Indexed by Date. Sermons for Epiphany Year C

January 9, 2022 - Baptism of Jesus -Season of Epiphany

Isaiah 43: 1-7
Psalm 29
Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22

Is That Your Final Answer?

When I was in theological school a bunch of us were sitting in a friend’s room one evening, no doubt solving all the problems of the universe all the while avoiding reading a very interesting book (NOT!) or delaying doing some writing for one of the professors, who thought we had nothing else to do - when one of our group was told she had a phone call - so she went down the hall to the phone booth. A few minutes later she came back in tears. Someone, many of our little group had known. from university had just been killed in a car/ motorcycle collision. Quite a few of us had gone straight from Mount Allison University to Atlantic School of Theology and had been in the same circles. From that point on, little homework was done as we cried together and tried to make sense of this tragedy! Like most of us, Ruth was in her early 20s and looking forward to a long and full life. Her death was probably the first we had of losing someone who was “our age”. You are not supposed to die in your 20s!

The next morning we were in chapel and we were asked to sing a hymn from the Catholic Book of Worship, titled “Be Not Afraid,” a hymn based on today’s passage from Isaiah. Before we had started the second line of v 1 virtually every student who had known this person was in tears. While the student leading worship had been given a “heads up” that many of us were experiencing a loss, and mentioned our friend in her prayers, I suppose the other students and the faculty members were somewhat bewildered at our tears, as this hymn had never caused this reaction before!

When we speak of the power of God to accompany people through both mountaintop experiences and deepest valleys, we are treading on holy ground; where heaven and earth intersect! When we tread the edges of life - of birth and death, we walk on holy ground.

On Wednesday morning I opened up Facebook to find the video from my nephew’s wedding just this past August, finally finished. The videographer captured well the hope and optimism of the day with the smiles, the tears of happiness and the love apparent, between the bride and groom and the rest of the two families. It was a day that could lead one to believe that nothing will ever go wrong, ever! I suppose just about any couple would not look out of place were they “photo shopped” them into that video; weddings are about hope and optimism for the future.

But we all know that a perfect future for any couple will be unlikely and that all couples will have their downs as well as their ups. My hope for my nephew and his wife, and for all couples, will be that they will know the presence of the Holy One as they journey and grow together and that this presence will strengthen their bond.

In the passage from Isaiah we have words from God directed to a nation in exile. Their nation had been invaded and almost everyone had been taken captive and carried off as prisoners of war. It was a time of hopelessness and despair. Their identity as a nation and as individuals was so closely tied to their land. They believed that God had given them that land and made them a “people”, a “nation”. This defeat shook them to their core; who were they if they were not the people of God in the land of Israel. Perhaps God had abandoned them and was now the God of the Babylonians, their tormentors, their captors. Perhaps. In other passages we are told the captors loved to “rub it in” and demanded of them the songs that only reminded them of how much they had lost.

In the passage from Luke we have Jesus, all grown up, ready to begin his ministry. God’s voice whispers in his ear, “YOU are by beloved and I am pleased with you.” At the time of Jesus, the people were experiencing a brutal Roman occupation and, a leadership with collaborated with the occupiers. The baptism of Jesus and the naming of him as the beloved son, harkened back to God’s promises to the exiles. You are mine, You’re loved. NO MATTER WHAT, I love you.

These two passages are intimately connected; the water of baptism which gives life and the raging waters which do not overwhelm.

In 1987 Prince Andrew, son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, dropped out of the Royal Marines commando unit. When it made the news, I recall that the story also carried footage of what their training involved. Recruits were requited to crawl through a culvert, submerged under water, in full battle dress and pack and make their way to the other end. The culvert did not appear to be much bigger than what was absolutely required. When they made it out the other side a training officer would grab them by the scruff of the neck and haul them to the surface. Just thinking of doing that gave me the willies! I would say that such training would require nerves of steel and a firm commitment to the program. Edward decided that he belonged elsewhere. I certainly don’t blame him.

I suppose that baptism asks us to imagine, spiritually speaking, allowing the waters of destruction to overwhelm us but trusting in God to bring us to new life at the other end.

On this Baptism of Jesus Sunday, many churches ask the congregation to “renew their baptismal faith”. On this Sunday the “baptized and baptizing church” is asked to renew those promises to follow in the way of Jesus and to mentor, embody and teach that way to others. The way of Jesus could, in part, be defined as “not taking what the world says, as the “final answer” to our identity.

Is “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” still on TV? It has been cancelled and resurrected so often I have lost touch, but if you ever watched the show you will know that the host often asks the contestant the question, “is that your final answer” before his or her choice is “locked in”. I believe it is also a feature of “Cash Cab,” a game show in which multiple contestants are vying for shared prize, before the taxi in which they are riding, reaches its destination!

In Anne of Green Gables, the new arrival asks to be called “Cordelia” because that is so much more elegant than her actual name. When Marilla refuses the red haired orphan admits that it is Anne but insists that it MUST be Anne, with an “e”. Who are you? Is that your final answer?

The world of the day told the captives in Jerusalem that they were worthless captives, weak, worthy only of ridicule and hard servitude. But that was not to be the final answer for them. That was not God’s answer. God has more to day about it! The message of Isaiah calls them “beloved,” as precious in God’s sight, as worthy of God’s ransom. This is not an act of merit on their part but an act of grace.

Do you remember that line from the old TV show, “who was that masked man?” Of course, the answer was, “why, he is the lone ranger”. In these pandemic times, it is sometimes hard to figure out who those masked people are! After 22 months of practice some of us have gotten much better at identifying people from just their eyes and their forehead. At our current -40 wind-chill it is a little harder with all the head gear everyone needs! I was in the Credit Union the other day and once again I had the feeling that 2 years ago you would not have entered a bank in a mask!

Who are we and whose are we?

To whom do we give the right to name us and claim us? That is the question asked of us this day. Are we children of God, beloved and called to love others with the same grace-filled abandon that has been shown to us.

Let us go into the new year named and claimed as God’s own.

Amen.

January 16, 2022 - Season of Epiphany

Isaiah 62: 1-5
Psalm 36
John 2: 1-11

Filled to Overflowing

How odd. Really, how odd ! What an odd thing for Jesus to do!

Changing water into wine! Not just a few bottles or even a case or two, but gallons and gallons of the stuff. And the best of wine too! Maybe $30 a bottle!

Wine! Scandalous!

Why is this story even in the Bible, and how did it make it into the lectionary for us to read every third year! Like many protestant churches in Canada, the United Church has, shall we say, officially looked down on the use of alcohol. It’s only been about 150 years since Mr Welch figured out how to pasteurize and bottle grape juice so that it would not ferment, and communion could also become alcohol free, something that was not possible previously. In our denomination, most of our buildings are considered “alcohol free” and don’t allow alcohol at any time. Of course the WCTU, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, had a great deal to do with the church culture in which these policies developed. I have read that the movement was also closely associated with the struggle to give women the right to vote, under the leadership of people such as the Albertan, Nellie McClung. While the association of what might be called a “feminist rights movement” with what seems like “old-fashioned moralism,” seems odd, we need to remember that a large part of the impetus for the temperance movement arose out of situations in which many women with children were at the mercy of husbands who would drink their pay-cheques away before providing for their families, which led to increased abuse and deeper poverty. In such situations an abundance of alcohol produced nothing good at all!

