Waterdom (Christ the King Sunday Year C -sermon)

In July, of this past year, the Anglican Church of Canada and the ELCIC, met in Joint Assembly in Ottawa.  The Saturday morning event was a prayer service on the front lawn of parliament hill.  The young adults of both denominations and our National Bishop and the Anglican Primate led the service. We gathered in circles of 10-12 people to pray, to share stories, to engage the topic of water, and to consider how to be active in water justice.  The service was meant to make a public statement as two national church bodies that water is a gift from God, a gift that we have in abundance. With the gift comes responsibility, as people, as parliament, to protect, to clean up that which we have polluted, and to insure access to potable water for all people.

On the main steps of the hill, between the peace flame and the peace tower, the youth ran strips of bright blue and silver cloth, moving like a river.  The circles of people gathered below.  For me it painted a picture of the kingdom of God:  free flowing water, the gift of life, for all people, living in relationship and community.

This picture of kingdom is in process of being developed and built in places around the world.  If any of you have looked through the “Gifts of the Heart” catalogue from CLWR you will notice that some of the gifts are about water: gifts of water storage and diversion projects and community water systems –the building of wells. Through CLWR we are involved in fair water access around the world.  This said we live with a disaster at home:  a 2011 Canadian government study demonstrated that the water management systems on more than 300 reserves were at high risk of malfunctioning? Some communities have no water system at all.  There are problems with legal systems controlling water; insufficient government funds; a lack of public awareness not helped by racism against First Nation’s people. In some places, in this country, bottled water sells for $100 a case.  In rural areas, speaking of my experience in Northern NB, has people  -those who are poor- drinking from wells that have not had yearly testing; some have been and contain chemicals from crop sprays, or eccolli from manure runoff.  New wells need to be drilled or treatment systems put in place in order for safe drinking water, but that population is forgotten; it is their problem.  So too when wells run dry because the neighbour has put in a well draining the aquifer, or a company takes water to bottle and sell, or the land shifts as the ground is fracked. 

In HRM every year the church receives more and more phone calls, that people cannot pay their water bills; for the poor -water is becoming inaccessible.  And this in a cultural context, where there is a corporate feeling that there is lots of water, that everyone has access to it -but we do not live in the kingdom of God-yet. 

I read this week an opinion piece reflecting on the millions of dollars Canadians and the Canadian government are sending to the Philippines.  The reflection was that if there is that much money to go to disaster because our hearts are moved, changed, saddened, and feel helpless; that means there is that much money to rid Canada of poverty... why do we not see the disaster we live-in-the-midst of? Why are our hearts hardened to the plight of the poor and First Nations communities, instead of being broken such that water justice issues are addressed here at home?

The readings today talk about leadership in a way that we do not usually see in practice. In fact, the readings speak to a different kind of understanding than most human beings can accept, let alone live.

Jeremiah speaks of leaders as either having or not having a shepherd’s heart.  What does such a heart look like? Think of the news of late, is a shepherd’s heart that of some Canadian Senators, Rob Ford? Of course not, the most profound characteristic of a shepherd’s heart is that it is selfless, gaining life and energy by looking out for the flock; having the flocks best interest at heart.  It doesn’t mean being all nice and schmultzie all the time; it could mean tough love, partnership, always give and take....shepherds have one focus, every decision and action is for one reason and one reason only, the  best for the sheep, the flock.  Now there is a definition of the kingdom of God: everyone living not for themselves but for the good of all people.

Today we also hear the recount of Jesus’ crucifixion; the shepherd heart taken to extreme.  Jesus’ lays down his life for the sheep –as the Gospel of John would say. This is a form of leadership few venture to accept.  There are examples:  Bonhoeffer, Oscar Romero, Martin Luther King.  There are more recent examples, within the last few years, of Christians, some leaders, some living out the Gospel through service ministries, who have been killed in places like Iran, Turkey, Korea, Uganda, because of their shepherd hearts.   

As I spoke with the children about water, I am amazed by the Mystery and message in the invisible.  I am amazed that in the life giving gift of the creator, we are given a visible sign, and that we have been given the power to recreate that which through human sin has become broken.  Is the Gospel message in water, a sign that hearts can change in the same manner?  Scripture talks about the disciples being given power to heal and to forgive the sins of any.  ...to forgive the sins of any... whose heart does that change?  The one who hears the words, the one who proclaims them, or both; and does the actual substance of the water in the heart visually change?

