Whose Birthday Is It Anyway?

Christmas Day, 2010    WHOSE BIRTHDAY IS IT? (John 1:1-18)

I am not sure about you, but at Christmas I am moved to write letters, emails, make phone calls and generally attempt to contact people that I care about in very intentional ways. You know how it goes ... the rest of the year races by. We are busy, doing what "needs to be done" And then suddenly it's December again – and the pace quickens even more. Either that, or we are overwhelmed by feelings at this time of year. Then Christmas creeps up on us. So we phone, write, mail off cards, letters, texts. We want to give those people we care about – a word about us, a word FOR THEM, FROM US.   

 

If we are to experience community- friends, people who love us, whose lives impacts ours and whom we impact, well then,  communication is essential.  Without words, changing body language, poetry, music, without communication of some sort – a direct smile, laugh, tear or hug that communicate something about what we are thinking or feeling to or for the other, our relationship(s) cannot and will not  fluourish. If we are to grow with others in depth, understanding, and  empathy we must communicate. And when such relationships are not an integral part of our life, we are less – often much less.

 

Today is Christmas Day. It is one year to the day that one of my closest friends died. I would give anything to hear a new word from him today:  the sound of his voice, a text, his laugh as he would jokingly call me the jelly bellied vicar. But that new word isn't  going to happen. My friend Andy has died.

 

What does any of this have to do with Christmas? I dare say, EVERYTHING. You see from John's perspective, (and I believe his to be a divinely inspired perspective) Jesus is the WORD OF GOD. Try to wrap yourself around such reality.

 

God, the One who is not only there in the "beginning" but who creates, fashions, dreams and brings into being the BEGINNING- this ineffable, amazing ONE, longs and hopes for, will do ANYTHING to communicate with us! God undertakes a variety of attempts at such communication. God gives people, all of us, law in various ways. Such law is not necessarily to hem us in, as in to "lord" it over us and show us how much stronger than we is he, as it is to create some boundaries so that we don't do too much damage to ourselves, to others, to the rest of creation. Such law giving works to some extent. But God seems to hope for, long for more intimacy than almost forced obedience. God hopes for trust, dare I say it for love?

 

So God undertakes further attempts at communication. God sends a variety of messengers, prophets, people who have dreams that have their origins in and with God. Once again such attempts meet with mixed results. It is true that sometimes walls fall down:  walls of segregation, bigotry, greed, hatred. Hallelujah! But oh so soon, other walls pop up in their place. Too often such walls take up residency in our own hearts and minds.  Such "walls" are a lot like dandelions. We  don't seem to be able to get rid of them on our own.

               

But God doesn't give up on us! That's the way it is with God's love. God decides in Paul's words to empty God's self. God becomes  human. John puts it this way – profoundly simple and yet in its depths beyond being captured by human comprehension. "The Word (capital W) becomes flesh and dwelt among us." The actual Greek word for that which is translated "dwell", implies that this Word of God comes to tent among us. 

 

It is truly amazing that God, the Creator of the universe, the One without bounds or limits, would give all of that up to become vulnerable like us, in order to communicate to us. In doing so God  opens up for us the possibility to actually glimpse God, to begin to know not just about God, but to actually experience some of God's "heart and mind".

 

This, according to John, is what we humans have come to call Christmas.  God reaches out to gift us with God's self so that we might experience God's communication and so, know God.

 

This is often a challenge for us. John underlines the challenge. "He (the Word) was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own and his own people did not accept him. . ."

 

Sometimes that's the way it is with our own words, our own care and concern, especially if they are honest words and acts of concern for people who are struggling within themselves. Sometimes we do not deal well with truth, especially when it comes to our own shortcomings, our own misgivings, our own struggles.

 

But even then God does not give up. Hear John's spelling this out.  "But to all who received him, who believed (that is trusted) in his name, he gave power to become children of God."

 

Now, such believing in One whom we cannot see, in One who claims to love us and all creation, is not easy. In fact on our own, it would be, it is impossible! But that's an important part of the miracle of Christmas. We are not on our own. God comes to be with us. God gives us a fleshy word.

 

It turns out then that Christmas is not only about Jesus' birthday. Because of Jesus' birth, his life, his suffering,  death and resurrection, Christmas can also be about a new birth today for you and for me! God loves us and this world unconditionally. We don't have to certain things to be loved by God or to be seen of worth by God. God declares that we are of infinite worth even as God dares to become human.  

 

Will we be born anew this day in the profound sense of being open and receiving this love of God in Jesus Christ  and then sharing it with others?

 

 We need good news. Our world needs such good news. The powers of death:  hatred,  evil and destruction continue to wreak havoc. As powerful as they are, they  are not the final words. Nor are they are  the lasting words. For the Word of God becomes flesh and lives among full of grace and truth! And that Word of God, bearing within Himself the power of God, overcomes death and evil.

