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Yes! We have new AV equipment and our Zoom broadcast should be much improved. This Sunday, Feb. 25 will be our first trial run. Do let us know what you think.
Apr 28, 2024 10:00 AM
May 5, 2024 10:00 AM
May 12, 2024 10:00 AM
May 19, 2024 10:00 AM
May 26, 2024 10:00 AM
Jun 2, 2024 10:00 AM
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Many Blessings!
Inspired by Mark 11:1-11
It was all good on the surface. It was all glorious. The anticipation palpable. The crowds gathered with excitement. Here comes the one who will really make a difference.
They must have wondered if the stories were true. Did he really upset the tables in the temple and chastise the moneychangers? What gumption, what bravado!
Were the stories of his healing powers authentic? Can we see the man whose sight was restored? Would the hemorrhaging woman be near Jesus upon his arrival, so we could get a first-hand account of her story? Perhaps the cured leper would be present, and we could gaze upon his healed skin.
All were wonderings of those that gathered to get a glimpse of the man Jesus, the Messiah. Perhaps they thought, perhaps we might be able to touch him also, and in doing so, acquire some profound heavenly connection.
Perhaps they also thought, look out Caesar, here comes the son of God who will put things right. It has been prophesized that David’s throne will be re-occupied. Tyranny and oppression will be vanquished. There is going to be big change. Watch out Caesar, your time is over. We are going to have a new king! Hallelujah! Hosanna in the Highest, The Prince of Peace is coming!
But they did not appreciate what was to come, betrayal within his own inner circle, arrest and trial, Peter’s denial of even knowing him, his sentencing and ultimate execution. They did not foresee what standing in solidarity with Jesus would require. They could not go to the cross with him. They simply could not do it and so they shouted, “Crucify Him,” when Pilot asked what should be done.
It is easy to give initial enthusiastic support for a cause, get caught up in the emotion. But that can change abruptly when we really understand what it means, when we realize what kind of commitment is required, or when we are likely to face conflict.
Discomfort or potential self-sacrifice causes us to back away, even when what we pursue is worthy or admirable. To a large degree that’s what happened that Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. A lot of his followers got cold feet. Why incur the wrath of the governor? To follow Jesus was folly. Why put oneself in harm’s way? The fear of reprisals was real. Onlookers could see themselves along side Jesus on a cross. And that prospect would have been very frightening indeed.
So, we might wonder then why the memory of Jesus didn’t vanish with his death. How was it that some actually saw his resurrected body and spoke with him? How is it that after more than 2,000 years we still follow a Resurrected Jesus in our lives urging us forward in justice work and in pastoral ministry? What is it that keeps us faith-filled when there is more and more chaos around us each day? What is keeping us from giving up when we are constantly bombarded by news of war causalities, starvation, riots, gun violence, deaths from drug overdoses and climate disasters?
I would love to hear all of your answers. Personally, I think it is because there was something other than Jesus on the colt that morning.
On that very first Palm Sunday Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem alone. Hope rode with him.
Directly in the face of adversity, hope rode forward then. When the crowds saw this man, they dared to believe, and a spark was ignited. After his death it fizzled and lay dormant for a time, but it never really went out. Throughout the centuries Hope has found its way into ghettos, refugee camps, and tent cities. The Hope, which is Jesus’ ministry has freed the enslaved, fed the hungry, provided shelter to those in need and comforted the lonely and disheartened. It has helped to resolve international grievances and motivated activists and peace makers. It has helped countless face another day when this life has seemed unbearable.
Hope rides with us today and every day we stay committed to our discipleship call. That call is simply to love one another as brother-sister, regardless of real or perceived differences, regardless of our social standing, regardless of our ethnicity or cultural values, regardless of our colour, sexual orientation or our “otherness.” When we do that, we alight the spark of Jesus’ love again, praying that it may grow into a great bonfire, burning away the weeds of oppression, coercion and injustice.
Those embers of hope were scattered among the crowd that shouted “crucify him.” They stayed with those who betrayed Jesus. And they stayed with those who quietly left the scene wondering what might become of them. They stayed, they smoldered and then they burst into flames again.
