Pentecost 12 C

{you may notice that the sermons now have "parts" for those curious about this - the parts are spread out through the service. In other words, there is no "20 minute sermon" there are four places where we reflect on the theme... it is an interesting change...}

SETTING FIRE TO THE EARTH

Introduction

Once more we head into difficult Biblical passages. I don’t k now what the people were thinking when they designed this lectionary cycle... after all, isn’t it supposed to be a restful season? Aren’t we supposed to be reassured and sent on our merry way?

After all, God loves us, right? And Jesus is tender meek and mild, right?

And they don’t... expect anything of us.... right?

Ah, but then there is the pesky vineyard images... I tell you, beware if anyone ever starts to tell you about a vineyard – they never go well... Way back in Isaiah we have the prophet asking a question – what would you do if you planted a vineyard and expected grapes and it went wild?

What would you do if you called a congregation together and they just got worse?

What would you do if someone said they were a Christian and jsut got more and more wild?

This is our philosophical starting place for the day – a reality check... God is not all love and kisses, kindness and warm fuzzies. God is God... and we are Gods, and there is a responsibility there – so what is it?

Building on the Promises

A but God keeps coming back – right? I don’t know if you have ever stopped and noticed this – but one of the first things we do in the Communion liturgy is to recite some sort of history of how God saved us over and over and over again.

There are different ones – built Noah and ark, gave Sarah and Abraham children, gave us kings and rulers to govern us like David and Solomon...

It is a very Jewish thing to do, part of our 6,000 year old heritage in which we recognize that despite ourselves, God is always there to save us. In fact, God keeps finding new and better ways to bring us closer – like Jesus, send a messenger who is so full of God’s spirit that we just have to get the point – that would work, right?

Well, again, most of us now, 2000 years later, have completely forgotten what Jesus was like. What we have to remember is that Jesus was the type of guy who got everyone mad at him... disciples, Romans, Jewish authorities; common people in Galilee... in the end, almost everyone had a reason to be against him.

Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that we all want the world to work a certain way – our way...

His original followers were so disappointed in him when he was not the type of Messiah they wanted; the one who would go and wage war and take power back by force from the Romans. Jesus disappointed them and some refused to follow him because of that, others betrayed him because of that.

Here is a question we never consider in the midst of that – what would Jesus feel like? What would God feel like when he saw this playing out?

Would the Real Jesus Please Stand Up

So here is where it gets interesting – you see? This is the Jesus who is fed up with what he sees all around him. He is tired of looking at the poverty, dried up and empty souls, people choosing sides just to be on the winning side instead of the side of justice. Fed up with the fighting and wars, powers of domination and control where people are not free to think for themselves and come to their own conclusions.

And so we hear a Jesus who tells the people around him that he has not come to bring peace. He has not come to just stand there and be silent and happy about a world where people don’t experience mercy, compassion, or justice.

No this Jesus, our Jesus did not come to be silent and let things continue the way they always have. This Jesus, our Jesus has come to bring relationships of mercy, compassion, justice, between God and humanity, and humanity itself.

And we all know that not everybody wants peace and harmony. It is bad for business. So is equality. So is justice for that matter.

Jesus never once said to anyone – you know what – this is perfect just the way it is... and he certainly would not be saying it today. He would not be saying it in the midst of the poverty we have all around us right here in Moncton; he would not be saying it in a country where there are still different “types” of people who get more and less respect. He would not be saying things are perfect when we as a country seem willing to turn back a boatload of refugees washed up on our West Coast.

He would not even say our church is perfect the way it is – would he?

You see, the gospel story is as true today as it was 2,000 years ago. It kind of sets us back on heels; and makes us ask, what is he saying and what does it mean to me??

Well it means the same today as it did then. Jesus told his disciples to go – baptise change people’s lives, help one another find freedom and new life. Follow his Way of life, his values, the values of God – values of the kingdom. Believe in him and follow.

In Jesus day to say you believe in something was to say “I subscribe to that”, I give my heart and my life for that. When we say we believe in Jesus are you prepared to be saying I would give my life for him by choosing to live and follow his Way? Are we willing to say that I will follow his teachings no matter the cost?

