Spirit (sounds very panentheistic to me -- as far as I understand panentheism anyway). This is how we can continue to remain true to the Way.

God is with us in all this mess, all this turmoil, all this anxiety. God known in the Risen Christ continues to offer God's peace. Our hearts may still be troubled at time. We may still be afraid. But God is there, offering peace and hope, showing us the way forward.

Even when we aren't sure we believe it.

Thanks God.  Amen
--Gord

Looking Ahead to March 15, 2020 -- 3rd Sunday in Lent

For the next three weeks we have long stories from John's Gospel to reflect upon. This week's reading is John 4:1-42.

The Sermon title is Thirsty?

Early Thoughts: How thirsty are you?  Thirsty for what?

We NEED water. Without it we don't survive. Historically speaking, access to water is one of those things that  determines where towns would develop.

But is this story just about that clear life-giving liquid?

I think not.

At the beginning of their dialogue the Samaritan woman at the well thought Jesus was talking about water. Then she seems to have realized he was talking about something else. And out of that discussion she became a witness and evangelist. Jesus, it appears, touched some deep yearning inside her, some deep thirst that she needed to have quenched in order to have life in abundance.

What deep thirst(s) do you have in your life?

Jesus comes to bring us life in abundance. Jesus comes to quench our deep thirsts. I suggest we live in a world where many are incredibly thirsty. Sometimes we know what we thirst or yearn for, sometimes we just know that something is missing but have yet to identify what that is. Where does the faith story help us find what we yearn for? Where does faith help fill an empty spot? Where does the Living Water flood in and quench our thirst with a never-ending flow?

Jesus meets a woman at a well. They have a very interesting dialogue. Her life is changed. Through her Jesus meets her neighbours. When we have our thirst quenched how can we help but invite others to that same well? Maybe they too will find what they have been looking for?

For what do you thirst? What drops of Living Water can you share with your thirsty neighbours?

All who are thirsty.....COME AND DRINK
--Gord

Looking Ahead to March 1, 2020 -- 1st Sunday in Lent

As this is the 1st Sunday of the month we will be celebrating the Sacrament of Communion and we will be collecting our 2nd Offering for the  Local Outreach Fund.

Also our Annual Congregational Meeting will be taking place following the service.  Lunch and Childcare are being provided.

The Scripture Readings for this 1st Sunday of Lent are:

• Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
• Matthew 4:1-11

The Sermon title is Who Do We Want to Be?

Early Thoughts: Each year we begin Lent with the story of Jesus being led (or driven depending on the Gospel) into the wilderness for a time of testing. This year we pair it with the Genesis account of Eve being tested by the serpent. Repeatedly the Tempter says to Jesus "If you are the Son of God...". Part of the serpent's argument to Eve is "when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God". How many temptations in our lives tie in to questions of identity, questions of who we think we are and/or who we think we want (or perhaps ought) to be?

Jesus has just been baptized by John. Many people, then and now, see baptism as a significant life event. Matthew tells us that when Jesus was baptized he had a vision of the heavens being opened and God's Spirit alighting on him. How does one respond to a significant event like that?

Sometimes life-changing events [Jesus' public ministry begins after his baptism by John] prompt us to do some examination of our lives. We are pushed to ask if we are on the right path, or to ask which path we might follow from this point forward. At a deeper level we may start to wonder who we really are. This, I believe, is part of what lies under the story of Jesus in the wilderness.

So who do we [as individuals, as a community of faith, as a city, as a nation...] want to be? Who do we think God is calling us to be? What are we tempted to think we could be?

Traditionally the season of Lent is a time for self-reflection. Identity is a good thing to reflect on. We need to look at who we are currently and who we could be. We need to look at where we think we are living into our identity as beloved children of God -- and where we think we might be falling short.

In our myth of how the world came to be less than God created it to be, Adam and Eve were tempted to be like God. In the Wilderness the Tempter offers Jesus a variety of paths, but Jesus chooses to remain true to his understanding of who God calls him to be. What tempts us from the path of wisdom? How do we resist?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to February 9, 2020

This week we continue our What the Church Means to Me series. This week I am answering the prompting question.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Romans 12:2, 9-13
• Deuteronomy 11:18-19
• 1 Thessalonians 5:12-17
• Matthew 11:28-30

Reflection: Safety. Community. Learning.

These are three of the things that the church has offered to me over the years. Maybe with a touch of transformation mixed in. Oh and some recovery/rejuvenation....

Well and sometimes the church has led me to needing recovery or rejuvenation.