We have come here, or have brought our children, or chosen ourselves to become part of the Christian community through baptism.  We pray for the baptized. We come and as we did this morning give thanks for the gift of baptism, the gift of life giving water.  We believe that the Spirit, in, with, and under the water, whelms those who are baptized with it.  Mr. Emoto has photographs that illustrate that Holy water is different, its nature is crystal pure.    When it whelms us, we are changed.  When we come back to this place to remember, to hear the words “your sins are forgiven”, to sing our praise, to offer prayer –once again our being is whelmed so that we can live as if the kingdom were present.

When Tim and I were married and moved into our first place together we began a tradition where, in every home we have lived, there is a shell above the sink in the bathroom, right above the taps, with the words “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”, painted on it.  Luther said that every day as one washed their face in the morning, as the water ran over the face, to recommit to living baptized by setting the day’s focus, “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”  This was meant to be a heart changing action, reconfiguring one’s own desires and selfish aims, to a DNA of living for others –in other words living the kingdom amidst being in bondage to sin.

There is water all around us.  There is an abundance of God’s gift.  There is life giving water for everyone.

As a baptized people living in Canada, what does it mean to live with a shepherd’s heart?  It means water justice is demanded of us, protection expected, responsibility to sustainable usage, and a responsibility to wholeness  –the Gospel message in water speaks to our hearts, changing us to have shepherd’s hearts. 

Live your baptism this week.  Treat water as the Mystery –as God- in, with, and under every drop.  Save it, share it, fight for it, build facility for it –in other places in the world and here.   There is no excuse, we can be held accountable, there is water for all in this country.  So what is your shepherd’s heart going to do for water justice for all people?

Busy- idleness or Busy with Community mindedness and Relationship building?

Sermon Pent. 26 C

 

In 2010 a mine collapsed in Santiago, Chile, trapping 33 miners below ground for more than two months. They held up in a small refuge area with about 2k of tunnel available, where 3, 14cm holes were drilled to drop down a few basic supplies until they could be rescued safely.  It was crowded, dark, damp, and humid; and the longer they stayed trapped the more infection spread.

People studied the miners’ stories when they came back topside.  It was found the 33 men had organized themselves into a community.  Every man had tasks to do each day; no one was left to be idle.  Despite the situation they were thriving: moral was good, comradery even better, for the most part peoples’ needs were being met with supplies available, there was a sharing of rations (tuna and water); they were a community of brothers who had each others’ backs.

That is until down one of the 14cm holes, people topside thought to send down a TV so the men could watch the world cup of soccer.  Once the TV went down community disintegrated.

The letter to the Thessalonians says, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: anyone unwilling to work should not eat.  For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.

Often, when this passage is talked about, the conversation quickly goes to Canada’s welfare system: people getting paid to not work, to sit on their couches...and so on.  I am sure you have heard and been a part of this conversation before; rife with stereotypes, derogatory judgment, and fueled with lots of emotion.

The letter to the Thessalonians is speaking to a community of Jesus followers, who are attempting to live in community as was described in the book of Acts: 

Chapter 2:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵ they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds^[a] to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home^[b] and ate their food with glad and generous^[c] hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

And similarly in Chapter 4:

³² Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. ³³ With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴ There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. ³⁵ They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

It sounds too good to be true, but, for the most part the communities of early Christians worked. There were some problems and Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians to not weary in doing what is right; to keep trying by ironing out some of the difficulties.

I think that today we apply passages like this one to our concepts of work, generally paid work.  In these communities there was a lot to be done, not all of it, in fact a large portion of it that was unpaid in a monetary sense. There were gardens to hoe, clothing to be washed, the sick to be tended to, food to be cooked, soup lines to be opened, gifts to be taken to the treasury to support widows in Jerusalem, prisoners to be visited, prayers to be said, teaching to done, children to be watched, fish to be caught, roofs and houses to be maintained... and so on.