What has happened through history and distance from the Jesus who walked on this earth is that many of us have turned belief into a mental exercise saying – yes I believe in Jesus, I agree with what the bible says, he is God’s son etc. Well that is nice but what difference does that make in your life or in the life of anyone else. Jesus died following God’s way. Is it enough for us to say the words “I believe” or doesn’t his life and death mean more than that to us? Doesn’t his sacrifice mean more to us than simply saying I agree? He came to bring new life, freedom to all.

Conclusion

I believe that when challenged by the values of our society and the temptation to give into mass consumption, political efforts to win a debate, taking part in any system that harms the earth, harms the bodies or souls or neighbours, friends, or strangers, or even following what members of our family say in order to keep the peace – we have an obligation to stand for what we call the kingdom of God.

We, as Christians, are held accountable to the fact that we are meant to live a different set of values than those of our worlds.

I would love to see us get together and look at ways we can disentangle ourselves as individuals and Church from the structures and organizations that bind, control, and keep people from experiencing the freedom the Gospel offers.

I would love to be able to find the courage and strength, the conviction of faith to stand in the face of anything that denies mercy, compassion, love and justice and – speak against it, work against it, and live our lives as completely separate as possible from it.

Life is short, life us unpredictable. We need to help one another to embrace the gifts God has offered to us but they are not always easy to obtain. It takes effort, thought, and practice.

It also takes witness, and the retelling of stories of people who have followed Jesus Way despite the cost.

I would imagine that we all have people in our lives, that we have known or witnessed in history that we have seen stand against oppression and filled our lives with hope. Because we know that when we hear them speak and refuse to participate, or give their consent that they are right, we feel it in our gut and in our hearts. Jesus is one of many – there many teachers out there on how to stay faithful to the Way.

What would it be like if we would share those stories (about ourselves or those we admire), and encourage others to do the same. Wouldn’t we make a difference in this community and world?

We are told that Jesus said to go and baptize – go and make followers of me, he said. Go teach and encourage people to not give into the status quo but together in your communities of faith stand for what is right, work for what is compassionate and good and the entire world will know of the glory and goodness of God.

Pentecost 11 - C

The Assurance of Things Hoped For

I have a three year old and a five year old.

I have been on vacation with them for exactly four weeks.

I have learned a lot about the Bible.

PART ONE – Isaiah

“Enough of your burnt offerings – enough of your blood sacrifices!”

Rachael, in that entirely new to the world way, has learned the application of the word “Sorry.” What she lacks is a sense of remorse.

Over the last few weeks I have witnessed her say sorry for hitting her sister, and then continue to hit her. I have seen her say sorry for getting angry and then yell for the same thing. In fact, it appears sometimes that she says sorry first as a way of doing what she wants. This is especially true of shoes. She often says sorry to her older sister for borrowing her shoes right before she goes to the closet and gets them.

Let me make it clear that there is no way she is at fault – she just has not developed a sense of morality or guilt to the point where she could connect actions and reactions. Nor should she have – in her it is cute.

In you and me... not so cute.

This is exactly God’s point, says the prophet Isaiah – Stop with the offerings and incense, stop with the sacrifice and festivals... “Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow...”

In other word’s = grow up; it is not about saying you are sorry, it is about not hitting your sister in the first place. It is not about praying that someone do something about world hunger, it is about growing a garden and giving the food to the foodbank...

The point is not what we say we are going to do – the point is doping what we ought.

PART TWO – Hebrews

My daughters love Marshmallows. Last summer their grandparents introduced them to the idea of campfires “needing” to have marshmallows (thank you very much for that)... and ever since one of their favourite treats is in fact the gooey sponge of sugar we call the marshmallow.

Now – there are often long stretches of time when the marshmallow tree in our house is barren. But this does not deter them from believing they can get one when they ask.

It is actually incredible and goes something like this.

“Can I have a marshmallow?”

“We don’t have any.”

“I need a marshmallow.”

“I can’t give you one, there are none.”

“I need a marshmallow.”

After which you try reasoning, you open the cupboard to show it bare, and FINALLY convince her there are no marshmallows.

“So, later then,” she says and nods her head.

Later could be five minutes to five hours... but the thought that I can provide marshmallows on demand never leaves her head. She hopes for marshmallows, and she trusts that they will be provided.

The unfortunate thing is that I know somewhere in the life of my children they will lose this sense of the goodness of the universe. They will be disappointed, their hearts will be broken, something will become “unfixable” and in that moment – they, and I, will experience a little death.

