GENEralities

Come Follow Me - A Sermon for the Third Sunday after Epiphany: with reference to Jonah 3:1-5, 10; 1 Cor 7:29-31 and Mk 1:14-20

2012-01-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

Jonah 3:4 On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.”
1 Cor 7:29 What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short.
1 Cor 7:31 …this world in its present form is passing away.
Mk 1:15 “The time has come,” he said.

As someone said, and you’ve no doubt heard me say before, “God is the fastest checkers player in the world. It’s always our move.” Forty more days. The time is short. The time has come. The time is here, now, every day—probably several times a day. To do what? What Jesus says.

Mk 1:15 …Repent and believe the good news!”

Repent. The first word of the Gospel. Change our minds. Redirect our lives. Change course. Without Jesus and his leading, we will end up off course and on the rocks like the Costa Concordia. Stop what we’re doing which we know displeases God. Stop what He is not calling us to do.

Believe. The question, writes CS Lewis in Christian Apologetics[1], is not whether Christianity and following Jesus is a good way to live or not. The question is, “Is it true?” If it is, it is of “infinite importance.” If Jesus is who the Bible says He is and if He rose from the dead. That changes everything. My life must show that. So must yours.

Having repented and believed, we must do what God the Father is saying to us through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. What is He saying?

Mk 1:17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said.

Where to? Wherever He leads. What does that look like? We have some examples in all of our readings this morning.

In Mark, Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, John to stop what they were doing and to start doing something else that He wanted them to do. It was not that they were doing something they shouldn’t have been doing. He called them to do something different and more important.

Similarly, in our 1 Corinthians passage, Paul calls the Christians in Corinth to change the way they were living.

1 Cor 7:29 …From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

Following Jesus is to live in His direction. Salvation is to be found in no one or no thing else. We are to live to the LORD in our marriages, in our emotional lives, in the things we buy and the things of world, writes St Paul.

And in our OT reading, Jonah is also called to do something different, to leave his place of familiarity and comfort and to go somewhere else; to follow the LORD’s direction. How did the people in our readings respond?

Mk 1:18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
Mk 1:20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Simon, Andrew, James, John all listened to what Jesus said and left to follow Him at once. Instant obedience.

We don’t know how quickly, or even if, the Corinthians obeyed Paul.

Jonah we know about. He disobeyed at first. He didn’t want to go to Nineveh, so he tried to run away by setting his own course to exotic Tar-shish. Once again the ill-fated Costa Concordia comes to mind—it ended up on the rocks, Jonah ended up in the belly of the fish. But Jonah got a second chance and because of his belated and reluctant obedience, the people and animals of Nineveh (Jonah 3:11) got one, too.

Why were all these people called? In the final analysis, so that Jesus, as last week’s collect says, is “known, worshipped and obeyed to the ends of the earth.”[2]

Mk 1:15 “The time has come,” Jesus said.

For what?

Mk 1:15 …Repent and believe the good news!”

Have I repented of everything in my life that does not go His way. Have you? Do I believe He’s true? Do you? Then,

Mk 1:17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said.

And then, sooner or later; sooner seems to be the theme through today’s readings; I must act; do something in response to Jesus’ call. So must you. I’ll probably have to stop some things and start others. Change my course. How?

Six verses before the beginning of this morning’s Gospel, John the Baptist proclaims that Jesus is The One who will baptize you and me with the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:8). Along with God’s grace, it is the Holy Spirit in us who empowers us to do things we are unable to do on our own. Notice what Jesus told Simon and Andrew:

Mk 1:17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”

Follow Jesus and, in the power of the Holy Spirit, He will make us into whatever we are called to be.
So who am I more like today? Simon and Andrew, or Jonah? What about you? In a Jesus direction at once, or heading in the opposite direction?

Is the prospect of being baptized in the Holy Spirit a Nineveh for you; a call you are resisting, from which you’re running away? You may need to repent of unbelief and fear.

Or is the Nineveh I’m trying to avoid a place where there are lost people who need to be loved and served in the name of Jesus and who need to repent and believe in Him, who need the second chance only the LORD can provide and from who I am heading in the opposite direction as fast as I can? Like Jonah, I’ve bought the ticket, packed my bags, climbed up the gang plank, and I’m on my way.

Is there something Jesus is calling you or me to leave behind at once. Right now. So by the power of the Holy Spirit we can follow Him in a new, saltier, more radiant and fruitful, way.

Are there ways in which Jesus is calling me to live as if I had none, as if I did not, were not, as if not mine to keep, as if I’m no longer engrossed in just things? Empty of these things but full of the Holy Spirit. Living in a Jesus direction. How would that be for you?

[1] Quoted in The Business of Heaven: Daily Readings from CS Lewis, Ed. Walter Hooper (Collins, 1984), p30
[2] Collect for the Second Sunday after Epiphany, BAS, p349

Insanely Great Service from Insanely Great Products

2012-01-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

My wonderful wife gave me an Insanely Great Products Clip and Go for Christmas. As you see, it's a neat little gadget for attaching your iPhone to your dashboard. Alas, when I opened the gift, I found that the suction cup to which the iPhone must be attached was missing. Jude wasn't sure whether she saw it when she opened the package or not. We couldn't be sure whether it didn't arrive or whether it had been lost in the flurry of Christmas wrapping and opening.

So I emailed the Insanely Great folk and asked if they could send me a new suction cup. I received this message from Insanely Great Products co-founder, Richard:

I'm also not sure if the missing suction cup is on your end or ours but I'll send you a replacement by Priority Mail in the morning.
If it's our error, please accept my apologies. I appreciate your patience and we'll get it resolved as soon as we can.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

He then proceeded to send me not just one suction cup, but two! Plus one of these for my trouble:

All this at no charge. Outstanding service. Check them out if you're an iPhoner.

Something More: a Baptism and a Call to Prayer - a Sermon for the Baptism of the Lord, Year B

2012-01-08T21:51:00.001-07:00

In the beginning the earth was formless, empty and dark. There was chaos as one translation puts it. It needed something more for order and life and goodness to come.

John the Baptist was a chaotic figure operating in an empty, desert wilderness, wearing camel’s hair and eating bugs and honey to keep himself alive. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth (Luke 1:15) said the angel Gabriel and yet he was waiting for something—someone—more (Mk 4:7-8).

From childhood, Luke tell us, Jesus “grew up healthy and strong… and God’s favour was upon him” (Lk 2:40 NLT), for thirty years in obscurity, he “grew in wisdom and in stature and in favour with all the people.” (Lk 2:52 NLT) He needed something more. That’s why he went to John.

In Ephesus, there were people who had not even heard there was a Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2) even though they had been baptized in water for repentance and believed in Jesus (Acts 19:4). Paul knew they needed something more. The something more was the Holy Spirit of God.

And He was there in each situation ready to act: hovering, brooding over the waters and the chaos in Genesis (1:2) and then speaking order and life and light and goodness into being—setting all of creation into motion; tearing the heavens open and descending on Jesus as a dove in Mark (1:10)—propelling him into action and ministry; coming on the disciples in Ephesus when Paul laid his hands on them so they spoke in tongues and prophesied (Acts 19:6)—propelled into action and ministry so people would be strengthened, encouraged and comforted (1 Cor 14:3) and the church would be built up (1 Cor 14:5). In each situation bringing new life, new gifting, new power and action!

This morning it happens again before our eyes. Daxton is a beautiful baby boy. Tyler and Tara know that Daxton needs something more (for example, if you ask Tara, when it comes to sleeping patterns, or should I say lack of them, she’d like some order brought to that little bit of Genesis 1 chaos in him). Tyler and Tara know that Daxton needs to be adopted into the Church, the Body of the Risen Christ, and baptized like Jesus was so that, as we will pray in a moment, as he is filled with God’s Holy and life-giving Spirit (BAS 155) his sins will be forgiven (BAS 160) he will be brought to new birth (BAS 157), he will learn to love others and to be a witness to God’s love (BAS 155). By bringing Daxton to be baptized, Tyler and Tara are committing themselves to helping Daxton grow into the something more, the new life, gifting, power and action the LORD has for him. Good for you.

There’s something else I need say this morning. I think our church; our parish, our deanery, our diocese and our national church; also needs that something more. And not just us Anglicans. All the churches and our communities need something more. The Church has waxed and waned throughout history. I believe we’re in a period of waning and decline at the moment. I see it as I serve on the Council of General Synod for the national church. I see it in our diocese. I see it here. It’s not that things are all bad. They’re not. Jesus was healthy and strong and God’s favour was on him yet he needed more. So are we in many ways. The Ephesian disciples loved Jesus yet they needed more. Daxton is beautiful and healthy yet he, too, needs the something more that only God can provide. So do we. We need the more of God’s Holy Spirit breathing new life into us, we need an awakening; a spiritual refreshing. He’s done it many times through history. For example, in 1727, the Holy Spirit moved among some Moravians in what is now Germany and there began a prayer meeting that went for 24 hours a day, seven days a week for one hundred years and which birthed a missionary movement which brought Jesus to many. It was called a Great Awakening or Revival. There was another one a hundred years later in the United States and the UK. An example: St James Episcopal (Anglican) Church in Chicago went from 121 members in 1857 to 1,400 in 1860. This growth was not the result of clever programming but because of a prayer generated spiritual awakening by which hearts were warmed to God through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Not only were churches filled, but also whole cities and communities were transformed as crime rates fell. It was a revival that stirred people up to bring an end to the slave trade. In 1859 twenty thousand people filled the theatres of London on Sunday evenings to hear the gospel preached. St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey were also packed.

The common denominator in the beginnings of all these spiritual awakenings was prayer and so, beginning this evening at 6pm, and every second Sunday of the month from now on, I intend to come here to the church to pray for such an awakening in our church our city and our land. I need something more. We all need something more. Please join me.

Eternal Giver of life and light…Renew your Church with the Spirit given to us in baptism, that we may worship you in sincerity and truth, and shine as a light in the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. (The Collect for the Easter Vigil, p329)

What If God Loves You?: a Short Sermon for Christmas Eve - with Reference to Isa 9:2-7, Titus 2:11-14 and Luke 2:1-20

2011-12-24T23:59:00.000-07:00

What if God loves you?

What if Caesar Augustus issuing that census decree which sent Joseph and Mary off on the road to Bethlehem, expecting a child, and the baby being born and wrapped and placed in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn really is part of a divine plot to show you that the Father Himself loves you? Just that. What if that really set the angel and the glory of the LORD off and scared the shepherds out of their wits? What if there really was then, and is tonight, a great company of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to everyone on whom His favour rests?

What if God’s favour rests on you tonight.

No, really; what if God loves you?

What if when Isaiah wrote the words in our first reading 2,700 years ago, not only did God already have Jesus—the child born, the son given, the great light—in mind, but also you and me; to light up the dark places in our souls and lives tonight?

What if God loves you?

What if the grace of God that brings salvation has really appeared to all people? What if the salvation bringer really is Jesus? What if He really is a Saviour sent to save you and me? What if Jesus really is making a glorious appearance here in the Scriptures, the bread and the wine tonight, newborn baby no longer, but our Mighty God and Saviour, who gave himself for you and me to redeem us from all wickedness done by, or to, us and to purify us for himself and make us his own.

What if God loves you?

What if he loves your kids? How can you make sure they get that?

"Rejoice," wrote Isaiah. Celebrate. Have fun. Kids are attracted to genuine joy and fun. Set them a Christmas-spirited example by saying “No” to godless living and the sinful, indulgent pleasures Paul wrote about in our reading from Titus. Live self-controlled, upright and godly lives, eager to do what is good. Kids respond to goodness. They’ll see the God who loves them in it. Hurry, like the shepherds, to find where Jesus is and go there (you got it right tonight). Come often, and bring your kids with you, make sure they hear the story, over and over again (you know how they love to have stores repeated—try and skip a page), amaze them with the good news that God really does love them. Like Mary, treasure these events and what they mean and take them home and ponder them in your hearts with your kids. Like the shepherds, go home glorifying and praising God for all the things you are hearing and seeing this night and all that you will enjoy together over the next few days.

Because, if this is all true, it changes everything. It can no longer be just Christmas that’s magic. Life gets re-enchanted. Angels, glory and heavenly hosts, blessed hope, amazing grace, and Jesus himself—Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, the Christ—will light up your lives and the lives of your children like a Christmas tree. Batteries are included.

What if God loves you?

Back to the St James Daily Devotional Guide

2011-12-19T08:24:00.003-07:00

I couldn't stand it. The edited Book of Alternative Services lectionary drives me mad. God reveals Himself and His relationships with His people through the Scriptures. All the Scriptures, not just the "nice" bits. In that way, the Scriptures are like and about real life. To live life to the full is to grapple with and submit to God's Word written—living, active, inspired, truthful, authoritative, challenging, disturbing and sometimes downright irritating.

So it's back to The Saint James Daily Devotional Guide.

:-)

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent: with Reference to Luke 1:26-38

2011-12-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.

A call from God is specific. Our God is a personal God who knows us by name. Not only that, he knows where we live, not just geographically, but spiritually and emotionally. He knows where come from how we got here and all our connections and relationships.

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

God’s attitude to us is always one of greeting. He always wants to be in relationship with us. Every last one of us is favoured of God, no matter what we have or haven’t done, no matter how far we’ve drifted from him in our sin. He always wants to be with us and for us to be with him.

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

Often, the one who God is calling is troubled by the call. Mary was, so were Moses and Gideon. Jude and I struggled for 4 years over the call to go to seminary. For a year we agonized over the call to St Barnabas. We liked it where we were, but even though we were troubled, we did realize that we needed to pay attention and to discern whether it was the Lord or not.

How do you do that? You ask trusted people to pray for you to hear God. You search the Bible for guidance. You listen carefully to the guidance of people who have authority over you in the Lord (in our case, with the call to StB, it was the Bishop). In your case it might be me.

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

God always responds by saying in one way or another do not be afraid. I will go with you. I will fight for you. Which is not to say that we will not suffer. When one answers God’s call, there will usually be suffering. For Mary, the suffering would be terrible as she watched her first born die on the cross.

Rarely, though, are we called to suffer to the point of shedding blood. Usually it is because of having to give up things we don’t want to give up; things like security, comfort, a big income, things we want rather than things we need.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Sometimes, answering God’s call, leads to being involved in something great. Mother Theresa. For most of us the call is to humbler things which bring very little limelight.

Always, whatever the call, it will be about bringing Jesus to birth in your world. And we are always called to name him in what ever it is. That is why I’m always on about doing whatever ministry we do in the Name of Jesus so it is absolutely clear that we do what we do because he loves the people we serve and we follow him and want to build him up and make him great in this church and in Medicine Hat.

Those of you who are delivering hampers this week: what might you say to draw attention to Jesus and build up his reputation as you do that? “Hi. We’re from St Barnabas Anglican Church. We’re happy to give this to you because Jesus loves you and we want to help you and your family celebrate his birth with joy this year. Merry Christmas!!!”

If what we do is not about bringing Jesus to birth in the lives of the people we’re serving, making him great and building up his reputation, then I think we must question whether it really is God calling us to do it or whether we’re doing it to build ourselves up.

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

When called by God most of us can’t figure out how he’s going to pull it off.

Asking this question can have consequences. Remember what happened to Zechariah earlier in this chapter; v18-20, when he questioned what Gabriel was telling him.

35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

The Holy Spirit of God is upon you. God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called. He didn’t look for a conveniently pregnant young woman. He chose Mary. He chooses people like us. We are all, without exception, called to bring Jesus into our world in some way.

For example, is God calling you to a surprising, new, seemingly impossible, ministry outside the church? Serving the poor? Parents? Schools? Is God is calling one of you to a surprising new, seemingly impossible, ministry in the church? To lead the ACW, for example? To organize the annual women’s dinner? Anyone feeling troubled and unqualified about that? Anyone trying to discern if you’re being called? Anyone trying to ignore or avoid it? Remember what happened to Jonah. And please, don’t wait for me to discern that you are so called and gifted. Say something. Tell me. Offer to help.

Mary’s call was unique and world changing and is now known all over the world. Our call will probably be way less spectacular. It probably will not be recorded in any earthly book, but I suspect they are all recorded in the Book of Life we read about in Revelation. The power of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of ordinary people like us can do impossible things. All we have to do is overcome our fear and with Mary say,

38 “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Anticipation

2011-12-17T13:41:00.003-07:00

It’s Advent again. The waiting season. I’m reminded of the old TV ad about the ketchup which is so rich and thick that it takes a very long time for it to come out of the bottle. The song featured in the ad was Carly Simon’s Anticipation which includes this line:

We can never know about the days to come
But we think about them anyway.