In order to make Jesus’ actions more palatable some have even argued that the wine he made on this day was for all intents and purposes, grape juice, which did not have time to ferment. However, the text indicates clearly that it was REALLY GOOD WINE.

For the purposes of this sermon, and it’s place in John’s gospel, this passage really has nothing to say about the modern moral dilemmas about alcohol, its use and abuse, and the gulf between the church’s official views on alcohol and the actual practice of most church members. That’s a discussion for another day.

Some years ago, I was on a nursing home visit to a couple I visited regularly. She spent most of her day in bed and had not been able to walk for several years. He had his legs elevated most of the time because of swollen feet. I asked them if they were “glass half- empty” people, or “glass half-full” people and she immediately replied, “neither, our cup runneth over”. Upon first glance, they had little for which to give thanks given their deteriorating health but they saw their lives in terms of abundance and of joy.

From what I have read, a wedding in Nazareth was a days long celebration would have involved copious amounts of food and of lots and lots of wine. A host, usually the groom, would plan well enough so that the wine would last. It was a great shame to run out of wine. At the very least, such a shortage showed poor planning and was seen as a complete lack of hospitality which was the most important value there was.

For whatever reason, the wedding involving Jesus’ friends and neighbours, had run out of wine and Mary asks her son to do something about it. When he does, it gets noticed by the caterer. What is noticed though is not that more wine has appeared, but, as the author of John’s gospel explains, most grooms would have the good wine served first and after that had run out, when the guests’ palates were a little tired, the poorer quality wine would be brought out. On this day the opposite seems to have happened; the good wine was saved for the last.

On one level, John tells us this story because it shows that Jesus has the power to perform miracles. It shows that Jesus has a power-filled word. This power shows that he comes from God. His reluctance seems to stem from his desire not to let “the cat out of the bag” just yet, in regard to his true identity. His goals were longer term!

A few years ago I was talking with a colleague who had spent some time in a L’Arche community, sharing her life with evelopmentally delayed adults. In this community they saw wine as a symbol of joy and celebration, not as an intoxicant.

One of my disappointments this summer was having to miss my nephew’s wedding because I was in hospital. I have seen pictures though and I think it was a stunning wedding, even if you tell me your family wedding was better! And we’re both right!!!

Weddings are a normal thing, but they are also very special. There is a happy couple, feeling for a day at least, that nothing will ever go wrong. There are the proud parents who speak about their CHILD being old enough to marry and form a new family. Everyone is wishing the couple well. There is the grandmother who feels the “children grow up too soon,” miracle most keenly.

Yet, weddings are also about a most unusual thing. In the face of current statistics about marital breakdown, couples, young and older, are still getting married. In the midst of the difficulties of establishing careers and getting set in life, people are still getting married. In the face of the experience of past breakups and acrimonious divorces, people are still getting re-married.

Weddings are about love and hope and joy. With around 150 GALLONS of top notch wine, there was certainly an abundance of joy at this long ago wedding!

I have imagined that this wedding also involved a buffet or several days worth of them! I love buffets - all you can eat. Fill your plate with what you want, fill your glass, sit down and renew relationships and acquaintances, or make new ones, and marvel at how much has changed and how much has stayed the same!

Too often we seem to be operating on the assumption that God’s love is limited. Too often we assume that God’s grace is in short supply. Too often we assume that if we let in the “riff-raff” they will take the good stuff and leave us with the dregs, the leftovers, the soggy croutons and the wilted lettuce.

We have to realize that God’s grace, love and joy is not a “zero sum game”. Like the miracle of the loaves and fishes, there will always be leftovers; grace and more, to spare.

In addition to this shared abundance, how often have we considered that God wants us to laugh. Joy and laughter go so closely together. I believe that God wants us to find enjoyment in life. On my office wall is a print, drawn by artist Willis Wheatly, one of a set of 4 distributed to every Pastoral Charge, I think, in the early 1980's. It features Jesus in the middle of a great laugh. His head is back, his mouth is wide open and his face exudes happiness and joy. I gather that some people were offended at this portrayal but it’s on my wall because MY JESUS laughs. MY JESUS loves a good joke. MY JESUS sees joy in the simple things, such as the presence of children. While he wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus and was often frustrated with his thick headed disciples, Jesus also knew joy and laughter and he knew it in abundance.

Early in my ministry, I usually led worship at three back to back services. There were more similarities than differences between each of the church communities but I noticed that one congregation NEVER laughed at my jokes while another one seemed to really like them, most of the time! The difference in their reactions was the same, every week! Finally, I asked the sombre folks about my jokes and was told, “your jokes are fine, we just don’t laugh in church.”

Both groups were wonderful, faith-filled people but somewhere along the line, one of them was taught that religious faith was serious business. It was no laughing matter. Well you can take things seriously and laugh as well. I believe that we are to take our faith so seriously that it affects and infects our entire lives. I believe we are called to be a people who know the abundant joy of God which flows from God, into our lives, and then over the brim to others.

I’d like to quote a song, written as a hymn Gordon Light, a member of one of my favourite groups, the “Common Cup Company”. It goes like this:

 Some friends of mine got married about three days ago,
I could take you to the place down in the valley just below.
But I think I’ll stay up here a time and enjoy the sweet warm glow, that has come with the taste of Cana wine.

It was just a simple wedding feast, you know the kind I mean, 
holding hands, holding hearts and holding fast to all their dreams.
But somehow I got the feeling it was more than first it seemed.  Must have been from the taste of Cana wine.

Cana wine, Cana wine, working on my heart and mind;
flowing free, filling me, ‘till I lose all sense of time.
Cana fine, pure and fine, from the fairest of all vines;
come sit down and we’ll share some Cana wine.

I didn’t have that much to drink,
but I’ve never felt so tall,
The wine was finding empty holes I hadn’t known at all.
It touched the deepest hurts in me, till it found and fill’d my soul,
Never tasted the like of Cana wine.

That marriage down in Cana, brought new life to my friends.
I bless them and I wish them all the fullness life can bring.
But a new life’s rising on me too, like an overflowing stream, 
and it comes from the taste of Cana wine.

Cana wine, Cana wine, working on my heart and mind;
flowing free, filling me, ‘till I lose all sense of time.
Cana fine, pure and fine, from the fairest of all vines;
come sit down and we’ll share some Cana wine. 

When you can, pour yourself a big, big glass of God’s love and grace. Enjoy the glow and warmth of God’s abundant and overflowing love. Amen.

January 23, 2022 - Season of Epiphany

1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a
Psalm 19
Luke 4: 14-21

In Your Hearing?