Why can’t we live in hope? Why do we have to start seeing the dark side of life rear its ugly head so early; and allow it to take away the joy we find? I don’t know the answer... and it is in fact one of those things I fight against in myself every single day...

It is also exactly what the author of Hebrews is talking about:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Then he talks about all the faithful characters in the Bible like Abraham and concludes:

“All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them... they were not thinking of the land they left behind, they were seeking something better...”

So to be faithful is not so very different than working continuously to bring marshmallows into the house while fully believing they will come one day.

The lesson from my kids, and from Hebrews, is to keep believing the promises are true – even when the evidence makes it hard... believe the world could and will be better... and live faithfully towards that goal...

It might take generations. But we will get there.

PART THREE – Luke

My oldest daughter Emily has been known to get up after we put her to bed and secretly get dressed.

Sometimes in the morning she is wearing a part dress. Sometimes it is play clothes. A few times it turns out to be a swim suit.

She is ready.

It makes it a whole lot easier; let me tell you, then trying to pry out of them what they would like to do today... “A party dress, I see we are celebrating...” and then we can work out what exactly we are celebrating!

Like it or not, the world brings things into your life. It could be a sunny day, a rainstorm, a friend popping by, a sudden death, sickness, or unexpected wealth.

The question Jesus asks of his followers is simple, “Are you ready!”

My daughter has convinced me that it is as simple as having the right thing to wear. We try to make it more difficult – we try to ask all sorts of questions, and prepare, and plan and... Well – the unexpected happens anyway.

A lot of what Jesus was trying to say was that life is as simple as “It is sunny, here is a river, we have a swimsuit, let’s enjoy it!”

I don’t mean to minimize pain and hardship in any way – a lot of things in life hurt us... and there are holes there that can never be filled. But the truth is, those things are going to happen to us all – some tragically, some unexpectedly, some sooner, and some later... Be prepared and live your life anyway.

In the book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” there is some advice I will never forget. The author rather bluntly says that we should speak to everyone as if they will unexpectedly die before we get the chance to talk to them again.

Imagine that – imagine how you would change your tone, your parting words, if they were to be your last...

Being faithful is about living life as if anything could happen – and diving right in – and enjoying what God has put before you as best you can – and knowing that the hard times are there anyway...

Conclusion

SO there you have it – religious lessons from Toddlers:

• · Saying you are sorry only counts if you try to change.

• · Someday there will be Marshmallows.

• · Wearing a party dress to bed pretty much assures a party the next day.

OR, if you really need it in religious terms:

• · It is by our actions that we show our faithfulness.

• · Hope is the assurance of things we might never see, but believe in nonetheless.

• · Live your life prepared for whatever God brings your way next.

It was not for nothing that Jesus said unless you become like a little child you cannot enter the Kingdom.

The fact of the matter is that little children are the only ones who LIVE in the kingdom. They see the wonder of the world. They can watch a spider spin a web and be amazed, they believe that promises will be fulfilled, they trust in the world’s goodness, they would help a stranger if they were crying, they laugh more than they cry.

Time to start living like them again – then we will be helping Jesus out.

MARITIME CONFERENCE ORDINATION

On this Sunday I attended the Ordination Service for new ministers at Sackville. The sermon was preached by the outgoing President, the Rev. Robert Johnson. I am including the qoutes he used in his sermon because I think they are really good.

It was an excellent sermon which boiled down to "being a Christian means doing, even when it is hard"

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Daring Church

May 30, 2010 – Maritime Conference Annual Meeting Sunday

Psalm 8 and John 13:31-35

To escape criticism — do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. - Elbert Hubbard, American writer, satirist, artist, philosopher, keen proponent of the early arts and crafts movement

(If you find yourself being criticized in the midst of your ministry, know that means you are doing something, something that probably needs to be done.)

Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing. - Albert Schweitzer

And, these words of Sarah Hall Maney, written in 1982, might serve as a more contemporary and contextual reflection of Psalm 8:

You are an original blessing…

God danced

On the day (you were) born, God danced.

Did you really, God?

Was it a ritualistic, dignified bow-from-the-waist kind of dance?

Or was it just possibly a wild and crazy arm-flinging kind of thing?

Did you pronounce somberly that here was another ‘good girl (boy)’ that you had created?

Or did you yell and holler and grab the guy on the corner to let him know that this time you had really done it!

This time you created a winner…

This one was going to go all the way!

I hope you did, God…

I really hope you did.