That’s reminiscent of our journey towards Easter.
A very promising entry of goodness, kindness and generosity was stifled shortly after Jesus arrived to palm branches waving and crowds cheering. A Maundy Thursday celebration later this week commemorates Jesus’s last meal with his disciples. We fall then upon Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion. Those days the spark flutters and is nearly extinguished. Then comes the revelation of Easter, when we are reminded that Jesus lives again, the spark is now a flame. Hope is born again.
Hope rode along with Jesus that first Palm Sunday. Hope resides in the Jesus of this Palm Sunday. And we know his spark will never be extinguished as long as we remember his commandment to love one another.
Together we can blow life upon those embers. I wonder what sort of bonfire we might ignite?
Thanks for listening this morning. Amen
1 Hope came riding on a donkey,
hope came riding into town;
hope for peace and justice making,
hope for healing to lay down.
All that gathered, waved and shouted,
Maybe Jesus was the one;
Who could vanquish pain and suffering,
on to live or on to die.
But all the morning sang his praises;
waking birds and dancing wind;
here he is, the Son of David;
riding on to take his throne.
Reflection - Palm Sunday Mar 24-2024 (pdf)
Download
It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
and soon all those around, can warm up in its glowing:
that's how it is with God's love,
once you've experienced it:
you spread God's love to everyone,
you want to pass it on.
Reflection - Mar 17-24 (pdf)
Download
It only takes a spark to get a fire going,
and soon all those around, can warm up in its glowing:
that's how it is with God's love,
once you've experienced it:
you spread God's love to everyone,
you want to pass it on.
Reflection - Mar 17-24 (pdf)
Download
Inspired by Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-21
Several years ago, I volunteered as an on-call chaplain at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. This was part of my pastoral training. I recall one evening being asked to visit a woman and her husband. The later was in very poor health and it was just a matter of time before he slipped away. I remember we had a good visit, the three of us. I recall the gentleman being as cheery as could be expected, given the circumstances. It didn’t appear to me he feared death.
When the time came to leave, the wife met me in the hall and expressed a grave concern. Unlike her, her husband was apparently not a believer, and she was really concerned he was not going to heaven. I was a bit taken aback, but I managed to share something I thought to be helpful. I said something like, “The God I know, and love does not differentiate between those who profess to have specific beliefs or otherwise. We are all God’s children, and we are all loved and cherished equally. I don’t think you need to worry. God will be there waiting to welcome your husband, I’m sure of that.”
I offer those comments because I really believe that is the case. One thing that really irks me is someone who professes to know Jesus and love God puts conditions on our acceptance. If I have to behave in a specific way, follow a specific set of doctrines (or rules), pledge so much support and so on in order to be saved or to be accepted into heaven, I’m bowing out. That is just bad theology and in my view manipulation. It really angers me when folks like the woman with the dying husband are led to believe God’s love is conditional. That’s fearmongering.
Thankfully I wasn’t presented with the text Lillian read this morning from John’s gospel, especially this very well-known verse. 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
If my client had presented that verse to me, she may well have remarked, “see, it says everyone who believes. If my husband is not a believer, how can I be assured his soul will be saved?” She has a point, as would anyone who might quote any number passage from the bible.
I think the first question I would have in this instance is, what do we mean by believe? This question continues to be a huge albatross to the church today. We still tend to tell folks what belief is. Worse, we tell them how to believe. Isn’t that the case in your experience?
Somewhere in your faith journey, I well imagine you have all been subject to rhetoric that has been shared to try and persuade you who God is and why Jesus died. You have been instructed how you should pray. You may have even been criticized that something in your life didn’t work out because you didn’t pray hard enough! The church, and organized religion, has a history of telling us what the spirit is, rather than encouraging us find out, letting us experience it for ourselves.