There have been a number of news stories in the past couple of decades, or so, where a world leader was speaking at a news conference and saying something like, “as I speak, special forces are invading a secure compound and expect to capture Gargamel, convicted in absentia, of many crimes on the Smurf population, who has been high on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. (I will let you fill in any other more appropriate name.) Or the news could be, “As I speak helicopters are ferrying aid to an area almost completely devastated by yesterday’s earthquake”. Or there will be footage of traffic lights hanging horizontally in hurricane force winds, roofs being torn from houses and ships lying half sunk at what used to be a safe harbour, all live, on one of those 25 hour news channels. We can do that with satellites and cell phones and other modern technology, as long as everything works! Sometimes it is difficult to file stories when all lines of communication are down. Getting reporters in and the news out, safely, is a huge challenge in such situations.

Today’s passage picks up with the Jesus story, 40 days or so after his baptism, after he had spent time in the wilderness and being tempted. He begins to go from town to town, preaching and teaching. News spreads quickly and he is becoming famous. Then he comes back to his own hometown. This is where he grew up; where he would have received his schooling; where he learned his trade as a carpenter. This is where he and his friends would have pulled off their boyhood pranks and where he helped out the local widows to carry their flour and oil home from the store or whatever young boys did in that time to help their neighbours. Jesus must ahve been that kind of child!

I must say that I would rather worship with my home congregation than preach to them!!!! It turns out that if Jesus had fears about this day, they were well founded. The next passage tells that the people were so offended at what he said that they ran him out of town and were about to throw him off a cliff.

We need to look at two things - why Jesus was there, and, what was the significance of the passage he read. And we need to do it so that my words will not last longer than your ability to sit and listen to them!

The why question is a simple one for Luke’s gospel. As Luke sees it, this all took place under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In Luke’s gospel, three things happen back to back: Jesus is baptized, Jesus is tempted, and Jesus preaches in his home synagogue.

A few weeks ago, we heard the passage that tells of the first event, the baptism. We were told that the Holy Spirit was very involved - coming upon Jesus, as a dove might alight on someone, and Jesus heard a voice confirming both his identity and God’s love. Next, this same Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness where he is tempted. The people who decided what biblical passages should be read in the lectionary cycle have decided that the temptation story belongs in Lent, not in it’s chronological order. All we need to know today is that it happened. After he refuses to succumb to temptation, this Spirit brings him to several places where he gains some fame. THEN he comes to Nazareth where today’s story happens. So today we have Jesus, recently returned from the wilderness, by now a popular preacher, and may well have been asked to read and preach. I gather it was common for any adult man to be asked, or ask to, read scripture. He asked to read from Isaiah and preached on that passage as if it was unfolding in front of their eyes.

The why is simple: the Spirit led him to do so.

Next we need to look at the passage he chose to read and Luke implies that it was his choice. It was not just any passage though. The passage had been connected to the messiah, for many generations. It was thought that the messiah was going to be a mighty warrior, like the great King David, who would come from God and set things right. Everything would become as it should be and there would be no longer any pain, suffering or want. It was a very important passage, a part of a book which expressed the deepest longings of their people.

As one of his first sermons and in his home synagogue, I feel Jesus is announcing to people who he is and what he plans to do. When they realized what some of the implications were, I suppose that this home town could have thought he was trying to rise above his station, putting on airs, arrogant beyond measure to try and make them believe he could possibly have anything to do with these revered passages. HOW DARE HE. A person who fulfilled these had to be truly great, not just a carpenter’s son; not just any old descendant of King David!

So we have Jesus claiming that he is the one to make God’s promises happen; God’s age old and messiah related promises! The people are saying, WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?

We are left to ask a similar question of ourselves, in this time and indeed, in any time. When we read scripture, do we read it as a tale of a long ago time or do we see the prophetic word as something for our time, relevant, and very much a part of what God is doing in our midst.

Why do we come here anyway? Why is there a church on this corner in the town of Nipawin! What purpose does the church have in the community?

For many years united churches have been asked to get together and formulate vision and mission statements. (Other organizations have been doing this as well) As far as our church goes, we are to ask of ourselves why we are here and what it is that we are called to be doing for the sake of the gospel.

Why are we here? Where is the Spirit leading us? The last line of our Bridging Waters Mission Statement is, “By our actions we seek to be an expression of God’s love in the world”.

I recall going to the hospital about 10 years ago for some minor surgery. The nurse I met in the OR approached me with my chart and asked me, “What are you having done today” I responded, “Don’t you know? I thought you would have it written down”. She smiled and said, “Of course, but I need you to tell me.” I suppose it was part of the consent process and the security process. I have been told that some surgeons write on the incision site and have the patient sign it so that there are no mistakes. They even have sterile Sharpies for this purpose! It would be terrible to amputate the wrong leg or to remove the wrong organ. Simply put, when you go into hospital for a booked surgery there is a mission. You are there to have a particular body part repaired or removed or replaced and everyone involved has to know what the plan is.

When you take a course in school or university the course outline states what exactly will be taught in that course. If it is a course in Ancient Rome, you are not likely to spend much time learning about medieval England. Unless, of course, you were my grade 10 history teacher. Our class was held first period after lunch. Since he was also the principal in charge of Gr 12 discipline, he would almost always be late for class, it never failed. We assumed he was dealing with students who had skipped school in the morning or had broken other rules! Then, for some reason, he felt a need to discuss current events. At that time the Ayatollah Khomeini was coming to power and seemed to be of more interest to him than what was in our textbook. We also found that he was easily distracted and we could get him going on a number of topics! Finally, we would open out books and spend the rest of the time, on topic.

The next year I took a course in PEI history and I can’t remember ANY off topic discussions! Our teacher, stayed true to his mission.

I was on the Board of a community food bank and we had a discussion one day about gift cards. It was decided that our role was to give FOOD, nothing else! (Well, we did make sure all the children had a toothbrush) While our clients often had many other needs, fulfilling those needs was not our purpose!

If we look at the passage from Isaiah as God’s mission statement we see into God’s heart. Isaiah’s words let us in on God’s deepest desires for the people who are also held in the palm of God’s own hand.

Listen to these phrases again - “good news to the poor”, “release to the captives”, “sight to the blind”, “freedom for the oppressed” and the “year of the Lord’s favour”. This last one is thought to refer to the year of Jubilee which was when all outstanding debts were forgiven, and land that had been taken through foreclosure was returned to the rightful owner. I believe this was supposed to happen every 50 years!

As I have already said, this passage was an important part of their hopes as a nation and this whole section of Isaiah came to be part of their teachings about a glorious future.

Two thousand years have come and gone since Jesus stood and read from that scroll and we are faced with the same questions. They were ancient words when Jesus read them. Now as we read the story of Jesus, 2000 more years have come and gone. Have we given up hope of any real improvement or change, on such a grand scale as Isaiah mentions, or even a smaller scale. Does God’s word mean nothing to us!

Do we expect this change to appear, as if by magic. Will God wave a magic wand and make poverty, illness and oppression, just vanish.

St Augustine, a church bishop 1500 years ago wrote something like this, “Without God we cannot; without us, God we cannot.”

In the last few years there have been so many movements designed to change the world and make it better for the poor and the marginalized.

