Grace Is More!

 

NT Professor Richard Ascough from Queen’s University in Kingston, ON writes:

It is not clear whether Paul means that Christ’s death placates God’s wrath or whether his death removes the cause of the wrath from humanity. Here I would argue another option, but that is not where I am going in this sermon ...  Either way, Richard continues, Christ’s death is effective, but how the metaphor works remains a mystery, although clearly for Paul it is a gift – “grace” (verse 24)- that restores this relationship.

 

God’s grace is our focus this Reformation Sunday. For Lutherans, our heritage is an emphasis on grace. Since the 1500s we have heard and read Paul’s letters, particularly Romans, and interpreted the scripture and theologically reflected from a lens of the theology of the cross saturated in grace. Do we really get it?

God loved creation and humankind so much that God chose to die to show us to what length God will go to love us. There is nothing we do that earns this love – it is a free gift.

Do we really understand grace?

Think of a time when you felt most loved. Grace is more than that love.

Think of a person you care for deeply. Grace is more than this care.

Think of an intimate moment you have experienced. Grace is more than this.

Think of a time when you were welcomed, accepted, and belonged. Grace is more than this.

Think of a time when you were forgiven or when you forgave someone. Grace is more than this forgiveness.

Think of a time when you were filled with gratitude. That feeling you had, Grace is more.

Think of a time when you were awed by creation, a sunrise or a night sky. Grace is more.

Think of a time when you were astounded by the intricacy of nature or confounded by a mystery. Grace is more.

Think of a time when a relationship was reconciled or restored. Grace is more than this.

Think of a time when you were satisfied and full. Grace is more than this abundance.

Think of a time when you were healed, protected, comforted, at peace. Grace is more than these.

Think of a time when you were overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of others. Grace is more than this.

Grace is more than ALL of the love, intimacy, forgiveness, welcome, acceptance, belonging, forgiveness, gratitude, awe, mystery, reconciliation, restoration, satiation, fullness, abundance, healing, protection, comfort, peace, generosity, kindness – put together.  Grace is more!

 

Many years ago, I visited Wittenberg, Germany – the centre of the Reformation, with Luther’s home, the university, the church that received Luther’s 95 Thesis on its door… but of all places in that town with special significance, one that has always stood out for me was the working water fountain in the courtyard of Phillip Melancthon’s house. Phillip Melancthon was a compatriot of Luther, a theologian, an intellectual leader of the Reformation, and an influential designer of educational systems.

The earth-toned fountain in his courtyard is not super fancy. One can sit on the edge and easily reach the spigot to fill a bucket or water bottle. The face of the backwall has a spigot from which water flows into the trough below. What is fascinating is that this fountain has continually worked since the time of Melancthon.

The fountain – or water outlet- is part of the Old Maiden Water Piping System that was constructed in Wittenberg by a group of distinguished local residents in 1556. Other than the mayor and the apothecary, the distinguished cast were printers, publishers, bookbinders, and an artist – all contributing to the spread of the Reformation. Using hollowed tree trunks as pipes and connected with iron joints, water was transported from a spring 5km outside of town into eight courtyard fountains in the town, one being that of Phillip Melancthon. Three years later the system grew to 22 outlets suppling water to 60 houses. The system is still in operation today with 30 outlets providing spring water to the town’s citizens.

So, what does this have to do with grace?

I started with a quote, part of which read: Christ’s death is effective, but how the metaphor works remains a mystery, although clearly for Paul it is a gift – “grace” (verse 24)- that restores this relationship.

In the 1500s clean water was effective but the how remained a mystery. For the citizens of Wittenberg their fresh water source reduced mortality from waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid, dysentery; clean water boosted immune systems, improved food production in town gardens, aided sanitation and hygiene. The benefits of fresh water were abundant even though the water looked like any other water. The water piping system provided water sources in courtyards where they were accessible by the community, every citizen. The source of the water, the spring, continually pumped water of its own accord, a free gift to the town. What else I love about the water system is that it was the vision of seven men, who had the means and the will, to build a gift to benefit the whole town. This water system works in my mind like God’s grace.

The water outlet in Phillip’s garden can be passed today with little notice unless you are paying attention.  Grace is like this too, an abundance that is visible right before our eyes, yet so often we do not see it, or attune ourselves to it.

 

In the world of trauma therapy, counsellors work with clients to identify triggers. Triggers are a result of trauma experienced. After trauma the nervous system can become hyper-focused, constantly scanning for potential threats and danger; this is the brains way to keep one safe. Identifying triggers can help people work with controlling and changing actions and reactions. Recently, press has been given to the idea of glitter, dubbed the opposite of triggers. A glitter is defined as small moments that sparks joy or peace, which can help cue the nervous system to feel safe or calm. The idea is that being attentive and focusing on glitter moments will aid in the healing of the whole body. It’s a matter of attention. Grace moments – grace- is a matter of attention and intention. In world full of trauma, that personally experienced, secondary or tertiary trauma, from supporting those with trauma or trauma gathered from news or media, or crisis in the present--- it takes consistent practice to attune our hyper-focused nervous systems from triggers to glitter. Trauma to grace.