In my time with the dying man on the hospital bed I saw a gentle spirit, a genuinely fair minded individual, someone who cared about his wife and her feelings, someone who undoubtably was worried about what might happen to her after he was gone. He was concerned how she would cope. Just because he didn’t share with me his favourite biblical verse (if he had one), or want to pray with me said absolutely nothing about his spirit presence, his understanding of God or his “belief”. And he didn’t have to tell me about his faith journey for me to know he was one of God’s own. I didn’t need to hear, “I am a believer.” I was not there to pass judgement. None of us ever are. Either is God.
Joseph Small asks, “Does the good news proclaim God’s gracious love for the world or is God’s love reserved for those who have faith?”[1] A faith that is defined with strict parameters.
God’s gracious love is there for anyone who wishes to embrace it. That surely has to be the answer. How can it be any different if God is the essence of love, generosity, compassion and forgiveness? And as far as “belief” is concerned, a person doesn’t have to “state it” to “be it.” I expect numerous folks wouldn’t even think of themselves as believers when in fact they are. Belief isn’t just measured by one’s formal faith statements, those that we might make at our baptism or confirmation or the things we share in prayer. Belief, knowing or better, living God, is evident by how we are in the world.
I know there are quite a number of volunteers at the Bargain Bin that are not attached to this Community of Faith. They might not be church going people. It doesn’t matter because I do know that they are kind and thoughtful people. I wouldn’t have the audacity to ask any of them if they were believers. But I really don’t need to. I just listen to them having their coffee time or interacting with a client and I know, they “live God.”
A few weeks ago, I was in the pharmacy at the mall next to IGA. I was picking up something for Lenore who uses that store. I go to the one on Beach Avenue. One of the pharmacy assistants came out from the back. She used to work at the Beach Avenue store. She came up to me and said, “Hi Ian,” I haven’t seen you in a while. She had a huge smile on her face, and she gave me a big hug. I felt very blessed. I didn’t have to ask her if she was a believer. She is a living disciple.
How many of those folks do you see and greet around your neighborhood or elsewhere here in Peachland? God lives in them too.
Now the other part of the question I was asked those years ago was if the gentleman I had met in hospital would go to heaven. What a great question for this time of Lent when we journey with Jesus to his ultimate death.
Let’s substitute heaven with eternal life. John shares in his gospel that everyone who believes may not perish but may have eternal life.” How we view eternal life is personal and varied. Some have had clairvoyant experiences that affirm the presence of someone from the past. Others haven’t been so fortunate, but somehow know intuitively the angels of our family members, friends and even pets are here. Somehow, the essence of what was, still is. That might be part of an eternal life, but I’m not certain.
You may have heard it said before that eternal life refers not only to resurrection, or in a life beyond death, but to “knowing” God and Christ. That is, to have intimate communion with God and Christ in this life.[2] W Hulitt Gloer says something else you have likely heard before, “To believe is to have eternal life now.”[3]
Jesus was, and Christ is, the beacon of light in the world. The light that we hold on to when depressing times surround us, and hope seems to have been lost. That light shines on and in individuals who refuse to give up or to give in. Those are the voices that sit with you when you need comfort. They are the hands that hold you up when you are weak. They are the shoulders you lean on when you are not steady enough to stand on your own. This is eternal life now. Eternal life now is in seeing and experiencing God in those kinds of moments.
Eternal life for the refugee is the opportunity for a new beginning; for the abused or battered, a safe Heaven of refuge. For the unhoused it might be a night in from the rain and cold, for the hungry a warm meal at the shelter. For the searching it might be the opportunity to sit quietly in this sanctuary praying for the spirit’s presence. Perhaps for the addict it might be a safe injection site.
For me eternal life is being a part of this ministry with all the encouragements I receive and the love I see between you all. It’s the feeling that you have when you know something you are doing, the way you are living, is helpful and meaningful to someone else. And it is the feeling you receive from someone who cares.
Reflecting back to that evening during my chaplaincy visit, I realize I could have said to the concerned wife, “your husband is a thoughtful, compassionate, and kind man. You obviously care a great deal about him. Rest assured there is a place in heaven for him because he is already there. He is in God’s company now and always has been. He always will be. He has always been a believer.
