This week will be reading one Scripture lesson. The letter to Philemon.
The Sermon title is What IF? -- An Experiment in Reading Scripture
Early Thoughts: What preconceptions do we carry to Scripture? What assumptions do we make about what is being said and what "everyone" knows about the story?
I suspect there are more answers to those questions than we are aware of. SO this week I am revisiting an experiment from my first seminary class in New Testament Studies. This will involve dialogue, so consider yourselves warned!
We are going to read Philemon as if it was the first and only Christian document we had ever seen. What does it mean if we know nothing else?
Admittedly this is really difficult. It is almost impossible to "un-know" something -- sort of like trying to unring a bell.
I'll be honest, I have no idea how well this will work. That is why it is called an experiment. Right?
--Gord
Monday, September 2, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
September Newsletter Piece
At our last Council meeting we responded to a request from
Presbytery to host the February meeting. Yes we hosted Presbytery
only a couple years ago, so why are we being asked so soon?
Well at my first meeting of this Presbytery I shared a hope that we would have a youth event in conjunction with a Presbytery meeting. Effective ministry requires a “critical mass” of people to gather together, this is particularly true for Youth Ministry. And so in an area of small communities and small congregations sometimes have regional events is one of the best ways to support youth ministry. Over the last couple of years some people have been talking about this idea and have suggested that Presbytery have just such an event. Because St. Paul's is one of the largest churches in the Presbytery (both in terms of building size and in number of people) we were asked to host this meeting and the associated Youth Event.
As it happens, at that same meeting the Joint Needs Assessment Committee presented their report to council. In that report it was noted that the congregation had expressed a strong desire to do more to support ministry with youth and young adults. As we discussed whether St. Paul's could meet the request from Presbytery (more the discussion was about HOW we could meet it, we know we have the capacity) someone made the comment, “We just read the JNAC report that talked about supporting youth. How can we say no to this request?”. So St. Paul's is hosting Northern Lights Presbytery and a bunch of youth the last weekend of February 2014.
In order to do this we will need help. Council is hoping that someone will step up and serve as the co-ordinator for the weekend. We are looking for groups of people to volunteer to look after meals (Friday Supper, Saturday breakfast for the youth, Saturday lunch, Saturday supper [we think that the youth can do cereal/yogurt/fruit for Sunday breakfast]). WE need a person or a couple of people to staff the book table. We need a small group of people to look after coffee break supplies during the day on Saturday. We will need one male and one female chaperone to stay in the church with the youth on Friday night and another pair on Saturday night. And while folk from Presbytery will look after the programming for the Youth, we may need volunteer drivers to get them from place to place.
If you can be part of this opportunity to support the churches of Northern Lights in the ministry we share please let me know!!!!!!!!
IN OTHER NEWS...
Last winter we shared that Council had set a goal of strengthening community within the congregation. One of the comments made at that time is that one of the biggest things about building community is calling each other by name. But we don't always know or remember everybody's name. So I am challenging everyone to grab their name tag each and every Sunday morning and wear them. If you don't have or can't find a name tag then let the greeters know and they can let Carla know that you need one. I look forward to seeing a white patch on everyone's chest as I lead worship!!!
Finally, with the fall comes a start up of programming. While I was at a continuing education event last Spring I worked out an idea for a 6 week study on spiritual practices. Maybe we could call it Teach us to Pray. WE will look at different traditional Christian spiritual practices. Day and time yet to be determined.
Well at my first meeting of this Presbytery I shared a hope that we would have a youth event in conjunction with a Presbytery meeting. Effective ministry requires a “critical mass” of people to gather together, this is particularly true for Youth Ministry. And so in an area of small communities and small congregations sometimes have regional events is one of the best ways to support youth ministry. Over the last couple of years some people have been talking about this idea and have suggested that Presbytery have just such an event. Because St. Paul's is one of the largest churches in the Presbytery (both in terms of building size and in number of people) we were asked to host this meeting and the associated Youth Event.
As it happens, at that same meeting the Joint Needs Assessment Committee presented their report to council. In that report it was noted that the congregation had expressed a strong desire to do more to support ministry with youth and young adults. As we discussed whether St. Paul's could meet the request from Presbytery (more the discussion was about HOW we could meet it, we know we have the capacity) someone made the comment, “We just read the JNAC report that talked about supporting youth. How can we say no to this request?”. So St. Paul's is hosting Northern Lights Presbytery and a bunch of youth the last weekend of February 2014.
