a untitled sermon for January 31

January 31/2016

4^th Sunday after Epiphany

On a quiet Saturday morning when he was home visiting family shortly after his baptism, Jesus popped into the local synagogue and spent some time with the men gathered there.  In the room, there would have been a few scholars, some local businessmen, some resident tradespeople and some fisherman and possibly a farmer or two.    They gathered weekly to read the sacred texts to listen to the learned men talk about what the texts meant and then shared conversation about how it played out in their day to day lives. Jesus rises in their midst and goes over to the lectern and then reads from the scroll.  A passage from the Prophet Isaiah,- then he sits down and says:  “today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.  At first the men are delighted and proud even of Joseph’s son being so eloquent and knowledgeable about scripture but soon things start to shift, and the mood in the room becomes suspicious,---what is he really saying,?what is he implying?…is he insinuating that we are not good Jews?  Is Jesus suggesting that we don’t know how to interpret scripture?  Is Jesus really saying that we are suppose to love our Roman conquerors, to open our hearts to our oppressors, to forgive debts to those who owe us money?  Blasphemy! – Irreverence! – Sacrilege!

And before you know it the room filled with peaceful men discussing scripture becomes a room filled with wild  and angry men, so angry so furious that they seek to silence Jesus, they grab him and drag him to a cliff edge where they are about to throw him off.  

David Lose writes:  “It may be a puzzle for some why Jesus’  provokes such a violent response. But if you pay a little closer attention, the matter quickly becomes clear.
After reading lines from Isaiah promising release and redemption and healing for those who have been cast off by the world, his audience seems well pleased by his words, even proud of the hometown boy made good. But then Jesus presses on. “No,” it’s as if he’s saying, “When I talk about God coming to free the oppressed and bless the poor, I’m talking about God blessing the people you can’t stand, the people you don’t want to be near, the people you think are your enemies.” And so he reminds them of a couple of stories where God blessed not Israel, but Israel’s enemies. And then they’re mad, so boiling mad that they’re ready to get rid of this so-called prophet.

Jesus’ congregation, you see, would agree with the farmer that says, “good walls make good neighbours.” Walls, after all, keep you safe, mark off important boundaries, and keep less-then-desirable things at bay, whether wolves from sheep, a hostile neighbour from your home, or fear-inducing refugees from your homeland. No wonder so many then and now think good walls make good neighbours. …
But Jesus disagrees. When you live into your identity as one of God’s beloved children, you see, there’s no more need for walls to keep the enemies out because there are no more enemies. Walls – and with them all of the ways we define, describe, and bracket out the “other” – are antithetical to God’s kingdom purposes.”[1]

Walls?  Where are my walls? –Have I tried to throw prophet over a cliff edge because his words made me uncomfortable, and I did not want to know or to hear or to change? 

Wednesday, at the Cape we hosted our second “Soup’s On” community lunch.  It was a casual gathering where people came and went over a three hour period.  There was lots of visiting.  The conversations was amazing, and distressing and enlightening and disturbing.  There was on half hour conversation that was particularly notable for me and I think I encountered a prophet.  I was told stories about what it is to be a Aboriginal person in our local culture.  I listened as the only white person in the room, to this matter of fact recounting of racism and people being treated differently, and being excluded, and being bullied, being – well maybe you have better words for what this is – these are a few of the stories

An 8 year old Anishanabe boy in the Wiarton school who was being bullied and beat up every day and his mother tried to teach him that he needed to be the bigger person, and not to fight and not to use violence and not to hurt other people – and she advocated at the school, and talked to the teachers and the principal but they did not stop the violence – and then one day, she could not take her son being hurt anymore – and gave him permission to fight – to go against what she believed in, and he did; the next day at school when surrounded by 10 other boys, he fought back and knocked them all down one after another after another – and in the time that it took for one native boy to knock down 10 white boys – not one teacher came, not one teacher saw….

And did you know that there are only about three places in Wairton where the man who was telling the story and his family can have a meal where they feel like they are wanted because in other restaurants they have been treated poorly, they have received slow rude service by the wait staff, disrespect from other patrons and just a general feeling of not being welcome. 

And two weeks ago in Owen Sound in the midst of a altercation by two business owners the one hurled the terrible words ‘fat squaw’ referring to a cook in the restaurant, who happened to be the cousin of the people at the manse that day.

