Easter 06 - Mother's Day

All About the Love….

Introduction

Well, this is mother’s day.

Do you know that this day is celebrated in almost every country in the world, either in April or May? However, they all trace their roots back to the American Civil War, and the early 1900’s in the US.

In 1870 Julia Ward Howe made a “Mother’s Day Proclamation” ... it ameout of a group of mother's who had been meeting to protest the violence of the American civil war and was trying to re-unite families that had been divided. 

Then in 1908 Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother and began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. It took 6 years, but it was eventually recognized and spread worldwide.

The original idea that prompted both of these women to start a holiday was the idea of love, and that this love was first learned in the family, and for most of us, through our mother….
It was meant to be a moment to recognize all the goodness that went into bringing you up…

With the Kids

Theme: Show your love by your actions (Mother's Day)
Object: A Mother's Day card

I am sure that all of you know that it is Mother's Day. Did you give your mother a card or a present for Mother's Day? This Mother's Day card says, "Mom, I love you!" Do you think your mother likes to hear you tell her that you love her? Of course she does! But do you know what your mother would like even more? She would like for you to show her that you love her.

What are some ways you can show your mother that you love her? Well, you might help out around the house. You could clean your room or empty the trash. You could show her that you love her by obeying her when she tells you to do something. You can show her you love her by getting along with your brothers and sisters. It is easy to tell your mom that you love her, but if you really love her, your actions will show it!

Do you think that God likes to hear us tell Him that we love Him? I know He does. But He likes it even better when our actions show Him that we love Him. How do we do that? The Bible tells us that, "God showed his love for us by sending His one and only Son so that we might live through him." It goes on to say that, "since God loved us so much, we ought to love one another." One of the best ways to show our love for God is to love one another. Yes, God likes to hear us say, "I love you," but He would rather see us say, "I love you."

As we celebrate Mother's Day, let's tell Mom that we love her, but more important, let's remember to show her that we love her. And as we worship today, let's tell God we love him, but more important, let's remember to show him we love him by loving one another.

Dear Lord, we have come to your house today to say, "I love you." Help us to go out of here today and show you that we love you by our actions. Amen.

Love the Parent Love the Child

Today’s readings are not about mothers per se. But the one thing they all have in common is the idea of love.

Now, love is a difficult concept to get our heads around. I love steak. I love ice cream, there is “tough love” there is the love I have for my daughters, there is the love I have for my girlfriend, there is the love I have for my mother… All of those things are quite different, I think.

Or are they…

When Jesus spoke of love he spoke of a feeling that comes from God. The disciples echoed this and claimed that if you loved God, you would keep the commandments – you would “act” out of love.

Now, none of them really said what this love looked like. There are no real speeches that say, go buy flowers on mother’s day. The Bible does not tell you that it is a commandment to hug someone when they are sad…

Instead, the Bible makes a big deal about being “like” Jesus.

And Jesus was a guy who did certain things… he ate with people who were lonely, he listened whenever anyone talked to him, whether they were rich or poor good or bad, smart or dumb, he laughed when people told him jokes, he danced at parties, he just smiled knowingly when the friends lowered their sick friend through the roof jumping the line…

The thing the disciples knew about Jesus was that he cared, passionately, about everyone and everything….

Now, I know that not all mothers are the epitome of love. I certainly know that not all sons make it easy to love them. But I do know a little about trying to love like God, like Jesus, and I know it is not easy for any of us.

The best opening monologue of any movie – or for that matter any story in my opinion, also comes from the movie, Love Actually – in which we find Hugh grant, playing the Prime minister of England, speaking in the background as the camera pans across a group of people coming into the airport from their plane. He says:

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinions starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion love actually is all around.”

The type of love that is based not on passion, not simply on romance, but based on the actual caring heart reaching out to one another, is, all around us... this is what Jesus was trying to say to his disciples when he told them that even when they could no longer see him physically with them - they would still be able to recognize the presence of what Jesus stood for – of love.

But at the same time – this is the type of love that you have to do in order to get.

There was this man who was trying to read a serious book, but his little daughter kept interrupting him. She would lean on his knee and look up and say, “Daddy I love you.” And he would reach down and pat her absently on the head and say “Yes dear, I love you too.” And then give her a little push, an encouraging suggestion to be on her way, to go play, so he could get back to his book. But as this happened a couple of times it never satisfied the little girl, so finally she ran across the room, jumped up on his lap, threw her arms around him and said, “Daddy I love you, and I just have to DO something about it!” You see, as we grow in love we are not content with the small talk love, or the pat on the head love, we want to get involved and DO something about it.

