Sermons - 2006

January 22, 2006
A Message:
By Rev. James Farrell

Today is annual meeting day… a time to think about where we have been in ministry over the past year…and a time to think about where we might like to go in 2006. Everyone has their own favourite part of the reports that I hope you have had a chance to take home or will take home…some like to see the narratives of the work of committees…others, who are more balance-sheet minded, will like to look at how we have carried out ministry and consider questions like: "have we managed to fund all the work we intended to?"

I hope you will find things of interest in all respects as you look back at the work of 2005 and I hope you may be inspired about the work, the challenges, the opportunities that face us for 2006.

The church is a spiritual place, a place of mission, a place of business when it tries to fund its spiritual and mission enterprises…it is a 'home' place where generations of family gather to be family before God…it is a social place with singles and doubles and in betweens…in many ways it is a microcosm of society but, that part of society that is seeking to live faithfully before God.

We are fortunate to be gathering this day having done ministry to the best of our ability throughout 2005 and doing so with the integrity of all who support and offer energy to the work and mission of Westminster. Much of what we do is routine in some ways and that is just part of being involved in the ongoing ministry of being the church in society.

Our biblical ancestors often encountered God when they were doing the ordinary tasks of daily living—fishing, sweeping the floor, working in the garden or minding sheep. At such moments many realized that the time was now for them to live out their faith.

When do we hear God calling us? How do we respond to the urgency of "the time is now"?

We are all called to be faithful to God, often at times when we least expect it. At those moments we may be like Jonah—trying to avoid God's summons. Or we may be like the four fishers, ready to drop what we are doing and follow Jesus.

Whatever response we make, God does not give up on us. Like the prodigal's father…like the family from which the sons of thunder came and from which Mrs. Zebedee ventured out to support the band of followers taken up with the cause of the traveling preacher from Nazareth…in all of these as with our mission and ministry, God does not give up on us but calls us into the mission of the now.

What is God's "the time is now" message to us, and to our faith community at this moment in our lives? Steep yourself in some of those implications for a moment.

Jonah was called to a ministry that completely went against everything he believed in. The call of God to head to Nineveh was out of step with everything that he believed …everything he was brought up to believe …everything his generation believed.

As places go, Nineveh was really not a lot different from other cities of the time…morally speaking that is. It's size is mentioned with emphasis so 'to be sure' that was something that people thought of when they thought of Nineveh.

It was located on the Tigris River in what is now Iraq about as far from Baghdad as Medicine Hat is from Calgary. If biblical historians are to be believed, in Jonah's day the city was perhaps about the size of Calgary 20 years ago.

According to the call of God that Jonah was reporting, it was his job to get the people to repent and things would go better for them. If not, they would perish. Now remember, this history was recorded by the winners. Jonah being one of them.

Miracle of miracles they did clean up their act and for that generation at least, no destruction befell them.

Perhaps the biggest miracle here is that Jonah heard the call of God upon his life…and acted out of that call. God hasn't stopped calling us to turn from one place and to turn to another but I think we don't listen as well as Jonah did.

Jonah would have been just as happy to allow God to do God's mightiest against Nineveh but that was not what was being laid on his heart. And by following his heart and not his head, the record shows that big change happened there, in that time…amid the efforts of his ministry.

Many people, according to Jonah's biographers, were brought to a place of new understanding…life in the region changed for the better with an awareness of God in the picture.

Now things weren't perpetually rosy and a history of the area is no less coloured with conflict than anywhere else in the Middle East…in fact, within the 200 years that followed this story Nineveh had ceased to be, but for Jonah's generation at least, things were pretty good.

If we are to learn anything from the Jonah story, it is that God casts a flood light into places we would rather not look…God does it with people of surprise…such was Jonah's experience… and such was the experience of those who encountered Jonah.

When Jesus called the brothers to embark on a journey that was a departure from their father's life & lifestyle I'm sure they wondered what would become of their work.

Yet from their small beginning came a world-religion and evidence of the wasteful love of God was lived out into not only their early community but into communities for two thousand years.

From little things come big things if we will let them grow…and small uncertain voices do make a difference.

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

Whether we help people laugh or cry or find ways to build a future or denounce war-cries or contribute to mission needs anywhere in the world, including over the fence right next door… in all these things we are making a difference. We are being Jonah, we are being Simon and Andrew … we are answering God's call to make a difference.

I hope in the call of Jesus we struggle to live out as a community and we find strength not only to help someone else cry…but also to help someone else live.

Amen.

February 26, 2006
A Message: "Cherishing or Worshipping the Memories?"
Rev. James Farrell

This past week I shared in a funeral service for a woman who, at the time of her death, was the longest serving member of Westminster United Church. In fact she told me how her father was instrumental in building the original structure on this block in 1914.

For some it may feel like ancient history to talk about things from 1914…(take out the baptismal font and show that there is an inscription…better yet, walk into the congregation with it…showing it to people and asking them to think about the history that it has seen…the lives that have been baptized by water collected in it…those who went off to war, WW1 & WW2 etc…those still young in the congregation etc)

Ask the question: "is it fitting that we should build a box to house this font? To protect it? To preserve it for sacred use?

I think so!

Peter often gets a bum rap…people remember Jesus saying, "get behind me satan" others remember him denying Jesus… a story that we will be coming up on soon enough…we retell this story of the transfiguration and of course highlight Peter's central role in it. His desire to lock it down.

But Peter isn't some misguided monster. He is all of us…probably more than we want to admit. We want to hold on to our special histories while at the same time we long to forget the stuff that haunts us.

That Peter was bent on preserving the moment is wonderful…it says it captured his spirit in ways that few other things did…good for him to say, in essence…I'm so excited, and just can't help it…let's build stuff to mark this moment.

He had seen Jesus shape shift from normal man to radiant angel of sorts…what do you do with that?

What would you do with that?

Have you ever had something happen that was so magnanimous in your life that it left you transfigured? What did you want to do with the experience?

Repeat it, no doubt…preserve it, I suspect. Revisit it I'm sure! Time and time again.

I've had some of those experiences and because you are here today, I trust you have too…at least you believe in the possibility. It's part of what has you connected with this moment of worship. So our connection with Peter is more solid than we may think.

We have much to learn from him.

Some people, when they don't know what to say, say nothing. Not Peter. In Mark's account of the transfiguration, in response to the extraordinary events that he and the other two disciples have witnessed, he says aloud the first thing to come into his head.

He had the unstoppable urge to organize, to manage, perhaps to control what seemed to be getting out of hand. Peter got the urge to build something. I believe that folks throughout history who have known a special or unexplainable touch of God that has left them changed have also had that urge.

The churches that dot Europe and the Middle East are testimony to such movement of the spirit in the lives of persons and their concrete response that has grown out of that spiritual movement—one often shared with others.

Is it sin to build or is it faith?

Concerning the question of special gifts in the face of a starving world, Jesus said, "the poor you will always have with you but what has been done here will be spoken of through every generation."

When we get "building bound" and unable to move about in ministry we might well want to ask about the wisdom, in fact, the faith that would have us pour resources into structures.

But nothing is that simple, is it? Like this baptismal font and the little rose window in Memorial Hall mounted high above our communities sharing space, the elements of history speak to us from beyond the years of our memory and invite us to remember where we came from and at what price we have this life of faith.

The cross that stands central in our church is exactly such an emblem, such a symbol, and we have it there so that we don't forget who we are and where we have been.

I think that's where poor Peter was coming from…and good on him for being open enough to say so. This is special let's not forget it!

But Peter followed a man with no address, Jesus like so many folks today, was homeless…he was always on the move, in fact he had a totally different concept of home.

The idea of a conventional response to what Peter had witnessed was, at one and the same time understandable, and absurd. Fortunately, his faintly embarrassing suggestion seems to be pushed aside by an even more extraordinary event; God spoke!

If Jesus' miraculous appearance with two towering pillars of Israel's' history in the persons of Elijah and Moses were not enough to answer the question in the previous chapter of Mark [8:27], "Who do people say that I am?" …now, even the most ignorant reader of the gospel is left with no doubt about Jesus' identity.

He is he of whom God speaks! It doesn't get any bigger than that! If the event needed any punctuation to solidify its purpose it just happened!

I was a bit sad when I realized that I would likely never be able to say again what I did at Dorothy's funeral this week. That this woman's father was instrumental in building the original structure that began the life of Westminster Church in Medicine Hat. Sure in 1914 it was not a United Church but a Presbyterian church. It would be another 11 years before the Untied Church of Canada would be formed.

But that link to the start is really something important and personally connecting to a story that dates back nearly a hundred years to Mr.William Cousley's dream and having that dream reflected in Dorothy's life…a person who literally for the last 94 years grew up in this church…all this served to make me feel connected to something and someone that I will never again have the opportunity to directly celebrate.

Dorothy's death means that, as far as I know, there is no more surviving persons whose parents sought to start the first church on this block…if I'm wrong, please let me know.

But in the end it is not about William Cousley or Dorothy Crane but about everyone touched by the spirit of God throughout the years and their connection one with another and their common reach back in time to that special touch of grace that made them desire to do something with their faith... to acknowledge it, to celebrate it, to mark it as worthy of remembrance.

It is a "common connection" with a hope for the future of one's children and grandchildren and links to one's special touch and hope for yet another special touch of God to transform other lives and give them gifts that endure.

(lift the baptismal font again)

Yes there is a connection with that history, with that God who was pleased and is pleased to be known among us. And we do well to remember it, to celebrate it as a way to point us back to help strengthen us to move ahead.

Even Jesus didn't stay up on the Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus had to come down and get busy, do stuff in the world. The glory that shone through him had to shine further through others…even us.

Next week we begin the journey of Lent when Jesus is preparing to turn towards Jerusalem where the hard stuff is going to happen.

Perhaps the message is that it's in the valley that we work out our salvation and we can reflect back on those times when we've been touched by an angel. And that's the way life is.

Like Jesus, James, John, and Peter on Mount Tabor, we too can experience moments of ecstasy when the light of God shines through so brightly it almost blinds us. We feel so close to God it's almost as if we can reach out and touch God. I've heard some of you share these stories.

On the other hand, like Jesus, we must move on to the Mount of Olives; we, too, will experience moments of agony. During those moments, life is miserable. We feel that no one loves us. We find fault with everyone and everything. We may doubt whether God actually exists.

When these moments happen, the agony and ecstasy help us recall that Jesus also experienced these same high and low points in his life. And like Jesus on Mount Tabor, on the Mount of Olives, and in the tomb, God's healing hand will touch us. [Jim Vargo]

So, we have to cherish the experiences…the memories that give us a connection to something greater than ourselves…we have also to be careful not to worship the experiences and to try to pigeonhole them into something that we can hold onto for ever…it is a very fine line and one that we need to look at often…are we cherishing for sustained strength and hope in our low places or are we trying to cement our memories into a place of worship that sticks and never breathes with life but becomes instead a faith museum to the past…there is no question that it is a dance that we do … but a necessary dance just the same because God is known in the action and the honesty of the dance.

Amen.

March 12, 2006
The Faith That Sees
Rev. James Farrell

It is said of Abraham, that his faith was credited to him as righteousness…Abram as started life, later to be called Abraham, was the father of nations and a pillar of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths. I hope we have learned something from being in the presence of Jesus. The faith that is credited "as righteousness" can be a faith that doesn't smack of the high profile of Abraham but, perhaps the faith of an unschooled, unprivileged person seeking God as the light of the world…in the words of such a one I share her faith story that it may inspire our faith. It comes from the oral tradition of the south and I share it in the language of its intent because sometimes the confusing mysteries of faith come most alive, in the simple.

Some folks may not think that love is much of nothing. But I do. I think that love is God, and you can't say that God is much of nothing. Least ways you can't say it, if you know Him. I know him. Oh, I ain't never seen Him. Or I ain't never hear his big voice come out of the clouds, but I know Him.

It's a feeling. Well, no maybe not a feeling, maybe it's a thing in my heart, or gut or head. Maybe it's my spirit that gits a glance or a hearing of His Spirit. Whatever it is, it's way beyond what I can tell about.

The first time I knowed I knowed Him, I was eleven. I was sitting on an old log down by Cherrylog Creek watching minnows scooting like tiny silver flashes around a pine branch that had fallen into the water. Dozens of them. Scoot and circle and gather up, then separate to scoot and circle some more. A brown water snake was snoozing on a limb not far from my head, and Under, our hound dog that daddy named, Under, 'cause he's always under something, was laying there sniffing at a turtle that didn't pay him no mind.

Then I heard the soft crunching of an animal walking close stepping slow on the dead leaves and pine straw. Under, raised one ear and I glanced across the creek to see a doe ambling toward us.

I didn't blink an eye and whispered to Under, to stay down. Deer can sense a movement in a flash. She stopped to drink a dozen or so feet from us and I could of cried with the joy of it. I guess I love deer more than any other animal, nearly.

The doe didn't glance our way and then when she was done drinking, I crossed my fingers that she wouldn't go off right then. And she didn't. She twisted her neck back and forth, then she moved from behind a clump of cattails and I could see her sides was all swole. She moved only a few steps and my heart raced as I watched her body tighten. She twisted her neck back and forth some more and then she sank into the mossy bank.

I set froze to that stump as she laid there heaving with the movements of birthing. Under, showed no interest at all and didn't even notice the turtle slide into the water. In a minute he was snoozing away.

Tears run down my face and dropped down on my dress and I didn't move a twitch. I never been so still in all my life. It seemed like hours passed, or years or lifetimes and every muscle in me hurt. My stomach knotted up every time the doe's did. Then I seen the head come out. Wet and slick and limp. I waited and strained inside as though I could help her. The longer I watched the agony of the doe the more I panicked. How long does it take, O how long?

Finally the doe laid its head down. Its eyes closed. I thought it was dead. I raced across the creek, slipping on the slick rocks. The doe's head jerked up and for a second or two she looked like she was gonna try to stand. But then her body convulsed nearly like Alice's does when she is having them fits and in a minute it was there. A gooey, slippery slob that was all skinny legs. The cutest, sweetest little thing I'd ever seen. I had to drop to my knees, I got so weak.

That's when it happened. I looked right into the eyes of that doe and my life ain't never been the same since.

How can I tell you what it was like?

How can I tell you about the end of lightening?

How can I tell you about the stopping of rivers or the turning off of the night? What's to say? Right then in them big liquid, sad, wise, dark eyes was the story of Life. And the story of God and the story of love.

I seen a picture of Jesus once. He had blue eyes and I remember thinking it just wasn't right. Them eyes was blank and pale and they didn't move nothing. And just then, looking on them quiet gentle eyes with the gentle sounds of calm all around me I knowed if I would paint the eyes of Jesus they would be just like the doe.

And then the quiet and the calm overcame me, like pouring sweet, warm peace into the top of my head and it flowing oh so slowly into my face and neck and shoulders and all the way down, till the peace left me as limp as the baby deer.

I didn't touch that doe. All I done was squat there on my knees and stare in them eyes. I had to touch my own face to see if I was still there. Then I whispered to the doe and the baby. To the trees and the bushes and to the creature. I whispered, "Thank you"

I told mamma about it as best I could. She hugged me close and called Daddy and I tried to tell him and he got right misty‑eyes and patted my head. And when mamma had diphtheria later on, and all of a sudden took a turn for the worse, she held my hand and said it right, as she laid there, while Daddy was going over the mountain to get Doc Murphy, she said it. I knowed she was dying and she did too. She held hard on to my hand and she said, "Remember the doe Lowellen. Always remember the doe. Don't ever forget about love. Don't never." And I never did.

Amen.

May 14, 2006
A Tribute to Families on Christian Family Sunday
Rev. James Farrell

A little church in the suburbs suddenly stopped buying from its regular office supply dealer. So, the dealer telephoned Deacon Brown to ask why.

"I'll tell you why," said Deacon Brown. "Our church ordered some pencils from you to be used in the pews for visitors to register."

"Well," interrupted the dealer, "didn't you receive them yet?"

"Oh, we received them all right," replied Deacon Brown.

"However, you sent us some golf pencils...each stamped with the words, 'Play Golf Next Sunday'."

Our world is full of images and messages about why people shouldn't be connected with a worshipping community …those pew pencils represent only one of those messages.

Some years ago, Ralph Milton wrote about Bev, his partner in life and a United Church minister, and himself spending a weekend with friends connected to a church community that was in trauma.

Details are not relevant here, but there was struggle and disharmony with a pastor who was encouraged to leave, and in the wake of that departure there was pain and distrust. And some cut themselves off—or perhaps felt they had been cut off—as a result.

Ralph said, 'It's proved a costly rupture, both financially and otherwise, and it brought that community to its knees.'

Which is not a bad thing.

On your knees is not a bad position from which to wonder where your strength comes from—where you are connected to the source of life.

A dysfunctional family, or a dysfunctional church, or a dysfunctional individual often needs to come right down to bedrock before the healing can begin. The folks at AA know this. That church community knows this and they have seen the power and the Spirit break forth.

Which brings us back to the pruning metaphor.

A grapevine that has not been pruned for a number of years grows branches all over the place. It will sprout in every direction and produce great quantities of leaves, but very little fruit. And the fruit you can find among all the foliage is sour, because it takes sunlight to sweeten the grapes, and one of the reasons for pruning (especially mid-summer pruning when the growth is most vigorous) is to get the sunlight to that fruit.

But then look more closely at the vine, especially the old vine that's been pruned year after year. It is gnarled and twisted and covered with the scars of pruning. But the central stock is thick and strong and if you could see below the soil you'd find deep, vigorous roots that know where the nourishment is.

It's a fragile metaphor, but a rich one and one the church has often clung to... it can be summed up with the thought that 'what doesn't kill you will make you stronger.'

As I approached my study time for this Christian family Sunday the media was heralding stories of a Calgary woman who partied while her two young children were left to die in her apartment… a woman who is now being deported back to her native Japan from which she arrived in Canada
as a student. Rie Fujii had left her children—one-year-old Domenic and three-month old Gemini—behind for what she said was supposed to be one night.

But when she missed the bus the next day, one day turned into two and then into more than a week as she said she kept thinking the kids would be OK.

She placed Gemini in a garbage bag and put her in a dumpster. Her body has never been found. She wrapped Domenic in a blanket and left his body in the apartment and returned to Cochrane.

Other news accounts of a baby being found in a dumpster in Vancouver where police Const. Tim Fanning said there was no trauma to the newborn's body and police are treating the discovery of the body as infanticide.

A 12 year old child in our fair city is charged with the murder of her family, an act which has shocked the whole community … It seems to me that the reasons to connect with a worshipping community—the reasons that encourage us to be a part of a vine relationship with God and one another—are more numerous than we can ever appropriately articulate.

Families are not easy stuff…the church family is not easy stuff…but connection to and the embrace of family and church family and community is by far the more sustainable journey than the journey of broken relationships—for it is a journey that invites people to embrace God and meet God in the family unit.