As I listened I felt sad and hurt and shocked to know that this is what is experienced today a few kilometres from where I live and part of me wanted to defend – maybe say ‘oh, you must have heard it wrong, that is not really going on’ or justify the behaviour of my white brothers and sisters – and it begs the question about whether this is what was going on in the minds of the men in the synagogue.  Where they too looking of for excuses and defenses.

Why I was so uncomfortable with hearing these stories of racism; was I ashamed for my fellow white man narrow mindedness? or was I ashamed of mine?

Have I done that, have I been racist?   I have been a waitress – have I ever given someone poor service because of their skin colour?  Have I ever witnessed to children picking on other children and walked away and told no one?  Have I ever insulted someone or used a racial slur without know it?

When I was growing up we used to live in Byng Inlet which is on the edge of the Magnetawan First Nation, we went to school with kids from there, and yet the stories we heard tell about the people from there were about drunken Indians and broken down housing, and kids dropping out of school.   Even though it was never spoken, there was a great line between them, and us and we never sat together on the bus or ate lunch together or went to each others birthday parties.  I cannot even remember anyone’s name.

And then we moved out west, to Nordegg, Alberta which it is right in the foothills 70 miles west of Rocky Mountain House.  Further west was a Cree Reserve and the children of that reserve came into Nordegg to go to school.    In this little community of about 300 people, there too was a big divide between Natives and White – Nordegg was the only community around that had a store, and there were big signs in the windows and on the shelves that said “this store does not sell mouthwash, vanilla, Pam or glue to Indians”.

No one ever told me to be afraid, but sometimes the loudest messages are in words that are not spoken – and as I was growing up, whenever I saw someone who I thought was Indian – I shrank into myself and stayed out of their way.  I never tried to make friends with any of the children I was going to school with.  As far as I remember I never even talked to them.  And at no time in my growing up years or even in these years have I ever thought of myself as racist or prejudice.   And yet when I tell these stories in the light of day, I was racist and prejudiced.  Just like those men in the synagogue.

Which means that there is no way to avoid it…Jesus is talking directly to me this morning when he says that I am to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to let the oppressed go free. Jesus is telling me that I am to love my enemies, I am to confront my racism and prejudice and my fear.  Instead of trying to kill the messenger, I need to face my own fears. 

I think it starts by stop making the ‘other’ – you know what I mean – to stop the thinking  ‘us and them’.  The stranger, the one that does not look like me or act like me or think like me, is not someone that I need to distance myself from them build a wall between us like David Lose was saying, and lock our doors to keep myself safe and protected?  What I need to do is the opposite, to go out and befriend my enemy and face my fears.

Very shortly the Huseysin family will be part of our community.  Abdurrahman, Suhile and their children Hasan, Elif and Celal – these are the Syrian refugee family that we were matched with on Thursday.   The Huseysin family will be living in Dr. Looney’s house across from the liquor store in Lion’s Head.  This small family will be the only Syrians in our neighbourhood.  And they will be distinctive because they will not look like us, they will not talk like us and they may not dress like us, and they will not know our cultural norms, at least for the first while.  And they will encounter prejudice and racism here – I can guarantee it, it is already happening.  There are some in this community who think that refugees should stay in their own country, that they should not take our jobs, or live off our government, or receive our health care benefits and our free education – you see what’s happening – already my language has moved into us and them. 

What we have here though is this amazing opportunity to do the Jesus thing cause sponsoring a refugee is no less than letting the oppressed go free – and proclaiming release to the captives, these people who were captive in the midst of a war that does not end.  We have this opportunity to do as Jesus would do, to love as Jesus would have love .

So when we run into the Huseyins downtown at the grocery store, or the post office or library, we can greet them or ignore them, we can welcome them or resent them.  And you know what even more, when our friends and neighbours say things like – ‘they should just go home’ we can confront that prejudice too.  Because for me, it is time I stand up for what is right and good and just and loving and welcome the stranger, and set the oppressed free and bring sight to the blind and stop my racist ways and love my enemy and see the Christ in the other and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour…its high time I listened to Jesus.  Amen.