There are no barrier’s to being within God’s Holy Presence. Belief is recognizing that eternal arms of grace envelope us constantly. Sometimes we just forget to recognize them.
Moses held up an image reminding the people of whose they were, and the people lived. Jesus is lifted up too, lifted for us so we can be reminded to serve, love and forgive. That’s believing. That’s eternal life.
Amen And thanks for listening this morning.
[1] Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 2, Lent Through Eastertide, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, Westminster John Know Press, Louisville Kentucky, 2008, p. 116
[2]Ibid., p. 119, Paul C. Shupe
[3] Ibid., p. 119, W. Hulitt Gloer
Reflection - Mar 10-Lent 4-2024 (pdf)
Download
Inspired by Exodus 20:1-17 and John 2:13-22
Lenore and I are coming up to our 50thanniversary this summer. It is exceedingly hard to believe that much time has gone by since we took our marriage vows. The hair now on my face was on the top of my head then.
I remember the day warmly; it was one of the best times I ever had. Except for the small glitch after the Minister pronounced us Husband and Wife, and then led us off the podium. He didn’t say “you can now kiss the bride,” and so I didn’t. I was really looking forward to that part.
I think it is a shame these days that fewer couples choose a formal ceremony to mark their union. That’s not because I am fickle about couples “living together.” In no way is that a problem for me. My reasoning is that some sort of “formalized service” is a covenant, and a covenant is an important thing. The vows taken and promises made are a declaration of the couple’s love for each other, and their intentions to walk life’s rocky road together, regardless of impediments along the way. And they profess this commitment to witnesses. Thus, it is more than “going through the motions,” or an excuse to have a big party.
With a covenant of course comes obligations. Living up to obligations requires flexibility, sacrifice, understanding and patience. It also often requires forgiveness. Living a life together honouring a marital covenant as you all will know, is not an easy thing.
Lenore and my covenant have, of course, been tested over the years. We have had our most difficult times when I expressed a desire to follow more educational pursuits. It has always been “a thing” with me. In the year 2000 I wanted to do a Master’s program at Royal Roads University in Sooke. Lenore wasn’t thrilled, but she acquiesced when I promised this would be the last educational request I would make. You can imagine her dismay when in 2015, I expressed an interest in entering the ministry. In retrospect a fair question would be whether or not I was living up to my covenantal promises.
Our Lenten time is a time when we recognize covenanting of a different sort. We are asked to reflect on the promises we make in Christian Community and in our lives. We are asked to examine our call in Christian Ministry, taking stock of our shortfalls and pledging to commit once again to discipleship practice. Our covenant is a reminder of our call to action.
Both of our readings for this morning take us down this path and ask us if we are living our covenantal promises.
Throughout biblical history, Yahweh, God of the Hebrew people, made numerous promises with them. God made a covenant with Noah never to flood the earth again. God made a covenant with Abraham promising him he would be the father of nations. In our Exodus reading for today, Yahweh meets Moses on Mt. Sinai and makes a covenant instructing him and his people to follow a set of infamous directives we know today as the “10 Commandments.”
In John’s gospel that Donna shared, Jesus demonstrated his discipleship commitment in the temple. Shopkeepers, artisans, and money changers were making a mockery of the sacred place. It was a place for ritual sacrifice and prayer, not one where cattle, sheep and birds were to be kept. It wasn’t a money exchange.
Jesus had a commitment, a covenant with God to honour the temple as a sanctuary. He was rightfully upset about what he saw, and so he put a stop to it. A covenant was being broken. Jesus could not stand for such a thing.
This day we travel a somewhat different path than the Hebrew people did during their flight from Egypt. And our journey is not the same as Jesus’ was. We do however still have a covenantal relationship with God, Creator, and Holy Love. It is the same covenantal commitment now as was the case a few thousand years ago. But the stone tablets Moses carried down from Mt. Saini have different inscriptions. Perhaps they might read something like this.
1. There is one God; a Holy Presence that is the essence of life and love. That presence is ubiquitous and shows no favouritism.
2. God is known in all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, social standing, gender identity or economic status. God is not exclusively known by any individual or group.