 

Returning to our earlier reflection on the small glitters of grace we experience- where grace is more, much more than all of these put together; let us focus on these moments of grace and finding strength in them, living from them, such that we bring God’s life-giving water to a thirsty world.

It Is Indeed Right, Our Duty, and Our Joy to Pay Taxes

 

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise through paying taxes.

Likewise…

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God.

 

Taxes. The gospels are full of stories about taxes, both temple and government tax, along with stories of tax collectors. Matthew, also known as Levi, was a tax collector when Jesus’ called him to be a disciple. There is the story of Zaccheus the tax collector who changes how he lives when he encounters Jesus. In Matthew 17 we hear that Jesus pays the temple tax. Many of the stories depict tax collectors as a group whom fellow Jews despise, demonizing them as traitors and being in-bed with Rome. And we have today’s story where Jesus is cornered and asked, Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?

 

I began with a phrase that we pray in the communion liturgy. It is indeed right, our duty and our joy that we should…  The prayer follows our giving of tithes and offerings and the offering prayer that blesses God for blessing us with these gifts: ourselves, our time, and our possessions. The prayers continue, asking that our hearts turn toward those who hunger in any way, that we might be for the world signs of God’s gracious presence, and that we might feed the world with God’s love. The repetition of offering prayers helps us remember why we are about the work and mission of the church. We are reminded that we are in relationship with God and that giving to the mission and to others is an action of being faithful. Over time we invest in God’s mission by giving of ourselves, our time, and our possessions – praying, praising, gathering, working. Some of our investment we see in returns, some waits collecting interest, and some is withdrawn and seemingly disappears. The offerings we give to God are in God’s hands.

 

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy that we should… It is right and our duty to pay taxes. I suspect that some of you may argue with ‘and our joy.’ Do you pay taxes? Or give taxes? Do you do so not solely from duty but with joy? Joy, in that one has the means to have something to be taxed. Joy, that taxes paid will benefit the common good.

Whether reflecting on prayer, taxes, taking a daily walk or what-have-you, humans often have difficulty connecting the benefits of such to the source of the benefits, and the benefits themselves. In taxes there is an abundance of mercy – mercy in the form of water, sewer, roads, schools, libraries, emergency services, health care, parks and trails – mercy and manna for everyone.

American historian Albert Bushnell Hart reflected that: Taxation is the price which civilized communities pay for the opportunity of remaining civilized. There is joy to be had in the giving of tax to the emperor.

 

With this in mind, we return to the Gospel to reflect on three things to be learned from Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees and Herodians. Surprisingly -or not so surprising because this is a Jesus’ story, the take-aways are not just about taxes, but a way of life and being; what it means to be in relationship and covenant with God, and how that gets played out in relationships with others and creation.

Lesson 1. With a common goal enemies can work together.

There is no love loss between the Pharisees and the Herodians. The Pharisees are critical of Rome while the Herodians align themselves with the Roman Empire. Both, however, share a common purpose to squash this Jesus’ movement before it gets out of hand, because the Jesus’ movement has the potential to ruin their plans and seats of power.

 

Lesson 2. The answer is not yes or no.

In the world there is a pervasive mindset of all-or-nothing.  Dualism and polarities thrive. To hold a perspective of middle ground, or a fluidity between opposites, is uncomfortable for many. Jesus teaches the crowd that more than one truth can be true, Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.

 

Lesson 3. Continue to wrestle with the question.

 As New Testament Professor Yung Suk Kim writes, “Jesus’ answer is evasive but penetrating.”

The question is to penetrate our hearts, minds, and beings. We are left wondering, left with the question because it is to be wrestled with. Is it lawful (joyful) to pay taxes? To wrestle with the question means that we continue to be engaged in the world, with all its politics, authorities, and systems of society; it means we participate in a critical interpretation of the world around us; continually applying the Gospel, living God’s mission, and working for the kindom.

 

Consider for a moment these three learnings – with a common goal enemies can work together, the answer is not yes or no, and continue to wrestle with the question- it struck me that the practicing of these three learnings has the potential to change perspectives and the relationship of people with each other, and have a result of an improved commonwealth. Enemies work together, there is more than one answer, and that continued engagement, reflection, and critique are critical to civilized society.

 

Paul and Silas write to the Thessalonians that they remember them before God in prayer. Paul has heard of the Thessalonian’s ministry and the giving of themselves, their time, and their possessions. It is described as: work produced by faith, labour prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. May our families, our friends, our neighbourhood hear and see that this community of Jesus’ followers – practice the teachings of this Gospel, joyfully contributing to the wider community, giving not paying taxes, and that our work is produced by faith, our labour prompted by love, and our endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. And that these gifts of joy, faith, love, and hope are only this when shared – given to all.

 

We Give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Saviour Jesus Christ, who on this day over came death and the grave, and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and with joy give all that we have, all that we are, for the healing of the whole world.