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[1] David Lose:  In the Meantime:  http://www.davidlose.net/2016/01/epiphany-4-c-moving-beyond-mending-our-walls/

Holy Shift

Holy Shift  (with a shout out to Gord Dunbar – Hamilton Conference President)

January 24/2015     3^rd Sunday after Epiphany

The president of Hamilton Conference this year is Gord Dunbar, he is one of the ministers of Port Nelson United Church in Burlington – but his roots are in Grey county as he hails from Owen Sound.  I have known Gord since seminary.  You can’t be around Gord for very long before you encounter his sense of humour – this man is funny – he make me laugh, he makes many people laugh and this might explain to you why he would make as his theme the year he is president for Hamilton Conference – ‘Holy Shift ‘– except when you say it – it makes way more of an impact if you say it like Gord does– HOLY SHIFT!  There is something irreverent about a theme named ‘shift.’  You can bet that this is deliberate.  But you can also bet that this is completely grounded in scripture and God and church and sacred because what Gord is able to do with his humour is to clear the clutter of our crazy church world, where sometimes we end up focusing all sorts of time and attention on things that do not really matter in order to shift us around to the holy, with a pun or a witticism or a joke that has you pause and shake your head and go – ohhhh, that’s what’s going on – that’s where God is – and your thinking shifts, and God gets in and the world is transformed.  A holy shift.

The people in the Nehemiah story this morning are desperate for a holy shift.  These two historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah are focused around the time directly after the exile.  The people have been allowed to come home, and been granted permission to rebuild their city and their temple.  Nehemiah upon learning that the walls of Jerusalem have fallen down   negotiated with the king of Persia – Artaxerxes, and convinced him to pay for them to be rebuilt and then to repopulate the city – but there is a lot of work to do– the temple is in ruins, the city has been neglected for the last 70 years – imagine the amount of infrastructure that has been ignored during that time.   I suspect that the people although delighted about being able to reclaim what was once theirs, they must be overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done to return this city and temple back to a liveable state.  It is up to Nehemiah who has been appointed the governor to make this work happen, to encourage the people, to motivate them to restore the city and its temple. 

Do you know how he does it?  Do you know what he used to motivate the people to find a passion about the restoration of the city?  Scripture – he used God’s word to motivate.  Nehemiah gathered all the people who lived there; young and old, rich and poor, men and woman – gathered them all in the square by the watergate in the midst of the ruins the prophet Ezra climbed up on the platform and started to read.  For you see, underneath all that broken walls and crumbling stone, the found something that was forgotten from long ago, they found their scripture, they found their word of God, they found their Torah – the law – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  This is what Ezra reads to the people:  “In the beginning when God created^[a] the heavens and the earth, ² the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God^[b] swept over the face of the waters. ³ Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.”  And the people stood there and listened and listened and time passed, hours passed and still the people remained captivated by what Ezra was reading….can you imagine – hours of listening to the bible – from early morning until midday; hours.  And there they were, the people in the square mesmerized by the Word of God.

Isn’t it remarkable – that these people were so captivated by Ezra’s reading of the bible.  Think about it, here they were these hundreds of people all different ages and stages in their life – some, the elderly especially could have a vague memory of this book, this sacred scroll that Ezra read.  The next generation would have only heard about it from their parents and grandparents, and the third generation, the youth and children may never have heard the stories at all.  And yet these stories passed down while they lived in exile for some would have been the first time they heard about who God was, and how God had worked in their world through Abraham and Isaac, Moses and Miriam, and the story of creation and Adam and Eve and Noah, and Joseph and his many colour coat….but that not all they stayed and listened to Leviticus and Number too, which for any of you that has not tried to read the bible in a while is pretty dry and not much story – lots of rules and very little plot.  They stayed and experience scripture in a way that they never had before…and they were moved some were moved to tears – this word of God got into them and they remembered who they were and whose they were, and that they were connected one to the other, and they remembered that they were God’s people, and this city, this temple site was about them and it connected them to each other, and solidified their purpose –there was a holy shift, and God got in and gave meaning to their work – and the city got built, the walls put back up and the temple – well the temple arose from the rubble.  

And lets not forget what also happened that day, as the people stood there with tears streaming down their face – Ezra did not leave them like that, he did not dust off his hands and roll up the scroll and walk away – no, he tells the people to go and celebrate – you just heard the word of God, you just experienced a grace filled moment were God was here and you were remembered a holy shift happened so go and celebrate.  This is a happy occasion, this is a joyful event, this is a moment that needs to be honoured and treasured and celebrated –so laugh and sing and dance and eat well…God has come in the Word has been revealed and this day is holy – a holy shift day.