When Jesus was nearing the end of his ministry with the disciples – it was this message that he meant to get across... think back to what Jesus said was the greatest commandment we should follow: "You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbour as yourself." After he said that, Jesus went on to finish with... "DO THIS and you will live."

If you love me – if you are a follower of Jesus – if you love God; you will keep my commandments.

Conclusion

There is a little bit of Mother’s Day and Jesus’ Sermon overlap in this sermon.

I don’t think Jesus would mind.

The Catholic Church took the motherhood of Jesus seriously enough to make Mary, the mother of Jesus, more than a Saint.

The thing is that Jesus wanted us all to understand love and compassion, and he wanted us to live that way. And today, on Mother’s day, we can remember the first person who ever showed us that type of compassion… our mother.

Easter 5 B

Connected to the Vine

Introduction
If I said the word “Evangelism” I wonder what you would hear.

The Dictionary defines it as spreading the Christian Gospel by personal witness or zealous advocacy.
Some might define it as “being on fire for the Lord” and going out and trying to convert everyone…

Jesus defined it as working in the vineyard.

Anyone out there drink wine… or how about this, ever visited a vineyard? It's really interesting to see how the grapes are grown. I used to live in wine country in Quebec, half of the people I knew were trying to make a go of it, starting their own vineyard… I have also been to a couple in Nova Scotia… There is the Jost Vineyard, which is in a place called Malagash, and there is another one down near Wolfville Nova Scotia, Pres D’en Haut.

Most people don't think of Nova Scotia as wine country, it is a pretty harsh climate all in all, and grapes need warmth and sunlight… these two are located in what is called a micro-climate, they are places where the temperature, because of sea air and hills, and what have you, remains pretty constant for a longer period of time.

Jesus is always talking about vineyards. It is a metaphor he uses all the time… so in case you have never been, here is what you need to know – they are chaotic… Grape vines do not grow in a straight line, they need to be supported on trellis… grapes are fragile, if the birds don’t get them the frost might.

Ah, but then again, anyone who has eaten a fresh grape right off the vine knows, it is worth it.

Branches (Story Time)

Adapted from Sermons4Kids.com
Object: Two branches that has been broken from a tree -- one with leaves withering, the other without any leaves at all.

-          Recently I was working in the yard and I found this branch underneath a tree. I guess it had been broken off by the wind. It still has some buds on it…

-          Do you think that if I took it and planted it in the ground it would come back to life? No, that wouldn't work, because the branches get the nutrients that they need to live from the tree.
-           Branches cannot live or grow without the tree.

Jesus said something similar… he said, "I am the vine and you are the branches….”

What do you think he meant?

I think we are supposed to stay connected to God. We will be stronger, we will grow, we will do great things.

The Tree of Life

So here is another question for you… anyone ever been to the Animal Kingdom Park in Disney World in Florida?

In the centre of that the Animal Kingdom is a massive tree, which they call, the Tree of Life. It is really a towering statue, shaped like a tree, branches, leaves, everything… but the Trunk, which is as big as a house, is carved with intricate animal carvings; presumably, of all the animals, insects, birds and fish on the earth… or at least most of them.

It is pretty symbolic. It shows we are all connected, all part of the same tree… unfortunately, it is also fake. Last week a branch, or two, or three… you get conflicting stories, fell off and almost hit some people sitting on a park bench.
There is a difference between being glued onto the “tree of life” and being a part of the real vine.

We are a part of God’s vine. We are strengthened and supported by that connection.
I don’t suppose you have heard the radio ad lately for Ronald McDonald House… it is really effective. It starts out and says look at your finger. Well… look at your finger. How much can you lift with your finger? A light shopping bag perhaps…. Now look at your hand. Do you know that your hand is 40 times stronger than your finger….

It goes on to make the point that families are like that, stronger together, and so when a child is sick and their family is with them at a Ronald McDonald House…
Well, that ad is not far from what Jesus is saying, we are the branches attached to the true vine and because of that… we are stronger.

Ah… you might ask, but what about those times when we do not feel strong? What about the people who do not feel that connection? Are they any less connected? No, of course not, everyone is a part of the vine, we are all, as it says in another passage, children of God… and God’s love is flowing out from the vine for anyone and everyone…

Part of our job, then, as the faithful few is not just to recognize our connection to God and live our lives that way but it is also to help others live as if they are branches too; to help others to feel connected to God.