The Gospel Response to Peer Pressure

 

On Friday morning CBC Radio One had a conversation with Mayor Mike Savage. The conversation was about solutions to housing across levels of government. The Mayor commented that he has worked as a politician for a long time; stating that his leadership has been one of partnership not bipartisanship; willing to work with all levels of government, all parties, to the benefit of the municipality, rather than casting blame, setting a scape goat, playing for votes.

 

Over this past week, letters from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land and the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, along with organizations like Canada Lutheran World Relief and the Lutheran World Federation who have partnerships in the region and work that has spanned decades --- all shared a desire for pause and for peace; not a taking of sides and an escalation of violence.

 

Leaders – around the world and of all sorts- are surrounded by fear-filled people. They themselves also harbour fear. Fear-filled people panic. They harbour anxiety that makes it hard to regulate emotions. The brain is prevented from functioning well; reading situations, identifying options, living from one’s values becomes increasingly difficult. Fear-filled people are reactive rather than thoughtful and creative. Fear-filled people make demands of their leaders, pushing them to immediately stand and fight that which threatens, and wanting quick solutions.

What is a leader to do?

 

In this week’s Working Preacher resource, Zina Jacque, Assistant to the Pastor at Historic Alfred St. Baptist Church, Alexandria, Virginia, suggests that readers of Exodus have been hard on Aaron, Moses’ brother, and that readers need to take another look at the scripture and apply the timely lessons found therein. She adamantly writes that the story is not a failure of leadership on Aaron’s part. Aaron is rather, a good and faithful leader, who succumbs to peer pressure.

 

Most of us at some point bow to peer pressure.  We find ourselves, as Zina Jacque says, “on the wrong side of right, absent the presence of mind to adhere to an ethical standard, and wordless in face of wickedness.”

 

Peer pressure – in this case the peer group is a very large group of people who have fled slavery in Egypt, to journey through a desert region to find a new place to settle. They have what they are carrying. They have little knowledge of the desert and have complained about the lack of food, the lack of water, the lack of direction. The people become impatient waiting in the desert – in limbo- for leader Moses to return; he has been gone a long time. Fear is insidious; it has been with the people from the moment they stepped into the desert, as they have had concern for their survival. Fear has been shared, grown, articulated in complaints, and now reactive, demanding, pushing, wanting quick solutions – they pressure Aaron --- do something!

 

 Peer pressure – Aaron as a leader would know that a mob under the influence of fear and acting as a reactive unit of peer pressure, is a daunting prospect for a leader. When not under such stress, he would know, that peer pressure fueled by a fear-filled people will have people take sides; they will judge and demonize those whose views are differ; the people will solidify there stand and not change sides or cross the line they have drawn in the sand; and the longer fear percolates, the more who succumb to the peer pressure, the risk of mayhem and violence increases exponentially.

What is a leader like Aaron to do? What are readers of this story of Exodus to do?

 

Aaron had options – options that were veiled as he succumbed to peer pressure and came up with a quick solution to craft a golden calf to appease the peoples’ complaint.

 

Zina Jacque claims that Aaron had options, three good ones, three options that are the take- away for us. Three options to put into practice when facing a world that is ridden with peer pressure, peer pressure that has turned the peoples of the world into a pressure cooker.

Aaron -if he had taken a moment of pause- to let his heart and head catch his emotions and impulses- in the pause, Aaron could have grasped the remedy for fear-filled peer pressure, and stood firm as a good and faithful leader. The immediate options at hand were to:

 

Rehearse God’s word. Review God’s miracles. Remember God’s promises.      X2

 

Aaron was the leader who spoke to the people for Moses. Aaron spoke a lot of words that God told to Moses to tell the people. There were lots of words that Aaron could have repeated to the people. There were lots of miracles that Aaron could review with the people: making it safely across the sea, followed by a pillar of cloud by day/a pillar of fire by night, manna, quail, water that poured from rocks. Then Aaron had the option to remember with the people God’s promises: a relational covenant, a people who will number as the stars, a land, a fresh start.

 

The Gospel reading today could be interpreted as an extrapolation of leaders succumbing to fear-filled peer pressure. A big shot only invites some chosen people (those deemed worthy and proper) to a party; a reactive impulse when no one shows has the host invite those judged to be less than, to rub it into the face of those who didn’t come. But those who come can’t come as they are they are pressured into wearing a garment handed to them or get thrown out. The story is spoken to a group of religious elites subscribing to covenant, yet the story points to the way the group is not living covenant, how judging, pressuring, conforming, changing values has become the model – and ending up on the wrong side of right, absent the presence of mind to adhere to an ethical standard, and wordless in face of wickedness.

What are leaders – what is the banquet host to do?

Rehearse God’s word. Review God’s miracles. Remember God’s promises.

 

When it comes to pastoring, the things I do, I often do for myself and invite others to come along; I figure that if I am struggling, others might just be struggling with something similar.

I think and feel that we, as a community, through Sunday worship, practice rehearsing God’s word, reviewing God’s miracles, and remembering God’s promises. What I struggle with the most in a world ridden with peer pressure is the PAUSE. 

… the pause… wherein my heart and head can catch emotion and impulse.