These are also things that echo with what people tell me about this congregation.

Telling my story will not be as much about this congregation, because my role here is different from our other story-tellers. So I will talk about the church over the course of my life. Touching on those places I have been in paid ministry but also those where I was a student, and the one where I was a child.

And the themes come through.  A place of safety and belonging. An place where we can ask questions and learn. A place of adoptive family (which sometimes one becomes closer to than your blood family).
--Gord

Looking Ahead to February 2, 2020

As this is the first Sunday of the month we will be celebrating the Sacrament of Communion during worship.  Also we will be taking our Second Offering to support our Local Outreach fund (which has been heavily used this month).

For the month of February we are inviting people to tell their stories about what the church means to them.  Each story will be followed by Scripture and a reflection based on what is included in the story.

This week our Scripture Readings are:

• Psalm 98 (VU p.818)
• 1 Peter 4:8-11
• Amos 5:21-24

Possible Reflections: Psalm 98 is one of a number of Psalms that talk about singing. Many people here at St. Paul's have a love for music and a love of sharing their musical gifts. Music has a special place in the church in general but most certainly here at St. Paul's

Last year when we had a series of stories told one of the threads that ran through all of the stories was community. To me the 1 Peter passage talks about community. It talks about holding each other in love. It also talks about open-ness to sharing the gifts we have. These things are vital as we build up our faith community.

When people talk about the history of the United Church of Canada in general and this congregation in specific a word that often comes up is justice. In this congregation there are memories of hard work done around God's call for a just world. Amos is one of those prophets that challenges us to do this continuously.

Come on Sunday and find out whose stroy we hear this week! And do these passages mesh with their story?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to January 26, 2020

The Scripture Reading this week is Matthew 4:12-23

SOURCE

The Sermon title is Gone Fishing!

Early Thoughts:  What would happen if the Word-Made-Flesh showed up at your workplace? What if someone walked in while you were working and said "I have a better offer, leave this all behind and come with me right now"? What if the word 'better' was missing from that invitation?

This story possibly asks more questions than it answers, which may be why we read a version of it almost every year.

• why did Jesus choose them?
• why did they drop everything and go?
• did they have a clue what was ahead of them?
• what did their families think?

Answers to none of those are in the text. To a large extent these questions are never answered in the rest of the Gospel either.  For the most part they remain a mystery (other than the 3rd question -- I think it is safe to say they did not have a clue).  Still we have the story. We still we see people respond to a strange invitation with strange haste.

Jesus must have seen something in these fishermen by the sea. They must have seen something in Jesus. And what was seen led to them being called and, in turn, answering the call.

Which does bring us back to the question at the top. If Jesus showed up in the middle of your daily life and said "got something for you to do, come on!" how would you react? I suspect most of us would want more details first. After all it is only prudent to get more information before totally changing our lives. What would make the offer so intriguing that we would jump in without further investigation?

Usually in our culture Gone Fishing (or maybe Gone Fishin') is about leisure. It evokes images of escaping/running away from the trials and tribulations of daily life for a relaxing day on the lake. But if you make your living catching fish it has a very different meaning. Jesus is not inviting an escape from the world. Jesus is inviting hard work as these people will interact with the world in a new way.

I think Jesus offers us the same invitation. Following Jesus is not an escape from the world's troubles, following Jesus means engaging with the world and its troubles.  And we may not get a lot of information about what is coming.  Will we drop our nets and follow? Or will we pretend we don't hear?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to January 19, 2020

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Isaiah 49:1-7
• John 1:29-42

The Sermon title is Behold! The Lamb Servant

Early Thoughts: What did John see?  When he saw Jesus baptized? When he saw Jesus walking that day? What did John see that lead him to say "Look, here is the Lamb of God"?

What did John's disciples see? What did they see (or hear) that made them take John's words seriously and follow Jesus? What did they see or hear that lead them to go find others and say "We have found the Messiah"? What was in their voices that prompted those others to seek out this man?

From such questions a movement is started.

As I mentioned about the so-called 'Servant Songs' last week, there is a strong tendency in Christian history to read this Isaiah passage as if it is talking about Jesus. On the surface it is not clear who it is talking about, but I doubt it was meant to be about one who would not be born for several centuries when the words were written. But for those who had seen and known Jesus, those who were trying to understand how God had been revealed in this man, reading the old words would have rung a bell.  2nd Isaiah was not talking about Jesus, but maybe we can use the words of the prophet to help us understand who Jesus was and is. Maybe we can use those words to try and clarify what God is up to in the world today.