 

May that Word of God be born in us this day and in the coming days. Then it is not only Jesus' birthday today but our birthday too, the one birth that not even death can destroy, that continues to shower the world with new life and hope.  May it be so with us and through us. Merry Christmas

Great Expectations?

Christmas Eve, 2010 (Luke 2:1-10)

What do you expect tonight? What do you expect at this service – candles, carols, readings, a few smiles, kids, noise? I promise you that you won't be disappointed.  But do you, should you could you expect anything more than all of that?

 

Let me tell you a story. Perception story...

 

In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning  this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.  During that time, approximately 2,000  people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.  After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing.  He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule. 

About 4 minutes later: 
The violinist received his first dollar.  A woman threw money in the hat and, without
stopping, continued to walk. 

At 6 minutes: 
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. 
 
At 10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly.  The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time.  This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.  About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour:                                                                                                                         He finished playing and silence took over.  No one noticed and no one applauded.  There
was no recognition at all...

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world.  He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.  Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theatre in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

There was an absolutely amazing world class musician right in front of thousands of people  and nobody but a few children had the insight, the wisdom, the openness to try to savour that.  

 

We come tonight, and in the middle of the carols, the excitement of about to be opened gifts, children who literally can't wait; in the midst of other realities that we don't talk as much about – missing the loved ones who have died or who can't be here for Christmas; we hear the words of a very familiar story. This is Luke's Christmas account.  WE could nod off. Yada, yada, yada. I mean it's, SO FAMILIAR. And by Luke's telling, so subdued. We may prefer glitz and glamour, special effects, great PR, but there is none of that.  Instead there is a young woman, 12 -14 years old, the same age as some of our young women here tonight. But she is pregnant, I mean REALLY PREGNANT. And she is seemingly alone, except for her fiancée. They have made a journey, the two of them.

Now her  time comes. She delivers her baby, that baby. She wraps her boy child in bands of cloth to keep his legs and body straight. It's the same thing that countless other young Jewish mothers would have done in that time and place. Then she places that new born in a feeding trough. Apparently there weren't any more comfortable quarters available.  Even tonight there are children, hundreds if not thousands being born to young teenage women, without any hospitals or nurses or medical staff. There is nothing new about that! 

 

And yet, on the other hand there is something different, something unique about the identity of this person, this boy child, who is born. I mean even now! His birth story is being told everywhere in the world tonight. The words to Luke's Christmas account will be heard by over a billion people tonight even though there are any high paying sponsors.

But  the first people to hear about his birth, other than the mom and her fiancée are common ordinary people.  But they don't hear about that in a common ordinary way. Instead messengers of God, beings the Bible refers to as an angel and an entirely heavenly host, communicate the news to the shepherds.  This new born baby is GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY FOR YOU. Yah, its personal – for  those shepherds, common ordinary people, living in an occupied land.See how almost immediately they get up to  go to see for themselves. Was there a big sign for them? No. But they believe and so are moved beyond the fear of having the divine directly enter their lives to obeying that divine one and sharing and the joy that is strangely filling them.

 

So when they find the mother of this baby and the baby, they share everything that has been told them. And  the mother ponders these things in her heart.

 

So, what do you expect tonight? Do you ever expect that God even gives the least little care about you and this world? To you,  for you, God gives an amazing gift, God's very self to flesh out God's love for you and the world.  You see such love is not only for us. Such love is for everyone! For all. So, we also are to go and tell – go and show – go and share this love and forgiveness of God with all whom we meet, with all whom we can. God in the flesh, this baby Jesus comes to and for all – to love us, to embody that all have worth,  that no one is outside the compass of God's love and forgiveness.

 

Do we see it? Do we expect it? Do we experience this incredible  love? Sometimes it's right in front of us via words and songs,  but we're so busy doing our own thing or we're falilng asleep or worrying, or being sad or happy, because we are so busy trying to do our own thing. Then we miss the miracle that's right under our nose.

 

There is a lot to be done. Many don't know that they are worthwhile, that they are loved by anyone, to say nothing of God.

 

How about you? How about me? Do we know? Do we expect? Do we see? Are we listening or nodding off? Hear that baby cry. Experience and share the good news. Don't be blind. Don't be ashamed. Instead this Christmas experience the joy, the  good news of great joy this baby embodies. As crazy and often as unexpected as it is,  with God, through God, this miracle of good news of great joy, for us and for this world does and can happen. Open and explore the gift! Amen. 

 

Pregnant With Hope?

Advent 4a, December 19, 2010- (Matthew 1:1-18)

Do you ever dream? I mean do you ever have dreams?

 

Joseph did. I suspect first that he had dreams. He was engaged to Mary. They would soon have their own place. Eventually they would have a child, even children. They would work hard. It wouldn't be easy. I mean there were realities:  Rome and all, taxes and all; limitations on where they could travel, what their kids would become. But they cared about each other. They had family. It would be good.