To be a leader in a troubled world, to be church – a people of God- that is a leader in the world, we are called to practice the pause--- and invite others to enter the pause too.

 

On Tuesdays I have set aside 30mins to publicly pray, considering PRAYER to be my pause – our pause as a community and a place to invite others to practice the PAUSE. It is an invitation to be spread to our family, friends, and neighbours – shared on social media, written in letters, asked over the phone, mentioned in conversation – ‘what would you like prayer for?’ Would you like to pray with us? Either at the time or later on in comments, in the book in the hall, or tell you so that you can add other’s prayers to our prayers…

To our PAUSE

Where our heart and head catch emotion and impulse and draw them back, grounding ourselves in the source of our being, to Christ at the centre, strengthening us to withstand the peer pressure of the world, and boldly proclaim to the pressure-cooker of the world options for wholeness; options that start with a long PAUSE

A pause -a prayer- long enough to replace fear with humility, peace, and grace.

 

May this be so. Amen.

The Ten Lepers and the Tithe of Thanksgiving

 

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. Vs15

… was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? vs18

…Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well. Vs19

 

This morning I would like us to consider that the story of the 10 lepers is a story about TITHING. It is a story that Creator (God) wants us to hear and take to heart, so that we can live out this Gospel story in the world.

 

First let us remind ourselves what it is to tithe:

A tithe is: a one tenth portion of annual produce or earnings given as a contribution, generally to a religious organization and charity. To tithe is to give 10% of one’s income to God’s work.

Tithing is an ancient practice recorded in Ancient Near East writings, in Hebrew Scripture, and continuing today as a principle in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism.

 

Often when wrestling with the principle of tithing the conversation is about money. An important conversation and a principle we should continually wrestle with – but this morning, let us draw our attention to the offertory prayer we have said so many times together as a community. Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts: our selves, our time, and our possessions. Use us, and what we have gathered in feeding the world with your love…

Tithing is not just about giving a portion of our incomes. Tithing is about giving of our selves, our time, and our possessions.

 

Returning to the story of the 10 lepers. We hear the Good News that Jesus had compassion on the lepers and the lepers were healed. One healed leper returns to the source of the healing -Jesus- to give thanks and praise. 1 of 10. It struck me that within the story there is a TITHE of thanksgiving, 10% of the group offers thanksgiving.

 

Hearing the story this way has me wonder: are we called to the be 10%? Is this how our lives can share the Good News? Is this what the celebration of thanksgiving is about?

Consider that the people of the world – all the people of the world- are represented by the group of 10 lepers. The people of the world, all of us, are leprous: sick, anxious, discombobulated; pot-marked by war, inflation, climate crisis; and at disease in body, mind, and spirit. Humanity – we- are worried, weary, and worn.

We may be feeling this way, and yet, we have come to gather with others to give thanks.

Maybe, just maybe, we (Christians gathered across the country) are 10% of the whole, a tithe of thanksgiving, offered to Creator God.

 

It is an interesting thought. What makes up a tithe in a world that is plagued with infirmity, instability, and injustice?

Tithes are often connected to charity work – sharing resources with those who are hungry, unclothed, and unhoused. Anybody can do this work. We have something else, and it is wrapped up in the tithing of our selves.

The answer to the question, “what makes up a tithe in a world that is plagued….in so many ways,” comes down to the essence of church and what makes Christian living different from simply being a good person. Our tithe grows from God, God’s grace, and faith community. It is rooted in a belief and experience that we receive and share a peace that the world can not give; in hope that sees resurrection in death; and a community where the weight of the world is a shared burden that is carried -let go of - in the weight being lifted to God in prayer.

 

Hearing the Gospel story of the 10 lepers with one who was the tithe of thanksgiving, excites me- not to get down on the nine who go about doing what Jesus told them to do, but getting excited that a tithe was enough, that it happened. I want to be that tithe – a tithe that keeps thanksgiving empowering healers like Jesus, resurrecting thanksgiving in what was infirm, and being Good News told generations down the road.

 

This story tells us of a sacred trust. For the health and healing of the world it takes a tithe of 10%. In this case a tithe of thanksgiving.

 

In the realm of kindom there is much to tithe. Grace. Compassion. Forgiveness. Love. Thanksgiving.

 

For those who like numbers – you have 24 hrs in a day, 2 ½ hrs would be a tithe of time and your self in that time; for a traditional work week of 40 hrs, 4 hrs would be a tithe of time and your self. In the period of a day, do you give a tithe of thanksgiving (grace, compassion, forgiveness); in a work week do you give a 4 hr tithe of thanksgiving, grace, compassion, forgiveness in the office, to your co-workers? In a week consider a thanksgiving tithe that could be part of your social media time.

 

Recent conversations I have had with parishioners have begun in commiserating about the state of the world, the troubled times in which we live, and difficult decisions about the future of the church. In the end conversations have come to conclusion in affirmations of the sacred trust that rests on us as a faith community. A sacred trust to be a tithe of thanksgiving! And from hearts filled with thanksgiving to boldly proclaim grace. To boldly proclaim hope. To boldly proclaim resurrection…to the glory of God.

