Wrestling With Change - Don't Be Afraid!

Reflections on Reformation Sunday, October 25, 2015
John 8:31 -36 (The reflection come in 3 parts) and follow in a liturgical progression that are composed of voice 1, voice 2 and C:

C1) - Christ's Way is the Way of suffering and sacrifice, the Way of Prayer and Death so that others might live. (Pause)

I really like the idea of freedom. You know "true north, strong and free". You know, free to do my own thing - whatever I want, when I want. You know, Frank Sinatra's old song, still popular, "I did it my way!"

 

We so want to be free! When we are young, we want to freed from our parents' rule and regulations,  free to drive the car wherever we want when we want, free to have our own money and spend wildly, freely.

 

But where has such "freedom" gotten us. There are vehicle crashes claiming lives and devastating so many others because people have expressed their "freedom" to speed and consume a whole variety of alcohol and other drugs. There are relationships of promise that have been violated individually and collectively in the name of freedom. There is even obsession with ourselves in eating or not eating, exercising or not exercising. There's freedom! Even large chunks of our world that has access to more than enough food and water, frequently forget about others who don't have enough. Where does our so-called freedom get us?

 

Do we hear Christ's voice in the memories of communities that have come over history  to us? Christ is the One who frees us to belong together in God's family. Christ is the One who allows us to follow a path of responsibility and service. Might that be freedom- to be willing to regularly and frequently give of oneself on behalf of others?

 

It sounds hard. It is hard. In confronting powers begging him to do otherwise Jesus prayed so that He might be strengthened. He was. By God's grace we can also pray to be strengthened to do God's will.

 

To be sure Jesus dies, a horrible death. Nevertheless, somehow, miraculously through His life, His suffering, dying and being raised others are being delivered to new life.

 

Do we not see this? That even out of death, God can bring new life! Look around. As a baby dies to the womb, to the umbilical cord, he or she is ushered into new life. Look around - see the alcoholic, the addict admitting, yeah confessing that they need help. As they die to the illusion of self control, they are being opened to new life in and from God.  

 

The second dialogue is spoken:
C2) Christ's Way is the Way of turmoil and change, the Way of the Confession and Forgiveness

 

I am not sure about you, but most times I don't like turmoil or change! I like order, even predictability. I like all my clothes hanging in the same place, sweaters neatly folded on a shelf. I like my candies in the cupboard with the bag tightly sealed to ensure they remain fresh. And I like my television remote in one place so that I can find it even if my hands are occupied with a sticky bun and a drink. I also like it when our children are happy and getting along - in a career path that is successful, accompanied by someone who values them and works with them. If that someone is a Christian, at least the sort of Christian that is relatively easy for me to live with – well, I really like that.  I also particularly  like it, when you all get along and come frequently and regularly to worship.

 

But whether or not, I or we like those things - this is not reality. Change is reality. Ongoing, seemingly endless change in our bodies, our minds, the earth, our relationships – that's reality. Often such change is accompanied by or even caused by turmoil.

 

The only way to avoid such change is by lying to ourselves. We can work to not see, to not hear, to not be aware of the change. We can attempt to disconnect from any of the overarching realities of life. Don't read. Don't watch TV or surf the net. Don't listen to others with different opinions, beliefs or values from your own. Refuse to care about or for anyone else. Don't travel to new or different places. But all of these "don'ts" will only serve our self-deception.

 

God sends us God's own Spirit. God's Spirit works through Christ giving us glimpses of God. Such glimpses may lead us to further questions. Why did he have to die such a horrific death? Do I have any part in His suffering or the suffering of others - even of those I love? Can I change? Can we change? Can God change me? How can I respond to this radical love of God through Jesus in my life? How can I reflect and embody the sacrificing love of Jesus for this world - especially for those many I know, the many I am beginning to see who are in need: physically, emotionally, spiritually?

 

These are overarching questions, mind boggling, humbling questions. O Lord, help us!

 

The third dialogue is spoken:
C 3) Christ's way is the Way of questioning and new learning, the Way of Baptism and Communion.

 

Do you dare ask questions? When we were young(er) most of us asked a lot of questions. We would ask our questions of almost anyone - our parents, our teachers, our friends, especially God. Yet, as we grow older we become much more hesitant to ask questions. I am not sure if that's because we think we know so much - or if it's because we don't want to look ignorant, uninformed or worse yet naive. There are always those "others", people whose opinions, perspectives of us matter so much.

