Looking Forward to November 6, 2022

 The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Psalm 48:1-3, 9-14
• John 2:14-22

The Sermon title is He Did What?!?!

By Reinhardhauke - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Early Thoughts: "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild", so goes the old hymn. Turns out maybe he wasn't so meek or mild, and not always gentle.

I mean I don't see anything in those verses about making a whip of cords, overturning tables, pouring money on the ground in a fit of zealous, righteous anger.

This is a story many people love to tell. This is a story many people find challenging. It can be hard to remember that living by Jesus' base principles does not always mean going along with the flow, that sometimes those principles require one to take a stand. Sometimes they even lead us to cause a fuss.

In 1st Century Judaism the temple was the center of the faith. It was the dwelling of God on earth. Only after the sacking of Jerusalem in 70CE did Judaism start to re-imagine itself without that center (largely because they had too since the temple had been destroyed). For Jesus to suggest he would destroy it and rebuild it in 3 days would have sounded ridiculous. For Jesus to cause such a ruckus in the temple precinct was probably pretty scandalous.

Jesus saw injustice in action in the courts of the temple itself. He saw profiteering. He saw people being taken advantage of. Or something like that.  Scholars are a bit divided what the clearing of the temple was really all about. The fact that John puts the event at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry (the other Gospels have it happen right after the Palm Sunday parade) suggests to me that John saw it as a statement about Jesus' priorities. Jesus' priorities are not so much on doing the rituals 'right' (the business occurring in that space appears to have largely been about ways of getting proper animals and coinage for temple worship) as they are about inviting folk to come into God's presence. Setting up barriers to that is a problem.

So where do we need to cause a ruckus today? Where do we let focus on getting the outward stuff right interrupt our search for the really important stuff? Where do we need to rage like Jesus? What parts of our life of faith might lead Jesus to rage at us?

Jesus calls us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves and as we have been loved. Jesus calls us to live as people of God's Reign. Jesus calls us to be people of hope. Sometimes we get there by being nice and meek and mild. Sometimes the gloves have to come off and it is time to braid a whip and get down to brass tacks. 

Which will we do?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 30, 2022, 21st Sunday After Pentecost

 The Scripture Readings this week are:

• 1 Kings 2:10-24
• Psalm 127
• Luke 22:24-30

The Sermon title is Governing Ethics

Early Thoughts: What are the key principles that guide your decision making and actions? That, in a nutshell, is what ethics are.

In these passages we have some principles that might help us form an ethical basis for leadership. Some are positive and some less so.

Let us start with Solomon. David has died and Bathsheba has made sure that her son Solomon will inherit the throne. Perhaps the best known story about Solomon's accession is that he seeks the gift of wisdom instead of long life or riches. That was a good start to his reign. This story about the transfer of power shows Solomon getting off to a much less helpful start. He and his brother argue about who gets to take possession of their late father's young wife/concubine, which leads to the death of the elder brother (who may also have had a stronger case for the throne, being elder). Solomon begins his rule with bloodshed, with possessiveness, with fear and jealousy.  That may be a basis for leadership ethics, but I would advise against that model.

Then we have the Psalm. The poet reminds us of the important role God has in establishing the foundations of a healthy life. Our ethics need to be based on Godly Wisdom, on God's priorities. Otherwise we are, to use an image from the Gospels, building on sand rather than on rock.

And finally we come to the Gospel reading. As people who follow Jesus the teachings shared in the Gospels are one of the primary sources we use as we establish our systems of ethics. Jesus challenges ideas of leader and follower, or greater or lesser, of how power is distributed. Jesus-based ethics are centered on leadership through service. This particular passage also suggests that Jesus-based ethics include a commitment to remain present in trials and hardship. Jesus trusts that his closest friends share his ethical principles and so invites them to share in the tasks of governance in His Reign.

What foundational principles shape our understandings of power and leadership? Are we more like Solomon or more like Jesus? What do others see when they look at us?