 

Get up and go on your way, your faith has made you well.

Could it be that this sacred trust of tithing thanksgiving is faith enough to heal the world?

 

God – empower us to be a tithe – tithing thanksgiving, hope, resurrection, and grace:

To be about thanksgiving in a world where many walk in infirmity;

Hope in a world where many walk in insecurity;

 Resurrection in a world where many walk in injustice;

And grace, much grace, upon a world that is ill.   Amen.

Phronesis - Naming the Intangible Quality of Christ Community

 

The First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament, tells the 2^nd Chapter of Philippians this way:

Walking the Road Together – As you walk the road with the Chosen One, have you gained from him courage for the journey? Have you found comfort in his love? Do you share together in his Spirit? Has his tenderness and mercy captured your heart? If so, then have the same kind of thoughts. Love with one heart. Join together in one Spirit. And walk side by side on one path. This will make my heart leap for joy.

 

The Apostle Paul is writing to the Philippian community of faith. There is no doubt in the telling from the First Nations Version that the letter is to a group. Have the same kind of thoughts. Love with one heart. Join together in one Spirit. Walk side by side on one path. Or as we heard from the NRSV: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind; let the same mind be in you.

 

Those who are grammar oriented probably balked at the opening line printed on the bulletin:

What gratitudes are in OUR heart this am? It was written this way to describe a

 collective heart: my sense of gratitude is not mine alone, the items for which I am thankful are also items others are thankful for; we bear each others gratitude, our collective heart offers thanksgiving together. This collective heart of gratitude (encompassing individual gratitudes) is evidenced in the singing and swelling of hymns, voices weave and sound grows, and the joint expression turns the air to joy. Gratitude interconnected and inseparable.

 

In writing his letter, Paul uses the Greek word phronesis- which in English is often translated ‘be of one mind.’ Be of one mind- only kind of gets at the power of this word. Phronesis is not a word used in relation to an individual. Phronesis is a property or ability that is created within community -one mind- and is defined as ‘the wisdom of knowing what to do.’

This is a unique gift that faith communities have. When you look at the world where does one experience a place where with others phronesis is created – one mind, one heart? At school board meetings, town councils, legislative assemblies, the House of Parliament, NATO, the UN? – maybe not as much as we would hope.

Phronesis is used twice in Phil.2:2 and is the active verb in verse 5-11; which has been called the Christ Hymn, a poem that describes Christ – not as a sole individual- but with phronesis, with God, people, creation.

Let the same mind be in you as in Christ Jesus, who though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God, as something to be grasped, but emptied himself…

 

Paul’s letter directs the community’s collective heart to the core of its being. The centre from where comes power and healing and wholeness; courage, comfort, love, tenderness, and mercy. When you come into the sanctuary, in fact in most Lutheran churches, the centre focus -front and centre you will see a cross. When altars were against the front wall, a large brass cross sat on a stepped stand or shelf on the altar. In remodels – like here- the cross was kept central in a new design, here the altar cross was affixed to a large wooden one. Our collective heart -gratitudes in our heart- begin in the phronesis of God/Jesus/Spirit. We are who we are as a faith community because we are embraced into and whelmed by the phronesis within God’s self, who works redemption and salvation in one mind –meaning continued through ‘one mind’ created and practiced in faith community; a community attuned to the cross and emptying themself.

 

What I appreciate most about this passage from Philippians is that it addresses the present struggle congregations have when they discuss what to do with their sanctuaries. Congregations talk about their sanctuaries and the feeling they get when being in the worship space. Consider for a moment the feeling you have when you step inside this space;

when you step inside a little country church, or a magnificent cathedral.

The air is different. The light or the smell is different. Sound changes.

Paul’s words to the Philippians identifies this intangible, unmeasurable substance of faith community. It is phronesis - (Ancient) wisdom created and gained over time –a group of people of ‘one mind’ working out saving paths together (for they are of one mind and heart with Christ) and together discern faithfulness and together know how to act especially when face with in complex and confusing situations. From generation to generation, this phronesis seeps into the walls, into the wood, into the air.  … into our hearts … one heart.

 

That’s what I feel in this space.

Sadly, I have experienced a church or two, where the sanctuary was cold – not because they had turned the heat down to save fuel costs- but cold as in empty of joy, void of love and compassion, disjointed and only going through the motions of worship. In these cases, the congregation was about the Pastor’s ego, or a singular person or two who used money or influence or bullied their way to attention. The phronesis within God’s self, the focus of the cross, and the working out of salvation through faithful community – being of one mind- was missing, lost along the way.

 

As our morning shifts from worship to discerning next directions for this congregation and this place of worship, let us return to the questions asked in the First Nations Version:

 

As you walk the road with the Chosen One, have you gained from him courage for the journey?...

 Have you found comfort in his love? … Do you share together in his Spirit? … Has his tenderness and mercy captured your heart?...

If so, No because this is so - then have the same kind of thoughts. Love with one heart. Join together in one Spirit. And walk side by side on one path. May this phronesis guide Our heart, Our conversation, Our gratitude.