We proclaim Jesus as the Light of the World.  A few verses earlier John talked about the Word as being the true light (which shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it). Later in John's Gospel Jesus will say "I am the Light of the world". Isaiah proclaims that the servant of God will be a light, not only to Israel but to the nations.

We read that Jesus chooses to live and serve God. We read that because of who  Jesus is people choose to seek him out, to learn more, to ask questions. And some of them choose to follow him (I assume there are other who choose not to follow).

Two men heard John talk about Jesus and they got curious. One of them went to find his brother, who also got curious.  There is an attractiveness about the one who serves. It draws attention.

Almost 2000 years later we still have questions. We are still drawn to the one known as the Lamb of God, the Servant.  Will we be willing to ask our questions? Will we listen and watch for the answers? Will we share our curiosity with others?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to January 12, 2020 -- Baptism of Christ Sunday

On the first Sunday after Epiphany we are invited to reflect on Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. And to reflect on our own Baptism.

During Children's Time this week we will be invited to choose a "Spirit Word" to carry with us for the year. The idea is that we draw a word and are "asked to reflect on that word for the coming year. The people are invited to ponder what significance this word might have in their lives, and how God might be speaking to them through that simple message" (source and more on the idea here). Often this is done with Stars on Epiphany Sunday but we will use Doves, an ancient symbol of the Holy Spirit. and link it to the dove in the Baptism of Jesus story.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Isaiah 42:1-9
• Matthew 3:13-17

The Sermon title is Beloved Servant

Early Thoughts: Baptism. In Baptism we acknowledge the Baptisee as a child of God. In Baptism we are, as our Baptism liturgy says:

By water and the Spirit,
we are called, claimed, and commissioned:
we are named as God’s children,
claimed by Christ,
and united with the whole Christian community
of every time and place.
Strengthened by the Holy Spirit,
we live out our commission;
to spread the love we have been given throughout the world.

 When Jesus is baptized, over John's objections, Jesus is named as God's Beloved Child, with whom God is "well-pleased". As Matthew tells his story of Jesus' ministry this is the beginning. Yes we have a Christmas story with visitors from the East before now but this moment is the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, the beginning of Jesus starting to live out who he is called and formed to be.

Whoever that is...

In the writings of and stories about Isaiah we have these odd passages we tend to call the "servant songs". They talk about God's servant and what that servant will do.  We read one of those this week. There has been much debate about who the servant in these songs is meant to be. Is it the nation? Is it the "prophet like Moses" that tradition says will come? Is it the Messiah? Many Christian writers have read these passages and assumed that the servant is Christ. I think this is a reading backward, reading Christ into a passage that was not about him in the first place, an interpretive choice. Which does not make it automatically invalid, I just think we need to be honest about what we are doing.

If we read the servant songs of Isaiah and we see Christ then what to they have to say about Christ?

If we combine the "job description" from the servant song and the baptismal blessing then where do we end up? We end up with a Beloved Child and Servant. We end up with a vision for what Christ is all about. And since it has long been understood that to be Christian is to strive to be Christ-like we have a glimpse of who we might be called to be.

Are we ready to be Beloved Servants as well?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to January 5, 2020 -- Epiphany Sunday (and the 12th Day of Christmas)

This being the first Sunday of January we will be celebrating the Sacrament of Communion

Adoration of the Magi

In the seasons of the Church Year the 12 Days of Christmas begin on December 25th and go until January 5th, the day before Epiphany. Epiphany is a feast where we remember the story told by Matthew about the Magi visiting Bethlehem. It is common in some churches to celebrate Epiphany on the Sunday preceding it, which we are doing this week.

The Scripture Reading will be the story of the Magi and what happens after they visit. You can read it in Matthew 2:1-23

Flight into Egypt

The Sermon title is Adoration, Murder, Refugees

Early Thoughts:  Such a warm story, uplifting, joyous -- until it isn't. Where there is light there is a shadow.  Maybe that is why we need to find another road.

The birth of Christ, of the Word made Flesh, means that nothing will ever be the same again. In some way the Herods of the world know this to be true and so they strike out. Which means we may have to return home by another road. It also might mean we need to weep and wail for a time.

The basics of this story are well known.  Matthew tells of visitors, wise men from the east, who come searching for a new king. They visit the current king in search of information. They end up in Bethlehem in a house with a young child (up to 2 years old to judge from the later events in the story). They produce rich gifts and then go home by a different path, choosing not to inform the current king where the child is.