So how do we do that?

Evangelism

Christians often think that they must go out and convince others to believe. We forget that God is at work in the hearts of people, drawing those who will listen into relationship.
As the reading from 1 John says, the love of God comes from God; we cannot instill it.

Our role is to have our eyes open to the places where we can help a person to hear and respond to that voice that is already calling them from within.

The story of Philip and the Eunuch is a great example of this… it is a random encounter, it is a moment in time on a bus, or a subway, or an elevator… when this Eunuch, a court official for the Queen, notices Philip reading a Bible….

I heard of someone who wore a cross pin on their lapel for exactly this reason. In case anyone notices.

Of course, the thing is, Philip jumped right in there and started talking about his faith.

In the world of business, they teach you to prepare an ‘Elevator Speech’ … think of it this way, suppose you have the best idea for a movie out there, or the perfect invention… and all of a sudden you find yourself on an elevator with Steven Spielberg, or Donald Trump. You have one minute to sell them your idea… go.

The thing is, you should have it practised, you should have it memorized, when Spielberg says, “I wish someone had a really great idea,” you need to be ready.

This, my friends, is evangelism 101. “You go to church? Why?”

Philip had his elevator speech ready, and it was so effective, that the Ethiopian wanted to be baptised right there, right then…

And it really isn’t hard. The thing I have noticed is that people are already curious about why you do the things you do. Everyone loves a story. So what if we were just more open about what we believed, where we went to church, why… what if we were a little more prepared for the questions and had good answers worked out?

See, Evangelism is not hard, and it is not hitting anyone over the head with a hammer… It is seeing what needs to be said in the right time, and the right place and doing it.

It is talking to the strangers, feeding the hungry, helping someone out when they drop their keys and are holding a bag of groceries… it is a hundred little things that show people the love God has put in our hearts.

Conclusion

Back to the vineyard; Jesus once hinted that we were to take care of the vineyard while the owner was gone. Later he says we are the branches that are meant to bear fruit.

Out of the chaos and beauty of our lives, there is a lot that really is up to us. There is just no way around it. God works through us…. Plain and simple.

So… how are you going to go out there and cultivate?

Easter 4 B

Risking It All

Introduction

Today I want to talk about Risk… about taking chances.

One of the things we forget about in our comfortable pew is the concept that being a Christian entails some risk – or that doing something new involves risk – or that standing up for what you believe involves risk…

What are the things that you would take risks for? Do you usually play it safe or take chances? What do you think God would have you do?

Teddy Roosevelt, one of the great leaders of that smallish country down south of us, once said, “No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause.”

This was the way the disciples felt at the very beginning. It was the way Jesus felt. They thought that this whole Christianity thing was worth taking a whole lot of risk for… they thought the people that God loved were worth the risk…

That is what we will explore today.

With the Kids – The Good Shepherd

-           Does anyone have pets? What kinds?

-          What does it take to have a pet? A big responsibility…

-          Jesus said “I am the good shepherd”

o   Takes care of the sheep
o   Feeds the sheep
o   Will even risk life and death for the sheep

-          We ultimately do what we do for love. That is what Jesus was talking about – God’s love for us.

Hanging in the Glebe

Did anyone read the book, “the Bishop’s Man”?

On the surface it is a book about a Catholic Priest in Cape Breton who is called upon by the Bishop to clean up some of the messes left behind when priests do bad things.

But the real story comes from the internal thinking of said priest. He sits alone in his house and wonders whether loneliness drives us slowly crazy. He once seems to have had a brief love interest and is forever battling the demons of knowing he went against his vows. He drinks to forget about his pain and this gives us an insight into why people choose forgetfulness.

I like him.

Do you know that you can buy Bible Hero Action Figures? You should see them… all muscles and righteous anger. Samson with his bulging arms ready to take on the evil lions… If you have the internet go home and Google “Almighty Heroes Action Figures”.

It is kind of funny…. Except… it’s not. It is kinda what I learned in Sunday school. Ok, maybe the heroes of the Bible were not GI Joe, but they were heroes. Larger than life, capable of miracles, above the law, they were not very much like you and me.

They are hard people to live up to.

Even Jesus, although his action figure is a lot skinnier, is hard to live up to, isn’t he? When we hear in the Bible that we should come and follow Jesus, that we should be like him, do we really think we are capable of it?