Jesus and his story today is yet another example of scripture being read and a holy shift happening – imagine what is going through the minds of those who witnessed this event, Jesus standing in their midst and reading from the book of Isaiah, sitting down and saying today you have witnessed scripture being fulfilled in your midst.  We will find out next week when the second half of this scripture passage is read what the reaction was– all I am going to say about this event right now is that something powerful definitely happened in that synagogue in Galilee and many who was there had a holy shift – more about that next week.

But for today, lets fast forward a few thousand years and consider this holy book in today’s context.  This bible, this living book, this word of God still has the power to mesmerize and captivate and holy shift us into a new reality where God gets in and we are transformed.

When is the last time that scripture has done this to you – where it knocked your socks off – where you experienced a holy shift in your world – cause the Word was spoken.  I am blessed you know, this work that I do, which keeps me immersed in scripture whether I want to or not.  It is a gift that weekly I have to read and think about sections of the bible, it is a gift that I get to use scripture is sacred moments such as weddings, funerals, bedsides…cause you know what happens when you hear scripture in holy moments, it does knock your socks off.  Like when your in the middle of a wedding and 1 Corinthians is read – really read – and people really hear it and you realize that this commitment that the couple is making to each other is a moment of profound trust in each other and whether it is spoken or not, God is getting in and is blessing this couple and making their wedding a marriage. It is a transformative moment when is ceases to be about the dress and the catered meal and the guess list – it is about two people and God making a commitment to each other.  ‘Love is patient, love is kind, it envious not nor is boastful and it never, never ends’ (1 Cor 13)…a knock your socks off proclamation.  Holy Shift isn’t God’s love amazing!

And when I privileged to share scripture at bedsides in sacred times and human vulnerability times such as illness and death - …God our refuge and  strength a very present help in times of trouble (Ps 46)- -God will keep your life, from your going out and your coming in (psalm 121) – words to assure that even life and death and everything in between God is with us we are never alone holy Shift even in death God is with us, we are never alone!

But you know these are not just minister moments.  We ministers are not a privileged bunch of people the word of God only blows us away.  No, in fact I bet that everyone here today has had a holy shift moment in their lives.  We have all had moments like this, moments when the word of God spoke into our hearts and broke us open, moments when God got in and our lives were transformed.  That is partly what brings us here today, hoping for another holy shift.  An epiphany when the light penetrates the darkness and God is revealed in the light.

Those moments

·      when we hear the word and know deep deep in our entire being that we are loved and we matter:  ““You are my Son, the Beloved;^[h] with you I am well pleased.”(Mk 1:11)

·      when the word of God speaks into a situation that we are going through, where all of a sudden in a scripture story or sentence or even a word, clarity comes and understanding happens:  “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”  (Phil 4:13)

·      or when you are feeling that who you are and the choices that you made could not possibly be acceptable and that you are  outside of the fray and then the words of belonging come:  “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  (Jn14:2)

·      when darkness and despair have all but taken over your life and everything seems to be dark:  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Ps 119:105)

so many moments when words like,  

·      ‘even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me’(Ps 23)

·      and ‘give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses’

·      and ‘you search me and know me’ (Ps 139)

·      and ‘be still and know  that I am God’(Ps 46)

·      and ‘we know that all things work for good for those who love God’ (Rom 8)

·      and ‘come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Mt 11)

Those moments when scripture has broken you open, when has the Word lit a pathway in the midst of darkness?  When God got in and the light shone forth and holy shift – you were comforted, or set at ease or knew you were forgiven, or your fear disappeared – poof – just like that – or your anxiety was eased and you stopped worrying in short – you shifted, you shifted because the word of God got in and you were transformed.  Holy shift – isn’t God amazing – holy shift.  Amen and amen.

Epiphany Sermon

Fear and Seeing Stars

An Epiphany Sermon – January 10/2016

Shortly after 10:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday 100 people were gathered outside of the Muslim Association of Canada Centre, in Vancouver, when an unknown man on a bicycle rode up and pepper sprayed a group of men, women and children, which included newly arrived refugees from Syria.   A single man, made the decision that he had the right to hurt people he did not know in a random act of violence. People do stupid and sometimes horrible things when they are afraid.