In his book The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus, Peter Gomes tells of a preaching assignment he had in a very prestigious church. Of the occasion, he writes:

“…just as the rector and I were about to proceed to our prayers before the service, a wildly disoriented young man burst into the room. He spoke loudly…nonsensically, seemingly either ‘on’ or ‘off’ something. Whatever it was…his erratic behaviour was familiar to (my host), who treated him with enormous but firm courtesy and let the little tantrum run its course. The intruder left as abruptly as he had arrived, and while I was shaken the rector was not, and was clearly used to the interruption. As we pulled ourselves back together, his thoughtful comment to me was, ‘I keep hoping (he) isn’t Jesus.’” (pg 197)

Mark Twain said: “It is not what I don’t understand in the Bible that troubles me; it is what is perfectly clear that does.”

Peter Gomes: “To love God is one thing…what is it to love what (...as) God loves?”

Jesus says, “By this (kind of loving) all people will know that you are my disciples”, i.e., followers, students

Pentecost - C - 2010

PANENTHIESM FOR THE MASSES

I am not religious, I am spiritual.

If I had a nickel for every time I have been told that.... and what exactly does it mean anyway? If you looked it up in the dictionary you would find that “Spiritual” means; of, relating or pertaining to spiritual or religious values. While the definition of “Religious” is: related to or pertaining to religious beliefs and practice. There is not much difference there....

Of course, I know that when people tell me they are spiritual they are actually saying that they have no need to go to church.

“I find God when I walk in the forest, or do Yoga, or Meditate, or listen to the Dalai Llama...” they tell me. Well of course you do; so do I. I would even take it further and say you could find God while taking out the trash, bathing the kids, driving to work...

Unfortunately, God is not a one on one experience. Sure, we have moments of connection with God, we feel the presence of God, but God is made manifest in community. Which is a fancy church way of saying, you find God in church.

There is not a single person in the Bible who has an experience of God while they are all alone and then immediately is ‘faithful.’ Every single one of them goes to the Temple and checks it out, or speaks to the elders, or finds God revealed in the group.

Paul saw Jesus on the road... but it was not until he went into town, stayed in a Christian House, and met with a holy man that he was actually converted... then the scales fell off his eyes and he knew what God was like.

Even Abraham, who is reported to have had more one on one conversations with God than anyone past or present, and who was really a minority because at one point he might have been the only one on the planet following God, worked these things out with his family as he went.

We never fully find God alone.

Here is why: God is greater than the sum of the parts. God is everywhere, in everything, and working through everyone. If you wanted to move a fridge you could possibly do it alone – it would take a while, you might get a hernia, and you will certainly scratch the floor. With two people it is easier, with four it is a cinch.

God is like that – and although we always use it to justify small churches, the phrase, ‘where two or three are gathered’... well, it originally meant the opposite of what we now mean by it: God is only fully present when there is more than one person; when there is a relationship; when love is exchanged.

Pentecost is sometimes called the ‘birthday of the Church’ because it is really the first time that things got organized. Before Pentecost was a period of figuring things out, of wondering what to do if Jesus was not actually leading on a day to day basis. There were encounters and holy moments a plenty, on roads and at the seashore... but no one really knew what to do.

Then they all gathered in Jerusalem. If you follow the story, this is the first time all of them have gotten together since the days after Easter when they were locked away in the upper room. And not only are all the disciples together in one place, there is a multitude of people out and about – some of them listening to the disciples.

And – the presence of God is made manifest... Have you ever had one of those moments where time and space seem to strip away, where there is a sense that there is more going on than meets the eye? I often have them at Christmas Eve services, with the darkness and candles, I get a real sense that God might just be being born into the world again.

Well, here, Peter and the whole gang suddenly get it, they suddenly begin preaching with power, they suddenly reach out across the barriers of class and race and language and everybody understands them. Everyone who walks by realizes that God is at work in this moment – it is almost visible as tongues of fire... it is the Holy Spirit.

And by that we mean it is the presence of God in and around and through everything.

God is suddenly known in the sum of all the parts that are gathered together, and the power of God is so much more than people imagined... it is more than the beauty of a sunset. It is more than the feeling of peace as you walk beside the still water. It is more than the power of the ocean waves crashing on the shore... it is more than spirituality.

It is church. It is God made manifest in the life and work of God’s people. The possibilities are endless for us, and that my friends, is the good news.

