Author and theologian N.T. Wright wrote:
"What Easter does is open windows of the mind and heart to see what really, after all, might be possible in God's World". (Surprised by Hope pg.69)
The hope he speaks about is the Easter message that God is bringing us to life even now. Our common purpose is rooted in Jesus, who teaches us, walks with us, eats with us and sends us out into the world.
Our Gospel for the second Sunday in the Easter season speaks of locked rooms and closed doors. This was the initial response of the disciples after the death of Jesus. They locked themselves in a room - likely for fear of further persecution from the Roman authorities. Here with the doors bolted the disciples stayed in fear and depression. Fear that they too would be caught and punished; and depression in that the death of Jesus meant, for them, a wasted 3 years. All their hopes and dreams for Israel's Messiah were gone.
Not a great way for the Church to begin - closed up behind locked doors in fear and depression.
John's gospel, however, demonstrates that it is in this exact moment - the height of their fear and depression, that Jesus draws them together once more. Into this locked room, Jesus appears and says: "Peace be with you!" Then he breathed on them and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit". In that moment, the disciples changed and the church was born. Disciple means to be taught, this life they now leave behind. They have become apostles - ones who have been "sent".
Their living behind locked doors was a sign of death - that they themselves were already dead. It is a reminder of the 19th century poem The Buried Life, by Matthew Arnold which states:
"But often, in the world's most crowded streets,
But often in the din of strife,
There arises an unspeakable desire
After the knowledge of our buried life;
A thirst to spend our fire and restless force
In tracking our true, original course;
A longing to inquire
Into the mystery of this heart which beats
So wild, so deep in us - - to know
Whence our lives come and where they go!"
The buried life - that life which we live but is dead already - dead because we miss the significance and power of the moment - living lives built on "getting to where we want to be in life" and "creating the life we want to have". While we focus on making our lives to be what we want, we miss the life we have. We miss living in the moment - in the now. It seems we, like the disciples, get caught between the now and the not yet. The disciples looked to the day that God's kingdom would set Israel apart from the other nations once again and because they focused so heavenly on what they wanted the kingdom of God to be like, they missed the kingdom that Jesus had brought into their midst. And so they sit behind closed and locked doors, with the knowledge of their buried life.
But Jesus changes this. Locked doors will not keep him from coming in or his good news from going out- it was time for the Church to be born.
In smaller churches, we often wonder where the people are? Why don't they come to church? Truth be told, we spend all our energies on fundraising events to meet the church budget, clawing back on expenditures that seem unnecessary and frivolous and we miss the moment. Sometimes we complain that people stay away from the United Church because we're too wishy washy with our moral teachings, too controversial on our social teaching, or too liberal in our theology. That is not the case. We are losing members because we don't know how to spread the good news - we're living behind closed and locked doors - nothing in - nothing out. We have the most fantastic news - news as N.T. Wright says shows us what is possible in God's world.
We are a lot like the early disciples, living in fear behind locked doors. Do we trust God? Do we trust God enough to open the doors? Do we trust that in being Lord of the world, Jesus is also Lord of the church budget, the hymn book, the Council meeting, the worship service, the presbytery? Do we really believe what we say in the creed: "We are not alone, we live in God's world"?
The Easter challenge, for all of us, is to open the doors of our minds and hearts so that we might open the doors of our churches. The Easter challenge is new life in the midst of death and destruction. The Easter challenge is that we might take one more step forward in our lives of faith and really believe that something new is happening in the world - something that began that first Easter long ago - and we are called to be a part of the ongoing transformation of God's good earth.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
BURNING BUSHES AND FIG TREES: THE TIME IS NOW!
BACKGROUND
Around the time that Israel is in slavery under Egyptian domination, the prevalent belief was the existence of a pantheon of gods. Almost every element of nature, every breathtaking place, and every human emotion was personified in a god. There were gods of war, gods of love, god's of holy mountains, agriculture, fertility and so on. It is is in the midst of this religious environment that Moses, while tending the flock of his father-in-law, encounters the burning bush. Intrigued by the fact that while the bush appeared to be on fire, it appeared to not be consumed by the flames. Moses draws near to it and encounters the God of Israel, who sends him on a mission. "And who shall I say sent me" asks Moses. This is a reasonable question given that Moses, a former prince of Egypt, expects that there is a pantheon of gods. The God of Israel, however, will not play into this question. "Tell them I Am who Am sent you", says God.
IMPLICATIONS
The divine answer, "I Am who Am", reveals to us that God is not a creature and God is not one among many gods. "I Am who Am" tells us that God is pure being itself. St. Thomas Aquinas described the God of Israel as "Ipsum esse", which is Latin for "to be".
God, the creator of all things is not "a" being, but rather pure "being". Our very existence as creatures is possible because we participate in the ultimate reality of this God of pure being.