How about this – the good shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for the sheep, who is able to fight of the lions in the night, who always knows where the good grass is, who would risk life and limb looking for one lost sheep… is that you?

I fear I am more like Father MacAskill from the Bishop’s Man… conflicted about things, wondering about things, trying to do the right thing even though the choices are hard to make….

Ah… but here is the thing. The good father does something. Despite the fact that he is no Saint, he still goes out to confront the people doing wrong. Despite the fact that he does not know what to say, he still goes to be with the family whose son committed suicide. Despite the fact that he is living in a poor area of Cape Breton  he still keeps insisting to the people that they are good honest folk…

He makes a difference because he is willing to risk – because he is willing to put aside all those things about himself that would convince us we cannot possibly help, and then go help.

Now, I personally am a big believer that we need help; that we are capable of much more when we are “filled with the Holy Spirit” so to speak. I think that there is such a thing as divine power, that can sustain us when we could not possibly do it alone.

Can you think of a time when you were really, really afraid to do something, and you said a little prayer, and all of a sudden it seemed like you had the courage to do it? How about a time when you were so overwhelmed or worried and you just all of a sudden got the feeling that everything would be ok?

I truly think that those sort of things happen all the time when we are willing to risk in the first place. We have to be willing to take those first steps, even if they lead into some pretty uncomfortable places… just look at the disciples in our story from Acts, who find themselves in prison; but somehow know that it is the strength of God that has made what they do possible… it was not them alone.

Even the Good Shepherd passage talks about how Jesus knows the father, and the father knows Jesus and that is what makes it all possible…

But again – both the disciples and Jesus always took the first step. It is the fact that they were willing to do something that starts the ball rolling.

And I hate to point it out, but it usually means they get in trouble. We don’t really like people who risk going against the status quo. We don’t really understand people who put other values first and foremost in their lives. We don’t find it easy to be welcoming, and accepting, and loving without counting the cost… none of us do….

But when we risk doing the right thing… we change everything….

There is a story told about a soldier who died in France in World War Two. His buddy’s gathered up the corpse and headed into the village to try and bury the body. When they got to the church the priest informed them that because of the rules, only a Catholic could be buried in the graveyard, but since this man was a protestant, he could do nothing.

The soldiers were uncertain what to do, but finally decided that the best thing they could do would be to bury their friend just outside the cemetery fence.

The next morning, the unit was getting ready to head out so they all went back to pay their last respects. But they could not find the body. They went to the priest, who told them:

“Well, after I saw what you did I spent the first half of the night lying awake wondering about my decision. I spent the second half of the night moving the fence.”

Going Against the Grain

I don’t know… it just seems to me that most of us take the easy road far too often.

I guess I see in these post Easter stories a group of people who were willing to take risks, both large and small…. But we in the church have tended towards the opposite, to playing it safe…

And it is no surprise. The world is becoming less and less concerned with the church. We are on the outside of what is popular and that is probably a chicken and egg thing… because we do not risk the extravagant type of love that Jesus and the disciples did, we have become more and more concerned with keeping the rules, or maintaining the buildings, or any number of things.

I know the way of Jesus matters. I know that the traditions, ideas, and understandings that the church passed down can bring happiness and hope to people. I know that the church has the power to change the world….

But are we willing to take the risks? Are we willing to accept like Jesus?

I think we should.

EASTER 3 - B

Earth Day – You Have Been Witnesses

Introduction

I guess it is fair to say I am a bit of a science fiction fan. I have read most of the classics, and definitely seen most of the movies. What I really like about science fiction is that because most of it happens “in the future” they can write about whatever they want… what I mean by that is that sci fi writers can tell the truth more than people who write about what is happening right here and right now.

George Orwell and HG Wells before him wrote stories of what life would be like in a hundred years. They predicted a lot of things, like submarines, and rocket ships, and the internet…

The scarier science fiction is the stuff that is written about the environment, or about disease, or about hunger… and predicts that we are going to destroy our planet. Even something as simple as the Hunger Games, which is amazingly popular right now, simply predicts a time when food becomes scarce… and wonders what would happen.

Well – wondering about what is next is a part of our religious task, and something that the disciples knew a lot about…

Story Time – The World as an Apple

1. Think of the earth as an apple./ Slice an apple into quarters and set aside three of the quarters. These three pieces represent the oceans of the world. The fourth quarter roughly represents the globe's total land area.