 

But his dreams were shattered. You see, even before he could be with (if you get my drift) his betrothed, his Mary, he discovered that she was pregnant! Now everything was going up in smoke. Now Joseph had decisions to make. By law, by rule he could go to the courts and have the contract of his engagement, that betrothal annulled. But making such a choice would be very hard on Mary. Joseph still  cared for her. In addition such a public act could also lead to serious repercussions for Mary. Once her "adultery" was outed,  she and the father of her child, if his identity could be learned, could be stoned to death.  Such stoning  was within the realm of the law.

 

But  Joseph was a caring person. He decided to get that divorce as quietly as possible. It would be better for Mary that way – probably for both their families too. But before he took such action, Joseph fell asleep. He dreamed a different dream. This was a dream that changed his life. It is a dream that when acted upon changes the course of history. Matthew speaks of Joseph's dream in this way: "Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit, she will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins'."

 

Amazingly in the face of all conventions, all the rules of that time, Joseph trusts the angel of his dream. He takes Mary to be his wife. He claims Jesus as his Son. And God's efforts to reach out to humanity continue to unfold.

 

But what do we make of Joseph's dream? The child conceived in Mary is of God's Spirit? This child will save or deliver people from their sins? Come on!

 

Isn't sin an archaic term? I mean we make mistakes. We have a few shortcomings. But if we just try harder or if we are just a little nicer next time – they really don't mean that much, do they? Really?

 

Can we be actually be honest with ourselves, even at worship? Can we fight against our propensity to minimize or not deal with reality?

 

Look around. Look within. Wars and battles have raged from time immemorial. Those who think that humanity is getting better and better, more sophisticated, seem to have lost sight of this fact. We continue to harm, to injure, to kill one another both via word and deed. And we spend so much time and money on such killing efforts(try employing lawyers or funding a military exploit)  – time and money that could be invested in caring for each other – with the construction of schools, hospitals, recreational centers. The damage that we do in such battles, Afghanistan, Iraq, Darfur, child custody wars is immeasurable. Nor are such battles limited to states, countries, nations or even some configurations of the family. We also wage such battles in the church, between religions including our very own families. And again the damage is untold – as children are harmed, forced to take on our particular views of the world, wounded by damaging words and actions directed at people they depend upon for love. We have shelters for those who have been beaten and abused in every city in this country. And they serve only a small fraction of the wounded.

 

Sin isn't just those little or big things we do that we shouldn't do. Sin is part of who we are. Even though we know we shouldn't – we do anyway. We consume to the point of being overweight, overspent. While so consuming we suck the very life from the planet not just in the present but for the future. We know or at least have been told that  we can talk with God – that God longs for our relationship to be intimate and deep. But instead we frequently invest our time in things that empty us and others. We cannot help ourselves. And hat is the point dear people of God. So often, we simply cannot and do not help ourselves – in the purest sense of that word.

 

But  God, in God's love acts. Amazingly, inconceivably, God acts. Through a young woman and a young man, in a backwoods place, in the midst of a culture that had many similarities to ours - where violence and power, money and whom one knows matters so much. Things are the way they are and so many, the vast majority, are convinced not only that things won't change but they can't change.

 

That's what Joseph thought too. He was working at carving out his life within the rules and traditions, the status quo of his time and place. But then Mary became pregnant with a child that wasn't  his,  "My God! What was he to do?" He would put her away quietly and then see what would happen. Maybe there would be another woman that he could be husband to, another woman with whom he could father children. That was the plan. But then he had this dream complete with an angel and an action plan that he must either accept or reject.

 

To accept the angel's message and act accordingly would be an audacious choice.  Not his child – and yet his child. This child the angel said would deliver the people, Joseph's own people from their sin. What on earth would that mean?

 

Joseph wakes up. Things are the same. And yet things are also changing. He takes Mary to be his wife. She is very much with child. The future – a new future is about to be born.

 

How about you? How about me? Is it the same old, same old? Are you running around, trying to get everybody something? Are you running around trying to keep ahead of tasks that must be done? What are your relationships like – with those closest to you? Is there honesty, forgiveness, unconditional love that flows from God to you and then spreads to others? Or is it, one damn thing after another?

 

What about the world?  Do you have hope, do you bring hope to and for the world? Are you able to daily laugh and cry, arising each morning, realizing that God is calling you to care? You will be blessed both in the middle of work and play.  Or are you sometimes the way I occasionally am:  tired, tired of the sickness, of powers that so often take the easy way instead of the caring way, especially when it comes  to those who are sick, vulnerable, oppressed in ongoing ways?

 

Joseph isn't the only one who has had a dream or even the angel of the Lord appear to him! We, dear people, are privileged to live within the story of this child who is conceived in and born of Mary. As Luther says, the wood of the manger is somehow also the wood of the cross. This one soon to be held by the manger is born  to free us and the world. It seems like such a crazy plan, that God would dare to come to us and be born as human being, weak and vulnerable. But this is exactly what God does.