On Monday of this week, a grand jury in Ohio declared that the police officers who shot and killed 12-year old Tamir Rice while he played with a pellet gun in a Cleveland park and then left him unattended on the ground for four minutes before administering comfort or assistance would not be indicted on any charges related to his death. The officers said the boy looked like he was 20. They said they told him to stand down. He was a large black boy in a park and they were afraid. People do stupid and sometimes horrible things when they are afraid.

This past week news emerged of North Korea testing of a hydrogen bomb.  It is still unverified but the president of North Korea is touring his country military bases proclaiming the successful test.  Kim Jong-un's first public comments about this had him proclaiming  the explosion was  "a self-defensive step" meant to protect the region "from the danger of nuclear war caused by the U.S.-led imperialists," .   This little Asian country has created a bomb that will poison the earth, kill many people, and destroy life at atomic levels, because they feel threatened and afraid.  People do stupid and sometimes horrible things when they are afraid.

A U.S. Muslim woman who was ejected from a Donald Trump rally in South Carolina while engaging in a silent protest said on Saturday she wanted to make the Republican presidential candidate's backers recognize they are supporting "hateful rhetoric."  Although all she did was stand up and not say anything her quiet standing presence unsettled the security people of the rally enough to remove her from the room.  People do stupid and sometimes horrible things when they are afraid.

A six year old boy and his father were taking a plane last week from Toronto to Boston to see  a hockey game.  When the got to security section of the airport the 6 year old boy was held up because he has been flagged as a travel risk.  Seems he shares his name with someone else who really is a risk.  Screening however, is based on name and age, physical stature, and the fact of not being at all threatening does not rule out being held up in the airport for an inordinate amount of time to be screened.  One child whose name resembles someone on the no-fly list is 6 months old and when he attempted to board a plane in his mother’s arms he had his diaper scanned,  People do stupid and sometimes horrible things when they are afraid.

And in a palace half way across the world, a group of weary travels stop by for the night seeking the king.  Asking ‘where is the king born to be king of the Jews, we observed his star at its rising and we have come to meet him.  This is news to the King in the Palace, and he does not know but asks the travellers to return after they have found the one and tell the king all about it.  When they do not return, to protect his position, or to make sure that his throne is not threatened, he has all male children in his region 2 years and under killed.   People do stupid and sometimes horrible things when they are afraid.

Fear, is insidious and becoming more and more prevalent in the culture that we live in.  The media and culture is telling us that we should be afraid of a lot of things lately: immigrants, Muslims, crazy men with guns, black men (with or without guns), ISIS, and the unemployment rate, and the shrinking dollar. We’re told that there are forces afoot in this world, embodied in these and many other things, which threaten our way of life. We’re told that if we do not eliminate these threats, bad things will happen. Some here this message as cry to arms, to hold nothing back, however immoral or inhumane, to keep ourselves and our way of life safe: with border controls and security screening, internment camps, religious tests, militarized policing, carding, and suppression of organizations.

When fear is used maintain order. Collateral damage is to be expected. When those in power fear that they are losing hold on that power, ramping up the fear of the general populace is a sure fire way to secure and maintain power.   What better way to maintain order?  What better way to hold off change, and keep things the same?  Fear and power.

Rick Morley writes:  “Fear and the thirst for power is a mix that is volatile. How many innocent lives and beautiful dreams have been lost in that concoction?  It’s all there in our story this morning.
Right there, while Jesus is still in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. No crying he makes, and yet a already a bounty is on his head. Holy infant, tender and mild, be careful before you sleep in heavenly peace and because you are a threat to the great Herod.”  And Herod does not like to be threatened.  And fear gets in and all those innocent babies loose their lives –

That woe is me, poor child, for thee

And ever mourn and may

For thy parting neither say nor sing,

"Bye bye, lully, lullay."

Collateral damage.
And yet – and yet – before the fear overtake us – before the darkness surrounds us - before we begin to go into ourselves to protect us from things to awful to think about let us pause in the midst of this horrible consequences of this story of where unsuspecting magi precipitate in dead babies ordered by a fearful and threatened Herod- before we get overwhelmed in the darkness – remember the light and look for God, not in the crazy and not in the death – but in the light – the light of the star, the light of magi seeking the promised messiah – the light of the one they found in Bethlehem, in the light of the prophet reminding us to lift up our eyes and see the light and be radiant and have our hearts thrilled…all in the midst of the darkness – God gets in and the light comes – star shine and sparkle – God gets in  - stars raising in the east bringing gifts of great value.