Easter 07 - C - 2010

THAT ALL MAY BE ONE

I have this feeling that life is actually a series of beginnings and endings; of hellos and goodbyes.

Often, well, actually, always, it is hard to tell the difference. Every ending is the beginning of something else, and every beginning is in its own way, an ending.

Do you remember how we start the narrative story when we celebrate communion? We always say, “On the night before Jesus died…” And that recognition brings us back to a very clear remembrance that Jesus did die – that the hopes of the disciples were dashed, and that everything changed.

Of course, those events of the Last Supper and even the crucifixion turned out to be just a beginning of a different kind, of the season of Easter – the time when Jesus, or rather, the resurrected Jesus, was present in the world and interacting with the disciples to help them continue his work.

Now the time has come to say farewell once more.

Over the last seven weeks we have journeyed with the disciples as they have come to terms with Jesus death and resurrection. From the first day he appeared behind the locked door, we too have had to try and understand what it might mean that Jesus was resurrected. How does it change things? What happens now?

Take a moment and think about that… what does it mean to you; this whole Easter story? What does it mean that Jesus was brought back from the grave?

~

The opening to this Sunday’s service could well be “On the night before Jesus left…”

“The glory which thou has given me,” he tells God, “I have given to them…”

The passing on of a mantle, of a mission, of a calling to share God’s love with those who would come after; and in doing so, to reveal God’s glory.

I remember that when I was ordained it was a pretty powerful moment. A group of clergy placed their hands on top of my head and said very similar words, passed something on to me… a tradition, a calling, a challenge… and set me free to live my faith.

Baptism and Confirmation are times when that same glory is transferred to each and every one of us. Jesus said, “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word.” This is not only a goodbye prayer for the disciples, it is a continuing blessing for us – their followers.

“I in them, and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one.” That the world may become perfectly one. This is the prayer that Jesus has for us.

This Farewell Prayer always calls to mind the prayer once offered by Elie Wiesel to someone who was about to be ordained a priest: "May this day mark the beginning of a mission that will bring many, many people closer to each other, closer to God, and closer to themselves." I wonder if Elie Wiesel knew he was paraphrasing Jesus' last prayer for all of us. For this mission is the one mission we all share, no matter whether we are Christians and Jews, Islamic or Hindu; we are the people of God.

And this unity is possible – Because God’s love is a powerful force for good. We are one, because we are unified in God’s love. And that love is with us in every instance of our lives – it sets us free.

Just look at Paul and Silas. They were trapped in the deepest darkest prison, shut away from their friends and companions, not knowing what was going to happen next – they could even die. And in the midst of that what are they doing? They are having a hymn sing! Even in this moment God’s love still rings through their heart.

There is a freedom there that hopefully many of us will never have to experience, a freedom that allows us to live the abundant life Jesus promised no matter what is happening around us. It makes me think of the Slaves in the Southern States, who even though they were born into a harsh life of absolute slavery, still wrote songs of great love and beauty – like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”; or take a moment and turn to hymn 577…

“I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul.” Can you imagine singing those words over grits in your slave shack? Do not underestimate the power of God’s love to make us whole – to bring us that glory that Jesus spoke of.

A story is told of these two soldiers who wanted to bury their companion over in France. They looked through the village until they finally found a small church with an adjoining cemetery. It happened to be a Roman Catholic graveyard and the man was a Protestant. So the two friends went to find the priest and ask permission to bury their friend. The priest refused because the man was not Catholic, but seeing how disappointed they were he told them they could bury their friend just outside the cemetery fence – which they did.

A few weeks later they returned to visit the grave and looked high and low but could not find it. Their search led them back to the priest and, of course, they asked him what had happened to the grave. He told them that during the night they first arrived he had been unable to sleep because he had made them bury their friend outside of the fence. So he got up and moved the fence to include the dead soldier.

“I in them, and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one.”

It’s a powerful statement of unity and the calling that Jesus left us with. But the other interesting thing about unity is that we are not talking about making everyone exactly the same. God’s love does not require us to all look alike, or think alike, or act alike. This is a unity of spirit, a unity of love, in which all of our differences actually help to strengthen us.

Ralph Milton tells a story which I would like to share today; a story about concrete. He writes:

I watched them pour the driveway to our house. The workers laid down steel rods, then as they poured the cement, they pulled the rods up so they would be in the middle of the concrete as it hardened.