2. Slice this "land" in half. Set aside one of the pieces. The portion set aside represents the land area that is inhospitable to people (e.g., the polar areas, deserts, wetlands, very high or rocky mountains). The piece that is left is land where people live, but do not necessarily grow the foods needed for life.

3. Slice the 1/8 piece into four sections and set aside three of these. The 3/32 fraction set aside represent those areas too rocky, wet, cold, steep, infertile to actually produce food. They also contain the cities, suburban sprawl, highways, shopping centers, schools, parks, factories, parking lots, and other places where people live, but don't grow food.

4. Carefully peel the 1/32 slice of the apple. This tiny bit of peeling represents our arable land, the land upon which we depend for our food. Estimates suggest that we loose 25 billion tons of precious topsoil each year from erosion, yet we must feed an additional 71 million people each year on this diminishing resource.

Bringing the Dead to Life

During worship last week, the gospel reading brought us to the moment where Jesus appeared before his disciples… Those first moments after the resurrection when no one quite knew what was going on… so there were times of shock, and disbelief, and wonder…

Today, we fast forward a little bit and see how those disciples respond as they try to understand how the one they saw dead is now alive. Not only that, but this Jesus guy, who they knew was crucified and buried, is now sitting and eating fish with them.

It is not only a dramatic turnaround; it changes everything… so here are the disciples asking themselves, “How can that be? What does this mean?”…

I don’t think it is too much of a stretch for me to say that the “now what” question is always with us. I also do not think it is too much of a stretch to say that it always has to do with the world around us.

The Genesis story talks about God giving Adam and Eve a garden and then asking, “Now what?” The story of Moses and the Promised Land, same thing, “you got us out of Egypt, now what? You got us to the Holy Land, now what…”

In each case the response is, ‘What are you going to do with what has been given you…’

Jesus has come back; life is stronger than death, now what?

Simply answering that question required a massive shift in the way the disciples thought. First off, their leader was dead and the movement was over, right? Then, they were followers not leaders, right? Well, no, and they had to get their heads around the miracle that things change overnight.

Biologist Elizabet Sahtouris uses the familiar image of a butterfly as a sign of hope for our age.

She says that within each chrysalis a miracle occurs. Tiny cells that biologists actually call “imaginal cells” begin to appear. They are completely different from caterpillar cells. At first, the caterpillar's immune system perceives these new cells as enemies and attacks them.

This is not unlike the way that new ideas in science, medicine, politics, and religion are first perceived. But the new cells are not deterred.

They continue to appear in even greater numbers, recognizing one another and bonding together to form clumps. With enough clumps, the caterpillar's immune system is overwhelmed.

The caterpillar body then becomes the perfect environment for the growth of the butterfly. And we all know what happens when a butterfly emerges from a cocoon. It flies off to embrace its new world.

See, resurrection, Easter, Spring, new Life… it is all the same theme. We just have to learn to see it as part of the way we live life… we are called upon to recognize the new things happening in our midst, and to embrace them, and allow them to change us.

If that sounds a little new age hippy like, let me put it into old fashioned religious language: We can be raised up with Christ, and filled with that same creative spirit of God that was in Jesus.

Conclusion

The disciples succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.

I like to think it is because they became so passionate about the idea of new life that it became contagious.

Too often all we hear about is the bad stuff, oil spills and global warming, floods and death and destruction… Maybe what this world needs is a little more carrot and a lot less stick.

Everything is possible, we have all we need right here, God has given us every good gift and If you look around, you will discover that new life is all around you. Embrace the possibility. Amen.

Easter 2 (B)

I Want You to Get Excited About Your Life

Introduction

The worst day of my year has to be Boxing Day. How about you, what do you think the worst day is? I think Boxing Day because you put so much effort into Christmas, it means so much, and then, like all of a sudden, there is nothing. The stores have moved on to Valentine’s and people are putting away the lights.

Sigh. So what about Easter, that was so last week, right?

There is a line in the opening of Doctor Phil, now I am not saying I watch Doctor Phil, but you know, on occasion in a doctor’s office or something… and he says, “I want you to get excited about your life!”

I happen to think that is something Jesus might have said on the day after Easter to his disciples.

Story Time – Holy Humour Sunday

I've got the joy down in my heart.