Looking Ahead to October 16, 2022

This Sunday marks the beginning of St. Paul's week of education as we continue to work toward naming ourselves as an Affirming Ministry with in the United Church of Canada.

The Scripture Readings for this week are:

• 2 Timothy 3:10-4:5
• Genesis 1:26-28, 31
• Luke 4:16-21

The Sermon title is Scripture: Weapon or Balm?

Early Thoughts: Scripture can be used to lift us up. Scripture can be used to break us down. Sometimes both happen in the same statement. Sometimes the breaking down is intentional, sometimes is comes from a failure to question older interpretations and understandings.

The above quote from the late Rachel Held Evans speaks to me. It reminds me that Scripture can be a tool for a whole list of purposes Which, to my mind, calls us to be very careful and intentional about who we read, interpret, and use it. If we are totally honest we have to name that the church has, too often, chosen to use Scripture as a weapon to lock people into boxes rather than a liberating healing balm.

One area where this has been, and still is, true is in where members of the LGBTQ+ community. For centuries Scripture has been used by people of faith to support a proclamation that only cisgendered heterosexual people are acceptable.

I believe this is a lie. I believe that the use of Scripture as a weapon to dehumanize any child of God is a twisting of the Gospel. 

As there are with question of women's equality, or slavery, or racism, or the whole "one true faith" discussion, there are certainly specific passages used as 'clobber verses' to try and control people. I have specifically chosen not to engage with those verses in this sermon. I made this choice for two reasons. First is because to engage with those specific passages is, in my opinion, much better done in a discussion Bible Study type setting rather than a sermon. The other reason is that I think there is a foundational step to be taken first. We have to talk about how we understand Scripture and what we believe the foundational message God offers us through Scripture is.

One of the passages I have often heard used to try and support the claim that all words of the Bible have equal merit and weight and that they are all a direct message from God is the passage from Timothy that wee are hearing this week, in particular verse 3:16 "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,". There is some unpacking to be done here but I suggest it is not as straightforward as people want it to be. I even suggest that some modern readers take those words farther than even the writer of Timothy would have.

My understanding of Scripture is that those words are the story of people trying to understand who God is and how God would have them live. As such there are times when the words stretch us beyond ourselves. there are also time when the message from the Divine gets corrupted by the people who try to pass it on (sometimes I think of the game 'Telephone' many of us played as children). So our challenge is to reach into the text and find the message the carries Divine inspiration.

That brings me to the other two passages we are reading this week. The ancient hymn to creation in Genesis 1 reminds us that humanity (all humanity) is both created in God's image and is part of the creation which is called very good. In Luke we read of the beginning of Jesus' public ministry where he reads a passage of liberation from oppression. To me, these are two passages that speak to the foundational nature of Scripture. In Scripture God is sharing a message of freedom from oppression to the beloved children who are created in God's very image.

If that is the foundational message of Scripture as a whole then I bring in a concept I learned many years ago. We use Scripture to help us interpret Scripture. We measure any one passage of Scripture against the whole of Scripture. So when a passage is used as a weapon, when Scripture is used to attack or dehumanize or oppress a person or a group of people we measure against the foundational message of freedom and love.

There is a lot to talk about already.  I wonder how the sermon will shape up for Sunday (and hopefully not be too long).
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 9, 2022 -- Thanksgiving Sunday

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Deuteronomy 26:1-11
• Philippians 4:4-9
• John 6:25-35

The Sermon title is Remember with Thanks

Our Tree of Thanks waiting for more leaves

Early Thoughts: For what are you thankful this year?  As we approach Thanksgiving weekend we are encouraged to think about the gifts we have received over the past year (and the years before that). Sometimes we forget to be thankful. Sometimes we forget what we have to be thankful for. In a world where there is an entire, multi-BILLION dollar industry dedicated to convincing us to buy more it can be easy to forget about the abundance we already have.

This passage from Deuteronomy, a common one for Thanksgiving Sunday, is not really about giving thanks -- at least not at first reading.  It is about remembering. And it is about giving from what you have.