Then it gets less cheery. The child's parents are warned to run for their lives, and so they head to Egypt. They seek refuge in a strange land, fleeing from certain death, never to return. Sadly the king is not worried about finding the right child. So he orders the death of any possible pretenders to the throne. Later the child and his family, wary of the king's son, return to a different place where the child will grow up, to emerge into public life some decades later.

Merry Christmas! Happy Epiphany!

God breaking into the world means nothing can be the same again. God breaking into the world and declaring that it is time to lift up the lowly, to cast down the mighty, to live by a whole different set of priorities threatens the comfort of the way we are used to living. And the world continues to strike back in various ways.

The Epiphany story, in full, pushes us to ask hard questions. It is nice to think of "what a wonderful event this must have been that people came form far away to give this young child such rich gifts". But, as we have shown, that is only half the story. I think we need to focus on the rest of the story.

Massacre of the Innocents

Herod felt threatened. Herod struck back in a murderous fashion. And the Holy Family became refugees, never to return home (in Matthew's story we have no reason to believe that Mary and Joseph were not originally from Bethlehem). The world was changing and Herod wanted to keep that from happening.

What does Christmas threaten in our world? Who are the Herods of our day? How are they reacting to changes that threaten their comfort or their worldview or their position? Where are we in that equation? Who is forced to seek refuge because they are part of the change that is happening?

I find these to be hard questions. Partly because I suspect sometimes we are striking out against the change that God is bringing forth in the world.  Partly because change is challenging. Largely because I am not convinced there are clear-cut easy answers.

But there is one line that echos in my soul in this story. It comes from the middle, as we transition form joy and worship into fear and murder and flight: " they left for their own country by another road". The Magi make this choice out of fear for the child (and possibly themselves). Why might we need to find another road? Maybe we do it out of fear. Maybe out of desperation. Maybe because we have changed where we think we are going?

What road will we take into the post-Christmas world this year?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to December 22, 2019 -- Advent 4 -- Love

This week in our "Stories of the Season" series we will be reading Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect, which is a story about self-sacrificing love.

The Scripture readings this week are:

• 1 John 4:16-21
• John 15:4-14

The Sermon title is Evergreen Love.

Early Thoughts: I think love is a verb, not a feeling. For those of us who follow Christ it is also a commandment, a way of living, a Rule of Life. It is part of being Christ-like.

More specifically we are called to love our neighbours both the ones we like and the ones we don't like (I would point out Jesus never commands us to like anybody) which, if love is a verb, means to act lovingly towards them. We are called to give of ourselves for the benefit of others.

We are able to do this, however imperfectly, for one reason. We are able to love and give of ourselves because we have been loved in this way. Giving of ourselves, in whatever way we are able to do so, puts arms and legs on the rhetoric of love. It means we have pushed aside the fear of loss and giving up in the service of our neighbour.

Isn't this what Jesus models? Isn't this what the Incarnation accomplishes? Jesus comes to live out love, and in the end Jesus' commitment to living out of love and proclaiming the power of the Kingdom will lead him to the cross.

Our story this week is about a pine tree who gives up on looking perfect to be closer to perfect in a different way. I believe we have many voices telling us what we ought to be in the world. Christ may challenge us to set aside some of those ideals in the service of a higher cause.

With the birth of a child the world is changed. With Christmas the world is changed. When we hear again the angels saying "For unto you is born this day..." will we be changed?

Love. It makes all things possible.
--Gord

PS: when I chose the sermon title I was thinking of the love theme from the movie A Star is Born (the Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand version) which is called Evergreen. Really it is a classic romantic love song but some of the lines fit with this week's service:

Like a rose under the April snow
I was always certain love would grow
Love ageless and evergreen...
Morning glory and midnight sun
Time we've learned to sail above
Time won't change the meaning of one love
Ageless and ever evergreen

Looking Ahead to December 8, 2019 -- Advent 2 -- Hope

This week in our "Stories of the Season" series the story is The Christmas Miracle of Johnathon Toomey

The Scripture Readings are:

• Isaiah 40:1-9
• Matthew 11:28-29
• Revelation 21:1-7

The Sermon title is Hope in the Face of Despair



Early Thoughts:  As Linnea Good says, sometimes Christmas is hard. It might be hard for a variety of reasons. Maybe this is the first year after a death in the family (either family of blood or family of choice). Maybe this is the first Christmas after the ending of a long-term relationship. Or perhaps the first year Christmas does not include the kids coming home -- or the first year you can't go home for Christmas. Maybe the winds of economic storms have swept through your life and just getting by is hard enough.