 

But, if we don't ask questions, how will we grow, how will we be stretched to make room to learn, to see and experience new and changing realities? What if Columbus or the Vikings or the First Nations forefathers and foremothers had just stayed wherever it was they had begun? What if Frederick Banting or Martin Luther King Jr. or even Luther himself,  hadn't asked or been open to the reality that major change is possible? What if musicians, artists and poets hadn't probed reality by dreaming dreams and then became the conveyors of new possibilities? Where would we be now - huddled in caves, very cold, with no dreams and little life?

 

We must not be afraid of truth. Truth emanates from God. In the most profound way Christ shows us truth:  the truth that God cares for us, that God right now is working to liberate us from our slavery to hatred, violence, apathy, greed, insecurity, and all forms of death and evil.

 

God is working in Christ so that we and all of humanity can love as we are loved, forgive as we are being forgiven, even risk being rejected so that others might be honestly included, involved and loved.

 

Our Baptism into Jesus wills to kill that part of us that thinks first, foremost and ultimately only of ourselves and our limited capacities. Our Baptism into Christ joins us to Jesus' death and resurrection. We are not alone. Because of Him neither death nor evil has the last or the lasting word.

 

Our union in Christ leads us to communion - communion with God that is  absolutely amazing and then through Him to forms of communion, interaction and care (as difficult , as complicated, as enlightening as that might be) with others - and with creation.

 

Dare we be open to Jesus and His Way?

 

Wrestle with this question with all our being.

 

The love of God in Jesus Christ refuses to give up on us and this world. In Him is freedom and truth and new untold possibility. Amen.

 

 

One Powerful Car

Mark 10:35-45 (Pentecost 20b, October 18, 2009

 

POWER -  it's not a four letter word. But what does one do with power? Are there limits to power?

 

To aid us in wrestling with these questions think about a car...

 

Does a car have power?

 

The men and the boys here, perhaps even some of the women will tell us, "Yah, sure, cars have varying degrees of power. From the Smart car to the largest V8 with over 400 horsepower, a car's power allows it to accelerate through wind, snow and rain. Such power allows the vehicle to carry a load while moving from Point A to point B. Sometimes it's amazing.

 

But let me ask this - is that car's power all good? Might there be limits to the power, even drawbacks?  

 

If driven out of control a car can wreak incredible damage to people's lives and property. My childhood Pastor's older daughter was killed by a car driven by a drunk driver. Her death changed their lives forever. The power of that car employed by a drunken man was incredibly destructive.

 

But cars have other kinds of power too. They can be driven to transport people to hospitals – to move elderly people living in a care facility on an outing that will enrich their lives and the lives of others. Cars/vehicles can transport us to and from work, to and from people we love. Vehicles can bridge distances to bring us back, towards or away from the people we love.

 

So a car has a power. Vehicles can also pollute the air much or a little – depending on their maintenance and construction. But ultimately, the power of the vehicle and it's being positive or negative depends to a significant degree on the driver's actions and intentions.

 

So, what about us? Do we have any power?

 

Some days it feels like "no". Job thought that he had power, until his life unravelled. Then he wrestled with God, demanding an audience, expecting answers. Job eventually receives his audience with God. But what he receives in that encounter are more questions, questions pointing to the limits of Job's power beside the unknowable, immeasurable power and love of God.

 

So what about it? Am I, are you powerless – not merely in terms of being able to get from point a to point b, but in much larger terms? ...

 

In today's Gospel Jesus speaks about His power and the derived power of the disciples. He speaks both about the limits of his power and somewhat about the expanse of his power. He says that it is not in His power to grant James or John or anyone for that matter seats at his right and left 'hand' after His new rule is fully realized. But he also says that James and John will be baptized with the baptism that he is baptized with.

 

As we examine Jesus' life we witness amazing power. He touches blind people and hungry people. He refuses to give up on disciples who never understand him and sometimes disobey him. They are still, even as He is speaking, longing to be over others. They still mistakenly believe that status and reputation are what matter.