The remembering what God has done is a common theme in the stories of the Israelite people. Does that mean they tended to forget to remember? Remembering is often a conscious act, it is something we choose to do (or choose not to do). But if we don't remember what happens?

I am not thinking here of Santayana's dictum that those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it (though I tend to find wisdom there). I am thinking of how remembering or forgetting tie in to both our gratitude and our stewardship.

If we forget then are we aware of why we are grateful? I suspect not. If we forget the path that has led us to this point, the gifts shared and given to help us along the way, then it is easy to not express our gratitude.

If we forget the gifts shared and given that helped us along the path it is easier to think that we did it all by ourselves. And then to wonder why others can not do the same for themselves.

Memory is at the base of our gratitude and our stewardship. In the Deuteronomy passage the act of remembering is intrinsically tied to the act of offering the first-fruits to God's service. Practically speaking it appears that this offering goes to feed an support the Levites (religious workers) and Priests as well as those who are in need. As they remember they are thankful and they give from what they have received.

What memories make you thankful? What gifts do you pass forward as you remember and are grateful
--Gord

Looking Ahead to October 2, 2022

 This being the first Sunday of October we will be celebrating the sacrament of Communion. If you are joining us on YouTube you are invited to have bread and juice available so we can all eat and drink together.

The Scripture readings this week are:

• Psalm 103:1-17
• Mark 10:13-16

The Sermon title is Wisdom’s Gifts

Early Thoughts: How do you measure Wisdom? What gifts has Wisdom given you?

In some places in Scripture Wisdom or Lady Wisdom (or in the translation we will hear on Sunday She Who Is Wisdom) is a title used for God. The NRSVUE, like many other translations, has chosen the traditional use of Lord/Father/his throughout Psalm 103. Dr. Wil Gafney, in her translation for the Women's Lectionary, has chosen Wisdom and female pronouns to refer to the Divine. Does that change how you see the gifts offered in the words of the Psalm?

What does it say to name Wisdom as the one that offers forgiveness, who brings life, who renews us, who offers faithful/steadfast love to all her children? Does that say something about the path of wisdom? Does that say something about how we are called to live in God's way?

I posit that The Way of Wisdom would be one way to describe what it means to follow Jesus, the one we call Christ. In that case what does the Psalm suggest about how we are to live?

The story of people bringing their children to Jesus is one many of know well. But this year, reading it in conjunction with Dr. Gafney's translation of Psalm 103 I read it differently. I saw it as a way that the wisdom of the Reign of God (and Jesus' whole ministry was about proclaiming the Reign/Realm/Kingdom of God) gets enfleshed. In many social situations over history, maybe even today, it would be seen as inappropriate to bring children to the great teacher. Common wisdom would say that this activity was an interruption to the work. Jesus gets angry, because Jesus sees the world differently. For Jesus the path of wisdom lies in "let the little children come to me". Jesus sees wisdom in children that we often discount or miss.

What gifts has children's wisdom given to you over the years?

The wisdom of living in God's way is often different from the wisdom of common sense. Sometimes it appears foolish by some standards. However, Lady Wisdom offers us the gifts of life, and that in abundance. We may need to have our eyes, hearts, and souls open to appreciate those gifts. ANd then we can be thankful for those gifts.

--Gord

Looking Ahead to September 25, 2022

 The Scripture Reading this week is 2 Samuel 11:2-15

The Sermon title is Integrity vs. Self-Interest

Early Thoughts: There are three main characters in this story. One is silent,the story happens to her and we do not hear anything about her perspective. The other two are more active, and are a contrast in character.

On one hand we have the King. In this story David openly abuses his power and authority. He takes (by force) Bathsheba to his bed without any pretense at wooing or seducing her first. Then he decides to cover up his crime by getting Uriah to come home and sleep with his own wife so that the resulting child will be seen as Uriah's, not the result of David's act of rape. In fact David tries repeatedly, even to the point of getting Uriah drunk, to have this happen -- not, it appears, out of any concern for Uriah or Bathsheba but solely to cover his own backside. When this is eventually unsuccessful David arranges to have the man killed.