The significance of the burning bush not being consumed by the flames lies in the fact that when the God of Israel draws near to us, we are not diminished. The stories of the Egyptian, Greek and Roman gods always result in some diminishing of human life - human beings are hurt, tricked, seduced, and ignored by the gods. When the God of Israel draws near to us, we radiate - that is to say we are set aglow without being consumed. We become more fully human the more God draws closer to us. St. Ireneus said: "The glory of God is the human person fully alive". The more we are alive, the more glory we give to God and the more glory we give to God, the more fully alive we become.
THE FIG TREE
In our Gospel Jesus tells the parable about the unfruitful fig tree. This is an often used symbol in biblical writing - the fruitless tree being a sign of the person who produces no spiritual fruit. St. Paul tells us that if we truly live in the Spirit then we will demonstrate the fruits of the spirit: love, compassion, mercy and justice. We human beings fool ourselves when we think that we do not need God; when our freedom is based on decisions that do not take the "fruits" of the spirit into consideration. This has been the cross of humanity since the time of Adam.
While many would have us believe that if we are unfruitful we will be cut down, Jesus tells us that we are given a second chance. The season of Lent calls us into a time where we can till the soil of our faith; seek the source of life which is God; and turn our hearts from selfishness into selflessness.
To know that we have a second chance in God's eyes is quite a relief, but notice that there still remains a sense of urgency in the parable. The gardener argues for ONE MORE YEAR. Though its hard for us to accept, we must understand that we really can run out of time. If we leave our faith untended eventually we will shrivel up and die - or, be cut down. This is why the parable is urgent.
SUMMARY
Our scriptures call us to live in the radiant love of God and to reflect that radiance back on to the world around us through fruitful living - acts of mercy, justice, love and compassion. God is in our presence seeking to make us more fully human - to light us on fire without consuming us. The parable of the fig tree, while calling us to urgency, invites us not to be afraid. God will not consume us; we are always given a second chance and we must work to bear fruit. But remember....it is urgent to always be at work on our spiritual lives lest we run out of time!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
CHRIST HAS BEEN THERE
The following is a synopsis of the Sunday Sermon. If you would like the full version, please join us Sundays at 11am.
Luke 13:31-35 "...Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets...how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing!"
OUR LIVES
We have likely all encountered moments in our lives when fear seemed to grip us and we were unsure how we would get through the crisis at hand. We face these moments everytime there is disaster, illness, disease, relationship troubles and general anxiety. In the midst of these moments we feel as if the world around us is falling apart - as if our safety net has been removed.
In our Scripture today we get a glimpose of Jesus in such a moment. He has begun his journey to Jerusalem where he will meet with a kangaroo trial and face the sentence of death. Having been warned: "Herod wants to kill you!", he is determined to continue his journey. The Scripture tells us: "He set his face toward Jerusalem" - a way of saying that he was resolved to carry on his mission without distraction.
But Jesus was the Son of God. As such, he must have known that death would not be the end - that he would be raised from the dead. With this knowledge, how can we relate to such a Jesus in our times of crisis?
UNDERSTANDING JESUS
We want to be able to relate to Jesus - but the fact of his divinity holds us back. We want to believe that his experiences of temptations, suffereings and death are the same as our own, but his divinity gets in the way. We know that Jesus is human - but we also know that Jesus is divine. Wouldn't all these things be a walk in the park for this God man?
The sacred writers always acknowledge the divinity of Jesus, but they very much want us to understand the reality of his humanity. They want us to understand that Jesus was a human being like is in ALL things, but sin. These experiences are NOT a walk in the park for Jesus. We recall that the Gospel says he "wept" at the death of his friend Lazarus and that in the garden just prior to his arrest, he was overcome with fear. In fact Jesus was so fearful about his fate that we are told he asked God to let this "cup pass from me". For Jesus, this was a way of saying: "please God...don't make me endure this". Jesus was not just God in human clothing - he was a human being, full of emotion, in everyway possible (except sin) trying to make sense of his humanity and reconcile it with his divinity. And so the feelings Jesus had when facing his moment of crisis were the same as our own. What saw him through this crisis was not his divinity, but rather his own humanity and therefore we have something to learn from him.
HOW DID HIS HUMANITY SEE HIM THROUGH THE CRISIS OF THE MOMENT?
JESUS LIFE WAS ORDERED AROUND GOD
Some of the Pharisees tried to warn Jesus that he would be put to death in Jerusalem. He did not allow this threat to distract him. His response,"tell Herod, that fox, that I am casting out demons and peforming cures today and tomorrow..." speaks to us that his mission will continue to be the focus. Jesus will not be detered from the work that God had placed on his shoulders. With resolve ("he set his face toward Jerusalem") he will go about his work today and tomorrow.