 

So, are you watching? Are you waiting? Are we in any way pregnant with hope?  God promises that this One can save even us from our sin. God knows we all need help!

 

Open our eyes. Open our ears, our minds and our hearts, to such pregnant hope. Amen.

 

What Are We Waiting For?

Advent 2a, Matthew 3:1-12 (December 5, 2010)

Text: you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance.

In my later teens I always had summer jobs. These jobs were procured to pay my way through university. One of those jobs was working in an office as a pay roll officer for men and women who fought forest fires. The least favourite part of that job for me was doing inventory. Do you know what inventory is? Inventory meant  accounting for every piece of equipment that our fire fighters had used or broken or even taken out with recording their transaction.  It was a night mare. Because what we had in the yard and what we had recorded as being used in the field never matched with what we had originally purchased.  When it comes to inventory there is always the reality of human error creeping in and messing things up.

 

In many ways things haven't changed.  I no longer need to count tools or larger items of fire-fighting equipment. But we all need to take inventory in some manner, shape or form. Do you ever got on a scale? That's a form of taking inventory – of how you have been eating, exercising or even of how your general sense of physical health is. Do you ever check out your bank statements? That's a form of taking inventory – of what matters to you enough so that you invest money and time in it. Do you ever write a Christmas letter? That's a form of taking inventory – both of how you have invested yourself in the last year – and as you email or snail mail those letters off – about whom you really want to maintain some kind of contact with.

 

Taking inventory isn't always fun or easy. Even though we have gathered in this place of worship, even though the songs on the radio tell us that's it beginning to look a lot like Christmas and even though we may feel a push to think or feel that somehow we should be happy-when it comes to taking inventory, many realities push their way into our consciousness.

 

And then comes John the Baptist. I confess that this John fellow is one of my least favourite Biblical characters. I suspect that's because he's so darn honest. He's out there doing his thing for God. There are no lights, no choirs, no musical background. There is just the river and John preaching. Many people respond. They approach to be immersed in that water, to be washed, to work at turning their lives in intentional ways towards God. Now they seek to do God's will with their lives.  It looks good. But then the Pharisees and Sadducees also approach John. I am not sure if they are coming to be baptized by John – or to watch and critique what he is doing. In either case he confronts them with harsh words. "You brood of vipers," – that is you children of snakes, "Who warned you to flee the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. "

 

John the Baptist's words to people who were religiously dedicated – who intentionally regularly thought about God and while likely trying very hard to obey God's law, stick in my being. John is saying to them – this baptism I am offering, this turning to God isn't so much about right thinking, but is much rather about living your life in ways that are dedicated to pleasing God.

 

But how can, how might one do that - Bear fruit worthy of repentance? Repentance is much more than even admitting I am sorry for what I have done – or I am sorry that I didn't do that which I should have. Repentance is an ongoing total reorientation of one's life towards God. Repentance involves  ongoing changes in one's attitudes and actions.

 

Such living with change and self-examination isn't easy!  

 

Are we loving as we are so loved by God in Jesus? Do we care about and for our neighbours, our co-workers, our friends, our enemies? Do we actually love God as we love ourselves? I mean do we spend time with God, seek God's direction in our decisions and actions, physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually? John's words continue to stick in our very being: Bear fruit worthy of repentance.

 

Or, do we give as God continually gives to us: each breath, each thought, each heart beat, faith itself, each and every person who loves us or who  looks to us for love, guidance and help? Yes, how am I, how are you giving to others:  gladly, joyfully, reluctantly? Are we trusting God to continue to provide? Do we see other people as our brothers and sisters? Do we experience a connection to the rest of creation?

 

Lastly are we trusting as we are being trusted? God entrusts God's own Son, Jesus to us! We are the ones who are continually blessed to hear and experience  Jesus' love and forgiveness. Many others do not know Him, have not experienced his love and forgiveness in conscious ways. Are we showing them? Will we naturally tell them of our experience, of God's ongoing love for this entire universe? Or are we ashamed, too unaware ourselves of His love to pass such a trust on?

 

John the Baptist's words echo again in my ears, my mind, my heart: "Bear fruit worthy of repentance!"

 

Any honest ongoing inventory of our lives tells us that on our own we don't, we can't bear fruit worthy of repentance. Even with those people we love the most – our children, our partner, our sibling, our friend – there are times when our words are harsh. There are times when we are not faithful to their well being. There are times when greed or fear or exhaustion overtake us and we exclude or put others down.  Or sometimes we just plain forget about them.

 

 And God?Wwell God fits in there somewhere – too often as an afterthought or after everyone and everything else. Bear fruit worthy of repentance? So often – we fail miserably!

