2 Corinthians 12: 2-10
Psalm 48
Mark 6: 1-13

“You Can’t Stay Here!”

I don’t really know about here, I’ve not been here long enough, but where I come from, rural people have a wariness about so-called “experts”. An “expert” is usually an “educated person from some other place” who comes and try to change things. In the Maritimes people are either “from here” or “from away”. Perhaps this person from away is an agricultural specialist with a new sowing or tilling method! Or an engineer who has a solution to a road flooding problem or even a fix to a problem we did not know we had in the first place!

However if that “educated person” who comes and tries to change things is not “from away”, it can almost be worse! These home grown experts are remembered for their family connections, for their teenaged antics, for the worst and oddest things they ever did. Their abilities are limited to their family history and the community’s expectations. While everyone knows, more or less, that “they have done well”, many people would look at them upon their return and say, ‘look at her, putting on airs. She thinks she’s better than we are!” It’s a natural reaction, but a frustrating one for people who have been gifted with certain skills and feels they can contribute something. Then again, some of them ARE putting on airs and like nothing better than to brag about their achievements and honours!

When I was first ordained, the last place I wanted to go was PEI. Part of it was that I felt that I needed to forge my own identity and I thought that being seen as “Mark’s little girl” was not going to be helpful. I didn’t want him to hear from relatives about how my church was going and then offer comments that might start an argument! There were only around 26 churches in the province anyway!

When I did move to PEI, I felt I was ready. One day I went to visit in the local hospital and found a patient sent there to recover from surgery and did not need to be taking up a bed in the larger city hospital about an hour away. I went into the room and began to tell them that I was the local minister and visiting all the United Church folks from out of town, but before I could get that all said, the patients husband said, “oh you are Frank’s sister”! In PEI, you can’t get away from family!!!!! I came thousands of kilometres to Saskatchewan and found a long-lost relative living across the street.

Pause

We have been following Jesus on his preaching journeys for a few weeks now. We have seen him going to and fro and performing miracles and preaching and are told that he attracted great crowds. Yet, when he goes home to Nazareth the reception he receives is “frosty” shall we say. Why? Well, I guess he was from the wrong side of the tracks to have become a preacher! He was from the wrong family. He is the carpenter! His brothers and sisters are known to everyone. He is Mary’s son!

Sometimes we miss the obvious. Let’s pause a moment and note that the text says that one of the objections to him is that he is MARY’s son, not the son of Joseph! The word on the street has probably always been that his parentage is dubious and all of that taken together is enough reason to reject him. He made a fine carpenter, but a preacher - that was going too far! He may have been attempting to rise above his station! As the expression goes. The cultural expectations in Nazareth ran deep and he did not belong there as a preacher. It offended their sense of honour! In that time and place honour and shame were an important part of the cultural fabric; it was no small thing.

They probably would never think of doing what we might do, ie, pay polite lip service and give him the same sort of kind words we give young people when we really don’t know what else to say, and wish them well in their career - glad that their career would take them somewhere else! But on this day they were quite vocal and - he was almost powerless. His response, as recorded in the Gospel, about prophets being without honour has become part of the vocabulary of our own culture! Jesus seems quite deflated by this rejection and was not able to do much.

We must remember thought that it speaks more to their lack of faith in the power of God to work through this preacher from Nazareth than it does about Jesus himself.

However, he did not stop there! He did not go home and have a “pity party” and Mary did not cook him his favourite meal as consolation! Jesus moved on.

The passage continues on to tell us that he sent the disciples out with instructions to travel light, walk in faith, and to preach and heal. Turns out that they were able to what he could not, at home, as they worked in pairs to continue his work of healing and preaching - they preached about repentance, which means “turning and going in a new direction”. They were able to cast out demons, in other words to remove those forces that kept them from being the people God had called them to be.

2,000 years later, we are those disciples who are charged with the task of proclaiming the Gospel.

One of the questions Jesus often asked was, “what do you want me to do for you”. You might think that the answer should be obvious but it has to be spoken, to be said out loud. “I want to see”. “I want to walk”. And it is unspoken, “I believe you can do this for me!”

Most of us, I think, “want COVID to be over”; we want to be free of the restrictions, and for life to go back to normal. It’s way too hot and we are tired and cranky. We don’t want to take anything else on! When COVID is behind us we want a few months of nothing taxing. I have a fridge magnet of a kitten, all wrapped up against the big bad world who says, “tomorrow I want to get up and find nothing on the internet but cat videos. Just cat videos!” We know though that life does not work like that!

Our indigenous brothers and sisters are carrying out for the healing work of the church. Now that we finally have to admit the horrors that went on in the past, we have to notice, to apologize and to repair the damage.

And we have places like Lytton BC coping with fires that have destroyed their entire town. They need the help of the rest of Canada to restore their community.

When I was in theological I learned something about residential schools and I learned about the Church’s apology to our First Nations People. I believe our first apology was in 1986. I was about to begin my last year of my MDiv. There have been many developments over the past 35 or so years in our “official” relationships, both within the United Church and as a nation, but somehow most of the people in the pews managed to never really paid much attention; it was not on our collective radar. It’s not that we didn’t care but I think that we all thought it was too long ago and we’d all just better move on. However the only interests that were being met in that course of action was the ones among us who are descended from the “settlers”.

Then, few weeks ago, 215 graves were discovered on the site of a former residential school. Then more and more were found elsewhere. Then hundreds more. And somehow these children became real. I think we’ve finally gotten it.

BUT, as I have said before, lets not move too quickly to what we might think of as healing. Our task right now is to sit and listen. It’s hard work listening to stories of grief and loss. It’s hard work asking what is needed and then taking the answer seriously. Like the disciples we are meant to travel light, and realize that the solutions we seek may have an unexpected cost to us.

Someone once said that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is this year.

Yes, we should have dome something long ago. We should have listened and paid attention and showed we cared. But we cannot change the past; we can only act in the present and the future. We can listen now; we can tell the government to stop fighting the settlements that have been held up in court and be prepared to change things. Change and healing will go together.

A fellow student was on his internship and the manse committee hired a painter to paint the living room. My classmate came home to find the painter looking through his closet - which was not on the list to be painted! He said, “Mister, you don’t have to go home but you cant stay here”. My classmate was outspoken, to say the least!

We have reached the point where we have been told, we can’t go home AND we CANT STAY HERE. We need to go forward in faith, paying more attention to the power of God at work to heal than the opposition and un-belief of those around us.

So let us journey to new places and seek new insights into the dilemma that has faced this country for centuries. Let us be part of forging a new way forward, a way of healing and justice.

In all of this and all of our lives let us trust in the God who has called us into relationship.

Amen.

Ephesians 1: 3-14
Psalm
Mark 6: 14-29

The Cost of Prophecy

The other day a Presbyterian colleague I have known since High school, posted about a recent sermon on Facebook. As he explained, the Holy Spirit had been nagging him for over a month to preach on the housing crisis in his town of Cornwall, ON and in Canada in general. He had tried to avoid it, telling the Holy Spirit to “buzz off” and leave him alone, (those were his own words) but after several weeks of having articles about the matter practically drop into his lap, he gave way to the Spirit’s nudging, and let ‘er rip! I believe he talked about greed being at the root of the crisis as landlords seek to cash in on the short-term rental market. An unforseen consequence of that move is that housing has become increasingly unafordable, especially for first-time home buyers. In many areas, even a basic home now sells at what used to be “luxury prices.”

In response to his sermon, a member of his congregation decided to write a letter to the local paper on the housing crisis and another church member emailed him congratulating him on naming the corporate greed behind the crisis. He didn’t think he would ever hear a preacher call it like it was!

The phrase we have been using in clergy circles for some time is, “speaking truth to power.” Exactly what that looks like for a particular prophet depends on the context.

Many, many years ago a young woman was in her probationary period in nursing school. She was assigned to watch a sleeping patient who was in recovery from having his tonsils removed. She may have been what nursing schools used to call “a probie” but she did have some experience with sick relatives. She went to the head nurse and said that her patient was haemorrhaging. The nurse rushed over and seeing no blood said something like, “don’t be foolish there would be blood if he was haemorrhaging”. A second and third time the student bothered the nurse with her worry and, frustrated, she turned and saw an intern walking through the ward. Addressing him she said, “please show this probie that the patient is not haemorrhaging” and she handed him a tongue depressor. As soon as he put the tongue depressor on the patient’s tongue, the blood shot out like a geyser! The situation was quickly dealt with by the doctors but no word of praise or apology was ever given to the young student who had to clean the blood off the lamp on the wall above the bed!

Today’s Gospel passage is told as a “flashback”. When the people are musing that Jesus is “a prophet of old returned from the dead”, the king, with a massive guilty conscience, is sure that it is “the Baptizer” who has returned. Using the “flashback technique”, the author of Mark’s gospel fills us all on on what happened to John! John spoke truth to power, and in the end it cost him dearly. You see Herod, like some powerful men, thought he could marry whomever he pleased. Herod is being told by this wild-man preacher that what he had done by marrying his brother’s wife was against the law of God. Herod became angry and threw John in jail but that was all he was prepared to do because he knew John was a prophet; he knew John was right and he did not have to dig all that deep to realize that.