Her words seem sad and not very hopeful. Unlike Carly Simon, in our Advent anticipation we Christians do know something about those days to come. The Bible is very rich and thick with hope for our future. Jesus is coming back. In the meantime, as we think about those days to come, we live in the waiting here and now when the sauce hasn’t yet come out of the bottle.

The children wait impatiently at this time of year, avidly counting sleeps until the big day. We “grown ups” wait, too; for gift buying inspiration, the last minute, a call from a loved one, for it to be over, that special piece of Christmas mail, the results of medical tests, for a separated spouse or a wandering child to come home. Real life with all its joys, awkward inconveniences, hopes and fears, continues. It all seems especially emotional and poignant in Advent.

Carly Simon again:

And I wonder if I'm really with you now
Or just chasin' after some finer day

The temptation is to chase. The lights and glitter, carols and good cheer make us want to fast-forward to the bright sugar plum Christmas “finer day” right now. But then we miss the deeper, more restful "with you now" Advent rhythms of anticipation and appreciation of God’s rich, thick goodness which can seem so slow in coming.

There are many things that can help us enjoy the anticipation. Advent Calendar devotionals, for example, especially with children. Spending less, worshipping more and giving Presence (Jesus in you and me, Immanuel); the gift of time spent with the people in our lives. From Advent Sunday until Christmas Eve I enjoy lighting up only the blue lights in my decorations. I like the sense of anticipation that is generated as I look forward to seeing the full, multicoloured display fired up on the night we celebrate Jesus’ birth.

In the midst of the "with you now" realities of your life may you have a slow, rich Advent full of delightful anticipation and, when the time finally comes, a lovely Christmas, thick with joy, wonder and all the goodness of Jesus Himself. Some things are very much worth the waiting.

Some Advent Watching

2011-11-29T10:18:00.001-07:00

Jesus said "Watch!" in Sunday's Gospel so I'm watching.

ON WATCH WITH A NEW LECTIONARY
I've really enjoyed the St James Devotional Guide for the last few years. A perfect lectionary, but it costs. So I decided I'd go back to the Daily Office Lectionary in Book of Alternative Services this Advent. It fits my routine. Three lessons in the morning which aren't too long but which will get me through the Bible (sort of, as you will see) in a couple of years. My pattern is to do that kind of reading in the morning so Evening Prayer is free for the Sunday coming up lessons.

Image my frustration when only the third (the THIRD) day in, they've already cut a chapter out! No 2 Peter 2! To protect me, I presume, from any unpleasantness like false teachers and heresies. And lest I be enticed by the lustful desires (swoon!) of sinful human nature.

And, no, I don't buy the argument that it's not suitable for public worship. Isn't that precisely the kind of thing I'm supposed to watch for and avoid? How can I watch out for it and recognize it when I never get to read about what it looks like? Grumble.

A LOVELY ADVENT THING TO WATCH
On the brighter side of watching, this:

From God'sOwn, of course (New Zealand). Beautifully done. A joy to watch. H/T Richard Beck over at Experimental Theology.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Aging mainliners and demographic destiny | The Christian Century

2011-10-20T12:57:00.000-06:00

A "death tsunami" coming in mainline churches?

Don't manage your finances year by year. Make a major downsizing effort now, save your resources and plan for a "smaller, more vital" future.

All here: Aging mainliners and demographic destiny | The Christian Century

What Babies Do

2011-10-20T07:08:00.000-06:00

Kelvin Wright, Bishop of Dunedin, has a wonderful way with words. He has just met his first granddaughter:

She looked at me and smiled and wordlessly enquired who I was.

That's exactly what happens! Each of my grandkids have looked at me with that question. It's like we're learning each others' face. Kelvin's whole post here.

A Marvellous Mixture of Well-Being and Woe - And All Shall Be Well: a Funeral Sermon with Reference to Ecclesiastes 3, Psalm 23, John 14 and Julian of Norwich—for Bruce Van Wert

2011-10-08T12:36:00.001-06:00

Julian of Norwich, one of the great Christian mystics, lived in an age—the last half of the fourteenth century—when life could truly be described as nasty, brutish and short for most people and yet in the midst of that, out of her deep Christian faith, she described life as “a marvelous mixture of well-being and woe.” She also wrote that in this marvelous mixture of life: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well, no matter what.”

The fact is that of late, Bruce and his family have had to deal with more woe—deaths that came too early—than most. It’s hard and it hurts. That’s also a fact.

Yet, if we so choose, like Julian in her hard and dark age, we can still focus on the well-being part of the mixture and say, “All shall be well, no matter what.”

The readings we just heard attest to it. Yes, as we heard in Ecclesiastes, there is woe: death (and times like this), killing, crying, grieving, hate and war. But, there is also the well-being of new birth, healing, laughter, dancing, love and peace. A marvelous mixture, indeed.

To that mixture, as we read in the twenty-third Psalm, add the LORD God himself, our good shepherd, who promises to provide rest in green pastures beside the still waters as He restores our souls. Yes, death is a fact, yet as we walk through its shadowed valley we need fear no evil, for He is with us—through all the marvelous mixture of the days of our lives, closer than we ever think. Even in the midst of all our woes there can be the well-being that comes from His goodness and mercy. And finally, King David writes, “I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” And all shall be well, no matter what.

Which brings us to Jesus and what he said in the reading from John’s gospel. Jesus knows we keep coming face to face with the woe part of life’s marvellous mixture, so he says 1"Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me.” There is a home waiting for us if we want it where all shall be well—forever. “2There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly.” Home. Rest, green pastures, still waters, restoration in the house of the LORD for ever. And all shall be well.

How do we get there? Make a reservation with Jesus, who he tells us, is The Way, The Truth
and The Life—the only way home.

In the meantime, honour Bruce’s memory by making the most of the marvelous mixture of the life and the time you have been given. Make sure the people you love know it before you go to bed tonight. Tomorrow might be too late. Don’t allow resentment and estrangement to continue. Life is too short for that. Forgive. Be reconciled. Decide whether Jesus is speaking the truth. If you want one of those rooms, make sure your reservation is confirmed with Him. And then, all things shall be well and all manner of things shall, indeed, be well. No matter what.

Good Apples

2011-10-07T16:41:00.000-06:00

Fruit have been on my mind lately. There was that verse about being a people who produce the fruits of the kingdom (Mt 21:43) in last Sunday's gospel. I've just eaten a wonderfully crisp and sweet apple for lunch. Then there is Apple Computers and the death of founder Steve Jobs after a short but remarkably fruitful and influential life. Jobs' death inspired a fascinating piece over at Wondering Fair, the blog: "Will there be Macs in heaven?" But I digress.

Tradition identifies the humble apple as the fruit which Adam and Eve raided in Garden of Eden. In fact, the text does not tell us what the fruit in question was. It could have been a mango or a plum. Proverbs 25:11 tells us

A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. (ESV)

Apples of gold. No wonder the apple is also associated with motherhood, pie and all that is good.

Here are seven ways to produce fruits of the kingdom by being apple-ish:

Apples are colourful and pleasant to behold. If you and I were as attractive in the Spirit people would be drawn to the One who lives within us.
An apple's skin is shiny. If our spiritual skins were as shiny we would reflect the Glory of God more clearly and delightfully.
Most apples taste sweet when they're ripe. A healthy sweetness of the Spirit in me will draw people to Jesus and leave a sweet taste in their mouths.
Apples have a core in which the seeds of the next generation are kept. I, too, have the seeds of a new generation of Christians in my core when Jesus resides there.
Apples grow on a tree. Jesus died on a tree—a tree of life for me.
Apples exist to feed people. In the kingdom, so do I.
Apples exist to reproduce. Ditto.

Lord, "keep us as the apple of an eye." (The Book of Common Prayer: Compline)

Visibility

2011-09-24T18:00:00.001-06:00

Wondering Fair: Rules of Life

2011-09-22T21:32:00.001-06:00

via wonderingfair.com

"God’s rules are made for the flourishing of people, not people for the upkeep of God’s rules (cf. Mark 2:27)." indeed.

Real Authentic, Authenticity According to Her.meneutics

2011-09-22T17:43:00.001-06:00

via blog.christianitytoday.com

Margaret Thatcher once said, “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.” same with "authenticity…

And Where There's Doubt True Faith in You?

2011-09-19T14:51:00.001-06:00

via blog.christianitytoday.com

"Welcoming Doubt to Christian Education" by Karen Swallow Prior, one of the most excellent Her.Meneutics bloggers.

(The title of this post is a line from Sebastian Temple's song, "The Prayer of St Francis.")

Living LORDward: a Summertime One-Pager Sermon with reference to Romans 14: 1-12 and Mt 18: 23-35

2011-09-11T15:06:00.001-06:00

In a few weeks I still intend, LORD willing, to focus for a while on the work and gifts of the Holy Spirit. But first, on this Ministry Fair and children’s ministry start-up Sunday I want to talk about positioning ourselves for that, to think about which way we’re facing. Am I living to the LORD, as Paul puts it in the reading from Romans? Am I living LORDward and what does that look like?

Romans 14:7–8 (NIV84)
7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, "The essential thing ‘in heaven and earth’ is…that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living." From this idea came the title for Eugene H. Peterson’s work, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society on the Psalms of Ascent, Psalms 120-134 (I’m quoting from a review of the book by Chartley McMaster Bondurant).

What direction is that? To the LORD. I must live to the LORD. In other words my life must look LORDward. My life must look as if it is to the LORD I’m going. My life must be lived in His direction. Yours, too.

How can I live a life LORDward? To fear, be in reverent awe of, and trust in the LORD as we heard in Ex 14:31 and know what I owe.

Matthew 18:23–25 (NIV84)
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

The king is the LORD. I am the servant (slave). Ten thousand talents is somewhere between twelve million and a billion dollars in today’s money. More than I, too, could ever pay back. What to do?

Matthew 18:26 (NIV84)
26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’

I fall on my knees LORDward. I can’t even say, “Have patience with me,” because I know I simply cannot pay Him back for what he’s done for me. Ever. So I kneel in reverent awe, believe that Jesus is His son who died for me and my sins on the cross and confess my sins—humbly, acknowledging the immensity of my soul’s debt, my moral bankruptness and absolute lack of ability to put anything right without His help. I do this unconditionally knowing that if I don’t I am living, and will die, not to the LORD, but away from Him. Forever.

And then, wonder of wonders, the LORD promises to do what the king did for the slave:

Matthew 18:27 (NIV84)
27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

Pitied, in a good way, debt canceled (forgiven) and let go (released). For what?
To restart or begin my long obedience in the same direction, fearing and trusting in the LORD, living LORDwardly and forgiving from the heart.

There may well be something to help you with your long obedience in the LORDward direction in one of the Ministry Fair opportunities.

Her.meneutics: My Husband's Affair - with the Church

2011-09-06T17:42:00.000-06:00

The church from the point of view of one pastor's wife:

She is loving and life changing; she is malicious and overbearing. She is beautiful; she is ugly. She is as light as day, capable of astonishing kindness and generosity; she is as dark as night, capable of unspeakable evil. I love her; I hate her. She is the Church.

All here: Her.meneutics: My Husband's Affair - with the Church

Stir Up Sunday: Labour Weekend One-Pager Sermon

2011-09-04T16:58:00.001-06:00

Labour Day weekend. The last weekend fling before summer winds down as another year rolls by. An annual event in our cultural calendar. Our Old Testament reading tells us about how the LORD starts an annual event in the Hebrew calendar. Look at

Ex 12: 1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.

And

Ex 12:14 This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

The ESV renders it as “a memorial day.” A day to remember what the LORD had done. Year after year. A day to bring the community of Israel back to their roots. And it was to be the first month of their year.
We no longer have to do the lamb and the blood. Jesus is our passover lamb. His blood shed on the cross is now what causes the angel of death to pass over us. We remember and celebrate that Sunday by Sunday and especially at Easter.
Moses was being particular about time—a specific month, to be the beginning of months year after year. Paul is also concerned about time and its passing in our Romans passage:

Romans 13 (NIV84) 11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

But here’s what all this makes me think: summer is almost over, the fall is upon us. Although it’s not on the liturgical calendar, Labour Day weekend marks the beginning of a first month for us, too—of “the ministry” or program year. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. Stir up Sunday. I think the Lord is calling each St Barnabas household to choose not a lamb but something to sacrifice by way of ministry, of doing something for Jesus, not to save ourselves but in gratitude for the salvation that Jesus has already bought for us on the cross. I might be being asked to choose something more. You might be being asked to choose something different, or to continue doing something to which the LORD has already called you. And to use it all up like the lamb and do it for love. The important thing is to ask him and give him the chance to speak to you.
It’s the first month of our year. It’s time to wake from my delicious summer slumber to put Jesus on again. To wrap myself in him. Make sure the shoes and accessories of my life match him rather than the desires of my sinful nature. You, too.

Something More that Makes This Year's Love Last: a Wedding Sermon with reference to David Grey's "This Year's Love" and 1 Cor 13—for Austin & Brittney LaBranche

2011-09-03T18:06:00.001-06:00

“This year’s love had better last,” sang David Grey as Brittney walked in with her Dad. We didn’t quite get to, “Sweep me off my feet, singin’ ain’t this life so sweet. This year’s love had better last.” I don’t know who swept who off whose feet but life is pretty sweet today, isn’t it. We’re here because Austin and Brittney have decided “This year’s love had better last,” and what better way to ensure that than to enter into a Christian covenant of Holy Matrimony. To that end they will make solemn vows before all of you and before the living God Himself.
Smart move because the fact is, as David Grey also sings, “It feels so right now,” but pretty soon most of us “start to forget, how my heart gets torn when that hurt gets thrown feeling like I can’t go on.” It happens to all of us. The hurts fly and we are tempted to give up on one another.
Another reason why it’s smart to commit to one another in Christian marriage is because, David Grey again: “If you love me got to know for sure, Cuz it takes something more this time.” More than what? More than just romantic feelings. Christian marriage is the something more; a solemn, purposeful commitment which provides a foundation and a trustworthy home for the sweet, sweep-me-off-my-feet feelings which brought you here today.
How does that work? Austin and Brittney, you’ve made the decision to commit before God. Well done. You must also decide to go beyond the sweet, sweep-me-off-my-feet feelings, children no more, grow up and love each other in the ways St Paul describes in your reading from First Corinthians; with patience, kindness, without envy, pride, rudeness, self seeking or anger; protecting and trusting one another, hoping for the best for one another, persevering in it all. Not always easy but worth the effort especially when those hurts are thrown and you feel like you can’t go on.
Marriage is wonderful, but it’s difficult. Christian marriage has the “something more” that makes you “know for sure” you are loved. The something more is Jesus. This congregation and this building exist because of him. The world was created through him. Men and women and marriage were a part of that very good creation right at the beginning. In the second chapter of the Bible it says a man will leave his family and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh in marriage. In other words, as EM Forrester wrote in A Room with a View, this wedding is a moment for which the world was made and Jesus is at the heart of it. Jesus gave his life on the cross to save Austin and Brittney and their marriage (and all of us) from sin and death if we will only accept it. As we shall shortly pray, the spiritual unity between Jesus and his church will be represented in the covenant of marriage Brittney and Austin are making today. All we do in this celebration is “through Jesus Christ our Lord,” Son of God, Saviour of world. Jesus—something more indeed—the ultimate, matchless and perfect expression of God’s love—whose love is the greatest and never fails; making it possible for this year’s love to last—oh, let’s say at least until Saturday, September 3, 2061 when, Lord willing, Austin and Brittney will celebrate their fiftieth. Mark your calendars.  

Sermon Writing with Madeline

2011-09-03T10:30:00.003-06:00

The EFC's law and pub

2011-08-30T17:17:00.001-06:00

Ottawa hosted its Gay Pride Parade on the weekend. The mayor and other local politicians attended along with official representatives from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. On Wednesday, the Toronto Catholic District School Board will vote on implementation of an Equity in Education policy, mandatory for all schools according to Ontario’s Premier and its Minister of Education.

It’s difficult to say how many times I have heard or read the media refer to a Gay Pride Parade as a ‘celebration of diversity.’ I’m also not sure how often the Equity in Education policies of various provincial Ministries of Education have been referred to as a ‘recognition of diversity.’