“What do you need the rods for?” I asked one of the workers.

“It makes the concrete stronger. Reinforced concrete.”

“Yes, I know, but how do the rods make the concrete stronger?”

The worker picked up one of the rods. “Look, if you push down on it, it bends real easy.” His muscles bulged and the rod bent. “But you can't pull it apart. This hunk of rod could pull that truck over there. On the other hand, a piece of concrete is easy to pull apart. But if you push down on it, it won't bend."

“So?” Ralph asked.

“So they've got opposite strengths. The steel is strong when you pull, the concrete is strong when you push. Put them together, and you've got reinforced concrete, which is strong both ways. That's how they make all those big buildings and bridges. Concrete by itself or steel by itself wouldn't be strong enough.”

Jesus knew that no one person would be strong enough to pick up where he left off, but he knew that together we could share God’s love the way it was meant to be shared. He prayed for our unity so that we might pick up where he left off – but he also prayed that we might come to understand God’s love and live out of that place of freedom that allows prisoners to sing in the dark and slaves to laugh.

And so, on this last Sunday of the Season of Easter we pray to God as Jesus prayed; that God's love might continue to dwell in us - and that we may be one. We pray that our love for each other - our unity - may be shown not only to each member of the family of God that walks through these doors - but to those outside these doors as well - so that all might believe. Amen.

Easter 6 - C - 2010

Come on Over

A Mother’s Day Theology

(This is either the text of or adapted text of a sermon by Rev. Jan Croucher. Preached at Heathmont Baptist Church, Victoria, Australia, May 12 1996. I used this as the starting point for what I said.)

Imagine if you will that one night you go to sleep peacefully content with your life... now, at some point during the night Jesus appears in your dream and says, “Come over to Macedonia and help us...”

Now, I would probably grab my Iphone at breakfast and look up where in the world Macedonia actually was; and then maybe forget about it. But what if, what if, all day long you could not shake the feeling that God had somehow spoken to you in that dream?

What if as the days went on the conviction seemed clearer and clearer? Suppose you pick up the paper and on the front cover is a story about Macedonia? Well, isn’t that a coincidence... two times in one week and I had never really heard of the place before. Then there is a radio advertisement ... “Tired of living without adventure? Westjet now flies twice a week to Macedonia.”

I for one would start wondering what was really going on... I would probably start thinking someone is trying to tell me something...

Oh, if only life was ever that clear.

Of course, we are reading the story selectively; and I want to tell you that it was almost never that clear for the disciples either... in fact, this story is the third missionary story in a row; and the first two, well, they didn’t work.

First, Paul tried to go to Asia and preach the good news, only to fail. Then the band of disciples gets run out of Asia Minor... Then Paul has a dream, “Try Macedonia...” he is told with all the conviction the Spirit can muster.

~

This is the secret very rarely talked about part of our faith – the reality that for everyone who follows God, getting it right 1 out of 3 times is probably the best you can hope for.

Some of them, like Moses, take five times to convince pharaoh, and 40 years of failure to find the Promised Land...

But the faithful response, we are told over and over, and the response that comes closest to connecting to the sacredness of the world, is to keep trying.

And I am here to tell you; I think that is easier for women than for men... I am not sure why, but I just truly think women, and mothers in particular, are more persistent and capable than men are.

Now I realize that some of us come from families where our mothers were terrible to us, or they left us, or perhaps motherhood is a sore point because we are one of the 16% of the population who can’t have kids...

But just like the disciples, who are not famous for the bad examples, but rather, remembered as an ideal to live up to; even though most of the time they were complete failures; I want to suggest to you that today we are talking about an ideal way of looking at the world – one which takes failure and turns it into success, one that is about relationship, not only with each other, but with God as well. For just a second I want you to think, Paul is acting more like the good mother than anything else – he is filled with compassion, he is overlooking the current failures, he is willing to go to great lengths to care for someone else...

Paul himself recognizes that women are far more likely to be capable of understanding the spiritual depth of God’s love; as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, a lot of the people Paul puts into positions of authority in the new church are in fact women; like Dorcas, or like Lydia.