Herod’s wife had no such reservations and looked for an opportunity to get John once and for all. She took advantage of his rash nature and his need to appear to be a powerful ruler when in the presence of powerful people; Herod’s honour was at stake and John paid the price.

We all know about the consequences of speaking truth to power, even though we may not think of it in those terms.

Here in Saskatchewan we depend so much on oil that its hard to envision any kind of change without fear. My grandparents farmed four quarters of land south of Regina. Now most farmers who are earning their living from farming are farming many times that and, of course, none are doing it with horses! All over Canada governments have encouraged farmers to “go big or get out” which means different kinds of farming tied more and more to technology and mechanization.

In much of Canada there is an increasing gulf between people who earn their living from the land and the sea and those whose livelihoods are further removed. In PEI the Green party took the town areas (its hard to speak “seriously” of “urban areas” in PEI because it’s all so small! I remember the day when Prime Minister Truedeau PET referred to Charlottetown as a community - not a city) but the PCs took the rural areas as the people more tied to farming saw what more stringent regulations over farming practices might cost them.

It’s about change and fear of change. It’s about the fear of losing in a world where only the strongest survive, let alone thrive!

I believe we are at the beginning of another revolution as significant as the industrial revolution. We are realizing that our western levels of consumption are killing the planet and at least some are willing to make the needed changes. Some are working a different angle. Instead of staying home more or living more simply they are looking for technologies that don’t change life substantially but which leave a much smaller carbon footprint.

If we think that these things don’t have anything to do with a relationship with Jesus, which some people call “Christianity”, we are forgetting that the Old Testament has a lot of rules that ensure the rich don’t take advantage of the poor and the prophets were more often than not called to speak about abuses of power. Jesus himself often talked about money and about justice.

We all too often think of the church as shaming people into good behaviour. The 10 Commandments have become a morality code. These “10 words” are and have always been about so much more than that. They are primarily an outline for a social structure of justice and righteousness of a God who allows freedom only within defined parameters.

So many of the unrest in society lately, (other than COVID regulations) is about justice issues. In this case it seems that the parishioners of the average United Church could ignore these concerns, or dismiss them in various ways. The 1% movement which pointed put how the vast majority of the wealth in the world is held by a small number of people seems to have faded into the background but little has changed. If we look at the popularity of tv shows such as Dragons’ Den, we see how enamoured we are with the very rich and desire to get that “one thing” off the ground so that we can not only “make a living” but become fabuously wealthy, just like them. A few years ago, one of the dragons in addressing an “inventor looking for money” said something like, “All I care about is the money”. Do we really want that to be the focus of our life and work?

The Black Lives Matter Movement has sought to make us aware of systemic racism.

And now the so-called discovery of the graves of so many children has awakened us to the racist policies which made colonization of Canada possible. Unless we are indigenous, we are the beneficiaries of the policies that cleared the land for us and for agriculture and mining and forestry and other things we call, “progress”.

As the summer wears on and we hear report after report of the discovery of more graves we are called to first, listen to the pain, and second, to take those tears and transform them into helpful actions.

Someone once said that the role of a preacher is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. That sounds like the role of a prophet as well.

Prophets in Canada have it easier than in some places in the world. Preachers who speak against the oil and gas industry and big agriculture might get frozen out of their church or fired but I haven’t heard of any who got executed.

Through our overseas partners we work with indigenous communities in other places where this is not the case. Before we become smug, the financial interests they are criticizing are sometimes Canadian companies with Canadian shareholders. Our environmental regulations prohibit many practices so we just move operations to countries whose corrupt governments don’t care about the environment, or their indigenous people and just want the tax money.

Speaking of oil and gas, the various pipelines have become hot button issues. What is needed and so few have the will to do is to build pipelines to take to water to the first nations communities whose water supplies have been contaminated by our industries.

It’s a rare tragedy that does not teach us something. Buildings fall down because someone cut corners that they thought no one would notice - perhaps that is the case with that well-known condo building in Florida where many are missing and presumed dead. So new regulations and levels of inspection and of maintenance will come about. And of course it will cost more and some-developers will try to get around the regulations!

A friend and I went to NYC a few years ago and at least 2 of our tour guides said that because Manhattan is built on a kind of rock called, “shist” they can build the tallest buildings in the world without fear of them collapsing. A Florida beachfront may be somewhat different.

It reminds me of the parable of Jesus and the children’s song about it being wise to build on rock.

With the number of people who are “fully vaccinated” rising we are getting closer and closer to the time when we have to worry less and less about COVID. Many people are hoping for a return to “normal.” BUT we actually need to ask the question, “Do we really want to return to the normal of the winter of 2019 and before?” Or are there things that this pandemic has taught us; forced changes that we want to keep, voluntarily?

Do we want to be as busy as we were?

Do we want to consume as much as we did?

Do we want to be as wrapped up in our own lives and as unaware of others as we were?

What is the vision we have of our future? What would it look like if we listened to all of those prophetic voices telling us that life could be better, that some are crying out for justice and it is in our power to grant it. Is it a future of prosperity for us or one of justice for all, including our plant. Many of the choices are in our hands.

Amen.

Ephesians 2: 11-22
Psalm 89
Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56

The Word on the Street!

Remember the TV show, Newhart? It ran from 1982 to 1990 and featured Bob Newhart who played Dick Louden, a writer of “how to” books and the owner of the Stratford Inn, located in a sleepy little, unnamed, town in Vermont. George Utley was a local who seemed to spend all his time hanging out at the inn to do odd jobs and pass the time! In at least one episode he was going on and on about “the word on the street”. Dick became frustrated with this and finally asked, “George, just where is this street you keep talking about?”

In today’s gospel passage we see the results of “the word on the street” in Jesus’ life and work. Word has spread; the the people seem to be able to find out where Jesus is and where he is going and they find him, again and again! In this passage we can see “hints” of other passages and other events. People have heard that he is a healer and want just to touch his robe, which, of course, reminds us of the healing of the un-named woman, smack in the middle of the story of the story of the healing of the daughter of Jairus. His popularity is increasing and life becomes more chaotic. They don’t even have time to eat. I have a friend who frequently posts on Facebook about teaching 5 year olds and how satisfying it is to see them grow and change in their first year of school. She does note that having a lunch break or bathroom break of her own is not possible on many days, especially in the early months each year. While it is not unique to her profession, by any means, that is TOO busy!

Jesus, ever calm, ever compassionate, sees them as “sheep without a shepherd” and teaches them even though he had been planning an “escape” because they had been so, so busy and needed a rest.

So an ambiguity is built into the first part of this passage. They should have been able to get away and recharge their spiritual and physical batteries.

One of my favourite shows is “Blue Bloods,” which follows a multi-generational family of police officers in New York City. The most important event in the life of this family is Sunday dinner, where they all get together to break bread, catch up on each other’s lives, and to talk about truly meaningful stuff. The commissioner knows that t keeps him sane and grounded.

Sitting around the table most Sunday evenings are the grandfather and patriarch, the retired police commissioner, the main character and current police commissioner and his children who are all police officers except for one who is an Assistant District Attorney and the teenaged children who provide a variety of opinions and comments. They are all well aware of what is happening on the streets of that city. They are also aware that they work in fields that can make a significant difference in the lives of those they encounter on a daily basis.

One of the things that many months of COVID has taught us is the importance of simpler things. COVID taught us the importance of family and close friends. When we could not go out and about like we used to we found more time for family, especially for those who needed extra support. While we found ways to shop online we also realized that we could survive and thrive with less of all of that. I talked to the car dealer the other day and lots and lots of people are going longer and longer between oil changes simply because they are not driving like they used to! It took a lot of adjusting but we did learn to trust that there would be more toilet paper and disinfecting wipes in the store the next time we went, we did not have to buy it all today. Remember when there was a shortage of flour and yeast! People were home or working from home and they started to bake. The smell of baking bread and fresh cookies began to waft through people’s kitchens. We know that bread takes time and some tending. You gotta be around to “punch it down” between raisings!

In COVID people began to have simpler routines - not that the change was easy but many people were forced them to “stay the blazes” home (as the former NS premier suggested). Perhaps, more than a few people realized they didn’t have to be go - go-going all the time!

The question is: do we really want to go back to the way things were? Before March of 2019? I heard on the radio the other day that more and more people are going to be asking their employers if they can still work from home - at least part of the time - they like it much better!

The gospel passage could be seen as a simple story about the unique powers of Jesus but for me, what is important, is the message for us as individuals and as the church in this year - 2021 !

We need to ask ourselves several questions first. For what did people seek out Jesus in this passage?

and

For what do they come to the church, or rather “ask of the church”?

On that long ago day I believe people were looking for authentic and relevant preaching and they were looking for healing. It seems that the religious leadership had lost touch with the people and they followed Jesus because his message was truly relevant to their lives. He clearly had a relationship that made a difference. They experienced the holy when they were with him in a way that they did not elsewhere. He did not erect impossible barriers to faithfulness in the same ways their religious tradition had been interpreted by some of their leaders. You could help a neighbour on the Sabbath. Love was his mantra, not the syrupy romantic kind we might think of, but the self giving kind we all know about, if we really think about it. He did not reject people because of past behaviours or circumstances beyond their control. The gospel story makes clear his own love and compassion for those who flocked to him to hear an authentic word from God.