JESUS MAINTAINED HIS CONNECTION WITH GOD
The Gospels are full of references to Jesus going off to a quiet place to pray. He realized that his mission must be fed by something other than his own ego. Even though God dwelled fully in Jesus, he too, in his humanity, had to remove himself from his work and commune with that inward divinity that was the source of his ministry. The world can overwhelm us, as it could have overwhelmed Jesus, but God will not allow that to happen if we turn frequently to the source of our lives in prayer.
JESUS NEVER TOOK HIS EYES OFF THE HORIZON
Jesus always saw through eyes of faith which were fixed on the goal ahead. His ministry was one of cuing the ill, extending compassion to the poor, helping people to be freed from the bindings that held back their full human potential. No matter what occured around Jesus, his eyes never left the horizon. Even though Jerusalem would mean death and even though Jesus could not gather his people with the vulnerability and love of a moother hen, he would still see his mission through to the end.
SUMMARY and APPLICATION
So Jesus turns out to be not unlike us at all. In his moment of crisis he calls on the strength of his own humanity to see him through, but that humanity is not disconnected to his divinity. His humanity is ordered to God; his humanity is always in conversation with God; and his humanity always looks toward the completion of his goal by never taking his eyes of the horizon. Is there something for us to learn in his story? Something that will teach us how to handle moments of crisis when they arrive?
Ask yourselves this week:
Is my life ordered around God or is it ordered around earthly comforts?
Do I pray? Am I in conversation with the God who gives me strength? What is the source I turn to for refreshment?
Do I keep my eyes focused on the horizon? What is the work I should be about? Do I allow things to distract me or do I see my goals through to completion?
And God bless you!
Luke 13:31-35 "...Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets...how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing!"
OUR LIVES
We have likely all encountered moments in our lives when fear seemed to grip us and we were unsure how we would get through the crisis at hand. We face these moments everytime there is disaster, illness, disease, relationship troubles and general anxiety. In the midst of these moments we feel as if the world around us is falling apart - as if our safety net has been removed.
In our Scripture today we get a glimpose of Jesus in such a moment. He has begun his journey to Jerusalem where he will meet with a kangaroo trial and face the sentence of death. Having been warned: "Herod wants to kill you!", he is determined to continue his journey. The Scripture tells us: "He set his face toward Jerusalem" - a way of saying that he was resolved to carry on his mission without distraction.
But Jesus was the Son of God. As such, he must have known that death would not be the end - that he would be raised from the dead. With this knowledge, how can we relate to such a Jesus in our times of crisis?
UNDERSTANDING JESUS
We want to be able to relate to Jesus - but the fact of his divinity holds us back. We want to believe that his experiences of temptations, suffereings and death are the same as our own, but his divinity gets in the way. We know that Jesus is human - but we also know that Jesus is divine. Wouldn't all these things be a walk in the park for this God man?
The sacred writers always acknowledge the divinity of Jesus, but they very much want us to understand the reality of his humanity. They want us to understand that Jesus was a human being like is in ALL things, but sin. These experiences are NOT a walk in the park for Jesus. We recall that the Gospel says he "wept" at the death of his friend Lazarus and that in the garden just prior to his arrest, he was overcome with fear. In fact Jesus was so fearful about his fate that we are told he asked God to let this "cup pass from me". For Jesus, this was a way of saying: "please God...don't make me endure this". Jesus was not just God in human clothing - he was a human being, full of emotion, in everyway possible (except sin) trying to make sense of his humanity and reconcile it with his divinity. And so the feelings Jesus had when facing his moment of crisis were the same as our own. What saw him through this crisis was not his divinity, but rather his own humanity and therefore we have something to learn from him.
HOW DID HIS HUMANITY SEE HIM THROUGH THE CRISIS OF THE MOMENT?
JESUS LIFE WAS ORDERED AROUND GOD
Some of the Pharisees tried to warn Jesus that he would be put to death in Jerusalem. He did not allow this threat to distract him. His response,"tell Herod, that fox, that I am casting out demons and peforming cures today and tomorrow..." speaks to us that his mission will continue to be the focus. Jesus will not be detered from the work that God had placed on his shoulders. With resolve ("he set his face toward Jerusalem") he will go about his work today and tomorrow.
JESUS MAINTAINED HIS CONNECTION WITH GOD
The Gospels are full of references to Jesus going off to a quiet place to pray. He realized that his mission must be fed by something other than his own ego. Even though God dwelled fully in Jesus, he too, in his humanity, had to remove himself from his work and commune with that inward divinity that was the source of his ministry. The world can overwhelm us, as it could have overwhelmed Jesus, but God will not allow that to happen if we turn frequently to the source of our lives in prayer.