In order to do this we will need help. Council is hoping that someone will step up and serve as the co-ordinator for the weekend. We are looking for groups of people to volunteer to look after meals (Friday Supper, Saturday breakfast for the youth, Saturday lunch, Saturday supper [we think that the youth can do cereal/yogurt/fruit for Sunday breakfast]). WE need a person or a couple of people to staff the book table. We need a small group of people to look after coffee break supplies during the day on Saturday. We will need one male and one female chaperone to stay in the church with the youth on Friday night and another pair on Saturday night. And while folk from Presbytery will look after the programming for the Youth, we may need volunteer drivers to get them from place to place.
If you can be part of this opportunity to support the churches of Northern Lights in the ministry we share please let me know!!!!!!!!
IN OTHER NEWS...
Last winter we shared that Council had set a goal of strengthening community within the congregation. One of the comments made at that time is that one of the biggest things about building community is calling each other by name. But we don't always know or remember everybody's name. So I am challenging everyone to grab their name tag each and every Sunday morning and wear them. If you don't have or can't find a name tag then let the greeters know and they can let Carla know that you need one. I look forward to seeing a white patch on everyone's chest as I lead worship!!!
Finally, with the fall comes a start up of programming. While I was at a continuing education event last Spring I worked out an idea for a 6 week study on spiritual practices. Maybe we could call it Teach us to Pray. WE will look at different traditional Christian spiritual practices. Day and time yet to be determined.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Looking Forward to September 1, 2013 -- Labour Day, 15th Sunday After Pentecost
This being the first Sunday of September, we will be celebrating the sacrament of Communion.
The Scripture Readings this week are:
Early Thoughts: On this Labour Day weekend we pause to think about the meaning of/for/in our Labour (in between watching football games of course).
The Isaiah passage asks us:
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? (Isaiah 55:2)
Good question isn't it? Why do we labour and labour and seem to have such trouble finding happiness or comfort? Or, as Jesus asks, why do we worry all the time?
Of course we labour, in part, to provide for ourselves and our loved ones. Jesus may speak eloquently about the birds of the air and the flowers of the field but our lived experience tells us that we have to do more than simply trust the what we need will be provided. And indeed Paul`s letter to the Thessalonians seems to speak against such an approach.
And we labour at things we love, things we find are important. Remember that not all of our labour is paid, that not all of our labour is work/career. Parenting is labour, serving on community boards is labour, taking time for self (reading, walking -- whatever one does for refreshment) is also labour. It is of course hoped that some of this labour brings re-creation, that some of our labour is re-energizing as well as draining.
But the reality experienced by so many is that labour is labour is tiring. So many of us find ourselves exhausted by the labour we do for sustenance and by the labours of love. Why? Are we in fact going for the things that do not satisfy?
The words of Isaiah tell us of people who have lost their way. They talk of people who have lost (or abandoned) the connection with God. Their choices take them away from the promise and into the land of dry water and unfulfilling purchases. But they also point us to the cure.
The cure is to find the balance of our labour. The cure is to remember that our labour isn't meant as busy work, but that it is to bring us what we need. The cure is to remember that God is part of the labour, that unless we let God work in us (which is hard when we are constantly ont he treadmill of busyness and worry) we will not find that which we truly need. The cure is to trust that God will help us get what we truly need (if not everything we want) When we do that then we too can go forth with joy and celebration -- dancing trees and all.
But I am still dubious about living like birds and flowers. That level of trust seems a little bit beyond my capability.
--Gord
The Scripture Readings this week are:
- Isaiah 55:1-3, 10-13
- 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
- Luke 12:22-32
Early Thoughts: On this Labour Day weekend we pause to think about the meaning of/for/in our Labour (in between watching football games of course).
The Isaiah passage asks us:
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? (Isaiah 55:2)
Good question isn't it? Why do we labour and labour and seem to have such trouble finding happiness or comfort? Or, as Jesus asks, why do we worry all the time?
Of course we labour, in part, to provide for ourselves and our loved ones. Jesus may speak eloquently about the birds of the air and the flowers of the field but our lived experience tells us that we have to do more than simply trust the what we need will be provided. And indeed Paul`s letter to the Thessalonians seems to speak against such an approach.
And we labour at things we love, things we find are important. Remember that not all of our labour is paid, that not all of our labour is work/career. Parenting is labour, serving on community boards is labour, taking time for self (reading, walking -- whatever one does for refreshment) is also labour. It is of course hoped that some of this labour brings re-creation, that some of our labour is re-energizing as well as draining.