Now to answer the question about why people come to the church. What do they want and need? We need first to clarify that “church” does not mean just, “this sweet hour of prayer” that we are having right now. People, “yuze guys,” come here for a variety of reasons: to hear an excellent choir (we will have that soon), the reading and interpretation of scripture, fellowship and community, to see our friends, to interact with our community’s children, to have a quiet place to sit for a while, to hear a challenge or comfort for the week, to have an opportunity for serving the wider community or out of habit and the list could go on. But that is one hour a week!

But we need to go the next step and determine what others want or ask. When COVID closed us down we stopped our Relief Fund efforts and channelled all requests to the local Salvation Army who are better equipped to handle the extra traffic involved. I hope we will soon be back to a more normal relief fund and to our Matthew 25 meals. They are two things that help the vulnerable and help those with various needs to get together for a good meal and some fellowship.

I think people come to us looking for acceptance and a warm welcome. City churches have “come in from the cold” programs where the homeless, the lonely and the poorly housed can have a cup of coffee, a cookie, and a place to sit and be for awhile. Homelessness is a complex problem and homeless people have complex needs. Churches have long been a part of addressing that problem and welcoming the people who are caught up in that.

We have complex problems in our community - even before COVID hit. Like many communities, the opiate crisis has affected many lives. Poverty and , many issues that come with a large indigenous population. The discovery of many graves of indigenous children will have ramifications we cannot yet imagine as we seek to go forward in healthy ways.

In ageing congregations we can often feel overwhelmed by the many needs we feel called to address. For many churches, “keeping the doors open” is all they can manage - and that is enough if the people who go in and out of the doors make a difference in their community during the week.

For the rest of the church we need to ask how our worship and our resources can be healing and life giving, both for us and for those we encounter. Do we have sufficient time to truly reflect on what it important in our ministry or do we go from event to event and task to task because it’s what we’ve always done? Do we resent those from outside who make demands but no contributions?

I read something a long time ago that talked about the church as the only group that existed for others, not for itself and when I read that I was saddened by the feeling that it’s all too often, not true but it should be.

The lazy, hazy and hot as blazes summer days may be an opportunity for us to contemplate what the vision and mission of our congregations are. What do we want our ministry to look like and be, come fall?

What will the “word on the street” be about our church? A caring compassionate community of faith? Or a church more concerned with itself than others? When people come to us and when we gather is there an experience of Christ’s love and healing power?

Amen.

Ephesians 3: 14-21
Psalm 14
John 6: 1-21

Somewhere at home, in P.E.I., is a photograph of my sister, about age 3, wearing a red candy stripe dress, crouching down and looking intently at something in the oven. On the face of it, the photograph leaves us wondering what a child could possibly find so fascinating about something in the oven? Life on P.E.I. in the 70s could be kind of boring, I know, but really! However, I remember the day and taking the picture. Our Mom had just put one of those self-saucing puddings in the oven; you know the kind - where you pour a thin sweet sauce on top of a thick batter full of raisins and put it in the oven. As the pudding cooks the dough rises through the sauce blob by blob and in the end a thick sauce lies underneath a moist cake which is browned on the top. These days you can buy them as a mix but this one was certainly from scratch!

I often marvel at the ability of children to see what we as adults have stopped noticing. Sometimes we see this childhood ability as quaint! But I think we adults have lost something as we matured. What do we see, but not really see? Rainbows? Sunrises? Sunsets? A calm lake in a canoe? A field in bloom? Butterflies? Apple Blossoms? An elderly couple, long married, looking at one another, sill in awe? What have we lost in the dismissal of such things as commonplace and no longer worthy of our notice?

A number of years ago, I was listening to some people who had been sent overseas for church mission work and the advice they were given, was “take all the pictures of stuff you think the folks home in Canada would find interesting or unique within the first few months” because after that it will look normal to you and you will say, “oh no one would be interested in that!”

Today’s story of the miraculous feeding is told in all of the gospels, each in a slightly different way, of course! It’s probably one of the stories we learned as children, but when we think about it today we may well take a, “that was then and this is now” attitude. We firmly believe that it would never happen again! In doing so, we dismiss its power to change and transform our lives in the here and now.

As our gospel story continues from day to day we are told that Jesus is becoming more and more popular. People are flocking to hear him and Jesus and his disciples are becoming very tired. The crowds are amazed at what he has done and see it as a sign that he is a prophet, or that he is the messiah or that, at the very least, they can receive what they need when they are in his presence. They are so “rapt” that they forget about important things such as “meal time” and packing a lunch, if they had any food in the house to begin with! Remember these folks lived from day to day, on subsistence wages!

I think it is important that John mentions that the Passover is near. The festival of Passover recalled that time when Moses led the people from slavery in Egypt into the desert and to freedom. They were instructed to have a meal of roast lamb and to smear the blood of the lamb on their doorways. Gross, I know! It is called Passover because the angel of death passed over the houses marked with the blood of that newly killed lamb. The blood served as protection and after the many deaths in the Egyptian population that very evening were discovered the people left amid the ensuing chaos. This festival was celebrated every year as a sign that God was with the people and indeed made them a people united and identified by that “great escape”.

So again, I believe the gospel writer sees Jesus’ feeding of all these people was a sign that God was with the people as God had been all those generations before.

Our 21st century, rational, minds want to know what happened on that long ago day in the gospel story? Did the boy’s sharing make the people who had packed a lunch feel they should share with those who had not? Was it a symbolic satisfaction? Did someone realize they could get free delivery with an order that size and they pooled their spare change?

Many of us want to find a rational explanation for these events as they are recorded in the Bible. What actually happened? But, I wonder, in the face of not knowing, can we modern people, sit in the awe for just long enough to overcome the obstacles and difficulties with a literal interpretation, of this passage in order to find a deeper meaning?

We deal with these kinds of things all the time, on a number of levels. Take human life and reproduction, for example. Doctors and geneticists can explain conception, fetal development and all of that, but does that really satisfy the heart and soul when we pause to wonder. When we look at a baby in awe, when we look at that child and not only see Grampa but “sense” him as well, are we not looking at a miracle? I would say that a miracle is not something that is impossible but an event through which we can know mystery and experience the holy?

I recall visiting an older woman one day and her grandson came in to talk to her. It was not long before I was able to see very clearly that all of the teenager’s mannerisms spoke of his father - the way he sat and put his elbows on his knees and the way he talked and the way he gestured. It was so obvious to me that I had a hard time not mentioning it and I almost laughed! Perhaps it takes someone outside the family to see it, but it was there. In my own family, there are photographs which show my dad OR My brother, at similar ages, and in similar poses, and sometimes you need to look around in the photograph to determine who, exactly, is in the picture. Genetics can explain it - but in the end, I prefer awe and mystery and marveling at all these things.

The well known poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:

“Earth’s crammed with heaven
and every common bush afire with God
And only he who sees takes off his shoes
The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries. “	

When we look at ourselves and at our church what do we expect to see? Do we waste our time picking blackberries or do we see the common bushes afire with God’s presence, God’s call and God’s possibility. I don’t know any church that has all the resources they want, including our own. We may wish that a certain family had not moved away. We wish that had a few more young families. And we go on to wish that we were all were 20 years younger. If only we had a few more good givers? You know the tape that plays every time we meet to envision our future and our outreach. “It’s a good idea but we just can’t do it!”

Shock and awe is a tactic in war in which a more powerful army shows the much less powerful one that could easily totally and completely annihilate them. It is supposed to end war quickly and in the end, limit casualties. I believe the term came into common language during the Gulf War, which was, what, about 30 years ago? Somehow, I don’t think it worked the way the then President thought it would!

When we look at many of the miracle stories do we react in fear, feeling, “Oh wow. What just happened? Let’s not mess with power like that. Are we “scared to death” over God mighty acts or are we in a different kind of awe?

What do these stories really instill in us? With today’s story are we left with nothing special (a “MEH”) or with a sense that the grace of God will still multiply the loaves and fishes so that thousands may be fed.

I wonder about the disciples’ attitude. They were certain that they did not have enough; they were operating from an assumption about scarcity - of “not enough” and even of “not nearly enough”.

One of the ways we cope with a feeling of scarcity is hoarding. Look at what happened to toilet paper last spring! People were so afraid of not having enough that they bought it all up and there was nothing left for anyone else. Retailers tried to limit the quantity one could purchase in order that all might have at least some.

The other way is, of course, to stop sharing and reaching out and giving. “We need it for us and for our family and we don’t have any extra - we need to keep it for ourselves, just in case”.

The bottom line for us is, “are we a people of scarcity or of abundance”?

Perhaps the problem with people in general and with church folks these days is that we have become too accustomed to seeing life as ordinary and as “same old, same old.” Even we church people have forgotten the awe and forgotten to expect amazing things. In so doing we are short-sighted, we forget to see life and ministry with the eyes of faith.