3. All God’s children are held equally, supported on Divine Shoulders, lifted up by Holy Hands.
4. God, comforter, and pastor is always present through our grieving, offering a life-line of compassion, hope and healing.
5. God’s heart, like ours, is broken, and God weeps with us when tragedy strikes, the needy are not cared for, and a voice suffers in silence.
6. God abhors violence, deceit, dishonesty, deception, and abuse of any kind.
7. God cries out when Creation is harmed, when another species is lost, when land is plundered for more resources, when the seas are used as dumping grounds, when the skies are fouled with toxins.
8. God despairs when relationships break down, forgiveness is not practiced and the opportunity for reconciliation is lost.
9. God is angry when human selfishness and greed replace grace and empathy.
10. We are God’s own. God cares and holds precious this creation, everyone and everything in it.
If we are God’s own, we live in a covenantal relationship with God upholding these commandments as our own. The Hebrew people carried them on their wilderness journey. Jesus carried them though his ministry, and he passed the torch to us through his death and resurrection.
This torch however is not easy to hold. We sit in uncomfortable seats. We walk rocky roads. We get frightened. We question and doubt. So did Jesus. Lent reminds us of that. But Jesus had a covenant with God to carry out a new kin-dom reality. That is our covenant too.
Sometimes Jesus must have been encouraged. When the blind beggar could “see” again Jesus’ heart would have been filled with hope. At other times he would have been bewildered. Why, he would wonder, after feeding the 5,000, why his disciples would complain they had no bread to eat? Did they not understand what the bread of life was?
Sometimes Jesus would be angry, like he was in the temple. He was angry because Yahweh’s sanctuary was being dishonoured.
And certainly, Jesus was discouraged as we all are at times. How disheartened he must have been that night in the garden of Gethsemane when he prayed in anguish for the strength to do what had to be done, only to find his friends sleeping when he returned.
A covenantal relationship with God is like a marriage covenant, filled with great joy and also with significant challenge and significant disappointment.
Our joy in God is the Holy Love and Holy Promise we witness with a grandchild’s birth or the return from hospital of a dear friend. Our joy is in the coming spring when creation will renew itself once again with new shoots and blossoms. All the colours of God’s rainbow will be manifest once more. Our joy is the sun on our face or our hands in the soil. Our joy is a dog at play or a piano concerto.
With those joys come disappointments and discouragements. Perhaps our budget will not be balanced after all. The loss of a dear friend, family member or a member of our COF is real heartache. Our failing bodies, our weakening eye sight and hearing. The worry about our children. Our faith helps, but it doesn’t make those things go away.
Sometimes we have no avenue in which to vent our anger and frustration with global unrest, conflict and loss of innocent life. We feel inadequate, unable to make a difference in the lives of those unable to care for themselves, find adequate shelter, secure resources for sustaining food or clothing. We want to help heal the earth, but we are unsure how to do that.
As a covenant people, we want to make a difference, but we are overwhelmed and sometimes unable to sustain our energy and commitment. I expect Jesus experienced that too. I can’t imagine how exhausted he must have been as he strode on to Jerusalem. But day after day, night after night, a weary Jesus walked on. This was a promise made, a covenant with God.
We are walking that path too. It is a different path but just as wearisome. There are joys and we celebrate them. There are sorrows and we grieve. There are mountains we struggle to climb, and we do our best, one small step at a time. We fall down and pick ourselves up again. To lighten our burdens, we join hands in unity when we need to. When we are exhausted, we do like Jesus did, we stop and pray. We stop and pray for reassurance.
Lenten One, be with us on our journey, give us the strength to continue in our ministry. We are called your covenant people. In our quest to serve, serve us with your guidance, your grace and your enduring love.
Amen Thanks for listening to me this morning.
Reflection - Mar 3-24 (pdf)
Download
Inspired by Exodus 20:1-17 and John 2:13-22
Lenore and I are coming up to our 50thanniversary this summer. It is exceedingly hard to believe that much time has gone by since we took our marriage vows. The hair now on my face was on the top of my head then.