Then we have Uriah. One could read the story and see Uriah solely as an unwitting dupe. He has no idea what is really going on. But as I read the story this month it struck me that Uriah shows himself to be a man of great integrity. He refuses to claim or accept more privilege than his men have. While they are living rough at the front he will continue to live rough himself -- no matter what enticements the king might offer.

This is a hard story to read. It is a hard story to preach on.It is a story that makes you wonder how it got included in the final edit. David, the great King, is shown to be a rapist, an abuser of power, a wholly unsavory character. NOw what do we do with the story?

I think we start by naming the reality of what it is. It is, to borrow a phrase from a feminist theologian for the 20th Century, a "text of terror". We do no favors to the text,or to ourselves as readers by trying to obscure that fact. Many have tried to limit David's sinfulness (which is odd because the text of 2 Samuel never tries to hide David's sinfulness), usually with the result of casting blame on Bathsheba. "Slut-shaming" has a long history, one which continues to this day, when people talk about sexual violence.

Along with naming the reality of the story is to name the reality of what it shows us about David. Everything David does in this story is motivated by self-interest. He wants sex-he gets it. He wants to get around blame for the resulting pregnancy and tries everything he can to get that too. In then end he has Uriah killed so he can simply take Bathsheba into his household and try to avoid accusations of adultery (later the prophet Nathan will force David to face his sin -- to a degree, still treating Bathsheba as stolen property rather than as a rape victim).

In our lives we will miss the mark, we will get things wrong. Hopefully none of us will fail so egregiously as David does here but at some point we, as individuals and/or as a community, will do damage to another. When that happens will our self-interest lead us to try to minimize what happened and escape consequences? Or will we have the integrity to name what happened? 

At the same time, some time in life we may be given the choice of Uriah. We may be promised rewards or a way to an easier time while our neighbors continue to live rough. Which will we do?

This week during our Tame for the Young at Heart we will be talking about Orange Shirt Day. As we remember and reflect on the truths of what the Indian Residential School system was and did how will we respond? As a settler community we did damage to our Indigenous neighbors, damage which continues to resonate and shape lives to this day. As a society the impulse to rush toward reconciliation and 'put it all behind us' is strong. But is that acting out of self-interest or with true integrity? Are we wanting to hide hard truths even if it means sacrificing the Uriahs who get in the way?

This is a hard story to read. It is one that should probably carry a trigger warning. What does it teach us about human nature in the face of sinful acts? What might it have to teach us about ourselves?
-Gord

Looking Ahead to September 18, 2022 -- 15th Sunday After Pentecost

 The Scripture Readings this week are: 

• 2 Samuel 1:17-27 
• Ezekiel 19:1-3, 10-14

The Sermon title is The Power of Lament

Early Thoughts: Have you seen the 2015 Disney/Pixar movie Inside Out? Having watched it recently I found the dynamic between Joy and Sadness to be a very telling description of how we are sometimes encouraged to live our lives. Joy is convinced that Riley has to be happy, that if Sadness impacts any of Riley's memories it will hurt her. Spoiler alert! Joy comes to understand how deeply Riley needs Sadness to be a part of how she processes her life. The path to healthy life includes Sadness (and Disgust and Fear and Anger all have their roles in Riley's life as well). In fact, Joy's insistence that Riley be happy and brave is, arguably, doing damage to Riley.

Sometimes in the name of putting on a brave face we fail to give so-called 'negative' emotions the space they need and deserve in out lives. I have heard of people that would claim that we are unfaithful or lack trust in God if we are anxious or depressed or lamenting.

That is utter nonsense.

Scripture includes some very powerful laments (in fact it has a whole book called Lamentations). Lamenting is an important way we respond to the crises of life. Lamenting allows us to name our pain and our sorrow and that is a key part of moving forward in a healthy way. And if lament is part of a healthy life, lament is part of a healthy faith.