 

So Jesus tries yet again. He tells those early disciples and any who will follow him that He doesn't come to be served. He doesn't come to receive pomp and glory so that everyone will say how great He is. No! Rather, He comes to serve, to care for others, to allow them to experience in and through Him, the actual freeing love of God. In that experience others can also be freed from all that entraps them. They can be freed to serve.

 

Think about it. What entraps you?

 

Are we ever caught up in or by insecurity and the manifestations of insecurity - hatred, greed, apathy, fear, selfishness, arrogance, ignorance? Any or all of such reality can get its tentacles into us and thereby exercise great control. One of the most pernicious delusions of our time is that we are independent, that we don't need nor serve anybody but ourselves. How much time and effort we spend on serving that delusion!!!

 

But Jesus comes employing His power in a way that literally boggles our minds. He willingly gives Himself over to others – even to the power of death. But in His giving over, there is a growing, power-filled liberation for those caught in His embrace.

 

Jesus called his disciples and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is NOT SO AMONG YOU; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

 

Jesus comes NOT TO BE SERVED  but TO SERVE! How radically different from so much of what we know and often long for, even for ourselves. Whether it is in sports, business, politics or the church, often we would rather be served than serve. The results of acting on these, our desires, are often disastrous!

 

Christ's way is different from our way. He gives His life - as a ransom for many. This isn't about keeping track or even cancelling "debts". Instead Jesus gives His life as God's own Son so that the powers of death and evil that continually work to divide and conquer the human family, to persuade us that we have to be over others, afraid of others, separate from others, can be overcome.

 

WE DO NOT HAVE TO SERVE THESE OTHER POWERS.  We do not have to be bound by the clutches of insecurity – and her tributaries of anxiety, fear, jealousy, consumption. For Jesus has died. And Jesus is risen!

 

So, let me ask one last time. Do you have power? Do I have power?

 

You betcha! But this God-given power is not to hurt others, not to try to get more or be more than others. No! This power of God in and through Jesus Christ is to care, to act on behalf of – to wrestle with the love and mercy of God in the midst of all the other stuff that is, that threatens to consume us – some of which are things we cannot understand.

 

This power of God entrusted to us is not our own. It is always – first and last, a gift from God.

 

So, to get back to my car analogy – we each have our own cars. But they are all given to us by our heavenly Father and Mother who not only shows us how to drive but gives us the power to help others in the way we drive "our" cars. This is both service and freedom – beyond our feeble understanding.  

 

May we so "drive", live and serve, by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, for the sake of the world. Amen.

Posted by Pastor Tim

 

 

The Ceiling's Unravelling!

Thanksgiving b, October 11, 2015, Matthew 6:25 – 33

Text v. 33 – But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.

 

Not very long ago, quite early in the morning, I was gathered with a family around the bedside of their mother and Oma. She had just died. They had called me to be there – WITH THEM.

 

Silence and conversation ebbed and flowed. I carefully listened as one of the adult daughters spoke. She mentioned that earlier in the night her mother had spoken: "The ceiling is moving. There's a man there - unravelling it." Even as her mother spoke she lifted her arm pointing to where the aforementioned "man" was. The daughter also noted that her mother spoke and pointed without any fear.

 

Now some may say that these are the ramblings of an old, dying woman, a woman who was being medicated. There could be a logical case made for that. Others might even say that the grief stricken daughter speaking from her intensely emotional state, "heard" or "remembered" what she wanted to hear or remember. 

 

But what if there is someone of God entrusted with our 'going out' and our 'coming in'?

           

We live with a lot of 'stuff' going on in our lives. We strive for and occasionally or often are concerned about having enough, getting, keeping or losing what we have. Many of us deeply desire a certain standard of living. Others of us are consumed by what will happen next.

 

There is so much 'stuff' that can fill our hearts, our minds: the randomness or mystery of illness; the unknowns - the length of our own lives or of others lives who are beloved.  We live with many competing realities. Evil is present. Turf wars in Richmond, Surrey and Vancouver touch many. There are also inner battles – of trust, of judgment, of 'voices' that tell us that we must somehow do certain things to be worth it. Others would cajole us into believing that we are worth more or less than others. And of course unfortunately, there are also battles between nations and within nations.