JESUS NEVER TOOK HIS EYES OFF THE HORIZON
Jesus always saw through eyes of faith which were fixed on the goal ahead. His ministry was one of cuing the ill, extending compassion to the poor, helping people to be freed from the bindings that held back their full human potential. No matter what occured around Jesus, his eyes never left the horizon. Even though Jerusalem would mean death and even though Jesus could not gather his people with the vulnerability and love of a moother hen, he would still see his mission through to the end.
SUMMARY and APPLICATION
So Jesus turns out to be not unlike us at all. In his moment of crisis he calls on the strength of his own humanity to see him through, but that humanity is not disconnected to his divinity. His humanity is ordered to God; his humanity is always in conversation with God; and his humanity always looks toward the completion of his goal by never taking his eyes of the horizon. Is there something for us to learn in his story? Something that will teach us how to handle moments of crisis when they arrive?
Ask yourselves this week:
Is my life ordered around God or is it ordered around earthly comforts?
Do I pray? Am I in conversation with the God who gives me strength? What is the source I turn to for refreshment?
Do I keep my eyes focused on the horizon? What is the work I should be about? Do I allow things to distract me or do I see my goals through to completion?
And God bless you!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT: TEMPTATION
LENT
We find ourselves coming to the close of winter and fast approaching the Spring. With this transition of the seasons comes this wonderful 40 days of Lent - a time of reflection; of purification; and spiritual growth.
The Church gives us this reflective season each year to encourage us to return again and again to the source of our life - God, the one who creates and sustains us. Throughout these 40 days we are invited into the deepest mysteries of our faith to increase our understanding of who God is; who we are; and how our relationship with both God and one another stands.
The season of Lent is a time to set aside the distractions we create in our day to day lives - distractions that keep us from returning to God who is source of life and being. It is a holy season - a time for prayer, fasting and alms giving. The holiness of Lent, however, is not rooted in these practices of piety. The holiness of Lent is rooted in the imitation of Christ throughout these 40 days, who according to Luke, is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert wilderness to be tempted by the devil. This LEADING by the Spirit is precisely what makes it holy.
FACING TEMPTATIONS - A HOLY TIME
Jesus is LED into temptation - a period of time where he will be "distracted" from his mission. And what is this mission? It is the same as ours - to be a vehicle of God's love for the world.
In order for Jesus to be the way in which God's love flows into the world he must resist certain fundamental temptations:
1. The temptation of physical satisfaction (turn this stone into bread)
2. The temptation of authority (I will give you all these kingdoms)
3. The temptation of glory (throw yourself from this height)
Within the framework of these temptation (which we also face on a daily basis) Jesus is really getting to the heart of the question of who he is (God's son) and what kind of Messiah he is to be (many had already come and gone who claimed to be "the one").
Scriptural theologian N.T. Wright states that "in a sense, these three temptations can be seen as answers to those two questions". Wright speculates that Jesus is not so much engaged in a physical conversation with the devil, so much as the temptations are more a string of ideas in Jesus' head. Moreover, the temptation are reasonable.
The DEVIL - ACCUSER and SCATTERER
We can have all kinds of debates on whether or not the "devil" exists and never come to agreement. We can, however, understand these temptations as fundamental or universal temptation we ALL face and which take a kind of mental narrative. It is interesting to note that the two main names for the devil are satanos and diabolos. Satanos means "the accuser" while "diabolos" means the "scatterer". The physical existence of the "devil" then is not quite as important as the reality of our daily encounters with accusation and scattering. We may mean well in our attempt to fulfill our mission as the people of God, but we are often derailed or distracted from that mission through the experience of both accusation and scattering. It has been said that a house divided against itself will not stand - and this we know to be true.
Jesus knows that many have come before him claiming to be the Messiah - the temptation must have been enormous to show Israel that he is not just another soapbox preacher. The opportunity to overthrow the political system and display his divine greatness was his for the taking - which brings us back to the fundamental question for Jesus in the wilderness: "What kind of Messiah will I be?"
Yes, temptation invite us to be tested but they also invite us to consider deeply WHO WE ARE and WHO GOD IS. If we consider these questions seriously we will come to the question: "What kind of person does God want me to be?"
SUMMARY
This Lent, take time to spend with the Scriptures. Give yourself a routine of prayer, fasting and alms giving. Allow these next 40 days to be a time where you remove the distractions and return to the source of life. In other words, go to the desert. Consider what the voices are that you hear? Where are they accusing you? Where are they scattering you? Realize that Lent is not a time for self hatred, but rather a time to celebrate God's presence in your life.
We find ourselves coming to the close of winter and fast approaching the Spring. With this transition of the seasons comes this wonderful 40 days of Lent - a time of reflection; of purification; and spiritual growth.
The Church gives us this reflective season each year to encourage us to return again and again to the source of our life - God, the one who creates and sustains us. Throughout these 40 days we are invited into the deepest mysteries of our faith to increase our understanding of who God is; who we are; and how our relationship with both God and one another stands.