Our Scripture readings this week are both passages of lament. In 2 Samuel David laments over the death of Saul and Jonathon. In the Ezekiel passage we have the lament for the end of a royal line/family. I look at them, in part, as examples. How can we lament? Can we make space, even (as in the case of David) in the midst of events that really will work out fairly well for us, to lament and have empathy?

All too often we have trouble with lament, with sadness, with something other that the stiff upper lip. We live in a culture that seemingly has trouble accepting that lament and sadness are a natural part of life, or at the very least wants to put strict limits on when/how/how much lament is acceptable. I would argue that we would be mentally ,emotionally, and spiritually healthier if we gave each other more freedom to lament. AS we pour out our sorrow and our rage and our anxiety we invite God into the reality of our lives and that is where transformation becomes a reality.

What leads you to lament? HOw do you lament? Has it been helpful to give yourself that freedom?
--Gord

Looking Ahead to September 11, 2022 --14th Sunday after Pentecost

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Psalm 71:1-6
• Matthew 6:9-13

The Sermon title is Pray

Early Thoughts: Why do we pray? How should we pray? What does prayer accomplish?

Prayer is one of the central practices of Christian Faith (as it is in many other traditions as well). Prayer is a time to communicate with the Divine, when we talk and when we listen. Prayer is a time for us to silence our world for a moment and soak in God's presence.

In prayer we can sing our praises and our thanksgivings. In prayer we can pour out our grief. Or maybe we can shriek out laments and anger. Or maybe name our greatest needs. Or maybe seek wisdom and discernment. What else might prayer do for you?

In the Gospels we are told that Jesus regularly went off on his own to pray. Other than the scene in the Garden just before his arrest we do not know what his prayers were, we are just told that he went to pray. In Luke 11 observing Jesus at prayer leads the disciples to ask Jesus to teach them to pray (which is when we find the Lord's Prayer in Luke's Gospel). They know that this must be an important thing and as learners they turn to the teacher for instruction.

Prayer can take many forms. There is, in my opinion, no one 'right' way to pray.For many of us the piece we call the Lord's Prayer gives us a bit of a structure. If nothing else it links us to other Christians across the miles and the centuries. But walking the Labyrinth is also a form of prayer for many people. Or there are those who pray by sitting in silence. Or there are those who never use formalized sets of words but rather pour out a stream of consciousness type of prayer. Some sing their prayers (St. Augustine is reputed to have said that "[he] who sings, prays twice"). Maybe the answer to "how should we pray?" is more of a "what works for you and the time and the place" rather than a set once and for all answer.

This week we hear a prayer from the Psalms (a book full of prayers). We hear Jesus share a formula for prayer. In response we will reflect on why and how we pray.  Prayer is a key part of our relationship with God. It makes a difference. Which reminds me of this: [Source]

I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day. I had so much to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray. Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task. "Why doesn't God help me?" I wondered. He answered, You didn't ask," I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak. I wondered why God didn't show me. He said, "But you didn't seek.: I tried to come into God's presence. I used all my keys at the lock. God gently and lovingly chided, "My child, you didn't knock." I woke up early this morning and paused before enter the day. I had so much to accomplish that i had to take time to pray. 

 And now I need to go and prepare for Facebook prayer time for this Tuesday afternoon.
--Gord

September Newsletter

 Evolving Church...Into What Exactly?

About 17 years ago then Moderator Peter Short called for a gathering of leaders within the United Church to discuss the future of the denomination. Like a lot of other such discussions I don’t remember anything concrete actually coming out of that event. I do remember writing a letter placing my name in nomination for attending (I was not selected).

In his call for the Arnprior event Short commented on the fact that the United Church was 80. Apparently some people count 40 years to be a generation and so, Short said, the United Church of Canada was entering its 3^rd generation. This resonated with me at the time, as I could clearly count myself as part of that third generation. My paternal grandmother had been, I found out at her funeral, a Presbytery Secretary in the 1950’s. My own parents had been very active in local church governance/leadership for my entire life. And I of course had gone into Ordained Ministry. But that is not really the point I was making.

