Looking Ahead to July 6, 2025 -- 4th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 9C

This week we will read some challenging words from Jesus as recounted in Luke 9:57-10:11

The Sermon is called Give Up What?!?

Early Thoughts:  What could you not give up? What would be too much to ask?

Jesus sometimes asks hard things. Jesus sometimes pushes us to a difficult place. Jesus pushes us to think about what is the highest priority.

SOurce

How many of us would find the requests made to bury a parent or go and say farewell to be totally reasonable? Most of us I think. But Jesus tells those people that that is not what he is calling people to.

How many of, when being sent out on a mission would think that the reasonable thing to do is plan what the bare necessities that we have to take are? Jesus tells his friends to take nothing, to be totally reliant on the kindness of strangers, to be incredibly vulnerable.

Where in this string of instructions might you choose to tap out?

IS this where Jesus continues to call us?  Does Jesus continue to call us to not do things that seem really important as we choose to follow his path? Does Jesus continue to send us out into the world vulnerable and seemingly unprepared, like lambs in the midst of wolves? (which sounds an awful lot like lambs prepared for the slaughter when I think of it).

From Agnus DAy

What if the answer is yes?

What things might we have to leave behind because they get in the way of our expectation of how the Way of Christ should/could/would look? And of course then the real question becomes the one I asked above -- what is too much to ask/what can you  or we not give up?

• Security? 
• Financial well-being? 
• The comfort of the known and familiar? 
• Assurance of success (however we define that) or even survival?

I truly believe that the church, the community of the faithful, the followers of Christ need to take these questions very seriously as we move forward. As an institution we have not become really good at risk-taking. As a group we have tended to preference the comfortable place. In more than one congregation the response to financial and human resources dwindling has been a call to do what ever is needed to ensure survival (I once had someone honest enough to say "at least until after my funeral"). But Jesus calls us to not worry about survival or even success(again however we might define that). Jesus challenges us to leave behind those things that might bring comfort and live on trust and faith.

THe way forward is to worry about being faithful and proclaiming the Good New. We don't get there by worrying about survival as a first priority. We don't get there by playing it safe. We don't get there without letting go of some things, even some things we REALLY LOVE.

Can we do that?  I'll be honest enough to say that some days it sounds terrifying to me. Then again, Jesus does not ask us to do it alone. We do it with a partner, with a community, as partners in the project. That might make it a little less scary.
--Gord

Looking Ahead to June 29, 2025 -- 3rd Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 8C

The Scripture Reading this week is Galatians 5:1-26

The Sermon title is Freedom!!

Source

Early Thoughts:"...tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom" It has become one of the most well-known scenes in movie lore, the Scottish rebel/hero William Wallace spurring the Scots on to battle by reminding them that the path to freedom lies in defeating the English army of Edward I. Later, as the movie draws to a close, as he is being hanged, drawn, and quartered, the last work that Wallace speaks is "freedom".

Or another image from an earlier show...
In the Star Trek (Original Series) episode The Omega Glory (which I learned this morning was one of the first episodes Gene Roddenberry wrote for the series) Kirk, Spock, and McCoy find themselves on a planet locked in a violent conflict between the Yangs and the Kohms, being held prisoner by the Kohms. Kirk uses the word freedom and one of the Yang prisoners is both surprised and offended because the stranger has used one of their sacred words -- "that is a worship word". Yes the episode goes on to glorify the US ideals and understanding of freedom and independence but that line has always stuck with me --freedom is a worship word.

In the Gospel of Luke the first public act Jesus performs after returning from his time of trial in the wilderness is to read in the synagogue. He reads from the prophet Isaiah saying:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The work of Jesus is to bring freedom, to set people free. Many of the miracles we see Jesus performing, particularly the exorcisms, are about setting people free. One of my favourite healing stories in the Gospels is also found in Luke (chapter 13) where Jesus heals a woman who has been crippled, unable to stand up, for 18 years. As she is healed Jesus tells her she is set free from her ailment. A few verses later Jesus says "..ought not this woman...whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage..."

Freedom is a worship word for us too. We are set free from those things that bind us, that keep us from being who God created us to be.

How can we best use that freedom? How might we misuse that freedom?

The answer to the second question is Legion. to try to explicate all of them would take far too long. Let it suffice to say that we just need to look around the world to see the consequences of freedom misused and abused.

The first question is a bit more nuanced. And for that I turn to Paul, who seems to be reminding the Galatians (and us) that freedom doesn't mean everything is good. In his 1st Letter to the Corinthians Paul says (twice) that all things are permitted [in the freedom we have in Christ] but not all things are beneficial. For Paul the question of how we live out our freedom is essential. If we are no longer bound by the Law (in a religious sense that is) then how do we guide our behaviour? In 1st Corinthians Paul raises the ethic of those things that build up the community and the members thereof. Here in Galatians Paul phrases it in terms of the commandment to love your neighbour as you love yourself. Paul repeatedly tells us not to let ourselves be enslaved or dominated by some external yoke but here suggests that we should be enslaved to each other through the commandment to love.