Christmas provides no inoculation from all those things that can make life hard. In fact, given all the expectations around Christmas it can make all those things much harder. It can make one start to despair...

One of the traditional themes of Advent is HOPE. Christian hope is not intended to be pollyanna-ish. It is not a false hope that pretends the hard things aren't real. Our hope names the hard things for what they are, but looks beyond them to see where God is in the situation. What is God doing in the midst of this mess? What might God have waiting after God walks with us through the mud?

Our passages this week speak to this hope. Isaiah talks to people in exile and offers words of comfort and promise. Jesus speaks to those carrying heavy burdens and offers rest (this verse was used to dedicate the bench outside our building). Revelation offers us a vision of the Kingdom of God in full flower.

This week in worship we will take time to hang cards of memory on a tree as we carry our memories into the rest of the Christmas season. Part of how we name our reality and live into hope.

If we let it, despair can claim a large piece of our lives. But we are people of hope. We are not alone in times of struggle. And there is light beyond the shadow. WE await the birth of a child that shares the promise of God for comfort and presence. God can move in our lives bringing hope that stands in the face of despair.

Thanks be to God.
--Gord

Looking Ahead to December 1, 2019 -- Advent 1 -- Peace

This being the first Sunday of the month we will be celebrating the Sacrament of Communion. Also as it is the first Sunday of the month our 2nd Offering for Local Outreach will be taken.

This year our theme for Advent is "Stories of the Season". Each week our service will be interacting with a Christmas children's book. This week's story is A Special Place for Santa, chosen in part in honor of St. Nicholas' Day on December 6th.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Isaiah 2:1-5
• 1 John 4:7-8, 11-13
• Mark 10:13-16

The Sermon title is Peace and Children

Early Thoughts: Jesus said "let the children come to me". I truly believe that the path to the Peace lies through children, through caring for children, through taking seriously the question of what kind of a world we intend to leave for the generations that will follow us.

St. Nicholas is, as many know, the patron saint of Children.

There is another reason I see a linkage between this particular book and Peace.  {Spoiler Alert} At the end of the book Santa places a gift beside the manger -- the list of all the kind and loving things people had done over the year..  The path to peace is through love and kindness and justice (which many say is love put into action).

Jesus also said "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it". Admittedly we can easily idealize the innocence of children. Children can learn quickly how to be hardened and uncaring. But children also have the ability to show us what it means to act lovingly to anyone who comes across their path. Children can show us how to trust when we have started to forget. Children can remind us of the possibilities of having faith. All those things help breed peaceful relationships.

The Baby whose birth we are awaiting will be called the Prince of Peace. As we get ready for his birth we should talk about the path that leads to peace and love. In another passage from Isaiah that talks about the promised time of peace it is said "and a little child shall lead them".
Peace and children, they go together somehow. Or at least they should.
--Gord

Looking Ahead to November 24, 2019 -- Reign of Christ Sunday

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Jeremiah 23:1-6
• Psalm 46 (VU p.770)
• Luke 1:68-79

The Sermon title is Shepherd, King, Protector

Early Thoughts: Shepherd, King, Messiah/Christ (Anointed One). These are just some of the titles used for Jesus of Nazareth.

Some people might say that shepherd and king are very different roles.  Shepherd suggests the least of the least, people with so little power that they earn a living driving livestock from one point to another, finding food and water, and keeping away predatory animals. King suggests someone at the other end of the social strata, someone with massive amounts of power, someone with the authority to have others bring food and drink, someone who has soldiers to drive away predatory people.

But they have something big in common.  They are all about protection.

A shepherd's role is to protect the flock. Some do it well, some do it less well. Some, according to Jeremiah, disperse the flock.

The proper role of the Monarch, in some points of view, is to protect and serve. The Monarch sets up the things that will protect the realm. The Monarch participates in the life of the people. Some have done it well, some have done it less well, some have seen the power balance very differently.

For some time various parts of the Global Church have called this Sunday, the last Sunday of the liturgical year, by names like Reign of Christ or Christ the King. In large part this practice was started in Roman Catholic circles as a counter to the loss of political power. But it does give us a chance to reflect on what it means to give Christ , who John's Gospel calls the Good Shepherd, the title of King.  What kind of King is Christ? What kind of protector is Christ?

Is the God made known in Christ a shepherd? Does God lead God's people in search of food and water and protection? Is the God made known in Christ a King? Does God lead God's people to stride forward and claim their place in the world?  Yes to both. And apart from relative power I am not at all convinced that the role of shepherd and king are all that different.