The point I found when I looked at these three generations of leadership was that the church into which I was ordained was already very different than the church when my parents were on local council in the 1970’s and 80’s. That church itself was markedly different from the church when my grandmother was a Presbytery Secretary. Even then the United Church was a very different thing than it had been when my grandparents became United as children, when the Presbyterian Church in Simpson voted to become part of Union. 17 years later the church is again a different place than it was when I wrote that letter.

The church has always been evolving and changing. Even when we don’t notice. Even when we wish it would stay the same. Even when we pretend the change is not happening. Even when we try to stop it from happening. The church is always changing, largely because the people in the church and the world around the church is always changing.

Over the last 10-15 years I have seen a number of articles about what happens when organizations are not nimble enough to evolve as the world around them changes. Generally they don’t do so well. A classic example is KODAK, which remained stuck in the film era as cameras quickly became digital – where are they now? However mere survival is not why I think the church needs to keep evolving. In fact if survival is our main goal I suggest we are missing the point of being a faith community.

In the church we keep evolving, we keep reforming, because we are striving to follow where God is leading. The more we interact with the world, and with the tradition, and listen for God’s voice the more we are changed. The question that needs to guide our evolution is less “how can we be more relevant or worldly” and more “how is God calling us to be in the world today”.

So the question is never “should the church change?”. The questions we need to ask are “How is the church changing?” and “How should the church be changing?”. If the church did not evolve we would still not be ordaining women, or re-marrying divorced people, or recognizing the reality of racism, or working for LGBTQ+ inclusion. If the church did not listen for God’s wisdom (which I believe is revealed in a variety of places and ways) we would remain stuck in old ways of thinking and miss out the signs that God is at work around us. We would lose the chance to be a part of what God is about in the world.

The church can choose to resist. The church could choose to be the same as it once was. But then God will find another way. God leads us to evolve and change and grow so that we can take part in what God is up to – creating the Kin-dom of God. Sometimes we will get it wrong and try to evolve in the wrong direction. Sometimes we will run into a dead end and have to re-group. But we have to keep being open to change and evolution. May God give us the wisdom, the courage, and the hope to keep evolving as the gathered children of God.

And who really knows where we will end up, what we will look like, who we will be? Maybe God has some big surprise waiting for us!

Looking Ahead to September 4, 2022 -- 13th Sunday After Pentecost

As this is the first Sunday of September we will be celebrating the sacrament of Communion this week.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• James 2:8-13
• Mark 7:14-23

The Sermon title is What Do People See?

Early Thoughts: How can you tell if a person has been transformed by their encounter with the Living God? Is it in the words they say? Maybe. Is it in their piety? That can possibly be a show. Is it how well they can quote Scripture? That could just show they have a good memory. 

More than anything the evidence of transformation in a person's life is shown in their actions. Being a faithful follower of Christ is really a "by their fruits they shall be known" type of thing.

[detour... As I was writing the above paragraphs the Shoop Shoop Song (It's in his Kiss) came to my mind and I was almost tempted to rewrite  a bit of it...]

So what do people see when they look at us? What fruits are we producing?

In the Gospel reading this week Jesus gets to the heart of the matter. He points out that it is what comes out of us-- our words and actions-- that really matter. He points out that it is what is in our hearts that guides what comes out of us. It is a bit naive to suggest , as Jesus seems to, that what we take in does not play a part in the process as well (and I am not talking about food here). What we take in, the words and opinions and perspectives and attitudes, from the world around us can (and really does) make a big difference in the words and actions that we in turn put out into that world. The challenge is how we use and process what we take in. The challenge is in determining which inputs we give greater volume, greater power, greater influence.

And of course it matters what is in our hearts to begin with. How have our hearts been formed and/or transformed to enable us to live out the commandment to love our neighbour? That is part of what shapes how we process the massive amount of information and opinion and argument that washes over us each and every day. How is the Living God active in our hearts and souls to guide our words and actions? What is God helping grow in our lives?

What fruits are making you known in the world? What do people see in you?
--Gord