 

So when Jesus speaks to his early disciples and through history also to us, saying, not to worry, we can't help ourselves. At the very least we have to wonder. Such wondering, escalates as he tells us to, "look at the lilies of the field." Lilies may provide a beautiful pastoral view. But, aren't some lilies of the field also trampled on, frozen? Don't some of such lilies die within a few short days?

 

And, when Jesus speaks of the birds of the air, we may see eagles soaring or those multi-colored humming birds literally whirring around the feeders that many of us have. They are literally amazing. But beside both the eagle and the humming bird don't we also need to see the gull, lifeless on the side of the road, run over? Don't we also necessarily see other smaller birds - caught, mangled, even consumed by predators?

 

So, when Jesus says not to worry about our life, while using such images,  dare we take heed?

 

Or are his words overly simplistic, irrelevant for us today ... ?  

 

When in doubt it's sometimes helpful to examine the evidence. Take a hard look at the evidence of your own life. Who was present at your conception? Who guided you down the birth canal or through a Caesarian Section? Who has been there with you through thick and thin, whether you were attentive or not?  Who listened when you railed with anger and/or confusion? Even now who longs for a moment, an hour, any time with you, longing for conversation, time together?

 

This one who tells us not to worry about our life is this same One who calls us to obey Him by trusting Him. He is the One who gives His all FOR US! That's correct - HE GIVES HIS ALL FOR US! He relinquishes power by taking on our frail, mortal flesh. He gives himself over to other people's wills. He suffers and dies trusting, hoping that somehow others will hear him, see him, trust him and share His good news with others. He dies in order that we may be transformed and transforming. He empties Himself, gambling His all for us and with us.

 

Still ... we ... worry.

 

We ... put so many other things, so many other people before God.

 

We refuse to regularly rest, to in disciplined daily ways worship thinking that we just have to keep on doing all kinds of stuff. As if life depended on us!  

 

We ... even kill.  Perhaps we do not kill literally, although now, as we begin to see the impact of globalization we are actually, literally killing - animals, plants, people.

 

Sometimes we say false things about others.

 

Sometimes, often, we demand and take more than our fair share.

 

And yet -  miraculously, graciously, God does not abandon us nor give up on us. God has not  condemned us. Instead, even now, right now, Jesus commands us to trust him, follow him, to be done with worry and anxiety that so often can control us.

 

Jesus speaks to us , "Love me. Love others. Actually love yourselves!"

 

Really? Yes, really!

 

Don't we see who He is? He is in the beginning with God before any and all that we are, that we have, that we can even imagine.  He is the Word of God to us and for us. He takes on our flesh. He suffers and dies at our hands. Then when all most assuredly seems, is lost and hopeless, on the third day he is raised. He comes back to and for those who abandoned him at his lowest point. He doesn't come to condemn them. He comes to enliven them with hope and love.  He says to them and to us,  "Peace be with you. Don't be afraid."

 

From Matthew's Gospel we hear him saying,  "I am with you."

 

That's who Jesus is, Lord and God, our Lord and our God.

 

How then shall we live? Here, as part of the great diversity of life, in the midst of competing and compelling powers, what shall we do? What can we do?

 

Might we live generously and thankfully with all we have and are?

 

Our journey of life as important as it is – is only part of all there is. With God's help we don't need to hold on to things, even to people, as if our lives are defined by what we have, or what we can do, or by how long we "live". Nor do we need to hide or run from challenges, things or people that make us uncomfortable. Nor do we need to limited by worry.

 

Instead, we can give generously of our time, our talents and our possessions. All that we have and all that we are, all that we ever hope to be, has been given to us in trust by God. So, dance wildly when the music of life moves us. Sing joyfully with the voices God gives us. Unabashedly weep with those who weep, in great joy or pain. ALL IS A GIFT! And it and we, and all whom we ever will meet are therefore amazing.

 

So, let me end these Thanksgiving reflections by returning to the beginning. What if our ceilings are unravelling? What if what that old dying woman saw what is actually happening? It wouldn't surprise me – not in the least. Only three weeks ago she told me that she wanted to go home. And home, wherever we are, is always with God.

 

May God enable us to heed Jesus' command - not to worry about the food we eat or the clothes we wear. Surely life is more than food, clothing, reputation, career, house. Indeed!

Amen and thanks be to God for the One is the beginning and end, who intends to be our beginning and end, who watches over our going out and our coming in! Amen and Amen.