“If our God Had Simply Saved Us” is a lively 15 verse hymn in Voices United - yes, 15 verses - which reminds us of God’s mighty acts in the past and it expresses the faith that yes, not only has God done these things, God has done even MORE. I warn you that we are going to sing it soon, maybe not all 15 verses at once though!

When we are talking about faith we are always challenged to live out of an atmosphere and expectation of abundance. We have to stop settling for scarcity. We have to drive the phrases “we can’t” and “We don’t have enough” from our vocabulary. We are asked to believe that miracles will come of our efforts if we give up the idea of scarcity and act in faith, giving all and trusting.

The boy’s action of sharing is an intrinsic part of this miracle. Since I have come here I have seen abundance come from this people of faith. How abundant was our tower of pasta, well over 6 feet of macaroni and cheese - how abundant was our cereal and our pyramid of peanut butter.

Jesus looked at the hungry thousands and where the disciples saw impossibility he saw generosity and possibility.

When we open the doors to those who need our relief fund or to our Matthew 25 events or for whatever reason people come, will we think “not enough” or will we think, and say, “welcome, there is plenty to go around”? Will we be amazed by the things that can happen or will we carefully mete out our meager offerings.

One day many years ago my older cousin was given the job of handing out the after dinner candy to the family. “One for you, and one for you” she said until almost the end and she looked at the remaining candy and the remaining relatives and realized that she would run out and there would not be one for her.

Do we worry about being left out or do we trust that there will be one for us. Perhaps I’ll end with the words of St Augustine, over 1500 years ago, “Without God we cannot, without us, God will not.”

So let us seek to live the truth that when we act and place our trust in a God of abundant blessings, great things happen.

Amen.

Ephesians 4: 1-16
Psalm 51
John 6: 24-35

The Food That Endures

As I told the young people earlier, I love food, but will admit that it’s not necessarily the food I should be eating! Give me a BBQ chicken pizza - the few peppers and the BBQ sauce count as vegetables, right? You may remember when George Bush tried to get ketchup declared a vegetable. I think it was because schools were supposed to serve vegetables and if ketchup was there for the french fries, it would count as a vegetable!!!! Back to my pizza; the cheese is a dairy product, and the chicken is protein, and the crust, needed carbs? I’ll add a tall glass of skim milk and I have more calcium. Or, give me a Black Angus sandwich on cheese bread from Quiznos which has mushrooms, and onions (which are vegetables) on it, or when I have time I enjoy a home made Pork Wellington with roast potatoes and mushroom gravy and several friends to help me eat it. Lots of good nutrition in that especially if I add broccoli or carrots to the menu.

As a university student with the “munchies” ordering a super donair from Pizza Delight was a regular occurrence for our “awake late at night and avoiding studying” get togethers in the residence - for both universities! Alas, nobody here has heard of the various “donair options” I enjoyed in the Maritimes! Food is very important to university students.

Cheesecake is a “go to” desert and Nanaimo Bars will do as well. If my brother’s in-laws are having a gathering you can guarantee lots and lots of very good food. I could go on, but I might make you all hungry enough to want to get up and leave before the service ends.

The story of the feeding of thousands was last Sunday’s story from John’s gospel and today’s is a follow up on that. It seems that Jesus is not at all interested in becoming some kind of vending machine or fast-food restaurant! He’s not a short order cook! He wants to take people from an experience of being fed with physical food to the experience living in the light of his teachings; an experience that will stay with them, or, really, “stick to their ribs” as the expression goes.

John’s gospel always seems to remember Jesus teachings in poetic and somewhat convoluted images. Sometimes I wish he would get to the point; but I am enough in love with the poetic heart that I am glad that he did not!!!!! The story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well also uses the same device: in that case water and living water were images that were played off against each other. When we are reading John’s gospel we are always operating on several levels of meaning at once.

Was it last year that someone started a food truck business that moved around town depending on the day. If you were hungry, I suppose you could have driven around to find it, or looked for its location on -5- Facebook, or your friend could text you and say it was parked by the pool or outside the library and you could go for a fresh burger and fries or whatever you were craving! I prefer a bricks and mortar restaurant or one whose location is a given - such as the one that used to park outside the hospital where I was taking a course! Sometimes someone will introduce you to a new food and then you have to have it, again and again. I think it was like that with the ginger beef at the Sunrise. I can hardly go a week without it - but before long, I suspect there will be some new craving.

What would entice you to go in search of something that was so good in the past? When I do get to the Maritimes I have a list of must eat foods that I cant get here and I’ll be just like any other tourist! Eek!

In today’s text from John’s gospel the crowds are following Jesus and are upset that he has eluded them. As John, the Gospel writer indicates, Jesus suspects that they are looking for another miracle; for another free meal. Of course they need physical food to sustain their bodies but Jesus does not want to be a cafeteria, he wants them to come and listen to what will bring them true life. Jesus’ own mission was to show and teach about abundant life - the kind which could not be found in a grocery store or drawn from a well.

The term “rice Christian” was coined at the beginning of the last century, in the days of Christian missions in Asia. The missionaries brought food and other necessities to help the poor in these countries and the people readily converted. However, as prosperity increased they needed the church less and less for their daily bread (or rice) and the churches realized that they had just converted for the food, rather than any other kind of abundant life.

Mainline Christian organizations warned against the kind of evangelism that played on these needs instead of converting the heart to the way of Jesus.

I wonder, how many plastic cards you have in your wallet or purse? Reward programs are very popular these days. Almost every chain store has one and most credit cards do as well! Spend a dollar and get a point; get a billion points and you get a free egg beater, or toaster or gas card or something else. Yoiu can even use your government issued seniors card to get seniors discounts. I won’t go into the kinds of data collection that happen in the background with these programs, but as they say, “there is no such thing as a free lunch”!

Former US President, John F Kennedy is known for this quote, “ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”

Near the beginning of WW2 the new British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in a speech to his Cabinet and later to the House of Commons is recorded as having said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” As we know, victory did come but at a very high cost for the people of the tiny Island which headed a vast emipre.

We are in an age when the question is often, “What do I get out of this? What are the benefits?” “What’s in it for me?” Perhaps the panedmic has changed us somewhat but since restrictions have been lifted what I see is many people trying as hard as they can to get back to normal. Have we slowed down and become kinder and more compassionate? Have we continued to delight in the simpler things or are we trying to put this all behind us as a bad memory?

This leads me to ask the question about Christian faith and commitment and I will even be so radical as to suggest that some are “in it” for the promise of a narrow definition of eternal life. We want to go to heaven instead of hell which is why they believe in Jesus.

I would contend that this was never the product that Jesus was offering. He was offering a way and fullness of life that has as much to do with the here and now as as it did with what might be called, “pie in the sky”.

We need to ask ourselves, “Why are involved in Christian community?” A few years ago I was listening to someone complain about their church and how it didn’t give them anything “to get them through the week.” The congregation was tired and looking for “someone else” to do just about everything for them. They wanted more people in the pews and, of course, the money that came with them, instead of looking at the resources they already had and building on them. They wondered why people did not flock to a congregation that was basically an extended family who looked at outsiders as “fresh meat”. “Good those are folks who can keep this church open - we have run out of energy”.

Jesus mission was about an active faith in which people LIVED out the love of God in their lives. Trust for Jesus was an active thing, a verb with a mission statement and with “marching orders”. He did not tell stories about the transforming power of the Spirit so that it would all be accomplished like it is in the tales of -12- “fairy godmothers” that we all heard as children. Rub the magic cross and your life will be perfect.

Indeed the “fair weather Christians” believe that being Christian is a guarantee of health, wealth and happiness” and when it does not come they sometimes leave the church, or are even made to feel that they have committed some hidden sin!

Jesus is looking for people to live out his teachings of love of God, love of neighbour and love of self and to find in that the presence of the holy and a community that will sustain them, through the thick and thin. In the early church there were some pretty heavy consequences for going against the common expectations and following “the Way” of Jesus.

As we prepare to gather at our virtual table, I pray that our fellowship and this symbolic food will sustain us for anything and anywhere our journey may take us.

Amen.

Esther
Psalm 124
Mark 9: 38-50

For Such a Time as This!

About 20 years ago, when I was living in New Brunswick, a man and his young grandson took on the job of vacuuming their small country church in preparation for the Sunday service. Well, actually, the man would do the vacuuming and the boy, about 3 years old would supervise from his perch on the pulpit chair, or as he called it, “the King Chair.”

Long ago, in the country of Persia there was a king who sat in such a chair to conduct his official business. I gather that no one could approach the king while seated on this chair without having an appointment, and following very strict protocols, and that this even applied to the QUEEN. Her name was Esther and unknown to the king, she was Jewish; one of the girls taken captive by the army. Her story is the main topic of an entire book in the Hebrew Scriptures and the basis of a Jewish Holy day, Purim, which is still celebrated.

One of the things a Lieutenant Governor of a Canadian province gets to do is to meet Queen Elizabeth. When The Hon Mayann Francis held that position she was thoroughly schooled on the protocols before she had her scheduled audience. She was told to bring a gift but give it to one of the Queen’s staff before entering the room where she would meet the Queen. Something happened and she still had the gift in her hand when she entered the receiving room. Her highness asked something like, “What have you there?”