Shepherds lead. Monarch's lead. Monarch's set the pace. SO do Shepherds. Monarch's set up protective structures. Shepherd throw up fences and wield clubs. Christ is the Good Shepherd, Christ is the King of Kings. Through Christ God leads and protects us (even if it sometimes seems doubtful, even when we really want to go our own way.)
--Gord

Looking Ahead to November 17, 2019

This week we will be Celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism (which means cake after church).

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Isaiah 65:17-25
• Luke 21:5-19

The Sermon title is Change is Coming – Rejoice... or Be Very Afraid

Early Thoughts: The preaching of Jesus had a main focus. -- the Kingdom of God. AS people of faith we work for and within the Kingdom that is "now and not yet" -- here among us with the coming of Christ and yet not here in full flower. To be honest many (most?) days the "not yet" part seems much more real than the "among us here and now".

But what does the coming of the Kingdom in full flower mean? What should we expect?

Maybe it is a cause for great joy as, in the words of Julian of Norwich, "All manner of thing be well". Maybe it is a cause of great fear as so much that we know is turned upside down and destroyed. Maybe it is both. That is what I think our passages this week suggest.

Isaiah tells us about the wonders of the new heaven and the new earth (similar joy can be found at the end of Revelation). This is the hoped for Kingdom of God in full flower. Where do we see signs of this happening in our world today?

On the other hand, Luke seems to be talking about the transition. And the transition as Jesus portrays it in the Gospels (or as John of Patmos portrays it in Revelation) is not a pretty sight. It seems to bring chaos and destruction and danger. Do I dare ask where we see this in the world today? [To be honest people have seen signs of these things in the world in every generation.]

Waiting for the Kingdom to come in full glory is not a matter of checking of lists, either positive or negative. We can't take the predictions of Jesus that literally. But we have to admit that for the Kingdom to come in full glory requires a massive reshaping of how the world works. And such a reshaping is never easy. It brings out fear, it brings out reactionary "we can not change" responses. It brings out anger, which I believe grows out of the fear. But we are called to look through to the other side...and see the hope that lies after the fear.

It sort of reminds me of this:

The kingdom is growing among us. To get there we need to be ready to face hard choices, we need to be able to change how we work within the world. We need to be ready for the world itself to be changed.  I suspect for the change to happen in full will require some form of cataclysmic event. We as a species are just too reluctant to change, being afraid of what we have to give up (make no mistake we will have to give up some assumptions and structures and things) and sometimes it is hard to see the hope on the other side. But God is calling us to embrace a new heaven and a new earth. It is the promise of our tradition.

Are we ready for the fear and the joy?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to November 10, 2019

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Haggai 1:15b-2:9
• Matthew 7:21-27

The Sermon title is Building Up

Early Thoughts: Foundations matter. Without a good foundation a building will not stand. What is the foundation on which we build our lives of faith?



This week's reading from Haggai comes from the era of return from exile, a time when the people of Judah were trying to rebuild their world. Haggai reminds them that God is at work in the building. Haggai shares the promise that "latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts".

The Matthew reading talks about solid rock or sand as a base on which to build. Nowadays preparation for many major building projects includes testing of the sub-soil structure to ensure that the foundation can be laid properly. That did not always happen. and sometimes, as the people of Pisa can tell you, it did not go well.

As people of faith we are living in a construction zone. All of life is an ongoing construction zone. God is building a Kingdom, we are building (or maybe rebuilding) our lives. The world around us is, hopefully, building a peaceful way of coexisting. How solid is the foundation on which we build?


WE are encouraged to use Christ as the foundation of our lives. Living as faithful people with Christ as our foundation is, I believe, the only way we build a world where peace and justice and love are the norm.

This week is the Sunday before Remembrance Day. Every year at Remembrance Day I remember our call to Never Again. We best honour November 11th by pledging to work toward a world where warfare is absent. We can only do that when we are firmly grounded in the hands of God.

Foundations matter.  They can hold us steady or they can fail and let us collapse.  What holds you up?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to November 3, 2019

This being the first Sunday of November we will be celebrating communion.  As well, because it is a First Sunday, our 2nd Offering for Local Outreach will be received.

The Scripture reading this week is Luke 19:1-10

The Sermon title is Life-Changing

Early Thoughts: The hope is that when we meet Christ we are changed. It may be instantaneous, it may take a few years, but when we meet Christ the hope is that the encounter changes us.