25 years ago, or so, as the current millennium approached, a debt forgiveness movement was spearheaded by the World Council of Churches and some of the mainline churches to persuade the world bank to forgive the debts of some of the world’s poorest countries. The debts had most often been racked up by dictators long gone, for thier own needs and luxuries, and the repayments were never going to equal the money owed and the compounded interest. While these requests have faded into the background, debt forgiveness remains a pressing issue in the face of climate change and CODID.

Yes, COVID. These day, these COVID days, there is great inequity. In Canada some people can work from home while others cannot. Many of these who cannot are minimum-wage workers who must show up and deal with the public, such as the employees of coffee shops and care workers in long term care.

There continues to be a great gap in vaccine availability in wealthy countrie with two vaccines and a booster widely available, without cost, while citizens of some countries wait in vain for the first dose. There are things that can be done to redress this inequity, if the western world had the will.

Poverty and wage inequity continues. Movement after movement rises from the grass roots and gets going for a while but then peters out because of indifference and resistance and always hitting the wall of resistance to change.

Yet, over the years we can point to small changes and small victories and say, “I am thankful that that has changed.”

If we focus on rhe whole picture we will become easily overwhelmed. If we think we have to do it all, on our own, we may just seize up and go into voluntary self isolation for the rest of our lives.

But.

But, if we look out at the world, at our community, at our own family, we can see something that God is calling us to change. I think that, deep down, we all know when something is wrong. I believe it was Nellie McClung who said, “I don’t want to change the world, I just want to give it a few good whacks in the right direction!”

How is the Spirit leading us to fulfill the vision of Isaiah? Look around you right now. How are we called to care for one another, especially in these COVID times. When you leave here, look around you as you go home, and ask how you can help meet the needs that you see. Don’t forge to drive by the school, the hospital and the nursing home. How are we called to care for them. How can we as individuals and as a church work with God’s Spirit to make this the time when at least some people will know God’s favour?

What do you see as I speak today?

Amen.

January 30, 2022 - Season of Epiphany NO SERMON

February 6, 2022 - Season of Epiphany

Isaiah 6: 1-8
Psalm 138
Luke 5: 1-11

If At First You Don’t Succeed!

One of the TV shows I like to watch at the end of the week is, “Blue Bloods”. It follows 4 generations of the Reagan family, most of whom are in law enforcement. Occasionally, two of them will be fishing, I assume somewhere on the Hudson River, and talking. In reference to this hobby, one of the older men says to his son, “You know, there’s a reason it is called “fishing,” and not “catching”.

On my family property on PEI is a mill pond, about 60 acres of which has been owned by my family since moving from Saskatchewan to PEI, about 90 years ago. Not long at all, by PEI standards! The stream was originally dammed to provide power for a set of grist and saw mills, once a common sight across PEI. The mills are all gone but a rebuilt dam is still there. The pond is leased to a private club for the purposes of “fishing rights” but lots of people come to fish off the bank or to fly fish in the stream below. The available species are mostly brook trout and eels! As children we would occasionally be given a trout, probably by someone more interested in getting rid of a noisy and bothersome child than truly being generous! We all tried our hand at fishing over the years but it was never something any of us had much patience for. By contrast with the some parts of the Hudson River, the fish in “our pond” are all safe to eat! All you need is a rod and reel, a can of earthworms and a fishing license.

Commercial fishing is a different thing entirely. These days all provinces govern that by rules and regulations and by licencing.

When I lived in Northern New Brunswick, I talked with a man in one of my congregations, who was in his late 90s, and he remembered fishing lobster as a young man, from a rowboat and getting just a few cents a pound. There was a time when only the poor had to eat lobster. I am told there was a riot at the jail because they were being fed lobster too often! How things have changed! These days, if you want to start fishing for lobster in the Maritimes, and you have no family connections with someone who wants to retire, you will need well over a million dollars to buy the gear and license, IF a license becomes available, and you’ll have to make all your money in 6 weeks. Some people have licenses for more than one species so that they can use their boat for more than the 6 weeks and extend their earning potential. These relatively small boats carry lots of expensive and sophisticated equipment to help them find their traps and for safety. I have no idea what regulations governed fishing in the Sea of Galilee in Jesus’ day but it was probably one of those trades that passed from father to son. You did not “decide” to become a fisherman! Some people were carpenters, some shepherds and some were fishermen. They seem to have fished at night probably because the water tended to be calmer, the air cooler and the catch had to be taken to market for the next day’s sales. They used nets and I assume they hauled the nets by hand. Like most fishing, it was hard and dangerous work. AND, if you did not get a catch you had no way to support your family that day!

We have all probably seen lots of pictures in our Bible story books that feature the disciples and Jesus at the sea. We see the small boats with sails, the nets and the baskets of fish. All of my mental pictures come with the smell of salt water - I cant separate the two!

So we have Jesus, followed by a crowd. approach the shores of Lake Gennesaret and begin to converse with Simon, a fisherman, cleaning his nets after his day’s work. I suppose that they had met the day before when Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law. Jesus asks him to put out from shore a little ways; perhaps to get a better vantage point to speak to the growing crowds! After speaking, he instructs Simon to put his nets in the water. Simon objects saying something along the lines of, “well, if you say so, but we fished all night and caught nothing”. THIS TIME, their nets are so full they are at the point of tearing and they need help landing the huge catch.

I asked Yuliya (the office secretary) to put a picture of a ripe harvest on the cover even though it is not harvest season. I could have found a picture of the biggest walleye caught in Tobin Lake but I had no pictures of a boat-full AND I went for something closer to “where we live and breathe and have our being”. We probably all know more about fields of ripening grains than we do about fishing nets, filled to the breaking point. We all know that some land is better than other land and that some years are better than other years. We hope and pray for more of those “good” years than th other kind. Farming practices evolve as farmers seek to improve yields while trying to combat ever rising costs and ever diminishing returns.

As they say in the Maritimes though, “what does all this have to do with the price of fish? No pun intended! For our purposes, what does this have to do with discipleship?

Several things come to mind. FIRST. The fishermen in that boat on that long ago day, may not have been fishing in the deep water, earlier, but as Jesus’ sermon ends they are instructed to throw the nets into the deep water. The results were astounding and almost frightening, as the soon to be disciples realized that the catch was heaven sent.

It seems to me that a great deal of Jesus ministry involved asking people to try things again, but differently, and to look at life with new eyes. The scriptures say to us, “Go deeper”. “Look under the surface”. “Open your eyes”. We are told that when we do that, we will find the true bounty, the true abundance, and the nets filled to the point of breaking.

SECOND. It seems to me that throughout his ministry Jesus called people to look at people through a different lens. Jesus did not follow the common “rules” about people he could or could not talk to! He ate with sinners, talked with women in public, associated with tax collectors.

I love the hymn, “My Love Colours Outside the Lines” because it says so much about our call to do the same!

I’m not certain, but I think that teaching children how to colour inside the lines is one step toward teaching printing and then, at least in the old days, cursive writing! You can’t write legibly if you can’t control your Crayola and at least know the concept of staying inside the lines. However when we apply these boundaries, metaphorically, across the board, we miss some exciting opportunities for ministry and for relationship! If we want to fish only for certain kinds of people we may miss wonderful relationships and opportunities.