I remember the day warmly; it was one of the best times I ever had. Except for the small glitch after the Minister pronounced us Husband and Wife, and then led us off the podium. He didn’t say “you can now kiss the bride,” and so I didn’t. I was really looking forward to that part.
I think it is a shame these days that fewer couples choose a formal ceremony to mark their union. That’s not because I am fickle about couples “living together.” In no way is that a problem for me. My reasoning is that some sort of “formalized service” is a covenant, and a covenant is an important thing. The vows taken and promises made are a declaration of the couple’s love for each other, and their intentions to walk life’s rocky road together, regardless of impediments along the way. And they profess this commitment to witnesses. Thus, it is more than “going through the motions,” or an excuse to have a big party.
With a covenant of course comes obligations. Living up to obligations requires flexibility, sacrifice, understanding and patience. It also often requires forgiveness. Living a life together honouring a marital covenant as you all will know, is not an easy thing.
Lenore and my covenant have, of course, been tested over the years. We have had our most difficult times when I expressed a desire to follow more educational pursuits. It has always been “a thing” with me. In the year 2000 I wanted to do a Master’s program at Royal Roads University in Sooke. Lenore wasn’t thrilled, but she acquiesced when I promised this would be the last educational request I would make. You can imagine her dismay when in 2015, I expressed an interest in entering the ministry. In retrospect a fair question would be whether or not I was living up to my covenantal promises.
Our Lenten time is a time when we recognize covenanting of a different sort. We are asked to reflect on the promises we make in Christian Community and in our lives. We are asked to examine our call in Christian Ministry, taking stock of our shortfalls and pledging to commit once again to discipleship practice. Our covenant is a reminder of our call to action.
Both of our readings for this morning take us down this path and ask us if we are living our covenantal promises.
Throughout biblical history, Yahweh, God of the Hebrew people, made numerous promises with them. God made a covenant with Noah never to flood the earth again. God made a covenant with Abraham promising him he would be the father of nations. In our Exodus reading for today, Yahweh meets Moses on Mt. Sinai and makes a covenant instructing him and his people to follow a set of infamous directives we know today as the “10 Commandments.”
In John’s gospel that Donna shared, Jesus demonstrated his discipleship commitment in the temple. Shopkeepers, artisans, and money changers were making a mockery of the sacred place. It was a place for ritual sacrifice and prayer, not one where cattle, sheep and birds were to be kept. It wasn’t a money exchange.
Jesus had a commitment, a covenant with God to honour the temple as a sanctuary. He was rightfully upset about what he saw, and so he put a stop to it. A covenant was being broken. Jesus could not stand for such a thing.
This day we travel a somewhat different path than the Hebrew people did during their flight from Egypt. And our journey is not the same as Jesus’ was. We do however still have a covenantal relationship with God, Creator, and Holy Love. It is the same covenantal commitment now as was the case a few thousand years ago. But the stone tablets Moses carried down from Mt. Saini have different inscriptions. Perhaps they might read something like this.
1. There is one God; a Holy Presence that is the essence of life and love. That presence is ubiquitous and shows no favouritism.
2. God is known in all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, social standing, gender identity or economic status. God is not exclusively known by any individual or group.
3. All God’s children are held equally, supported on Divine Shoulders, lifted up by Holy Hands.
4. God, comforter, and pastor is always present through our grieving, offering a life-line of compassion, hope and healing.
5. God’s heart, like ours, is broken, and God weeps with us when tragedy strikes, the needy are not cared for, and a voice suffers in silence.
6. God abhors violence, deceit, dishonesty, deception, and abuse of any kind.
7. God cries out when Creation is harmed, when another species is lost, when land is plundered for more resources, when the seas are used as dumping grounds, when the skies are fouled with toxins.
8. God despairs when relationships break down, forgiveness is not practiced and the opportunity for reconciliation is lost.
9. God is angry when human selfishness and greed replace grace and empathy.
10. We are God’s own. God cares and holds precious this creation, everyone and everything in it.
If we are God’s own, we live in a covenantal relationship with God upholding these commandments as our own. The Hebrew people carried them on their wilderness journey. Jesus carried them though his ministry, and he passed the torch to us through his death and resurrection.