This Sunday is the Sunday before both Canada Day and Independence Day with Bastille Day just a couple of weeks away. All three are national days that celebrate the coming of a new way of being, sometimes peacefully through law and sometimes through rebellion or riot. It is also 10 days after Juneteenth, as day when the news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally spread through all the Southern States at the end of the Civil War. These are days when freedom is talked about a LOT. What do we mean by freedom on those days? Is it the same as the freedom offered to us by God through Jesus Christ?

We are free. We are free to make choices. We are free to act. We are also subject to the consequences of our actions -- freedom never means that there are not consequences. We can use this freedom to build our own little empires, to do things that benefit us at the cost to our neighbours. OR we can use this freedom to build up the community, to bring hope instead of despair, to seek liberty and Good News for those at the margins, to spread love and justice around. We can use our freedom to, as Paul might put it, live by the flesh. Or we can use our freedom to live by the Spirit, to seek to have the fruit of the Spirit flow through us.

From ChatGPT

Our freedom is limited because while all things are permitted not all things are beneficial. May God help us use our freedom wisely, profitably, lovingly and justly.

--Gord

Looking Ahead to June 22, 2025 -- 2nd Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 7C

The Scripture Reading this week is 1 Kings 19:1-14.

The Sermon title is Eat, Sleep, Listen

Early Thoughts: When the world falls apart, when everyone is out to get you, when you are starting to panic what do you do?

In the pre-story to this week's reading Elijah has made some very powerful enemies. And now the queen wants to kill him (in revenge for Elijah first embarrassing and the slaughtering the prophets of Ba'al) so he is on the run.

Elijah, it seems, has lost hope. He thinks it would be just as well that God takes him from the earth right now. But God, it seems, disagrees. God reminds Elijah to take care of himself, to eat and drink (God provides the food and water)  and allows Elijah to sleep. This combination of sleep and sustenance revives Elijah and he continues on his way. Never underestimate the power of taking care of yourself in the middle of a crisis.

Elijah in the Desert

Then Elijah is ready for the next step. He is ready to talk with God about his situation and is told that God is about to appear.

First a great wind. Then and earthquake. Then Fire. Chaos and calamity abound. But God is not (at this time) in the chaos and calamity). When God comes by as promised He is found in the "sound of sheer silence". So maybe Simon & Garfunkel were right to tell us the the words of the prophets are whispered...in the sounds... of silence?

Elijah could have given up in the wilderness, could have succumbed to his panic and fear and died.

Elijah could have assumed that God was there in the chaos, in the wind or fire or earthquake. After all it would hardly be the first time in our faith story that this is how God is revealed.

But he did neither of those things. He trusted in God in the wilderness and survived the journey. He had the wisdom and discernment to know when God was truly present and then went out to meet Her. And then Elijah is honest with Them about what is happening, laying it all on the table so God can respond.

Then comes the (or another) important part. God hears Elijah's complaint  and in the verses immediately following this reading God sends Elijah back to continue the work. When we deal with the chaos and tumult of life healthily we are then able to go back out and continue the work. It is not always about escaping the chaos, it may not even usually be about escaping the chaos (sometimes it is though).

What do we do when our world falls apart? What is our response to crisis? Do we give up? Do we panic and make hasty decisions? Do we remember to take care of the basics? Do we embrace the chaos? Or do we respond with trust and wait for God to arrive so we can voice our laments, our fears, our worries? What prepares us to keep up the good fight, to make good trouble, to join in the mending of the world?

I know what I do. It leads to sleepless nights and a lot of stress -- and an overly large consumption of chocolate.. Maybe I need to find a better answer.

What about you?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to June 15, 2025 -- Affirmaversary

 

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Romans 5:1-5 
• John 16:12-15 
•  Acts 11:1-12

The Sermon title is D.E.I. is Missio Dei

Early Thoughts: As I sit here trying to start this week I don't even know where to begin. The deluge of news from south of the 49th Parallel is so unaffirming, so uninclusive, so unwelcoming. Where is the vision of strength in diversity?

This week we mark the 2nd Anniversary of St. Paul's officially becoming and Affirming Ministry. The Affirming process is started around and really is aimed at questions around sexuality and gender but to really be a "Come As You Are" church, to really be welcoming and affirming of all we have to go farther than gender and sexuality. God has created a world with incredible diversity. God wants us to embrace that reality -- not live in our own silos where "like will to like".

Since the beginning of the current Trump Administration we have heard a lot about the 'evils' of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I.) as a somethin that shapes policy [arguably we have heard a lot about the supposed evils of D.E.I and early things like Affirmative Action for many many years but those voices were given amplification and power since January this year]. There is a lot of rhetoric about how D.E.I. is supposedly harmful or weakens the society. Many of us find it a poor cover for racism, sexism, ableism and so on.