Isaiah understood this seeking light in darkness, looking for God in the midst of fear, Arise and shine for you light has come – the light of God.  Here too is a people who understand darkness and fear.  The people of Isaiah’s time  can not even pretend any longer that is all is right in their world.  Chaos and crazy abound, They have been conquered, many have been forced from their homes to become slaves in the Babylonian world.  The ones left behind struggle to find life in the midst of destruction.  The once beautiful temple and city lie in ruin around their feet – and has done for years and years and years.  There is much to be afraid of – and yet – and yet

God is here, the light is here it shines forth proclaims Isaiah.  Look up, look down, look all around –somewhere, somewhere the light is shining – somewhere, somehow God is getting in

Have you seen the response of the police chief of Vancouver, and Prime Minister Trudeau.  They are not going to let one random act of violence stand in the way of welcoming refugees to Canada.  The fear and darkness of this one individuals bizarre act of unwelcoming behaviour is an isolated incident, and the light gets in as people rally to support the victims and make statements against the darkness.

Arise and shine for your light has come.

And the President of the United State, has said time out people – enough is enough – the gun lobby may be strong but I have executive power and I can do something about these guns on the street… and more and more people realize that racism and gun violence is an epidemic in America and minds are changing and the light is getting in, even if it feels like it is just a glimmer, it is still getting in and the darkness is lifting.

Arise and shine for your light has come.

And where can we find light in North Korea – the oppressive regime has been in power almost half a century – well one thing is that the bomb that was set off did not have the power that was proclaimed because as such an explosion would have been hundreds of times more powerful than the evidence suggests.  Also however we need to remember that history teaches us that eventually all oppressive regimes fall, time has a way of shifting things, and the light gets in…
And so when one woman takes a stand and literally stands up in silence – her voice is so loud she can not be ignored
And when crazy policies screen innocent children, and customs officers are preforming ridiculous things such as scanning babies diapers – the light get into the absurdity of the situation – and the darkness is overcome.  It is amazing how God gets into the world when was are able to laugh at our ridiculousness and to find humour in our silliness.

Julie a minister in Scotland shared this:  “Then we have these wise visitors; the strangers who came from a foreign land bringing impractical and inappropriate gifts; stirring up an already paranoid and jealous king who lives in a tenuous state constantly uncertain of what will happen next.

That was not so wise!

Yet, they trusted the light.

They followed it, through the darkness of their journeying until they finally reached their goal.

Not the king in his palace, but a poor family, in borrowed accommodation, disturbed and confused themselves by all the attention.

The travellers had trekked far and long to reach their destination.

Knowing against all common logic that something wondrous had happened.

A new king, not of their tribe’ or race, or faith, or culture.

But a new king nevertheless.

Born into poverty.

Born into danger.

Born in unusual, mysterious circumstances.

The star led them; guided them; inspired them.”

I don’t know what your light is what your star is that guides you but I promise you that it is there – that there is light in darkness, there is star guidance in our life. 

I would like to give you all a gift this morning – a simple gift of a star – it is yours for the year and it has a message for you to take with you into this year.  It is a simple message; it is a unique message to you.  It may help you find light in dark times; it may help guide you when the way is unclear

You are invited to ponder what significance this word might have in your lives, and how God might be speaking to you through that simple message. Just like you are unique, each star has its own message and significance. I invite you to take the word home and place it in a place where you will encounter it regularly, it may be on your fridge or your bathroom mirror or maybe by your front door so as you leave to go out into the world you remember your star word and you see where God is speaking into that day.

So as the stars are passed around, please take one without looking, because this star, this star is a gift you are asked to receive. It reminds us that this is always the order of things in God’s realm—God always gives first, and then we are invited to respond with our gifts and ourselves.

This gift may be a bit like the gift of the magi, a little impractical, offering you a thought or a moment to ponder where God, and where the light comes. 

It may be a word you are unsure of.

It maybe one you are delighted to receive.

It may sit, uncomfortably, challenging you in ways you did not expect.

It may already be stirring you; making you think; moving you to action.

Whatever it does; whatever it says, I pray it will bring you, new hope this year, and new light in the darkness.  I pray that it offers you many opportunities to witness God getting into the world, in unexpected ways.