“A gift, your majesty” replied Ms Francis.

“Well then, give it here” said the queen.

No international incident ensued and both women survived the ordeal!!!

(Pause)

Esther’s is an amazing story of faith and courage in the midst of seemingly insurmountable odds. In a world and an era dominated by men of power and their fragile egos, Ahasu erus, the king of Persia, had taken Esther as his Queen after Vashiti had not obeyed him and made him look bad in front of his friends!

What transpired was a convoluted and amusing tale of backroom deals, power politics and corruption! Even today we can listen to the news and find out that a dictator has had a rival executed, or that someone has been ousted from the inner circle of a democratic party for not “toeing the line” - and we realize that nothing has changed!

I’ll try to outline the high points of a much more complex story. One of the King’s “inner circle” , Haman, manipulated him into passing a law that decreed that everyone had to bow to him. Since the Jewish people would not, the effect was a decree that all Jewish people would die. Even Esther will not be safe if her true identity became known.

Working in the background of all of this is Esther’s adoptive father and cousin Mordecai. He manages to send her messages even though she is in the palace. He warns her: “Don’t assume you will be saved by your royal status!” and advises her, “Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.”

Even though she was risking her life she went to see the king, without being called for and asked for a favour. The king forgave her breach of protocol and granted her request.

The request involves the giving of two lavish parties, the exposing of Haman and giving Mordecai his due honour for having saved the life of the king some time before.

She is seen as an example of courage and faithfulness in the midst of great odds. What stands out for me is the last line of Mordecai’s advice, “Who knows: Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.”

‘Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for such a time as this?”

There is a commercial on tv, I think for baby products, and the male voice looks at the business venture as an opportunity to get their products on the market, “jack up the prices” and make lots and lots of money while the female voice looks at it as an opportunity to help cash-strapped young parents.

I guess the question is, “For what do we use our power, our influence, our advantage?” We have just had a federal election. The right to participate in a democratic process is one which many people in the world do not enjoy and which, in my opinion, too many Canadians treat too lightly. Only 58% of eligible voters turned up to cast their ballots on Monday (or earlier, in the other approved ways). Elections Canada does not show up at Timmys to asssess public opinion!!!! Maybe it would not change the results but perhaps more people would be counted!!!

We all have a certain amount of power depending on our role in our family and our community and as Canadians in the world.

As people of faith we are called to be people who stand up for justice, and speak for those who have no voice. Each of us needs to ask ourselves a question, “When do we stand up for justice and for the right?” One of the shows I watched at noon while I was no leave was “Flashpoint”. It’s a Canadian drama series about the Strategic Response Team of the Toronto Police Service. In one recent episode, some “jocks” at a high school are making fun of a student who is seen to be “different.” On this particular day he reacts by going home and getting his father’s handgun and going back to the school looking for his “bullies”. At the end of the day, the girlfriend of one of the jocks breaks up with him and apologizes to her bullied friend for not sticking up for him when she had the chance.

Sometimes that’s all it takes, is for a few people to stand up to the bullies, on behalf of the bullied and say, “your behaviour and your actions are unacceptable.” This can lead to them being ousted from the “popular crowd” but it also grants the satisfaction of having “done the right thing”.

I’m reading a book about a family who are part of the Dutch resistance; those who worked against the Nazis and which was also responsible for hiding Jewish people from the Nazi killing machine. It was dangerous but necessary work.

The movie, Schindler’s list is about a German industrialist, Oskar Schindler, who used his considerable wealth, his status as a member of the Nazi party, and his connections to the black market, to bribe powerful people so that he could save the lives of the Jewish men, women and children who worked for him in his factories. He is contrasted with those who used their power for death and cruelty on a grand scale and sometimes at random - just for fun!

While the Hollywood version certainly made his life and his personality more dramatic for the silver screen, the basics are true. In 2012 it was estimated that there were 8,500 descendants of those thousand or so people whose lives he saved! After his death he was named “Righteous Among the Nations” by the state of Israel.

If you are on Facebook you might find that it takes a lot of time out of your day to read and respond to the various posts. One common theme, of the posts by kind and well meaning people, is that the government is wasting money in foreign aid while people in Canada are in need - or some such related contrast. You’ve all seen posts like that, I am sure, and maybe even clicked “like”. I usually respond with a comment such as, “we should be doing BOTH.”

Purim, the modern day Jewish festival which is based on the courage of Queen Esther has, as an essential feature, sharing with the poor. The miracle of survival results in giving to others. It is not unlike our Christmas where giving to the poor is emphasized as a response to the gift we have received.

Thursday is Orange Shirt Day and our newest national holiday. The hope is that over time it will become a holiday with the purpose of drawing Canada’s aboriginal and immigrant peoples together in the spirit of understanding and reconciliation. While the experience for SOME in Residential Schools was positive, the vast majority of former students have carried the scars of physical and sexual abuse with them and the intentional destruction of their culture has left deep scars. The originl “orange shirt” belonged to a new student at a school who was not allowed to keep her precious “first day of school clothes” or any of her possessions to remind her of home.” It is a time to listen and to put our fears aside and contemplate what true reconciliation will look like for both sides in this essential work.

It would be impossible to do justice to the question of what the story of Esther has to say to us in 2021 without talking about both climate change and Covid 19.

This summer has been one of increasingly fierce wildfires and tropical storms, which scientists are connecting to global warming. We have been told how to solve the problem but we are either resistant, overwhelmed or in denial that it has been caused by human action. It is a complex issue. Yet, it is in our power to make significant changes - if we believe we need to change, believe we can make a difference and if we choose to do so. Esther was not helpless; she risked and lives were saved.

When it comes to a global pandemic we face similar dangers and choices. How many months ago was it that a virus appeared out of nowhere in a certain part of China. I remember being concerned for the family of the couple who run The Sunrise Café but she assured me the outbreak was far from her relatives. (China is a big country) Then the virus raced around the world and we were were locked down, planes were grounded, borders closed and, in Nova Scotia, people were bluntly told to “stay the blazes home” by their frustrated Premier. My friends in PEI told me on Facebook, “we don’t want you to come here”! Some friends, eh?

The death toll in some countries is astronomical and in all countries the people it has affected most are those who are deemed workers who are often paid the least and don’t have the luxury of working from home. The other group are the “front line” workers who must deal with those who are critically ill from the virus.

We now have a vaccine. Speaking of Facebook again, the banter on some facebook pages has become vicious on this matter. I have vowed not to engage the posts that raise my blood pressure but sometimes I bite! Since I don’t know the posters personally, I don’t think I will suffer negative consequences!

We as United Church ministers have been asked to be “vaccine encouragers”. We believe that God works healing power through doctors and scientists who have developed a vaccine in record time and the key to getting back to normal life is working with the best advice which is to receive the vaccine if you can, to mask, and maintain recommended social distancing in public. Trusting in God is not an excuse for foolhardy behaviour. Trusting in God is not an excuse to ignore the science. Wanting the economy to trump medical advice will not prevent it’s spread and as far as I am concerned is not Christian!

I talked to someone the other day who said his friend only got the vaccine so that he would go to the Roughriders’ games. His body won’t know the difference and he will be protected and protect others! I guess it’s a wi-win even if the “home team” has no touchdowns!

The good news of late is that clinical trials have concluded that the vaccine is safe for children as young as 5 - which will give another layer of protection to children in school.

In Canada, the government pays for our vaccines so the rich and poor alike can receive their two doses without personal cost. We know though, that people in developing countries often don’t have the luxury of government funded vaccine programs. As Canadians, we need to use some of our wealth, to help citizens of other countries who desperately need approved vaccines. Ethically we cannot use our power to hoard such a valuable and essential product.

Our faith is never an excuse to bury our heads in the sand and say, “God will look after us.” There have been many real losses in the COVID restrictions (aside from COVID deaths.) There are many difficult choices ahead of us as we will be called to change how consume and travel - in order to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Lament is a time honoured and faithful response to crisis but them we rise and praise God, act in trust and courage, embracing the vision of a new day in which health and justice roll down like a mighty stream.

When we use our power, not just for ourselves, but for all of creation, we are seeking to follow God’s call to be a people of faith, “in such a time as this!”

Amen.

Job 1:1, 2: 1-10
Psalm 26
Mark 10: 2-16

We are Job!

Back in the days when the internet was new, many clergy would exchange greetings in advance of World Wide Communion Sunday. I was disappointed to discover that it was actually not as much a “world-wide” celebration, as it was a North American one. Before the internet, I had little opportunity to “converse” with clergy outside of my community and denomination!

Many clergy subscribed to various “internet lists” which generated a lot of email and comments on upcoming lectionary readings. For a few years, we were encouraged to send three or four line greetings to one of these lists, with world-wide communion as the subject line, and someone collected them all and sent them out as one VERY LONG email. You may remember that when the internet and home computers were new, many people used “tractor fed” paper that was all joined together. I tore off the holey side strips but did not separate the pages so they spilled off the edge of the communion table and onto the floor - like a carpet runner. I never expected to meet or break bread with most of these clergym but it did give a sense of unity over a vast geography.