In light of the struggles that most parents experience at one level or another, I would like to share this tribute that I received via the information highway this week and you may have too. If you have, please listen one more time and if you haven't I hope it is a blessing to you this Christian family Sunday.

"This is for the mothers and fathers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, I'm here."

The parents who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run car-pools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the persons whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.

And for all the moms & dads who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the moms & dads who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the folks who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home—or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for parents whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the families of the victims of school shootings, and the families of those who did the shooting.

For the parents of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the parents who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good parent anyway?

Is it patience?

Compassion?

Broad hips? …or Shoulders?

The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in the heart?

Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?

Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of parenthood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers and fathers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...

And mature mothers & fathers learning to let go…For working parents and stay-at-home parents.

Single parents and married parents.

Those with money, those without.

This is for you all. For all of us who care about family. Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can.

"Tell" them that we love them. And pray because "Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall."

I woke Thursday morning to the story on Canada AM of a 17 year old boy…Wesley Doig, who was where he needed to be to be able to catch the 18 month old baby girl of his life-long neighbour as she was dropped from a second story window to escape the flames of near certain death. Of course he was hailed a hero but really he was lucky …lucky to be there, to be able to do what his heart would have wanted to do—if asked.

"LOVE is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall."

The picture on your bulletin cover this morning is of a friend of ours who has stayed with us many times over our years here in Medicine Hat…she has gone through a marriage breakup…the birth of a new child at a difficult time in her life, a move that has taken her away from two of her children and placed her in the struggles of finding her way in a new relationship…through that, her love and commitment to her children has been the piece that gives her strength. In her fractured family context, and looking at that picture…I can ask, "Does God love her?" Does God love the child she holds in her arms? Does God love the children that live apart from her?

Of course!

"God's LOVE is what catches us when we fall - and we all fall." Whether that love is felt through the arms of a mother, the support of a friend, the embrace of a sibling, the hope or help of the church, or the outreach of a community, it is what keeps us connected to the vine that is our strength, our support, our encouragement and our sustaining love this Christian family Sunday and always.

Amen

May 21, 2006
A Message
by Taylor Croissant

Acts begins by recounting where the Gospel of Luke had left off: Jesus had returned to the Apostles as the Risen Christ. We are told that Jesus stayed with them forty days after the resurrection on Easter. What Jesus and the Apostles did during that time is for the most part a mystery. Jesus is said to have proved to them several times that he was indeed physically alive, and spent his final earthly days teaching the disciples about the Kingdom of God. The Disciples asked Jesus if this would be the time in which he would re-establish the Davidic monarchy and become the King of a United Judah and Israel. We know that this was not the calling of Jesus Christ; we know that he would become the Prince of Peace to whom rulers of every nation would bow. So we can sing triumphalistic Easter hymns like ‘Thine is the Glory’ and ‘Crown Him with Many Crowns’.

The Day of Ascension can be seen as the fulfillment of the Advent promise told to us by the prophet Isaiah: For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Jesus tells his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. With that Jesus left the Apostles and returned to heaven. Now of course people in the first century believed that heaven was just beyond the sky, Jesus just needed to fly up past the clouds, so we are told Jesus jumped on a cloud and was whisked away not much unlike an elevator. We in the 21st century have the advantage of men like Copernicus and Galileo who tell us that there is an entire universe beyond the clouds. I think then that in saying Christ literally did fly up into the sky, Luke may have taken some creative license in telling the story. However this occurred though, the important part of the story is that Jesus was no longer physically with the disciples.

I’m sure many of you know that this past Friday the movie based on the Da Vinci Code came out in theatres. This book has been fairly controversial in that its plot deals with doubt of the divinity of Christ and denies the resurrection. These aren’t exactly new ideas. But because of the format they are delivered in, a captivating page turner and now block-buster movie, many have been quick to defend these fundamentals of the Christian faith. I don’t really see it as a vicious assault against the faith, even though I’m convinced of Christ’s Divinity and the truth of the Resurrection, it’s just a book after all, a piece of fiction. Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code, has many times asserted that his book is a piece of fiction, but the plot does borrow on the belief that Jesus escaped Crucifixion and left the Disciples. He and his wife, Mary Magdalene, fled to France where they started a family who would later become the French Royal Family. This is certainly not a new idea. The origins of that story to the best of my understanding are that a few hundred years ago, a man in France owned an inn and claimed that buried underneath were the bones of Christ. Another man purchased the inn from him and circulated the legend of Christ being the founder of the French monarchy. This story is as untrue today as it was then. The disciples asked Jesus if he was to become the King of Israel. Jesus said that God alone knows such things. I think that we can fairly comfortably say that if Jesus did not become the King of Israel, he definitely did not become the King of France.

Ascension, however it occurred was the final stage of the Resurrection. Christ was raised three days after his death on the cross, the gospel accounts differ on how often he visited his Apostles in bodily form after this, but forty days after the resurrection he ascended, he was no longer of this earth. There were no bones of Christ, his resurrection body did not die again, he was eternally raised and is a mystery we will never understand, Christ left this earth in a physical way, promising to return founding a new heaven and a new earth. Ascension is the fulfillment of the Advent name sake Emmanuel: God with us. In this event we see Jesus as he is and has always been even if we were blind to it: The Christ, the Messiah, God’s anointed one, the King of Kings.

Having their beloved teacher leave them, the Apostles are thrown into disarray. They freeze when faced with reality that it is up to them to now do the work of Jesus, to fulfill the great commission. So they wait, filled with fear that they will be killed by Herod. So they wait, unsure of themselves and afraid of failure. So they wait.

What can this story mean for us today? When do we wait for the Holy Spirit to stir us from placidness? All of us know what it is Christ calls us to do: Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the ill, love’s God’s people. But how often do we make excuses to not do these things? “I’d like to volunteer someday… someday but not today.” “I don’t have time I’m so busy.” Why even when we know what we should be doing, we don’t do it? We all know that we should eat healthy and stay in shape, but it takes a doctor telling you you’re about to get diabetes before we change our diet and exercise. It takes a disaster sometimes before we react, before we get our act in gear, before we slow down and examine life. Perhaps we need the Spirit to push us into what we need to do, that may be the human condition. The Spirit may be calling but maybe we are not listening? Or maybe ignoring?

We are a fairly healthy congregation at Westminster. But even healthy people need to have an annual physical at the doctor. Are we at risk of becoming an unhealthy congregation? Are we close to a disaster we don’t see coming? I don’t know. I know that we are an established church, and as the church matures, the people lose their enthusiasm. I feel us becoming a bit apathetic. Now remember that I say this as a member of this church, who grew up in this church. Don’t get me wrong there are very committed people here at Westminster. But I am challenging everyone here; the Spirit is calling just as it did to the Apostles. What more can we do at Westminster? We are a healthy congregation, what is our ministry? I’m not going to suggest anything, that’s up to you. There are many committees in this church that keep the work of Christ ongoing. Don’t wait for the Spirit to push you, because the Spirit is already pushing. Join a committee and share your gifts. What projects can we undertake as a church? Not what to we do already. What new things can we do? Once again I’ll suggest nothing, that’s up to you.

We heard in the Gospel, Christ left his disciples saying “love one another as I have loved you.” How shall we show our love? Let us not be afraid of failure, or of what others might think or say. Let us not wait, let us do the work of the ascended Christ, the King of Kings.

Amen.

May 28, 2006
My Year at St. Andrew’s
By Taylor Croissant

Nothing says that Matthias was better suited to being an apostle than Barsabbas. They were both around from the time of Jesus’ Baptism, Peter and the other Apostles had just spun a bottle, pulled a name out of a hat, chose a number between one and ten and Matthias became the replacement Apostle for Judas. I’ve gone to Westminster United since I was 8 years old, 14 years, in fact Pentecost next week will make 7 years since my confirmation. And during that time I have had many peers also go to this church, some of them have left the church feeling that it does not satisfy what they want out of life; others have faithfully continued to be a blessing in our church community and remained active within it. But among all us young people I was called to be a clergyperson in Christ’s Church. Their certainly are smarter, more handsome, harder working, taller, more friendly people who God could have chosen, but God called me to the ordered ministry. This church’s other young people have equally ambitious goals, Med school or law school, Mike McOuat went out to become a teacher, he did and also became a youth pastor here. I’ll tell you right now if I wanted someone I’d have picked Drew Weiss, he’s much smarter than me, I’d say he could do anything he puts his mind to. But God had other plans for Drew, just as he made plans for me, to shepherd God’s people.

The story of Matthias is a good one for College Sunday. For any of you who have a UCW calendar you may have seen as I did that two weeks ago was actually St. Matthias Day on the 15th. Tradition has it that Matthias went out and was martyred for the Gospel, in fact he was beheaded. I’m not too excited to compare myself with St. Matthias now knowing he had his head chopped off with an axe.

So I began my theological education last year at St. Andrew’s Theological College in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. An absolutely gorgeous building, as you enter the University of Saskatchewan campus through the Memorial Gates we are the very first building on Campus. This is a testament to the enormous influence Seminaries once held in universities, as St. Andrew’s and Emmanuel College were the first two buildings of the University of Saskatchewan. It literally seems like orientation was 3 weeks ago. All three seminaries in the STU, that’s the Saskatoon Theological Union comprised of St. Andrew’s, Emmanuel and St. Chad’s the Anglican College and the Lutheran Seminary LTS, we all took a retreat the first weekend of school and stayed at a Benedictine Monastery in Muenster, Saskatchewan. The highlight of this trip was without question the founding of the Seminary’s hockey team, the STU X-Men, whom I proudly say I am the Captain of, even though I am the goalie. We didn’t win a single game all year, but we did win some fights, our professors were torn about whether or not we should be fighting.

I have been in post-secondary education for four years now, and I can say without question that the four professors at St. Andrew’s are the four best professors I have ever had, and all for different reasons. They keep that place running despite over-whelming odds. Over the Christmas break the President of our College was let go by our Board, one would think this would throw the College into havoc, but Laura Balas was hired to be our temporary President while things were sorted out and with the faculty’s care we came out on top. Then the next crisis came, St. Andrew’s was amalgamated six year ago with St. Steven’s College in Edmonton. We were at risk of losing our ATS, that’s the American Theological Schools, accreditation because St. Stephen’s was not able to gain ATS accreditation on their own. So realizing it wasn’t going to work out, the two colleges parted ways and de-amalgamated. This was the best for these two institutions as both fulfill different roles in Spiritual and Theological education.

Seminary is so bizarre compared to the regular university. At university when I’m done my class I go home or eat lunch. In seminary after Christian Scriptures Class its time for chapel. I loved chapel, three times a week, throughout the entire year I didn’t miss one chapel service. My mood for the rest of the day depended solely on what hymns we sung in chapel that day. There was no singing involved in any other part of my university education, (Jordan and) I never went to the cafeteria after economics and belted out some “Make a Joyful Noise.” It’s not just chapel though, afterwards everyone ate lunch together in the Great Hall, the whole College. Eating and laughing under the giant coat of arms of St. Andrew’s on the equally giant fireplace. It’s a very impressive room. I never ate my meals with my professors in university or with all the political science students at the same time either

I am the youngest student at St. Andrew’s; there aren’t very many young people in seminary. Apparently this was quite an extraordinary year though; there were four of us under thirty, this after there being only around four people under thirty in the last twenty years. So I definitely am the baby, I certainly feel like it. Although I love everyone there, sometimes I feel like I’m being mothered.

St. Andrew’s has two hobby horses of discussion in the classroom and in chapel. Peace making and Feminism, but mostly feminism. The things I cooked up were in retrospect pretty dumb, such as “would Jesus use his gift of healing to cure himself of a cold?” Don, my theology professor always had an answer though. “Well that’s a good question, Paul Tillich would say… Dietrich Bonhoffer would say…” then he’d quote them from one of their books totally by memory.

I’d feel bad if I didn’t mention this guy Jeff. Adam and I one day wrote a list of the top ten funniest quotes of Jeff’s. I have to share with you the top one. We were sitting and having lunch and Jeff is telling Adam and me about this new board game he got. “Have you ever played boggle, I just got it the other day.” Christine, our Hebrew Bible professor was sitting beside us and overheard and remarked, “oh yeah boggle, I played that when I was a kid.” Jeff says “I didn’t know that game was so old!” His jaw drops after realizing what he just said, the best part is that she is only 5 years older than Jeff.

Seminary was unreal, I learnt so much in just a year, a year that flew by. I know that I am being groomed into a pastor, slowly. My professors work to shape us, to fulfill the words of the first Psalm:

But their delight is in the law of God,
and on that law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees planted beside streams of water,
yielding their fruit in due season.
Their leaves do not wither,
and whatever they produce shall prosper

June 18, 2006
A Message: "Sharing the Light"
By Rev. James Farrell

[This message was prepared by Elizabeth Brown for use on Conference Sunday, 2006. It has been modified for this Christian Family Sunday and for the Westminster context.]

I'd like to begin today by asking you to think back to when you were a child in school – first in elementary school and then, perhaps, as you were older, in middle or high school. Remember when games were played either outside at recess or lunchtime or during gym class? Do you recall how the teams were chosen?

Often the process involved having two leaders or captains who systematically named certain individuals to their teams. As the names were called out and kids rushed to their captain's side, the choosing group became smaller and smaller until there were only a few kids left – who were then divided up equally to take their place on the two teams.

Does this bring back any memories? If you were small and awkward or considered a geek, you were probably one of the last chosen. If you were big, strong, athletic and popular, you were most likely among the first. Each scenario has its own pitfalls.

If one experienced the humiliation of being among the last to be chosen, those feelings may have remained with that person for years – even to adulthood. The pressure of having to perform the best for those chosen first, can affect one's self esteem for years as well. Thankfully, in our day and time, most teachers have a more sane and fair way of choosing kids for teams. But for many who had to endure this process, it can be a painful memory indeed.

I can't help but think of this kind of ritual as we listened to the story of the choosing of Saul in the first reading this morning. All the tribes of Israel were brought together first and the tribe of Benjamin was singled out. Then all the families of the tribe of Benjamin were gathered, and the Matrite family was picked. Finally, all the men of the Matrite family were gathered, and Saul was chosen.

But rather than shouting in victory and running to Samuel's side (to be on his team), Saul is found hiding in the baggage. It's not that Saul was a weakling or clumsy; the story states that he stood head and shoulders above the rest. It's not that he was a geek or unpopular; we hear that when he was found, the people cheered, "Long live the king!" So what was it that caused Saul to hide among the baggage? Did he feel the great and awesome pressure of the rights and duties of being king and wasn't sure he could live up to this title?

Did he fear that he might be the object of neighbouring nations anger? Was he a solitary fellow who didn't like the limelight despite being chosen? Or was he afraid because others might laugh at him because they didn't think he'd do a good job?

Apparently most folks felt that Samuel had picked the right man for the job because they did cheer him on. But there were some – not many, but enough – who the story identifies as "worthless fellows", who despised him and didn't bring him a present as tradition dictated.

Perhaps that's what Saul was afraid of…this agitating brood of worthless fellows.

Being chosen – first or last – has its benefits and costs.

It's always a struggle in the church and the world to celebrate our God-given gifts. It's a fine balancing act that not many of us do well. We're taught from a young age to be humble and not to brag about the gifts and talents that make us who we are. But we're also encouraged and invited to celebrate those same gifts when we hear the gospel message about "letting our light shine" as we serve God and develop our gifts. I'm sure we can all remember saying, in response to an announcement or invitation to share our gifts and talents, something like, "I'm not smart enough" or "I'm not very good at that" or "someone else can do it better" or "I couldn't possibly do that."

Whenever there's an opportunity to serve the church at any level, from the Pastoral Charge to the Presbytery, Conference or General Council, these phrases are often repeated (or something similar).

When Alberta Northwest Conference met in Lethbridge a few years ago, about 25 members of a local church were asked to be stewards at the meeting. Their task was to attend to the needs of delegates throughout the course of the meeting. They were assigned a table group, wore bright blue t-shirts and good walking shoes, and kept everyone supplied with water, coffee, cookies and muffins, while passing out papers and collecting assorted items as needed.

They worked long hours while the delegates worshipped, debated at microphones, made decisions, and socialized. When they weren't needed, they gathered at one end of the arena to rest and chat.

A colleague mentioned that they happened to be close to this group while many of them were at rest and overheard one of them remark to a friend, "You know, these people are just like the people at our church. Some are nice and kind, others are grumpy no matter what you do for them. Some are grateful for all you do, others just ignore you. I never realized that Conference was made up of ordinary people like us! I always thought they were something special!"

Well, our faith communities ARE made up of ordinary people who are also something special, who are diverse and unique and who have some amazing talents and gifts that they willingly share. The work of the church happens when we have the courage to share our gifts from God in spite of, or in celebration of our ordinariness.

On a Sunday morning in Calgary, a few weeks back, during the Celebration of Ministry Worship Service, the meeting of Alberta Northwest Conference gathered to do what Conference has the power to do: to ordain, commission, recognize and admit from other denominations, people for ministry in the United Church of Canada. This year there were three candidates: one for ordination and two admitted from another denomination. They made their way through the United Church process to be honoured and recognized at that service and in-so-doing they have become Ministry Personnel within our wider church.

I wonder if any of them felt like hiding in the baggage as their name was called?

What is certain is that they would have felt that blend of fear and grace that always accompanies such a ceremony. They have been encouraged by the people of the United Church to follow their particular call of God to ministry – to let their light shine in the words of the gospel.

But they're also embarking on a new path in their journey of faith – and that can be scary. They have worked long and hard to get to this place. They are ordinary people who are called to do something special and from time to time others may identify them as doing just that. But they are also no different than anyone else and in that reality is the assurance that God calls in various ways the people that carry out God's ministry.

This week Jane graduated from the 3 year residential component of the National Lay Pastoral Minister in Training Program…the Moderator presided and spoke and presented gifts to those who had completed their 3 yearly visits to an intensive working environment in Montreal at United Theological College of McGill University.

We can all be proud of the work that she has done to this point in her journey…you may want to tell her how pleased you are for her when you gather in Memorial Hall today to enjoy some cake and liquid refreshment.

Her work is not over, however, as Academic graduation is only one part of being designated a worker in the church in a particular area. For Jane, that "recognition" will come at a meeting of conference…either a regional meeting or the whole meeting of conference which takes place at the end of the month of May each year. The church always makes a distinction between academics and conferring upon a person a designated authority to carry out the duties of a specific ministry.

In the church it is important for us to realize that we don't have to be at the centre of the celebration of ministry service to feel that we are following God's call. In the work of our own churches, in the work of Presbytery and Conference and General Council, there are countless folks who give tirelessly to serve God with their gifts and talents.

Whenever anyone has bravely volunteered to "let their light shine," they also have to deal with the feelings of fear and grace…they are some of the feelings that help us live balanced lives.