Like those wise men, all those years ago, may your star lead you; guide you; and inspire you to

Arise and shine for your light has come.         Amen.

Promises - promises

Promises, promises

November 1, 2015   All Saints Day

I have been thinking about what it means to be Canadian recently, about what it means to belong to this country.  Citizenship is a conversation I am hearing relating to many current events in recent months, the niqab conversation around facial covering and the oath of citizenship, Prime Minister Harper using the term ‘old stock’ when referring to Native North Americans, talks of refugees and migrants and immigrants in news stories.  I also have been spending some time on the Cape, and meeting people over there and learning about their history.  It really has me thinking about what it means to be a Canadian especially when the folks I am meeting have been in this area forever – long, long, long before any of our ancestors thought of getting on a boat and sailing to this part of the world.   I am only a first generation Canadian on my father’s side – he was born and raised in Australia, he arrived in Canada in 1961 but did not become a Canadian until 2005.  On my mother’s side, her family has been in Canada since about the 1850’s, her father side came from Ireland escaping the potato famine and her mother’s side, immigrated from England – the family myth has my grandmothers – grandfather or great grandfather being the second son from a wealthy family whose behavior embarrassed the family and so was sent as punishment to the colonies.  In comparison – I am a newbie in this country even though I have lived here all my life.  And to top it off, I was at a meeting last week that began a conversation about whether we in Northern Bruce Peninsula could band together and sponsor a few refugee families seeking asylum from their countries.  What does it mean to be a citizen, what does it mean to belong to this country?
When my father became a Canadian Citizen.  Our family went to a courthouse in Barrie and with about 40 other people from about 30 other countries my father stood up and before a judge and our family said: 
“ I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen”.
It was big day for us, and we listened carefully as my dad made his pledge – that day I experienced a profound moment as I watched him pledge his allegiance to Canada and I was reminded that sometimes we take our citizenship for granted and by my father making a conscious choice to become Canadian, he made a conscious choice to live in this country intentionally observing the laws and intentionally fulfilling his duties as a Canadian citizen.  I thought at the time that it would be a good reminder to all of us who never had to pledge to our country, just because we were born here, that we do have rights and responsibilities as citizens.
We all make such promises to organizations and societies, and churches and institutions.  Doctor’s take the Hippocratic oaths which gives them the mandate to do no harm, lawyers get called to the bar where they swear an oath not to pervert the law, ministers are ordained into sacrament, word and pastoral care and have a code of ethics we are to follow.  Brownies promise to do their best to God the Queen and Country and to help other people everyday especially those at home.  When someone becomes a member of the church they stand in front of the congregation and make promises about honoring the denomination and promises about how they are going to live in their faith journey.  When you become a cadet, a legion member, a Rotary member, a Lion or Mason you make promises to be loyal to the organization.  When you become a member of parliament, soldier, justice of the peace, police officer or boy scout you make oaths about how you are going to live the mandate of your organization and take your new place in the community that you will serve. 
The implication of oaths, promises, commitments and belonging are common themes in this morning’s scripture readings.  The relationship between Naomi and her faith, Naomi and her country and Naomi and her daughter-in-laws play itself out in this short book of Ruth.  Here is a story about loyalty and promise and commitment and faith and risk.  And to Jesus and his encounter with the scribes – the questions asked about what is the level of commitment God wants from us - What do we do when we make promises to God.  This commandment – the greatest of all commandments is like an oath that we take about God.  This oath of allegiance outshines all other oaths of allegiance, for when we enter into this one we become fully participating members of the human community.  When we say, okay God, I can do this – I can live this way, loving you fully, deeply and then I can go and show this love to myself and my neighbor – we have made the oath of all oaths, the pledge of all pledges the promise of all promises. 
Ruth made a promise – a pledge in love a pledge to her mother-in-law Naomi, this promise of loyalty, this commitment and pledge forever changed Ruth’s life.  And I wonder that when she made this promise that was she fully aware that this choice – this oath – would so dramatically change her world.  I do not think she really understood was that from that decision to follow Naomi, she allowed the hand of God to be active in her life.  For this is the woman who becomes the great-grandmother of David who for the Jewish people is the best king that ever was.  Ruth and Boaz had a son called Obed, Obed had a son called Jesse and Jesse had a son called David – and genealogically speaking – at least genealogically biblically speaking – when you read the first part of the book of Matthew – you see the link from David to Jesus – from Ruth to Jesus.  This woman’s pledge allowed her to be a participant in God’s plan that transformed the world.
