1/2 a Sermon and the ending wrapped in a car accident

Some of the sermon was written when I left for a gathering with friends on Saturday afternoon.  The rest was in my head and just needed to be put on paper.  But the events of the afternoon changed that.  I was in a car accident around 5pm and did not get home until after 10pm.  The sermon writing was done for the day.  On Sunday I began with what was written, and finished with emotional words...

We have all seen them...

the cute animal videos or programs where mother animals nudge their babies.

The mother horse who nudges her colt to stand on its feet, to keep trying until the colt is able to stand; The mother elephant who nudges her little one with a nod of the head on the backside, to carry on, to follow the other elephants; the nudge of a mother bear to push her cubs out of the warm cave for the first time; the nudge of a mother bird to force the baby birds from the nest, to try their wings.  Without the motherly nudge, the little animals wouldn’t know to try, they could give up, and for them life would end.

This week at Bible Study I heard the Gospel reading in a new way, with Mary the mother of Jesus being central to the story.  Mary, Jesus, and the disciples are all invited to a wedding.  During the festivities the wine runs out.  So Mary nudges Jesus; John says, “the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ’Mother, what concern is that to you and to me?  My hour has not yet come.’ Mary said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”

Then I can picture Mary, with a knowing smile, turning around and going back to the party, leaving Jesus standing there in the midst of his newly gathered group of disciples, with stewards looking on, waiting instruction.  “Thanks mom!”   Jesus has been nudged into having to make a decision: to act, to not act, to laugh it off with a joke, to walk away, to save face, or to test the waters and see if he really could change water to wine.  “Thanks mom!”

Have you ever said those words:  an exasperated, “Mother!” or a sarcastic, “Thanks mom!”?

Jesus was correct that it was not his hour, meaning not yet the time when he would choose to give his life for the salvation of the world; this was not the end where he would stand before Pilate and be condemned to death.  But that was not the whole of Jesus’ call and ministry while here on earth.  Mary knew this.  She had been treasuring in heart the words of the Simeon and Anna the prophets from when they took Jesus to the Temple at 8 days old. She had been treasuring in her heart the words of the Magi.  She knew there was more for Jesus to do than die.  So she nudged her son, to be all that God created him to be.  The time was right, the time was now.  Jesus get going, time is short, live, love, be loved...trust me you are ready, you have the gifts, the skills, have faith. Go. Be.

The secular world understands the nudging principle.   Thaler and Sunstein, “choice architects”, have written a book entitled, “Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness”; with an on-line companion, “the Nudge Blog”.  The Nudge, talks about behavioural economics –for instance marketers and advertisers who use the principal of behaviour to sell their product.  So take the highly competitive industry of video game creation, a video game “Dead Space II” used behavioural science –a nudge- by advertising to young males with the slogan, “Your mom hates dead space II.”  And the video game sold like crazy.

Behavioural economics happens when one sits down to watch television in prime time.  If you reflect on the advertising you see, as prime time moves along, more and more fast food advertizes play; nudges...and guess what, you get hungry.  Weight loss councillors council against watching prime time advertisements; suggesting DVRing them and fast forwarding through commercials, or do something else during the advertisements –turn off the sound, don’t look.

...and then I finished with words from the heart about how the world understands "nudging" and uses it to their own purposes.  I briefly, because I started to cry, talked about how I was thankful to still be alive and able to nudge those who had I not nudged.  Yes, sermons nudge people as a group, but I mean nudging individuals to use the gifts I see in them to the glory of God and for the healing of the world.  I wouldn't want to leave this world without my children having been nudged to be all God created them to be.  I feel the same way about people in the congregation.  This week we were reminded that live is short and that we need to act and nudge now, because tomorrow might not come for us.  Go and be all God created you to be, and nudge others to do the same.

Whatever Happened to the "Snow" Day?

Today I am writing as I look out at a snow storm. School boards outside the city have cancelled school for the day. Snow is accumulating quickly.  The radio is reporting that roads are slippery, parts of the highways coming into the city have been closed and re-opened due to accidents.  There is blowing snow.  And yet...people are going on as usual; fighting to get to work  -  15 min drives taking 1:15hr (according to Twitter).