Jesus took Simon and the others mentioned in this passage and, among other things, taught them about expanded horizons in their new vocation. He took men who would probably not have wanted to associate with gentiles and Samaritans and foreigners and taught them that God’s love was bigger than they would have ever imagined. This infuriated at least some of the established leaders as they had very defined expectations of who was in and who was out. They liked to have people follow their rules!

THIRD: this passage is also about finding the “food that sustains us” and finding it in abundance, in the midst of a pandemic. As the pandemic began, not almost two years ago, we were asked to change and adapt our regular routines so that we limited our time in public. Shop less often. Stay at home. Don’t visit. It was hard. It went against the grain. It limited our lives. Some people followed it; some looked for all the loopholes they could find and some ignored the advice completely.

Many people found ways to cope with their new found time through connecting by phone and internet with friends and writing old- fashioned letters to people they had never gotten around to catching up with. They gardened. They renovated.

We hoped and prayed for a vaccine that would open the door to freedom. We have our vaccine but life is still not able to go back to the way it was. A whole bunch of truckers went to Parliament Hill this past week to protest. Like a flock of wild geese this convoy descended on Parliament Hill and at the time I wrote this sentence, the mayor of Ottawa was asking them to leave. The honking and the mess are just getting to be too much for the locals to tolerate and are not helping them make their point.

Doctors who are knowledgeable about epidemiology are asking people to stay the course and, in essence, dig deeper, and keep on observing the same safer behaviours that will beat this tricky virus which seems to have a mind of its own and certainly a strong will to live.

Even without our big rig, and a blaring horn, we we ask, can we do this one more day, one more month?

In response to this passage, we also need to ask discipleship questions. How can we as a church pull together, even while we told to stay apart, so that the ties that bind are remain strong and fresh.

We can’t go back to normal and fish in our old fishing hole just yet, but there are things we can do. Our Pastoral Care committee tries to keep in touch with people who we could class as “shut-ins” and tries to keep track of those who moved in order to get the care they need. They are busy phoning and sending cards and e-mails. We work at making the worship service accessible by delivering complete bulletins and as high a quality of video and audio as we can as we can. Our Sunday school is currently being delivered by email as our children do not need more mixing and more exposure at this time but need connection with the church. As always in trying times, we can make a decision to focus on what we have not on what we do not; can put our energy into what we can do, not complaining about what is not safe and we can’s do.

We have all learned new stuff!

My grandfather began farming with horses, and his last time in the field was spent driving a tractor. A blue Fordson Major! He adapted to major changes in his life as a farmer because he had to. Agriculture is one of those professions that has seen enormous change in the last few generations. He added to the changes he needed to make by adding two long-distance moves.

On one level, the gospel story for today IS about a career change - from fishing to ministry. Yet within the story itself is a reminder of the abundance we receive when we trust in the call. Abundance is received when we make small changes and go deeper, or go around the hurt, or the pain and loneliness of ourselves or of others.

Even before COVID we needed to remember that one of the best gifts we can give to another is to listen to their story, especially their story of loss and loneliness. In listening we can help them find the deeper water where the abundance lies . One of the things that has been shown by the pandemic is the degree to which many people have been struggling with loneliness and the pandemic has removed many of the supports on which people rely. Another thing that has been shown is that we could benefit from a reassessment of our priorities from time to time. Do we really miss some of the things we used to do? Do we really want to go back to all of those activities?

Will we find that when we open our hearts to one another (and it should not be a “one way street”) that we have both been fed and nourished in ways we could not have imagined possible. Look around. Where is the Spirit leading us at this time? How can we show love and care to one another, to others, to those in need.

Let’s put our nets in the water and expect abundance.

Amen!

February 13, 2022 - Season of Epiphany NOTE: Since I was attending an online meeting of our Church's "General Council", I wrote this sermon but it was delivered by a teenage member of our congregation. Thank you, Nash.!

Blessings and Woe!

I was in my first year of University and I was sitting in Religious Studies 1000 at Mount Allison University. When the professor began to introduce the book of the prophet Jeremiah, a male voice piped up from the back of the room, “I thought he was a bullfrog”. The rest of us probably chucked and wished we had “thought of that, and said it,” but the professor did NOT look amused! Perhaps it happened every year he introduced Jeremiah! After a slight pause, he kept on with his introduction to the work of the prophet.

“Jeremiah was a bullfrog,” is the first line in the song, “Joy to the World”, by the rock group, “Three Dog Night”. Actually, though, as more than one commentator has said, “if that once popular song was supposed to be about the biblical prophet Jeremiah, the song-writer did not understand Jeremiah’s message at all!” There was little joy in Jeremiah’s words because he prophesied that his nation would be defeated by Babylon. Simply put, the nation and its leaders were ignoring the ways of their faith and there would be a price to pay! Turns out that the people did not want to listen to his, “pay attention, straighten up and smarten up,” words anyway! And he was persecuted by the king because his words were “hard on the morale” of the army. Turns our that Jeremiah was right and Babylon did defeat them and took the people into exile.

Jeremiah’s call, in today’s passage, reaches through the centuries to our own time: “plant your tree by the water”. Live by the words of life. Know what really and truly sustains you and where it comes from.

Jeremiah is also remembered for buying property, in what became a war zone, as a show of faith in their future. When everyone was cutting their losses, he was digging deep and showing trust and faith.

Looking around at our lives and our community, we all know who are the favoured ones, don’t we! The rich. Look at all those multi-million-dollar homes all over the world. Look at that yacht! Look at those cars!

The healthy.

The powerful. Look at what they can ask for and receive!

The well-fed. Look at the restaurants they patronize; I could not afford an appetizer there!

The happy. They are always smiling and look at all their friends!

Well, like Jeremiah, Jesus comes along with a different message; a message that seems to make no sense at first, a message that can be hard to hear. What can be good about poverty and illness and persecution?

Well, nothing!

I read a commentary the other day about this passage by a New Testament professor which said that Jesus’ comments leave us both shaken and stirred. With apologies to James Bond! (Pause)

This passage is part of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain” and it’s filled with plain language, not for the crowds, but for the disciples. It’s an address to the community of faith. So what’s he saying to the disciples, and to us, 2,000 years later?

I was at a church event and the person who was moderator at that time made a presentation. This minister had been called to a big city church a number of years before and a few days after, “the best thing that could have happened, took place!” (Pause) The church burned down! (Pause)

Of course, it was said a bit “tongue in cheek”. It wasn’t really a “good thing at all” but it forced them to make intentional decisions about their ministry and what they needed a building for! A Catholic priest of my acquaintance once said, “what we need are a few benevolent arsonists”. Tongue in cheek, of course, but expressing the opinion that the buildings were getting in the way of ministry.

Many “big city and suburban” churches were built in an era when just about everyone agreed on what a successful church looked like. Big. Massively BIG! Bell tower. A carillon system. A gigantic Casavant pipe organ. Seating for at least 1,000!

During the baby boom all new churches had to have many Sunday School rooms and a gym. The UCW demanded a good kitchen paid for it.

We know that once that sort of building has been constructed, it’s very hard to make changes in it. When the congregational makeup changes the building can become a burden and not an asset.