The season of Lent is a time to set aside the distractions we create in our day to day lives - distractions that keep us from returning to God who is source of life and being. It is a holy season - a time for prayer, fasting and alms giving. The holiness of Lent, however, is not rooted in these practices of piety. The holiness of Lent is rooted in the imitation of Christ throughout these 40 days, who according to Luke, is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert wilderness to be tempted by the devil. This LEADING by the Spirit is precisely what makes it holy.
FACING TEMPTATIONS - A HOLY TIME
Jesus is LED into temptation - a period of time where he will be "distracted" from his mission. And what is this mission? It is the same as ours - to be a vehicle of God's love for the world.
In order for Jesus to be the way in which God's love flows into the world he must resist certain fundamental temptations:
1. The temptation of physical satisfaction (turn this stone into bread)
2. The temptation of authority (I will give you all these kingdoms)
3. The temptation of glory (throw yourself from this height)
Within the framework of these temptation (which we also face on a daily basis) Jesus is really getting to the heart of the question of who he is (God's son) and what kind of Messiah he is to be (many had already come and gone who claimed to be "the one").
Scriptural theologian N.T. Wright states that "in a sense, these three temptations can be seen as answers to those two questions". Wright speculates that Jesus is not so much engaged in a physical conversation with the devil, so much as the temptations are more a string of ideas in Jesus' head. Moreover, the temptation are reasonable.
The DEVIL - ACCUSER and SCATTERER
We can have all kinds of debates on whether or not the "devil" exists and never come to agreement. We can, however, understand these temptations as fundamental or universal temptation we ALL face and which take a kind of mental narrative. It is interesting to note that the two main names for the devil are satanos and diabolos. Satanos means "the accuser" while "diabolos" means the "scatterer". The physical existence of the "devil" then is not quite as important as the reality of our daily encounters with accusation and scattering. We may mean well in our attempt to fulfill our mission as the people of God, but we are often derailed or distracted from that mission through the experience of both accusation and scattering. It has been said that a house divided against itself will not stand - and this we know to be true.
Jesus knows that many have come before him claiming to be the Messiah - the temptation must have been enormous to show Israel that he is not just another soapbox preacher. The opportunity to overthrow the political system and display his divine greatness was his for the taking - which brings us back to the fundamental question for Jesus in the wilderness: "What kind of Messiah will I be?"
Yes, temptation invite us to be tested but they also invite us to consider deeply WHO WE ARE and WHO GOD IS. If we consider these questions seriously we will come to the question: "What kind of person does God want me to be?"
SUMMARY
This Lent, take time to spend with the Scriptures. Give yourself a routine of prayer, fasting and alms giving. Allow these next 40 days to be a time where you remove the distractions and return to the source of life. In other words, go to the desert. Consider what the voices are that you hear? Where are they accusing you? Where are they scattering you? Realize that Lent is not a time for self hatred, but rather a time to celebrate God's presence in your life.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
TRANSIGURATION - TRANSFORMATION Luke 9:28-45
The following is a condensed version of the Sermon. If you would like the full sermon, come visit us Sundays at 11am. We would be glad to have you!!
Transfiguration brings to a close the season of Epiphany and is the bridge between Christmas and Lent. We began our journey with the Magi who saw divinity in the fragility of an infant. The journey paused midway at the banks of the river Jordan where we heard the divine voice saying: "This is my beloved son", as Jesus emerged from the waters of baptism. Today, we are on the mountain top with Jesus - it is a moment when all of history is joined together in the "now" and we are given a "glimpse" of the glory that will one day be ours.
THE SCENE
Our gospel opens with the story of Jesus, James, John and Peter at the top of a mountain. Here in this majestic setting, Jesus is "transfigured" before them. His clothes become dazzling white and his face glows with glory. Standing with him are Moses, the Lawgiver and Elijah, the Prophet. Peter is so overcome with joy that he proposes they build three "tents" on the site. The divine voice is heard in a cloud: "This is my Son, my chosen, listen to him".
Upon their return from the mountain top experience they encounter the demands of a father whose son is desperately ill. The disciples of Jesus had tried to cure him but were unsuccessful. The young boy is said to be "possessed" with a shrieking demon that causes him to convulse and froth at the mouth. Jesus, of course, heals him.