This torch however is not easy to hold. We sit in uncomfortable seats. We walk rocky roads. We get frightened. We question and doubt. So did Jesus. Lent reminds us of that. But Jesus had a covenant with God to carry out a new kin-dom reality. That is our covenant too.
Sometimes Jesus must have been encouraged. When the blind beggar could “see” again Jesus’ heart would have been filled with hope. At other times he would have been bewildered. Why, he would wonder, after feeding the 5,000, why his disciples would complain they had no bread to eat? Did they not understand what the bread of life was?
Sometimes Jesus would be angry, like he was in the temple. He was angry because Yahweh’s sanctuary was being dishonoured.
And certainly, Jesus was discouraged as we all are at times. How disheartened he must have been that night in the garden of Gethsemane when he prayed in anguish for the strength to do what had to be done, only to find his friends sleeping when he returned.
A covenantal relationship with God is like a marriage covenant, filled with great joy and also with significant challenge and significant disappointment.
Our joy in God is the Holy Love and Holy Promise we witness with a grandchild’s birth or the return from hospital of a dear friend. Our joy is in the coming spring when creation will renew itself once again with new shoots and blossoms. All the colours of God’s rainbow will be manifest once more. Our joy is the sun on our face or our hands in the soil. Our joy is a dog at play or a piano concerto.
With those joys come disappointments and discouragements. Perhaps our budget will not be balanced after all. The loss of a dear friend, family member or a member of our COF is real heartache. Our failing bodies, our weakening eye sight and hearing. The worry about our children. Our faith helps, but it doesn’t make those things go away.
Sometimes we have no avenue in which to vent our anger and frustration with global unrest, conflict and loss of innocent life. We feel inadequate, unable to make a difference in the lives of those unable to care for themselves, find adequate shelter, secure resources for sustaining food or clothing. We want to help heal the earth, but we are unsure how to do that.
As a covenant people, we want to make a difference, but we are overwhelmed and sometimes unable to sustain our energy and commitment. I expect Jesus experienced that too. I can’t imagine how exhausted he must have been as he strode on to Jerusalem. But day after day, night after night, a weary Jesus walked on. This was a promise made, a covenant with God.
We are walking that path too. It is a different path but just as wearisome. There are joys and we celebrate them. There are sorrows and we grieve. There are mountains we struggle to climb, and we do our best, one small step at a time. We fall down and pick ourselves up again. To lighten our burdens, we join hands in unity when we need to. When we are exhausted, we do like Jesus did, we stop and pray. We stop and pray for reassurance.
Lenten One, be with us on our journey, give us the strength to continue in our ministry. We are called your covenant people. In our quest to serve, serve us with your guidance, your grace and your enduring love.
Amen Thanks for listening to me this morning.
Reflection - Mar 3-24 (pdf)
DownloadBased on Mark 8:31-38 (The Message Bible)
I had Ken read “The Message” translation of the bible by Eugene Petterson this morning, primarily because of his interpretation of Satan in the dialogue between Jesus and Peter. In the version of the bible, we read most often, (The NSRV), Jesus says, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” In The Message interpretation we hear, “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”
I (and I expect all of us) can relate to “get lost.” Just go away, you are not welcomed here. You’re a bad apple, so scram. It is language we relate to. Sometimes alternate biblical interpretations can be helpful.
Just a short while ago Jesus had been in the desert, tempted by Satan. We remember that Jesus was offered the entire kingdom as far as he could see from the highest mountain, but Jesus denied him.
Matthew 4:8 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”
When Jesus says, “Get behind me, Satan!” or in todays reading, “Satan get lost!” as Ken read, Mark is referencing Jesus’ encounter with temptation. Satan offers the easy path to fame and glory through manipulation, coercion, corruption and dishonestly. Satan is the ego which pushes us toward self-gratification. It is representative of status and power. Jesus was offered all this if he would only bow down to Satan, but Jesus of course denied him.