“Bright Sunday” - Sunday after Easter – day of joy and laughter

parties and picnics to celebrate Jesus rising from the dead

Laughter Sunday or Holy Humour Sunday

Jokes

Q. What did the baby corn say to the mama corn?
A. “Where’s pop corn?”…

Q. What did the pony say when it had a sore throat?

A. I apologize, I am a little horse!…

Q. Why did the clown go to the doctor.

A. He was feeling a little funny.…

Q:  Where do snowmen go to dance?

A:  A snowball!

Q:  What kind of lions do you find in the park?

A:  Dandelions

It's important to be joyful all the time, isn't it? It's important to laugh and be happy and silly and play games. Did you know that in Old English the word “silly” has the same root as the word “holy”? So we are being holy and doing what God wants us to when we're filled with joy. 

1John from the Message

 1-2From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, and verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.

 3-4We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!

Walk in the Light
5This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him.
 6-7If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth—we're not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin.

Getting Excited

I am sure if I was around to see my friend come back from the dead I would get pretty excited…

At least, I think I would, don’t you? Of course, when bad things happen, our mood plummets. Perhaps the disciples were a bit depressed after this whole Easter Weekend gone wrong thing. Perhaps they were feeling gloomy and Eeyore-ish and nothing would have cheered them up.

So when one of the disciples comes and says, rather excitedly, I have seen Jesus, he is back from the dead…. The response was probably pretty lack lustre. “Sure, good one, life is terrible, this is terrible, stop trying to make jokes.”

I bet a few of us have been in the same place, had something bad happen and then be sure it is just going to get worse…

It is hard, isn’t it, to pull yourself out of that feeling.

Well, this is where we get back to Dr Phil, as he would say, “how is that working out for ya?”

And then he would tell us, “I want you to get excited about your life…”

Jesus, in our passage from Mark, rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief.  Now, we don’t exactly know what the words Jesus used were…. But I am sure it was something like, “What are you doing?” “Why are you all locked up in this room? Do you think my death was supposed to end everything, was this all I taught you….”

No… that is not what he intended. And not what happens. There is something there that changes their minds, something that lifts their spirits and makes their hearts so full to overflowing that when he says a little while later – “go out there and spread the good news!” they do…

So… what would it take to get us that excited about Easter? About God? About Church?

You see, Easter is just the beginning, now, what will give us enough joy to become who we were meant to be…

And it can’t be half hearted.

There is this story Bruce Larson tells of attending a conference at a Presbyterian church in Omaha. People were given helium filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren't used to saying things like "Hallelujah,” or “Praise the Lord." And maybe this would give them a way to express their feelings. All through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over 1/3 of the balloons were unreleased.

I am new here…. Maybe you are different than me, but I suspect lots of us would not let go of the balloon…

So why not? Well, how about fear of what people would think. What if we were too excited, too emotional? Would people look at us funny?

I think there is the other side too, there are times when we are trying so hard to do the right thing that we suck all the fun out of it. We want to let the balloon go, we just don’t know if this is a good enough time, or if this is when the people meant, or whatever… and we are overthinking it.

“I come,” said Jesus once, “that you might have abundant life!”

Easter happened, so that we would know joy.

Want to hear the three funniest jokes of all time:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were going camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said: "Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you see." Watson replied: "I see millions and millions of stars." Holmes said: "And what do you deduce from that?" Watson replied: "Well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth out there. And if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life." And Holmes said: "Watson, you idiot, it means that somebody stole our tent

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a gunshot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says "OK, now what?"

A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: "That's the ugliest baby that I've ever seen. Ugh!" The woman goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: "The driver just insulted me!" The man says: "You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I'll hold your monkey for you."

… so is it good enough to sit around and tell jokes? Well… yes… studies have shown that mind over matter is a real thing. It seems that our attitude changes everything; and so, far more important than having someone say “Easter Happened” is the question, “How does it make you feel?”

And I want us to look at it in its most basic form – that Jesus came, and died, and lived on in those who come after simply to show us that life is meant to be lived no matter what happens. That love and joy and hope are more important than all the Good Fridays and crucifixions we might face.

Conclusion

Paul ends the 8^th Chapter of his Letter to the church in Rome with these words:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God”

This, in the end, is the message of Easter, it is the “Good News” it is the joy that keeps us for another year.

Amen.

Palm Sunday

Easter – The First Day

Introduction

Palm Sunday is more than a parade, it is a turning point.