 

This reality – our human frailty, our being turned inwards upon ourselves, does not change the important truth of John the Baptist's plea to bear fruit worthy of repentance. But that plea, its truth drives us, points and sometimes forces us beyond ourselves.

 

Before we could even make any movement towards repentance we require hope – hope that has a source beyond ourselves but which nevertheless comes to us. We need mercy. We need grace. We need our hearts and minds being continually changed and opened away from fear and selfishness, away from being focused on ourselves. We need the one whom John the Baptist says is coming. That's John's role – to point us to the one who is coming.

 

This One is not so much about sentimental feelings or even personal security. Rather this coming One approaches  with God's own Spirit and with fire.

 

What that means is continually unfolding. However in our own lives this Coming One baptizing with the Spirit and fire says that at the very least part of God's own being is imparted to those who are so baptized. For them God has a passion a fire that moves them sometimes gradually, slowly, at others times oh so quickly, to have the evil, the selfishness, the propensity to trust no one but somehow falsely themselves, " burned off". This is an ongoing process because both for ourselves as individuals and for the societies that we are part of, our selfishness, fear and false trust are reoccurring realities.

 

 But in this coming One, this Jesus, God can daily birth among us something new, something different. And someday all that birthing will reach an entirely new climax and reality.

 

So our question this day of Advent and each day is this: What are you waiting, watching, preparing for? The ongoing inventories of our lives continue. But the one that truly matters, the one that makes a difference today and forever not only for ourselves as individuals but also for the world, is, are we open to this One whom John the Baptizer says is coming? This One gives himself up on our behalf completely. In him our cannot's and will not's are transformed to God's, "I do", and "I will". In Jesus there is new life and love for all. Under his influence (reign) small children can and do lead, and neither the lion nor the leopard nor the bear hurt others anymore, for there will come a time when there will no longer be  hurting in this place. To God this place (this here and now)  is holy.

 

By God's grace may we so watch and wait and prepare for this One of God who has come, who is here now and who will come again! Amen. 

Another World?

Christ the King Sunday, November 21, 2010. Luke 23:33-43 with Colossians 1:11-20 as bg

I thought that we would begin with a little trivia sampling. I will say a name and if you have any inkling who that person is, simply raise a hand. Diana Spencer, Kate Middleton, Philip Mountbatten, Charles of the House of Windsor? Who are these people? The first two are people who very well might have been the Queen of England. Kate Middleton still may be. Philip is Prince Philip married to Queen Elizabeth the Second. I raise these questions because today is denoted in the church as Christ the King Sunday. However such a connotation may have little if any meaning or us. For many people in North America the symbolism of the King or indeed of any royalty is long since past.

 

So let's wrestle with the Gospel in a different way. Have you ever wondered why there isn't a Canadian flag in this nave? Any ideas? It's because our ultimate allegiance isn't to our country. I am not telling you not to care about our country. But our primary allegiance is to God as revealed to us in Jesus of Nazareth. Consequently there is always at least one cross in every Lutheran worship space. The early Christians verbally put their allegiance this way, "Jesus is Lord!"

 

But once again, "Lord" is a name with fuzzy associations at least in 21^st century North America. Next time you visit a mall just randomly ask a stranger who their lord is and they will likely look at you quite quizzically.

 

So, who is Jesus, for you? Both the second lesson and the Gospel share incredible insights as to Jesus' identity.

 

I suspect that the Gospel is the better place to start. Most of us know the story, even from Luke's perspective, quite well. At least we know the surface of the story. Jesus is being led out to the place of the skull, Golgotha. We don't know if that hill was called the Place of the Skull because its very shape was skull like or because there were usually skulls scattered over that hill. In any case, that particular hill was being used as a place of execution. There the Roman Empire demonstrated for any who passed by that any who questioned the Empire's authority in any manner, shape or form would be dealt with severely. Such person or persons could and would be hoisted up for all to see, mocked and executed in a shaming, horrific manner.

 

So it is, Jesus is being led to that Place of the Skull, Golgotha, to die. But once there, he is not alone. There are also two criminals. The leaders scoff at Jesus saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, IF he is the messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mock him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" The people stand by watching.

 

I wonder about this. Sometimes, in our minds' eye, we may be harsh on both the soldiers and the leaders. Yet, if someone is God, wouldn't they save themselves from a death sentence – and us too if we are in danger? Don't we expect to be delivered from hardship, pain, suffering and death by God?

 

I mean if someone is really "good", if someone is truly talented they strive to win – they don't lose to the competition. They do their best to win. And so, if someone actually is God, they wouldn't be there with criminals being executed in a shameful, horrific, excruciatingly painful way, would they?

 

Nevertheless, Jesus is there, with those criminals, suffering, dying. Jesus is there doing amazing things. He asks God his Father to forgive all those who have had anything to do with his condemnation and execution. He then extends to once criminal and perhaps to others a promise. The promise is that they will be with him that day in paradise. This is amazing on many fronts.