Gay Pride Parades are no more a celebration of diversity than the equity policies are a recognition of diversity. Let’s be straight about this, Gay Pride Parades are a celebration of homosexuality and equity policies, as prepared to date, are a recognition (some claim promotion) of homosexuality in the school system.

Harsh words? Anti-gay? Homophobic? I don’t think so.

In Ontario, a celebration of diversity would include celebration of: “race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status and disability.” These are the identified categories of the Ontario Human Rights Code. Each piece of human rights legislation has a similar list in its own words.

The parade might include gays and lesbians of different races, ancestries, etc. but such inclusion is secondary to the celebration of being gay. And, given that technically and legally – at least according to the Supreme Court of Canada in Dagenais v. CBC – there is no hierarchy of rights, the primary focus on being gay (some would say ‘primal’ because of the otherwise illegal nudity and portrayal of sexual acts that are often featured in the gay pride ‘celebration’ to which families are invited) means that by definition the parade is not a celebration of diversity. It’s a celebration of being gay.

If you want to celebrate being gay, then celebrate being gay. But don’t claim it’s a celebration of diversity.

Equity in Education policies should not be implemented when drafted to establish recognition and support for gay and lesbian students in a manner that supersedes or fails to provide similar recognition of students’ rights under the other prohibited grounds of discrimination. And, such policies promoted as mandatory in faith-based privately or publicly funded schools need to take into consideration the beliefs of the school community, just as those policies’ impact on individual students in public schools needs to be accommodated.

Equity policies need to be robust and well-rounded enough to deal sensitively with the status of each student, not just a select group. And, they need to take into account the raison d’être of the school in which implementation is intended.

To be clear, as the Supreme Court of Canada determined in Ross v. New Brunswick, the classroom is to be a welcoming place for all students. That explicitly should not be interpreted to favour one group over another. Public schools are required to recognize diversity.

Should one choose to send one’s children to a school that operates on principles other than those in the public system, one’s expectation ought reasonably to be that the school be a welcoming place for all students without the school being required to compromise, abandon or invalidate the principles upon which the alternative school (whether privately or publicly funded) is established. Catholic schools should be distinctively Catholic, just as arts schools should be distinctively artsy and athletic schools distinctively sporty. These alternative schools establish entrance standards that will, of reality, limit the students eligible to attend while accommodating an identifiable group. That’s why they are an alternative to the public system.

If we really want to celebrate and recognize diversity in a free and democratic society, then let’s openly have the conversations about diversity without threat of being labelled anti-gay or homophobic when what we really are is pro appropriate celebration and recognition. It’s not about name calling. It’s not about political correctness. It’s about equality. It’s about equity. And, it’s about diversity.

via activatecfpl.theefc.ca

Waterton Lake Oil

2011-08-28T15:27:00.003-06:00

Waterton Lake. A real oil this time. On canvas! 8 x 10 inches. Still wet.

Delusions of the Group of Seven's Tom Thomson. Those wonderful 8½ x 10½ inch plywood panels.

What Do I Know! A Summertime One-Pager with reference to Matthew 16:23 and Romans 12:113

2011-08-28T15:12:00.000-06:00

In four verses we’ve moved from last Sunday’s Jesus saying to Peter:

Matthew 16:17–18 (NIV) …“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, …I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.

Matthew 16:23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Blessed are you to get behind me, Satan! Church foundation stone to stumbling block.
I am capable of just as quick a switch. I can go from the concerns of God (for example, concerned with suffering)to mine! and what I think would be better, in a moment, the twinkling of an appetite or an addiction. So can you.
How can I reduce that tendency?
A few days ago our daughter in law, Kristy Packwood posted on FaceBook that
Levi, our four year old grandson, was explaining to her the different jobs bugs have in their garden. When Kristy asked him how he knew all this his response was: "I'm a knower Mom. I just know things."
The first thing I can do to reduce my tendency to be a stumbling block holding Jesus back from what he wants to do in me and through me is to remember what I know and live as if I know what I know. For example, I know that from cover to cover the Bible tells me Jesus really is who Peter said he is. I know that as a baptized Christian the Holy Spirit is in me leading me there. I know it in my knower even when I have my doubts about whether I’m living up to who I am. In that sense I’m a knower like four year old Levi. So are many of you.
Second, if I do not want to be a speed bump on the narrow road that leads to life Jesus talked about (Mt 7:14) I need to know and act on what he says about how to live. For example, in this morning’s gospel—Mt 16:24, three things:

I must deny myself
take up the cross Jesus has for me, and
follow Him.

I don’t particularly like the part about denying myself and a cross. But I know that Jesus said it therefore I must pay attention and obey in practical ways such as how I use my time, the tasks I take on, how I use the money God has given me. Jesus is also saying quite clearly that if I focus on my own concerns and appetites instead of the things of God, I will lose my life. I might gain the whole world and its goodies but my soul would be forfeit. Same for you.
Here’s the third thing from this morning’s readings I know about how not be a stumbling blockhead. Paul in the Epistle: Romans 12:11 (NIV) Never be lacking (do not lag NRSV, do not be slothful ESV) in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor (be ardent NRSV—fervent ESV in the spirit), serving the Lord.
Here’s my challenge as the wonderful, lazy days of summer turn into the brisker more demanding days of fall. I must not let delightful summertime restfulness turn into sloth and a lack of zeal for serving Jesus and His people. None of us should. I need to pray for God’s grace to empower me for that. So do you.
Ministry Fair Sunday is September 11th. Are there ways in which your zeal and fervor for serving the LORD can be rekindled, released and put into action here at St Barnabas? Even more importantly, is the Lord calling you to direct such zeal beyond these walls in some way?

Her.meneutics: The Her.meneutics Gender Debates (Part 2)

2011-08-23T15:20:00.001-06:00

via blog.christianitytoday.com

More thought provoking opinion…

Who Am I?—a Summertime One-Pager with reference to Exodus 1:8-2:10, Romans 12:1-8 and Matthew 16:13-20

2011-08-22T14:56:00.001-06:00

Mt 16:15 “But what about you?” Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say I am?” And Peter is the first one on earth to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the Living God.
Let’s switch sides for a moment and look at the same question from a different angle.
Speaking to the seven Sons of Sceva in Acts 19:15 just before they were beaten soundly (Acts 19:16) the evil spirit they were trying to cast out asks them “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
Who are you? Good summertime question for me, especially as the fall ministry launch approaches. Considering who Peter says Jesus is, who am I and who are you? Would anyone outside these walls know who you and I are spiritually?
Who am I? If I’m not Moses, set adrift in a papyrus basket, or Paul, knocked to the ground and temporarily blinded on his way to Damascus breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, or Peter, the one upon whom Jesus said He would build His church, then who am I and do I matter?
I am a child of the Living God. And so are you. That means I matter. So do you. Even though we didn’t make it into the Bible.
Although details of my birth and life so far may not have been as dramatic as those we read about in the Bible and even thought they may not be written about and discussed in the future; they are real God ordained details and circumstances and they are part of what God is doing in the world. So are yours.
I am loved. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is very fond of me; He is also very fond of you.
I am a Christian. When I decided to believe that Jesus is who Peter says He is in our gospel reading this morning and to trust in Him, I received the impossibly generous gift of salvation from sin and death. So did you, if you also believe in Jesus.
I am baptized. So are most of you.
After and out of all that comes who I really am. Same for you.
What am I for? Moses was born in Egypt, Paul in Tarsus, Jesus in Bethlehem. I was born in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, on the 25th of February 1947 of Darcy George and Margaret Jean Packwood to give glory and delight to the Living God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and to show and tell who Jesus is in all the circumstances and details of my life. That is also why, when and where you were born.
Because of who I am, a follower and worshipper of Jesus, I also have gifts, as Paul says in our Romans reading (Romans 12:1-8), according to the grace given me. So do you. Grace is God’s empowering presence to make me who He made me to be and to do what he made me to do—grace makes me able to do things I am unable to do on my own.
I have one or some of the gifts Paul lists in our reading from Romans (12:6-8): prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing to the needs of others, leadership, showing mercy. So do you. I don’t have them all. Neither do you. We all have different gifts says Paul in verse 6. There are more. For example, the Hebrew midwives had the gift of courage and Godly resistance. Paul lists other gifts in 1 Cor 12: words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, distinguishing of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues, helps, administration. They are all for the common good and the greater gifts, Paul also says, are to be earnestly desired.
As we exercise the gifts God gave us, others will come to know who we really are and, what is more important, our lives will show and tell who Jesus is.
This is who we are and what we’re for.

Her.meneutics: The Gender Debates Come to Her.meneutics

2011-08-22T12:25:00.001-06:00

via blog.christianitytoday.com

More goodness from the women at Christianity Today Blogs…

Back to Work

2011-08-20T10:31:00.001-06:00

This photo was taken using Pro HDR for the iPhone.

GOPsmacked: Cranmer on the Republican Presidential Candidate Race

2011-08-16T08:51:00.001-06:00

Some interesting thoughts on the US Republican Party presidential candidate race from "His Grace" over at the Cranmer blog. To whit:

But it’s funny, His Grace thinks, with all the suffering, trauma and mess in the world, that the suitability of the next GOP candidate for the Presidency of the United States appears to come down to whether or not he or she has faith in Charles Darwin. There is a perception of cultic orthodoxy; a faith test quite contrary to the US Constitution which affirms that ‘no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust’ (Article VI). It must be observed that Republican candidates are invariably asked at some point during their campaigns if they believe the Bible to be the inviolable Word of God, and none has ever quoted Article VI in response. It appears that one only gains the GOP nomination to become President of the United States by the adoption of the Bible-Belt Creed and with the majority assent of the Evangelical Church. And there is an unrelenting media focus (both here and in the US) to lampoon, discredit and ridicule such beliefs.

The lampooning, discrediting and ridiculing goes on in Canada, too. In addition to the Darwin test, of course, there are also the global warming, abortion and sexuality ones.

Read the whole piece here.

Oil Doodling at Waterton Lake

2011-08-08T12:06:00.003-06:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

On the iPad using ArtRage.

Waterton Lake iPhonography

2011-08-07T14:01:00.002-06:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

More Waterton Lake—all taken with my iPhone 3Gs using Pro HDR

Waterton Mornings

2011-08-06T14:16:00.003-06:00

What I saw on my way to put the coffee on each morning. Having to send it out after the fact because Mr Rogers' network appeared only erratically depending on where I was standing before, like the sun at the end of the day, disappearing behind the mountains.

Photo by Pro HDR
____________________
Sent from my iPad

Waterton: Walking Last Saturday Morning

2011-08-05T19:02:00.002-06:00

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sent from my iPhone

Where We Were

2011-08-05T19:01:00.002-06:00

Waterton: last Friday afternoon. And it didn't change much all week.

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sent from my iPhone

Walking in a Gale

2011-08-01T12:32:00.002-06:00

Waterton: Sunday afternoon. You can't see the wind, just as Jesus said, but we could sure feel it. Hard not to be blown off the path sometimes. No wonder the trees along the lakeshore are so shapely.

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sent from my iPhone

Rockin'—a Short Wedding Sermon with Reference to Mt 7:24-27 and Songbirds: for Jay and Shanda Burbine

2011-07-23T22:47:00.002-06:00

This is good. Its good to see Jay and Shanda being married. It's good to be able to be a part of it. It's good to hear that reading from Matthew at a wedding. First time for me. Good choice Jay and Shanda, you’re giving all of us the gift of a fresh insight into wise Christian marriage building from Jesus himself.

Why does that matter? Jesus loves you and wants the very best for you and all of us. And Jesus likes weddings—his first miracle was to turn one hundred and fifty or so gallons for water into really good wine so people could have a good time at one.

Remember what the reading said? Let’s get it clear in our minds. Wise-rock. House does not fall. Foolish-sand. What a terrible fall that was! Repeat after me.

So let’s rock.

How do you build a house, a marriage, a life, on a rock? First, obey Jesus, love one another.

The song we heard as Shanda came in was Songbirds from classic rockers Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks. If we'd heard a bit more of it, we'd have heard this:

And I love you, I love you, I love you, like never before.

A love song. Deeply felt. Romantic. That kind of love is wonderful and is what brought you together. It sizzles and leaves you breathless. But if your love never gets beyond that, your marriage will be resting on the sand Jesus talks about. It may be warm and comfortable and great to wiggle your toes in to begin with, but sooner or later there will be rain, just as Jesus says, and with rain will come rising rivers of irritation and misunderstanding. Winds of time passing, of change and disappointment will blow hard against your marriage. The sand will shift, be washed and blown away, it’ll get in your eyes, up your nose and into your clothing in the most uncomfortable places.

If you want to build your marriage on a rock, add the kind of love we heard about in the first reading from 1 Corinthians 13; it's powerful, the kind of love with which God so loves the world, which Jesus uniquely demonstrated and personifies; the love with which you comfort, honour and protect each other in Christian marriage by being patient, kind, truthful, faithful, hopeful and never giving up on one another.

And, finally, you know who the Rock is. Jesus, the Rock from whom everything in all creation rolled, rolls and will ever roll. The Rock which rolls our blues away, as I’ve heard Jay sing. Jesus is the Rock upon whom wise couples like Shanda and Jay can build lives and strong Christian marriages which will never fall.

Let’s review. Repeat after me. Wise-rock-Jesus. House does not fall.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad :-)

Richard III, Cross-gender Casting and Women's Ordination

2011-07-21T17:20:00.000-06:00

Interesting radio on my way to Okotoks a few weeks ago. Jian Ghomeshi did an interview on cross-gender casting with Seanna McKenna, who is playing the evil King Richard in Richard III at Stratford this year, and Martha Henry, who plays Queen Margaret.

One comment that caught my ear is how when men play women it is seen as a bit of a laugh (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), but when women play men it is a much more serious (and often disturbing) matter. I suspect that's probably because when women play men it stirs up some power issues. Men have more to lose.

And all that made me think of the ordination of women controversy in the church. I realize I'm heading into potentially stormy territory here but consider this. Liturgy is very much like theatre. An Anglican presider most often follows a script—actually all presiders do, it's just that some are more improvisational than others. The presider is playing a role just as are Seanna and Martha in Richard III. As the role is played, the story of God's involvement with us is told, God gets worshipped, grace gets mediated and truth is learned and experienced.

The Bard wrote about the man Richard III, most often played by a man because he was one. Why cast a woman in the role? To stir the pot of meaning and truth in the play to see if there is more to be gleaned. Necessary? Not really. Helpful? Probably. Having a woman play Richard is legitimate artistic experimentation it seems to me, like seeing something familiar in 3D or in modern dress, or doing liturgy in a different way. It makes the story light up differently.

The Bible is about Jesus, who happens to be a man. To what extent does the ordained minister represent Jesus? Should a woman be cast in that role? Does it stir the pot of meaning and truth in the divine drama so that more meaning and truth can be gleaned, or does it just muddy the waters? Is that just something like cross-gender casting for Shakespeare, or something more?

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Votes to Bless Same Sex Marriages

2011-07-19T16:23:00.000-06:00

I'm surprised they went before we Anglicans did. I thought Lutherans were more stringent with their theology.

This is just wrong.

For comment and reportage, see here, here and here.

Life, Love, Beauty, Poetry and Mortality

2011-07-19T13:25:00.002-06:00

Summer hols, day two.

PD James, Death in Holy Orders (Seal Books, 2001)—getting close to whodunit being revealed and, in the meantime, this, when among the effects of an elderly spinster who has just died, Emma finds evidence of a youthful engagement and a fiance killed in the war:

And wasn't this the stuff of nearly all the world's poetry, the transitoriness of life and love and beauty, the knowledge that time's winged chariot had knives in its wheels? (p612)

Knives in its wheels. Strong image. Intimations of mortality.

Isn't that what the Biblical poetry in the Psalms, Proverbs and the Song of Songs are also about? There is joy, confidence, hope and the promise of immortality, but in the meantime those knives are spinning.

They were spinning for Moses, Aaron and Miriam in my St James Devotional Guide lectionary reading in Numbers this morning on the deck. A lovely, heartfelt prayer from Moses for Miriam:

O God, please heal her—please. (Num 12:13)

A good prayer for all the victims of those knives.

What's an Archdeacon?