 

And, this will make Our heart leap for joy.

And Our tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God!

It Is Time to Make a Faithful Decision

 

 

I invite you to look at the image.

You have 30 seconds to turn this into a picture. … What do you draw?

This task was given to a grade 2 class. Guess what most drew.  A clock.

Now the same task was given to the class again but this time the students were given 30 mins. to complete the picture. If you were given 30 mins – what would you draw?

The teacher received pictures of pigs, and cats, and pizza… with the gift of time the capacity for creativity grew.

 

The Exodus reading began with verse 2 of chapter 16. The first verse that was not included reads: The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim and came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.

This verse is important. It is about time. A whole month has gone by since the people have crossed over the Sea. It means that the provisions they brought with them have run out. Now they will learn a couple of important lessons.

 

In the book I use to accompany the confirmation class learning the Bible, Daniel Erlander talks about the Hebrew people leaving Egypt and once crossing over the Reed Sea, they enter wilderness school. In the wilderness school there are three lessons that the people are to learn:

God gives manna for all. The lesson is that we own nothing. All is God’s. All is gift.

The second lesson is that hoarding stinks. There were those who took more than their daily manna, what they tried to keep rotted.

The third lesson is the gift of sabbath. This lesson teaches that extra time is a beautiful gift and it is a gift to be built into the way the people keep time.  Not only does Sabbath include worship, “Sabbath allows humans to experience full time the wonder of friendship – with God and others and all creation.”

What we learn by following the journey with the Hebrew people in wilderness school is that learning these lessons takes time; their story took 40 years. It takes time --- for what and who they will be to emerge.

 

Tomorrow a devotion about making decisions is going out to the email distribution list and will be posted on my blog. The devotion talks of six characteristics that mark faithful decision making. One of the characteristics is time.

 

Resurrection has been in this neighbourhood a long time, 108 years: faithfully marking Sabbath by worshipping together, receiving daily bread, and redistributing God’s manna and abundance. There is something interesting about this 108 year period of time. There was always daily bread – manna for all, both physical and spiritual, all the pieces that sustained a community of faith over tine. Twice in the journey and once again now, the congregation is discerning the manna accumulated and how best to configure and use it so as not to hoard, and to continue with passion a place to mark Sabbath with worship and give the gift of sabbath and rest to all.

Time in faith life runs in approximately 40 year cycles: coming up to 1955 the church hall is built, followed by a reimagining of the sanctuary space; in 1995 discussions of what to do with the church, the parsonage, partnering with campus ministry, using interns, reducing ministry, as money was tight and there were large capital expenses. Every 40 years faith community returns to wilderness school. It’s as if time were the gift that God is giving as daily bread. A time to reflect, to reevaluate, to remember what is important, to reimagine the proclamation of the gospel; to return relationship – of loving God, each other, and all creation.

As this journey in the wilderness comes towards the end of a 40 year cycle, we are nearing the Jordan river – where on the other side the people set up community to live out what they learned in the wilderness- this is what we are discerning now, preparing the place to worship and mark Sabbath, to receive daily bread, to redistribute God’s manna for the next 40 years.

 

Thankfully we are a community who has journeyed through articulating our values and beliefs. We know our gifts and the work of God that we do in the world. This tells us that it is time to make faithful decisions, we are at the cusp of coming out of the wilderness.

The people who left Egypt needed time to shed the layers of slavery and bondage under which they had lived. It meant being able to look back, not bellyaching for what they had and now miss, but actually, seeing, that where they came from was not the ‘good old days.’ It was slavery, it was persecution, it was genocide – the experience in the wilderness was the gift of time given to move the people from that disfunction and ungodly system to forming God community, God kindom, a community that would live by faith not by sight, in relationship with God, each other, and creation.

 

We have been practicing the lessons of wilderness school.

Receiving daily bread and sharing the bread, honouring the sabbath by providing the sacred space for worship -connecting people with God and God with us, and us with others, and all of us with creation and with God; and this whole conversation of what now? – is wrapped up in the lesson of hoarding stinks. Do we keep our resources to ourselves, living in a bondage to the past and keeping things the same, hoarding the manna that is left until it is all gone and we stand in the wilderness grumbling – or do we courageously realize it is time to leave the desert and get on with building a place for sabbath and sharing manna with all, that will carry humanity -in this place- for the next 40 years?

 

I think about the image I shared at the beginning. With 30 seconds many people draw a clock. With 30 mins creativity abounds and people imagine and draw all kinds of pictures. I see the circle as this faithful community, the two lines are the work we have done investigating and gathering information; the gift of time has opened up options, the lines are ready to move outside the circle and with decisiveness draw all over the page with God’s manna.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Current State of Affairs - Grace Changes Everything!

 

A week ago at National Church Council meeting, those in attendance had a candid conversation about the future of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. We shared our fears, stress, and sorrows; our hopes and dreams, amidst the realities of being church in the current Canadian context. Through the conversation, National Church Council came to a place of shared hope.