To understand what is happening you have to know what comes before, and what happens after. And the first thing you have to do is set yourself in the scene. This is occupied Palestine… this is the world where everyone works for Caesar… this is a world where the worship of Rome is overtaking belief in God’s goodness…

Jesus is a rebel, he is a prophet, he is the voice of the common, disaffected, faithful Jew – hoping God will turn the tables…

Turning the Tables

 What is the most important thing that Jesus taught us?

I suppose it depends on who you are talking to or what you are doing – I mean, there is the whole Good Samaritan story and how we are supposed to care for each other… there was the whole Lord’s Prayer and how we were supposed to relate to God… There was all that healing and how we are supposed to relate to the sick and lonely….

The more I think about it, the more I think what we are talking about is “be”

Jesus came and taught us to “be” … and we spend a lot of time talking about how we are supposed to act; which sort of misses the point.

“Who is this Jesus?” the crowds asked… and although the answers could very well reflect the actions, he is the guy who cured Barrabas, he is that guy who preached the sermon by the seashore, he is the teacher from Galilee….

The real answer was that Jesus simply was…  the love of God…. Incarnate…

And that, like it or not, is dangerous.

Jesus used to say it more like, “What is the Kingdom of God” but we use different words and think in different ways… for us the question is what separates the faithful from the secular, and what is it that God would have us be in the world.

This is the question of Palm Sunday… ok, people are paying attention, it is a High Holy Holiday of the church… what are we going to do to really make the point…. And when we do it… when we enter dramatically, when we cast out the moneychangers, when we upset the status quo and point out the problems… what will happen to us.

It All Goes Wrong

I had a friend on Facebook recently post a question. To boil it down to its simplest form, they wondered why life always has joy and sorrow. In their case their boyfriend was leaving for work but their parents were coming to visit. Simple situation, simple question, difficult answer.

Why does life not work out the way we hope, the way we expect, the way people like Jesus suggested it might?

Well, I think the truth is we have always been fooling ourselves, life is constantly pleasure and pan, good times and bad, love and loss…. The real question is how we handle it.

A day has passed for Jesus and the disciples. It started in the dark, looking for a Donkey,wove its way through a triumphal entry, a parade fit for a king, a final moment of recognition from the crowds…. Then there was that embarrassing bit in the afternoon where Jesus seemed to lose his mind, where he threw over the tables of the money lenders, where he cursed a fig tree, where he was…. Angry…. And, well, not like himself….

Imagine the ups and downs of a day like this? Imagine how you would feel if all your hopes seemed to be coming true, and then your friend seems to throw it all away?

So you have gathered on the outskirts of the city, night has fallen, the fire is crackling, maybe you are having a cup of coffee and trying to make sense of the day in your head.

Enter Jesus once more:

“Have faith in God, believe so deeply that there would be no doubt in your mind that if you said, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ to a mountain, it would move…. Pray, believe you have already received God’s blessing… forgive everyone… have faith…”

You see, it is not about what happened today, or what will happen tomorrow, that does not prove God’s love, or the goodness of the universe, the question is what do you have inside of you… how strongly do you believe?  Are you willing to confront the powers of injustice, to ride the waves of the crowds popularity, to risk the difficult path in order to help bring about the Kingdom…. Have faith… in yourselves.

Conclusion

I have never been happy making Easter, or Christmas, or Sunday something outside of the normal world. For me the point is, how is this supposed to play out in our day to day living. What does Palm Sunday point to in our world.

I guess for me it is about seeing in Jesus a moment when he was brave enough to stand up, a model of how I am meant to walk out of here and into my world.

Palm Sunday is the beginning of the end. Which is to say it is the first step Jesus takes when he decides, ok, enough is enough… so I watch the news, I see the world, I know… enough is enough… I guess I spend this week thinking about what next…

Hopefully you do to.

Let us pray:

Loving and gracious God, creative power that courses through our veins, spirit of courage and first steps. May we who have confronted the life of Jesus in this service now be empowered to confront the places in our own lives where we need to change, to overturn that which keeps us trapped on the wrong path, to open our heart to the journey through Jerusalem that in the end will allow us to not only see Easter more clearly, but understand God’s will more fully. Amen.

Lent 4 (B) 2011

The Road Less Traveled

(this is the final sermon preached at Mount Royal United. On April 15th I begin services on the Red Bank Pastoral Charge outside of Miramichi)

Introduction

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood… the opening line to my favourite poem, and I will get back to that, but for now, let me tell you an interesting historical anecdote:

Did you know that in 1910 the so called ‘competent experts’ decided that the airplane was of little commercial value; and decided that finance companies should not back production. They said that it would never hold more than 4 people and so was basically just an amusement. I mention this for two reasons – first, if you believe in something, hold on to that – the experts who tell you it can’t happen are probably wrong. But secondly, and perhaps more to the point today, even the experts don’t really know how things are going to turn out.