2011-07-18T10:24:00.002-06:00

And what's an Archdeacon?

asks Kate Miskin in PD James' Death in Holy Orders. To which DI Piers Tarrant replies,

A kind of Rottweiler of the church…The spiritual equivalent of HM Inspector of Constabulary.

Oo-er! Maybe that's just C of E.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad :-)

Weeds: a Summer One-Pager Sermon with Reference to Gen 28, Rom 8 and Mat 13

2011-07-17T13:07:00.002-06:00

Looking at the gospel.

Mt 13:37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.

Jesus is the good seed sower.

Mt 13:38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil.

I always know what I am—wheat, of course, other people are the weeds. I’m the son of the kingdom and others are the sons of the evil one. Me wheatily holy and church-going, others weedily un-spiritual. Me wheatily generous, others weedily stingy. Kiwis wheaty, Aussies weedy. Canucks wheaty, Bruins weedy. Conservatives wheaty, liberals weedy. Fill in the blanks. You know how it goes.

Mt 13:28 …“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 “ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

God sure is merciful to be letting all those weeds grow around wheaty me despite their weediness and giving them plenty of time to see the error of their ways before the angels come to pull them up and burn them in the fire. I, of course, will be gathered and brought to the nice cool barn.

And then I catch a glimpse of something unpleasantly green: my own weediness. Sometimes being green is not a good thing.

Ro 8:12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature (flesh), to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die.

I become aware of my own sinful nature; persistent as the dandelions and crab grass in my lawn; choking out my wheatiness.

Gen 28:16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid.

I realize I’ve become comfortable with my weediness. I’ve been dozing in my sin. I wake up with a pang of fear. God knows there is more than enough thorny weediness in me to merit being pulled out by the roots. I’ve allowed myself to drift from awareness of his presence.

Gen 28:17 Jacob said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

And then I come here and am reminded, Sunday by Sunday, that the Owner is here and he loves me and all weedy folk.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

If God himself is being so patient with me. I need to be patient with the weedy folk around me.

Mt 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

And it’s all because of Jesus.

O, LORD, You Are So Big: a Short Wedding Sermon with reference to Ro 12: 9-18, 1 Cor 13, Mt 22: 35-40 and Monty Python—for Anthony and Kelsey Ilosvay

2011-07-16T17:38:00.001-06:00

(Wedding number two today)

I can’t remember exactly how we got on to this, but in our marriage prep Bible study (I figure if people are going out of their way to married in the Christian Church, they need to know what the manual says about it) Anthony, Kelsey and I somehow got to this line from Monty Python:

O Lord, oo-oo-oo, you are so big, so absolutely huge, gosh, we’re all really impressed down here, I can tell you. Forgive us o lord for this our dreadful toadying, But you’re just so strong and so super.

And Anthony suggested I should use it. I think it was a dare. So here goes.

In the last reading we heard, from Matthew’s gospel, chapter 22, Jesus obviously thinks God is big enough, impressive enough, strong enough and super enough to love—with all our hearts, souls and minds—with everything we have, in other words. In fact, He commands it and he calls it the first and greatest commandment.

Admittedly, that’s a tall order. It’s hard enough for us sinners to control our minds (especially when there are so many Australians present), let alone our hearts and souls. It’s a tall order for married couples, too.

I think the readings were well chosen. By choosing them, Kelsey and Anthony are clearly acknowledging that, for them, God is no laughing matter. Not only is God big—infinite, in fact—God is impressively super and strong. The Bible says nothing is impossible for God. God is an awesome being of great power and glory. He raises people from the dead.

If we want to make the most of life and marriage, this is how we just heard God says we need to do it: Love sincerely. Hate evil, cling to good. Be devoted to one another. Honour one another. Be spiritually alive. Serve Jesus. Pray. Share. Be hospitable. Bless those who get up your nose. Live in harmony. Avoid conceit. Don’t get even. Do what is right. Live at peace. Love. Be patient, kind, do not envy, boast, be proud or rude or self-seeking or easily angered. Keep no record of wrongs. Protect, trust, hope in and persevere with one another. Grow together. Above all, just love. Love God with all you’ve got. Jesus called that the first and greatest commandment. And love one another—he called that the second greatest commandment. That’s all you have to do and everything’ll be fine.  

By choosing these readings, you, Kelsey and Anthony, are doing the opposite of the “toadying” sort of prayer in the Monty Python sketch. You are taking God seriously—showing that you are impressed. You are acknowledging the significance of what you are doing today. You’re setting the bar high for yourselves. You know how you need to live to enjoy a long and happy marriage. You know where, and in whom, the best help is to be found as you do so; in Jesus Christ, the heavenly bridegroom, Lord, Saviour, light of the world.

Where is Jesus to be found? Here in his church, in the Bible and in his followers.

Let’s pray. O Lord, thank you that you are big enough to handle anything. May we be truly impressed...

White Wedding: a Short Wedding Sermon with reference to Eph 3:14-19 and Col 3:12-19—for Clarke and Kimberly White

2011-07-16T17:31:00.001-06:00

(Wedding number one today)

I guess this really is a White wedding. White dress, Clarke White…

Wikipedia says white weddings started with the white dress Queen Victoria wore when she married Prince Albert in 1840. Before that brides wore all sorts of colours. At the time of Victoria's wedding, white was considered the color of mourning, and inappropriate for a wedding.

Thereafter, as accounts of Victoria's wedding spread across the Atlantic and throughout Europe elites followed her lead. Because of the limitations of laundering techniques in those days, white dresses were a sign of conspicuous consumption. They showed the world that the bride's family was so wealthy and so firmly part of the leisure class that they could afford to lose such dress if were soiled and couldn’t be cleaned.

And here we are in a church that exists because of the Jesus Christ we heard about in the readings from the Bible and who, on one occasion, on what is called the Mount of Transfiguration, the Bible describes as having clothes that became as white as the light (Mt 17:2), dazzling white (Mk 9:3), bright as a flash of lightning (Lk 9:29), whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them (Mk 9:3), and even his face shone like the sun (Mt 17:2). This, or any other, wedding is especially, wonderfully, white because of His presence. Jesus makes weddings extra white. And Jesus can make marriages white—whiter than white—so they glow.

We hear how in the Bible readings Clarke and Kimberly chose to set the tone of their new married life together. Kimberly and Clarke, if, as we heard in the first reading from Ephesians, you invite Jesus Christ to make his home in your hearts as you trust in him (Eph 3:17), your hearts will glow with His light and so will your marriage. If you allow your marriage to be established in His love, you will see just how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ (Eph 3:18) for you.

And as we heard in the second reading from Paul’s letter to the Colossians, if you clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience with one another (Col 3:12), make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive each other (Col 3:13), over and over and over, if necessary. If you clothe yourselves with that kind of love, you will be bound together in perfect married harmony (Col 3:14). Most importantly, if whatever you do or say, is done in the name of the LORD Jesus (Col 3:17), your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong and this white wedding will have launched a marriage which glows with the dazzling, bright as a flash of lightning, white light of Jesus Christ himself. There is no stopping such a marriage.

As I thought about this white wedding theme, I wondered if there were any white wedding anniversaries. I found there are three: the sixth, thirteenth and sixtieth. Here are the dates of yours: July 16, 2017, 2024 and 2071. Mark your calendars.

Why I Stay: a Response to Kate (and others who might be wondering)

2011-07-12T10:31:00.002-06:00

My response to a challenge from Kate on this post where she asks why my "time, talents and money are still with the ACoC."

Time and Talents
Here is my—what? Rationale? Too strong a word, perhaps, it's more a heart-faith thing for me. I'm not sure I can defend it all that well. However, here goes:

I am not aware that the LORD has given me permission to leave my post
Radner's observation in Hope Among the Fragments seems to apply to me; i.e., we have two choices: go to Rome, or stay. Further splits are a problem for me.
Jeremiah didn't leave…an example there
Jesus seems to suggest that both wheat and weeds ought to be allowed to grow together for now. I am uncomfortably aware of my own weediness should the weeds be gathered and burned at the moment.
I'd have to leave too many of the people I love and was called to serve at StB
to support my Bishop

All that said, I do not like the way in which some ACoC bishops and dioceses treat ANiC folk. The property grab (see my naughty doodle here) and use of secular courts is very unlovely. Do I find it comfortable in the ACoC? No. Do I think my staying will change its course? No. But following Jesus is not as much about my personal tastes and comfort as it is being obedient, nor is it as much about being effective and right as faithful. And this is where I've been put.

I have to confess I rather envy (sin, I know) the folk who have left. It sounds wonderful to be among like-minded people in a growing, tension free (or at least tension free-er) community.

Money
My tithe is due to the LORD through my local church. It seems to me that has little to do with whether I approve of what is done with the money or not. I don't always approve of the way my own congregation uses it. If folk further up the line misuse that money they will have to answer for that.

…and So?
Not very tidy or well reasoned, but that's about it. See here for a previous attempt at answering the same question based on some better reasoned arguments from smarter folk than me.

Mine! A Naughty Doodle Concerning the Behaviour of Certain Bishops and Dioceses

2011-07-02T17:44:00.002-06:00

Drugs, Chemistry and Matrimony with reference to 1 John 4:7–12—for Michael Laevens and Chandel Lovig

2011-07-02T16:44:00.002-06:00

A drug, broadly speaking, says Wikipedia, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function.

In pharmacology, Wikipedia says, a drug is "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being."

Enhance physical or mental well-being. That sounds like what marriage is for. Marriage, then, could be seen as something like a drug. Strangely appropriate, especially at the wedding of two pharmacists, don’t you think?

Okay, marriage is not a chemical substance, but there’s chemistry involved. That’s what brought Michael and Chandel together.

Wikipedia goes on to say that drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.

A limited duration. Not so with marriage. God, the great healer, prescribed marriages to last forever. Things don’t always work out that way, but God’s hope and intention was for enhanced physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing in marriages.

Not that Chandel and Michael are suffering from a chronic disorder. Or are they?

Think about it. What has brought them and of us here this afternoon was a condition “characterized by abnormal heart rhythms, sweating, impaired brain function, incoherent speech patterns and loss of sleep, among other things.” (writes Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, Editor of NaturalNews.com). Sounds an awful lot like a disease, doesn’t it. Plato, the Greek philosopher, called love “a serious mental illness.”

They need something for that. The something is marriage, not to make the condition go away, but to make it better, richer, and forever. Marriage is designed to change the love they’ve fallen into—the romantic, hearts aflutter love—into the deeper, more intelligent, John 3:16 God-so-loved-the-world kind of love we heard about in the reading. What’s that love like?

Jesus is. Jesus is, because, as we heard, God is love and God showed us his love by sending Jesus, his Son, to pay all that we owe for our sins, so that we might live through him.

Jesus, the one who shows us God’s love, the Bible also says, is the Bridegroom. The church is called his Bride. Therefore there’s no better person before whom and in whose name there is to be wed. Neither is there a better place in which to be wed.

Back to some chemical talk. Up to now, Michael and Chandel have been rather like a mixture. The components of a mixture, in this case the happy couple, retain their characteristic properties and, Chandel and Michael might argue about this but, can be separated relatively easily.

What the God who is love is about to do, is perform the divine equivalent of a chemical reaction or process, which will turn them in something stronger, like a compound. A compound is different from a mixture. Its components are not as easily separated. The Bible calls what God is about to do, “making them one flesh.” God is about to take the mixture that is Chandel and Michael and, using the power of the love he is and that created the heavens and the earth, sent us Jesus and raised Jesus from the dead, to make them into an indissoluble compound—one flesh.

Michael and Chandel, since God so loves you and is about to make you so much more than just a mixture, so much more than just a couple; as the reading you chose said, you “ought to love one another” deeply, from the heart, and intelligently with your brain and your will. As you do that, God himself will live in you—and his love, so wonderfully shown to you in Jesus, will be made complete in you.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad :-)

Canada Day Challenge to the Medicine Hat Church

2011-07-02T13:36:00.000-06:00

My piece for the "By the Way" column in The Medicine Hat News today:

I’m writing this a couple of days before Canada Day so I don’t know how many folk will be at the morning Ecumenical Worship Service the Medicine Hat and District Ministerial Association organizes for the Medicine Hat and District Canada Day Society. I hope there will be lots of you. UPDATE: there were around 225 souls present.

For those who were there, thank you for your presence. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ was worshipped in the power of the Holy Spirit. Deep gratitude and appreciation was expressed for the grace and blessings we receive as citizens of Canada.

Thanks, too, to Pastor Mac de Waal from Unity Lutheran, Pastor Gary Mason from the Family Church, and president of the Medicine Hat and District Ministerial Association, who helped organize it all; Pastor George Koopmans of Medicine Hat Christian Reformed Church, who spoke; Pastor Dwight Seib and his band from First Assembly who led the worship in song; Aaron and Kendra Melanson from GX Canada for their gift of dance, Andrew Plait and Cindy da Rosa from Hillcrest Church for their ministry to the children.

I know it’s a whole year away, but while it’s fresh in my mind, I want to put in a plug for next year’s service and for all opportunities for Medicine Hat and district churches to get together for worship. It’s important. We all have our preferences when it comes to music, prayer and worship style, but when we allow those preferences to keep us from worshipping with other Christians in our community occasionally, the church is weakened, our witness to the Good News of Jesus is compromised and the enemy wins.

So here’s my challenge. Evangelicals, join the mainliners at their World Day of Prayer service at Medicine Hat Christian Reformed Church on Friday March 2nd, 2012 at 7pm. Fill that church! Mainliners, do the same, join the evangelicals for the Global Day of Prayer gathering at Hillcrest Church on Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 630pm. Next year’s Canada Day service is a bit more of a challenge because it falls on a Sunday, but if we were all to send a tenth of our regular congregations to worship at Kin Coulee that day what a proclamation of Good News that would be!

When Christians gather to worship from across the church; mainline and evangelical, cautiously and exuberantly charismatic, Catholic and Protestant, liturgical and improvisational; God is pleased and a powerful statement is made to our community about faith in Jesus Christ.

Summer's Good

2011-07-02T09:27:00.002-06:00

New fence. You can see Jude's garden better as you walk by.

You shall be like a watered garden—Isa 58:11

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sent from my iPhone

St Alban's Ottawa Folk Forced From Their Building

2011-06-26T21:32:00.003-06:00

A sad day. An injustice methinks. I agree with George Sinclair's belief that the parish is the rightful owner of the property "legally, canonically and morally"—especially morally.

I also like the way he describes the problem in much of the Anglican Church of Canada:

If you end up thinking you’re smarter and nicer and wiser than the master, in what way are you still his disciple? … The Bible is very clear on certain things, as to what is right or wrong.

H/T Anglican Essentials Blog

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad :-)

A Wedding Sermon with Reference to Genesis 1: 26-28, 31A; the Goo Goo Dolls, Josh Groban, Garth Brooks and Sugarland: for Andy and Dalis Hofer

2011-06-25T16:07:00.004-06:00

The first thing we need to know today is that, as we just heard, God made us. More to the point, God made Andy and Dalis. Very good! And in the very next chapter of Genesis, God instituted marriage: so “a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are made one flesh, united into one.”

So this a moment connected with God’s very good creation. In fact, as we heard at the beginning of this service, marriage is a gift of God. And not only that, at the end of this service we will pray a blessing on Dalis and Andy asking that they may faithfully live together in this life, and in the age to come have life everlasting. In their marriage is represented, as we shall also pray, the spiritual unity between Christ and his Church. Jesus, the Bible says, is the bridegroom and the Church is his bride. Jesus, the Bible also tells us, is the only way to where that everlasting life can be enjoyed.

In the first song we heard, as the Mums and guys came, the Goo Goo Dolls in the song Iris sang this:

I’d give up forever to touch you…You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be.

I hope not. Although you love each other deeply, and make one another feel good, and even though (as Josh Groban also sang in You Raise Me Up as the ladies came in) when you’re together you can be filled with wonder and sometimes even get to “glimpse eternity,” if you allow one another to be the closest to heaven you’ll ever be, you’ll miss out on the life everlasting we will pray you will enjoy and the great wedding feast when Jesus and his bride, the Church, come together at last. Jesus is the closest to heaven you can be. Please believe in him. Worship him. Become part of his church. You've started your marriage in it, continue your marriage in it. Include Jesus in your marriage.