Yet, like a big family reunion where people have never met before, I know that there are things we have in common. We all follow a Christ who walks on wounded feet and reaches out with wounded hands.

I recall reading a devotion written by someone who had attended a church service in a foreign country. He could not speak the language but he knew what was going on when communion started, the words and actions, though in a foreign tongue, were familiar and comforting. Miles from Canada, he was at home!

For the sermon today I have decided to focus on the story of Job and particularly as it relates to the situation in which we find ourselves, in the 4th wave of a world wide epidemic.

One thing I need to say first-off is that the story of Job is much like the “Prodigal Son” or the “Good Samaritan,” in that it is a story or parable, designed to convey a timeless message. It’s not intended to be read as history. I am told that the story begins with the Hebrew equivalent of “once upon a time in”. Those of you who are “Star Wars” fans will recall that all of those movies begin, “in a land long ago and far away.”

This biblical book introduces “Job,” a blameless man who is very well off and has a fine family. He always does what is right. The short version of the story goes like this: One day the heavenly beings, including Satan (who is NOT the devil of later biblical literature) are gathered together for coffee and donuts. (Or something like that!!!!!) God boasts that there is no one as faithful as Job. Satan begins to argue with God and claims that he can make Job sin and curse God. The bet is on but even though he loses everything, Job continues to praise God. At a subsequent coffee break Satan ups the ante and claims that Job only faithful because nothing bad has ever happened to his physical health. So God allowed Satan to take away Job’s health. He is afflicted with a disease of painful boils. Perhaps it was an ancient equivalent of shingles. I’m told it is very painful, but I did get the vaccines when I got to be “that age”. I vaguely remember how bad chicken pox was; I had when I was 4 or 5. That was bad enough!

There are three friends who come to Job and theorized as to the reasons for his misfortunes. The term, “Job’s Comforters” is commonly used to describe well intentioned people who try to give advice that is actually far from helpful! You’ve probably had that experience yourself!

I’m not sure if I like the God who is depicted in the book of Job or the ultimate answer, but it is one attempt to try to determine why the innocent suffer. I am not someone who believes God rewards the faithful and punishes those who sin. It’s never that simple and we all have our own experience of the innocent suffering and guilty succeeding - or at least seeming to.

We are in the 4th wave of a world-wide pandemic that is taking lives, creating what might be life long health issues, taxing our health care system to its breaking point, and pitting people against one another in a bid to “be right”.

Job is us. If we are sitting on our own ash heap and wondering what to do we have no shortage of advice. We have people telling us not to listen to the medical experts because they know better and it’s not right to be vaccinated because it is unnecessary or dangerous. They accuse us of being “sheeple”!

Perhaps we are angry that the pandemic, and possibly the choices of others, will mean that we will wait still longer for surgery, and on and on.

The analogy of boats and storms has been around for a long time - we are all in the storm of COVID-19 but some of us have a better boat than others. I trust that having been doubly vaccinated has given me a better boat. Yet even the “unsinkable”Titanic sank.

I might argue that I live more safely than those who created the Titanic disaster. It was caused by arrogant men who wanted to make a name for themselves and a captain who raced at full speed in the dead of night into an ice-field. The tragedy was made worse by a shortage of lifeboats, the quality of the steel with which the ship was built and an assumption that “even God could not sink the ship!”

Apparently the builders of the “twin towers” in New York never envisioned their total collapse and believed that even a jumbo-jet impact would not bring them down, but they failed to calculate the fire fed by a jet with a full tank of fuel.

So after all the long winded speeches of his friends and Job himself, God can no longer remain silent and says, “who do you think you are. You don’t know everything.”

When disasters as mammoth as the Titanic and the collapse of the “twin towers” happen, new rules and guidelines are formulated and life becomes safer.

As far as the storm in which we are all living, I think we have to trust the best medical advice going. I have had my two shots but I don’t think they had made me invincible so I still mask, and wash my hands and practice social distancing. If new information comes along and it is discovered that I have been too cautious then I would rather err on the side of caution than the other way; I don’t want see people die because they were wanting for a 1000% guarantee.

I’m glad I was able to have my surgery when I did, before the beds, and the staff, were occupied by patients with COVID! Yet I try to avoid blaming them for their condition in the same way I try to avoid harsh thoughts about the chain smoker with COPD or the careless lumberjack who almost cuts his leg off with a chainsaw (and I have visited both in hospital).

Some people tell me they trust in God and not a vaccine. I don’t think God plays “Russian Roulette” with human lives in order to “win a bet” with his heavenly friends, but I do think the God of Job is telling us not to think that WE know everything we need to know and be foolhardy and not to assume bad things cannot happen to us! It only makes sense to follow the best medical advice I can and to trust that none of us will be alone.

So as we gather at the table, knowing we gather as others do to break bread and share the cup.

In Christ’s communion and community we all find support and strength for our journey in all of our uncertain times.

Amen. p>

Joel 2: 21-27
Psalm 126
Matthew 26: 25-33

Thanksliving

When I was younger one of my favourite tv shows was "All in the Family". During the opening song, there was a clip of Archie and Edith. sitting at their piano playing and singing a few bars of the show's theme song, "Those Were the Days." In all the years I watched the show I never understood line 7", it was almost gibberish to me! I heard, "Gee our old salve and great". An internet search tells us that the words are, actually "gee, our old LaSalle ran great". Even if I had heard it clearly, as a child, I would not have known that a LaSalle was a car manufactured by GM; a cheaper and smaller Cadillac! -2-

Misheard lyrics can be a great subject for an internet search and result in a great chuckle. Children, especially, who don't have a big vocabulary or much life experience, can come up with hilarious lines in songs and prayers well known to adults. I can think of several I've heard of at least once, and as far as I can remember, come from "Family Circus". Jeffy, the little blond haired boy, often featured in that cartoon series, has just learned one of the prayers Catholic child learns, "Hail Mary, full of grapes." On one particular Sunday he must have thought it was laundry day at the church because the whole congregation was singing the hymn, "bringing in the sheets." A friend told me her grandchild would pray, "Our Father in heaven, how'd you know my name?"

Thanksgiving is the time when we are encouraged to save some of the sheaves we have brought in, and bring them to the church, or if we don't have sheaves of wheat, we are asked to bring produce and pickles as a visible symbol of what this day is about; giving thanks to God for the harvest and for other blessings.

Generally speaking, our growing season is over, and, at least according to posts on Facebook, all the potatoes and turnips are in the cold room, the produce has been blanched and frozen and the pickles and jams have been bottled and stashed away for the long winter ahead. In years gone by, without greenhouses and warmer climates producing food for us 12 months of the year, we had to rely on preserving the summer bounty ourselves. I remember how hard my mother worked making pickles and tomato juice and blanching and freezing vegetables grown in her own garden. Perhaps our planet would be a whole lot healthier if our February broccoli and cauliflower came from the freezer section instead of the fresh produce one!

We look around at the fall colour and see its beauty. We marvel at how the seasons change and know, in the back of our minds, that a cool and breezy day this time of year WILL SOON be seen as a complete heat wave! When -30? is normal, a 10? day is balmy! Yet, where would we be without our winter activities such as ice fishing, which many people enjoy! Where would our land be witout the winter rest and the snow cover to provide much needed moisture!

When I sing, "bringing in the sheaves", I know that I don't have much personal experience of sheaves of wheat or barley. When I was young my father grew hay and oats and the oats was combined in the field and the straw baled for use as winter bedding but mom would talk about her father's threshing machine and how much noise it made as it separated the chaff from the grains.

Compared to today's mechanization, I can't imagine the amount of labour that went into farming back in biblical times. When I lived in eastern PEI the community held a parade in late summer as part of the "Dundas Plowing Match", their annual agricultural fair. The members of the local antique tractor club would wash and polish their teeny, weeny tractors and drive them proudly in the parade and smile and wave at the children as they threw candy to them. One of the competitions was a "horse pull" in which several teams of draft horses would compete to see how far a pile of concrete bars could be moved. After several teams had done their thing with the massive blocks, an enormous tractor would pick it all up and put it down at the start line, ready for the next teams to have a go at the prize. You may recall hearing that Ken Shriener's horses took first place in their weight class at the Calgary Stampede! When we compare the strength of the best horses, with those small tractors, with the enormous self steering computerized behemoths of today we realize how much farming has changed. Yet even the best farmers cannot control everything and their success is also at the mercy of the climate and world markets.

We are STILL in the midst of a world-wide pandemic that has taken many lives, cost a great deal of -8- money, and affected just about everything we do.

Some people may suggest not having Thanksgiving this year because we have so many losses! My friend Jim is a minister in Moncton, NB. When were in theological school he would sometimes observe another student doing, or saying, something he found odd or completely unacceptable, and shaking his head, he would say, "that lad needs an attitude adjustment!"