Whatever happened to the "SNOW" day?
A day where it was OK to look out the window, turn on the radio, make a cup of tea or coffee, grab a book or the newspaper, perhaps a blanket, and just relax.  Everyone would be OK with you staying home from work because they were too.  The police and emergency workers were happy because it meant people were taking responsibility for their own safety.  Snowplow operators were able to do there job better because there were no cars parked in their way on the streets.

A snow day was a the gift of a mental health day in dead of winter; a counter-balance day to ward off seasonal affective disorder.

Today I am mourning the loss of peoples' and society's inability to slow down.  For some reason people think that life, business, economics, etc., can not go on without them.  Really?  If more of us modelled taking a snow day -realizing that many do not have the luxury for a job is a job and harder to find - perhaps the world can slow down.  The last time this city shut down was during extreme weather: white Juan.  Is mother nature telling us something?  Does everything have to be BIG to get our attention and force us into action?

Well today, I am working from home; later going for a visit at a local coffee shop (to which I will plow in my snowboots, enjoying the weather).
For those who can: enjoy at least a moment of a good old-fashioned snow day.

Miniatur Wunderland *** official video 2012 *** largest model railway / ...

Sermon from Dec. 30th's "Carol and Reading Service": as it was a terrible snow day here!

Today we have continued the Christmas story begun last week through the Christmas concert and reiterated on Christmas Eve.  We follow the Holy family in the days following Jesus’ birth.

We have insight it to the rituals practiced, the dedication and blessing of a new life, the blessing of others for the baby as the baby will grow in years.

So far the reading has gone along, in a systematic way, crafting a story from the highlights.

But now there is a gap...the sermon fills the gap as the Gospel for today continues with Jesus all of sudden being 12 years old, and then followed again by a large gap where we catch up with Jesus around the age of 30 being baptized by John the Baptist.

So, where did all that time go?

Imagine, if you will, yourself as a lad growing up in Nazareth a few doors down from Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter (a.k.a Mary and Joseph).  You are the same age as their son Jesus. 

Jesus is your playmate: you play toss the loom weight, outshoot each other with slingshots, and at festivals dance the hora.  Jesus is in your Hebrew class at the synagogue.  Your mothers send you to the market, where between you, you save enough shekels to buy candied figs.  You hang out on the wall at the edge of the community watching caravans and travellers come through, gathering tidbits of gossip.

Your dad, you, along with Mr. Carpenter and Jesus sit together in the synagogue. You talk and learn together.

You and Jesus are given guidance, wisdom, and correction from the neighbours on the street, around family dinner tables.

There are times when your mother says, “Can’t you be more like Jesus?” Others when perhaps she says “no” to going and hanging with the wild neighbour boy.

This morning I suggest that we hear nothing about Jesus for 12 years because his life, his childhood, was absolutely normal.  There was nothing to distinguish him from the other boys his age in Nazareth.  In fact, it was so normal that the locals forgot the mysterious circumstances and stories around his birth.  Jesus was a regular guy, like every other human being.  His family and community taught him the rituals of being a Jew, the stories and prayers of the faith, and the psalms to sing.  Someone taught him to talk, to read Hebrew, to debate, to formulate parables.  Someone cleaned him up when he was dirty, disciplined him when necessary, looked after him when he was sick.  The community through action taught morals, ethics, and the interpretation of religion, society, and politics.  Humans demonstrated the manners and etiquette Jesus adopted.    Without the Jewish community in Nazareth and his family Jesus would not have grown up to be who he became.

This is important for us today.  If there was nothing to distinguish Jesus in childhood –with only one highlight until the age of 30 – who’s to say who is in our midst today.  Who are we bringing up and influencing?  Who is learning from us? What are we demonstrating and teaching through the way we live?

Could it be that in our midst the Christ returns again and again?