No one ever does…. We tend not to be very good at prediction.

Too often we hold on to things without risking the future. Take the Israelites; wandering in the desert, always saying to Moses – why did you bring us here, so far from what we had in Egypt, was it just to die in this desert?

See, the problem is never what it first appears, that there is no food, or water, or even, as we shall see today, that there are poisonous snakes…. All of these things are easy problems for God to fix. The real problem is that they kept looking back, and never forward. And you cannot blame them, everyone does… what Moses needed to do was find something else for them to look at…

Frosted Lucky Charms (They’re Magically Delicious)

-          With the kids talking about Lucky Charms, and ideas or objects that give us hope

-          Rabbits foot, four leaf clover, penny, cross, lucky dice, …

You Were Dead

I am going to argue that Moses and the Gang, Paul and the church at Ephesus, and John’s upcoming and world famous description of Jesus are all the same passage. And in each case, they are not talking about what they seem to be talking about – it has nothing to do with poison snakes, it has to do with vision.

Listen to Paul: “you were dead through trespasses and sins, in which you once lived, following the course of this world.”

No one was really dead. No one was ever really as sinful as Paul makes them sound. To him everyone was an axe murderer and a baby killer. They had rejected God completely and were destined to hell. Clearly he is being a little over the top…

We were not dead, we were merely trapped. We lived in the world and we acted like it. We made choices based on our observations of the people around us, we allowed the shiny things that people wave in front of our eyes to distract us from the truth… this is Paul’s point.

Where Moses says we spend too much time looking back, Paul tells us we spend too much time worried about the present.

So we think we need a new ipad. We think the car we drive will bring us happiness. We make decisions based on the appeal of the present age, on the values that our family, our friends, our job, our culture, and most importantly, our entertainment sell us.

But God… GOD, says Paul, in infinite grace, can lift us up out of this world. God sent us a sign, God sent us a prophet, God sent us a saviour… God gave us something to focus on, something else, Jesus.

It is not what we do that will save us from this world… it is having faith enough, hope enough, to be able to lift our eyes from the path we are on, and see something else.

Back to the Future

So: let go of the past, see beyond the present, look to the future. I am sure you can see that this is not just random meandering I am engaging in… this is a pretty practical sermon. I am leaving. I made that choice. I didn’t know I was going to make it. And there are good things, and there are bad things that come from that decision – but let’s put it this way – There is a lot of my past here, and staying might have been focussing too much on the present and not accepting the future.

Too often we use John 3:16 as a passage about converting those damn heathen to the one true path, ours…. I don’t think it has anything to do with that. It has to do exactly with what we are talking about. God sent Jesus into the world not to condemn, but to save… just as the snake was lifted up on the pole to save the people when they saw nothing but snakes, so must Jesus be lifted up if we are going to see anything but the world that mires us.

Focusing on Jesus clears things up, it casts a light onto the darkness of this world, it helps us to have faith in something better, something on the horizon…. To believe in what Jesus believed in – the Kingdom, that perfect way of life in which we stop focusing on the past and present, where we stop insisting value comes from money or status, that world where all are equal and love is the only way we relate.

There was a time, not so long ago, when a minister stayed three years. That was it. That was how it worked for most of our church history. And the reason is precisely what I have been talking about. It had to do with not getting mired in the present and keeping a vision of tomorrow being different at the core of what we did.

It has become longer. Some ministers stay in one church their whole careers. But hopefully, God willing, we stay the right amount of time for both you and me. It is hard, this being open to the future whatever it might bring, but it is necessary. Faith, God, the world is not static; and decisions about how to live faithfully into the future are often the hardest we ever make… still, those decisions make all the difference.

The Road Not Taken

So – back to my favourite poem of all time…. It is a poem about the choices we make, a poem written which I feel expresses perfectly what these religious leaders who urged us to live in God’s footsteps were trying to say: Robert Frost once wrote:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveller, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could,

to where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, just as fair.

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear:

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the other for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less travelled by

And that has made all the difference.

So choose the road less travelled, all of you. And may God’s grace guide you into the place you were meant to be.