Within our church, there are a wide variety of opportunities to celebrate our gifts and talents. Thank goodness we have a wide variety of courageous people ready to answer that call from God. There will always be those "worthless fellows" who despise anyone else who is chosen. But there will also always be many, many folks who are grateful and celebrate the gifts and talents of those brave individuals who, amid the fear and grace, present themselves for service.

Fortunately, it's not our job to call people into service – we only issue the invitation. The task of call belongs to God. Our task is to ask another, "could God be calling you?" and to ask ourselves "how is God calling me?"

May we be among the group who celebrates, who supports, and who helps those around us serve the church with their gifts and talents. And perhaps that experience will remain with us and powerfully affect our living and loving for years to come as only life emanating from the spirit of God can.

Amen.

June 11, 2006
"Contemporary Reflections on John Chapter 3"
By Rev. James Farrell

You can't go to a Sporting event or any large gathering without, it seems, someone carrying a placard with John 3:16 displayed on it.

I saw a TV show that had a scene where people were pretending to be sitting in bleachers and even in their mock gathering it was an important cliché for them to place a person with a cardboard sign displaying nothing other than John 3:16. It has become an iconic fixture in our culture…those 9 characters are everywhere.

In fact, on a walk recently, I found myself on a sidewalk that had John 3:16 embedded in the surface…obviously done when the cement was still wet…implication is always the same…read John 3:16 and you will be transformed.

Is it true?…yes, no and maybe all work here.

In our Mission Moment today is the story of man who lost two sons to suicide…a man who turned a life of alcoholism around and embarked on a road of faith. Yes he believes in the transformative power of God but ask him if simply embracing John 3:16 changes his circumstance…only so much…he is not who he was, but the pain of the loss of his sons is crippling. The tragedy that is his life is full of doubt and question and some resentment toward God, understandably.

John 3:16…in my youth, was one of the verses of scripture that brought a comforting assurance to me. It was the promise of life eternal and God's love now. In some church circles it is the formula that is supposed to make everything well for everyone.

How wonderful and powerful. Embrace God's love illustrated in God's gift of Jesus, the son, and an eternity of life is ours. I thought that was a good thing until I met a woman battered by her partner…and then I realized that, like Nicodemus she needed to do something different if she was going to get a different result…if we do what we've always done, we get what we always got…in the case of that young woman getting what she always got would mean getting another beating that would take her closer to the beating that would probably kill her.

So she, Jane and I devised a plan to remove her from her rural hell and deliver her to a new start in a distant city. She lives…new life is hers, now. If her hope was only in eternity and she wasn't willing to do something for herself now…she may have found herself entering that eternity long before her time.

Another province another time, another reflection on being born again…another woman needing to be rescued from the threat of gun fire from her husband…as a farmer he was allowed to keep firearms even though they posed a very real threat to the life of his wife, who he had threatened repeatedly to kill…relocated, new life started, new hope realized, she was born again.

Nicodemus needed a change…his spirit needed to change if he was going to get something other than what he always got in the past…an incomplete religious experience. Like Nicodemus, we struggle to understand God. Everyone wants to understand. An impossible task. It is not logical, but it is not irrational. We experience God and reflect thoughtfully on the experience. Not all experience is holy, but all holiness is an experience.

Being saved, born again, needs to mean different things for different people…if you are being abused or are abusing someone or something…saved is moving on from that abuse.

Amber Bowerman, Assistant Publisher of the Alberta views magazine tells her story… she says, "When I was 19 years old, I worked as a waitress at a pizzeria and bar. One night, I was working in the lounge by myself; the bartender and other waitress had called in sick. I was already run off my feet when a party of 10 came in and ordered a round of drinks. My boss, who was playing pool with one of the regulars, informed me I'd better "pick up the pace."

Not wanting to upset him, I loaded my small tray with drinks for the table of 10. When I arrived at the table, I dropped the tray, shattering the glasses and soaking the group with beer.

My boss was livid. As I scrambled to clean up the mess and apologize to the customers, he shouted at me, calling me stupid. He told me the cost of the beer and the broken pint glasses would be deducted from my paycheque. Then he turned to the men and said, "She's a useless broad." I snapped. I threw the tray at him, grabbed my jacket and stormed out.

I was lucky. I had no student loan and no family to support. It was easy to walk away. But what would I have done if I'd had children to feed and clothe? There was no one to stand up and defend my rights." (p. 4 May, 2006)

I spoke to a woman this week from out of town whose son is in prison…she was naturally troubled…the boy just turned 18 and is now having to face his demons as an adult. Where is this journey likely to take him?

She said, I shouldn't be so injured by the fact that a child "of mine" is in prison because we are all imprisoned by something…perhaps she is right, but the power of the risen Jesus in our hearts allows us to move through whatever reality imprisons us with hope, and often, with peace… and sometimes, with the courage to change.

The passage from John's gospel we share today concludes with the words: "but in order that the world might be saved through him." Saved from what to what…that is the question…saved from a life without faith to a 'faith life' that uses religion to uphold a place of bigotry? I don't think so.

Saved from a life that knows nothing of the scriptures to a life that has learned to use the scriptures to justify prejudice or systemic hatred of another or a group of others? That is not saved at all…it makes a mockery of the verse that should be carved into sidewalks…John 3:17, "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

In Jesus is not the condemnation of the world that the church has often sanctioned over the years…in Jesus is a chance for life.

A friend was sharing a story with me about a man who came into a church and lay down on the back pew and went to sleep…and all the hullabaloo that caused in the church. No harm done…in fact, that fellow recognized in Jesus, that if all who are weary and heavy laden, come onto me, I will give them rest.

This is the anniversary weekend of the United Church of Canada…we still have a voice in the social spectrum of our world … a voice that has a wonderful tradition in the social development of our country. A voice that cares for the social needs of people and seeks justice so that people can live, now!

It is no secret that big money, wealthy corporations, have over the years driven a lot of the policy of modern governments and if not for the cry of our faith ancestors in the United Church the plight and struggle of the working class people in our country would look a lot different. United church people in our community are, right now, working hard to be a part of the emerging debate that speaks against the desire of industry to privatize water.

Does that phrase scare you? Water Privatization? It should.

The verse that begins, "For God so loved the world…" should never have been pushed into the future tense…where it could become an adjustment for well-being in the unseen hereafter…God loves the world now and the power of Jesus Christ in our lives for Justice is the energy that gives us strength to carry on, to prepare a life for generations to come that is sustainable. Too many people are happy thinking we live in End Times!

All of us in this room will be dead and gone soon enough…if we think that ongoing life on this planet without us has any validity at all, then we do things today to help sustain that life…we do it as we find the power to do it, often in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the love of Jesus that calls us to love one another and in exercising that love and concern, life is realized, energized, sanctified.

Two patients limp into two different Canadian medical clinics with the same complaint. Both have trouble walking and appear to require a hip replacement.

The first patient is examined within the hour, is x-rayed the same day and has a time booked for surgery the following week.

The second sees his family doctor after waiting a week for an appointment, then waits eighteen weeks to see a specialist, then gets an x-ray, which isn't reviewed for another month and finally has his surgery scheduled for a year from then.

Why the different treatment for the two patients?

The first is a Golden Retriever.

The second is a Senior Citizen.

The biblical gospels may or may not be totally factual -- we have only their own word for the accuracy of the stories they tell -- but they are the only record we have of this man Jesus. And I can't think of one instance in those stories where he sided with the oppressor against the victim, with the predator against the prey.

To a culture based on hate, he said, "Love."

To a culture based on vengeance, he said, "Forgive."

To a culture based on greed, he said, "Share."

No wonder the powers-that-be wanted to get rid of him.

His followers are a mixed bag. At their best, they still take the side of the victim. They lobby for the poor, the sick, the suffering. In programs like "Out of the Cold," they welcome the homeless, the transients. They go into politics to change unfair situations and unjust laws. They dare to dream, and reach for stars. They know that "God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

Amen.

July 2, 2006
An Aggadah looking at Mark 5:21 ff
By Rev. James Farrell

Aggadah is a tradition of story telling that …continued at x1

[(Aramaic אגדה: tales, lore; pl. Aggadot ) refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in classical rabbinic literature - particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash. Other terms for this body of teachings are Aggadata (אגדתא) lit.“the” aggada, and the Hebrew Haggadah (הגדה; pl. Haggadot).]

x1…is presented as folklore and historical anecdotes most often used as moral exhortations, a part of story culture thousands of years old yet fresh and popular today as we see in the works of Stuart McLean and his Vinyl Café and others like Garrison Keeler & Robert Fulghum and others who put their own spin on this kind of literature.

Today I want to share with you an Aggadah written by The Rev. Neil Parker, a military chaplain with the Canadian Forces. It stretches me to share it, as I’m sure it did him to write it and I hope it will you to hear it.

I Begin: Once again, the bitter disappointment washed over her as she saw the familiar stains on the bed sheets. Her morning ritual; wake with the first light and then lie, unmoving in her bed, praying that this morning, she would find the sheets miraculously clean.

Barely breathing, softly praying, until there was enough light through the window to check the sheets and her nightgown. Yet every morning it was the same thing. There was always the mark of dried blood, sometimes a flow and sometimes merely spotting. But always there, always a reminder that nothing had changed, nothing would change, and she had not changed.

She sighed as she rose and bundled up clothes to hurriedly wash at the well before too many gathered there. She could hardly bear to see their faces and hear their voices.

It was not that they were unkind. Far from it. They were, if anything, too kind. Pitying the poor woman who would not stop bleeding. The one who was never free of the uncleanness that was part of every woman's life cycle.

The women knew each other's cycle, knew their mothers' and sisters' cycles, knew of hers. It was part of life, and it could be celebrated - the first flow marked the coming of age of a young girl and set her apart as a woman, with the creative power that meant that she could give birth.

Her monthly flow, regular as the moon, was a constant reminder of that power, a power so great that it could draw power from others, making them unclean if they so much as touched these sheets under her arm, or touched her bed or her seat at the table. It was the power of Eve, and though the young women chafed at the cramping and the moods and the confinement following each flow, it took little to remind a girl that this was a blessing and a reminder of who she was and was meant to be.

They did not like to see her and be filled with pity for her. Not only childless and practically unmarriageable, but already in her middle 20s with no hope of ever having a family. Twelve years she had endured this betrayal of her body against her.

Periodically, especially at the beginning, she had gone through a few days without any bleeding. But never for long, and never for the required seven days that had to elapse before she could be declared clean again. She had not been clean since she was 12. Half a lifetime ago.

If she rushed to the well, she would not have to endure those other faces, the ones at home. Her mother, always anxious for her daughter, had finally stopped asking her quiet question in the morning, “Has it stopped?” She had given up, worn down by the inevitable disappointment.

Her father (awkwardly of course when dealing with “women's problems”) had set himself to solve the problem of her unmarried status. All it would take would be a man who was unconcerned with the problem of living with a wife who would always make him unclean, unable to participate in sacrifice or to associate with any others who were concerned about their purity.

The best solution, her father decided, was to find a husband who could never be considered pure himself, someone like a tax-collector, perhaps, or a swineherd.

Maybe a shepherd, he suggested one night to his daughter, “someone who spends his time away from others, living rough in the wild with his animals, someone who is usually soiled with the birthing of lambs or the skinning and slaughtering of sheep for the market.”

The horrified look in her eyes must have been answer enough, as he never spoke of it again, only muttering once or twice, “David was a shepherd, nothing wrong with that. And Moses ...”

And yet, sometimes she thought to herself, that might not be so bad. It would be, at least, normal. If she were able to marry and have a family like every other woman in town seemed to have ... if she could be clean and whole, and could talk with other women without having to endure their looks of worry and concern.

She could rise in the morning and bake or mend clothes or care for children, and not have to run to get water to clean and clean unceasingly. But in all likelihood, this body of hers had betrayed her by making her unable to have the children she longed for. The blood would not stay in her long enough to make a bed for the seed that could become a child. It was hopeless.

For years she had gone to doctors. It seemed as if she did nothing else. There was always some glimmer of hope, as she explained her problem to a new doctor. It seemed such a simple thing, really. All women bleed. It's just that their flow stops from time to time, and mine doesn't. Surely there is something I can do, something I can take, that will take this small difficulty of timing and make me normal, once and for all.

Despite the continual disappointments, she was excited by each new doctor who expressed confidence that he would be able to find a cure. She was addicted to that look on each doctor's face, the look of certainty and the calm assurance.

Yet time and again she had to endure seeing those faces shift from assurance to confusion, and then to frustration and sometimes anger ... anger at her for presenting such an obstinate affliction, frustrated with themselves for not being able to find a simple cure, confusion at the realization that, perhaps, their confidence in their art and their skill had been misplaced.

It was never a happy outcome, since she was always made to feel the cause of the problem. She felt ashamed and paid the fees they demanded, until she had barely enough to live on. Yet she remained unhealed.

These were the thoughts running through her head as she approached the well in the middle of the town square. Fortunately it was not yet crowded, although at any early hour it was unthinkable to be alone at the village well. She knew the women there - she knew their glances when they saw her familiar load, and felt their eyes as she drew water and moved off a distance.

She stood apart, close enough to listen at the edge of the conversation, but not quite close enough to easily speak. So she listened to the early morning chatter of the women, only half paying attention, until the word “healer” caught her attention.

They were speaking of an itinerant preacher from Nazareth who not only spoke with power but had the power of healing. A rabbi, he was, and a prophet ... not one of these worthless physicians with their imported ointments and strange foods, but a man who knew first the law of God.

It wouldn't hurt to at least ask for a healing, she thought to herself. I have nothing to lose.

It also appeared that she would have no time to lose. From the women's conversation, it appeared that this Jesus had arrived only yesterday and was already being called away to a sickbed. If she hesitated, there may not be a second chance.

Was there time to race home and leave these sheets, and then race back to find him? Possibly not. It must be done quickly. Gathering her clothes under her arm, she headed in to the center of town, searching for the stranger. At first she had no idea of where to go, but gradually she realized that the crowds in town were not milling about in all directions but were steadily heading towards a single location.

She followed the crowd, trying as hard as she could not to touch anybody on either side. She managed for a while, but as the crowd thickened, it was harder and harder to do so, and before she knew it she was squeezed in between two men, who glared at her before stepping back to let her pass. She was contaminating innocent strangers in this fruitless and selfish quest. Yet she could not stop, no matter what.

As she took a deep breath and surged forward, she heard snatches of conversation around her. The crowd was buzzing with the excitement of this teacher's arrival, and the possibilities of being present when something really exciting was to happen. Jesus, apparently, was on his way to the sickbed of the little daughter of Jairus, one of the synagogue rulers.

She began to hesitate, as she thought things through. Jesus was on the way to heal a little girl, and the little girl of an important man in town. Why did she think he would have time for her and her spotted sheets? Jarius’ daughter was dying. She was not.

She slowed to a walk, and instead of pushing through crowds let them drift around her, like a river splitting at a rock. She felt silly, and selfish. Imagine, running through the streets for the chance to throw away some more money, money she didn't have, on yet another doctor. He wouldn't have time for her. Even if he did, he couldn't touch her or examine her, because it would make him, a rabbi, unclean and powerless. Then he could never heal that little girl.

No, some healing should wait.

She stood there for a few minutes, collecting her thoughts. She could see him now, approaching the intersection where she stood. He would pass by in a few moments. If only she could ask him for healing now! If only his shadow as it passed by might heal her. Then the healing power would not have to choose between a little girl dying at 12 years old and a girl whose life had been dead for 12 long years.

Twelve-years-old in the balance with 12 years' bondage. Suddenly, she could take it no more. This would be her last chance. “Perhaps if I just touch the hem of his garment,” she thought. “Even if it means choosing between her and me.”

With a sob, she pushed her way through the crowd, and reached out. And touched.

The Rev. Neil Parker is a military chaplain with the Canadian Forces in Ottawa, studying in the field of ethics. He is a frequent contributor to Word and Witness.

July 9, 2006
“What Kind of King?”
By Rev. James Farrell

I like James Taylor’s writing, the past editor of the United Church Observer, not the subject of Carly Simon’s song, “You're So Vain”.

You’ve heard me say that before and I’m sure I will say it again. In his online column recently he wrote about his tricycle…not what I expected to find, but there it was. He wrote of how he loved it and enjoyed it and eventually how he had to move on from it.

After some conversation about those early years, he began to comment about the transition to a larger bike. He wrote: “Then one day, I got a two-wheeler of my own. And I left the old blue tricycle behind.

We all understand that process at the childhood level. You leave the old teddy bear, so that you can lace on skates for hockey. You give up the girl next door for the blonde bombshell, and you give up the bombshell for the girl who becomes your wife. Or for the guy who becomes your husband.

You give up roving for fidelity.

It’s part of growing up. We call it maturity.

So why do we have so much difficulty applying the same lesson to spiritual growth?

All too often, we feel as if we’re betraying the truth if we give up ideas taught to us when we were children. I don’t mean to belittle children, but children aren’t adults. They can’t ride adult bicycles yet, and they can’t handle adult understandings of faith yet. So we teach them a simplified version. Hopefully, these simplified versions won’t prevent them from absorbing a bigger and broader perception of God.”

In fact, that is one of the reasons we need to keep at our study and our sharing with our growing children—so they don’t get stuck.

“Adults have never -- from the beginning of time -- told their children everything they know. About Santa Claus or the tooth fairy. About sex, work, or money.

So why should we assume that what we we're told about God, way back in Sunday School, was the ultimate truth? It was a beginning, a launching pad, a stepping stone. To move ahead means leaving that stepping stone behind.

He continues to say, “A friend described some of the crises in her family. “I don’t have any faith any more,” she said, sounding almost guilty about it. He writes, “I must have looked skeptical. She doesn’t act like a woman floundering about trying to find meaning and purpose in her life.

She explained: “I can’t—no, I won’t—believe in a God who does these things to us.”

Good for her. The God she doesn’t believe in is the beginner God she was taught about in her childhood. She’s finally leaving her tricycle behind.”

I appreciated that bit because it speaks to me, too.

When I became a Christian …when I consciously chose to engage Jesus as influential in my life, my thoughts, my actions…it was back in the late 70’s and I was drawn inexorably into a period that brought me to awareness of Jesus’ Jewish roots…I had traveled in Europe, remember this was about 30 years after Israel had become a nation …I thought I understood good and evil…it was certainly evil what had happened to the Jews in Europe not long before my life began and it was good that they finally had a homeland and the commitment of most of the world that such atrocities should never happen to them again…and this commitment was good.

Just one year into working on my Bachelor of Theology degree, Jane and I traveled with the college president to Israel and toured the Holy Land and my fond feelings for Israel were increased. I had, in studying Hebrew Scriptures, courses that taught me about Israel’s history and David’s place in it and I was as strong a supporter of Israel as anyone.