And they are not a biblical anomaly – Women have always played an equally important part in the history of our faith – here is a short example:

There was Miriam who led the people in praising God after the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex 15:21), Ruth who put God first and became the ancestress of King David (Ruth 1:16;4:17), Deborah, a judge in Israel (Judges 5), Hannah who ‘lent to the Lord’ the child of her prayers (1Sam 1:28), Esther who took her life in her hands to plead for her doomed people, the widow whose obedience sustained the prophet Elijah (1Kings 17:9-16), a little captive maid who told Naaman’s wife of the man of God who could cure Naaman of his leprosy (2Kings 5:2-4), the woman who anointed Jesus with the expensive ointment (Mk14:3), the poor widow’s gift of two mites which won Jesus’ praise (Mk 12:43), Mary who gave birth to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Luke 1:28), Martha who served and Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:38-42), Mary Magdalene who brought spices to anoint Jesus, who first greeted the risen Lord and who received the first commission -’Go tell’ (Jn 20:17-18; Mk 16:9), Lydia one of the first converts in Macedonia (Acts 16:14), Dorcas – full of good works (Acts 9:36), Phebe & Priscilla – servants of the church (Ro 16:1-4), Lois and Eunice who had sincere faith (2Tim 1:5), Persis ‘the beloved’ and Tryphena and Tryphosa who laboured for the Lord (Romans 16:12).

You see, there have always been two ways of seeing God, of seeing reality in the Bible – they sort of go through the whole thing side by side; and over the years we have focused too much on one at the expense of the other.

The one you and I grew up with is the Monarchial model of God. It is a way of seeing God that was filtered through those who held most of the power; unfortunately that was almost always men, and that said that God was king of the universe.

This is what we all heard in Sunday School, it is the God who holds all the power, who is out there somewhere watching us, and who is going to punish us if we are bad.

What we have to understand is that our faith really does not point us in this direction, it is a distortion.

The second way of seeing God, and the one that even the Bible uses far more often, is the Divine Lover model of God. It’s there all the way through – for example, the prophet Isaiah tells the people in exile, “You are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you... do not fear.” (Is. 43:4)

Or how about Song of Solomon, where God is pictured as not just a lover, but a very enamoured lover? What about one of the most famous lines of the whole Bible, “For God so loved the world...” (Jn. 3:16)

This is in fact what the entire Bible and the entire teaching of Jesus tries to get across to us, that God loves us. We, however, always picture God as the old man in the sky who judges us. This is a little harsh, but I gotta say, that seems a little bit like we have a psychological problem...

So what does it mean to picture God as divine lover? Well, here is another word that the Bible throws around pretty liberally. God is “compassionate;” which literally means, “to suffer with...”

I would like to suggest that we might be far better off understanding God as our mother.

“Just as a Mother feels compassion for her children and wills their well being and can become fierce in the defence of her children, so God feels compassion for her children, and wills their well being, and can become fierce in the defence of her children, all of her children,” writes Marcus Borg in the book, God at 2000.

That is an understanding of God I can understand...

Again, not all mothers are like that, and not all of us can be like that, but I am talking about God here. God is the ideal state of the love that we should all have... and we can find that love echoed in the best love that we can find in mothers....

Let me read you one more thing, something written by a minister in Australia named Jan Croucher;

A MOTHERS’ DAY CREED

I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living

God, who was born of the promise to a virgin named Mary.

I believe in the love Mary gave her Son, that caused

her to follow him in his ministry and stand by his cross as he

died.

I believe in the love of all mothers, and its importance

in the lives of the children they bear.

It is stronger than steel, softer than down, and

more resilient than a green sapling on the hillside.

It closes wounds, melts disappointments, and enables

the weakest child to stand tall and straight in the fields of

adversity.

I believe that this love, even at its best, is only

the shadow love of God, a dark reflection of all that we expect

of him in this life and the next.

And I believe that one of the most beautiful sights

in the world is a mother who lets this greater love flow through

her to her child, blessing the world with the tenderness of her

touch and the tears of her joy.

Thank God for mothers, and thank mothers for helping

us understand God!

.

Easter 05 - C - 2010

God 2.0

My God is better than your God!

Have you ever said something like that? Taunted someone like a child would because of religion? How about if we said, The United Church is better than the Wesleyans! What about saying Mount Royal is better than Central!

Sounds childish, doesn’t it? Childish, but unfortunately so true... No, no, not true, just human nature. Comparison is something we fall prey to far too often...

2000 years ago these same comparisons were being made – remember how Jewish people felt about Samaritans? Well, there was someone they hated even more... the Gentiles... the non Jewish, well, usually Roman people who were always causing problems and did not understand how important faith was for the chosen people.