The scribes ask Jesus – what is the greatest commandments – the scribes – they should know the answer to this as they are the ones who are learned in the law – they are the one whose lives are dedicated to preservation of the Holy Scripture – day in and day out they are focused on the sacred texts – rewriting them and preserving them for future generations – yet they ask – we are in the place again that Jesus is confronted with a question that is suppose to trip him up – suppose to make him look foolish in front of those who are listening – suppose to discredit him as there is no really right answer here – at least to the Scribes – 10 major laws at this time – the 10 commandments – the big 10 and then also another 600 other laws meant to protect the people from themselves – laws about food, cleanliness, how to treat people, who is in, who is out, how to deal with dead bodies and how long woman are separate from the group after they have a baby.  Rules, rules and more rules…610 rules attributed to God and good practice as a faithful Jews 2000 years ago – and so to Jesus is asked –which one – which one the most important, which one the truest, the best, the greatest….And with no hesitation…
Hear O Israel – listen up everybody – the Lord is one – God is one, not many but one and you should love God with all your heart, all you soul  with all your mind and with all your strength – love God with everything you’ve got and then love yourself and everyone else – love.
Sound easy – sounds easy?  Do you think that it is easy?  I wish it were – because I think that if it were easy and we could do that and if everyone in the world could do that  - then world issues would cease to exist, there would be no more war as people love, hunger would dissipate as people share, Citizenship in a nations would be irrelevant because we would all be citizens of the world.  God’s kingdom would come as God’s will is done – on earth as it is in heaven…
But we don’t  - we don’t love as we are called to love.  I am not even sure if we really understand what it means to love – to love God, and self and neighbor.  It’s more than just lip service, more than “hey God – ya know I love ya!”  More than saying – Hey neighbor- your pretty cool, you are really different than me but that’s okay – if only it was about lip service!
What does it mean to love God with heart, mind, soul and strength?  What does it mean to love self and neighbor.  Being in relationship with God works the same way as being in relationship with another human being.  How much time you spend getting to know a person, being with them, listening to them, talking to them, liking them, enjoying their company, sharing your self, being intimate is directly proportional to how strong and solid a relationship it is.  If you spend no time thinking about, being with, learning about a person, you are not in relationship with them – you are in acquaintance with them.  If you say hi every now and then, have a quick call, look them up when you are in need of something – it’s a kind of a relationship but it’s pretty superficial. 
To develop a deep and meaningful relationship means putting in time, enjoying the good times, and growing through the bad.  It means trust.  It means pain.  It means joy and commitment.  It takes work yet reaps tremendous rewards.  And this is the type of relationship that God wants to have with us.  Yet you know, even with all that the one thing that it is, with all intimate relationship- is that it is personal, your relationship with God, and my relationship with God is unique to each of us.  And a relationship so personal and unique has the capacity to get into our whole being and transforms us.  It changes us.  And although we will still have pain and discomfort, we would not change it for the whole world.  This is what love is about, and this is what happens when you enter into a deep loving relationship with God.  This is what happens when you love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.
And you know what the second commandment proceeds out of the first – when you love God you begin to see God in many places and faces.  For we know that we are all part of God’s creation – all human beings on the face of the earth are created by our wonderful God – so when we look around – into the face of another and also into the face we see in the mirror – there is God – in me, in you, and in you and you and you and you.  God all over the place, God all over the face.  The welcome on your neighbor’s face you greeted them, the sorrow in another’s eyes as you said hello – God in the midst of this community.  And that’s not all, its not only here in this moment in this church– God is all over the place, in our day to day encounters, in the lives of others, in the work of strangers- God is there, God gets in, God goes with us…
Being in deep relationship also means that wherever we go – God goes with us
Wherever you go, I will go – just like Ruth’s promise to Naomi – when we enter into relationship with God, God makes that promise to us.  So if we go down to the darkness, and live in sorrow and despair – God goes with us.  And if we go to the place of fear and disease, we can count on God’s presence.  And when we have moments of joy and celebration – there too will we find God.  Wherever you go – there is God.  It’s a pretty good deal, this God promise – wherever you go – God will go – you are never alone, God is with you.  Amen