That was also early in my infancy as a committed Christian albeit a Christian on an educational pilgrimage…and this connection with Israel caused me to support the work of the Knesset all the more. The Knesset is modern Israel’s ruling body and these are the contemporary people entrusted with steering the vessel that had really set sail three thousand years ago under King David and under the banner of “the people of God”.

My eschatological teaching—the study of end times—had taught me that Israel would again play a major role in the economy of God and that Christians aught to support Israel for everything that has come to us from Jewish experience, not the least of which was Jesus, and our common links to this history of God’s revelation to the world past, present, and future connecting us in a special and undeniable way.

That doesn’t mean that I have always agreed with Israel’s choices…just mostly!

I understood that if modern Israel retaliated for an offense with what seemed to me to be more than a measured response…or even excessive response…I had to remember that it was Israel’s way…a way to insure their survival…being weak in history only ever brought them to the place of near destruction—a place they were committed never to be again.

Difficult as it was for me, I generally accepted these responses as the way things needed to be.

Fast forward to today and the hot water that the United Church is in with comments and choices it has made in regard to current Israeli practices and again, my theology, my world-view, and my own often blind allegiance to the direction of Israel’s Knesset finds itself being challenged big-time.

It is summer and I wanted to be able to keep summer messages “light” but the comments I have heard from some of you, compel me to head down this uncomfortable road …it’s a good journey for us, though not light, and it’s a good journey for me too.

So I try to offer a bit of perspective. Palestinian Muslims have been the vast majority in Palestine for over 1,000 years, living with Christian and Jewish minorities. In 1948 Israel declared itself a state and in 1949, claimed the territory up to the United Nation’s armistice or “green” line which gave it 78% of historic Palestine. Following the Six Day War in 1967, while many of us were celebrating Expo 67, Israel occupied the remaining Palestinian territory—the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.

The Fourth Geneva Convention, which Israel signed, protects the human and property rights of civilians under occupation and forbids an occupying force from annexing land or from transferring it's citizens. The Govt. of Israel has refused to respect this international law as a basis for peace.

Since 2002, the Govt. of Israel has unilaterally initiated it “disengagement plan”. The completion of the Wall and the taking of 46% of the West Bank (an area far greater than Gaza), this action will leave Palestinians on small, isolated reservations with few resources. As a result of the violation of their rights, including the theft and destruction of their property, Palestinians are:

- at grave risk from a lack of access to adequate food, water and medical care

- subjected to severe mobility restrictions and endless humiliation at ever-changing check points that block access to medical care, education, and employment,

- experiencing massive psychological trauma as a result of the perpetual violence from an hostile military force; and

- hindered administratively by the intentional destruction of their civil records.

So, our fellow United Church folks in Toronto conference have asked, “What are Canada’s obligations in this situation?”

Despite official Canadian Government policy that affirms the right of the State of Israel to exist, and that opposes Israel’s Wall or its “Security Barrier” into Palestinian territory, the Canadian Government position also opposes the unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem, and opposes the transfer of Israeli citizens into the West Bank and calls for Israel to live up to the requirements of international and humanitarian law, and yet, Canada has not supported recent United Nations’ motions to condemn Israel for violations of human rights and international law or call for an immediate end to the occupation.

Quoting from a brochure printed by the Toronto Conference of the Untied Church of Canada, “The United Church of Canada has a distinguished history of pursuing justice through morally responsible, educational economic campaigns. Boycott and divestment have been used successfully for justice in South Africa, with Nestlé's infant formula, and to end the unjust treatment of California grape labor.

At its May, 2003 AGM, The Toronto Conference of the United Church of Canada, with the support of both Israeli and Palestinian peace organizations, called for a boycott and divestment campaign to work for a just and lasting peace that:

- affirms the right of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security within internationally-recognized borders and

- calls for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and a withdrawal of all Israeli settlements from the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.

There are hawks and doves, of course on both sides of the debate, and the hawks often have more money to promote their view so careful reading and digesting is required for us to be clear of the goings on in that important and tiny part of the world. We need to listen to many voices to be informed.

More than any other figure, King David symbolizes ancient Israel.

Second
Samuel reminds us that David began to feel like a king when the other kings of the region began to honor him and pay homage to him.

Quoting from 2 Samuel 5:11-12, “King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar trees and carpenters and masons who built David a house. David then perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel”.

The people had named him king. God had named him king. But when he felt that surge of power from the honor and adulation of other kings, that's when he felt like a real king.

Power ... isn't that what makes a king a king? Not the trust of the people. Power...

The promise of God when David was a boy was nice; the voice of the people asking him to be king was wonderful; the oil of anointing smelled sweet, but when the neighboring king came to build him a palace of cedar, then he felt like a king...a king like all the other kings.

The storyteller goes on to say that no sooner did David start feeling like a real king than he began behaving like all the other kings: “In Jerusalem, after he came from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives.” He took women to be his, uh, “perfumers and cooks and bakers,” and anything else a king might like. David acts like a real king. Real kings have enormous harems in cedar palaces.

Funny that the storyteller should even mention the cedar. That's not the sort of detail we hear in these stories - unless, of course, the detail is significant.

Look through the history of the kings. Cedar?

Hiram of Tyre came a second time to Jerusalem, to visit David's son Solomon. In exchange for a gift of cedar, Solomon began a forced conscription of laborers, sending them off to Lebanon to work for Hiram.

Does cedar make you a king?

In the Hebrew scriptures, "cedar" is a code word for a king closed in on himself and his own desires. From the cedar-paneled walls of the palace he cannot see out, cannot recognize human need and misery, and certainly he does not want to invite the common folk in, for they might soil or stain the lovely cedar paneling. The palace is for royalty alone.

In this episode David arrives at a crisis moment in his story. He has been crowned King of Judah and Israel, king of all the tribes, and stands poised between two alternative visions of kingly rule, between two alternative visions of leadership, between two alternative visions of government.

Will David be the shepherd of Israel or will David be content to make himself at home in a palace of cedar? There are rulers who can live in palaces of cedar and never forget what they are there for. There are rulers who, even from a palace, can see the homeless and hear the cries of the hungry and feel the pain of the wounded and know the lost ness of the lonely. And there are rulers who insulate themselves with cedar against the storms of human need.

At this point in 2nd Samuel what kind of king David will be remains to be seen.

From our reading we know of David, 40 years a man of God…yet his mistakes and deviations from the heart of God are well documented…in those chronicles are the stories of other voices, prophetic voices coming before him to help him find the strength to rule in Israel as God had intended him to.

The symbol of David continues in the nation state of modern Israel and there are still prophetic voices clamoring to be heard that would empower the modern David to be who God would have David be…a Just ruler for all people. The shouts of these prophets are sometimes not heard through the Cedar clad walls of the Israel Knesset so, maybe, that voice can be heard in the work of the World Council of Churches and the Toronto Conference of the United Church of Canada as people of faith invite a modern David to be the kind of king God called him to be. Amen

(material on “cedar” from Patrick Willson, Presbyterian Church USA, Williamsburg, VA.)
 

July 16, 2006
The Message: “From the Window”
By Rev. James Farrell

It is Tour de France time again. Back in February, cycling mega star Lance Armstrong and Grammy Award-winning singer Sheryl Crow issued a statement announcing the end of their engagement. “After much thought we have made the very tough decision to split up. We both have a deep love and respect for each other and we ask that everyone respect our privacy during this very difficult time.”

It is difficult for most of us to grasp the challenges of living constantly in the public eye.

You don't have to agree with or condone the lifestyle of celebrities to empathize with the pressure of constant scrutiny in addition to the demands for autographs, appearances, photographs, and endorsements. We can emotionally dismiss their challenges, quipping, "It comes with the territory." Yet, I wonder if most who find themselves in the spotlight of the paparazzi ever really anticipated the magnitude of the intrusion.

Michal, the daughter of King Saul and the wife of King David, lived her entire life in a glass house. She grew up in the house of power and her marriage retained the status. The narrative of Second Samuel 6 reveals the contrast between Michal's concern for appearances and David's lack thereof. In the midst of their story ‘we discover’ a call to unbridled worship.

By contrast, David grew up on the hillsides of Palestine. He was raised far from the public eye, tending Jesse's flocks and herds. His entrance into the feverish world of fame came as an errand boy serving his older brothers. The older brothers were serving in a military campaign of King Saul, battling the Philistines. In an example of representative warfare, the confident young defender of sheep from wild animals, slew the intimidating Goliath.

His life was never the same after that. Immediately his fame spread. His public status grew exponentially with each succeeding conquest. He became a personal aide to the king and married into the King's family. He became the best friend of Jonathan, the king's son and apparent heir to the throne. His rising popularity gave rise to jealousy in the heart of the king, and their relationship deteriorated even as his relationships with the king's family deepened.

In the end, David became king following the death of Saul and Jonathan. Scripture says, it was God's will, revealed long before by the prophetic vision and anointing by Nathan. It was also politically concretized through marriage into the bloodline of Saul.

David, the second King of Israel, was a complex individual. David had unrivaled leadership skills. He was a fearless warrior, a brilliant military strategist and his winsome personality fostered deep loyalty. Coupled with his leadership abilities, David possessed musical and poetic gifts. He played the harp with distinction and his songs of faith were embraced by the community of faith and incorporated into public worship.

David was a man of passion and his passion seeped out of his pores, colored all his activities and was evident in all of his complexities.

His passion unnerved his wife Michal. In this reading, David's heart for God and natural expression of worship is on display. After years of struggle, exile, scavenging and a myriad of battles, he ascended to the pinnacle of Hebrew life. He was the king, giving all of Israel direction and providing for her national defense.

Through all of the challenges that could have calloused his heart to worshipful expression, the heart of praise born on the quiet hillsides and green pastures of solitary expression only grew. He longed to build a house for the God who had sustained him through every valley and shadow of death.

The Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of divine presence, rested in a tent while the king rested in splendor. For Saul, the Ark had been employed as a weapon for battle. David viewed the Ark as the throne of God here on earth. The disparity between God's residence and the residence of the king deeply concerned him. In David's heart, the Ark of the Covenant belonged in Jerusalem, the seat of power in Israel and he longed for that presence to reside where he and the Hebrew nation could never lose sight of it.

The biblical narrative describes a magnificent scene as the Ark is brought home. David summons the aid of 30,000 chosen men for the task of transporting the Ark. David became the lead worshiper as the company made its way from the house of Abinadab toward Jerusalem.

It was a massive celebration of singing and accompaniment utilizing a host of instruments. It also portrays the passion of the king and the whole house of Israel as they rejoiced with all of their might.

The energy and vitality of Israel's worship that day does not dictate the tempo of worship in our day. However, the example of wholehearted worship is compelling. The King summoned the aid of a multitude to experience the joy of the moment. The singer/poet poured out his heart as he endeavored to put God in God's rightful place of prominence in their lives.

The passage highlights the truth that corporate praise is a contagious energy. David's worship spurs our own. It calls us from across the millennia to make certain that God’s place is one of prominence in our hearts. Only then can we find a proper perspective for the balance of daily living.

Interestingly, the journey took place in two parts. The first leg, was the trip from the House of Abinadab to the House of Obed Edom. The second leg, covers the transport from Obed Edom to Jerusalem. There is a time span of several months between each leg. This interruption was caused by a lack of proper preparation for worship. God had given specific instructions for the transport of the Ark. It was to be borne on the shoulders of the Levitical priesthood (Exodus 25). David chose to construct a wheeled cart instead. In the course of transport the oxen stumbled and Uzzah, one of Abinadab's sons and one of the Ark's handlers, reached his hand out to steady the Ark and Uzzah was struck dead for his irreverent treatment of the Ark of God. This was not some common load of grain; this was the symbol of God's presence. The incident speaks to us concerning the necessity for proper preparation for true worship.

Our worship ought to exemplify a sense of reverence and awe for the otherness of God while not forgetting God’s closeness. Worship prep is always a dance that seeks to uphold a flow of reflection that is not void of reverence yet fresh enough to express our delight in the freshness of God.

David wanted things right for God and so he parked the Ark at the home of Obed Edom and three months passed as he sorted through the experience of his guilt and fear. There would not be a repeat of the Uzzah tragedy.

The Ark would be “carried” into Jerusalem as God had instructed. Again the depiction of a great host of worshipers gathering to celebrate the joy of the occasion. With sacrifices every six paces, no one could doubt David’s fervor before God and no one would ever forget the sight of what they witnessed.

With shouts and accompanying trumpets, David led the procession of praise adorned only in a linen ephod (the garment of a priest) and did so dancing before the Lord with all of his might (6:14-15). Perhaps David's example speaks to us of our nakedness before God. Perhaps it is a call for a lack of pretense in worship, a stripping of the trappings of external mechanical action, and a call to genuine encounter. You can’t ponder these things and evaluate David’s love of God without appreciating the lasting moniker, “a man after God’s own heart.”

There is another truth that emerges as we walk alongside the procession. At the conclusion of the journey, when the Ark of God is safely in its new residence, David turns to the people of God and blesses them. From the king's storehouse, David gifted each worshiper with a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins. His act proclaims that true worship translates into ministry and a heart of generous activity.

For in the act of true worship we recognize with the Psalmist, “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; my neighbor is in the heart of God and when I encounter God in spirit and in truth I cannot view her otherwise. I am compelled to share every good thing God has provided.”

Unfortunately, some who count themselves among God's people never get beyond religious activity to real connectivity with God. There is a tendency to reduce spirituality to a rote exercise of religious action. Worship attendance, Bible study participation, even acts of ministry can be performed quite easily without an engaged heart and generosity of spirit is lost. Michal, David’s wife, chose that day to watch the worship of others from a distant window (6:16). She had become so concerned with the opinions of others that she refused participation in the celebration of joy. Instead, she stood judging the actions of others, her husband's in particular.

Have you ever met a Michal? Have you ever been one?

On a day when life covenant partners could have sat down together to reminisce and relive a joint experience of praise, Michal chose instead to condemn her husband for defiling himself in the public eye.

Interestingly, it is not the king's advisors or other politically powerful people about whom Michal expresses concern. Michal condemns David for acting as a commoner in front of her servant girls. At the heart, Michal is consumed with public perception and more concerned with the opinion of these than the approval of God.

If we continue reading beyond the lection, we discover David's response. David refuses to allow his public life to invade or change his private worship. He explains that his worship was intended for God and not for the scrutiny of others. Concern for his own dignity has no place, no quarter when offering praise to God.

To some extent we all live life in the public eye. Our struggle is how we allow that to impact our expression of worship.

Amen.

This message has borrowed much from the work of Lonny Poe who is the pastor of Sunset Canyon Baptist Church located in the Hill Country of Central Texas, just outside of Austin. Lonny is married to Deanne and they have four children.

July 23, 2006
Sabbath Rest
By Jane Clarke

It has been interesting these past weeks walking with King David. We have heard many stories of him beginning with his childhood when he used his sling shot on Goliath. We have walked with him while he has been king. Last week we heard about how he was bringing the ark to rest in the city of David and how he was dancing and celebrating bringing God to live in his city. Today we are hearing about David resting and thinking. He was thinking about building a house of cedar for God to live in.

David felt that if he lived in such a house then surely God ought to as well.

Where do we say that God lives? What kinds of places have we built for God?

We come to church to join as a community and search for who God is and where God is. And how we learn to live with God and each other.

If I asked each of you where God is and where God lives what would you answer? I would like you to think of that and answer that for yourselves.

Do we have God in a box? Does your God live in the sky? in heaven? In this building? In your heart?

If we are believers and followers of Jesus then he has taught us that God is wherever we meet together, wherever we are even if we are alone. If we believe that we are born in the image of God what does that mean? For me it means that my soul or my spirit is God’s image. The divine within God is present always.

When we look at the Gospel and why people followed Jesus and wanted him to touch them I ask the question what is it about Jesus that people saw? Why did they want to be near him? My answer to that is that the divine within him was so much a part of him that people could see God. They could see the love and the compassion that is God.

How do we strive to become the face of God for others to see?

While I was in Montreal this year we were talking about theology and who Jesus is for us and how do we see the divine in him. There was a comment made “to be fully human is to be fully divine”. That made a lot of sense to me. To be fully human, to know exactly who we are, to accept ourselves for who we are and to love ourselves is to be fully human. I believe that when we achieve that we then become so attuned to ourselves that we allow the divine within to show us how to love God with our whole being.

That is who Jesus is to me. A human that knew exactly who he was and what he was to do for other and was so full of love for himself that he could completely love others. People saw that in him and wanted to be near him, to touch him to be healed by him.

The Gospel reading also talks about resting and thinking. Jesus and the disciples were wondering how they were going to be able to rest. They were tired they had been working overtime with their ministries. Everyone wanted to be healed everyone wanted to talk to them. Jesus and the disciples were becoming so recognizable that they were never left alone.

Jesus recognized the fact that they needed to rest in order to be affective in their ministries. Jesus knew they all needed to rest. For to be fully human is also to know when we have to look after ourselves. If we don’t take time for ourselves and the bodies that we have been given how then can we continue the work of God?

We all need rest. How often do we ask someone how they are and the reply is “too busy”. Is that caring for ourselves? To what end are we serving God and what good do we do for God if we don’t rest and renew ourselves?

Our lives today seem so hectic. There are so many activities we are involved in. There are so many demands made on our lives. When do we take time for rest? When do we take time for our Sabbath rest? By Sabbath rest I don’t mean just on Sunday. We can take our rest when we are able. Take time to be with God to be with the spirit within us. For sure our time on Sunday mornings is special and we worship together in community but if we don’t take time to be with God any other time it would seem to me that we have God in a box like David did.

How do we take our Sabbath rest? When do we take it? I work every Sunday so Sunday is not my Sabbath rest time. Does it have to be a whole day? Could it be a portion of a day? How often do we just sit and rest and allow our bodies and our spirits to rest together? Do we make it a priority in our lives?

There is a quote from Rabbi Abraham Heschel that says, Sabbath is not a day or date, but an atmosphere. Sabbath is to enter the space and time of the holy and to be renewed there. I love that, “Sabbath is an atmosphere”.

I like that because I then don’t have to choose a day and decide that I will force myself to make it my Sabbath. I can choose a time and space and enter into an atmosphere. That may be a portion of every day that I take for meditation. Maybe I sleep in because my body is tired. Any number of ways I can take to renew and revitalize myself.

I think it is fabulous that we don’t have church meetings during the summer. We take that time to rest and enjoy our vacation times. Maybe some decide that some weekends during the summer are family times and we go camping for the weekend. Maybe for others Sunday’s are the only time the whole family has a day off and they go for a picnic. I believe that is an atmosphere of Sabbath.

Any time we enjoy our families or nature or any of God’s creation it is Sabbath rest. We create the atmosphere for being in God’s presence.