Thanksgiving is a time for us to get a yearly attitude adjustment! Normally we are fairly self important and feel that we have worked hard and deserve what we have achieved. We look at a prosperous farm, or a large home on a town street and we praise the hard work or the acumen of the farmer or person who owns that house or farm. Secretly, or not so secretly, we may wish that it was ours.

If we look at the biblical story as proclaimed in the reading from the Older Testament we are meeting up with the children of Israel as they prepare to enter the land of promise. Remember they had been on this trip for 40 years! We see that that they are having their attitudes adjusted as they prepare for the transition. They have been living on manna for 40 years, and were about to be able to grow what they wanted.

They were to "Remember that they did not do it, all on their own." There are lots of issues here with the fact that they took the land by force, and I don't want to get into that today, any more than to acknowledge it. These long ago children of Israel were told not to pat themselves on the back and take all of the credit for their achievements. .

We are to guard against being short sighted. We alone are not responsible for our success Clearing this area of Saskatchewan by hacking a wheat field out of the boreal forest is only a generation removed from living memory. Yet, they and we were called to be thankful and to realize, deep in our hearts, that it does all not depend on us.

Many years ago I saw a scratchy old film of the then Moderator, Dr Robert McClure, relating a conversation he’d had with some people from overseas. They said to the moderator, "ask your people if it was their ancestors who put the gold in the rocks of Canada?"

Think about it. Do we have a right to claim OWNERSHIP of Canada's natural resources, as if we can take credit for them being there in the first place?

You see one of the responsibilities of wealth is generosity, which is the other side of thanksgiving. We can give high praise to God for our abundance but if that does not result in giving, we have not truly "gotten" the concept of thanksgiving.

A few farmers I know used to have a license plate on the front ot their vehicles, which sported an outline of the Island and read, "eaten lately ...thank a farmer". I think it was a federation of agriculture promotion. It was designed as a “wake up call to the non-farmer!” Most folks don't come anywhere near to feeding themselves, not even farmers. Gone are the days of the small family farm where they were self-sufficient by having a few chickens, a pig and a cow and a big garden as well as whatever it was they grew for sale! Some children think the food COMES FROM the grocery store and would not know what a herd of cattle did for them!!

A doctor or teacher or dentist or even a minister many have studied hard and sacrificed to get through school but there are so many other factors that go into education and success that we can never truly say that someone is self made! We all depend on others to teach us, to build the things in our house, our house itself, the roads between our house and class and the mix of the faculty at the University and so on. Farmers rely on the people who design, build and maintain their very complex machinery and on the roads that take their products to the customer. I would venture to say that more than one person sitting here relies on the teenagers and adults who work at Tim Horton's.

Sometimes we think that we don't have much to be grateful for in times of loss and need and stress such as this covid time where many people are focussing on what is lost rather than what positive things can be gained.

In the end it's about attitude, about centring our lives in God and being aware enough so that we see blessing rather than loss.

People who have worked overseas are continually amazed by the hope and generosity in which some people live, even and perhaps especially, in the poorest places in the world. We could learn a great deal from them.

I titled my sermon today, "thanksliving," which is probably not a word at all, but I wanted to express the sense that thanksgiving is not a special day, a song, or a prayer or even an attitude but it is a way of living. It is a 24/7, 365 day a year way of living in the light of God's abundant and generous grace.

Amen

1 Samuel 1-4-20
1 Samuel 2: 1-10
Mark 13, 1-8

Setting the Stage

For my vacation I decided that I needed some light reading so I chose, “State of Terror”, a book co-written by Canadian Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham Clinton, former First Lady and Secretary of State in the USA. Actually that one wasn’t as “light” as the murder mysteries Penny writes on her own! Really, those are light reading! With this shared book there was a lot more detail about American politics than this Canuck really knew, or cared to know, so it was a bit of a slog!

Then I started in on the book “Talking to Canadians”, the memoirs of comedian, Rick Mercer. It’s downright hilarious and with each paragraph I can hear his voice, sense his wit, and my sides ache with laughter. He writes the same way in the book as he did for “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” or his well known rants! For a number of years, before his TV debut Mercer performed on stage and writes about the preparation for his earliest productions, done on a shoestring budget, or no budget at all.

When getting ready for a play you need a script but also a stage and a set for that stage. It’s amazing what can be done with a few props. There was a play I saw in Nova Scotia a number of years ago about one of their famous coal mining disasters. As I recall, they built a second stage on top of the real stage and that became the kitchen where the women waited for the news about their fathers, husbands and sons trapped deep in the mine. Underneath this was the coal mine where their men were trapped. Both were simultaneously visible but the lighting was changed depending on the scene. It worked well in that small theatre.

In life we set stages all the time. A couple does not meet, get engaged and pull off the wedding in one day. New babies do not come home for the first time without some preparation. One soon-to-be mom told me that she knew the preparations for the first baby were probably more elaborate than they would be for the second because she had more time than she would have with #2. Surgeons do not pick up a scalpel and do surgery without extensive training under experienced teachers.

With Remembrance Day being observed just last week I think of the major battles of the wars we remembered on that day. I think particularly of Vimy Ridge where the Canadians were victorious when other allied forces had not been in the past. Surprise, meticulous planning and training were the stage they set for taking this seemingly impenetrable piece of land. Many Canadians died as the creeping barrage made its way up the ridge, but it is considered a major victory in the war and as a major factor in Canada being recognized as a nation on its own terms.

When we think of the biblical story, most of us remember the major events and the most important actors. But the Bible tells more than those stories and speaks of more than those specific people. In the Bible there are many seemingly simple stories which, in effect, set the stage for later, more memorable, events.

One of the more well known is the first part of the “Christmas story”. The writer had to tell how Mary and Joseph ended up in Bethlehem when they did not live there - so he made sure to tell the story of the census that brought the crowds to Bethlehem, the city of David.

Speaking of David, Bethlehem was often referred to as the city of David, their great and legendary king. However, David was never a prince and not of royal blood. So the people who wrote down the story we have in our Bibles had to make sure to tell the story of David from the beginning. They had to set the stage or it would look like David appeared out op nowhere! Today’s passage from the book of Samuel is one of those beginning stories. Since Samuel was the prophet who anointed David as king, it was necessary to tell the story of how Samuel became the prophet who would anoint David. The “back-story” is essential.

Yet, it also had to be made clear in telling of these events that the primary actor in these events was God. It’s not that the people were puppets and had no say in the matter but that in looking back people could see God’s direction, God’s planning. God was at work, setting the stage in Act 1 for Act 2 to be able to happen.

There was nothing really special about Samuel but his birth was not without some drama. In Canada about 10% of people have problems related to fertility and need to seek help. These days, it is available, depending on how much money you have. In the long ago days mentioned in 1 Samuel the ability to have children was extremely important and to be without children was tragic. While the biblical story indicates a belief that it was God’s doing, women bore most, if not all, of the shame for being childless. Samuel’s father took a second wife so that he could have children to carry on the family name. The wife with the children would taunt Hannah and make her life miserable, even though her husband told her she was his favourite wife! I suppose that two wives in any house is one too many! Sounds a bit like one of those American reality TV shows! But really, TV has nothing on the biblical story!

Upon seeing Hannah in fervent prayer, Eli, the ancient priest, is forced to revisit his initial impressions by Hannah’s pleas, and promises that she and her husband will have a son. So they went home and in due time a son was born. On the face of it, the birth was as normal and as natural as anyone else’s. His name explains it all though- “Samu el”. Many Hebrew names tell a greater story and his name means, “I asked God for him.”

The stage is set for the next acts in this great drama, the point being that God’s hand was working in and through all of this. We will soon find out that this boy , this son of a devoted family would be raised in the temple and will have first hand knowledge of the ways of worship and faithful living, he will become someone who knew the Lord and listened for that voice. As the story is fleshed out in the passages you will hear in the following weeks, you will find out why!

As for now the stage is set for God’s plans for Israel’s greatness to take the next step.

As far as I know, most of us are not famous and influential, in the grand scheme of things. Yet, we may well be part of setting the stage for great things to happen, part of furthering in some small way, great changes and advances.

Our day to day lives in 2021 are very different in many respects from the times into which Samuel and Jesus were born. The last century, has probably seen more advances in technology than any other century in history. Whether they are actually “advances” may be the subject of debate! When my grandparents farmed in Saskatchewan they used horses, had no electricity and sent letters by mail instead of by a computer. In order for each new advance to be made, other smaller advances had to precede them.

When I started University about 40 years ago, it was noted that history, as the books tell us, is about the people of power and influence - inventors, presidents and prime ministers, military leaders and others considered to be “movers and shakers” - and most of them were men. Very little was written about common life and about common people. You had to read between the lines to get that story. You could be fooled into thinking that they were not important because the characters in the drama were given no credit and their names not remembered.

On Remembrance Day though, we remember the individuals, the ones who followed the orders of the officers whose names did make it into the history books and without those people there would have been no victory.

One of the things I found when I moved here were history books of the various communities in the surrounding area. It seems that every community has one! When I was a child my grandmother had such a book at home about the families surrounding Rouleau. After arriving here, I borrowed a copy of that one from my neighbour and distant cousin! Each of these books tells about the ordinary folks that made up the communities such as Nipawin and White Fox and Codette and Choiceland and all the other places. They tell the stories of the ordinary people who turned the boreal forest into fields of wheat and who formed the communities in which we live. We are starting to learn the stories of the first nations people who were displaced by our settlement.