A few things to note about both stories:
1. On the mountain top Peter wants to erect some "tents". When we think of tents are minds are drawn to the image of canvas and metal posts. A tent is something that keeps us protected from the elements while camping. Tent has quite a different meaning in the way that Luke uses the word. Recall that the Ark of the Covenant, the place where God's glory dwelled on earth, was kept in a tent. A tent then, was a sacred place. Peter's desire to erect a tent demonstrates his desire to build a shrine - to acknowledge the mountain top as a sacred place. Jesus, however, will not comply. He does not want the disciples to "hold on" to this moment by making a holy site for all to visit. This moment is for strength. It is a glimpse of the glory that will be given to Jesus after he has embraced his cross and therefore a glimpse of the glory that God promises to all of us through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
2. Below the mountain Jesus encounters the shrieking demon. Looking back through time and advancements in both science and medicine it would be reasonable for us to surmise that the young boy was not possessed. Rather, it is likely that he was suffering from a kind of epilepsy. Such a disease would not have been understood by the people of Jesus day and would likely have been seen as some kind of demonic possession. Nonetheless, we are told that Jesus heals him.
So why are the two such opposing stories linked together? One story is about a glimpse of the glory that is to come and the other is about the suffering of a human person. Why does Luke link the two stories together?
I believe the answer lies in the very contradiction of the stories - a contradiction which Luke uses to tell us that the world desperately needs God.
CONTRADICTIONS
If we meld the two stories together we see that while Jesus and the Apostles are on the mountain experiencing a "glimpse of glory", people below the mountain are suffering. While Jesus and the Apostles are experiencing joy, strength and beauty, people below the mountain are experiencing pain, illness and evil. Luke seems to be telling us that the more open we are to God and the Lordship of Christ in creation (transfiguration experience on the mountain), the more open we will be to the pain of the world (suffering of the child possessed by a demon).
Each of us experiences these contradictions in life. We experience the joy of the transfiguration at each experience of new life - the birth of a child; a young couple in love; a moving worship experience. Likewise, we experience the pain of those below the mountain when life seems threatened or unfair- illness, death, divorce.
Were we to have no faith, these experiences would be pointless and by extension, life would be meaningless. We, however, are a people of HOPE. The story of the transfiguration of Jesus affirms the journey of life - in all its contradictions. We are enlivened by hope because the strength that Jesus was given in the experience of the mountaintop transfiguration allowed him to carry his cross and through it transform the world. Moreover, the transformation of the world has only BEGUN with the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We are called to participate in the ongoing transformation that was begun in Jesus but not completed. This is the call of the Church.
The moments of transfiguration - the glimpses of glory that we all experience are meant to sustain us and help us to carry on the work of the resurrection. And this is why these two stories are linked together. The more open we are to God, the more open we are to the pain of the world - and the world NEEDS God. The experiences of suffering and pain - personally and globally can be transformed.
TRANSFORMING THE WORLD
Many of you participated in fundraisers over the last month that were focused on Haiti. We invited people to birthdays and made donations instead of buying cards; we enjoyed the crisp winter wonderland on horse drawn sleighs; we had dinners, games nights, and socials. These were transfiguration moments - opportunities to create community, embrace the joy and wonder of life and through them offer help to a part of the world that is suffering. It was not to fly in the face of suffering but to recognize that joy and sorrow go hand in hand. What we did together was draw closer to God that we might draw closer to the pain of the world. This is how we are to participate in the work that Jesus began in the resurrection. This is how we are to transform the world.
Peace
Transfiguration brings to a close the season of Epiphany and is the bridge between Christmas and Lent. We began our journey with the Magi who saw divinity in the fragility of an infant. The journey paused midway at the banks of the river Jordan where we heard the divine voice saying: "This is my beloved son", as Jesus emerged from the waters of baptism. Today, we are on the mountain top with Jesus - it is a moment when all of history is joined together in the "now" and we are given a "glimpse" of the glory that will one day be ours.
THE SCENE
Our gospel opens with the story of Jesus, James, John and Peter at the top of a mountain. Here in this majestic setting, Jesus is "transfigured" before them. His clothes become dazzling white and his face glows with glory. Standing with him are Moses, the Lawgiver and Elijah, the Prophet. Peter is so overcome with joy that he proposes they build three "tents" on the site. The divine voice is heard in a cloud: "This is my Son, my chosen, listen to him".
Upon their return from the mountain top experience they encounter the demands of a father whose son is desperately ill. The disciples of Jesus had tried to cure him but were unsuccessful. The young boy is said to be "possessed" with a shrieking demon that causes him to convulse and froth at the mouth. Jesus, of course, heals him.
A few things to note about both stories:
1. On the mountain top Peter wants to erect some "tents". When we think of tents are minds are drawn to the image of canvas and metal posts. A tent is something that keeps us protected from the elements while camping. Tent has quite a different meaning in the way that Luke uses the word. Recall that the Ark of the Covenant, the place where God's glory dwelled on earth, was kept in a tent. A tent then, was a sacred place. Peter's desire to erect a tent demonstrates his desire to build a shrine - to acknowledge the mountain top as a sacred place. Jesus, however, will not comply. He does not want the disciples to "hold on" to this moment by making a holy site for all to visit. This moment is for strength. It is a glimpse of the glory that will be given to Jesus after he has embraced his cross and therefore a glimpse of the glory that God promises to all of us through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
2. Below the mountain Jesus encounters the shrieking demon. Looking back through time and advancements in both science and medicine it would be reasonable for us to surmise that the young boy was not possessed. Rather, it is likely that he was suffering from a kind of epilepsy. Such a disease would not have been understood by the people of Jesus day and would likely have been seen as some kind of demonic possession. Nonetheless, we are told that Jesus heals him.