We do need to meet in community to learn and to join together with others so corporately we can uphold each other. Jesus did that for the disciples, he said “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” We join together to take care of one another. We say “take time to look after yourselves”

We join together to teach our young people in Sunday School. That is why we have 3 teachers per class so we don’t burn them out. That is why we need so many volunteers to help with the work of the church so a few people don’t get too tired. That is why we have a term for how long people stay on the Board of Elders. We in the church value all of our disciples and encourage a time of rest.

We all need to take a vacation from our jobs whatever they may be. We need to get away from the busyness of life so that when we do meet here together we feel refreshed and ready to look after one another.

We all need Sabbath rest. We do need a place as community to come together for our Sabbath we don’t need that to be ornate or to use all our resources. We need some resources for our outreach for those who come to us who are in need in this community and beyond.

When we allow ourselves to take time to rest. Time to allow our own bodies to heal and become strong we can then be God to those who are in need of healing.

We are the body of Christ on this earth and have been commissioned to carry on his ministry.

Frederick Buechner has a wonderful description of a certain class that he held one winter day. A beautiful sunset was taking place as he entered the classroom and he had the impulse to turn the classroom lights off. He said that he was not sure that he ever had a happier impulse. The room faced west so as soon as it went dark, everything disappeared except what he and his students could see through the windows, and there it was- the entire sky on fire by then, as he says "like the end of the world or the beginning of the world". He goes on to say:

“For over twenty minutes nobody spoke a word. Nobody did anything. We just sat there in the near-dark and watched one day of our lives come to an end, and it is no immodesty to say that it was a great class because my only contribution was to snap off the lights and then hold my tongue. And I am not being sentimental about sunsets when I say that it was a great class because in a way the sunset was the least of it. What was great was the unbusy-ness of it. It was taking unlabeled, unallotted time just to look with maybe more than our eyes at what was wonderfully there to be looked at without any obligation to think any constructive thoughts about it or turn it to any useful purpose later.”

So then in the busyness of our lives I encourage us all to take time to watch the sunsets, to listen to our selves, to rest and rejuvenate so that when we join together here in this place we can continue our ministry. The ministry that Jesus encouraged us to continue for him.

Let us take care of one other and ourselves that the work can continue. We are the hands and feet of God here on this earth and the crowds will always be waiting for us just as they were for the disciples in our reading from Mark.

Amen
 

July 30, 2006
“How much is Enough”
By Jane Clarke

Last week I talked about Sabbath rest and how important that is for us. We need that rest so we can refresh ourselves. We need that so that we can take time to listen to the divine within and carry on God’s work here on earth.

Today we are hearing about doing that work. Today we are being called back into action after our rest. To continue being the disciples Jesus called us to be as his followers.

We are being called into action to share. We are being called to share so there will be enough for everyone. Many read this story and think wow what a miracle Jesus performed to have only 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed more than 5,000 people! So then this story is about just how great Jesus is and what a magician he is. See what a great guy he is! That is wonderful but what does that mean for us? I doubt Jesus wanted to be recorded as a miracle worker. He had so much more to teach us than that.

Yes Jesus is wonderful. Yes, this is a miracle for sure but what is the miracle? I believe the miracle to be that a young boy is sharing all that he has to help feed others. I believe that is what Jesus is telling us.

These 5,000 people had been following Jesus and walking with him. Don’t you think many would have packed some provisions to bring along? I doubt there was a MacDonald’s or a Burger King close by to get something to eat.

By this young boy sharing what he had encouraged others to share what they had with those who may not have brought food with them. The miracle is that of sharing the food. The miracle is that people were willing to give what they had and when it was all shared there was still much left.

I have said this before about this passage … I think it is the first recorded pot luck. When ever I have brought food to a pot luck I always wonder if I have enough made. I have never been to a pot luck when there wasn’t enough to eat. I often hear people say it’s like feeding the 5,000 there is always some left over.

Crowds. The crowds keep following him, we hear. A large crowd is coming towards Jesus and the disciples and Jesus asks Philip, “Where are we going to buy bread for these people to eat?” It’s a panicky moment.

This is a question every congregation asks – “How do we assemble the resources to attend to all the hungers of the world?” Poverty, spiritual bankruptcy, people crying out for justice. The image of an approaching crowd with an insistent need that will not be easily met.

How does Jesus equip us to respond? With confidence in Jesus, we reach out knowing that we can meet the need, not only with enough, but with resources left over which we carefully shepherd for another day.

These are questions we ask often. What can I do? How can I make a difference? We as a church participate in the Canadian Food Grain Bank. Farmers grow crops which are given to CIDA, matched 3 or 4 to one by the government and distributed in areas of need around the world. The multiplying of the loaves and fishes in our day.

I receive a weekly newsletter by email called Rumours. It’s written by Ralph Milton, who has written a number of excellent books. Each week, he takes the lectionary readings and comments on them. This week he titled his comments “What if”.

I believe I have used this before but it is worth hearing again.

What if. . .

The miracle of the loaves and fishes is still possible.

What if. . .

What if all the people in North America who have enough – and that is most of us – shared just a little more. Say, a dollar a week? We wouldn’t even notice.

If all of us who have enough did that, there’d be enough to feed all those in North America who don’t have enough.

What if. . .

What if Canada and the United States decided to change tactics? What if we decided to change our way of maintaining our international security? What if we stopped being paranoid and started being generous? What if, instead of spending money on armaments, we spent it on justice – on food and medicine and education and development for the two-thirds world? Our countries would be so admired, so respected for our generosity, nobody would want to attack us.

And who knows? If we did it, other countries might too. And we would discover that there really is enough to go around, and we don’t need to protect our backsides or our front sides or any other sides.

It’s totally impractical of course. Who would think of such a crazy idea?

A small child might. A small child thought of it on the shore of the Galilee two-thousand years ago. The small boy didn’t think, “What will I eat?” Instead, the child thought, “I have something to share.”

John’s gospel presents this story of the feeding of the 5,000 as the Last Supper story. He uses Eucharistic language to describe Jesus distributing the bread to the assembled crowd. Verse 11 says “Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated.” This established Jesus as the bread of life in a very different way.

I like this idea of the Eucharistic symbol. We join together to share bread as a community. As we do this it may be another thought about who Jesus is for us as we remember this story during the communion meal. Do this in remembrance of me says Jesus. Maybe one more thing we can remember as we gather together is how to share what we have. The miracle of love.

It took just one child to begin the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000.

There is a story told by Karen McAndless-Davis about the ending of a communion service. “The benediction was said. People remained soaking in the quiet worshipful atmosphere.

Unexpectedly, a two-year-old tottered up to the communion table with his pudgy little arm out-stretched. He wanted more.

It could have been an uncomfortable moment in some settings, but not this one. All of us (children, youth and adults) had gathered for our congregational retreat. The atmosphere was relaxed. The retreat was family oriented, and it ended with communion in which everyone participated.

The little guy’s mom was quick behind him. “Give him some more bread,” I suggested. She tore him a big chunk. He then proceeded to dip it into the chalice containing juice, just as he had done a few moments ago in the “official” service. He stuffed the whole thing in his mouth – a big grin on his face, a drop of juice down his chin.

I invited the rest of the congregation to come up to the table for more bread. The children came without hesitation. The two-year-old’s mom had become the bread breaker. Each child took a turn dipping their bread in the chalice. All of a sudden, the “special” bread and juice so carefully rationed out on communion Sundays, in little cubes and tiny cups, was flowing in abundance. And they all wanted as much as they could get.

Then something quite amazing happened. Adults came up for more too, a few with tears in their eyes. Before long, all the elements were consumed. Not a crumb remained. The last drop of juice had been soaked up.

It seemed like grace flowed abundantly for all of us that morning. Somehow a child was able to break down inhibiting walls that keep us adults from accepting God’s generous, overflowing love.”

Once more the miracle of a small child leading the way.

I love the stories of miracles. They are so full of possibility. The sky’s the limit and everything enters the realm of possibility. Such stories also invite us to frame our own definition of what constitutes a real miracle.

The definition is fairly elastic. Some days a miracle would be if the garbage made it to the bin without having to ask someone to do it. Other days I have the privilege of watching as God’s power and presence changes someone’s life profoundly and, yes even miraculously. Sometimes a miracle is as simple as a well-timed and much-needed hug from someone.

Whether it is as tangible as bread and fish, or as ethereal as love itself, I believe that a miracle must engage in us the certainly that God is present and at work in our world. Not the hope or the wish for God – but the certain knowledge that God is as real and as close as that hug.

We are called to be faithful stewards of our abundance in the midst of a world that emphasizes the dynamics of scarcity. It is a mighty temptation to act from this viewpoint, clamouring to meet our own needs at the expense of others. What does it mean to trust in God’s abundant presence? In what ways might our relationships as individuals and communities be changes if we follow God’s lead and live with generosity?

Amen

Sept 3, 2006
A Reflection: "Evaluating Tradition"
By Rev. James Farrell

So, we're back…holidays done…routines beginning to be re-established…weather cooler and hopefully a bit less tinder dry…so how was it? How was the break that held us over to another season of activity in the church and in schools and moved us slowly toward fall routines?

I hope your summer has been ok…We had a nice break, traveled west to see family and returning home did something I have been wanting to do for some time…we stopped at the World Heritage Site, Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump.

Some time ago I met the director of the facility …a Mister Clarke and his family as they were stopped to film the site of the Reeser Lake Look-Off…that view, is the scene that adorns our Narthex…I had taken my brother out there to show him the view a couple of years ago …anyway, after chatting a bit Mr. Clarke insisted that we go and experience the facility that he was so proud of. It took another two years for us to check it out…maybe the name was a bit off-putting, maybe we were always too hurried to get to Fernie or to get home from visiting our son and daughter-in-law to take the time to stop, but this year it was a must.

It was a wonderful place…very sacred…the guide was a treat…gracious, well informed, quietly proud of his heritage. For 6000 years it has been a place of sacred value to his people and through that people, a place of value to all people.

The name makes you think it was a slaughter house…a place of waste and carnage as the buffalo would be corralled to their deaths. A place of great violence and mayhem but it was very much a sacred exchange between creator and created…between man—buffalo and creator. A sharing and giving of life to sustain life…no waste, no excess…no sport…everything perfectly meted out to sustain life.

While we were there I saw something that got my attention…two scarves were caught in a tree at the cliffs edge outside the marked walking area. If we were alone I would probably have approached more closely to examine them but a tour was there and so I was on my best behaviour so as to not set a bad example.

Before we left I asked the office person about the scarves…something told me that they were not simply randomly caught in the branches. I was right…they were there, placed by first nations people as prayer scarves left in this sacred place where countless generations of people have gathered to be sustained and where the spirit of so many of her ancestors had offered sacrifices of prayer for their families and the tribes who came by here.

It made sense to me that these women should offer prayer in this way and in this place. It was not the first time I had seen prayer offered in this way. In fact, I have a photo in my office of religious Jews gathered at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem; a place where many write prayers on paper and tuck the little folded bits into the edges of the Herodian masonry that makes up that wall.

Perhaps you have seen it yourself, maybe on TV?

In Jerusalem, a female CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been going to the Western Wall to pray, twice a day, everyday, for a long, long time. So she went to check it out. She went to the Western Wall and there he was walking slowly up to the holy site. She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to leave, using a cane in a very slow fashion, she approached him for an interview.

"I'm Rebecca Smith from CNN. Sir, how long have you been coming to the Western Wall and praying?"

"For about 60 years."

"60 years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?"

"I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims. I pray for all the hatred to stop and I pray for all our children to grow up in safety and friendship."

"How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?"

"Like I'm talking to …a wall."

I appreciate his frankness…we seek the action and comfort of the creator as does the person or persons who left scarves along the cliff at "Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump". We want to know that God is there…that the spirits of the people who have gathered and prayed over the years are somehow closer to us at sacred places…even like this sanctuary… we want to believe that our efforts to be found in the presence of God are supported by our connections with such sacred places.

When the Middle East continues in turmoil … when the life sustaining promise of the buffalo seems thwarted during those times that no buffalo roam near the jump…when our prayers linger visibly—symbolized by scarves in a tree or notes left in a wall …or by the tears on our cheeks… and our efforts seem to be fruitless—at these times—we have to remember that our ache is also the ache of the God who created us and loves us and with whom we are in communion when we seek to embody that love.

Sometimes the sacred that we live is simply the sacred because it has been where are ancestors have been—like the sacred place of which I have been speaking…sometimes, however, the sacred that we experience is sacred because we, with respect and courage move beyond where our ancestors have been.

Mark's gospel portrays Jesus as rejecting the tradition of the elders and effectively declaring purity distinctions in relation to food invalid (thereby removing a barrier to inclusion of Gentiles). If the food laws don't connect one more closely to God then those who don't observe them are no longer held at arms length from God.

Jesus' illustration put it back to the Pharisees that not every bit of inherited religiosity was what made one right with God. It was not the outward stuff—the show—that mattered but the heart that motivated the action…now there is where faith meets life and love takes flight.

I know that the sincerity of one who returns time and again to offer prayer is a wonderful sincerity…the kind of stuff that says 'God is here'. The sincerity of those who left scarves in gnarled branches of trees is the gift back to the creator that honors all the gifts to and from ancestors that have embodied the creator's presence & love over thousands of years.

We remember these traditions and evaluate what is sacred about them. Sacred places…sacred labor…sacred time spent…it is what builds sanctuary in our hearts and in the hearts of others.

I hope that this summer offered you something sacred too. I trust as we move and labor into another autumn of busyness and engagement in church life, the sacred will continue to emerge for you. Spiritual sanctuary isn't built in an afternoon but brick of experience by brick experience and yes we build upon the foundation set by those who have gone before us but we have to be continually examining that foundation and not worshipping it but bringing forward what honors life and love in our age and leaving all that doesn't behind…it's the faith journey …step at a time.

That is the journey that happens every day of our lives and is often marked by our Sunday milestone crossings. As we move into this September leg of our common journey I pray you encounter & recognize the sacred milestones that mark your journey.

Amen.

Sept 17, 2006
"A Reflection for the Day"
By Rev. James Farrell and Jane Clarke

-- Jane Begins the Reflection Time

We are all given gifts. We can't all have the same gifts or this would be a very boring world.

Today we are focusing on team sports or activities that entail community involvement. Actually church is a community of involvement much like sports. We have teams here at Westminster … Carol Pols is the Director of music and her team is the choir. She instructs them and they follow that instruction. They even have team uniforms! Anna Marie Hancock instructs the jr. choir. The Sunday School teachers instruct the young people. James and I coach this Westminster family in spiritual matters. James and I have team uniforms. I've never had a team uniform before this is great.

Today we have some guests with us. We have a volley ball team. Would you mind standing up please. Welcome. Are your coach or coaches here? Let me ask one of the team members …. Where are you from and do you have a team name? … If you didn't have a coach how would the team do? … Is there a certain way that you have to behave on and off the court? … who would spectators say you were? … a team that has good sports conduct? Or a rude team? To the coach ... What have you learned from these young women. Thank you.

We have other guests today from the Tiger Hockey Team. Could you please introduce yourselves … thank you for coming today. How is your team a community? Do you help each other? … would you say that you have been given this gift of being able to skate well? … do you help each other as a team to improve your skills? How would your team play without a coach? Thank you

Who here takes dance lessons? You can stand up so we can see who you are.
What about curling?
Basketball?
Volley ball?
Skiing?
Ringette?
Indoor soccer?
Figure skating?
Dancing?

What have I forgotten?

Do these activities help us to learn to improve the gifts we have? If we never practiced or listened to our coaches or instructors, would we improve?

We are acknowledging these gifts that you all have at this service as you begin the winter season. We at Westminster want you to know that we consider all you do part of the greater community of Medicine Hat. Our community is not just here on Sunday mornings but with all of you. We all have gifts and we all need to be instructed as to how to put them to good use. We want you to know that we support you when you are away from this building. We are still your community when you are not here. We celebrate with all of you as you go from here to learn and develop that gifts that have been given to you by God.

-- James: A reflection in response to Jane's Time

After a church service on Sunday morning, a young boy suddenly announced to his mother, "Mom, I've decided to become a minister when I grow up."

"That's okay with us, but what made you decide that?"

"Well," said the little boy, "I have to go to church on Sunday anyway, and I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell than to sit and listen."

Many people think church is about someone standing and shouting and others listening. The truth, in my experience, is that it is more about stepping onto a path that others have stood upon and heading out on a journey…sometimes being a learner as others share…like those of you who must learn from your coaches and sometimes the spiritual journey is offering insight from your experience to aid in the journey of another.

How many of you have been able to share something of your talent with a less skilled learner? Don't be shy!
Hockey players: have you helped out some little brother or sister with some skating or stick handling technique? Hands up if so.

Volley ball players: have you had opportunity to help out another? Being a help when another is discouraged?

What about martial arts or dance folks etc., helped anyone?

That's what the church is about … the writer of the book of James was trying to tell others what he learned; he was trying to save them the destruction of the tongue that I suspect he knew first hand. His letter to the church is one that says…this is what I've learned and I hope it helps you.

We all need the help of those who have been down the road we travel and picked up some tips along the way. Not one of us would be here if not for the gift of another in the form of instruction, encouragement, the handing down of wisdom, the love of another…we need each other and our voice in church and society, in organized sport or gathered meditation is a voice to share and a voice that blesses another.

If we see what we do as making a difference we will have the energy to do it and we will, no doubt, see the gift of it lived out.

Peter, in the gospel lesson got it so right—and so wrong.

You see the people saw Jesus only as a forerunner to the Messiah.

Think of house guests. Once they arrive, your life is changed, your routines upset. Until they arrive, life continues pretty much as it always has. Tidy up a bit, maybe. Some cleanup and preparation. But no disruption. Not yet.

So the people took the easy out. By thinking of Jesus as one still preparing the way, they didn't have to make any commitments. Yet.

Peter knew that things had already changed. But he didn't realize how much. The gospel of Mark portrays all the disciples—Peter in particular—as klutzes unable to recognize truth even when it stood in front of them. So Peter says, "You are the Messiah," and promptly blows it by insisting that the Messiah could not suffer, could not lose, could not die.

In all of life, success and failure are very much connected. It was true for Peter, for everyone who ever laced on a pair of skates or ballet shoes, or picked up an instrument, or stepped out in any way to take a chance… anyone who spoke to a friend from the heart not completely sure how that friend would hear the message.

Jesus must have been bitterly disappointed. His "Get behind me, Satan," was more than a rebuke. It was a disowning.

Peter's lack of understanding is understandable. In his discourse to the crowd, Jesus speaks mainly in paradoxes. Paradoxes don't give easy answers. People who want the easy way out will also want easy answers. Even still. (James Taylor)

But, there aren't easy answers in faith, in sport, in community…only reasons to keep on keeping on…doing our best…trying to make a difference…offering instruction and being willing to receive it—Being part of a team!

Those of you who are guests today…I hope you find the courage to be true to your efforts to trust your mentors and to work with them…to trust your spirit and to work to enliven it. God reaches out to each one of us and offers us great things…we offer God great things when we reach back and try to make a difference.