 

In all of this we must observe that Jesus' behaviour is different from ours in many ways. If someone is attempting to defraud or tarnish your reputation, how will you respond? At our best we will defend ourselves. At our worst we will attack the other verbally or in some manner or fashion. But that's not what Jesus does! He speaks the truth. He reaches out to others not to bless or even condone their actions, but to ask God to help them. Instead of responding to violence with violent vengeance, Jesus responds with deep care and concern. Instead of responding to hatred and abuse with depersonalization or generalization, "You know those bloody Romans, those religious fundamentalists", Jesus mediates on their behalf with the almighty God.

 

In his life, through his suffering and death, Jesus works to deliver all people and all creation into another realm.  It is important to be careful here. Although this realm has spiritual dimensions, it is not only nor merely spiritual. From the time of Jesus walking on this earth his followers at their best have reached out to care for others, in thought, word and deed. We have built hospitals, schools, distributed food and emergency relief. We have worked politically to advocate for the poor, the vulnerable and the oppressed – human and other creatures, whether we have been successful or not. We have done this in our best moments of following Jesus, not so that God will love us but because we are convinced that God in Jesus Christ does love us and the entire world, men, women, children and all of creation!

 

But living in such a way is not easy! Sometimes people will tell us to mind our own business. They say Christianity is only a religion, a "spiritual" kind of thing. But Jesus in all that He does, and the Spirit in her ongoing movement calls us to actively care for people and creation with our minds, bodies and spirits. The Bible is clear about this. Love God first with all of our hearts, minds and bodies. And then, love our neighbours as ourselves!

 

Following Jesus in this way means that we will need to necessarily live in a different realm than what we may think of as "normal", than what is our prevailing culture along with its expectations. But this is our call. This is to be our living as those who daily experience the amazing and incredible love and forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ.

 

To be sure, there is something that is incredibly difficult about this. Such difficulty has to do with our sinfulness – our ongoing rebellion against God in which we want to be little "gods", where we seek to do what we want to do. This is part of the difficulty but only part. The rest of the difficulty of so following Jesus has to do with what I like to call the "now" but "not yet". Jesus is ushering us day by day and this entire cosmos bit by bit into His new realm – but we aren't fully there yet. There is a lot of resistance within us, around us and in the realm of what St. Paul refers to as the "powers".

 

But we must not be deterred. We can pray. We do pray, each day or at least whenever we come to worship – "For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, now and forever. Amen"

Do we believe that God through Jesus God's Son and in the ongoing work of God's Spirit can and will actually deliver us into this realm which we see in Jesus on the cross? Are we seeking to live this way?

 

Lord, we believe. Forgive and change our unbelief! Amen.

New life and 9-11

25^th Sunday after Pentecost, November 14, 2010 (Luke 21:5-19

 

I wonder if any of you ever visited the World Trade Center in New York Center before 9-11? I am told that those buildings were magnificent – post-modern architectural marvels. And then tragically, they were no more – in an instant and in those succeeding hours after those instants.

 

I wonder if any of you have ever been to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem? It is a remnant of the Third Temple. Even today, over 2000 years after its construction, it's form is impressive. I suspect that the people present on the day that Jesus was speaking about the demise of the Temple, thought that he may have been losing it. Nevertheless within thirty years, that Great Temple was no more.   

 

Lastly, I wonder how many of you visited or were caught up by the divisions of the Berlin Wall? At its height (pun intended) who would have ever guessed that oh so suddenly it would come down. Following the Berlin's Wall collapse people could once again travel freely within Germany, even within the far flung posts of Russia and the Baltic States/

 

Things can change – sometimes in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye. Even things that we think will never change – or that we can't imagine living without. In the 1950's in North America church buildings were being constructed at a rapid pace much like the strip malls and shopping malls of the 70's, 80's and 90's. But today many of those church buildings are nearly empty or have been made over to coffee houses. They are seemingly broken down remnants of a past age.

 

Many institutions once taken for granted as the status quo now have questionable futures: newspapers, post offices, gas guzzling automobiles, publishing houses. Additional items for such a list is much longer than the mind could contemplate in the limited time allotted for today's sermon.

 

Brilliant scientists now tell us that there is an imaginable end for the earth, the sun, and even the universe itself.  I am not sure about you but for me, a child who grew up in the late 50's and 60's, this is mind boggling. In my formative years there was a mixture of optimism and pessimism but overall a general belief that if we just worked hard everything would be alright.