Many of us learned the story of little Zacchaeus as children. We learned how he was too short to see through the crowd so he climbed a tree (something many children can appreciate at things like parades). And we learned a song:


[Mind you some scholars say that the text is inconclusive--it could read that Zacchaeus was short, or it could read that Jesus was too short to be seen above the crowd]

After Jesus invites himself for supper Zacchaeus makes a bold statement about how he will (or possibly already does -- the verb tenses in Greek are actually in the present) live as justly as he can while being a tax collector.

The  traditional interpretation is that Zacchaeus has had a "come to Jesus" moment, that in meeting Jesus he has been transformed and will live differently moving forward. As I have noted this traditional interpretation may mis-read the text and Zacchaeus may well be defending himself rather than promising to make a change. Still the traditional reading gives us cause for thought.

The hope is that Jesus makes a difference in the world. Both at the systemic level and at the personal.  When we meet God at work in Jesus we need to be open to being changed.

Are we ready to take that chance?  Are we ready to let Jesus see us (Zaacchaeus' attempt to see Jesus leads directly to his being seen by Jesus) and invite himself into our lives? Are we open to our own come to Jesus moment?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 20, 2019

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Jeremiah 31:31-34
• 2 Timothy 4:1-4:5
• Luke 18:1-8

The Sermon title is Persistent Earworm of Justice

Early Thoughts: Have you ever had an earworm? That bit of music that just will not leave you alone. I remember a Big Bang episode where Sheldon had an earworm and he was convinced it was going to drive him crazy (which admittedly may not be a long trip).

Would you believe there is even something called The Earworm song?


Sometimes I wonder if God is like that. Is God a persistent voice in our ear that will not let us go about our business? Sometimes I wonder if that is what God wants us to be like -- a persistent voice that will not go away until the world is changed.

This week's Gospel talks of a persistent widow who will not leave the judge alone until justice is done. And to be honest the judge does not grant her request because of justice, rather he gives in so she will leave him alone. Sometimes the end does justify the means.

Luke has Jesus telling this story to show that if even unjust judges give in to requests, how much more will God (who is just) respond to requests made in prayer. But when I read this story, which I have read many times before, this week in conjunction with the Jeremiah passage about the new covenant being written on our hearts and 2 Timothy's exhortation to persist in proclaiming the word I saw a different tone.

Maybe the life of faith is about persistently hearing the whispering voice of the One who has a vision of a just world? Maybe the life of faith is about persistently talking to those around us about the truth and justice and love we find made known in Christ?

Most of the time we find an earworm terribly annoying. But it is sticky. Something about that bit of music sticks with us, at least for that hour or day. Shouldn't God's word of love and justice be just as sticky? And when we (as we often do) forget to live out those words shouldn't there be someone reminding us?

I admit, it seems odd to describe the word of God as an earworm. But the God who has written the covenant of love and justice on our hearts, the God who challenges us to be persistent in proclaiming the Kingdom, the God who is always with us is not about to let us off easily. God is whispering in our ears that we would do what is just and right for the rest of the world. Will we listen? (Even if only in the hopes of silencing the whisper for a while)
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 13, 2019 -- Thanksgiving Sunday

The Scripture reading this week is Isaiah 55:1-13



The Sermon title is Go Out with Joy

Early Thoughts: An unusual Thanksgiving reading. But one that speaks to the abundance God provides, and what better topic is there for Thanksgiving?

The secret to Thanksgiving (or maybe a secret to Thanksgiving) is to see abundance around us.A key part of offering thanks to God for the gifts of God is to recognize that they are freely given gifts.

It is my belief that when we change how we see the gifts that fill our lives each day we change who we are, we change how we interact with the world. In short we are transformed to be more like who God would have us be.

God is at work in the world. God sends gifts to the deserving and the undeserving. God calls us all to the banquet, to eat and drink without money. For that we give thanks. In our thankfulness we can go out with joy, sing songs of thanks (along with the mountains and hills?), and clap our hands (along with the trees of the field?)

This Thanksgiving weekend I encourage all of us to remember the blessings in our lives, to remember that we have been gifts from God, to sing out our thanks for those gifts. But more than that I encourage us to open ourselves to the transforming work of God as we decide what we will do out of our giftedness.  And as I do every Thanksgiving season I think of this classic hymn:


--Gord

PS: There is a hymn in Voices United taken from Isaiah 55 (page 884). Here is the Gaither choir singing it

Looking Ahead to October 6, 2019 -- Offering Gratitude Through Food

After worship this Sunday we will be having a potluck lunch. All are welcome.