James understood that, Peter tried to be there and Jesus—he exemplified it in his life and death and his unconditional, unrestricted love.

Amen.

Sept 24, 2006
A Message: "A Child's Wisdom"
By Rev. James Farrell

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. Folks stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart.

Folks waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. Some enjoyed and were mesmerized by rainfall. Some got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world.

For some, the memories of running, splashing carefree as a child were a welcome reprieve from the worries of the day. The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance that had fallen upon the sidewalk-bound ones "Mom, let's run through the rain," said the young one.

"What?" her Mom asked.

"Lets run through the rain!" She repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," her Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain,"

"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.

"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, God can get us through anything!"

The entire crowd stopped--dead silent. No sounds now but the rain. All stood silently. As it happened, no one came or left in the next few minutes.

The little girl's mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold the child for being silly. Some might even ignore what she said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," her Mom said.

Then, off they ran as the sidewalk bound stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles.

They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case.

They got soaked!

But, they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

When Jesus collected a child to be an example to the deep thinking disciples who would eventually carry his message into the world, it was a special act indeed. It was an act that invited them to see God in the full humanity of Jesus. It was not something they were really ready for. It was above or beside their understanding.

The invitation exists for us too. It happens in our retelling of the stories of Jesus and it happens through the lives of the children in our experiences who invite us to see God among us…working in wondrous ways…asking us, perhaps without words, to look at our lives, our environment, our faith in different ways… new ways…blessed ways.

When James said, "Draw close to God and God will draw close to you" it's akin to Jesus saying, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

It takes a lot of chutzpa, a lot of moxie to draw close to God in this day and age. We live in the most affluent province in one of the most affluent countries in the world. In fact, it has been said that Alberta is rich enough to be it's own country.

The downsides to that kind of cultural backdrop are manifold. If one is not part of the rich juggernaut that rolls across this oil-rich province, they are looked down upon as broken and inferior, lazy or detached.

Another social piece of our particular puzzle is that few have need to draw near to God. Their faith is in the all-powerful promise of the buck or the security of the oil that guarantees the presence of the buck.

In such a climate it takes some pretty special care to draw close to God.

I have been moved by Leanne's willingness to draw close to God. In fact I am moved by all the parents of children in this time and place who draw close to God for the sake of their children or their family. All the wealth in the world doesn't guarantee a future…that promise is carried in the lives of our children and grandchildren.

If we don't hand down the wisdom we have come to know, we are done…no matter how much oil is in the ground or how much cash is in the Heritage fund.

High River United Church has been working on extensive renovations to meet the needs of a growing congregation and community. The congregation will have to vacate its building for a while during the renovation process. So in response to this need, the local movie theatre owner, a Muslim, is making his theatre available to the church for Sunday Worship, free of charge.

Rev. David Robertson of High River United Church comments: "Syed and Rehana Kidwai, owners of the Wales Theatre, have offered their facility to the congregation of High River United Church free of charge as a gesture of good relations between the Christian and Muslim communities. As a congregation we are deeply touched by this gift and have accepted it with much appreciation."

Together it is our hope that Houston and all the little ones that come before us may grow in knowledge and grace and the kind of wisdom that allows them to honor those who they will share this earth with. And we pray that they will have the good sense and the gentleness of spirit that will allow them to respect the environment and each other that they share it with.

We hope that the time they spend drawing close to God will indeed transform them and prepare them to share their faith with another… "with others", so that the gift of future in the promise of our children will reshape this world.

It is a struggle for shalom indeed but one that everyone here, I trust, believes to be a worthy struggle.

It was important to Jesus that his disciples embrace that possibility and I hope it is important to all of us that we do too.

The five-year-old was showing a kindergarten classmate the new weight scale in their bathroom.

"What's it for?" the visitor asked.

"I don't know," the five-year-old replied. "All I know is, when you stand on it, it makes you very mad."

Too much makes the world very mad. Drawing near to God and allowing God to draw near to us is one of the ways that the madness of the world is quelled. In Leanne's action today and in our response to this sacred rite of God, I believe there is hope and promise!

Amen.

Oct 1, 2006
A Reflection for Worldwide Communion Sunday
By Rev. James Farrell

I've been trying to do more walking lately…it's my little bit to try to stay healthy…you know, healthy body, healthy mind and spirit all that sort of thing. Anyway I was motoring along enjoying my walk…listening to some tunes and drinking in the fall colors when I just about did a header after my foot caught one of those little rises in the sidewalk that I'm sure the city puts there from time to time just to keep on our toes or is it our nose…anyway, it got me to thinking…

And I concluded that there are basically two kinds of walkers as far as I can tell. The kind of person who walks head up … looking around and enjoying the scenery by drinking in the sites and sounds of their surroundings as they walk … if even a bit carelessly.

The other kind of walker is the head down walker…the person who studies the world more closely and watches for irregularities in the terrain…this kind of walker is more likely to find money or other discarded treasurers lying on the ground…they are also less likely to be tripped by sidewalks that suddenly rise or dip.

I suspect that most of us are a mix of these kinds of walkers…when I trip my way along a sidewalk I am obviously being a heads up walker…when I find a dime, a person's lost earring or notice some minute bit of the natural world order or discover some other tiny treasure that I may even be able to return to its owner, I am being a heads down walker.

I think in the church we need both kinds of people… and we need the wisdom to be able to tell when we are fixated on heads down plodding, or heads up visioning. We need folks to invite us to embrace the grounding when we are functioning too 'light-headed' and we need folks to help us embrace visionary zeal and possibility when our gaze is preoccupied upon that foundational stuff that keeps us from being fresh in our spiritual lives.

If scripture offers us one message, it is that we are better in community than we are alone. In fact, God created us to be 'people of community'…we are stronger and more in tune with that created order when we join in community. We are also more human, more whole because we are designed to be at our best when we share our lives and our vision with others.

The news report of someone going postal never says that they were a very busy and active volunteer who was always discovering new ways to share their life in community…what is that we hear time and again? Oh, they were a very quite neighbour who kept to themselves…there may be a message in there for us!

So as we affirm the worth of community, the wonder of 'this day' is that we might join with others around the world who have found in Jesus someone that invites them to be in community with one another and with God.

The idea of a worldwide communion experience is most often traced to Jesse Bader as you may have heard me share before.

Jesse Moren Bader will always be recognized as the founder of the global, ecumenical, World Communion Sunday which was launched on October 6, 1940 and has continued on the first Sunday in October ever since. Dr. Bader was aware of the Worldwide Communion Sunday of the Presbyterian Church, first celebrated in 1936, which was designed to strengthen Presbyterian global fellowship.

During 1939 he brought a recommendation to the Department of Evangelism of the Federal Council of Churches, proposing the observance of a world wide, church wide communion Sunday.

The recommendation was approved and efforts to encourage participation were got underway.

The emphasis of World Communion Sunday has never been on combining services for communion (something that is still not possible in many situations) but rather on all churches and congregations celebrating communion on that day, aware of their unity in Christ and their diversity of worship and still members within the whole Christian family.

This is the church at its best…seeing our place in the great scheme of Christian endeavor and willingly putting our heart and soul in union with others we will never even know… and yet without the impossible demands of trying to get everyone to worship in only one manner. Yep…sometimes we do things right.

Just as we need to be people grounded and visionary at the same time we also need to be aware that our willingness to join together can have a darker flipside that makes us want to convert the world to be as we are "in Christ," -- to assume that unless people are like us we can't possibly accept them…yep…sometimes the Christian church doesn't get it right.

I read an article, as many of you no doubt did too, from last weekends paper. It was an associated press story about the National Association of Evangelicals asking the thousands of churches and ministries it represents, to participate in praying during this month of Ramadan in the Muslim calendar, that Muslim's will come to accept Jesus.

That kind of militant prayer circle is not the stuff of the spirit of the unity of this day. God is not only the God of the Christian and the Jew but of all people and the assumption that unless the world becomes Christian, it is somehow inferior, is a focus that can not be supported in our Christian journey.

If our vision is to conquer… if it is to mount crusades of conquest… we have missed using our saltiness for the good of all.

If we mobilize in ways that disavow the value of others we have feet and hands and eyes that move and are focused not on nurturing life …not on the interfaith wonder of the co-existence of peoples, but on the supremacy of certain people.

That's not what Jesse had in mind, not what I believe Jesus had in mind and not what we celebrate this day as we gather at this table in solidarity with all who gather at their own community tables … each belonging to God… all over the world.

Amen.

Oct 8, 2006
Message: "What, Me Worry?" or "ThanksLiving"
By Rev. James Farrell

From time to time I play songs in worship to share a bit of the theological reflection that I have encountered in music and would like to offer you the chance to encounter too. I would like to share with you a song this Thanksgiving Day, by Ron Sexsmith, entitled, God Loves Everyone. Lyrics are printed in your bulletin.

God Loves Everyone [3:10] Ronald Eldon Sexsmith

God loves everyone~Like a mother loves her son~No strings at all~Unconditional

Never one to judge~Would never hold a grudge~'Bout what's been done~God loves everyone

There are no gates in heaven~Everyone gets in~Queer or straight~Souls of every faith

Hell is in our minds~Hell is in this life~But when it's gone~God takes everyone~Its love is like a womb~It's like the air from room to room~It surrounds us all~The living and the dead~May we never lose the thread~That bound us all

The killer in his cell~The atheist as well~The pure of heart~And the wild at heart~Are all worthy of its grace~It's written in the face~Of everyone~God loves everyone

There's no need to be saved~No need to be afraid~Cause when it's done~God takes everyone~God loves everyone

I guess my question to anyone listening to this song would be: "if we really believed that…how would we live? If we got up in the morning feeling that God loved everyone, what would our encounters with other persons be like? Or for that matter, if we really believed that God loved us—without a doubt—without condition, what kind of freedom would we have to enter each new day?"

Do you believe that God loves everyone or only those with a certain set of beliefs?

I'm not going to ask you to raise your hands so be honest with yourselves…Do you believe that God loves everyone? Hindu? Muslim? Toaist? Shintoist? Gay person? Straight Person? Tax collector, builder, arms-dealer, minister?

I'm sure that the levels of human stress would be less if we really believed that were true.

Well, God does love everyone and Ron Sexsmith HAS got it right. And because God does love everyone, this day and everyday ought to be infused with thanks for that love.

In fact, our gratitude for that great love should color our whole lives. It should take our "thanksgiving" and our gratitude for that amazing, unconditional love of God and turn it into thanks living.

We should really live in a state of celebration for every moment we have breath.

Perhaps this weekend, for many, is as close as we get to that kind of celebration. Perhaps our tradition of "thanksgiving" in Canada the second Sunday in October is as close as we come to thanks-living. I know for many, this is the season and the experience of a celebration of thanks.

And I know that many of you do something special for thanksgiving…probably a good meal…maybe with a bit of wine…after all Paul said take some wine for your stomach, and I think he knew that a heavy turkey dinner would be better digested with a bit of wine…moderation of course…and maybe you partake of some of those calories through other traditions of particular baking…the kind of baking that is often handed down from generation to generation

…and maybe you decorate or do a family craft as part of your thanksgiving celebration as we do at the church.

I was hearing this week, about a planned craft that could involve the whole family and offer a North American thanksgiving celebration experience to an international student…something they would remember probably all their life.

Sure we live with an embarrassment of treasures compared to most of the world but what a wonderful gift our cultural experience of thanksgiving can be to an international visitor.

In fact, if we deny having the gifts that are clearly ours, I think we stick our finger in the eye of God to whom we ought to be grateful.

James Taylor wrote in his weekly faith column this week about faith and wine tasting. He was referring to all the ways people can speak about the many flavors that wine testers have been able to discern …it's almost a language of its own…

Indeed, until now, he says, I have been skeptical that anyone could actually identify all those flavors and aromas. Wine writing struck me as an exercise in creative imagination.

I quote from his column in which he writes: A friend and fellow editor took a course in wine-tasting. Cynically, I asked if it was about learning an esoteric vocabulary that she could scatter through her prose like rose petals.

Fortunately, she didn't take offence. "With practice," she explained, "you really do learn to recognize the merest hints of flavor. But once you start to recognize them, you wonder how you could have missed them before."

Perhaps it's something like discerning the divine within the ordinary things of daily life.

Some people are as skeptical about the divine as I was about wines, says Taylor.

At a workshop I led a few years ago, a woman described the many people who had intervened helpfully in her life: the aunt who rescued her from an abusive home, the school teacher who took time to encourage an introverted young girl out of her shell, the boss who saw talents that she didn't know she had, the husband whose unfailing love gradually dissolved her memories of childhood abuse…

"But," she said, "those were all people. I don't see how God was involved at all."

Jim concludes his column saying: Perhaps, as my friend explained about wine tasting, it takes constant practice to recognize these subtle connections. But once you start to see them, you wonder how you could have missed them before.

It's like believing that God really does love everyone. Unconditional! The colors and flavors of life become vibrant and life is transformed…the energy we have to affect change and to bring good into the life of another and into our world…is released in and through us.

So, what is the big virus that seeks to rob us of that transformation?


Worry!

Jesus knew it. We know it too! Stress…fear…illness phobias, etc. we know they are all related and certainly they are not unusual in our society even though you would think—in the great scheme of things—we have little to worry about.

I attended an evening with Gwynne Dyer this past week, as did a number of folks from Westminster, and I realized, yet again, how great it is to be Canadian …and while we have been given much, much is required of us as we seek to be true to our calling to be peace-keepers and peace-makers and good stewards of this good earth that has been given to us in trust.

We have too much going for us to allow worry to rob us of the good energy that we can harness and offer for a world of positive change.

In our celebration of thanksliving let us determine to love as God loves…to flavour and color life with the gifts that God has given us… to see those colors and flavours in the gifts of one another …and, let us determine not to allow worry to rob us of these gifts of love and the possibility of thanksliving!

Amen.

Oct 22, 2006
Reflection
By Jane Clarke

We have been following the story of Job these last few weeks. In case you haven’t been here I will remind you of the story. Job, for no apparent reason, is deprived of family, fortune and health. He sits in misery and grief, scratching himself in a vain search for relief. His wife berates him. His friends come to lecture him. One friend, (Eliphaz), has reminded Job of how puny we humans are, and of how little use to God we are. He invites Job to throw himself before God, adding, "God abases the proud, but saves the lowly. God delivers the innocent man; you will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."

Job replies in frustration, not knowing where to turn. "I'm not letting up—I'm standing my ground. My complaint is legitimate. God has no right to treat me like this— it isn't fair! If I knew where on earth to find God, I'd go straight to God. I'd lay my case before God face-to-face, give God all my arguments firsthand. I'd find out exactly what God is thinking, discover what's going on in God’s head. Do you think God would dismiss me or bully me? No, God would take me seriously. God would see a straight-living man, my Judge would acquit me for good of all charges. Job isn’t going to give up he wants God to hear him. He knows if God just listen things will change.

Job suffered. His name is synonymous with suffering. He asked, “Why?” He asked, “Why me?” And he put his questions to God. He asked his questions persistently, passionately, and eloquently. He refused to take silence for an answer. He refused to take clichés for an answer. He refused to let God of the hook.

And now finally, in this morning’s reading, God answers Job. He doesn’t answer Job by fixing all his problems, he answers Job by reminding Job of who it is he has been complaining to. God reminds Job of just how mighty God truly is, and of all that God has provided. God reminds Job that even in all the suffering and anguish, God has been, and is present. And so God reminds Job of all the places God can be found.

It is not suffering as such that troubles us. It is understanding suffering that troubles us.

Almost all of us in our years of growing up have the experience of disobeying our parents and getting punished for it. When that discipline was connected with wrongdoing, it had a certain sense of justice to it: when we do wrong, we get punished.

One of the surprises as we get older, however, is that we come to see that there is no real correlation between the amount of wrong we commit and the amount of pain we experience. An even larger surprise is that very often there is something quite the opposite: We do right and get knocked down. We do the best we are capable of doing, and just as we are reaching out to receive our reward we are hit from the blind side and sent reeling.

This is the suffering that first bewilders and then outrages us. This is the kind of suffering that bewildered and outraged Job, for Job was doing everything right when suddenly everything went wrong. And it is this kind of suffering to which Job gives voice when he protests to God.

While in Montreal this year one of our sessions was on Theodicy. Theodicy deals with the question of why do bad things happen to good people, and where is God in all of it? It’s the study of the existence of God in the midst of the evil and suffering in our world, perhaps even despite it.

The world in which we live has some easy responses. We’ve all heard them….

They are suffering because of what they did….

I wonder what I/you did to deserve this….

Aids is a punishment from God..

The righteous will prosper, the wicked will wither

Follow this way and all will go well, go that way and trouble will follow.

You reap what you sew.

I don’t believe in God, because how could God let such and such happen.

God took that person

It was God’s will

I have to tell you, I can’t agree with any of those statements. Yes, life is tough. Yes, bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people.

If we believe that God is in control of everything that happens it is hard for us to answer the bad things to good people question.

I believe that we are co creating with God. That is called process theology. I believe that evil things happen in this world because evil things happen. I believe we are at work with God to make things better.

How then do we co create with God? We sit with those who are in need. We cook meals baby sit, clean houses, be a friend. We don’t try to fix things. We all have to suffer in our own ways and we can be God to each other by just being there.

Drs. And nurses and other care givers are working to make us comfortable when we are in pain or our bodies are working to heal. We do not need anyone t try and figure out why God may have done this to us. Because, in fact, God has not done this to us. We can be angry at God and yell and scream if that makes us feel better. God will understand.

I believe how we show God’s presence in this world to become servants. I do not believe God wants people looking for power and control.

Since the beginning of time people have wanted to have power and dominion over each other. In the reading from Mark today we are hearing two of the disciples wanting to have the best seats beside Jesus. Why is that they wanted those seats? Maybe they thought they would be more special and give them some sort of power and recognition.

Why do people want power? What is it about human nature that makes us want to be right? When we desire these things it makes it so hard to work together and sort things out.

This is peace Sunday and as I listen to the news I don’t believe we are a very peaceful world. What is it that causes war? Could it be that we want more power more land more money, more our own way …you fill in the blanks.

When we think of Job’s friends who were trying to tell Job why he was being punished by God what turmoil that must have caused Job. Do you think Job saw God in them?

When we are suffering I believe it is the support we receive from other that helps. In the times when someone has sat with us and not said anything but being supportive by their silence is that when we feel the presence of God? For me it is. Just to know that someone is there and cares for me.

God calls us to be servants not fixers. What is the role of a servant? For me it someone who helps without asking anything in return. Someone who allows me to feel equal. A servant is not someone of lesser status. Jesus was a servant and yet look how we view him. Did Jesus have power over anyone? No Jesus helped without expecting anything in return. He expected that we too would help each other without question.