But the reality experienced by so many is that labour is labour is tiring. So many of us find ourselves exhausted by the labour we do for sustenance and by the labours of love. Why? Are we in fact going for the things that do not satisfy?
The words of Isaiah tell us of people who have lost their way. They talk of people who have lost (or abandoned) the connection with God. Their choices take them away from the promise and into the land of dry water and unfulfilling purchases. But they also point us to the cure.
The cure is to find the balance of our labour. The cure is to remember that our labour isn't meant as busy work, but that it is to bring us what we need. The cure is to remember that God is part of the labour, that unless we let God work in us (which is hard when we are constantly ont he treadmill of busyness and worry) we will not find that which we truly need. The cure is to trust that God will help us get what we truly need (if not everything we want) When we do that then we too can go forth with joy and celebration -- dancing trees and all.
But I am still dubious about living like birds and flowers. That level of trust seems a little bit beyond my capability.
--Gord
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Looking Forward to AUgust 18, 2013 -- 13th After Pentecost, Proper 15C
The Scripture Readings this week are:
Early Thoughts: What shape is your garden in?
The image of the vineyard as a metaphor for the land of God is fairly common. And of course the Scripture story both begins and ends in a garden. Which makes us wonder who is caring for the vineyard? ANd if the vineyard starts to fail how do we renew it?
What shape is the vineyard in?
As the church has developed over the centuries there has been a misguided understanding that the church is the vineyard (it isn't, it is a part of the vineyard--the vineyard is the Kingdom of God, or in this passage it is the kingdom of Judah). Some churches have even called themselves Vineyard churches. ANd while the church is not the whole vineyard, it is a part. And we each have a responsibility to tend that part of the vineyard where we dwell.
\
So what shape is our part of the vineyard in?
And more to the point, if we sense the vineyard is falling into a state of disarray, how do we renew it?
Isaiah suggests that the vineyard falls into disarray when the caretakers don't follow the instructions, when they go their own way, when things are allowed to go wild. So to renew the vineyard we have to stop and listen. We have to pull ourselves back to the path. ANd if we can't renew it maybe it will go back to the wilder part of the greater garden.
We renew the vineyard by trusting in the Gardener. We bring life back by listening to the Voice of the One who has a vision. It may be a different vineyard than what was there before. It may be wilder, less controlled. The protective fence may be gone, and that may be a good thing. We need to catch the vision, so that life will come back to the vineyard.
How can we tend the part of the vineyard where we live????
How will we????
--Gord
- Isaiah 5:1-7
- Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
Early Thoughts: What shape is your garden in?
The image of the vineyard as a metaphor for the land of God is fairly common. And of course the Scripture story both begins and ends in a garden. Which makes us wonder who is caring for the vineyard? ANd if the vineyard starts to fail how do we renew it?
What shape is the vineyard in?
As the church has developed over the centuries there has been a misguided understanding that the church is the vineyard (it isn't, it is a part of the vineyard--the vineyard is the Kingdom of God, or in this passage it is the kingdom of Judah). Some churches have even called themselves Vineyard churches. ANd while the church is not the whole vineyard, it is a part. And we each have a responsibility to tend that part of the vineyard where we dwell.
\
So what shape is our part of the vineyard in?
And more to the point, if we sense the vineyard is falling into a state of disarray, how do we renew it?
Isaiah suggests that the vineyard falls into disarray when the caretakers don't follow the instructions, when they go their own way, when things are allowed to go wild. So to renew the vineyard we have to stop and listen. We have to pull ourselves back to the path. ANd if we can't renew it maybe it will go back to the wilder part of the greater garden.
We renew the vineyard by trusting in the Gardener. We bring life back by listening to the Voice of the One who has a vision. It may be a different vineyard than what was there before. It may be wilder, less controlled. The protective fence may be gone, and that may be a good thing. We need to catch the vision, so that life will come back to the vineyard.
How can we tend the part of the vineyard where we live????
How will we????
--Gord
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Looking Forward to August 11 (using a reading from the Lectionary for August 25)
The Scripture Reading for this Sunday is Hebrews 11:29-12:2
The Sermon title is Faith That Endures
Early Thoughts: What is faith? What worth is faith? Can we run the race and persevere?
And where does the cloud (or crowd) of witnesses come from? Where do they fit in to our life now?
We are inheritors from those who have gone before us. They are the cloud of witnesses. They are the ones who have laid the road. It is up to us to do the same for those who will come after us.