This being the first Sunday of the month we will be taking up our 2nd Offering for the Local Outreach Fund. We will also be celebrating the Sacrament of Communion.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Exodus 16:13-21
• Mark 6:35-44 
• Acts 2:44-47

The Sermon title is Who’s Hungry?

Early Thoughts: They say an army marches on its stomach. They also say that the potluck meal is almost a sacrament in some churches (and given the ancient wisdom that a sacrament is a visible sign of invisible grace I find it hard to argue).

Both the Exodus reading and the Mark reading this week talk about abundant food when everybody thought there was either none, or not enough. And then God shows them there is enough and more. More than once I have heard people fretting that there was not enough food set out on the potluck table and then in the end everybody eats their fill.

There is enough. There is more than enough. Indeed there is abundance.

That is the message of Scripture. There is enough to satisfy AND enough to share (or perhaps only/especially if we share). I don't think we really have a problem of "not enough"  in the world.  I think we have a poor definition of "enough".

Which brings us back to gratitude. The belief that we have enough, or better yet and abundance, feeds our gratitude and that in turn makes us more likely to offer to others from what we have. An attitude that something is scarce or that we don't have enough (whatever we think enough might mean) makes us less likely to offer to others out of what we have. And let me be clear. The actual countable amount is not the important piece, it is how we feel about the amount that matters.

We know we all need food to live. And we know that there are foods we need for our comfort (I have yet to find a way to move chocolate from this category into the food we need to survive but I keep trying). So we are called to be thankful for the food that sustains our lives. Hopefully, when we are recognizing the giftedness and privilege of the food we have we are moved to ask hard questions about why we have and others do not. We have to ask the stewardship questions.

We give freely when we truly believe we have enough to share. We give cheerfully (and 2 Corinthians 9:7 reminds us that God loves a cheerful giver) when we believe that we are not getting the short end of the stick. We give faithfully when we believe that our gift is helping to accomplish God's mission in the world.

Food can just be a necessity of life. It can also stand for so much more. Where do you find surprising abundance in your life? When were you sure there was not enough only to find excess? And what do we do when that happens?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to September 29, 2019 -- Offering Gratitude through Creation

This week our Stewardship series leads us to a look at Creation.



And remember we have a coin collection for Mission & Service.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Genesis 1:26-31
• Amos 5:21-24

The Sermon title is How Are WE Doing?

Early Thoughts: Gratitude can spur us to many things. At the World Religions Conference earlier this month the Imam who was speaking made a wonderful connection between gratitude and compassion while answering a question about compassion fatigue. I think that gratitude also makes it easier for us to be good stewards. Gratitude reminds us what we have to be thankful for. Gratitude reminds us of what gifts we have been given. Then I believe that gratitude enables us to ask the question "what do I do now ?" with different eyes.

The difference a year can make...

Our stewardship of creation has been in the news a lot this year, what with forest forest in the Arctic and the Amazon, record heat in Europe, and the phenomenon centered around Gretta Thunberg. And we have to ask indeed "How Are We Doing?".


Many of us interpret the first commandment in Scripture "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." not as freedom to do whatever suits us best but as a commandment to take care of the creation that the Creator repeatedly calls Good. So how have we done?

Most scientists would say not so good. Some say we are on the eve of destruction, that the tipping point is near. What might the Creator say?

Is God using people like Gretta Thunberg to send us a message?

In the Amos passage we have a God who tells the people that they have failed to live as they should. Through Amos God tells the people that they have their priorities totally wrong. They have committed to the rituals and motions laid out in the law but have failed to live out the spirit of the law. To live in God's way means to live in relationship with our neighbours. To live in God's way is to live symbiotically with the creation of which we are a part.

When it comes to creation what might it mean to let "justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream"?

It is a hard question for a nation like Canada which really has always been a nation whose economic backbone has revolved around resource extraction (trees and rocks and petroleum). It is a hard question in a world culture where people see the need to make a change but have grown very accustomed to the benefits of an unsustainable lifestyle.

Every week our Explorer group sings the first verse of "This is Our Father's World". That hymn speaks of the "music of the spheres" ringing in our ears, of hearing God pass. It reminds us the the world is not ours. It is God's. We use it as a loan from God (or in some more secular language as a loan from our descendants). In an industrialized world we have lost the way when it comes to using it wisely. We may have started to see it as an entitlement or a tool rather than a gift. Where do we go from here?
--Gord