 

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. (Rm. 14: 7-9)

 

I hear these words from the book of Romans as a place of shared hope. Paul’s words confront the church – the ELCIC, Synods, individual congregations, Christians around the world, this congregation, reminding us that our practice of church is to the glory of God. Pressing upon us that God is in the business of redemption and resurrection. And that we are graced with participating in ongoing death, redemption, and resurrection.

 

Chapter 14 of Romans illustrates the significant struggles with diversity in the Christian community – or rather communities- in Rome of 60CE. In this chapter Paul speaks directly to the traditionalists (that was part of today’s reading, staring, Some judge one day better than another…), while the later part of the chapter is directed at the liberal contingent. Paul argues with both, and all groups in between, that differences in worship practice and piety don’t make anyone a better Christian or a better community. Such, is simply that particular community’s way and expression.

What matters, what really matters – what a community’s life depends on- is resting in and belonging to Jesus Christ who died for all. In this belonging, God holds all -traditionalists, liberals- in life, in death, in life; and whether a community is currently in a time of life or death or life it remains in God. Is this not a freeing perspective? Is this not a place of shared hope?

 

In conversations, like the one I was part of with National Church Council, I appreciate that once our fears are articulated, room in our hearts grows to contemplate what really matters. For me, no matter what the church looks like in coming days, there are aspects of Lutheranism that keep me grounded and preach gospel to a hurting world, and for these I am willing to lay down my life. Deep down I know that I can let a lot go, so long as the church continues to preach that ‘grace changes everything.’ That there is nothing a person can do to earn the unconditional love of God because God has already given and continues to give this love. I value that Lutherans, since the 1500s, have welcomed the asking of questions, theological reflection and conversation are for everyone, faith education and teaching are for everyone by everyone. I appreciate commitment to liturgy – both ancient and reformed at the same time- with a vast compendium of music and hymns, prayers of the people, and persistence in Word and Sacrament. I take comfort that Lutherans embrace the ‘Theology of the Cross,’ that in vulnerability and suffering God meets us; in the reality of everyday life God is incarnate and dwells among us.  I can let a lot go – buildings, present church structures at all levels, job security – as long as those things I mentioned remain in the world. For me, my list of what matters, speaks and proclaims a Gospel that the world is in such desperate need of. The world needs a space and place of shared hope. We know this place. Christians have lived in this place through millennium. Paul preaches to us:  God is in the business of redemption and resurrection, and we are graced with participating in ongoing death, redemption, and resurrection.

 

This cycle of death, redemption, and resurrection; of life and death and life- is ongoing. This is baptized living, Kindom living. It is forever and always.

Matthew plays with this thought in his Gospel. Peter asks Jesus how many times should one forgive another member of the church? It is like asking: when have I paid my dues, completed following the Law, when can I retired, when can I stop actively participating?

Jesus’ response is a parable that directs hearers to what really matters. What is at the heart of the forgiveness question, is one of living compassion and showing mercy. Is there ever a time when a professed follower of Jesus can be done with compassion and mercy? No – there is no end to being compassionate and showing mercy. Compassion and mercy are the essence of a place of hope. Compassion and mercy are how we proclaim a gospel to a hurting world. Forgiveness, compassion, and mercy are how we participate in redemption and resurrection. Forgiveness, compassion, and mercy is our reaction to God’s grace, and our proclamation that grace changes everything!

 

In the current Canadian context – and the crisis throughout the world- it is a daily struggle for me to remember and live redemption and resurrection. I feel afraid. I feel sad. I feel angry. I feel helpless. I feel tired. And I grieve.

 

And in this heart space, in the valley of the shadow of death so to speak, I am greeted with the words:

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. (Rm. 14: 7-9)

 

A place of shared hope - spoken through the ages, in times of community squabbling, persecution, war, famine, natural disaster, exile, displacement…homelessness, climate crisis, nuclear posturing, revoking of rights and freedoms…

A place where shared hope is translated into redemption and resurrection through small acts of forgiveness, compassion, and mercy—which are not so small, in fact they are very large to the receiver, who is living in an unwell world.

And when compassion and mercy are the grace received, grace changes everything. These moments of redemption and resurrection are the heart of the matter, and this matter is in our hands. It is never-ending that through forgiveness, compassion, mercy, God’s kindom comes.

 

Our practice of church – no matter what form it takes- is to the glory of God. Pressed upon us this morning is that God is in the business of redemption and resurrection. And that we are graced with the gift of participating in ongoing death, redemption, and resurrection.

To God the giver of life. Amen.

...But Nobody Wants to Die

 

Have you ever considered the thought – Everyone WANTS to go to heaven, but nobody WANTS to die?

It doesn’t take much reflection to realize that WANTS rule our lives. We want to have, we want to be, we want to achieve, we want … Our wants are messed up – sometimes, like in the starting quote, not compatible. Our wants say much about our view of the world and the way we choose to live our lives.