We also have to take steps to preserve our beautiful buildings. We ban the youth group from the parlour because they are so hard on the furniture. We resist outreach programs for certain demographics because of possible damage to the building.

What guidance does this passage give to us, as the “church”. Every communion Sunday, we recite the line in the faith statement, “We are called to be the church” and then we elaborate on what that call looks like. “To love and serve others”, and “to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen”, among other things. A few years ago a General Council added a line that we felt was crucial to our expression of our Christian faith, “to live with respect in creation”.

Today’s passage presents us with this counter-intuitive message of Jesus, to the disciples, turning common assumptions upside down - blessed are you poor, you hungry, you who weep now. Blessed! That’s crazy!

Call the Midwife has been a popular TV show for about 10 years. Lucille, one of the midwives is from Jamaica and she falls in love with Cyril who is from Guyana. He is a civil engineer forced to make a living as a mechanic. After an experience of racism in a neighbourhood church she begins to attend a black, house church. When they begin dating she convinces him to try it out and soon he became the pastor. In that church the songs of faith are heartfelt and despite the poverty in which many live and the racism they endure, would call themselves blessed. They call themselves blessed because they know that all they have is their reliance on God and that they are blessed by this!

The poor are blessed because they know that they cannot rely on things other people might. Some people know they can always ask their parents, that at least mom and dad are looking out for them. The poor cannot trust in the balance of their bank account or their investments.

As far as I know there were both rich and poor in the crowd on that day. Jesus’s words to them were the same, but the meaning somewhat different. To the rich he was saying, “don’t count on your riches, don’t trust in your riches, it could all disappear, trust on God who will not abandon you.” To the healthy he said, “don’t trust in your health and yiur ability to earn a living” it could be gone in an instant, trust in God; God will not abandon you.

The newest issue of Broadview has a story about a man forced into poverty when he became disabled.

If this message, directed to the disciples, is now addressed to the church (and I believe it is) it leads us to ask, “what are we, as a church meant to learn from this passage?” “How does this help us to focus our mission?” What is our mission? What is our vision? What are our dreams as a church? Do we dream of full pews, lots of young people, a big budget, a cathedral that broadcasts it’s message around the world?

At some point during my description of “those big churches”, I’m sure you were all saying. “that does not apply to us.” Well, it does, in that all congregations need to ask how our buildings further or enable our missions and ministry. If all we can do is to keep the doors open, that may be enough if that meeting place is essential to the ministry that happens, if the people who attend receive strength and guidance for their ministry.

I wonder, if we were forced to rebuild this church from scratch, what would it look like? What would we need for our ministry to the people in this part of Saskatchewan and beyond? What ministries would be spending our time doing?

Years ago, in small Maritime churches, at least, there was a common goal: “get off of Mission Support.” I suppose small Saskatchewan churches were much the same! Congregations would work and work harder to get to the place where they could pay their own bills. In some of those churches they did this by stopping giving to wider mission. Others knew that the giving beyond their own walls was vital and did both. I am going to be clear here, “a church with no mission beyond its own walls is not following Jesus.” Sometimes the mission is focused solely on the local community, but at least that is mission.

I have heard of at least one church which raises twice as much as they need for special projects. If the kitchen needs a new stove, they raise twice the money and give the other half to missions.

There is always the danger of seeking to be a wealthy church - to look good and always have money for repairs and have enough investments that we don’t have to worry about “a disaster”. But then there is the danger that we are trusting in that, and not in God to call and motivate the faithful to support the ministry.

If we have a church filled with wealthy people who smugly say, “WE are fine, if people are poor, it’s their own fault. We aren’t going to help them with OUR hard-earned money! “then the message is not being heard and woe is upon us.

One of my professors at Atlantic School of Theology once quoted this prayer, very much tongue in cheek, “God bless me and my son John, my wife, his wife, us four, no more.” (Pause, smile)

Every organization needs administration and many find that boring and we will probably continue to struggle to fill those positions. That’s the way it is! There must be more though.

COVID has made it very difficult to carry out our outreach ministries as we are accustomed but we always need to find ways to be a blessing to those in need. We need to have activities and outreach to which some of us can say, “I want to be a part of that”. Or “Doing that makes me feel like I am following Jesus.”

Almost 50 years ago, Saskatchewan minister, Walter Farquharson penned these words:

	When vested power stands firm entrenched
	and breaks another's back,
	when waste and want live side by side,
	it's Gospel that we lack.  

A few years Pope Francis tweeted. “As Christians we pray for the poor, and then we give to the poor. That is how prayer works”.

In this Epiphany season we focus on passages which light the path of faithfulness. Today’s passage call us to place our trust in God and not in our own strength and ability. They call us to re-think the world’s definitions of blessing and call us to be a blessing to others.

Amen.

February 20, 2022 - Season of Epiphany

“The Impossible Dream!”

It been said at least once, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. That pithy bit of advice has been attributed to Louis IV of France, Niccolň di Machiavelli, and a few more. We do know that it is said in movie series, “The Godfather,” by mobster Michael Corleone. Where the writer of the series found it, I don’t know but that use is the most well known.

It is an interesting concept. I think the common assumption is that you are to keep you enemies close so that you can keep your eye on them! However, I read another opinion which stated that what this really means is: since we really don’t want to let our enemies know they are your enemies; we treat them as friends. This fools them into thinking we like them and they “let down their guard.” Then, when we need to, we take advantage of them! Cunning, isn’t it?

By contrast, we hear Jesus countering public opinion and common assumptions by saying, simply and clearly, “love your enemies”. I’ve preached before on the meaning of the word love and to give a “clear reminder”, “love is a verb which involves much more than nice thoughts and warm feelings!” Love is often hard and asks a lot of us. As Christians though, it is not an option. Jesus says, BE LOVING.

Is “love your enemies and do good to those who hate you”, an impossible dream? Is it too much to ask?

There is another passage in which Jesus tells people, “love your neighbour” and someone tries to find a loophole by asking, “who is my neighbour”. Jesus counters this strategy by giving an example of simply BEING A NEIGHBOUR.

So, maybe we need to ask a similar question, “Who is my enemy?” If we were hoping for another loophole, Jesus is not giving us any “out”. I guess I would say, “yup, she’s an enemy but you must love her.” Jesus may simply be saying, “BE LOVING”. If we counter with, “surely not him” then we are told, “BE LOVING”.

Love your enemy and do good to those who hate you. Love of enemy may start with, “do no harm” but it only begins there; it’s much more than that! Loving our enemies involves an active decision to act on behalf of that enemy.

Do not steal from your enemy even if she is your enemy because she stole from you. Do not kill your enemy; even if he killed a friend of yours. Even in the case of war there are rules of engagement which prevent enemies from being executed - that’s why they have POW camps. After the British victory on Culloden moor in 1756 almost all the defeated Jacobites were executed, even the wounded. But it’s not 1756 anymore, we have the Geneva Convention to govern things like that.

There is a proverb attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, “an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.” It’s not good enough to say, “well she deserves it, she did it first”. We are about the extra step and the second mile.