 

Followers of Jesus are ever tempted to buy into the cultural belief system, whatever it is. Jesus lives in the midst of his culture and yet is able to see through it's false assumptions and convictions. In today's Gospel he tells any who will hear, that wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes, pestilences and "signs in the heavens" will continue to happen. And so they have before and after his death, for nearly 2000 years since he made such a statement. Some people claim that these things are increasing in frequency. It is very difficult to know the accuracy of such a statement, because what is happening is that our awareness (at least in terms of news) of what is happening around us and in the world, has expanded exponentially from what it was 70 years ago or 50 years ago or even 10 years ago. Today people take pictures of what is happening on their iphones. These pictures can enter the public domain in a heartbeat. Regardless of our awareness of "news" the calamitous and horrendous acts of war continue on unabated. Given all this, what are we to do, to be?

 

As would be followers of Jesus, Jesus calls us to be very clear about whom and what we are trusting. It is tempting, apparently even easy to put our ultimate trust in those things and even in those people whom we deem to be rock solid. But the market can and does crumble. Government policies change at an election or at the whim of a leader. Our own personal health, physically, emotionally and spiritually can be very fragile.

 

Jesus speaks truth. He tells his early followers that following him is anything but easy. Other family members may not agree, may not want their loyalty to be tied to him and all that following him means. They may not want to have an open house, an open heart, an open wallet. And so, many of his followers will be betrayed or shunned.

 

The temptation then for those followers of Jesus – the temptation now for us is to take the path of least resistance, to not ruffle the waters, to not say anything or do anything that will cause conflict. But when we take this path of least resistance, we can and do so easily lose our way. If Jesus is not Lord, the Son of God who overcomes the powers of evil and death for all people and all creation, is there anyone or anything that can?

 

Oh people, Jesus loves us so. How can we lose sight of Him and His love? And yet, so often we do. Then the "Temple" is destroyed as we lose our shirts, our health, our hope in someone else or something else. We may be driven to despair.

 

But even then God is still God. Jesus is the Son of God who wills to reach out to us. And God's reign, God's kingdom where the lion will lie down with the lamb is still coming, not because we can see it or comprehend it or accomplish it, but because God promises it will be so. Could any of us see the fall of the Berlin Wall even two days before it fell?

 

So, be ready – not filled with terror or by plotting how we will somehow be "in" while others will be "out". That is so selfish, so contrary to the love of God in Jesus Christ. Instead, by God's grace, may we be ready by trusting in Jesus, by listening for and talking with him daily. The Spirit of God can and will give us direction. We are not alone. Remember, God loves this world.

 

As St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

May we so trust and live from that love and mercy of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. 

Poor Me?

All Saints Sunday, November 7, 2010, Luke 6:20-31

 

There are times when Jesus' words are really difficult FOR US. "Blessed are you who are poor", he says. And we think – are you kidding? Who would want to be poor? Who would want to live on $600 or 700 per month in the Lower Mainland? The truth of the matter for us is that we do everything we can to avoid being poor. We sure don't want to be poor. So, we work our butts off. We try to make intelligent decisions. At times we take our financial advisors' advice and PAY OURSELVES FIRST. Nor do we ever want to be emotionally poor. We crave an abundance of assets when it comes to friends, loved ones, acquaintances, colleagues. We want to have interpersonal skills and marketable One can never tell when a rainy day is going to come, especially on the West Coast.

 

Nevertheless Jesus says (in Luke's Gospel) to people whose economy included a relatively small but distinct upper class, the elite, and many, many people in the lower classes, with perhaps only a very few in what we would refer to as a middle class, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours IS the kingdom of God."

 

Was Jesus out of touch with reality then? Is he out of touch with reality now? Is Jesus, in other words, TOTALLY IRRELEVANT - a nice man, with some occasional words of wisdom, who then sacrifices his life in vain? Or, is Jesus the one upon whom God's Spirit lives, who through his life and death, his words and actions brings good news to the world, especially the poor? Is Jesus then as we are wont to say in our creeds, God's only Son our Lord, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one Being with the Father?

 

Which is it?

 

If Jesus enfleshes those confessions of our creeds, we best be alert to what he says. We best attempt to understand what he means when he says. "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours IS the kingdom of God."

 

Poor – the very word sticks in our throat. Have you ever been poor, without assets that you could call upon? Have you ever been emotionally distraught – when whatever assets you may have had around you, financial, or loving people, in those moments, that time, just didn't cut it? Such is the reality of being poor. What happens in our lives then? 

 

I tell you two stories, both profoundly true. Years ago I traveled inland in Turkey. The majority of people were Muslims, of the Islamic faith. On this sojourn, I was accompanied by two friends who had previously lived in Turkey. Turkey is a beautiful country. But during my time of travel once was far inland the transportation system was anything but what one could call dependable. Nevertheless, the Turkish people, the vast majority of whom possessed perhaps less than 1/15^th or 1/20^th of what we had, amazed me. Sometimes at night my friends and I would become stranded. I would start to worry. Where are we going to stay? What will we eat? How will we get to where we are going? They then smiled at me knowingly and said, "Relax Tim, we are in Turkey". Somehow, in the next relatively short period of time we would meet people who would invite us into their homes, as plain as they were, to be hosted by them. By North American standards these people were poor. But in so many ways they were free and rich: free from fear, open to the beauty and wonder that hospitality towards "strangers" can bring. 

