Looking Forward to April 21, 2019 -- Easter Sunday

This week we reach the pinnacle of the Christian year as we walk with some women to the tomb of their murdered friend only to find something amazing.

This year we will hear the empty tomb story as told in Luke 24:2-12.

The Sermon title is Dawn

Early Thoughts: It is a story we hear every year. It is the story at the heart of Christian faith. Every year when I read it I try to imagine what it must have been like to not know the story. What would it be like to be a part of that rag-tag group of disciples who are sure that the great journey has come to a sudden catastrophic end? "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."

Just  before this the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee have stayed at the cross to the bitter end. It was they who knew where the burial had taken place because they were the only members of the group who had stayed around log enough to see it happen. Now, after Sabbath has been observed, they come to properly honour the one they followed, the one they loved. The text tells us that it is early dawn, but I often wonder if that is only a meteorological comment.  At this point have the first rays of dawn been able to to pierce the shadow of death that lies on their hearts? Are they still deep down in the valley? I suspect so, it is only logical that this is true.

Then suddenly dawn breaks through. They find an empty tomb, which must at first have confused and horrified and terrified them. Only then does the great surprise get shared. "He is not here, but has risen". I now envision the excitement (and confusion and probably still a bit of fear) as they rush back to the rest of the group to share this news. The first evangelists, the first witnesses to God's great act of Resurrection are these few women who had the courage to stay at the cross, to watch the burial, and then to go out early in the morning. Without these women would Easter have happened?

It is telling that at first the men do not believe dawn has come. Luke tells us they consider it an idle tale. After all it made no sense. Who could believe it? But eventually they each come to see those beams of light breaking through the darkness. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

I often think that Easter suffers because we know the story so well. I think because we know the whole cycle we lose the effect of dawn breaking. And that is to our detriment, because we really need to see dawn break. There are many things that lead us into the valley of shadow. What brrings us back into the light of dawn?

Where do you need the promise of resurrection and life in your world? What shadows does dawn's early light need to chase away?
--Gord

Life Wins -- A Newspaper Piece.

It was a crisp spring morning. Some of us gathered in the parking lot of the Roman Catholic church, another group gathered at the United Church across the river. Both groups walked down the hill to meet at the bridge and greet each other by shouting: “Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!” before all going to the community hall for coffee. So it was that people from a variety of churches celebrated the victory of life over death together. 

Every year, on the Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, the Christian story invites us to consider the primal battle between life and death. Which will win? On Friday we gather and tell a story of betrayal trial, conviction and torturous execution. We watch as the body of the one we call Messiah is taken from the cross and laid in a stone tomb. Can this be the end?

SPOILER ALERT! There is more to come. Life wins. Just when it looks like the powers of death have had the victory Life Wins!! And in that victory lies our hope and our promise. Life will always win. As Right Rev Dr. Richard Bott, Moderator of the United Church, says in his Easter video message: “the resurrection of Christ says, “No. Death has no dominion”. Life wins, in the end life will win.

This, to me, is the heart of the Gospel. The heart of the work of Jesus is not done on the cross with his death but in his life. The heart of Jesus’ ministry is in the teaching and healing he does before the cross and in God’s powerful word of life after the cross. In Jesus God invites us to share in the life of the Reign of God, life that confronts and conquers the forces of death in the world.

It can be hard to believe that life could possibly win. After all death-dealing seems so prevalent in the world. We live in a time when racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia are used to divide us, to declare some as less worthy than others – and death wins again. We live in a world where everyday somebody on this planet lives with the threat of bomb blast or gunfire or violent unrest – and death wins again. We live in a world where we as a species most often choose the easy familiar way of comfort even when we know that our current patterns of life risk making the planet unlivable for our children and our neighbours – and death threatens to have the last laugh. But we believe that life will yet win. Easter tells us that life will win. How will we react?

What difference does it make to be invited into God’s Reign where life wins, where death has no dominion? Well in Scripture we meet a variety of people who experience the presence of the Risen Christ and they are no longer the same. I think particularly of Peter, the rough fisherman who, once having experienced Easter, becomes the leader of a movement that would take him to Rome, heart of the Empire, to proclaim the Good News he found in Jesus Christ. Or I think of Saul of Damascus, full of zeal for the persecution of the followers of Jesus, who had his own Easter moment and became the foremost apostle to the Gentiles, spreading the Word of Life around the eastern Mediterranean. When God’s word of life that shatters the dominion of death enters our lives we are called to be agents of life.

When the Word of Life pronounced at that first Easter enters our hearts we are called to be changed. The Word of Life pushes us to help make changes in the wider world, to push for that world where life, and that in abundance, is made available to all. As people who have met the Risen Christ we have a calling to fight against all those things I listed earlier that help death win. As people who have heard the Good News of Easter we have to have hope that this fight will be victorious, because we know that life wins, that death no longer has dominion.

Jesus was all about the Reign or Kingdom of God. That Kingdom is a kingdom of life. The powers of the world often work against the kingdom of life. Sometimes we might lose hope. But the story of Jesus ends not with an agonizing death on the cross but with the words “he is not here, he has been raised”. Life wins. Resurrection happens and life wins. The world will never be the same because life wins. We can never be the same because we have met the Risen Christ.