 

This is Labour Day weekend. Labour Day is the first Monday of September. Traditionally it was marked with parades and picnics organized by trade unions. The day is an occasion to campaign for and celebrate workers’ rights. Origins trace back to 1872 and the Toronto Trades Assembly who publicly demonstrated to release from prison those who went on strike to fight for a 9hr workday. Groups of skilled workers were encouraged to join trade unions who mediated disputes between employers and employees, demanded safe workplaces and regulated job sights, and advocated for proper compensation for employees.

Whether you like or dislike unions- or are somewhere in between- the core of union work, the stand of the employer, and the public’s perception, is wrapped up in naming and negotiating WANTS and NEEDS.

 

This week, CBC Radio One had a segment about back-to-school and how this is an ideal time to teach children financial intelligence. The young people interviewed spoke about first day clothing and how one had to dress to fit in; others spoke of wanting the ‘right’ backpacks and shoes. Parents spoke about the increased cost of everything from school supply lists through lunch box foods. The interviewee stated that a foundation skill of healthy money management is determining and separating NEEDS and WANTS.

 

Two weeks ago, when Habitat Canada presented their proposal to us, it was nice to dream about what could be. Creating something new ----we dream, we want. Slipped into their talk was a question -that we have not yet tackled, (but will) what are our NEEDs in a worship space, as a gathering faith community, and as a community space? What serves us and what doesn’t? Stewardship of God’s gifts begins in articulating and separating our NEEDS and our WANTS.

 

This year, the Gospel of Matthew has been our guide through the stories of Jesus. Matthew’s Gospel has waxed on interpreting the meaning of the Law for everyday life. The Gospel does not shy away from pointing to NEED and WANT. NEED as exemplified in texts like Mt. 6: 11, give us today our daily bread. Later in the same chapter with regards to WANT: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures … where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Mt.6: 19-21

By the end of the same chapter, Matthew directs listeners to a principle that helps sort out the mess we get into with unbalanced WANT - Seek 1^st the kindom of God and his righteousness and all things will be added to you. Mt. 6:33

 

This morning once again Matthew continues – one way, among many, to interpret this morning’s text is in relation to NEEDS and WANTS. We hear: For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? (Mt. 16: 26)

 

There is a story of a happy labourer, who went to work each day whistling merry tunes. The labourer led a simple life and was content. The ruler of the land was annoyed that the labourer should be so happy with so little; the ruler didn’t understand how the labourer could be happy. The ruler’s chief aide said, “that’s because the labourer is not part of the ’99 Club.’” “What is that?” asked the ruler.

The chief aide put together a bag with 99 pieces of gold and in the middle of the night left it on the doorstep of the cottage. The next time the ruler saw the labourer, the labourer looked haggard and was no longer whistling merry tunes. The ruler asked the aide, “what is the meaning of this?” The aide replied, “The labourer is now part of the ’99 Club.’ After receiving 99 gold coins, the labourer couldn’t believe that one wasn’t missing – who has a bag of only 99 coins and not 100? The labourer is seeking out that lost coin – a coin that is not lost because it never existed. This want of one more coin will consume the labourer from now until eternity.”

 

We could say that the labourer gained the world in 99 coins; but, the 99 coins also had the labourer lose – forfeit- the contented and peaceful life that was. In a twinkling of an eye WANT dominated the labourer’s life. Human WANTS are all messed up.

 

Matthew’s gospel has been addressing how the Law applies to everyday life. The Law, as in the commandments, the Covenant, and God’s vision of kindom, are all wrapped up in human ability and inability to balance NEEDS and WANTS.

Today’s reading is one more attempt to appeal to those who knew the Law to faithfully live it – not to gain anything for themselves, to be better than someone else, or more righteous; not to find loopholes that had individuals amassing wealth or authority; not to focus on the rules – the do nots-…

Focus was to be LIFE – kindom life.

A life of faithful covenant living, seeking God and God’s kindom first and all things -relationship, community, shalom, contentment – will be added to you. In this NEEDS are met in the whole community. WANTS are balanced.

 

 

To WANT eternal life means that one NEEDS to die.

To WANT God’s kindom to come here, I wonder what NEEDS to die in us as individuals, and in us as a community of faith to allow for that to happen?

 To WANT to continue as a worshiping and gathering community of faith, to discern what is next on the corner of Windsor and Allan, what NEEDS to die, what NEEDS to be carried forward, what NEEDS to change, what NEEDS to resurrect?

 

You are invited to reflect on NEEDS and WANTS in relation to worship space, in relation to congregation and community gathering space.  In coming weeks, a place will be provided to share your NEEDS and WANTS.

Start your reflection grounded in Matthew 6: pray for our daily bread, seek first the kindom of God, place your heart here and breathe deeply.

What do we NEED?

What do we WANT – what does God WANT? What does God NEED?

 

Holy Wisdom,

It is beyond us to consider your needs and wants, yet in our depths we sense that our purpose is in the essence of your needs and wants; the fulfillment of your kindom and living covenant.

Help us discern the difference between our wants and needs.

Instead of asking for what we want, change our prayers to pray for those who need our prayer.

Beyond our needs and wants, God, be at work in our lives and in the lives of others, that the world’s needs and wants become balanced for the wellbeing of all,

that you be glorified, now and forever. Amen.