So, keep that in mind, and listen again to the opening of our passage from Acts....

“Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.”

Gentiles! Accepting the Word of God? Who can believe such a thing – especially when the quick list of Gentiles is also a list of those people who at one time or another had conquered Jerusalem: Romans, Egyptians, Philistines, and Assyrians? Gentiles were the type of people who God did not like very much; and basically that list included everyone else.

Gentiles were also the people who didn’t bother to follow any of the simple rules that God laid out for being a good and faithful follower; rules like washing your hands and not eating shellfish. We all know exactly what God wants us to do, right?

Well – ok – there is the real problem... the real problem is that we are quite certain WE know what God wants.

When I was younger I was convinced God was a really really old guy on a cloud with white hair and beard… not quite Santa Clause, more like Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings.

For some reason it never registers on us, but the Bible lists hundreds of words or phrases to describe God... none of them, by the way, says anything about the old man in the clouds...

God is a Creator; God is the Alpha and Omega – the Beginning and the End. And the list goes on… invisible, powerful, glorified, loving, like a mother hen, like a clap of thunder, like a father, even the sound of silence.

If you think about it, the real problem is that we have no physical description of God: No where are we told, God is 6’4’’, God is a woman, or God has the appearance of a regal 65 year old… Instead, we are told what God acts like; or how God behaves… and the list is kind of vague and way too long, so we edit.

God would never drink sherry for communion. God would support Capitalism. God is against Abortion. God is on the side of the Allies not the Axis. God is heterosexual – you get the picture… the danger is that we start to define God as being very, very much like we are.

Which is how Peter and the rest of them felt; God was not only Jewish, God was really Jewish.

They thought that Jesus, as the Messiah, came to save the Jews... end of story...

And you could easily tell who was in and who was out, who was a Jew and who was not, by looking at what they eat. Jewish people keep the kosher food laws, and Roman people do not... easy, right?

Of course, one of the things we should know about God after all this time is that God loves to challenge us, and God challenges Peter with a vision: God sets a picnic up and asks Peter to eat; but the problem is that it is food that has never touched his lips; food that would make him ritually unclean; food that would make him just like those Romans…

I want to suggest to you that this is one of the great turning points of the faith. You see, at this moment Christianity moved from being a religion of God’s chosen people, to the religion of everybody... This was God erasing the line in the sand and saying, my love is for everyone, even the people over there.

We might think that God does not like people who belong to another language or racial division; French, Spanish, black, Chinese. It might be a class distinction, God only likes rich people, or educated people, or working class people. Perhaps we would put those with mental illness, or depressed people outside of the line. What about life style, does God really love those who drink, gamble, smoke or drive SUV’s? And we all know that Sexuality plays a big role – God doesn’t want anything to do with the divorced, the unwed pregnant, homosexuals and perhaps even single people… The one I struggle with the most is religion; some people would put Islam out of God’s reach. Others, like me, are more subtle: God does not, in my opinion, listen to the prayers of fundamentalists – or at least that’s what I think on a bad day.

The point is that we all have someone; from our sister in law Susie, to the Ayatollah of Iran who we think is not worthy of God’s love, who is unclean in that ritual sort of way, and who we would not want to have anything to do with.

But what if God set up a picnic for us both? What if we were forced to eat together?

Peter, when he was explaining himself to the other apostles, had this to say in verse: 11:17 “If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"

It is a phrase that catches me up short – who am I, that I could hinder God? If I do not like someone, if I am against some policy or other – does that mean that God sits on my side of the fence? But what are we to do since all of us suffer from a similarly narrow point of view when it comes to our likes and dislikes?

How about if we ask ourselves one simple question: what is the commandment that Jesus left us with? We are to love one another.

Now, if I am to truly love the people around me I have to accept that no matter what I think of them, I am not right – and God loves them anyway. Not only that, but God might think they are more right about things than I am, and God loves me anyway.

When we pray our prayer of confession it is this that should be right up there at the front of the list – I have not loved everyone, or perhaps even anyone yet today, the way that God would have me love them. And trust me, of this I am repentant; because what an incredibly wonderful world God has given us – filled with beauty and creativity and diversity – I know that everyone I meet is a person who can make my life a better one, and so I try, I really try.

After all, Jesus tried to tell us: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”