Christ is Risen. Alleluia. Happy Easter.

Looking Ahead to April 14, 2019 -- Palm Sunday

This Sunday we start the final journey to Cross and Tomb as we remember the story of Jesus heading into Jerusalem.

The Scripture reading for this week is Luke 19:28-48

The Sermon title is And So It Begins

Early Thoughts: Holy Week is a week of contrasts. We go from the high excitement of the entry to the city to the darkness and despair of a cross on a hill to the promise shining with the Dawn of a new week and a new age.

And it all begins this Sunday.

When we read the story we see the hints of the shadow that is to come. Luke makes it clear that there are some in the crowd who are less than impressed with this display.[In their book The Last Week Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan suggest that this was not a spontaneous celebration but a carefully planned piece of street theater.] There is a threat in this display. The objectors know it and Jesus knows it.  When you are proclaiming a new way of being in the world there is a very strong chance that the "power and principalities" will strike back.

Then of course Jesus makes it plain that he is striking out against the way things are happening when the first thing he does after entering the city is cause trouble.

A new age is nigh.  The world is being reborn and renewed. That is never a safe or smooth or easy process.

So it begins....
--Gord

Looking Forward to April 7, 2019 -- Lent 5 -- Communion

This week we conclude our series looking at Practices of the Church with a look at Communion (or the Eucharist, or the Lord's Supper).

The Scripture reading for this week is Mark 14:22-26
We will also reading chapter 9 from the Didache, one of the writings of the Early Church.

The Sermon title is The Table of Faith

Early Thoughts: A simple ceremonial meal.  A bit of bread, a bit of juice. What does it mean? Why do we do it?

One short answer is "because we always have". Another short answer is "because Jesus told us to". As far as we can tell gathering at the table to remember the story where Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it and shares it saying "this is my body, broken for you" and takes a cup, blesses it and shares it saying "this is my blood, whenever you do this remember me". One of the earliest attestations we have to this practice is in Paul's letter to the church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 11:17-34). The Didache, from which we are hearing this week is an early piece (late 1st century, early 2nd century) of teaching for the early church and includes instructions on how to celebrate the central meal of faith. Christians have been gathering around table since the first Easter.

But that only seems to be part of the answer.  After all, many of us consider "because we always have" to be a problematic answer when asked why we are doing something. At the very least we want to look at whether we should still be doing the activity, does it still have meaning and purpose?

Over the centuries there have been many discussions about this Sacrament. People have debated how it should be celebrated, who should be welcomed to the table, who should preside at the table, how often it should happen, and what does it mean. More recent debates have included what kind of bread to use in a world where we are so much more aware of food allergies/sensitivities/intolerances. It is somewhat ironic that if planning an ecumenical worship it is much much easier to NOT have communion because of the various understandings that are out there.

SO what does communion mean to you?
What happens when we gather together at the table of faith?
ANd if breaking bread together is so integral to Christian faith what does that mean about the potluck dinner?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to MArch 31, 2019 -- Lent 4 -- Death/End of Life

This week we continue in our series looking at Practices of the Church with a look of where faith speaks at the end of life.

The Scripture readings this week are:

• John 11:17-26
• John 14:1-6
• Psalm 23

The Sermon title is At the End...

Early Thoughts:  There is an old truth.  "None of us is getting out of this alive" Or maybe "We all have a terminal condition".

In the end we all have times in life when we have to stare in to the reality of death. Eventually it will be our own but there will also be the deaths of friends and family over the years. Some of those will be tragic and sudden, some of them will be long-expected, some may even come as a release. But we all have to deal with the reality of death.

I suggest we do our children a favour when we tell them this and let them do it as they age rather than try to shield the from the fact until they are "old-enough to understand".

AS people of faith we believe that dealing with the reality of death is a faith matter.  Questions of life and death and meaning are, in the end, spiritual questions. When we ask "WHY" in the face of tragedy I do not think we are asking for scientific or legal explanations (or at least not mostly, that may be part of it).

There are two main things I think Christian thought has to say in the face of death:
1) there is something more, life continues beyond what we call death
2) we are not alone in the face of death, as we die or as we grieve we are not alone

Many times we think of death as the enemy. I am not sure that is theologically (or biologically) supportable. The natural end of life is death. As resurrection people we need not be afraid of death. [Personally I like the quote of Woody Allen's "I am not afraid of dying, I just don't want to be there when it happens"] But to get to that point we need to stop and think and talk about what we believe about life and death and life beyond death.

We mark the end of life in our faith communities. We do that because life and death are not just medical issues. In the end I think we need to talk about at time other than the funeral.  We need to talk about what we believe. I think we are healthier for it, I think our children and youth will be healthier for it. I think we will be more ready to wrestle with the sometimes uncomfortable reality the "to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven...a time to be born and a time to die".
--Gord

Looking Forward to March 24, 2019 -- Lent 3 -- Marriage/Relationships

This week we continue our series looking at various practices of the church with a look at Marriage.