These people because of their experience of the Gospel, wanted to live together in a different way from the world around them.  Their hearts and souls were changed, craving relationship, compassion, community –ideals not found in the society around them. They found when they lived in community, as stated in Acts, no one had need, they lived with thanksgiving, praying and worshiping together they saw amazing wonders and signs; they experienced hope amidst chaos.

Applying this scripture to our lives may take a reversed view of being idle.

Many of you will have seen signs in roundabout driveways, in front of hospital and school doors, that read “idle no more”, or “idle free zone.”  The idle no more campaign grew from the environmental movement and asks drivers to turn off their vehicles (if they will be sitting for more than 6 sec) rather than sit and idle the engine; the idea is to lessen exhaust fumes, thus, reducing pollution.  Idling no more means turning off the engine.  It means waiting patiently, not itching to keep going, and be gone in the fastest amount of time. It means not being lazy to turn the engine off and then back on.

How many of you would consider yourself busy?  As Christmas approaches do you perceive life getting busier still? Days are full: with work –both the responsibilities and the added pressure we put on ourselves of stuff needing to be done, volunteering, daily tasks, grocery shopping, caring for children or the elderly, ferrying people from here to there and back again, emails, social networking; television shows, tuning in for the news...

Perhaps it is time that we idle no more and turn of the engine.

Breathing freely, take a moment to wait, to be patient, to ponder.

Before turning the engine back on, consider your busy-ness.  How much of the time are you running around like a chicken with its head cut off?  Not knowing if you are coming or going?  Are you taking time to do the things that give you life; that you enjoy?  Can you let go of things, work projects, pressure, stuff you think needs to be done but is not your responsibility?  And the true test as to whether your busy-ness is really a clever way to disguise idleness – is the focus of the busy-ness community minded and geared to relationship building?  If not, it is time to seriously take to heart Paul’s words and for us to re-visit the early Christian community in Acts.

Because of the Gospel we are given a choice to live a different way.  Luke’s gospel is quite clear in telling us that it will not be easy: it could mean prison or death, being betrayed by friends or family, or being hated.

It would mean having to live outside of our natural human instincts; instincts rife with stereotypes, derogatory judgments, and fueled with lots of emotion. It would be a conscious choice to live as a follower, to live into the dream of a new heaven and a new earth, where former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.

If we were trapped in a mine, I would like to believe that we would organize into a community, where everyone had daily tasks, where no one was idle; a place where needs were met with the resources available, that rations were shared, that moral was high, storytelling superb, prayer daily, and that hearts would be full of thanksgiving; a place where busy-idleness ceased, no TV, no cell phones –only face to face, hand to hand relationship.

If we can picture that this is how we would act if stuck in a mine...why not live into that picture of community now?

This week follow your heart.  Prioritize your days by first doing those things that bring you life and joy. Pray and be thankful.  Refrain from activity that hinders and harms relationship.  Focus on work that builds community.  Take courage and have hope amidst the chaos that yes there is another way.

All Saint's sermon 2013

All Saints C-2013

It is quite a dream that Daniel has; one we might even call a nightmare.

Gusting winds from all directions, churning seas, great beasts – monsters; kings are rising, bringing with them war, turbulence, and chaos.  People are troubled in spirit and terrified.  The book of Daniel is written in such a time, the 2^nd Century BCE when Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes is severely persecuting the Jews because they are a minority ethnically and religiously.  It is almost the eve of the Maccabean revolt where the brothers Macabee band brethren together to zealously fight against the assimilation policies of foreign rulers and the priestly class.  War is brewing. Persecution is around every corner. Chaos is imminent.  Fear is consuming.

Daniel is what we call apocalyptic literature.  It draws on the past experiences of the people when in exile, using images and characters from those times to capture a picture of the present, facing the present time by using symbols and metaphors known to the hearers, with the purpose of the book being to create hope and encouragement in the hearts and minds of a people facing chaos.  The promise in the end is salvation under God’s sovereignty.

When I was preparing the list of names for this morning’s service, I was struck by the fact that I knew most of these people.  I knew their stories, their faith, their fears, their joys, their sorrows, their acceptance of death, their hopes and dreams.  These faithful represent two generations of people, all affected by living in troubled times, in a chaotic world.  These loved ones faced an array of chaos: some born in the aftermath of WWI, large families living through the Great Depression, poor and hungry, going to work early in life, experiencing loss of siblings and parents before their time. There was WWII with experiences of living in war, fleeing for one’s life, being a displaced person. There was rationing, starting over, sickness, depression, looking after dying spouses, living in institutions; things not turning out the way life had been planned.  