Faith is commonly equated (when used in a religious sense) with believing. BUt it is far more than that. Faith is one of the words Marcus Borg talks about in his book Speaking Christian. In that volume Borg challenges the reader to recover earlier understandings of a variety of words and concepts. Faith comes from the same Latin root as Fiduciary, being faithful is a matter of love and trust and commitment, not about believing (Borg also suggests that modern Christians use the word believe wrongly by the way).
So what is this faith that the writer of Hebrews is talking about? Is it believing in a set of doctrines/statements/ideas or is it trusting in God, relying on God, floating in God as in a deep pool of water? I suggest the passage only makes sense if it is the latter. Trusting in God, floating in God (in whom, according to the book of Acts, we live and move and have our being) has empowered people to change the world despite hardships big and small. Do we have the faith and trust to run the race that is before us and persevere?
We run our race in the presence of the great cloud of witnesses. Near the end of Deathly Hallows, when Harry goes out to face death at the hands of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named he uses the fabled Resurrection Stone--a stone that can bring the dead back to life. And so he marches off to his death with the support and comfort of those he loves who have died. Yes, as he approaches the Death Eater camp he drops the stone and so the figures of those he loves disappear but Harry knows that he is not alone. This is the great cloud of witnesses. Those who have gone before us, with their own successes and failures, those who have run their race and continue to support the rest of us in the running.
The secret to faith that endure, to living faithfully within the cloud of witnesses is in remembering that we are supported by the cloud but not directed by it. We are inheritors of those who have gone before, but not imprisoned by them. If we are to live as faithful people we have to trust in the God who may call us in a whole new direction. I read a quote on Facebook this week:
Only with faith and trust. Add some dust and we can fly.
Shall we fly together?
--Gord
The Sermon title is Faith That Endures
Early Thoughts: What is faith? What worth is faith? Can we run the race and persevere?
And where does the cloud (or crowd) of witnesses come from? Where do they fit in to our life now?
We are inheritors from those who have gone before us. They are the cloud of witnesses. They are the ones who have laid the road. It is up to us to do the same for those who will come after us.
Faith is commonly equated (when used in a religious sense) with believing. BUt it is far more than that. Faith is one of the words Marcus Borg talks about in his book Speaking Christian. In that volume Borg challenges the reader to recover earlier understandings of a variety of words and concepts. Faith comes from the same Latin root as Fiduciary, being faithful is a matter of love and trust and commitment, not about believing (Borg also suggests that modern Christians use the word believe wrongly by the way).
So what is this faith that the writer of Hebrews is talking about? Is it believing in a set of doctrines/statements/ideas or is it trusting in God, relying on God, floating in God as in a deep pool of water? I suggest the passage only makes sense if it is the latter. Trusting in God, floating in God (in whom, according to the book of Acts, we live and move and have our being) has empowered people to change the world despite hardships big and small. Do we have the faith and trust to run the race that is before us and persevere?
We run our race in the presence of the great cloud of witnesses. Near the end of Deathly Hallows, when Harry goes out to face death at the hands of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named he uses the fabled Resurrection Stone--a stone that can bring the dead back to life. And so he marches off to his death with the support and comfort of those he loves who have died. Yes, as he approaches the Death Eater camp he drops the stone and so the figures of those he loves disappear but Harry knows that he is not alone. This is the great cloud of witnesses. Those who have gone before us, with their own successes and failures, those who have run their race and continue to support the rest of us in the running.
The secret to faith that endure, to living faithfully within the cloud of witnesses is in remembering that we are supported by the cloud but not directed by it. We are inheritors of those who have gone before, but not imprisoned by them. If we are to live as faithful people we have to trust in the God who may call us in a whole new direction. I read a quote on Facebook this week:
There are those of us who prefer a dead Christ in his place to a living one outside of our control.There is truth in that. The church is guilty of wanting to confine or contain God: Creator Christ and Spirit all 3. But being faithful means trusting in the Living God, the Risen Christ, who shatters all boxes and preconceptions. Can we embrace that God and run the race and persevere?
Only with faith and trust. Add some dust and we can fly.
Shall we fly together?
--Gord
Monday, July 8, 2013
Looking FOrward to July 14, 2013--8th Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 10C
The Scripture Reading this week is Luke 10:25-37.
The Sermon title is What Stops Us???
Early Thoughts: The Good Samaritan. It may well be one of the best known stories in Scripture, a story that those of us who grew up in the church have heard many many times over the years. And a story with so so many possible sermons in it.