In May of 1843 the cornerstone of the Legislative Assembly Building in Charlottetown was laid and the Assembly of the small Colony began to meet there 4 years later. The last time I was inside this now 178 year old building it was very clear that the footsteps of hundreds of politicians and common folk had left their mark. Even though they are made of stone, the floors and the stairs were all worn and rutted. It’s hard to think of someone’s leather dress shoes being hard on s stone floor but over time it has been significant. I don’t know if the floors will be replaced in the ongoing renovation that has closed the building for the past several years - someone must know if that is in the plan- some stone, at least, is on order from the original quarry, but it will be interesting to see what visible changes will made.

I believe that some people are reluctant to volunteer or take part in something because they feel they are not skilled enough to do the work, or to make any kind of difference. Yet, a broad view of history tells us that history and culture and progress is made by the efforts of many ordinary people, either setting the stage for great things or in living in those times.

So lets not forget that we all play a part and lets not forget to give thanks to God for the graceto be able to do so.

Amen.

2 Samuel 23: 1-7
Psalm 13
John 18: 33-37

You Have Reached Your Destination!

In his later years, my father liked to buy second or third hand luxury cars, they were cheap but large and most important, for him, comfortable! None of my little cars would have suited him at all. One of his cars had a trip planner feature which he never used. Nevertheless, every so often a notice appeared on the instrument panel which indicated, “you have reached your destination”. We never figured out where the car thought it was going

I have a stand-alone GPS and if I put in an address it will tell me where to turn, what exit to take, and finally, that I have reached my intended destination; all out loud. Because I like things that are a little quirky, the voice in my GPS is either Ernie or Bert from Sesame Street. Sometimes they argue like only brothers can! My sister hates it!

Sometimes the maps in the GPS are out of sync with reality! The voice might direct you to take a route that is now impossible because they twinned a nearby highway and cut the road off or, like PEI, put in half a dozen traffic circles on that route!! Recent experience tells me that traffic circles are breeding like rabbits on the Island!!! Sometimes a road on the map has not existed for years. When I lived on PEI the GPS often told me to take a road near my home that had not been used in so long that it could only be traveled on horseback or maybe an ATV. I don’t know how it was registered on GPS in the first place! At some point a bridge had washed out and the road decommissioned so the government did not have to replace the bridge; there were lots of other options! The other end of it no longer had a culvert or any indication a road had been there. The farmer who owned the field on that end had long since taken over that part of the road.

As a Christian people we have reached our destination! Last Advent we programmed our GPS for the destination of “Reign of Christ Sunday, 2021", and we have now arrived. COVID and other personal events may have sent us on detours or unwelcome delays. As Advent began we expressed our hopes for a world made new, we celebrated the birth of Jesus and then we watched and listened as this child quickly grew to adulthood and taught with word and action the ways of God’s world. He was executed as a common criminal but raised to life by the power of God. Now, we are there; we have arrived at God’s new world.

Sometimes though, being told that we have arrived at our destination leaves us confused. If I arrived at a business that has just completed a major face-lift I may not recognize it, or it may have moved and a totally different business now occupies that address! One day I searched for Leon’s Furniture which I knew was in Kentville Nova Scotia and I arrived at a retail location for the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission. Leons had moved to a location near the highway which you can find using the civic address!

Since Advent 1 life may have changed drastically in ways we had not expected. We may no longer be traveling with those who were with us last December! We may have been expecting the destination to look a lot different. We had certainly hoped for a life free from COVID and its fears and restrictions. We had hoped for normal, at least.

As we look at the year ahead and step through the new Advent door we need to realize a couple of things. First off, Advent is not about expecting baby Jesus, it is about expecting the world about which Jesus preached. Secondly and most important; Advent has high hopes; there is nothing small about it!

Often, at the end of the year, news programs air a, “year in review” segment. Businesses prepare annual reports. Political parties give an evaluation of what has been accomplished. Depending on what side of government the writer is, the evaluation will be more or less favourable of their accomplishments.

When leaving politics altogether a leader may give an evaluation and a “keep up the good work” pep-talk along with a vision to his or her successors. Ten years ago this August, Jack Layton knew he would not survive his cancer and wrote an open letter to Canadians that looked both backward and forward and concluded:

“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.”  

We know that politics divides people but these words seemed to strike a cord even with people who would never even consider voting NDP!

In our reading from 2 Samuel for today we have some of David’s last words. Throughout the pages of the biblical story we have, on the one hand, the teaching that David was God’s choice for king, but on the other hand the record of what battles he and his supporters had to fight to win the throne. The succession was not a cake walk! However, as great as he was, the biblical writers do not shy away from listing his faults; King David was not perfect. He let his power go to his head and, in many cases, he acted with impunity, though certain brave prophets did call him to account for his actions. His life proved true the observation of Lord Acton, a 19th century British politician: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In many places in the world within the present generation, people who are the wrong ethnicity or language live in fear of their lives; as do people who disagree with the leader of their country. Some of these folks have come to Canada as refugees. In some places being related to the supreme leader does not give you privilege; it puts your life in danger. In some Canadian provinces the MLA can get you a seasonal job but if the government changes you just might find that job has gone to someone else!

Today’s Gospel passage sounds like it belongs in Holy Week with the rest of the trial stories about Jesus, yet it calls on us to reflect on the nature of Jesus rule, or as we might traditionally say, “Jesus’ Kingdom” or “realm”. Some have taken Jesus words to mean that Jesus’ realm is heaven or the afterlife or whatever you want to call it. I don’t think that this is what this passage means.

In Advent we must ask ourselves the questions, “Where do we want to go, as individuals and as a society?” I think we make a grave mistake when we assume that that religion is a private matter that concerns only the afterlife, and should not enter the realm of “politics”. I don’t believe that Jesus would have any time for that kind of religion! Jesus was executed because people of power were afraid of his teachings. If those teachings truly caught on, the power dynamics in the world as they knew it would be turned upside down. His ministry upset the religious leaders who had worked out a cosy but hypocritical relationship with the Romans who cared only about their power, conquering more and more territory and collecting as many taxes as possible.

In Canada, “registered charities” do a lot of outreach with regard to poverty: housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, advocating for better working conditions at home and abroad and sending food and other aid in times of natural disasters, to name just a few things. Some charities are faith based and some completely secular. Rules in Canada prohibit charities from being involved in partisan politics. Not that many years ago some charities were cautioned about how they reported thier work and even the words to use. They were cautioned not to say they attempted to eliminate poverty, but alleviating poverty was completely acceptable.

Perhaps the question for us is: what is our world? What do I mean by that? Should we all go off to start a Christian Community off grid and generate our own electricity in a completely eco friendly way? Probably not! While we must abide by the laws of Canada we need to decide what our values are and what it is that we strive for.

I think it was an episode of Dragon’s Den, where one of the dragons said to someone looking for his investment dollars, “all I care about is the money”. In his mind that was the only thing that mattered for a business. What about a good product for a reasonable price? What about a product that truly helped people but was not all that expensive? What about a fair wage or a profit sharing policy for employees? Who was it that decreed that investors are more important than the people who wear the boots on the ground and are on the front lines of the business’ success? A tourist attraction may need a lot of capital but surely those who greet the guests are also responsible for it’s success. To be blunt, “Why do shareholders have so much power?”

When we talk about the “bottom line” why is that “line” is always in dollars and cents?” Why is it that big houses and fancy cars and vacation homes, are considered the measure of success. I saw a headline the other day, “can you retire on $1,000,000? By that standard, I’ll have to be your minister till I’m at least 125 years old! Why can’t everyone have food security? And a home that keeps out the elements (especially here in a Saskatchewan winter)? Not everyone who is poor has made poor choices and some people who are rich started off with far more than many others! Why do farms have to get bigger and bigger and bigger just to survive? Why do multi billionaire families get so much press for their charitable giving when a) they acquired that wealth with questionable or cut throat business practices; and still have more to live on than the entire GDP of many poor countries! Why do some people feel trapped in a cycle of building and buying and having and want to shout out, “Stop the world, I want to get off”.

Why is it that some people feel they are faithful Christians when all they have really done is avoid breaking one of the 10 Commandments or being arrested for breaking a secular law?

Isn’t Jesus’ way about more than that?

It’s not easy to live in a world whose values are not what I would call “Christian” but I think that is exactly the struggle that the yearly cycle from Advent to Reign of Christ calls us to enter. As we try to earn a living, raise families, save for our retirement, be generous with our time and our treasures, and a great myriad of other important things, we have to live in this world but not let it define who we are. Are we out bank account, or our house, or our “net worth” or do we define ourselves as, “by grace a child of God seeking to be faithful to the journey”?

What was our destination? Have we arrived? Or did we get lost along the way? The good news is that we are invited to start over, not just every year, but every time we do a “location check” and want to reprogram our device and start out once again for God’s way.

For this we can say, “thanks be to God.”

Amen.