By the time this service is finished we will have heard the word “love” a couple of dozen, or so, times. The interesting thing is the word that's used has its roots not in the kind of love in which Andy and Dalis have fallen—delightful as that is. It’s a better, deeper kind of love—its called agape in Greek—the John 3:16 for God so loved the world kind of love. It's the fierce love of One who really cares about you. Unconditional positive regard. A love that needs no love in return, that is intelligent, purposeful and strong, always directed to the need of the other. You don't fall in agape, you rise in agape. It's to do...by choice of will, day after day, night after snoring night, ruined toothpaste tube after ruined toothpaste tube, toilet seat up or down…

The Goo Goo Dolls sang:

I just want you to know who I am.

This kind of love makes that happen.

Josh Groban sang:

You raise me up to more than I can be.

That’s what this kind of love does.

As Andy and Dalis sign the register, Garth Brooks will sing,

I would never do you wrong…there ain’t nothing I wouldn’t do to make you feel my love.

That’s the kind of love we’re hearing about throughout this service. And that’s the kind of love which will have Dalis and Andy celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary on the 25th of June, 2061. Mark your calendars.

I’m going to give Sugarland the last word—we’ll be hearing them as Andy and Dalis head down the aisle into their new married life together:

I'm stuck on you

Whutooo whutooo

Stuck like glue

You and me baby we're stuck like glue.

That’s going to be true. As you will notice in the vows about to be made, there are no loop-holes, you two will be stuck like glue together. Using divine super-glue, the living God himself, who created you, is about to stick you together and make you one flesh and bless your union, all in the name of your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Guilt and Shame: More Warren on the Vancouver Riot

2011-06-23T18:24:00.001-06:00

The fruit of "progressive" education:

They were taught "self-esteem"; and they were taught that guilt and shame are evils. They were taught that they have "rights," without regard to duty, and that they are entitled to "respect" which they need never earn. They were taught that religion is the principal oppressor of mankind, and that all forms of morality are bogus, especially the sexual.

Again, an uncomfortable parallel with "progressive" Anglican attitudes.

All here.

Progess or Backwardness: David Warren on the Vancouver Riot

2011-06-23T11:28:00.002-06:00

In his usual straight forward manner, David gets right in amongst it:

Nor is Vancouver to be especially condemned, for something that could happen and has happened elsewhere. What makes Vancouver interesting is that it is socially more "advanced" - has gone farther down the road to which all Canadian society has been trending. It is Canada's most "progressive" city. We see here what that progress has been toward; what lies just under the surface of all that smileyface, laid-back, "inclusivity."
Compare Calgary, whose Flames both won and lost Stanley Cup finals without property damage. Among large Canadian cities, Calgary is supposedly most "backward." It is the redneck town; the wild west of oil rigs and cowboy capitalism. We need more such enterprising backwardness.

I find myself reminded of what these last few months and years has shown to be lying "just under the surface of that smileyface, laid-back, 'inclusivity'" of some of our "progessive" Anglican bishops. Perhaps we, too, need more enterprising "backwardness"—especially when it comes to Holy Scripture and our rich tradition.
All here.

Her.meneutics: An Open Letter to Donald Miller on Your Engagement

2011-06-23T09:57:00.001-06:00

via blog.christianitytoday.com

How shall my mate love me? Let me count the ways—I've got a little list. Another piece from the women at Christianity Today blogs that makes me think.

Sermon Springboard Text for Trinity Sunday: with Reference to Genesis 1, 2 Corinthians 13 and Matthew 28

2011-06-20T09:33:00.005-06:00

I call it a springboard because it's my starting point. Where I sprang can be found in the audio recording the link for which is found at GENEralities if and when it gets posted(sorry for the poor sound quality).

The way I see it the Holy Trinity is mystery and metaphor. Absolutely true but not easily definable—at least not by someone of my intellectual capacity. I don’t know how it works, but I know that it does.
I could allow myself to get all bent out of shape because of that—because I can’t fit the mystery of the Living God into my tiny mind—or I could just decide to write the God, the church and the Bible off because I can’t get my mind around it all.
Or I can trust that God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit; will give me what I need to know when I need to know it.
In the meantime, although I can’t fully understand things great and marvelous like the Holy Trinity, what I do know is this: as we heard in the wonderful children’s story version of creation (http://www.jesusstorybookbible.com/index.php), God the Father loves me (and you) with all his heart and if there is any loveliness in us it is because of that fact.
From 2 Corinthians I know that in addition to the love of God the Father, the grace of the Lord Jesus is with me and so is the communion (fellowship) of the Holy Spirit. Day by day. Whether I understand how it works, or not.
I know that Jesus was there at the beginning in Genesis—he says so himself and so does John at the beginning of his gospel. As we read in Matthew, the disciples saw the risen Jesus in Galilee, all authority was given him and that he is with me and you still, always and to the end of the age.
And, also in the meantime, I can decide to act on what I can understand—love God, love my neighbour, have mercy, forgive.

Trinity Sunday

2011-06-19T19:30:00.001-06:00

Threely, threely, we have received. No, threely!

Anglican Down Under: St. Matt's, the Wider Church and Scripture

2011-06-18T12:06:00.000-06:00

Anglican Down Under: St. Matt's, the Wider Church and Scripture: "if we Anglicans play out our future wrongly we will slowly but surely be ground into statistical dust. One possible future is being played out before our eyes in the shape of the ever declining, constantly selling off churches NZ Methodist Church. Booming along, thank you very much, are Pentecostal, Protestant, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Not one of which is contemplating moving away from traditional Christian sexual ethics. If we Anglicans disappear off the landscape, Christianity in Aotearoa NZ and Polynesia will be just fine. Do we want to be a footnote in future church histories written by Baptist or Apostolic scholars?"

Ditto for Canada methinks.

Church and the Contemporary Ideology of Choice

2011-06-18T08:19:00.002-06:00

Something that stood out for me in a collection of "doodlings" over at Faith and Theology:

In the wilderness the devil tempts Jesus with a series of choices. By the seaside Jesus says to four fishermen “Follow me!”, an order, not an option. Nothing is more alien to serious Christianity than the contemporary ideology of choice.

…from Faith and Theology: A few more doodlings.

Shades of one of my little lists in my earlier post from Reformissionary on congregational government being of Satan.

Interesting who offers the choice and who offers the life (where have I heard that before?).

The church is part of a Kingdom. We didn't elect Jesus to be head of the church. The Bible is not like a constitution and by-laws which can be amended when we feel it's impinging on our appetites.

The older I get the more I realize that following Jesus is not as much about me and my appetites and preferences as it is following orders and being who he calls me to be, where he calls me to be that.

Getting the More Important Done By Doing Less

2011-06-17T08:51:00.000-06:00

Another excellent column in Christianity Today—Carolyn Arends on "Hardworking Sloths: Disguising Spiritual Laziness—the lazy culprit behind our busyness."

…spiritual receptivity requires unglamorous practices like prayer, time in Scripture, and attentiveness to what God is doing in the people around me. Telling me, "Prayer promotes spiritual growth!" has as much wow-factor as announcing, "Reducing calories leads to weight loss!" I want something new—a development that will lead to breakthrough. Peterson observes that spiritual disciplines have "not been tried and discarded because [they] didn't work, but tried and found difficult (and more than a little tedious) and so shelved in favor of something or other that could be fit into a busy [person's] schedule."
Scheduling is no small matter. Attending takes time without offering quantifiable results. It requires stillness in a culture that rewards industriousness. It's inefficient in a world that considers getting things done next to godliness. A pastor who refuses to be slothful in the areas of silence and reflection stands a good chance of getting fired.

The wise Peterson to which she refers is, of course, St Eugene. All here.

And speaking of St Eugene; along the same lines, from Leadership magazine (I'm sorry, I don't know which issue):

A student was telling me he saw a video on Michael Jordan. He said, “Michael Jordan looks so lazy. He looks like he’s not doing anything. Then suddenly, he’s through three people, and he’s slam-dunking the ball.”

As a pastor, how do you slip through the opposition and make your point? You do it by being lazy—or what looks like being lazy—sitting in your study for half a day reading a book that doesn’t have anything to do with your sermon.

Consider also The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction, (Word Publishing: 1989)—Peterson on “The Unbusy Pastor” in which describes the scene in Moby Dick when, in pursuit of the whale, the whale-boat is filled with frantic, fierce, straining rowers; a raving, outraged Captain Ahab and someone else:

In this boat, however, there is one man who does nothing. He doesn’t hold an oar; he doesn’t perspire; he doesn’t shout. He is languid in the crash and the cursing. This man is the harpooner, quiet and poised, waiting. And then this sentence: “To ensure the greatest efficiency in the dart, the harpooners of this world must start to their feet out of idleness, and not out of toil.” p33

Just so for we priests and pastors. Peterson suggests the appointment book as the authority for being unbusy:

The trick, of course, is to get to the calendar before anyone else does. I mark out the times for prayer, for reading, for leisure, for the silence and solitude out of which creative work—prayer, preaching, and listening—can issue. p32

Anglican Communion News Service: Christchurch Bishop fears her clergy are facing “exhaustion of spirit” following more tremors

2011-06-15T08:14:00.000-06:00

Please pray for the Diocese of Christchurch.

Anglican Communion News Service: Christchurch Bishop fears her clergy are facing “exhaustion of spirit” following more tremors

Activate CFPL - Blog - Canada's Prostitution Laws: A third, and better option

2011-06-14T09:00:00.002-06:00

In the past few months, one of my street friends has become involved with a 20 year old ‘working girl’, as he calls her. As you might expect, it’s not been a simple relationship. Both struggle with addiction and deep brokenness. There is a significant age difference. And he’s never entirely sure when she is coming or going… or where. We recently spent one stressful week trying (in vain) to contact her or find out any information at all, really, after she had been picked up on a prostitution-related warrant. He was beside himself with worry, unable to find out where she had been locked up, or how long she would be there. I made some calls too, but no one would tell me anything. So it was a happy morning when, with a big smile on his face, he announced that she was back “home.” For now. There are still at least two outstanding warrants, so it’s only a matter of time before she gets picked up again. But for the moment, they are just happy to be reunited.
As we sat and talked, he looked at me intently and said, “Sweetie, I don’t know if you know this, but like 98% (his stat) of those working girls were horrifically abused as kids.”I told him, I did in fact know this. Well, I don’t know the exact figures, but studies have shown that 75% of youth on the streets were abused – in their own homes. I can only imagine that the percentage of abused girls and boys who are street-involved and end up in prostitution is higher. In fact, a study of prostituted persons in Calgary found that 82% of females and 100% of males polled had been victims of sexual abuse before entering the sex trade.
My friend went on to tell me a bit about her life, bounced from foster homes and group homes, how she’s lived through unmentionable abuse, and how she wakes up every night screaming, reliving abuses she can’t even talk about in her waking hours.
It was a poignant moment for me. Affirming once again the reason for the stand I take on prostitution. While I find it hard to believe, and will likely never fully, I can allow that there may be a small minority of women who choose –really choose from among life affirming options –to prostitute themselves. But by far, most of the women and girls being sold on our streets and in massage parlours are girls not unlike this young one who has captured my friend’s heart. She does it for survival. Because she feels she is of very little value apart from what she can do to service a man. And with every exchange of ‘service’ for money, she relives the horrific abuses that drove her to the streets and haunt her dreams each night.
How can we even consider legitimizing her torment?
This week, the Ontario Court of Appeal is hearing what is known as the Bedford case, a challenge to Canada’s prostitution laws brought by a dominatrix and two former prostitutes. Back in September, Justice Susan Himel of the Ontario Superior Court ruled that three key provisions of our prostitution laws were unconstitutional, forcing prostituted women to choose between their freedom and their security, as guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The provisions found in violation include living off the avails of prostitution, communication for the purposes of prostitution, and keeping a common bawdy house.
The ruling was appealed by the Governments of Canada and Ontario, and as I write, this second court, a panel of five judges, has begun its evaluation of the arguments, and ultimately, of our laws.
I do agree that Canada’s laws are a sort of half-way measure put in place by a Parliament not quite bold enough to prohibit prostitution outright, but wanting to criminalize certain activities around it in order to discourage the practice.
Given how often we have commented on the topic, it’s probably fair to wonder why the EFC isn’t there, intervening in a case that we feel is of such great importance. The reason is simple. To intervene we would have to speak either for keeping our existing laws, or for striking them down, and we can’t, with integrity, do either.
I’ve said it before, and will say again here and now. The status quo isn’t working. Our laws, as written, serve neither to protect women nor to discourage prostitution. What they do well, in practice and in their application, is to further victimize women who, by and large, have already been victimized horribly.
We are glad that the federal government and others are there to speak against striking down the laws, because the prospect of a legal vacuum is alarming for a number of reasons. And if our Government weren’t there, it would send the message that they were ready and willing to accept prostitution as normal, as acceptable, i.e. that the abuse, purchase and sale of human bodies is appropriate in our “free” nation. So we applaud the leadership the Federal and Ontario governments have shown in their battle to not allow the laws to fall.
However, we don’t think that simply preserving the existing laws is sufficient. There is a third, and better, option. And that is to craft new, better, more coherent laws that would send an even stronger message. Canada is a nation of opportunity, of equality, and prostitution is deeply contrary to both of these. Prostitution represents a lack of opportunity, and thrives on a belief in the fundamental inequality between the sexes – the belief that it is okay for one to purchase another for sexual pleasure.
We believe the Canadian government should re-examine our laws – whether or not they stand or fall in the courts – and give full consideration to the example of Sweden and the other Nordic countries that have followed their lead. Our laws should focus on those who exploit. There is no justice in laws that serve in practice largely to further victimize the victims. There is no justice in seeking to normalize or legitimize what is – with rare exceptions – a tragic consequence of poverty, abuse, entrapment, desperation, broken relationships and a myriad of unhealthy societal realities.
The Swedish re-structuring of prostitution laws that were once similar to our own is one of the most coherent and successful prostitution policy initiatives ever developed. The key is its unique twin-legislative objectives of criminalizing the purchaser of sexual services and decriminalizing and providing support and resources to prostituted women to pursue other viable long-term career and life options.
There must be no ambiguity in defining prostitution as a form of violence, abuse and control towards vulnerable women, children and men. It is time for Canada to shift its focus away from prosecuting the victims of exploitation and towards the prosecution of those who are the purchasers and purveyors of prostitution. We will continue our call for the Government of Canada to take a bold, firm stand that says, as a nation, we will no longer tolerate the exploitation of some for the gratification of others.

via activatecfpl.theefc.ca

Sound thinking at the EFC.

List and Learn

2011-06-13T10:48:00.001-06:00

I found two little lists.

Kevin A Miller writing on Pride in Leadership Devotions: Cultivating a Leader's Heart (Tyndale House Publishers, 2001) quotes this list of the "shadows" in leaders' lives from Parker J Palmer from Let Your Life Speak (Jossey-Bass, 1999) :

I am what I do
This is war—I must fight and win
It all depends on me
If we manage everything perfectly, we won't have to deal with chaos and pain
Nothing can fail or die on my watch

Can't imagine where he got those ideas!
And this from James McDonald who posits that congregational government is from Satan (H/T Reformissionary):

Congregational meetings are forums for division
Voting is not biblical
Eldership is sometimes unpopular
Congregationalism crushes pastors
Priesthood, not eldership, of all believers

Sigh. It was a congregational decision that resulted in another forty years in the wilderness after they spied out the promised land in Moses' time.

A Wedding Sermon: How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways—For Evan and Deinera Cortens

2011-06-12T16:36:00.001-06:00

…with reference to The Song of Songs 2:10-13, 8:6-7, 1 Corinthians 13;1-7, 13 and John 15: 9-17

Here we are celebrating a 21st century marriage using a 16th century Elizabethan English rite garnished with 17th, 18th century music and readings from Scripture that are even older—at least as far back as the nine hundreds BC. This is a vintage wedding.

At the centre of it is Jesus, Lord and Saviour, often referred to in the Bible as the bridegroom. The church is his bride. Marriage was a part of creation—first appearing in Genesis chapter two: a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. So what we will witness Evan and Deinera doing today is, as EM Forster put it in A Room with a View, "a moment for which the world was made."

The word we hear most often through it all is love—34 times, to be precise.

“How do I love thee?” wrote Elizabeth Barrett Browning to her beloved, ‘Let me count the ways.”

Here are some ways of love we heard in the Scripture readings for Deinera and Evan and for all who love someone: first, from the Song of Songs, you use the word as a name for one another, a term of endearment.

Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away.

And here we all are to witness the ultimate, divinely ordained expression of that call, Holy Matrimony, to wish them joy and to celebrate.

Here is another way love is, also from the Song of Songs:

For love is as strong as death,  a most vehement flame.  Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love  all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.

Love is strong. Stronger than the grave. Unquenchable if you choose. Of infinite value.

If I count love out as St Paul writes in I Corinthians 13, the Love chapter, I’d be nothing and could gain nothing—even if I was an expert communicator, lover, husband or wife. Nothing.

St Paul goes on to provide something that sounds like a blueprint for love that counts in a marriage.

Love is patient and kind, not jealous or boastful or proud or rude, does not demand its own way, is not irritable, keeps no record of being wronged, does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance—even marriage.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Love is the greatest way.

Jesus counts some more ways in the reading from John's gospel: “Remain in my love. This is my command: Love each other. Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

What Jesus, Paul and King Solomon are talking about is the John 3:16, God so loved the world kind (agape in the Greek) a love that needs no love in return, that is intelligent and purposeful, always directed to the need of the other. Jesus, way, truth, life and Bridegroom is the model. Love counts.

Although it was chemistry of romantic love (eros in the Greek) which initially drew Deinera and Evan together and brought them here today, it is the agape love—the word we’ll have heard more than sixty times by the time we’re finished here this afternoon—which results in long, delightful, rich marriages and, on the 11th of June 2061, Lord willing, a fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration. Mark your calendars.

A Funeral Sermon: Life, Guitars and Guitar Playing—for Harry Winkler

2011-06-07T18:26:00.003-06:00

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn), there is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn), and a time for every purpose, under Heaven (thanks to Ecclesiastes 3, Pete Seeger, The Byrds and Wally Garrioch)

We're here this afternoon because there was a time for Harold Winkler to be born and we're glad of it. We're also here because Harold's time to die has come. We're not so glad about that.

I get the impression that two of Harold's main activities under heaven were laughing and dancing. I only met him a few times and mostly in hospital but it was always a cheery visit. I'm not sure whether he and Catherine were dancers, but Harold must have provided the music for thousands of them over the years. What a legacy! To have made it possible for so many people to enjoy themselves—to laugh and dance, do a little embracing—there are probably people who fell in love while dancing to Harold's music—and all in a world where crying and grieving and turning away are all too common.

And here's what warms the cockles of my heart; this Baptist who became Catholic for love and marriage, took his girls to church ("dragged" is the word they used) even on mornings after the late, late gig nights. I'm not sure who was the prime dragger, Harold or Catherine, perhaps Harold was a drag-ee along with the girls, but good for him and the example he set. That would be a major part of the reason why both girls are women of real and living Christian faith.

Because of all Harold's music making—much of it on the guitar—and to honour his memory, I thought it might be an evocative exercise for us to think about guitars, guitar playing and life.

Guitars improve with age. The older they get the better they sound. Richer, fuller, sweeter.

Lives well lived are the same.

Most guitars have six strings. Those strings sound best when they are played together in chords, pairs and triads. Harmonies happen. You can pick out a tune with one string; some people can do that with great skill and panache, with lightning speed, but guitars sound best when the strings are played together.

Just so, life is best and most joyfully (although not necessarily easily) lived in groups: families, communities, churches. A solitary life can be notable: a few people are called to that kind of life, but most of us need other strings, some higher, some lower, with which to harmonize. We sound best when strummed together. Harmonies delight.

Guitars need to be played. Often. It keeps them supple and tuneful.

Life needs to be lived. The instruments of our bodies, minds, emotions and spirits need to be played; exercised and stretched to keep them muscular and supple so what we're living is a life-song to one another and to God.

A guitar has to be in tune to sound good. There are different tunings but they all require a set pattern of intervals.

We also need to be in tune with the other strings in our lives—with one another, especially the people closest to us. As the song said, there's a time to be born and a time to die. It's true for all of us. As Connie said we neveer know when our moment will come. One day, our earthly music will be over. There'll be the occasional refrain, or melody or riff still playing in the lives of the people we knew and loved; perhaps even remembered and sung or played by the folk we leave behind. What kind of tunes would we like those to be? Tunes that comfort, bring a smile to their lips, or ones, like a bad commercial jingle, that make them roll their eyes and plug their ears and hit eject or shuffle in our memory players.

Are you out of tune with any one? Get back into tune, forgive, tell them that you love them, be reconciled. As Connie said, Don't miss any opportunities. Take stacey's five more minutes now while you can. Get the chord that particular relationship represents in your life back into harmonious tune. Do it now. This gig doesn't last forever.

And what about that? When this gig ends is the music just over or is Jesus telling the truth about the rooms in his Father's home we heard about? Is it true we know how to get there? Thomas thought he didn't. Do we know the key to that tune?

Jesus said, "I am." Play your life song in the key of me.

Jesus said, "I am the way." Play your life song according to the score I wrote especially for you because I love you.

Jesus said, "I am the truth." My song is true. I have perfect pitch. Play your life song like I played mine. My word, the Bible, is the best, most tuneful, most trustworthy, cheat-book of all time.

Jesus said, "I am the life" of the party that counts and which never, ever ends with a hangover.

You can trust me, Jesus says. If you want eternal life in one of those rooms in my Father's home, you must join my band, the church. A unique set of instruments, which is beautiful but sometimes difficult to play—people aren't always in tune and some play too loud and try to drown others out—but which I created to sing my song, the sweet love song of heaven, on earth. Come learn my chords of kindly harmony. Come make heavenly music with me.

Her.meneutics: Lessons from an Expletive-Laced Picture Book

2011-06-07T18:05:00.001-06:00

via blog.christianitytoday.com

More from the wonderful women at Christianity Today…

The Pitfall Of Perfectionism

2011-06-02T09:16:00.003-06:00

O yes. A scourge. But…

Jesus plus nothing equals everything.

Wisdom via Tullian Tchividjian.

Click on the post title above to see it all.

Her.meneutics: Guarding Your Marriage without Dissing Women

2011-05-31T16:47:00.001-06:00

via blog.christianitytoday.com

More thoughtful wisdom from the women at Christianity Today…

Morning Prayer

2011-05-30T08:13:00.002-06:00

The gates of the morning and evening sing your praise. You visit the earth and water it; you make it very plenteous. The river of God is full of water; you prepare grain for your people, for so you provide for the earth. You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges; you soften the ground with showers and bless its increase. You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths overflow with plenty. May the pastures of the wilderness flow with goodness and the hills be girded with joy. May the meadows be clothed with flocks of sheep and the valleys stand so thick with corn that they shall laugh and sing.

I love that. Psalm 65:7ff

A Baptism Sermon with Reference to 1 Peter 2 and John 14: for Isla Rose Day

2011-05-25T13:56:00.003-06:00

1 Peter 2:2–3 (NIV84) 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Isla Rose is no longer in the newborn category physically. Today is her first birthday. But she will still have that amazing, built-in, single mindedness when it comes to her milk and her food. When she wants it, she wants it now. There is no capacity for “in a moment or two after I’ve finished this” or “let’s all eat together.” Now. God made her that way. He also tuned her cry, and that of all babies, so that it cuts through all other sounds, particularly for their parents, and is almost impossible to ignore. That way they get to grow up. Without it they will not grow up and mature into a lively childhood and a productive adulthood. They have tasted that the milk is good and they want it when they want it.

St Peter is saying, now that we tasted that the Lord is good, we also need to crave the spiritual milk of the apostles’ teaching in the Scriptures and the fellowship of a church family, the breaking of bread in Sunday worship and the prayers, and to want it with a newborn baby’s single-minded determination.

Or have we found other things to feed us? Soothers that dull or replace any wanting to be closer to the Father in Jesus. Things that might taste and feel good at first, but we can suck away and we get nothing except a false sense of comfort which neither feeds us or grows us to salvation. Jesus has something to say about the salvation into which we are to grow up in the gospel this morning.

John 14:1–6 (NIV84) “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Isla Rose is only a year old, but a room, a place, has been prepared for her by Jesus himself in his Father’s house. After what we hope is a long, rich, joyful life, one day, Jesus says, he will come back to take her to be with him where he is. Safe forever in everlasting joy and felicity, as the Prayer Book says.

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

In bringing Isla to be baptised, Jamie and Mandy Day are respectfully disagreeing with St Thomas. They’ve decided they do know the way to the Father through the best way of living life on planet earth. They’ve decided that as far as they are concerned as Isla’s parents, Jesus is

6 …the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through Him. Thomas said we don’t know the way. Jesus said, I am. All ways do not lead to heaven. Follow me. Jamie and Mandy. Follow Jesus. Follow Jesus in your marriage, and your parenting of Isla. This is where he is to be found. In his church—broken and imperfect, full of difficult, sinful people—but his body on earth still and only. Show Isla how to do that by your commitment, devotion, faithfulness and your refusal to give up no matter what.

Jesus says I am the truth. Over and over again in John he says, “I tell you the truth.” He does not lie. He is completely trustworthy. Paul writes, truth is in Jesus. He is the truth upon which one can base and build the best life there is. When Jesus was condemned to death, Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” To me that’s like saying “I love you” to someone and having them respond with, “What is love?” It’s a ploy, to avoid commitment. Today you’re making Baptismal vows on Isla’s behalf. Vows are promises—about being truthful. You’re promising to bring Isla up with God’s help, to know Jesus is the truth.

Jesus is the life—the full, abundant, rich and satisfying, even better than they can dream of, ten out of ten Anglican life that Jesus promised in John 10:10 I talked about last week. Your life is to say to Isla, “this is the life!” Live like us as we live like Jesus. There’s no life like it and there will be no life without it.

Her.meneutics: Schwarzenegger, Strauss-Kahn, and Power

2011-05-23T16:43:00.001-06:00

via blog.christianitytoday.com

Greenhouse Wall

2011-05-23T10:44:00.002-06:00

This photo was taken using Pro HDR for the iPhone.

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Joining the Eternal Song | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

2011-05-16T14:56:00.001-06:00

Discipleship

Joining the Eternal Song

How liturgical prayer is saving our community from burnout.

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove | posted 5/13/2011 09:31AM

If the Baptists who raised me in rural North Carolina taught me anything, they taught me to love Jesus and the Bible. Hard-working farmers and factory employees, my people had high hopes for me. They stressed education and sent me with care packages to go out and see the world. But however far I might go, they made sure I knew that Jesus and the Bible were at the center of everything. Jesus was our Lord and Savior, the ultimate answer to life's biggest questions and my heart's deepest longings. In Sunday school, I learned that you find Jesus through the Bible. The Good Book was our constant companion. We memorized it chapter and verse.

As others showed me more than 2,000 verses about the poor, my people's passion for Scripture moved me to connect discipleship with justice. Jesus had clearly invited his followers into a new relationship with God: "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). What's more, Jesus made clear that this new relationship entails personal transformation: "No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again" (John 3:3). These realizations interrupted my assumptions about how I relate to other people. The more I paid attention to the Bible, the more it seemed my relationship with Jesus was inseparable from my relationship to those rejected and overlooked by society. "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat," Jesus said. "I was a stranger and you invited me in …. [W]hatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" (Matt. 25:35, 40).

So I followed Jesus to Rutba House, a new monastic community in Durham, North Carolina. Communities like ours take root in cities, open our homes to the homeless, visit prisons, garden abandoned lots, and cook big pots of soup to share with neighbors—because we want to welcome Jesus. The Bible I was taught to treasure prepared me to find Jesus in a place like this. But when Jesus comes knocking around here, he brings friends crushed by poverty, racism, drugs, abuse, prostitution, and exploitation. We welcome them in, figuring God has brought us together, but we are never quite sure how to make it work.

This leads us to pray, because we need help. We've tried to fix our friends, just as we've tried to fix ourselves, but we've seen enough to know this is a dead-end street. Jesus saves, but he doesn't wave a magic wand and make everything all right. Before long, we realized our prayer resources were inadequate. We needed deeper wells to drink from. We found them in the ancient Christian practice of liturgical prayer.
Turning to Liturgy
A couple years after starting the Rutba House community, I received a letter from a Benedictine community in Minnesota. They were encouraged to hear about Christians like us living together and working for peace and justice. But they knew from over 1,500 years of experience that living in community can be difficult. They invited me up to their place, offering to pay my way. Someone had been listening to our prayers.

A brother at the monastery handed me a copy of The Rule of Saint Benedict, which has given order to many monastic communities since the sixth century. Not six sentences into the first page, I recognized the voice of a fellow Bible lover: "Let us arise then, at last, for the Scriptures stir us up …." What followed was a call to community that echoed at every turn the words I'd hidden in my heart. Here at the monastery, too, the Bible pointed to Jesus.

And to prayer. The Benedictines also had a set of common practices—a tradition of spiritual disciplines—that shaped and disciplined their love of God and Scripture. A bell rang from the church at the center of the monastery, and I followed men in black robes to midday prayer. "O God, come to my assistance," a solemn voice intoned. "O Lord, make haste to help me." I was caught up in the liturgy, its rhythms soothing my weary and anxious soul.

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May 2011, Vol. 55, No. 5, Page 42

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Birding Walk, Too

2011-05-12T08:27:00.000-06:00

This photo was taken using Pro HDR for the iPhone.

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Clergy Conference Continuing with Doug Pagitt

2011-05-11T14:07:00.002-06:00

WHERE I'M STILL AT…

(Image by Hipstamatic on my iPhone—an app to make things look retro and grungy—go figure)

This morning Doug Pagitt talked mostly about about community. We heard terms like:

SATISFYING NARRATIVE

People need one and to see how it fits with THE satisfying narrative which, for me, is the story of Jesus.

THE INVENTIVE AGE

What comes after the agrarian, industrial and knowledge ages. The age we live in/which is coming and which will reward those who make, connect and facilitate. Essential values of which are; inclusion, participation, collaboration and beauty.

HIGH CONCEPT—HIGH TOUCH

Something we Anglicans seem to do without even trying.

NETWORK THEORY

Network theory is the new way to organize. Communities based on connections rather than belief systems. Not that there is no belief system, it's just that one doesn't necessarily have to espouse it to belong.

Coffee Break

2011-05-10T10:35:00.003-06:00

   :-)



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The View from the Dining Room Where I Am

2011-05-10T08:35:00.003-06:00

Diocese of Calgary clergy conference at the Juniper Hotel and Bistro, Banff.

:-)

- Photo by Pro HDR, posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Magnificent Statement of Marriage: the Royal Wedding

2011-05-05T12:29:00.001-06:00

…not to mention being thoroughly and beautifully Anglican!

Good thoughts by Dr. Roberta Bayer in "Until Death do us Part" over at VirtueOnline here.

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Great Big C!!!—Good, Bad, Ugly and a Cold Dawn: some Thoughts on What Our Election Has Wrought

2011-05-04T11:08:00.001-06:00

The Good
Yes, I'm pleased about the Conservative majority. I have a lot of respect for Stephen Harper.

Bad, Ugly and a Cold Dawn
I am not happy, however, with the mean-spiritedness of the "attack" ads the Conservative campaign people thought were necessary to help them get there. If that's what it takes to "win" an election it doesn't say much about us as an electorate, either. A victory, but not a clean or classy one. A shame.

I also think Heather Mallick, of The Toronto Star, writing in The Guardian, and who is entirely entitled to her opinion, goes a bit far in a gloomily leftish piece entitled, "Canada's Cold New Dawn: Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper is our version of George W Bush, Minus the Warmth and Intellect." For example, therein I find that if I am happy, I must be a grumpy old man, after all:

Grumpy old men are happy but modernists, women, young people, immigrants, people fond of evidence-based policy will be much less so.

This because, along with the now to be unleashed Americanisation of Canada including super jails, new fighter jets, corporate tax cuts, an end to party financial support from the public purse,

The Evangelist Christian right is at the heart of Harper's Conservative party, and after years of being shushed, it will now demand an end to a number of things, including abortion rights.

What? Had this been the case, the liberal media would have been all over it. This is evangelicaphobic fear-mongering; something that pops up in the media (and in the Anglican church) more and more these days.

None of the leaders, including Michael Ignatieff, deserved to have their character worked over by the other parties, but

a fine writer, historian and BBC talking head

does not a Prime Minister necessarily make. Instead, we grumpy old men seem to have elected a "famously strange" one.