Sometimes the enemy is not an individual but a whole category of people. For example, I may hear someone say that they hate and entire group of people.

Some war veterans, for example, have a hard time moving on from a hatred of someone they see as representing the enemy of recent, or even long-ago battles. Of course, it can be done. I’ve been in congregations which had WWII veterans from both the German and Canadian forces.

How do we show love to our neighbour who is nasty; how are we showing love to the community at large! We have many laws that force us, if not to love one another, but at least, to do them no harm. It is the socially responsible thing to do to fence your pool to prevent others from drowning, to obey the ban on using your fire-pit in forest-fire season, to sort your garbage, to obey the speed limit, and so on. These are not only examples of social responsibility, but also, of love. ((Now if we could just get those super noisy vehicles off the street!!!!)

Some will counter at least some of these examples by saying that “such a law infringes on my personal freedom.” Yet Canadian society, at least, is tempered by the principle of responsibility toward others.

COVID restrictions have caused a great deal of friction of late and I’m not just talking about the trucker convoy or the border blockades. It seems that many people have set up the government and the department of health as the enemy and themselves as “the good ones”. I would challenge those on both sides of the debate to look at it through the eyes of love. Love those who disagree with you! Love those who are weak and vulnerable.

Putting someone in danger is not the loving thing to do. We are called to protect others from the spread of this virus. It’s the loving thing to do!

Let’s talk about family for a bit. We all come from some kind of family and in families, things can happen which make it hard to love and to be loving. A parent appears to favour one child over another. Jealousy rears its head. One sibling tells a lie about another to gain advantage. The parents don’t see the lie or take sides unfairly. Economic circumstances change and those on differing sides of the divide cannot cope with the change. One sibling is a bully. One sibling is abused by the other. And on, and on, and on! Siblings become enemies. Jesus’ words are simple. “BE LOVING”.

Lets talk about when friends become enemies - the causes can be simple or very complex, Which one gets to date the good looking hockey player - which one gets the “one” full-ride scholarship that two or more students were vying for! And on and on and on. Friends become enemies. Jesus words are, “BE LOVING”.

Our Genesis reading about Joseph and his brothers, is the second to last part of a long, long story from the biblical book of Genesis.

But what happened in the family of Joseph and his brothers? Jacob had 12 sons but Joseph was the oldest son of his favourite wife and he was spoiled rotten! Spoiled. Rotten! The boy also had dreams and visions of grandeur and his half-brothers all resented him. Some were probably just waiting for a chance to “knock him off of his high horse”. They got that chance the day their father sent him to check up on his brothers. Dumb mistake dad! Really dumb mistake! Joseph went wearing his fancy many-coloured coat, a garment that indicted he was not expected to do any physical labour! In a fit of anger, jealousy and built-up resentment his brothers beat him up and threw him in a pit, planning to leave him to die.

One of his brothers has a crisis of conscience and persuades the others to sell him into slavery when they see a caravan approaching. They tell their father that he has been killed!

Joseph defies all the odds and rises to power. Again, that part is another long story. He is placed in charge of the food collection during the years of plenty and distribution in the years of famine; a cycle he had predicted. It was his management that ensured Egypt had food during the famine.

Meanwhile, back home, two years into the unexpected famine, his family are on the verge of starvation. Hearing there is food in Egypt, several of them go and see what they can buy. Joseph recognizes them and instead of punishing them, he keeps his identity a secret and puts them to a test to see if they have changed. They pass the test and today’s passage is the “big reveal”. All that has to happen now is for Joseph and his father to be reunited and be given land in Egypt. It’s a happy ending.

If you want an upbeat version of this story check out the musical version of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical-comedy, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” It’s been a favourite of mine since Junior High when I first heard it!

If the story of Joseph had been written by the four thousand year old mob version of The Godfather the brothers would all have realized who this Joseph was just before he had them all killed!

But this is not a story about the mafia, it is a story about enemies becoming family once again! It’s a story about reconciliation and forgiveness; a story about love,

How is it, specifically, that we are called to be loving? The question for many people comes down to “how will I use my power?” Will I use it for good or for evil? Don’t kid yourself, we all have power. There are people who have power by nature of their profession. We have heard a great deal in the last few years about police brutality, in particular toward people of colour. Police officers routinely carry guns, night sticks, tasers, pepper spray, handcuffs, and wear bullet proof vests and sturdy boots. Police Officers need to learn how to use and not abuse their power. Jesus words again, “BE LOVING”.

Teachers have power. Loans officers at a bank or Credit Union have power. Nurses and doctors have power. Parents have power, particularly over small children. And the list goes on. If we are one of the ones with power in a given situation, how do we use it. Jesus words again, “BE LOVING”.

The expression, and the attitude behind it, “that’s business” seems to make all sorts of shady tactics seem ok. A shopkeeper with a very successful business and deep pockets notices that a nearby store seems to have discovered a cash cow with his new pizza oven. The first guy is in a better location so he puts in a bigger and better pizza oven of his own. Soon he has most of the local pizza business. The response to charges of “unfair competition” is, “well, that’s business”. Is “business” in this case a loving action.

When I was in university there was a group of people very concerned about their rights, but some of us though their motto should be, “let‘s do it to them before they do it to us”.

If we are so concerned about our own “rights”, about “what is due to us,” then we will never stop keeping score. If we are obsessed with winning, we will have no room for love. Jesus said, “BE LOVING”.

Many, many years ago my grandmother and I were watching tv and a commercial came on. I have no idea what they were selling but the spoken caption was, “these children don’t just love their mom, they like her”. At the wise age of 5 or 6, I thought this was the dumbest thing I had ever heard and said so.

My grandmother, being older and wiser than I told me that sometimes “like” is stronger than “love”. Over the years I have thought about that conversation and realized my grandmother’s wisdom.

We sometimes get the two confused. I don’t like you so I’m going to do nothing good for you. No one can force me to like someone I don’t like. Can they?

Yet, each and ever time I allow the words of Jesus to seep into my heart and compel my actions toward the side of love, that very action chips away at my hard exterior and I change, sometimes only a little bit. But I find myself taking cookies to the curmudgeon down the street who knows nothing about being a good neighbour! With the cookies I take a smile and my hard exterior begins to melt. It’s not a “one of” thing but it is what is asked of us. It’s not an impossible dream. It is our calling! BE LOVING .

Amen.

February 27, 2022 - Transfiguration

Exodus 34: 29-35
Psalm 99
Luke 9: 28-36

So, That’s Who He Is!

Frequently, when I am watching a movie I realize that one of the actors seems familiar. If I can’t come up with a name or a previous role for that actor, on my own, I get out my cell phone and look up the movie I am watching on IMDB (International Movie Data Base) to see what else that actor has done, so that I can answer the question for myself. On this website you can see the name of every character in a movie or TV series and cross reference that with every show or movie the actor has been in. Sometimes I say, “Oh yes, I remember now!” At other times I come up empty or realize that I have confused two actors who seemed similar.

On the TV series, LOST, in about 2005, I thought an actor looked vaguely familiar but could not place him. The character, with a relatively small part in the series, was a cold and calculating con artist. It turns out I had last seen the actor on the TV show, Emergency, in the 1970s, but he had aged and his character was a totally different kind of person. In the 1970s role he was a kind and compassionate family man and paramedic.