But there is a deeper theological issue for me. As I said above God created a world with great diversity. When we want to limit that diversity, when we want to ensure only the 'right' parts of that diversity get power and wealth and privilege are we not acting against God's dream, God's vision for the world?

At the end of May I attended the Northern Spirit Regional Council Annual Meeting. At that meeting I was re-introduced to a couple of concepts. One was the idea of Ubuntu. Ubuntu comes from the Bantu languages and translates to Humanity. As a philosophy it reminds us that we need to care each other because our individual well-being is tied to the well-being of those around us. The other was a traditional Masai greeting: "And How Are the Children?". This greeting reminds us to care for the future, to worry about the well-being of the weaker among us. It, as the article I just linked puts it, makes us check its ethical compass. The traditional response is "All the Children are Well", meaning that things are stable.

In a world where lifting up diversity is seen as a problem, a world where striving for equity is bad, a world where only those who fit in get included could we honestly answer "all the children are well"?

D.E.I. is an acronym. Dei is a word, a Latin word. It means God. More than a few of my colleagues pointed that out as the President and DOGE were maligning, attacking and dismantling D.E.I. earlier this year. In both Jewish and Christian Scripture God makes it clear that God's hope for the world is a place where we can wholehearted share the Masai greeting--both parts. The Reign of God, that thing Jesus proclaimed over and over, is (I believe) a place where Ubuntu is a guiding principle. We might refer to it with words like "love your neighbour as you love yourself" or "by this shall all others know that you are my disciples, that you love on another" or "love your enemies". It expresses the same sort of commitment to care for the well-being of everyone.

IN a world where some of these philosophies are seen as problematic, or dangerous, or misguided we have a duty. We have a duty to proclaim the importance on D.E.I even when it is unpopular. We have a duty to speak out in protection of those at the margins. We have a duty to lift up a different way of being together. God calls us to do just that. May God help us to have the courage to do just that.
--Gord

Looking Ahead to June 8, 2025 -- Pentecost Sunday

This Sunday we will be doing something different. Worship will not be in the Sanctuary  but will be out at the Amphitheatre at Saskatoon Island Park. To allow for travel time the service will start at 10:30.  We will be celebrating Communion (once I figure out the logistics of how exactly we will do that).  As you can see in the picture, the Amphitheatre has benches. However if you prefer some back support while seated you might want to bring a lawnchair to use.

The Scripture Readings that will be used during the service are:

• Acts 2:14-18
• 1 Peter 2:4-7
• John 15:1-12

There will be two reflection times (and two Times for the Young at Heart) during our gathering. One will look at Rocks and one will reflect on Bubbles, the Northern Lights and the Holy Spirit.

#1 Living Stones and Cornerstones:

Pentecost is a day when we remember the Holy Spirit moving us forward. However we can only move forward when we know who we are and have a vision of who we are becoming. Often we can only lift the sail and allow the wind to blow us around when we are secure in where we have come from. So that leads me to rocks. Peter talks about living stones and the cornerstone. The cornerstone is that thing on which the rest is built. The living stones are the structure which carries forward.

For the church the cornerstone is the God we meet in Jesus Christ, the God who has been part of the world since the beginning, the God who pushes the world to act in new ways even when 'the world' rejects that path.

Jesus told a story about two builders. One built on sand and the other on stone. What is the stone, what are the rocks on which our church is built (and I don't mean the building)? 

#2 Lead, Spirit, Lead -- Into a New Future

This year the United Church of Canada turns 100. One of the tasks that comes with a significant anniversary is to remember, to look back at how we got here. One of the tasks is to look forward, to wonder where we might go next. The irony for the church is that we don't get to decide the answer to that question.

As we look into the future we can make intentional choices about how we will respond to current realities and trends. However the future of the church also relies on letting the untamed Spirit blow and lead us where God calls us to go. 

In the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis we are often reminded that Aslan is not a tame lion. Aslan does not respond to the wishes/demands of Aslan's people -- the people need to listen for Aslan's wisdom and follow where he leads. So it is with God, especially the God we meet in the Holy Spirit. Like bubbles bouncing on the wind or Northern Lights dancing across the sky the Holy Spirit blows where she wishes, sometimes really visible and sometimes hard to see.

How do we grow into this untamed wind? How do we set sail and let the Spirit carry us into the uncertain future?

To me part of the answer lies in the teaching of the vine and branches. The branches reach out, spreading where they can. Sometimes they get pruned to redirect their energy, sometimes they are allowed to run wild. But they grow and remain strong because of their attachment to the root. We need to be grounded in Christ, grounded in God in order to have the freedom to blow with the wind. We need to both have an anchor that holds in the storms of life and to feel the winds of God and lift our sails.

That is how we will continue to be the church into the future -- God being our helper.
--Gord