One could preach on the commandment to love your neighbour, about how love is a verb and not an emotion. Or one could preach on the whole "who is my neighbour" piece, the call to think beyond the box (arguably this is one of the most common directions to go with the parable). One could read it from the point of view where the Samaritan is the hero, reaching out beyond the lines of culture and acceptance. Or one could posit that Jesus' listeners may have felt more for the victim, waking up to find out that he has been helped by, of all things, a Samaritan. Sometimes loving outside the lines means accepting help as well as giving it. But I think there is another, more important question.
When we read the story, we sometimes tend to slide over the ones who didn't stop. We might make some note about possible reasons why they didn't stop but they are rarely the focal point. We choose to focus on the positive. After all, we want to encourage or exhort each other to be like the Samaritan. But let us be honest. We don't do that, at least not all of the time. So what stops us????
I am quite sure that if you did a poll of the general population you would find that the majority of folks think that helping someone in need is the better choice. I even suggest that this would be true regardless of religious affiliation (or lack thereof). But I am equally sure that the majority of people are often reticent about offering that help. What stops us???
It is somewhat fashionable in theological circles to claim that it is selfishness and self-centredness pure and simple. WE don't help because we don't believe it is in our best interests. There may be times when that is the case. But I have a higher opinion of people than that.
One study done a number of years ago suggested that we are too busy, in too much of a hurry (or at least we believe that we are) to stop and help. Here is a description of that study (taken from this site, emphasis added):
But I think probably the biggest reason why we don't stop is that we have been convinced that it is not safe to do so. There are urban legends about the use of an injured child as bait for a mugging/sexual assault/murder plot. There are plentiful stories about people who stop to offer assistance and then it goes bad. Every day on Facebook I read people in Grande Prairie saying they would never offer help, or open their door to an unknown person at the door, because they are convinced the person is trying to do them harm. This is the real problem. Not that we are uncaring, but that we are afraid.
Why don't we stop? Why do stories of Good Samaritans still appear to be the exceptions rather than the rule? We need more than encouraging each other to do what, in our heart of hearts, we know is the better choice. We have to seriously talk about the things that keep us from helping. We have to address the twin taskmasters of busy-ness and fear. Then maybe more people will stop. And that can only make us a better society as a result.
--Gord
The Sermon title is What Stops Us???
Early Thoughts: The Good Samaritan. It may well be one of the best known stories in Scripture, a story that those of us who grew up in the church have heard many many times over the years. And a story with so so many possible sermons in it.
One could preach on the commandment to love your neighbour, about how love is a verb and not an emotion. Or one could preach on the whole "who is my neighbour" piece, the call to think beyond the box (arguably this is one of the most common directions to go with the parable). One could read it from the point of view where the Samaritan is the hero, reaching out beyond the lines of culture and acceptance. Or one could posit that Jesus' listeners may have felt more for the victim, waking up to find out that he has been helped by, of all things, a Samaritan. Sometimes loving outside the lines means accepting help as well as giving it. But I think there is another, more important question.
When we read the story, we sometimes tend to slide over the ones who didn't stop. We might make some note about possible reasons why they didn't stop but they are rarely the focal point. We choose to focus on the positive. After all, we want to encourage or exhort each other to be like the Samaritan. But let us be honest. We don't do that, at least not all of the time. So what stops us????
I am quite sure that if you did a poll of the general population you would find that the majority of folks think that helping someone in need is the better choice. I even suggest that this would be true regardless of religious affiliation (or lack thereof). But I am equally sure that the majority of people are often reticent about offering that help. What stops us???
It is somewhat fashionable in theological circles to claim that it is selfishness and self-centredness pure and simple. WE don't help because we don't believe it is in our best interests. There may be times when that is the case. But I have a higher opinion of people than that.
One study done a number of years ago suggested that we are too busy, in too much of a hurry (or at least we believe that we are) to stop and help. Here is a description of that study (taken from this site, emphasis added):
In the book you give a wonderful example of the power of context: the experiment done on the seminarians.When we are busy or in a hurry we are less likely to offer help. I suspect many of us can feel the truth of those words in our own experience. This is part of the answer to my question.