As I thought about our loved ones, I connected their lives to the picture painted in Daniel.

Living life is messy.  There are powers outside of our control that have a great affect on our lives; affects that change our ability to address our needs, and can abruptly change our hopes and dreams.

Two Fridays in a row I have found myself at Neptune Theatre experiencing the play “Red.”  The play has two characters: the artist Mark Rothko and his art student employee.  Rothko was an abstract expressionist.  His canvasses were floating squares overlaid one upon another, in shades of the same colour; in this case, red. One enters the mind of the artist: his philosophy of art and life, his wrestling with inner demons and being relevant, and his relationship to the living work he created. I was struck by his monologues and how they fit with my thesis work around the theology of art.

Abstract expressionism - canvasses of solid colour, experiments in minimalism, fuzzy edged blocks moving from one into another- the point was to feel painting, and think painting until there was tragedy in every stroke.  That was when the painting was done.  When there was tragedy pulsating in every stroke the painting captured the chaos and ugliness of the world.

The book of Daniel did the same thing for his time, written in an age where the ear had priority, the words written painted the chaos and ugliness of the world at that time.

We don’t have to like abstract expressionism.  We are not being asked to like the words from the Book of Daniel, in fact it is better if we don’t.  The paintings, the images, the words, are meant to cause discernment. They are to throw us into feeling and thinking beyond our current moment of understanding and being.

They are meant to shake us, such that we face the chaos –the art names the chaos – drawing on images from the past and propelling us, agitating us, into moving away towards hope and dreams; possibilities of growing beauty, from the beauty seen in the ugliness of red floating squares on a canvass.

It is the Lutheran understanding of the theology of the cross, where Jesus’ death, the crucifix, the suffering, dying, the vulnerable Jesus, dares to enter into the pain of humanity. ...and die ...drawing on the stories of the past and propelling movement forward, with promises for tomorrow.  The chaos of the cross is ugliness at its most beautiful; ugliness is redeemed -in the state that it is in it is beautiful.

In Rothko’s Reds, or in Daniel’s beasts, the chaotic is presented...blah there it is.  Now what are you going to do with it?

You can walk away, glimpse but not really look, keep on living seeing red and put off to the side the sense of black, of chaos eating up the red, a sense of living life holding on for dear life, almost at the end of your rope, being chased to the end.  Or you can stop and look, really look, the more you look the more the pictures move, the more the words penetrate, eventually faith is born as the ugly is made beautiful; and grace showers through.

The people that we are remembering today, those who have gone on before, faced ugliness and found beauty therein.  When the church talks of the communion of saints and the great cloud of witnesses we recall this facing ugliness and finding beauty... as it was exemplified in people’s lives as faithfulness, righteousness, salvation, redemption, forgiveness, and grace; and in the end having a spirit of love, even loving people and things that seemed unlovable.

Near the end of the play, in the furry of talking about the world outside his studio, in a powerful movement, Rothko reaches out his hands almost in desperation, or perhaps exasperation, with a hand on the chest and one on the forehead of his student employee, says, commenting to being out there: make something beautiful. 

Is that not the message of the Book of Daniel?  Face the chaos, live the persecution; make something beautiful? Is that not the message of the cross?  Face the suffering, the dying, pain, vulnerability; make something beautiful?  Is that not the hope and blessing of All the Saints gone before? Live through the chaos; faithful; make something beautiful?

We have come here today and paused to hear, to see, to observe...to feel and think...the greatest fear many of us face death, not being in control, chaos on a global stage.  Facing it here we have the chance to take the ugliness, the moment of the Jesus’ death, and experience the beautiful –redemption.  In the twinkling of these candles, the swishing of the grain, the eating of bread and wine, in the language of prayer- ugly is deemed beautiful, such that we can go into the world to make something beautiful.

Go in the hopes and dreams of those from the past, for they are the hopes and dreams we are to live, as we create hope and dreams beyond the present chaos for those who follow us.