In verse 43 Jesus says in response to James and John wanting a special place reserved for them in eternity. “But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the son of man came not to be served but to serve,”

We are here to be servants to one another. To work together for the common good not alone for our own way. Imagine a world where that was true.

There is a story written and the source is unknown. It is about a person in college. This person says, “During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school? Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired, and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. “Absolutely,” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is say hello.”

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

We still find this idea of servan thood difficult to grasp, despite the advantage of having 2000 years of hindsight. But if we reflect on Jesus’ actions, on how he went about reversing the generally accepted order of things, we gain a better understanding of what he meant.

We are invited by Christ to follow his example of servant hood by being open and compassionate people – by inviting all we meet to experience the unconditional love of God. Christ challenges us who follow him to create a community that includes all who need the healing presence of Christ in their lives.

If Job’s friends had shown him the compassion and care of servant hood instead of thinking themselves know-it-alls Job would have experienced the love of God that he knew existed.

So too let us show that love to one another. Let us work together instead of separately. Let us not give pat answers when others are suffering.

I would like to leave with a story about the “humble Thumb”

The fingers on a hand were having a squabble about who was the greatest, who was the most significant finger of all, and each one put forth arguments to justify heir claim of status.

The index finger said, “I’m the pointer, the one who summons others, the admonisher, the one raised to declare that ‘we’re number one!’ I am obviously the most important finger on the hand.” The middle finger said, “I’m the tallest and the strongest, the center of the hand, and obviously the most significant.” The ring finger said, “I wear the symbols of marriage and loyalty, and as the most spiritual finger, I am certainly the most valuable.” The pinky said, “Well, I am the smallest and the cutest, far more precious than the rest of you.” And all the while the thumb – off to the side, stubby, fatter, unable to match the other fingers’ claim – remained silent.

Unable to settle their argument, the fingers went to the Source of Wisdom, each hoping to be justified in their claims. But Wisdom said, “The greatest is the one who has no personal distinction, but who enables the entire hand to function well. The humble thumb is the greatest among you.”

So then, today on peace Sunday, we can only begin with ourselves to work together and be servants one to another. Treat no as better or more important or lesser than ourselves. Like the fingers on our hands let us not work independent of one another but together showing the love of God as was shown to us through the life of Jesus.

Amen.

Oct 29, 2006
A Reflection for Reformation Sunday
By Rev. James Farrell

Reformation Sunday, the last Sunday of October hails to the fateful origin of our protestant roots by reminding us that on the 31st of October in the year 1517 Martin Luther wrote to Albert, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, protesting the sale of indulgences in his Episcopal territories and inviting him to a disputation on the matter.

He enclosed a copy of the 95 Theses which, according to tradition, he posted the same day on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg

. Luther wrote the 95 Theses partly in reaction to the promotion of indulgences by Johann Tetzel, papal commissioner for indulgences in Germany, whose job it was to raise funds for the renovation of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In thesis 28 Luther objected to a saying attributed to Tetzel: "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs".

That day marks the genesis for all in the protesting or reformed traditions…the rest, as they say, is history.

Well, if it were only that easy. Things are never that easy. While reform was necessary in the Roman Catholic Church it would do us well to remember that Martin Luther wasn't Lutheran…he was Catholic, a monk committed to much of the life of the Catholic church. He was not alone in his thinking but part of a growing movement.

We often glaze over the fact that Luther was Roman Catholic as people have done when forgetting that Jesus was not Christian but Jewish.

Thankfully, for some, faithfully honoring the presence of God in life, means seeking reform. If it were not true, slavery would still reign. Left handed people would still be persecuted and gay and lesbian folks would be burned at the stake. Yes, thank God we have moved on. Reformation is not new in the church… it is part of a process that looks at faith as a journey that never really ends. God may not change but our understanding of God does, our way of being able to speak about God changes.

This past week I was having a conversation that helped me revisit my own journey of reform…I'm not where I was 25 years ago on that journey. Like young Luther, at that time in my life the light of faith was lit for me and I embraced a very literal approach to the bible and to a faith that I believed the bible informed for me.

Following that path I chose to study in a college that upheld the inerrancy of scripture and the literal base for such a definition.

It was a good and necessary journey for me and it was a good conversation that took me mentally back along that journey this past week.

Reformation comes in two ways. It comes from our own need to be reformed: Luther couldn't abide the things that he found himself part of and he needed to reform himself if only to be true in his speaking out against the practices of the day… he needed to take action that would allow him to breathe—no matter what the outward cost.

Reformation comes in another way too, a way seen more clearly in the bible readings for today. Restoration. Choosing to be restored. Connecting with all that God is within us and then being willing to allow restoration to happen.

Sometimes that means being desperate enough to go there!

Do we recognize our need to connect with the God within and to invite God's restoration? To take a stand to free ourselves to be other than we are?

Rarely in life does transformation just happen. We need to facilitate that reformation or that restoration's happening in our life. Luther bravely took that leap.

Luther is known for his hymn, "A Mighty Fortress" 262 in our hymn book. It defines who God was for him in the middle of his struggles to outrun and to outmaneuver the wrath of the Roman church, which, at that moment, was out of touch.

Who was God to Luther? We need only read his lyrics: "A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper sure amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:"

Not a lot of mystery in those words. What's going on in Luther's life is there for all of us to see in the lyrics that share his pain and his hope.

He goes on to say, "And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed the truth to triumph through us:"

Luther, speaking of the God he came to know in scripture, says: "That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; the Spirit and the gifts are ours through Christ, who with us sideth:"

It's a conversation of his struggle with the 'powers that be'. And history tells us that he finally was summoned to defend himself before the courts of the church and he utters the words for which he has become famous… "here I stand, I can do no other."

His hymn concludes with the words, "the body they may kill: God's truth abideth still, God's kingdom is for ever."

And, in those words, his hope is revealed.

We benefit when we put ourselves in another's shoes…hearing his words as one at odds with the early church—a pretty formidable force in Europe 500 years ago—we see where Luther was coming from.

Step into Job's sandals and we get a pretty interesting view of his life too.

Job, the Man of sorrows, whose life was ravaged and later, the one who prospers and has a heart change amid that prosperity. A change that tells us how he came to honour his daughters… at a time when women were so little valued, we find their names appearing and remaining in our ancient texts as evidence of just how huge this change in direction really was for Job and for everyone of the ancient world who heard this story. Jemimah, Keziah and Karen are the only 3 children of Job's 10 whose names we read.

And if you slip into Bartimaeus' sandals, or rather experience his bare feet, you feel his desperate desire for change…for transformation…the desire to be reformed into something other than what you have known in life.

Perhaps it makes you uncomfortable to think of Bartimaeus' neediness, after all, aren't we suspicious of those who protest too much? We get tired of their whining, their complaints, their wallowing in their misery.

Yes, Bartimaeus was probably a pain in the butt to his contemporaries. He was a beggar, after all, a person with no status in society. They told him to be quiet, to shut up. But "he called out even more loudly." He refused to accept his disability meekly.

Today, he'd be bugging his ophthalmologist for the latest laser surgery. He'd be chronically at his chiropractor having his back adjusted, or seeking out any new diet or the cure de jour'.

But he knew what he needed, and he asked for it.
Too often, we do neither. We don't ask for what we need. We don't know what we need. We need affection, intimacy, security. But because we can't identify our true needs, we seek power, authority, income instead. And because we don't know what we need, we can't ask for it. We can't name what ails us!

Let's take a breather for a moment as we need to distinguish between cure and healing. Cure is an alleviation of the symptoms. Healing is a sense of wholeness.

Naming is a huge part in allowing transformation to happen. Reformation doesn't happen unless we can identify the need for it. When we name the need it, it's no longer a mystery and no longer holds mysterious power over us. Naming what needs to change starts us on the road to change.

Many people say, "Oh I'm fine. I don't need anything." And they smile and close the door, even though they may be screaming inside. Maybe these stories can give us permission to name what we need.

You may or may not remember Justin Clark. He was at the center of a celebrated Canadian legal case in the early 1980s.

Justin was a severely handicapped young man, once described officially as an "imbecile." However, in spite of that mindset, he was later declared mentally competent in County Court in Kingston, Ontario .

A victim since infancy of cerebral palsy, Justin was unable to walk, talk or feed himself. His parents didn't want him to leave a Smith Falls institution to go into an Ottawa group home. However, some medical experts testified during the emotional six-day hearing that a bright, inquisitive mind lived within his physically challenged body. The presiding judge agreed. His decision is worth noting as an example of compassion serving as the operating judicial principle.

"With incredible effort," wrote the judge, "Justin Clark has managed to communicate his passion for freedom, as well as his love of family, during the course of this trial… "We have recognized a gentle, trusting, believing spirit and very much a thinking human being who has a unique part to play in our compassionate interdependent society."

Jim Sinclair, from the National Church office of the United Church writes concerning Justin, "I've carried this remarkable account around since I first read it. I have seen many examples of the Justin's of our church and communities leading us to a deeper appreciation for all of God's creation in the many ways it presents itself. The judge, was a thoughtful United Church member making a difference.

Justin's reformation was only complete when someone in power did the right thing. True too of Bartimaeus and the account of the Job story. God has given us all power to affect change, to effect reform in our lives and the lives of others.

How are we using that power?

Amen.

Nov 5, 2006
The Message: You Shall love your neighbour as Yourself
By Rev. James Farrell

-----------------------------------------------

Sept. 29, 2006

To Board Chairperson, Westminster United Church,

101 – 6 St. S.E., Medicine Hat, AB. T1A 1G7

Dear Board Chair and members,

Early this summer I was visiting my son and his family in Medicine Hat. He lives about three blocks from Westminster United so my 12 year old granddaughter and I attended worship on the fist Sunday of July.

The minister invited everyone to join for coffee in the church Hall after worship. As I always find it interesting to talk with people from other churches, we attended. We sat at the end of an empty table, and although a group of people later came and sat at the other end, during the half hour or so we were there, no one spoke to us.

Now I realize that this was the fist Sunday that both Medicine Hat United Churches were worshipping together for the summer, and perhaps the people from Westminster thought we were from the other church and vice versa; but even if that were the case, it was rather shocking to think that members of a church that professes to love and serve others would completely ignore visitors in their midst.

...

As I was reading the September issue of The United Church Observer, which had an interesting article about how we can be welcoming congregations, I felt compelled to write this letter.

In a way, it was a thought-provoking experience for me, as chair of our church’s Outreach Committee, to experience the loneliness and lack of interest a newcomer might feel if they are ignored.

...

Sincerely, Valerie

I had planned to attend a two day workshop this week on welcoming churches but I had the privilege, while Jane was at her final Conference interview, to officiate at the funeral of a friend, Gertie Ayers. The white floral arrangement was left in the sanctuary this morning by her family and in honour of her memory.

Not attending that workshop, got me to thinking…what was I likely to encounter at that nationally sponsored workshop? Certainly some of the things mentioned in the September issue of the Observer to which Valerie referred.

Then I thought about the passage from Mark’s gospel, one of the most famous passages of scripture known around the world…people who have never seen the inside of a bible can quote you this verse .

The golden rule is understood to be a standard faith statement that is religion-independent and certainly, to some degree, that is true.

But what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Some folks are pretty hard on themselves and I suspect that they are pretty hard on their neighbors too.

When I was in Newfoundland I remember a common phrase of people, who when frazzled, would say, “I’m getting on me own nevers!” Certainly some folks do…and they probably get on the nerves of others too.

You can stop me here and say that the Golden Rule is really about treating others as you would have them treat you and whether you get on your own nerves or not, you would prefer that people would treat you as if you were not ‘a nerve-getter-onner.’

And, you would be right. But there is more here. I read large excerpts to you from the letter written by Valerie and I think, good on you Valerie…good on you for taking the time to say what is on your mind! How many of us have had things happen in our experience that really should be commented on and we simply let it go…no comment, no opportunity for growth or change…we stuff it, but probably, do not forget it.

I say good on you Valerie for drawing to the attention of a faith community what might be an opportunity to wonder aloud, in small groups like the board and through this sharing today, to all of us—regulars or visitors or in-betweens.

Now we can ask ourselves, “am I doing everything I can to be a welcoming person in this congregation?” In my place of work? In the community in general? Great questions. Am I loving my neighbour as myself? Or as I would want to be loved?

When I wonder about that, I have to expand that a bit…how do I want to be loved?

Well, its confession time now…I love you people and in one way or another you are pretty much on my mind and heart 24-7. So, no offence but when I attend another church I want to be completely anonymous. If I could, I would like to slip in 25 seconds before the service, and allow the service to work its best on my heart and mind and then to be anonymous again at the end of the service.

Anyone else feel that way? Any of you introverted and shy types willing to say that you feel that way? It is almost the unanswerable question isn’t it. If you’re shy you probably won’t raise your hand to say you’re shy.

Oh well, I know there are more of you out there than are willing to say. My point is that if I found myself in another setting I wouldn’t mind at all being a bit of a wall flower. Able to observe the life and work of another congregation without the pressure of “being a minister” in that setting.

I have a friend that is so extroverted that if he isn’t nearly immediately identified and approached when he enters a space, he starts wondering what’s wrong. For people like him, if you were to ask them to stand and say something about themselves in front of a congregation of 200 or so…no problem, the only problem might be to get them to stop.

My point is, of course, that we are all different and we each enjoy, can tolerate, look forward to, or fear—different amounts of involvement in our social interactions. I know people who have left congregations because they felt “too approached” people who have left congregations who have felt they have not been approached enough. People who weren’t sure how they wanted to be treated and that indecision translated throughout their congregational experience.

So I say good on you, Valerie, to have the moxy to say what you believed you needed to say. But of course, like politicians, saying what you want to say also opens the conversation for a bit of debate and Valerie’s letter is no different.

She correctly identified that the first Sunday in July,
the 2nd of July, was also the first Sunday of the summer in which we gathered with our sisters and brothers from Fifth Avenue Memorial and along with the excitement of having new folks gathered about the church is also the angst for the shy ones at the thought of more people to find the courage to mix with.

Valerie didn’t say in her letter if she made any effort to speak with the folks who joined her table and, of course, none of us is an island…we all need to engage our own needs. For all I know the others may have felt that they were the visitors and felt that she didn’t reach out to them in any way.

My mother has a way of saying when she feels she has been ignored but never makes an effort to connect. I try to tell her she can’t have it both ways, but I guess, a prophet is not recognized in his own home.

So, I feel the July 2nd crowd needs to be cut a bit of slack. I don’t know where Valerie was in the room and rooms tend to have a particular dynamic…they fill from front to back if there are prizes or food offered or from the back to front in the case of most church rooms.

I guess I could have tried to locate her phone number and have phoned Valerie and gathered all the details about her scenario but that would almost be like a forensic examination of the scene of a crime.

It was a crime that she felt ignored, it is a crime when we don’t love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s not a crime to error because we are human. It is a crime to not want to be all that God has called us to be as we seek to live out the gospel daily in our life.

If a choir member only dabbled in practice on the odd occasion, correct me if I’m wrong, Joanne, but I think that their contribution would be less than it could be to the wonderful sound of the group with an increased practice frequency. Is that a fair assessment?

If a person on a sports team had a very easy coach and allowed the members of the team to show up now and then, as the spirit moved them, their on field talents would, no doubt, hint at their chosen method of practice.

To be all that God has called us to be on God’s team is to strive to sincerely love our neighbour as ourselves. It’s a process. A process that requires constant examination by each one of us. That effort is never wasted.

I am sincerely glad Valerie shared with us…we can’t be better than we are without such “wake-up calls”. We can’t know how to love as we would want to be loved without the people close to us telling us what that might look like.

We need to listen to one another, respond to the needs of one another, try to be their for one another in silence or in robust conversation and only as we share with one another can we possibly know what that love in action needs to look like.

Hospitality, being with another as Ruth was with Naomi, takes a commitment. Stepping out to make a difference in the life of another takes a commitment. It’s what we do.

Christian faith is not complicated, but it isn't easy.

Each of us has what it takes to move closer to God's kingdom in the difficult business of life.

I know folks here well enough to know that we don’t have a crowd of mean people…we may have some folks who can benefit from a challenge now and then and I hope the challenge to explore and exercise your willingness and determination be a welcoming person, one who seeks to love neighbour as self, is—today—a welcome challenge to be sure.

Amen.

Nov 12 ,2006
A Remembrance Service Message
By Rev. James Farrell

This week I had the privilege to speak with a War Bride who graced me with the story of her life in England leading up to and during the war. The hardships and heartbreaks that she experienced and the impact of war on her family and extended family was to say the least, very powerful stuff. Sharing her story with all of you would have been a gift more demanding than she could embrace…intensely personal and, emotionally draining as you might expect.

In our conversation, she felt compelled to share her thoughts about war being senseless and unnecessary and that it is a forum for the rich and powerful to play chess with the lives of those less powerful. My words, her sentiments.

I told her that the story we would be sharing during worship on Sunday is about the Widow's might and that it echoes very much what she was saying about "who chooses, who benefits and who pays."

Right now we are all too aware of the paying being done by Canadian families who have kissed loved ones and said good bye, for the last time. It's heartbreaking. The names of those from this congregation who were the gift of the powerless, "those who, out of their poverty, gave all they had" those whose lives were given to the choices of the few and the powerful…their names appear on this bronze plaque. We dare not forget them!

This year, we continue to be a military presence in Afghanistan and today we remember 42 who were also kissed goodbye for the last time. Last week, Lauren Toogood got our attention during the children's conversation time as she spoke up to say how fortunate we are to live in Canada. How right she is.

If we are to understand the importance of each life lost, the gift of each small one—lost in the theatre of a large conflict—then we are commended to remember the lives of those who stepped up in a big way to make a difference, trusting that their effort, would indeed do just that.

As a Canadian fortunate enough to have spent time in countless communities across this country the names I am about to share with you have nearly all been connected to me through the places I have known in my life. Places I have visited, lived, been a student, passed through, or known people from: each that serve to remind me of what it is to be Canadian.

No doubt the connections associated with these folks and the hometowns they come from touch you too. I was going to share my connections with their hometowns but that is to shift the focus away from those who have given all. So I invite you to think of your connections to these folks, perhaps through your connections to their Home towns or to them directly…within this room, I have no doubt that we are in one way or another connected to every one of them.

The names, then, of those Lost In Action in Afghanistan from April 18th 2002 through October 14, 2006

Private Nathan Smith, Age 26, Home Town: Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia.

Corporal Ainsworth Dyer, Age: 24: Montreal, Quebec.

Private Richard Green Age: 21: Mill Cove, Nova Scotia.

Sergeant Marc D. Léger, Age: 29: Lancaster, Ontario.

Corporal Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger Age: 29: Ottawa, Ontario.

Sergeant Robert Short Age: 42: Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Corporal Jamie Murphy Age: 26: Conception Harbour, Newfoundland.

Private Braun Woodfield Age: 24: Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia.

Mr. Glyn Berry Age: 59: Director, Foreign Affairs Canada.