With Transfiguration Sunday, we are at the end of our Epiphany journey, and along with his first followers and the crowds that were attracted to him, since he emerged from the wilderness and began to preach and teach, we have been wresting with the question of Jesus’ identity. Every so often we receive a new answer but then that often brings us a new question.

Who is this guy?

Where did he come from?

Isn’t he Mary’s son?

How is it that he sees these age old scriptures with such new eyes?

The disciples may have wondering who to ask, and what happens when the “go to” sources disagree? They may have been asking, “Why do some people feel so threatened by him when others feel so close to God when we are with him?”

It’s really hard for us to enter into the mystery and confusion felt by those disciples who were the actual witnesses to all of this, because Luke wrote his story when the early church had already figured this out. When Luke began his Gospel he had all the answers to the questions on the minds of those first followers. In fact, his entire gospel, and his sequel, the Book of Acts, are addressed to a mysterious person named, “Theophilus”. I don’t think scholars have a clue who he was and why Luke wrote for him; but we are glad he did!

When we open Luke’s Gospel we are invited to walk with him and discover all of this, over and over again, as if for the first time.

Sometimes though, the order in which things are heard in church is not helpful because the Lectionary (that list we use to chose our readings) does not go chronologically through the Gospel. And each gospel had a slightly different perspective and its own time line.

The story of today’s event is read every year, from either Matthew, Mark or Luke and we listen to the different perspective of each author.

We are here, on a mountaintop, with Peter, James and John, three of Jesus’ disciples. With them we heard him preach and saw him heal. With them we have been jostled by the crowds and have been surprised by the fear of some people. But after today’s event, I have a sense of foreboding; something is about to change. The disciples are silent. Is it fear? Is it a sense of danger approaching?

We all know that the same event covered by different reporters, and especially different networks can be very different and its much the same in the Gospels.

In the gospel of Luke there is one previous event that this one reminds me of, and that event is Jesus’ own baptism. At Jesus’ baptism, a heavenly voice proclaimed him as God’s son. Here, on this day, Jesus is proclaimed as God’s chosen, God’s son, and the hearer was commanded to listen to Jesus. But, it’s one of those things we don’t always notice, at Jesus’s baptism, IN LUKE’S GOSPEL, the words seem to be addressed TO Jesus while on this day they are addressed TO the three disciples who have accompanied. It’s a subtle, but important difference. It seems to me that Luke is telling us that Jesus grew in his own self-understanding while in the wilderness and in his early ministry, up to the time of this event. Perhaps, like Moses, Jesus had to wrestle with the question, “Who am I, that you have called me to this ministry?”

Now, God is ready for Jesus to “go public”; it’s time for the next step. God wants Peter and John and James to hear that Jesus is God’s son and that he bears listening to. What they had heard Jesus say recently was very disturbing and sounded more like defeat than victory. They had grown up with the hope of the messiah coming to save the people.

All their sources told them that the messiah was supposed to he a victorious leader who throw off the oppressors’ chains and make their nation great once again. They were told that his role was to be all about power and victory. Now they were disciples and had higher hopes - like all freedom movements there would be lots of perks to be handed out for the ones who had been with him all the way and taken on the risk of overthrowing the Romans. They may well have been looking for places in the front row. That was one thing that THEY had to learn - that those hopes would be dashed!

When they really thought about it, perhaps, Jesus sermons and sayings were not sounding like the disciples thought they would; perhaps they were already having serious doubts. This revelation gives them certainty, but opens new questions.

It is important to know why, perhaps, it was Moses and Elijah and not some other pairing of prophets. Why not Ezekiel or Jeremiah? As far as I know the consensus is that these two men were supposed to be the primary examples of the two main parts of their tradition - the law and the prophets. This event seems to be saying that in Jesus’ ministry and person there was a respect for both parts of the tradition and he had not come to dispense with one or the other.

The three disciples present on that day are confused and I can understand that. They are terrified and I can understand that as well! However, their reaction is to want to stay there with these two strangers, these two heros of old. They know they have more to learn and have more growing to do.

Their solution was to build a simple place for the three of them to stay. Perhaps they would have the opportunity to talk with the thee; to debate the finer points of theology such as free will, predestination and how could you really show love to a mortal enemy.

Yet they quickly found out they could not stay there and neither an we, when we have our mountaintop experiences. We will never achieve perfect certainty and if we do, we will be stuck on the mountaintop needing and craving more certainty and more revelation but with no way to live it out or communicate it with anyone.

Many years ago a friend of mine in university had a profound and mystical experience in which God became incredibly real to him. But when the experience ended he was “down” because he could not being it back or duplicate it. Perhaps he was afraid of it becoming a fading memory. He had to come down to earth and go to classes!

So, if we review what has just happened we realize that Jesus is being proclaimed as God’s son and that he bears listening to. And this is not the kind of listening that goes in one ear and out the other but one that changes one’s life.

Looking at just the past few weeks we have heard Jesus say some very counter cultural things; some very counter intuitive things! Jesus’ words leave us scratching our heads and sometimes leave us squirming in our seats. We are not meant to come to church to sit in comfortable pews!

What should make us uncomfortable today?

I believe that it is a denial of the Gospel when we think we don’t have to pay any attention to the reality of the ever widening gap between rich and poor. As Christians, it is most certainly our business!

Some churches proclaim what is termed, “a prosperity Gospel”. This is the gospel where you are told, “wealth us a sign and reward for faithfulness.” I disagree most heartily. We do not follow Jesus to become rich in material goods. Wealth is not a sign of God’s blessing and poverty is not a sign of God’s curse. Wealth, in and of itself, is not bad BUT if you made that wealth by taking advantage of vulnerable people, by “making a killing” in business or by paying employees poverty wages, for example, I would question your commitment to the Gospel.

To use last week’s example, “if you do everything you can to make the life of your enemy miserable”, I question your commitment to the Gospel.

I think that there are two basic ways to make money. One is to earn it from a job. The second is to invest and earn a dividend from the profit of a company. One my own personal questions is: “why investors are more important than employees”. If I invest in a company that makes really cool cat pyjamas why should my dividends be more important than the seamstresses who make these feline outfits? Surely there must be some more balance in these things than there seems to be these days!

Among other things, the gospel calls us to make a difference in the lives of others. Some people believe the church should not meddle in politics or economics, but I know of at least one case where the people directly affected by a certain company’s practices are suffering, and have asked churches and church members to sell their shares in that company because of the suffering and human rights violations. This was only after other methods of persuasion had fallen on deaf ears.

When people are being hurt we should not only speak against it, but do something - individually and socially.

Some of the people opposed to Jesus were very concerned about individual morality and not very much concerned about social responsibility. Jesus accused them of “straining our the gnat and swallowing the camel”.

Lent is a time for us to re-assess our lives, from top to bottom and to listen to Jesus as he teaches about the unconditional love of God and demands of the Gospel.

Will you journey with me, and be prepared for new insights and understandings.

Amen.