In our gospel for today, Jesus sees Satan tempting Peter. As Jesus began to explain his ministry, he revealed what would be his betrayal and suffering. He revealed his ultimate death and resurrection. And this is a huge shock to Peter who, we can imagine, takes Jesus’ arm and says, “No, no, no, no way! You are the messiah. You will be glorified and made King of the Jews. This is the way it is supposed to work.”
Poor Peter. He, and the rest of the disciples did not understand how God works. There was a little Satan in Peter’s thinking. God is not about prestige and power. God would not raise Jesus above; God would show how servanthood was the way to the new prophesized kingdom.
“The Way” is about following a humble path of justice seeking. It is about sacrificing self for others. It is about self-denial for community good. In Jesus’ ministry it meant going all the way to the cross, defending the poor and oppressed, and opposing Rome and Tiberius. It was not about self-importance, fame, or in any way satisfying his ego.
We are all justice seekers, and we all try our best to be “like” Jesus. We believe in a ministry of service to others, and we all practice it. Our pastoral actions here and outside this COF keep us aligned with our vision and mission.
Our outreach ministry defines discipleship. We are not looking to be in the limelight. We park our ego to serve humbly. We believe in self-sacrifice – you all do that when you place someone’s needs before your own. We hold on to and hold up those who are suffering as best we can.
“Follow me and I’ll show you how,” says Mark’s Jesus. I believe we are following, and we are doing the work we have been called to do.
And when we do that, we are saying to Satan, “get out, go away, you are not wanted here.”
When PUC donated $1264.85 from Food Bank Fridays to the local Food Bank, you all said, “get lost Satan,” We are going to support the hungry in our community. It doesn’t matter how they got here or what their status is. Jesus’ voice is here, and it says we look after our neighbours as we would hope they would look after us.
When the Bake Sale occurs next month, your board made a unanimous decision that all the proceeds would go to purchase a computer for the local elementary school. PUC wants to be a part of the mayor’s program to fund computers for kids. We want to see them educated not left behind. Satan, go away, we don’t need you here. You have no influence. Jesus has taught us about justice, and it is him that we follow. It is his ministry that we advocate in this place.
Some of us come to worship each Sabbath full of spirit and enthusiasm. Some come inquiring. Some come looking for answers. Some come doubting and some come grieving. Others are hoping to see a friend or find peace in a prayer. Some love to sing. Some like a hug. Everyone brings the gift of their presence. The offering plate is full of generosity, and it overflows with love. Satan is nowhere to be found.
Satan would have preferred that Okanagan Lake floated this building away in 2017, aptly known as the year of the flood. But that didn’t happen. And the Bargain Bin survived and now thrives. I think I am correct in saying that the Bin sees more visitors now than they ever has. The volunteers are a happy bunch and enjoy their time together. Folks get great deals on slightly used items and by the way Satan, the needy get what they want, gratis. So get lost, we don’t need you here.
Satan would love it if we had to close our church doors. But we beat Satan again and said get lost, our doors are staying open. We welcome everyone. We hope to befriend anyone who comes through our doors. The rich, the poor, the young the old, the healthy or lame, the questioning, those that celebrate and those that grieve, all are welcome. “As Bob would say, Welcome to PUC, we have a pew for you.” Sorry again Satan, there is no room for you here, take a hike.
I have to admit, like Esther, I was getting a little frustrated with our Audio-Visual equipment. Despite our best intentions we were going nowhere. I think Esther was tempted to give up. I know I was tempted to share a few expletives. I look back on that now and conclude that Satan was winning for a short while. We were dejected and upset. There was a gray cloud at the back corner of the sanctuary. But we have pushed back after deploying a good deal of patience and of course some faith that we would succeed. And we have, good by Satan!
It is so good to be here, to be a part of this COF. In this place exists a cohort of gifted disciples that want to do the best they can. We deploy faith in Jesus and the wisdom of a God of Holy Love to keep the Satans of the world at bay. And we are doing well. We pray that it will remain so.
Amen and thanks for listening this morning.
Reflection - Feb 25-24 (pdf)
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