Oh, yes. There was a study done at a seminary in the 1970s, in which seminarians were told to prepare a religious paper that they then were supposed to deliver as a speech in a conference hall in a nearby building. The architects of the experiment made sure that as the seminarians were walking to the conference hall they would pass a man writhing on the ground in pain. The question was, Who would stop and help? The experiment was set up with three variables. First, all of the seminarians were given a questionnaire asking them why they had gone into the ministry. Was it to help people? Was it for spiritual and intellectual stimulation? Second, some seminarians were told to prepare their paper on the story of the Good Samaritan, and to make it the subject of their speech. Finally, some of the seminarians were told that they had to hurry, that they only had a very limited amount of time before they had to give their speech; others were told that they had a lot of time. The question was, Which variable would be most important in determining who would stop to help the man writhing on the ground?
The seminarians' stated reasons for being in the ministry didn't seem to have much impact on their behavior as they passed the man writhing on the ground. Whether they had just studied the story of the Good Samaritan had no impact. The only thing that really seemed to matter was whether the seminarians were in a hurry: those who were didn't stop. To me that's just a wonderful example of how important our immediate context is in determining our behavior. I'm sure these seminarians were all very kind, thoughtful, generous people, but the point of the story is that there are certain contextual conditions in which all of those intrinsic personality traits can be thwarted. To me, there's a powerful lesson there, which can be applied to the control of problems like crime -- namely, that there are conditions that can allow people to express their better side. Maybe what has happened in a lot of our inner cities is the equivalent of the seminarians' having been told to hurry: situations have been created that cause people to act like jerks.
But I think probably the biggest reason why we don't stop is that we have been convinced that it is not safe to do so. There are urban legends about the use of an injured child as bait for a mugging/sexual assault/murder plot. There are plentiful stories about people who stop to offer assistance and then it goes bad. Every day on Facebook I read people in Grande Prairie saying they would never offer help, or open their door to an unknown person at the door, because they are convinced the person is trying to do them harm. This is the real problem. Not that we are uncaring, but that we are afraid.
Why don't we stop? Why do stories of Good Samaritans still appear to be the exceptions rather than the rule? We need more than encouraging each other to do what, in our heart of hearts, we know is the better choice. We have to seriously talk about the things that keep us from helping. We have to address the twin taskmasters of busy-ness and fear. Then maybe more people will stop. And that can only make us a better society as a result.
--Gord
Monday, July 1, 2013
Looking Forward to July 7, 2013 -- 7th After Pentecost, Proper 9C
(Although for those who are picky one of the Amos passages comes from Proper 10C and the others are thematically related but not in the Lectionary for this summer)
The Scripture Readings for this Sunday are:
Early Thoughts: Prophets (both modern and ancient) are clear. There will be a call to accountability, there will be a time of reckoning. And sometimes, like Amos, they really don't pull their punches.
What shall we do with these passages? They are not always comfortable to read are they?
What shall we do with these passages so that we don't get lumped into the same category as Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson? I mean really there is little philosophical difference between announcing the upcoming destruction of Jerusalem for their moral/ethical failings and decreeing that the Haitian earthquake or hurricane Katrina or the Boston marathon bombings are a result of the moral/ethical failings of the present.
What shall we do with the call to accountability? I assume we still think such a call is worthwhile. I assume we still think that there is a time when we need to take stock of how well we live up to the mark, how "plumb" we are.
I think that the first part of that process is to ask what the measuring standards will be. Amos gives us some guidelines. What is the important stuff?
Then we have to seriously ask ourselves how well we meet those standards. How well have we kept track of what is truly important?
And then we remind ourselves that we wait and work for the time when we let "justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream".
--Gord
The Scripture Readings for this Sunday are:
- Amos 2:6-8; 5:21-24; 7:7-9; 8:4-7
- Psalm 82 (VU p.799)
Early Thoughts: Prophets (both modern and ancient) are clear. There will be a call to accountability, there will be a time of reckoning. And sometimes, like Amos, they really don't pull their punches.
What shall we do with these passages? They are not always comfortable to read are they?
What shall we do with these passages so that we don't get lumped into the same category as Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson? I mean really there is little philosophical difference between announcing the upcoming destruction of Jerusalem for their moral/ethical failings and decreeing that the Haitian earthquake or hurricane Katrina or the Boston marathon bombings are a result of the moral/ethical failings of the present.
What shall we do with the call to accountability? I assume we still think such a call is worthwhile. I assume we still think that there is a time when we need to take stock of how well we live up to the mark, how "plumb" we are.
I think that the first part of that process is to ask what the measuring standards will be. Amos gives us some guidelines. What is the important stuff?
Then we have to seriously ask ourselves how well we meet those standards. How well have we kept track of what is truly important?
And then we remind ourselves that we wait and work for the time when we let "justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream".
--Gord
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