H/T daughter Kate on her Facebook page. Read all of Mallick's piece here.

Bishop Victoria Matthews on the Decline in Church Attendance

2011-05-01T07:58:00.002-06:00

A bishop who says it like it is.

The reason for a demise in church attendance is due to what else goes on every weekend and also the lure of power and financial advancement over the call to serve the living God and our neighbour.

H/T Anglican Down Under here.

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Taps: My Cross Platform Intercessory Prayer

2011-04-29T18:32:00.001-06:00

Here's how I manage my intercessions these days. I no longer carry a paper notebook for jotting down prayer requests or prayer points that come to mind during my day. Now my prayer list resides in a couple of simple apps which sync (it's a miracle!) in the "cloud" (appropriate when I think that God not only led the children of Israel but also appeared to Moses in a cloud).

The core app for my intercessions in the cloud is SimpleNote:

As the name implies, this app is a stripped-down text editor which runs on both my iPhone 3Gs and my iPad. When I add a prayer point or request in SimpleNote on my iPhone, it also appears on my iPad within a moment or two; and vice versa. A few taps and it's on my list.

SimpleNote also syncs automatically and almost immediately with Notational Velocity, another simple text editor, on my MacBook.

In my list, there are prayers for Council of General Synod members and ventures, for clergy in my Anglican deanery (I serve as Regional Dean), for Medicine Hat Evangelical Association pastors (I'm their president just now), for StB, its wardens, parish council and ministry team leaders, and for me and what I do.

It's all just a tap or two away from my iPadevotional Church of England Morning Prayer I describe here.

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For William and Kate: the Address of the Bishop of London

2011-04-29T08:16:00.002-06:00

This is worth reproducing in full.

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."

So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day this is. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.

Many people are fearful for the future of today’s world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.

In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.

William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

In the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each other.

The spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this: the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.

It is of course very hard to wean ourselves away from self-centredness. People can dream of such a thing but that hope should not be fulfilled without a solemn decision that, whatever the difficulties, we are committed to the way of generous love.

You have both made your decision today – “I will” – and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.

We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely the power that has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.

Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform so long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. Chaucer, the London poet, sums it up in a pithy phrase:

"Whan maistrie [mastery] comth, the God of Love anon, Beteth his wynges, and farewell, he is gon."

As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive. We need mutual forgiveness in order to thrive.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads on to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can receive and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

I pray that all of us present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today will do everything in their power to support and uphold you in your new life. I pray that God will bless you in the way of life you have chosen. That way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:

God our Father, we thank you for our families; for the love that we share and for the joy of our marriage. In the busyness of each day keep our eyes fixed on what is real and important in life and help us to be generous with our time and love and energy. Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well said. I particularly like the prayer the couple composed together. Amen, to that.

H/T Anglican Down Under and Cranmer

Taps: My iPadevotional Life

2011-04-28T17:40:00.004-06:00

It all started when my family gave me a first generation iPad for Christmas last year. I quickly found that my iPad (upon which I'm writing this post with the aid of a Chinese knock-off Bluetooth keyboard—but that's another story) is a wonderful devotional tool. It is not only a whole bunch of books in one, it also glows in the dark. What could be better on a cold, dark winter morning as steam from my coffee floats heavenward like incense?

Morning Prayer
First I tap on the excellent contemporary Morning Prayer on The Church of England website here. If you prefer a traditional language rite, you can set that up as well here:

Notice you can also choose Evening and Night Prayer, both of which I also use—Evening Prayer most often in the church just before I go home for supper and Night Prayer at bed time.

I like the way all the elements in the office reflect the season in the church year without having to flip here and there.

I don't use the readings they provide. Theirs is a two reading lectionary for both Morning and Evening Prayer. I prefer a reading plan which covers the whole Bible so I use the St James Devotional Guide.

I use the free Logos for iPad app for my Bible reading each morning.

This excellent app syncs with the Logos Bible Software package I run on my MacBook which gives me tapping access to helpful notes and commentaries when I need them.

I enjoy that by using the iPad I don't have to be flipping from book to book. Liturgy, Psalms, canticles, Scripture, litanies, responses are all right there or a tap or two away. I find this a rich beginning to my day.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad :-)

On Becoming an Economic Menace

2011-04-26T10:58:00.000-06:00

…from "Health-care reform: The long, long, long view" by George Jonas of The National Post:

We all love Gramps, but he's an economic menace. My contemporaries and I drooling on park benches in sufficient numbers, feeding pigeons and drawing pensions for 20-30 years after retirement, can bankrupt Canada without any assistance from anybody.

I can't wait.

Droolingly yours,

Gene :-)

Worth a read, as are all of Jonas' pieces: here.

Coming Out as a Christian

2011-04-26T09:52:00.000-06:00

…a fascinating and encouraging piece from The Independent in the UK: "God's bankers: How evangelical Christianity is taking a hold of the City of London's financial institutions."

This caught my eye—Eve Poole, a theologian who teaches business ethics in a business school MBA is quoted:

"It's often harder for young people to come out as Christians than it would be for them to come out as gay," she says. "Because of the vocal atheists – Dawkins and so on – people think your judgement is impaired if you say you're Christian at work."

I guess so. The culture says it's cooler to be gay than Christian—maybe even heroic.

Hmmm.

H/T VIRTUEONLINE. All here.

Easter Monday Reading: a Buechner Memoir—"Telling Secrets"

2011-04-25T15:08:00.001-06:00

Reading Buechner for the first time. Telling Secrets: a Memoir (HarperSanFrancisco, 1991)—a delicious writer—just as they say. Almost uncomfortably honest when he writes of his own life. Hard things. But these gems, too:

on Preaching

to proclaim a Mystery before which, before whom, even our most exalted ideas turn to straw. It is also to proclaim this Mystery with a passion that ideas alone have little to do with. It is to try to put the Gospel into words not the way you would compose an essay but the way you would write a poem or a love letter—putting your heart into it, your own excitement, most of all your own life. It is to speak words you hope may, by grace, be bearers not simply of new understanding but of new life both for the ones you are speaking to and also for you. 61

Reminiscent of Wesley's "come and watch me burn."

on Pluralism

On the atmosphere he found while teaching a course on preaching at Harvard Divinity School:

The danger of pluralism is that it becomes factionalism, and that if factions grind their separate axes too vociferously, something mutual, precious, and human is in danger of being drowned out and lost. 64

… not to mention a sense of humour.

Buechner's Harvard experiences remind of my seminary days. I remember the feminists even protesting the Senior Stick's (ie, student president) ceremonial object of office, a walking stick, as being too phallic. The pluralism which presently reigns in the Anglican church has resulted in the kind of factionalism Buechner describes.

an Anglican Quest

Interesting that while teaching at Wheaton College Buechner found his ideal church in an Anglican one: St Barnabas—which he called an "evangelical high Episcopal church." When his teaching was done and he left Wheaton, he spent the years, at least up to 1991 when he wrote Telling Secrets, in a vain search for one like it.

That's the thing about Anglican. Even with it's present challenges, when you experience it at its best, it spoils you for any other kind of worship.

Lulu of a Letter from Lambeth

2011-04-25T08:05:00.002-06:00

On behalf of God, Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, writes to Lulu, a six year old Scottish girl who wrote a letter asking God how He got invented:

Dear Lulu,
Your dad has sent on your letter and asked if I have any answers. It’s a difficult one! But I think God might reply a bit like this –
‘Dear Lulu – Nobody invented me – but lots of people discovered me and were quite surprised. They discovered me when they looked round at the world and thought it was really beautiful or really mysterious and wondered where it came from. They discovered me when they were very very quiet on their own and felt a sort of peace and love they hadn’t expected. Then they invented ideas about me – some of them sensible and some of them not very sensible. From time to time I sent them some hints – specially in the life of Jesus – to help them get closer to what I’m really like. But there was nothing and nobody around before me to invent me. Rather like somebody who writes a story in a book, I started making up the story of the world and eventually invented human beings like you who could ask me awkward questions!’
And then he’d send you lots of love and sign off. I know he doesn’t usually write letters, so I have to do the best I can on his behalf. Lots of love from me too.
+Archbishop Rowan

Brilliant.
H/T Faith and Theology.

Run: A Sermon for Easter Sunday with reference to John 20

2011-04-24T14:14:00.001-06:00

(John 20:1) It was early. Still dark. A woman, Mary Magdalene, was the first to the tomb. The stone that had blocked the entrance had been moved aside. The tomb was open. She thought someone had taken the LORD's body out of the tomb and didn't know where he was. It must have been pretty close to the last straw for her. The week had been hell. The arrest, the mockery of a trial, watching Him die. Now this. A lesser woman might have collapsed in anguish; paralyzed by grief, stress and fatigue. Not Mary Magdalene, she realized she needed help so she took off (John 20:2) and came running to Simon Peter and John. She didn't freeze, she didn't walk, she ran.

There are times when we have to run for help. To stay in a situation and just wring our hands does us no good. We've got to go for help. We've got to move. Anyone run to church this morning? When you think about it, our need for the help the LORD provides is at least as urgent as Mary's need for help. Without the benefits Jesus provided this weekend—Cross and Resurrection—we're in serious trouble. We'd better run. It's that important and without Jesus our situation is that desperate. Really.

I don't know how desperate Mary felt. In any case, she ran. When she got there (John 20:2) she told Simon Peter and John what she had seen. They listened and (John 20:3) they ran back to the tomb.

What does it take to make you run? Some people run just for the sake of it. For the exercise. You might run to escape danger. You might run to rescue someone else who is in danger. You might run to catch someone. You might run just because you really need to know what the situation is with someone or something you really care about. Simon Peter and John ran because they loved Jesus and they wanted to find out what had happened to him.

Simon Peter and John weren’t racing each other but (John 20:4) John outran Simon Peter and reached the tomb first. Then (John 20:6) Simon Peter was first into the tomb. Finally, (John 20:8) John went in, saw and believed.

Here we all are. None of us ran to get here, but those of you who bought kids with you this morning may feel as if you have. What did you come to see? Are you seeing, or hearing, or sensing anything which makes you believe that the tomb to which they ran was empty? I’m not asking you whether you understand what, or how, it happened. (John 20:9) Simon Peter and John didn’t. But they believed.

Mary didn’t understand either. (John 20:11) She was outside the tomb crying. When Jesus arrived (John 20:14), at first she didn’t recognize him.

Think about that. It wasn’t that Jesus was absent; he was there, it was just that she didn’t recognize him. I wonder how many times that’s happened to you and me. We’ve been somewhere—perhaps even a church service—and we’ve thought, “Can’t see Jesus here,” when the problem is with our poor earth-bound, through-a-glass-darkly eyes and we just don’t recognize him.

v15 “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Who are you looking for this morning? The Risen Jesus? Or, something or someone else? Are you here to make yourself feel better? To please your mother? To solve your problems?

v16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

Listen for Jesus. Jesus knows who you are. Jesus knows your name. Is He calling your name today. Look for Jesus. Run to Jesus. He is alive. He is Risen from the dead. Jesus is here in his word written, in the bread and the wine, in his followers. Run in your hearts! Run in your minds! Run away from anything that keeps you away from him. Don’t worry about anybody outrunning you. Just run. Come to the table. Receive his body and blood. Believe and he will give you eternal life. Run.

Holy Saturday Waiting

2011-04-23T08:38:00.001-06:00

The Great Sabbath—God Rests from His Labours.

After Good Friday I find I am tempted to relax and stop my Lenten fast today—even last night. The stress and emotional work of the cross-day is over. Unlike those in Jesus' day, we're blessed to know what's coming next so we can relax. Peace. Waiting. But the Lenten fast is still on until He's up.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad :-)

Good Friday: the Women of Jerusalem and the Sound of the Cross

2011-04-22T20:24:00.001-06:00

Good Friday was good. I think Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are my favourites in Holy Week. I like the quiet. Connects with the introvert in me.

The Women of Jerusalem

My favourite station of the cross is The Women of Jerusalem. I love the way the women of the Altar Guild make it up with feminine things: flowers, a lace handkerchief. Anachronistic, I know, but…

Today, I read part of the Passion from Matthew in my president's welcome at the citywide morning service and I noticed how Matthew goes out of his way to state there were women present. Right after the centurion and his men were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" (Mt 27:54) he writes:

There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. (Mt 27:55)

Our Altar Guild ladies minister to him when they do the Women of Jerusalem station the way they do.

Meditation on the Cross
We asked a visitor to the church to bring the large, rough wooden cross into the nave and down the aisle just before we began the Meditation. The hollow sound of it dragging on the floor sticks in my mind. I remember reading a poem by Milton Acorn for a Canadian literature educational series I did in my TV days in which he described someone's life as being like a sled being dragged across gravel. Not a bad metaphor for the bit of Jesus' life we honour on Good Friday.

Thoughts on Friday, the Good

2011-04-22T09:04:00.001-06:00

I can't crank up sad feelings about what Jesus did. Sometimes they come, some times they don't. Sometimes I feel like I'm just going through the motions. Dry. And then, suddenly, they'll take me by surprise, Tears. Gratitude. I want to hide for fear he singles me out—little-faithed (Mt 17:20), comfort-loving me, and twisted (Mt 17:17).

What then? Make myself available in case he wants to touch me. Fast. It makes me off balance. I don't like it. Go to the Medicine Hat Evangelical Association citywide Good Friday service. Not my style for Good Friday. But who cares? I believe Jesus goes to meet with his people. And I believe I'm more available for his touch when I'm off balance. And then Stations of the Cross at StB. Simple. Quiet. The Good Shepherd is slain. The Bridegroom is taken away. The Celebration of the Lord's Passion and Meditation on the Cross of Jesus. BAS, straight up.

The LORD may meet me in a way that I can feel, or not. It's up to Him. Just because I don't feel Him doesn't mean He's absent.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad :-)

More on Maundy Thursday at StB

2011-04-21T18:57:00.002-06:00

BAS straight up. No pre-arranged washees. Three bowls. Some come to me. Some wash each others' feet. It's lovely. Then Eucharist, the church is stripped and we go out in silence and darkness. It just works.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad :-)

A Maundy Thursday Foot Washing Testimony

2011-04-21T18:15:00.001-06:00

Foot washing and Eucharist this evening. It never fails to move me in its simplicity and beauty. Here's what a dear sister wrote about her first experience of it nine years ago:

Lent is one of the Church seasons when I quietly reflect on Jesus’ journey to the cross and his crucifixion. Maundy Thursday seems to me to be almost as sorrowful a day as Good Friday. The foot-washing ceremony is something I never took part in. This year as Maundy Thursday approached several of my friends told me what a powerful service they thought the foot-washing was.

After a day and night of prayer and meditation, I realized that pride had kept me from the foot washing. Because of my hammer toes and rotten looking feet, I had never wanted anyone to see them.

At the Maundy Thursday service, I was still ambivalent about having my feet washed. Images of Jesus washing his disciples feet flooded my thoughts and I said to myself, “Do it.”

As my feet were being washed, a feeling of great humility came over me. As they were being dried, I felt a great desire to wash another’s feet. While doing so, I was filled with ecstasy and great emotion. I felt myself to be in a more spiritual realm. My soul was filled with wonderment and love. I was at the foot of the cross; a more fervent believer than ever before.

She's off in dementia now, but I believe she still communes with the LORD at the foot of the cross.

A Short Funeral Sermon with Reference to Tracy Chapman singing "The Promise," Ecclesiastes 3 and John 14—for John "Allan" Stadelman

2011-04-19T14:58:00.001-06:00

This is a sad day; the result of Allan’s time to die; too early for us. A time, as the writer of our first reading puts it, to lose, to cry, and to grieve. It’s also a stark reminder that life can be shorter than we expect. So if we have turned away from some people in our lives, times like this remind us to offer the comforting embrace, to love and to make peace, to search for ways to rebuild, mend and heal torn relationships—relationships that we may have thrown away in hurt, resentment or anger—because tomorrow might be too late and not to do so can only too easily leave our lives blighted by regret.

Yet in the midst of our sadness, there is joy. The slide show before the service gave us a sense who and what gave Allan joy. We’re glad there was a time for Allan to be born. You are glad of the laughing, dancing, loving times you got to share with Allan in his love of family, friends, team sports, music, bowling and a good debate. You have good memories to enjoy. Life is often good.