The Scripture passages this week are:

• Genesis 2:18-24
• Ecclesiastes 4:7-12

The Sermon title is Sharing a Life

Early Thoughts: I am reminded of a line about 4-wheel church members -- that is they come to church in a carriage/stroller (baptism) in a limo (wedding) and then in a funeral coach. A less formal way of saying it is "hatch, match, dispatch". There is something about these life transitions that calls out for a spiritually-based recognition. Something about them that is in fact sacramental.

One of the more common definitions of a Sacrament is that it is a visible sign of an inward grace. While the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions name 7 Sacraments, within the Protestant tradition the only 2 things called Sacraments are Baptism and Communion/Eucharist/Lord's Supper as they are both linked to the life of Jesus as shared in the Gospel accounts. But it is my opinion that even things that are not called Sacraments are still sacramental. Deep, mutually supportive, loving relationships can be things that reveal God's love and grace and so I consider them in that category.

For me the sacramental nature of relationship is not in the legal status. While I think that God celebrates when we bind ourself to another in a covenanted relationship I am not at all sure God worries about what the state calls it. There is an historic role for the church to serve in part as an agent of the state in formalizing relationships in the form we call marriage, to me the spiritual discussion is about how the relationship is lived out. What does it mean to live into a sacramental relationship with another, a relationship where God's love and grace are made real in our interactions?

It is my belief that humanity is pretty much hard-wired to live in relationship. For most of human history we have seen that life is simply easier (and maybe better?) when shared with others. That is part of what I see in the Scripture readings for this week. They talk about the benefits of being in relationship. [The other place I went looking for a possible reading was 1 Corinthians 7 where Paul expounds on whether followers of Christ should be married or not but while it is certainly interesting reading it was hard to pull out a few verses to summarize his argument.]

In the end I think we celebrate and covenant relationship in the church for a variety of reasons. Some of those are traditional. Some of those are morally based. Some of those are simply because we know that relationship seems to be God's intention for us. Life is somehow (usually) better and easier when it is shared. God is made real in the love we share with each other. Sharing a life, whether is a friendship or in a marriage relationship is rarely perfect or easy. It requires us to open ourselves to the other and to be vulnerable. But it is worth celebrating. It is a sign of Divine love.

SO I return to the question I asked earlier:
What does it mean to live into a sacramental relationship with another (as friend or lover or spouse), a relationship where God's love and grace are made real in our interactions?
--Gord

Looking Forward to March 17, 2019 -- Lent 2 Prayer

This week marks the beginning of a series for Lent called The Practices of the Church. This week we look at Prayer [which is a topic worth a whole series of its own when you think about it].

The Scripture readings for the week are:

• Matthew 6:5-15; 7:7-11
• Romans 8:26-27
• James 5:13-16

The Sermon title is What Use is Prayer?

Photo Source

Early Thoughts: It is a ministry that anyone can do.  If you are 5 or 50 or 90 you can pray.  If you can run marathons or have trouble getting out of bed you can pray. If you secure and strong in faith or often wonder if you have faith you can pray. And you should. We all should probably pray more.

In fact in his 1st letter to the church in Thessalonica Paul writes Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

But in the current world where productivity is pretty much an idol, where we think we have to be accomplishing something however we choose to spend our time the question arises "what does prayer accomplish?". Which I think is another way of asking "is prayer a waste of time?".

The question becomes more pressing when we want God to make a specific change in the world (eg, heal someone's cancer, end a drought, bring peace...) and that change does not happen.  What good is prayer if we don't get what we want?

But is that what prayer is about? Is it the "Santa list"? I say no. Prayer is about deepening our relationship with God. And that changes how we live our lives. Last year the Observer had an article about how one minister found that prayer changed the congregation she serves, how it turned them around and brought new life. (As it happens a search of the Observer Website using the keyword 'prayer' shows that they have published several pieces on the topic). I have heard it said that prayer is not intended to change God, it is intended to change us. While it is very traditional that prayer includes words of petition and intercession (asking for things) it has never been intended as a way of controlling God or the world.

Prayer can be formal and structured. It can use words written by others. Prayer can be wordy. OR prayer can be informal and rambling, speaking out of the heart. Prayer can be silent (I would suggest prayer must include some silent to listen to the Divine whisper to the soul). Prayer can be calm, contemplative and meditative. Prayer can be active and loud. Prayer can be kneeling by the bedside, or in a chapel, or walking along the Bear Creek trails, or driving down the highway. It can be praising, or thankful, or remorseful, or angry, or sorrowful. I have found that there are few hard and fast rules for prayer.

Photo source

Scripture exhorts us to pray. We are told that Jesus regularly takes time to go off by himself and pray. At first glance it may seem like unproductive time, but I have found that it sets us up for more productivity in the long run. ANd I remember a story, one that may be heard on Sunday, which suggests that when life gets too busy for prayer that is when one needs to pray longer. I do think prayer makes a difference. I know it has for me in the past.

Maybe I should do more of it?  WHat about you?
--Gord