Corporal Paul Davis Age: 28: Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.

Master Corporal Timothy Wilson Age: 30: Grande Prairie, Alberta.

Private Robert Costall, Age: 22: Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Corporal Matthew Dinning Age: 23: Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Bombardier Myles Mansell Age: 25: Victoria, British Columbia.

Corporal Randy Payne Age: 32: Gananoquè, Ontario.

Lieutenant William Turner Age: 45: Toronto, Ontario.

Captain Nichola Goddard Age: 26: Calgary, Alberta.

Corporal Anthony Boneca Age 21: Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Corporal Jason Warren Age: 29: Quebec City, Quebec.

Corporal Francisco Gomez Age 44: Edmonton, Alberta.

Private Kevin Dallaire Age: 22: Calgary, Alberta.

Sergeant Vaughan Ingram Age: 35: Burgeo, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Corporal Bryce Keller Age: 27: Regina, Saskatchewan.

Corporal Christopher Reid Age: 34: Truro, Nova Scotia.

Master Corporal Raymond Arndt Age: 31: Edson, Alberta.

Master Corporal Jeffrey Walsh Age: 33: Regina, Saskatchewan.

Corporal Andrew Eykelenboom Age: 23: Comox, British Columbia.

Corporal David Braun Age: 27: Raymore, Saskatchewan.

Warrant Officer Frank Mellish Age: 38: Truro, Nova Scotia.

Warrant Officer Richard Nolan Age: 39: Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Sergeant Shane Stach-nik Age: 30: Waskatenau, Alberta.

Private William Jonathan Cushley Age: 21: Port Lambton, Ontario.

Private Mark Graham Age: 33: Hamilton, Ontario.

Corporal Glen Arnold Age: 32: McCerrow, Ontario.

Private David Byers Age: 22: Espanola, Ontario.

Corporal Shane Keating Age: 30: Dahuerty, Saskatchewan.

Corporal Keith Morley Age: 30: Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Private Josh Klukie Age: 23: Shuniah, Ontario.

Sergeant Craig Gillam Age: 40: South Branch, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Corporal Robert Mitchell Age: 32: Owen Sound, Ontario.

Trooper Mark Wilson Age: 39: London, Ontario.

Sergeant Darcy Tedford Age: 32: Calgary, Alberta.

Private Blake Williamson Age: 23: Ottawa, Ontario.

A lot of names: the full names of each of these persons, their unit, regiment and the nature of the incident that claimed their lives is posted in the hallway on your way to the Memorial Hall.

Jesus used the example of a poor widow to show great gifting…great sacrifice.

When choices are made by governments, they are choices made out of a collective wealth. When a nation sends troops into battle it is a battle that is made possible by the many soldiers that country commands.

When a son or daughter, a father a mother a brother or sister is sent home for burial it is out of the poverty of a family that that liturgy is conducted; by that I mean the conducted Liturgy is for the people who have given all they can give to that war effort. In a very real sense, by losing the apple of their eye they have given all they have in the world.

We need to uphold the value of the widow's might, the huge contribution made by those least able to protest.

Bravery, duty, courage, all serve to motivate the actions of our armed forces…grief keeps us honest and connected and hopefully tempers our judgment.

A war bride said to me, "during the war, we were taught that that German people were monsters, then I moved to Canada and realized that my neighbours were German, they spoke their language and they were good people" "and in Germany, they were praying for their children to come back from the war just as we were", "no difference", "we are the same."

When families on any side of a war give all they have, the pain is the same for each one. Even today, we don't know the sacrifice that has been made by our neighbour, the person we work with, the person we meet in a store…we have no idea of their pain. Unlike Jesus, we probably don't see what they have given…we are probably unaware that they have given all they have in this world…and they still hunt for the courage and the faith to try to carry on.

Remembrance Day isn't just about those who have given their all on a field of battle or to friendly fire, or to an accident occurring in the endeavour of military enterprise. Remembrance Day is also about the sacrifice, the loss felt in the homes and families from which soldiers came, the loss felt around the dinner tables, the rinks, the Christmas trees, right here, where we live. And for those who return home broken from dis-ease of any sort—the trauma of living with that dis-ease doesn't end when they step back through their home's doorway.

Remembrance day is important in our faith experience not because, as some say, it is a time to glorify war and gather around the flag, but because it is one of the times when we really wonder if there isn't a better way to live in the world. A way that is more sustainable, less violent, less hard on families, less likely to produce walking wounded who never regain the ability to live the way God created them to live.

We do remember those who fought, who died, who came home damaged and perhaps as we do, we commit our hearts to look through the eyes of Jesus and see another way.

Amen.

We sing an old hymn, a comfort to many in our armed forces over the years. We remember them as we sing and as all who gathered at the cenotaph service downtown yesterday also sang...

Hymn #806 "O God, Our Help in ages past"

Nov 19
Message: “Celebrate the Children”
By Jane Clarke

How fitting for us to have a baptism service on this day which is designated as “Children’s Sunday”. That is why I chose to read that portion of the poem by Ann Weems as our second reading. I thought it appropriate for infant baptism plus appropriate for children’s Sunday.

At first glance the reading from 1 Samuel seemed that it would also be a good one for this Sunday. Hannah, unable to conceive a child, pleads with God and then becomes pregnant and has Samuel. The birth of a son is something to be celebrated on children’s Sunday. If we had read on further Hannah had five more children after she had had Samuel.

The problem with this passage is that Hannah believes, and we are lead to believe, that God answered her prayers and that is why she conceived.

Hannah had reached the point of deep despair. We read that she was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly.

Have you ever wanted something so badly you would do almost anything to get it? That’s how Hannah felt.

I have a friend and colleague Ann who has been in Hannah’s place. Ann gave me permission to use her name and her story. After Ann and her husband were married for a couple of years, they decided it was time to start a family. For several years they tried, and nothing happened. The worst for them was when they would go home for family gatherings and there would be those little innuendos “no children on the way yet” not meant to hurt, but they hurt none the less. And then the worst of all, was when Ann’s younger sister got pregnant and had a baby girl. She was only married a few months when she got pregnant. Ann and Ross had been married over five years. It wasn’t fair. They tried everything, they prayed, they went to doctors, they had all kinds of tests – but nothing.

So this scripture reading this morning troubles me a little. It puts in front of me once again that big question – does God answer prayer? And if God does answer prayer, why does God answer some people’s prayers and not others? Hannah prayed to God and she got pregnant, Ann prayed but didn’t. Why did Hannah have her prayer answered, but Ann’s wasn’t answered.

So then does God answer prayer? What I believe is that God is not an all powerful being, out there someplace. What I believe is that God is in each one of us, and that God’s power comes through our actions. When we pray we are asking God to give us the courage, the strength, the faith to take whatever action is necessary so that our hopes and dreams may be fulfilled.

There are many kinds of prayer. The prayer of Hannah was a prayer of petition. Hannah wanted something, something for herself, and she prayed to God to give it to her. Do I believe that God made Hannah pregnant? No I don’t. But I do believe that by asking God for a child, Hannah had enough confidence to do what she needed to do to become pregnant. It even says in our scriptures that Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, in other words, they continued to have sexual relations, and in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. God’s power came through Hannah’s actions. Divine power comes through our actions, prayerful actions that seek to share God’s love and healing presence in our lives and in the lives of others. For Hannah, the outcome was that she had a baby. And so this story becomes one of the stories of our faith.

Ann and Ross did finally have a family they adopted three wonderful children. Ann told me that through prayer, they decided adoption was the right path for them.

Hannah promised to dedicate her child to God if she had a boy. The story tells us that she actually left Samuel, after he was weaned at age 2 or 3, at the temple with Eli to be raised in the temple.

I believe this story to be a metaphor so I don’t actually believe that Samuel was left to be raised by Eli. But I do believe that Hannah would have dedicated her child to be raised in the faith that was hers.

Today we celebrate baptism. Today we dedicated this precious child. I do not believe that we dedicate a child to God but to the journey of learning more about who this child is and where he belongs. Baptism gives us the confidence of saying “hey I know who I am and where I belong” I belong to this huge family of faith.

Baptism is not some kind of magic that all of a sudden changes someone. It is the dedication of saying that this person will learn about the Divine. In the words used for the vows I asked “You bring this child here to commit both him and yourselves to a life of faith, a journey with ever new experiences and challenges.”

At baptism we celebrate the journey with this community of faith and share our stories and the stories of those who have gone before us.

Today we celebrate Blair and his family among us and we celebrate that we are excited about being a part of this journey with them.

Baptism is a public declaration of our faith and the faith we choose for our children. As the child grows and is brought up hearing the stories they can then choose for themselves the path of their own journey. But if they have never been taught anything how do they choose. So then, at baptism we have chosen and promised that we will do our best to walk along side the child and the family on this journey of faith.

This act of baptism has not changed this child in any way for this child is perfect just as he is. He knows he has the divine within because children just know. That’s what we mean when we say a childlike faith. They know who they are. Have you ever really looked into a baby’s eyes? They are so pure and so perfect you can almost see clear through to their soul.

I’m sure many of you have heard this story before and I don’t know if it is true or not but I love it and I like to believe it as true.

There was a family who had a new baby and they also had a three year old. One day the baby was having a nap. The baby monitor was on and the parents were in the living room when they heard their three year old talking to her new sibling

She asked the baby “tell me what it is like where you came from I am starting to forget and I don’t want to.”

How do we keep them that pure so that they do remember? How can we protect them from the world? We can’t completely but we can keep reminding them where they came from. We can continue to celebrate them.

How will we do that? What do we want to tell them? We can tell them that we have tried to walk in the way that Jesus’ example has taught us.

We can tell them that sometimes we have walked in darkness but the light of God that shines in others has helped us to walk back into the light.

We can tell them through the examples of Jesus that we have read about those stories have helped us to live our lives to let that light shine through us for others.

We don’t need to be baptised in order to know all these things but some of us choose baptism as a way to make our public declaration as Hannah did with Samuel.

I want to tell the children that they are loved just the way they are. I want to tell them that they are cherished and that we love them fiercely!

I want them to know that here in this church family there will always be someone to hold their hand if they are afraid. That they will see the face of the Divine shining through us to help them.

So then our prayers are directed to the God within us. The prayer is may I be the best I can be and show the love, truth, honesty, humility and gratitude that allows my light to shine so I can walk with others. I want to have that pure look that these children we celebrate have. I don’t want that to cloud over with worldly “stuff”. I want a childlike faith.

So what about the prayers we pray for ourselves and for other people. When we are asked to pray for healing for example how do we do that?. If I don’t believe that God intervenes directly in our lives to heal, then why would I bother to pray for healing? I bother because I believe it is through our actions that God’s work is done. When we pray for healing for someone, we are offering that person the healing that love can provide. When we know we are loved and cared for, that in it’s self is a healing. We can change a person’s outlook when we show them we care for them. We can give them a reason to live when we show them they are loved.

Prayer offers us hope. And hope can go a long way to changing a person’s life.

So today we pray that our lights may shine to lead and help others. We pray for our children that they may recognize the God within them. We pray that we will teach them that they are good and wonderful and that they are loved by us.

I want to remember who I am and where I came from and I believe that can happen when I can become like a child and when I can become “so busy living that I don’t have time for my hang-ups, and when I celebrate adults who are as little children.”

I would like to close by reading the poem to you again.

I celebrate children who laugh out loud.

Who walk in the mud and dawdle in the puddles

Who put chocolate fingers anywhere

Who like to be tickled

Who scribble in church

Who whisper in loud voices

Who sing in louder voices

Who run—and laugh when they fall

Who cry at the top of their lungs

Who cover themselves with Band-Aids

Who squeeze the toothpaste all over the bathroom

Who slurp their soup

Who chew cough drops

Who ask questions

Who give us sticky, paste-covered creations

Who want their pictures taken

Who don’t use their napkins

Who bury their goldfish, sleep with the dog, scream at their best friends

Who hug us in a hurry and rush outside without their hats.

I celebrate children who are so busy living they don’t have time for our hang-ups,

And I celebrate adults who are as little children.

Amen.

Nov 26 ,2006
Reflection: "Another Kingdom"
By Rev. James Farrell

It's Christmas-light time. I don't know how you feel about that but I'm always conflicted about the 'light' situation. Like most everyone else, I like fireworks and northern lights, attractively lit public buildings and, of course, Christmas lights. I don't like wasted energy, global warming, high energy costs and the fiddling with things electric in cold weather that sometimes refuse to work.

I started a couple of weeks ago … in a bit of a foul mood because of this internal conflict that seems to grow year by year. The conflict between energy conservation and aesthetic beauty. Well, I got them up, phase one. Phase two: getting them all to work. For a number of years I have been putting up the icicle lights…white ones, classic looking sparklers they are…that is when they all work…big blacked out sections do nothing for the sparkle look when not working nor, coincidentally, do they do anything for my mood.

Some time ago, I was turned on to a miracle device that fixes the sections of lights that don't work. A Light Keeper Pro, it's called. I don't know how or why it works…it all seems like voodoo to me but it works. So this year I thought it was time to get one… Dawn at Hill Home Hardware sorted us out and the other night I set to getting all the lights working…part of phase 2…I knew I had a bit of time because we only power them on through Advent and that, of course, isn't until next week.

Counting on cooperative weather is another situation altogether so I knew I had to get while the getting was good because, in one way or another it was getting down "to the wire"—so to speak—on fixing bulbs, and I was thinking 10 degrees above is pretty nice for working on Christmas lights…after all, I have done it minus 20 and I much prefer 10 above.

So, I'm getting all the dead bulbs replaced and then planning to use the "Light Keeper Pro" to sort out my large dead sections. All this time my mood is improving with each successful bulb replacement. BTW, I should say I put up fewer light strings this year, part of that "conflicted thing" I was speaking about, so I had a whole string of lights from which to steal replacement bulbs to get the remainder working.

Working in the still, dark, and 'unusually quite' of the night I hear, click, clack, click, clack growing louder and in fairly quick succession…even through my ear muffs. Whereupon I turn to see a large deer—a buck—running near flat out straight down the middle of 2nd Street and having come, presumably from Downtown and doing it, head back—with immense 'grace' and 'majesty'.

Wow!

Something wonderful I would have missed if I hadn't been out there in the elements fiddling with the lights. It was a good reminder that I often have to work through the clutter and the chaos to experience the beauty. To get to the "wow."

It shouldn't really surprise me because, in life we have to do it with so many things… painting the basement, writing a sermon, doing your Christmas cards …grocery shopping…tax preparation… whatever …the work you do before you do the work is of utmost importance…it sets you up, prepares you to focus, and allows you to knuckle down and get it done.

To put that another way…the process isn't one thing, it everything! Do the process and the rest just follows.

The Reign of Christ Sunday is the culmination of all that we have spoken of about Jesus as we get ready to flip the page into the next phase of Christian life, the start of the church year—the first Sunday in advent—so, this Sunday, lots of images bombard us about the various roles of Jesus by comparing his ancestral and spiritual roots.

Revelation gathers up many threads from preceding lections. Christ is, like young Samuel, the firstborn. He is, like David, the king. He saves us, as in Hebrews. And finally, Jesus is as high priest who ordains his followers as priests.

In some ways, we harm the text if we analyze it. Better we should seek the language, the experiences, that lead us to say, "Wow!"

Reign of Christ Sunday is about us seeing in Jesus what is possible to transform us…what in the life and teaching of Jesus, so far as it falls to us in the scriptures, leads us on to be more: more authentic!

Did you see the movie, "As Good As It Gets" with Jack Nicholson…? He is driven by his compulsions more than most of us and it makes him a pretty unlikable sort. His restaurant server, Helen Hunt, is someone he warms to. She has been insulted by him and she offers him a chance to say something nice and after thinking for a moment he comes back with, "You make me want to be a better man."

A great line…so full of promise…

The Jesus story makes us want to be better people…to live with some focus and truth, some integrity and honesty … some value worth sharing with our children and grandchildren…Jesus makes us want more…not from the world, from ourselves…and that is the spirit and the Truth that lives within.

For years, Thomas Jefferson dreamed of separating the authentic words and actions of Jesus, the holiness of Jesus, from what he imagined were the elaborations of the Gospels. In 1803, soon after he had become the 3rd US president, he created his own New Testament. He sat down with two bibles and a pair of scissors, cut out the passages he believed in, and pasted them into the pages of a blank book. The virgin – gone. The miracles—gone. Christ's divinity—gone. The resurrection—gone. He called this book The Philosophy of Jesus, and he read from it every night. It afforded him 46 pages of inspirational reading.

Each one of us has done exactly the same thing. Not with scissors and glue, perhaps—but we all have edited bibles we can believe. Whoever we are, whether we are traditionalists or contemporary, conservative or liberal thinkers, we pick and choose among the words that point to the truth of Jesus for a truth that we can abide. If you are a literalist you may find yourself feeling like you are in the wrong place sometimes, and yet, if you are a searcher after truth and open to discovering it in surprising places, I hope you feel right at home on your journey.

We "edit" what keeps us from encountering Jesus' fullness; and we elevate what allows us to embrace the love and care of Jesus of Nazareth—what lifts us to 'that place' where we feel like "being a better person."

I stood in the dark on my front steps wowed by the majesty of a buck running down the street—the darkness broken only by the soft glowing light of some Christmas icicle lights—thinking, "may I never loose the sense of the wonder that I have just experienced."

Sometimes you just have to wrestle with the dark and the chaotic for a glimpse of wonder to take hold of you.

The point of the bible is that the love of God is broader than our experience, broader than our reason, broader than our most reckless dreaming, broader than anything else except the holy. If you think that your own mind encompasses everything that is holy, then perhaps you need to open yourself to the touch of God available in places you didn't expect.

I love our confirmation class discussions…the conversations run all over the place and invariably encounter some pretty wonderful topics…one that came up this week was the story of John Muir, a man who is famous for his ground-breaking work in the field of animal conservation, a Scottish born American who, in 2005, had a quarter minted in his honour with his image and the image of a California Condor.

For Muir, his Cathedral experiences came from his commune with nature. I'm sure that is true of many of us. But for John Muir that commune was not just a walk in the park, he wanted to experience all of the natural world…so, for him, mammoth walks! Experiencing a wild storm wasn't done through a window, he embraced the storm often clinging to trees in the midst of those storms to 'really be present' to the power of nature and the enormity & majesty of creations power.

Sometimes we have to put ourselves in the way of great power to know that God exists.

The reign of Christ in our lives is all about encountering the power of Jesus that we meet in surprising ways…a power that confounded his contemporaries and still confounds ours.

The power of Jesus is about the kingdom he proclaims…it is another kingdom, not found in the might of ones nation or even an allegiance of nations. But a power that invites us to be all that we can be…a power that encourages us to lift our heads and move forward with the grace and majesty that is only possible through and in the extravagant love of God. A love we, in the Christian tradition have come to know intimately in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

Amen.
 

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