I guess the trick is you have to make the most of it. Allan worked in the casino with many of you. So this story may make sense to you. I remember hearing a painter being interviewed on the radio. He told the interviewer about how he found he had to paint everyday. He told a story about talking to an old race horse trainer about betting on the horses. The trainer told him, "You've got to bet every day because if you don't, you won't know when you're lucky." In the same way, the painter had to paint every day because if he didn't he wouldn't know when the magic would happen. And we've got to do a little relationship work everyday because if we don't we won't know when we're loved.

So there's sadness, joy, some work to do—and there is hope, too. This is Holy Week. The week when the Christian church remembers another death that seemed too early. Jesus was only 33 or so when he was killed. Because of his death and of what we celebrate this Sunday—Easter Sunday—the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead—everything changed. Death—too early, or not—is no longer the end.

And the song we heard earlier, Tracy Chapman singing The Promise, gets a whole new meaning. Allan may not be coming back, but there is someone who is:

If you wait for me then I'll come for you,
If you think of me
If you miss me once in awhile
Then I'll return to you
I'll return and fill that space in your heart

That’s something like Jesus said in our second reading:

Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me.

Think of me and miss me once in a while. Then he made a promise:

There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

In The Promise Tracy sang:

Although I've traveled far
I always hold a place for you in my heart

Jesus always holds a place for you and me in his heart. Not only that. Jesus says he has gone on ahead to prepare a place in heaven for you and me if we want it.

If you think of me
If you miss me once in awhile

But I don’t always think of him and I don’t always miss him. In that, I'm like Thomas when he said, "No, we don't know the way, Lord. We haven't any idea where you are going, so how can we know the way? We’re busy with living life and all the activities under heaven. Some days are fun—we laugh and dance. Some days are like this.

And just as Jesus told Thomas, he tells us, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. So don’t let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.

And Stacy sang:

If you can make a promise
If it's one that you can keep,
I vow to come for you
If you wait for me and say you'll hold
A place for me in your heart.

Then, Jesus says—Jesus promises—when everything is ready,

I'll find my way back to you,

just as the song says, so that you will always be with me where I am. There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you, if you want one. That’s a promise. You can bet on it. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly.

Where is Your Donkey? A Sermon for Palm Sunday—with Reference to Matthew 21:1-11

2011-04-17T15:39:00.001-06:00

Jesus rode into town on the colt of a donkey to begin the week that would end with his death on the cross. This was no Quixotic or comic gesture. The Kings of Israel rode donkeys. Each had a royal donkey upon which no else could ride. It symbolized royalty, humility and peace. By riding into town on that donkey Jesus was saying who he really is. He was clearly demonstrating that he is what Zechariah wrote about:

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(9:9)

Jesus is our king, righteous, having salvation, gentle, on his way to the cross to take away the sin of the world, riding on a donkey which he instructed two of his disciples to bring to him.

When they brought it, (Mt 21.7) they put their cloaks on the donkey as a saddle, Jesus sat on them and rode into town. And in v8:

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

What would be the equivalent for us of that donkey colt, the cloaks, branches from trees spread on the road, the Hosannas in the Highest; to bring Jesus into our town? What could we provide nowadays for Jesus to sit on and ride into town? What ministry could we do that would give Jesus a way to ride into our town? So that people would be stirred and would ask “Who is this?” and we could say, “This is Jesus, royal, righteous, gentle—come to save you from sin and death.”

It might have something to do with this: I’m part of a study group with a local pastor who is doing his doctor of ministry. We’re reading some books together and talking about them. The books are by Reggie McNeal, the first one is Revolution in Leadership: Training Apostles for Tomorrow's Church (Abingdon Press, 1998), in which I read this:

The challenge for North American Christianity involves a willingness to emerge from a sociological cocoon and adopt a missional agenda designed to embrace the world. 22

The options are two: thinking and doing church as refuge or thinking and doing church as mission. Leadership will make the choice. 32-33

The book I’m reading now is Missional Renaissance: changing the Scorecard for the Church (Jossey-Bass, 2009) I found this:

The way forward for churches that want to redefine their position in the community will be through service and sacrifice. 6

What are the donkeys of service and sacrifice we can provide upon which Jesus can emerge from our church sociological cocoon and refuge and ride into this town?

McNeal isn’t talking about the forms of outreach that have been traditionally used by the institutional church. Things have changed, he argues. We need to develop some new ways (new donkeys) and celebrate what is already happening.

Consider the world of education, for example; we have several teachers in the congregation. I can think of five people whose souls are fed here each Sunday who are agents of God's blessing to, what, a hundred children in our school system. We have two Medicine Hat College teachers, too. How can we help and support them in that?

We deploy at least five people into God's medical healing system. We send folk into the business world. There are carpenters, banking people, retired people. Wayne Craven is on city council. Imagine people like those going into their environments with a missional agenda, intending to take their faith in Jesus there, intentional agents of blessing to the people they serve.

Jesus is a good rider. He can ride on all sorts of things. Jesus can ride into town on what they do. How can we develop and bless that?

Is there more? I think there is. I read that missional ministry rides well on things we love to do. Things that give us joy. Joy is an excellent donkey upon which Jesus can ride.

And when I think of what I’ve heard about what some of you enjoy most: there’s the music that comes from our people—Jesus can ride on the songs the Selah Singers and the Hat Harmonettes sing out in the community, on the music Tilley Ganden plays in the nursing homes. All we have to do is invite Jesus to ride on what we do.

McNeal writes about an ex-pastor guy who became frustrated at not being able to reach men with his church programming, so he started what he calls his “cigar bar church.” Every Sunday night he meets with some guys over cigars and drinks and they talk—about everything, including Jesus.

Two other things I hear about which seem to be extravagantly enjoyed around here are golf and hockey. I know there are opportunities for mission there.

Ask Jesus where the donkey is. Get it and let him ride it onto the golf course (perhaps even the nineteenth hole) and the hockey arena and go with him.

Who knows some folk might get stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And you’ll be able to tell them.

Keith Richards, "Life," Heaven, Hell, Rock and Roll

2011-04-14T18:34:00.000-06:00

I read a lot of "holy" books. This isn't one of them. It is matter-of-fact account of a world of sex, drugs and rock and roll told by one of its iconic practitioners. Vulgar, is a word that comes to mind, but "honest" is another one. Richards makes no attempt to paint himself in rosey tones.

I admire Richards' guitar playing. There's a spareness and punch to it which few can match. I was fascinated to read about his now trademark custom five string guitars tuned to an open G chord.

Richards is married to Patti, who he tells us, comes from a devout Lutheran family. He describes some discussions with his Christian brothers in law and shares this fascinating take on heaven and hell:

I've never found heaven, for example, a particularly interesting place to go. In fact, I take the view that God, in his infinite wisdom, didn't bother to spring for two joints—heaven and hell. They're the same place, but heaven is when you get everything you want and you meet Mummy and Daddy and your best friends and you all have a hug and kiss and play your harps. Hell is the same place—no fire and brimstone—but they just all pass by and don't see you. There's nothing, no recognition. You're waving, "It's me, your father," but you're invisible. You're on a cloud, you've got your harp, but you can't play with nobody because they don't see you. That's hell.

Not exactly scriptural, but I've heard scriptural people describe hell in ways that are not all that different.

Richards and Jagger are not far off with their portrait of Satan, either:

   Please allow me to introduce myself
   I'm a man of wealth and taste
   I've been around for a long, long year
   Stole many a man's soul and faith
   And I was round when Jesus Christ
   Had his moment of doubt and pain
   Made damn sure that Pilate
   Washed his hands and sealed his fate

   Pleased to meet you
   Hope you guess my name
   But what's puzzling you
   Is the nature of my game

Pretty close to the truth.

My dear family enabled me to see and hear The Stones live in Regina a few years ago. I blogged my thoughts on the experience here.

On Being a Small Cog in a Big Wheel: Spring CoGS 2011

2011-04-10T13:41:00.001-06:00

My "By the Way" column in The Medicine Hat News yesterday:

I've just been to Mississauga to work on the national executive committee of my denomination; the Anglican Church of Canada. The committee is called the Council of General Synod; CoGS for short. We Anglicans love our acronyms. This one really speaks to me, however. I feel like a very small cog in a very big wheel; a wheel which turns slowly for the most part; too slowly on some days and a bit too quickly on others. As the small cog that I am, I have very little influence on the direction in which the wheel is going. All I can do is dig in as best I can, or try to resist to slow the wheel down, when the little cog I am meshes briefly into its slot on the wheel CoGS is driving in the ecclesiastical gearbox which makes the Anglican Church of Canada go.

In many ways, that's the Christian life. Most of us are small cogs on the wheels of our churches subject to forces beyond our control. It's not very exciting most of the time. It is, however, important. Paul says so in his first letter to Corinth. The are many parts, or cogs, but one body, or wheel. Around and around we go. Each cog has a role to play; a slot with which to mesh so we can provide our little bit of energy to keep the wheels turning so the church carries out its task; God gets worshipped and Jesus gets to where the people who need him are.

The trick is to be content with our lot and the slot God has made for us. I am reminded of a saying from the theatre world: "There are no such things as small parts, there are only small players." Just so in the church. There are no small slots, there are only small, that is, prideful, dissatisfied and envious, cogs.

Serving on CoGS reminds me of my place. Like most of us, I'm a small cog on a wheel that God designed and made for a purpose. There are a few big wheels out there. They may be able to move with panache and quickly, but the humbler gearboxes full of many wheels and lots of little cogs do a better job of steep, rough terrain and will go further in the end.

Marriage: Lutheran Local Option Looming?

2011-04-08T16:52:00.001-06:00

At their last National Church Council (NCC) meeting (held alongside our Anglican Council of General Synod meeting) the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCiC) approved and recommended the following motion for adoption at their 2011 National Convention.

Motion on Presiding at or Blessing Marriages

MOVED that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada in convention adopt the following policy statement:

It is the policy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada that rostered ministers may, according to the dictates of their consciences as informed by the Gospel, the Scriptures, the Ecumenical Creeds and the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, preside at or bless legal marriages according to the laws of the province within which they serve. All rostered ministers in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada are encouraged to exercise due diligence in preparing couples for marriage. All rostered ministers serving congregations are encouraged at all times to conduct their ministry in consultation with the lay leaders in the congregation and with sensitivity to the culture within which the congregation serves.

A door is clearly being opened here. Legal marriages now include same sex ones in most provinces. What this will amount to, should the resolution be carried, is the "local option" for the Lutherans. Local option loomed somewhat in the last three Anglican General Synods, but officially we have not yet gone over that edge. Unofficially (but in reality) local options are already being exercised or will soon be exercised in several Anglican dioceses.

Should the Lutheran resolution pass, culture trumps the conscience informed by the Gospel, the Scriptures, the Ecumenical Creeds and the Confessions of the Lutheran Church—not to mention two thousand years of Christian teaching.

To be informed by the Gospel, the Scriptures and the Ecumenical Creeds (we Anglicans don't have confessions unfortunately) should mean that, while being sensitive to the culture, the Church must take on the difficult task of lovingly resisting when the culture goes beyond what is written in important matters.

Marriage, what God created it to be and how we define it is one of those important matters. I'm an Anglican by marriage. In fact, all Anglicans are because the Anglican Communion had its beginnings in the controversies over Henry VIII's marriages. It's ironic that the present controversies may well mean the end of the Anglican Communion as we know it. TS Eliot may have got it right for us when he wrote, "In our beginning is our end."

First text from grandson, Levi

2011-04-08T08:17:00.001-06:00

Tqwerfrygrergdvfettrrewswssrrrdfhuiiuilqwedtuooioopouyiuuuuuy
toiiooookiuuiiuopeqqhrfdngxfdasgghvzxhvcdggvhaafcgtpppppgr
towtweruewewggvcffggvvvvvgfgfffffdfedilooikjiiiiiuyyhrfrrtul
popooooo drew pyukknpllloookiklpooopookooii appokooooooifeerdrededrtttrttyuguhujjuyuhghhyjmbfg GDR orrillllkuijwgdwsdzgklkahzgcxvvvfbdcfvbhhhythryjytuyuyggooooo

Is it my imagination or is there a bit of a "poo" theme happening there. And, drew? GDR?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad :-)

Ahhh! What Great Surroundings for Evening Prayer

2011-04-07T17:47:00.003-06:00

The day thou gavest, Lord is ended (almost),

The darkness falls at Thy behest;

To Thee our morning hymns ascended,

Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cellular Woes in Mississauga

2011-03-31T12:59:00.001-06:00

I'm in Mississauga for the Anglican Church's Council of General Synod (CoGS for short). That's half way between Toronto and Hamilton—one of the most prosperous and populous areas in Canada—the centre of the universe some declare. And Rogers is giving me no or intermittent if-you-hold-your-mouth-just-right cell coverage. Searching…searching…let's see if we can get your battery completely flat…oops, two bars! No. It's gone. Searching…searching…

Not good, Mr Rogers.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A Funeral Sermon with Reference to John 14 and Ethel's poem, "Dumb Luck"—for Ethel Helgeson

2011-03-26T18:22:00.001-06:00

Jesus gives us words of comfort for times like this: don’t let your hearts be troubled, he says. That’s not easy. Times like this are sad. Death is troubling. He goes on to say, you trust God, now trust (or believe) in me. That’s not always easy either. So many questions. Our intellects kick in. Heaven? Life after death? Resurrection?

Ethel wrote something about that problem and shares some of her homespun, direct, what I’ll call, wisdom with a twinkle, in a little poem called “Dumb Luck”:

Intellectuals are sometimes exasperating

I find they’re attracted to me

They’re too smart to do all the mundane things

The things I alone can see.

Like weeding, dishes, housework and such

All these are beneath their endeavour.

If only I could be born again

And be so unreasonably clever.

I wonder if Jesus might say something like what Ethel wrote to you and me? You’re attracted to me, but too “smart” to just accept—to trust in me— and do the seemingly mundane, unexciting things, the things that have to do with what I see and tell you about; like my Father’s home full of rooms, rooms that could have your names on them, which I’ve gone on ahead to prepare for you if you want one. You’re too “smart,” too sophisticated, too intellectual, to do the mundane things I see that will get your life lived safely and well—like just believing in me, simply, like a child, doing the spiritual equivalent of Ethel’s “weeding, dishes, housework and such”—confessing your sin, rooting out the things in your life that cause betrayal and grief and pain and destroy loving relationships, keeping yourself spiritually, emotionally, physically and sexually clean, going to church to learn of me and so your relationship with me will grow and get richer in worship.

I wonder if Jesus might finds our intellectualism and sheer rationality exasperating because we think all of that is, as Ethel wrote, “beneath” us somehow, so we join Thomas when he says, "No, we don't know the way, Lord. We haven't any idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?" But it’s not so much that we don’t know it, we really don’t want to know it because we’re afraid we might end up doing the equivalent of Ethel’s “weeding, dishes, housework and such.” Besides, it can’t be proved scientifically, it’s too much like wishful thinking, too childish.

Intellectuals are sometimes exasperating

I find they’re attracted to me

They’re too smart to do all the mundane things

The things I alone can see.

Like weeding, dishes, housework and such

All these are beneath their endeavour.

If only I could be born again

And be so unreasonably clever.

If only, Ethel wrote, I could be born again—what a fortuitous turn of phrase for us today—to be born again, spiritually reborn, into life eternal, with a resurrection body, living in one of those rooms Jesus talked about.

If only, she wrote, I could be “so unreasonably clever.” She meant so as to avoid the mundane drudgery she ended up doing because the others thought it was beneath them. But there’s another way of looking at it. To be “unreasonably clever” as in irrationally, passionately so, heart-clever. The kind of clever that has husbands and wives and friends loving and cherishing one another despite life’s relational weeds, dirty dishes and lack of housekeeping. The kind of irrationally, passionate clever that takes Jesus at his word when he says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me,” the kind of clever that chooses to see what Jesus is describing, believes in him, and gets to live forever in one of those rooms in his Father’s heavenly home—as it is our hope that our sister Ethel does.

It would be smart not to rely on the dumb luck Ethel wrote about, after all, time marches on. As Ethel put it in a sort of Medicine Hatter’s haiku entitled “Salt and Pepper”:

I glance at my hair

It is greying so fast

My mousey, brown head

Has highlights at last.

One day people will be gathering like this to say goodbye to you and me, too. We need to make our minds up whether we’re being smart or too smart, as Ethel wrote, before it’s too late.

The fact is, Jesus is calling. Come home, he says, Come home.