God could come in human form whenever God would choose to do so.  And think of the innocents God has placed in the world to be taught and formed by mere human beings...us.  The potential in the people around us is astounding and God put the potential there, but it needs help, direction to grow. 

Think of the patriarchs of the faith: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob...what about Noah, Moses, Hannah, Deborah, Mary.

Think about the prophets, Isaiah, Elijah, John the Baptist...what about the Apostles, Paul.  They grew up the way they did and became who they were by the human tutoring of those around them.

As we enter a New Year, I invite you to consider who is in our midst. Who becomes all God created them to be because we have taken the time to grow the incarnate, Emmanuel –God-with-us.

Facing the world and particularly other human faces with the knowledge of Emmanuel being present will change how we love, teach, and live.

Those who are on skid row, on the street, in prison, committing suicide, bullying, causing war, are abusive... the community, family, friends, human beings –have failed to grow the incarnate; have failed to see Emmanuel, God-with-us in that person.  They may never become who God created them to be and the world will be a sadder place because of it.

So go and grow the incarnate, with the same innate gifts that raised Jesus to be the man, to be the divinity, that he became.

Grace is the taking down of walls. Christmas in action.

Christmas Caroling

Fri. Dec. 21st was the most blessed Christmas caroling event in Resurrection history.
Five singers started by warming their voices on the church stairs.  Across the road, the aparment windows filled with a few onlookers; one was a mother and child, who rocked with the music. A couple of women with carts returning from the supermarket stopped to listen, to soak in the sound, to hum along.  And then a women on a bike road past, dismounted, turned around and came back to listen.  She was overly thankful...it was the first time this season that she felt at peace.  The gift of caroling songs was her hope for the day, to carry into tomorrow.
If this had not been enough...
singing in front the Superstore, led to smiles, nods, a clapping of hands, and just as the songs finished a worker came out and was disappointed, she wanted to hear, in fact she wanted to sing too!  Her co-workers came out and took pictures.
If this had not been enough...
At Canadian Tire a father and his two children stopped and waited for their mom.  The one little boy danced the whole time.  He even came and sang too!  And just for him, a chorus of "Deck the Halls" echoed loud and clear. One passer by wished to leave money and wasn't able to, as the singing was all gift!
What a great night of sharing God's hope and Good News with the world!

Grace, in rain?

It is pouring rain and has been since yesterday.  It is Dec.19th and for some of us in the Maritimes (most of us CFAs -come from awayers) the prayer is for snow.  As a family that shares a car, it was hubbies day to take the car to work, so that means the final Christmas communion visits will be done on foot in a bright yellow rain coat (and perhaps the yellow pants too, unless the bus is taken).  Ick!
Perhaps grace is found in how bright the Christmas lights look against such a backdrop.  Yes it is on while this blog post is being written, along with the electric fireplace.
May grace is how warm the morning cup of tea feels or the warmth of the wool sweater.
On days like this visits can require extra energy and patience...aches and pains seem worse, people move slower, the weather makes people sleepy and sad.  Here's praying that grace moves ahead and behind the feet, wherever they go, all day, every day, but especially in the darkness of today.

A Prophet in Our Midst

On Sunday the sermon was about prophets.  It began with tinkling of bells on the hem of Zechariah the priest's robes as he went to take the incense offering into the Holy of Holies.  While there, he encountered the angel of the Lord, who told him that his wife, Elizabeth, in her old age would bear a child.  "How will I know this?" asks Zechariah.  For this Zechariah is speechless until his son is born.  Zechariah's speechlessness speaks volumes.  Then, on regaining his voice, he sings a hymn of praise.  His son, John the Baptist, offers the Good News in a very different way than Zechariah -he is like a magnet-a-phone.  
The point of the sermon was that for a short moment in time Zechariah and John were proclaimers of Good News; they were prophets for a particular time and in a particular place.  Are we ever called to be bearers of Good News?  To be prophetic for a short moment of time in the place where we find ourselves?
At the end of the sermon, as the pulpit was vacated, a loud "thank-you" came from the back of the church. Then the gentlemen walked out of the building.  This gentlemen came back in shortly, as the congregation was singing.  He walked right up to the altar and handed me two plaques.  Both were black with gold writing; one said "love", the other "home".  Then he left again.
The gentlemen's name is Brian.  He lives on the margin of society, often spending the night on the street.  He is part of the neighbourhood and will stop to tell stories about his grandmother, his faith, some of his life experiences.  He passes on treasures from one person to another, to bring joy, to share love.
Sunday morning Resurrection was awakened by two prophetic words: love and home.  Sunday morning we were that for Brian, and reminded that that is our prophetic word for the world.
Thank-you Brian for being God's prophet in our midst.