 

The second story: I also remember a young man. He was bright, good looking, intelligent. He came from a loving family. He had parents who loved him, who would do anything for him. He had siblings that encouraged him, that would help him in any way they could. He also had a girl friend. She was incredible: pretty, bright, full of life and all kinds of promise. But one day she met somebody else. As she further pursued that relationship she eventually decided to ended her relationship with him, that bright young man who had so much going for him. Emotionally he spiraled downwards, quickly. He wanted to quit school – even though he was at the top of his graduate class. He openly wondered about and wrestled with God. There was this hole that consumed his very being. Nothing or no one seemed to be able to fill it. Although the days were often sunny outdoors, he felt very dark, as if he was trapped in an abyss. Then it really didn't matter to him that he had parents, siblings or even friends who loved him. Then it didn't really matter that many others said he had a "lot going for him". He felt dead, hopeless. His energy, his will to live was barely a memory.

 

Late one night he found himself on the walkway of a bridge, spanning a river, the spillway of which churned the waters far below him. He stopped in the middle of that span. . He could hear internal voices. Many of them screamed, "JUMP!" They claimed that if he jumped his insufferable pain would end. He thought about it. I mean HE REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT IT! The struggle with these various voices was intense. But there was another voice, a quieter but still steady voice. Occasionally throughout his pain, his wondering, he heard that voice too. "DON'T DO IT!"

 

This latter solitary voice, once heeded, once followed for even a critical moment led him off that bridge towards others who could and would help him. There was a cagey, rough around the edges professor who refused to let him quit school, who offered that young man his own home to come and stay for as long he would need to. There were his parents, who at first didn't ask too many questions but just let him be at home with them whenever he needed to be. There were his siblings who called and took him out whenever he was up to it. They worked to include him, in even new ways in their lives but really tried not to push too hard. There was also his church family, who kept praying, singing and working at serving others. Before and after all of that there was and he says, is God. Gradually he began to count on God, to look for God's direction and assurance in the things of his daily life. The pain he was suffering had led him to a recognition of his poverty, emotionally and spiritually. But that poverty had opened him to God in ways that before he had not even imagined possible. And new life is resulting.

 

Not that life is easy now for him or anyone else. But there is a profound sense for him of God's presence. Jesus is not merely a historical person. Jesus is One who has suffered and does suffer with and for others. The Spirit of God moves sometimes in ways that even now the young man can discern and occasionally feel. But whether he feels that Spirit of God this day or not, he is convinced that the Spirit is here with Him and working in the world.

 

Today is All Saints Sunday. There aren't cards or gifts for it. I suspect that All Saints Day and Sunday often gets lost between the candy, costumes and parties of Halloween and the somber memories of Remembrance Day. I suspect too that All Saints Day, of all the festival days of the church, is the one most often misunderstood. Saints are not only those who have died in living out their faith, sometimes at the hands of others. Nor are the Saints only those who have gone before us in the faith who have since died. Saints are any and all claimed by God, marked by and living from the dynamis, the power of Christ's cross, experiencing and sharing the love of God in Christ in their every day lives even whether they realize it or not.

 

You see, (grace is so radical) we are called to be saints: not perfect, arrogant nor proud. Not holier than anybody else. Rather, we are being called to follow Jesus in the living of our everyday lives. We are being called to trust God, to depend on God's faithfulness to us and the world, realizing our own poverty in being able to love and care for others, the world and God on our own. But our poverty is never the end of the story. By God's grace we can also glimpse the incredible riches, those wonderful gifts God bestows on us in Jesus for the blessing of others and this world.

 

Such living is a glimpse of the very reign, what theologians for a long time referred to as the kingdom of God. God's influence and ongoing work is a mystery, beyond our meager comprehension. And yet as part of that incredible "enterprise" God continues to call ordinary people, including you and me, to embody the very love of Jesus, the living hope he can and does brings to people and creation here and now.

 

So, we will do well to listen to Jesus. Sometimes He causes us discomfort because on our own we so easily get lost and become subject or caught by death, despair, even self- destruction. Each of us, every person we will ever meet has been gifted by God. Together, through God's leading, we can employ such riches entrusted to us for the blessing of others, particularly any in need.

 

To live in such a way we need daily conversion, to let go of ourselves, our fears, our desperate clinging to so-called guarantees and returns. Thinking only of ourselves, or those like us, whether as Church, nations or individuals, leads not to life but to incredible woe. It is only in dying in some significant ways to our thoughts, sometimes even our pet convictions that God in Christ leads us beyond our so-called life and to new life.

 

Jesus says, "Blessed are you who are poor for yours IS the kingdom of God." Do we hear Him?                Amen.