So why are the two such opposing stories linked together? One story is about a glimpse of the glory that is to come and the other is about the suffering of a human person. Why does Luke link the two stories together?
I believe the answer lies in the very contradiction of the stories - a contradiction which Luke uses to tell us that the world desperately needs God.
CONTRADICTIONS
If we meld the two stories together we see that while Jesus and the Apostles are on the mountain experiencing a "glimpse of glory", people below the mountain are suffering. While Jesus and the Apostles are experiencing joy, strength and beauty, people below the mountain are experiencing pain, illness and evil. Luke seems to be telling us that the more open we are to God and the Lordship of Christ in creation (transfiguration experience on the mountain), the more open we will be to the pain of the world (suffering of the child possessed by a demon).
Each of us experiences these contradictions in life. We experience the joy of the transfiguration at each experience of new life - the birth of a child; a young couple in love; a moving worship experience. Likewise, we experience the pain of those below the mountain when life seems threatened or unfair- illness, death, divorce.
Were we to have no faith, these experiences would be pointless and by extension, life would be meaningless. We, however, are a people of HOPE. The story of the transfiguration of Jesus affirms the journey of life - in all its contradictions. We are enlivened by hope because the strength that Jesus was given in the experience of the mountaintop transfiguration allowed him to carry his cross and through it transform the world. Moreover, the transformation of the world has only BEGUN with the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We are called to participate in the ongoing transformation that was begun in Jesus but not completed. This is the call of the Church.
The moments of transfiguration - the glimpses of glory that we all experience are meant to sustain us and help us to carry on the work of the resurrection. And this is why these two stories are linked together. The more open we are to God, the more open we are to the pain of the world - and the world NEEDS God. The experiences of suffering and pain - personally and globally can be transformed.
TRANSFORMING THE WORLD
Many of you participated in fundraisers over the last month that were focused on Haiti. We invited people to birthdays and made donations instead of buying cards; we enjoyed the crisp winter wonderland on horse drawn sleighs; we had dinners, games nights, and socials. These were transfiguration moments - opportunities to create community, embrace the joy and wonder of life and through them offer help to a part of the world that is suffering. It was not to fly in the face of suffering but to recognize that joy and sorrow go hand in hand. What we did together was draw closer to God that we might draw closer to the pain of the world. This is how we are to participate in the work that Jesus began in the resurrection. This is how we are to transform the world.
Peace
Sunday, February 7, 2010
CATCHERS OF PEOPLE
THE SCENE
Simon Peter is not called to discipleship because Jesus has encountered an extraordinary individual with great leadership potential. in fact, the story portrays a rather ordinary individual who has just completed a nights work fishing. Jesus comes across Peter while he is cleaning his fishing nets - a mundane and necessary function. The story is about regular ordinary people leading regular ordinary lives - a story about a fisherman without a catch and a carpenter who leads the fisherman to the fish. Luke is inviting us to consider that while we often look for encounters with God in extraordinary circumstances and spiritual experiences, God prefers to come to us in the ordinary routine of our daily lives.
God is present to us in our morning routines of preparing for our day. God is present to us throughout our workday; our encounters with other people; and our encounters with our families. God comes to us in the ordinary routines of daily living - we have only to be open to the experience.
SET OUT FOR DEEPER WATER
A first glance of Luke's story would have us understand that Jesus continually calls us to go deeper. In the fishing story, it is in the deep water that Peter achieves the abundant catch. So to in our lives, abundance will be found when we are ready to risk going deeper - leaving behind the familiar shallow waters that keep us feeling comfortable and secure. Staying in "shallow" water is a great temptation - it doesn't cost much and it doesn't take a whole lot of courage. Deeper water, however, is darker - less secure. In deeper water we cannot see the dangers but yet it seems that Jesus is telling us that it is only in going deeper that we will find abundance of life; abundance of meaning; and the ability to pass on this abundance to others (catching other people).
There is a great spiritual principle at play in this passage and that principle is the notion that we begin our adventure of faith in shallow water but that is not where we are called to stay. We need to go DEEPER to find the abundance that God has for us.
So what is this act of going deeper? It is an act of engaging in regular worship in community with other Christians. It is taking time to study the Scriptures, the Word of God, be that through personal reading or Bible study offered through our local church. It is giving of our time, talents and treasures to the work of the Church; and most importantly, it is giving of our time to follow the Gospel ordinance to "feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and bring drink to the thirsty". These are some of the ways in which we "set out for deeper water."
LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND
Simon Peter's boat was his source of livelihood - his security and means to abundance. At the end of the story, he walks away from it all and follows Christ. Is Jesus asking the same of us? Are we to leave behind our jobs; our volunteer efforts; our families; and our money? In other words, walk away from our comfort and security - our means to abundance? It would take a lot for us to walk away from them. If we are honest, the request of Jesus to leave it all behind seems not only surreal, but irresponsible. In fact it is - if we think that this passage is about leaving it all behind then we've missed the point.
It is true that Jesus is firm and clear about not letting our worldly security (money, family, friends, things) be the place where our heart and motives lie, but there must be more to this story than walking away from it all and becoming a monk or missionary.
The Church presents this story to us as we draw near to the end of the season of Epiphany. Epiphany means "showing forth" and is about the manifestations of God's glory in our daily lives. The encounter of Jesus and Simon Peter on the shores of lake Genesaraet is about one such manifestation. The story is challenging us to get outside of our comfort zones - our circles of power - the things we rely on. When we place too much trust and faith in the things that bring us comfort and security then we will inevitably miss the extraordinary manifestations of God in our ordinary lives. What Peter realizes in this encounter with Jesus is that there is something more to life than fishing and that abundance means more than comfort and security - abundance is the result of an encounter with God.
CATCHING PEOPLE
Peter follows Jesus command to set out to deep water. Here, in the depth of Christ's presence, he discovers abundance and because of this his life will never be the same. The story, as Luke commends it to us, is about seeing and feeling what Jesus does and then doing the same. In this story, Jesus does not call us to be preachers telling others about why our faith and interpretation of the Scripture is better than theirs. That's nothing more than Bible thumping. In this story Jesus is inviting us to personally follow him into deeper waters - letting go of our protective walls and comfortable faith that separates us from our neighbour. He is calling us to be transformed in the encounters we can have with God in our everyday ordinary lives. Only when we are transformed - when we encounter the abundant love of God - only then will we be able to gently transform those around us. This is discipleship.
If going into deeper water frightens you...then join the club...it should frighten all of us. But remember the final words of Jesus in verse 10: "Be not afraid...from now on you will be catching people."
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
ADVENT MESSAGE
As members of a community of faith, one of the most striking truths of our relationship with God is revealed by the Angel Gabriel who says to Mary: "The Lord is with you". It is difficult for us to believe that God is with us. Something in our human nature resists believing this. Yet there is something in the story that speaks to us that we are not alone in the universe and that God is indeed with us.
The fear of being alone and that our lives are maningless forces us to find ways to cope with our "aloneness" in the world. Economics, politics, marketing and sales all serve to expoit us by offering ways by which we can be comforted. The world around us tells us that we can find meaning in our lives through wealth, power, positions and busyiness. The fact remains, however, that these things at best only offer us temporary comfort. We soon find that we are alone again.
The Advent season tells us that, in Jesus, the world has been given hope and the human person given meaning. It is a time of journey to the manger where God is revealed to us in human form. Emmanuel means God with us - and Jesus IS Emmanuel. This is the definitive message to all of us that "we are not alone - we live in God's world".
My prayer for all of us at Sparling this Christmas is that our longing for God will be satisfied in our gathered community and that the confidence that God is with us will overflow to our family and friends. May we all hear the Angel Gabriel's words anew: "The Lord is with you".
Please join us for our Christmas worship services at 1960 William Ave. West (at Oddy Street):
Christmas Eve Family Service 7pm
Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols 11pm
Christmas Day 11am
Blessings,
Rev. Scott
The fear of being alone and that our lives are maningless forces us to find ways to cope with our "aloneness" in the world. Economics, politics, marketing and sales all serve to expoit us by offering ways by which we can be comforted. The world around us tells us that we can find meaning in our lives through wealth, power, positions and busyiness. The fact remains, however, that these things at best only offer us temporary comfort. We soon find that we are alone again.
The Advent season tells us that, in Jesus, the world has been given hope and the human person given meaning. It is a time of journey to the manger where God is revealed to us in human form. Emmanuel means God with us - and Jesus IS Emmanuel. This is the definitive message to all of us that "we are not alone - we live in God's world".
My prayer for all of us at Sparling this Christmas is that our longing for God will be satisfied in our gathered community and that the confidence that God is with us will overflow to our family and friends. May we all hear the Angel Gabriel's words anew: "The Lord is with you".
Please join us for our Christmas worship services at 1960 William Ave. West (at Oddy Street):
Christmas Eve Family Service 7pm
Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols 11pm
Christmas Day 11am
Blessings,
Rev. Scott
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