Why We Celebrate Not-so-real Stories

Over the past few days, I have been reminded of conversations over the years,  that there is very little actual truth in the details of Christmas narative and the way we celebrate it.  -Dec. 25 more like some time in Sept....and so on.
      On Monday my son asked if I needed help putting up the Christmas tree.  To start with it is about a week earlier than it usually goes up.  "I wasn't thinking about doing that today."  "OK :(   Well I changed my mind and together we hauled the tree up from the work room and the wooden box it sits on.  We had a grand time, my 17 year old, talking up a storm.
       The next day after school, "Mom are we decorating the tree sometime."  Well it wasn't on my schedule.  So he helped me put the lights on it - a job over the years that we have always done together.   Once again excitedly chatting up a storm.  If I didn't see the almost 6ft young man in front of me, I would have guessed he was five.  He was totally affected by the nip in the air, the snowflakes gently falling, and making the house festive.  For me it was two afternoons of grace -time with my son, seeing delight as the old decorations were pulled from their paper, joking about me moving decorations after they are already on the tree (I only rerouted two this year).
This in itself is a reason why we celebrate a story that didn't happen exactly the way it says that it did.
       Then last night at the supper table my 19 year old talked about friends who get caught up in her fascination with science and tell her she is wrong, those who read the Bible in a black and white manner.  We talked about learning to be a discerning reader, embracing metaphor, finding truth in the pieces presented, and loving hope, God, in a well told beloved story.
They appreciate celebrating the story in all its parts, feeding on the hope, love, and grace found therein.  ....and on top of that reminding "mom" that being giddy is a gracefilled attitude.

Finding a way to communicate | The Chronicle Herald

Finding a way to communicate | The Chronicle Herald

What makes this story so full of grace, is that it was a parishoner (John Labelle) who had an idea.  He saw a glimpse of what God's kingdom looks like and is endeavouring to make it happen.  We should all be inspirted to bring God's kingdom into the now.

I Have Done My Time -a poem

``I HAVE DONE MY TIME``

If this were true I would not be alive.

I would cease being a mother when my children

                reached a magic age.

I would never have to learn anything once leaving

                        high school.

I would not have to pray because I have already

               done it.

I wouldn`t have to clean the house, do laundry, go 

               grocery shopping, or shower

...been there and done that.

Whatever  makes us think that,

 “I have done my time”?

It is that time of year again,

 when churches are seeking council members and ministry facilitators for the coming year.

I would like just one year not to hear:

...I  have done my time...

I  taught Sunday school when my kids where little,

I’ve done my time...

I have sat on church council, more than once,

I’ve done my time...

I’ve changed light bulbs and fixed this and that,

I’ve done my time...

I’ve made sandwiches and worked in the kitchen,

I’ve done my time...

...so does that mean you have no more opinions?

Does it mean you have nothing to teach anyone?

Does it mean that you have no more faith to share?

Does it mean no more responsibility to the community?

Does it mean there is no more love?

Are you telling me, that because

“you have done your time”,

you are no longer required to be about God’s ministry in the world?

You are alive.

You are a child of God.

You have been given gifts to share.

As long as you are present in this world,

you are responsible to be a part of the community.

The church is not just a building,

not just an institution,

the church is not everyone around you;

you are the church when working in community with like minded people to share the Good News;

to be the Good News

to be hope in a hurting world.

Light in the darkness.