LIVING OUT MISSION

April 28, 2013

Easter 5

Acts 11:1-18

John 13:31-35

(prayer)

For this seven week season of Easter, the Revised Common Lectionary offers us a reading from the book of Acts as the first reading: in place of what is normally a Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) lesson. 

In these weeks after Easter, we get to follow a bit of the development of the early church as a gospel historian in about the year 75 looked back on the first few decades after Jesus' resurrection.

Today is the fifth Sunday in 2013's Easter season (The Season of Easter is the great 50 days between the day of resurrection and Pentecost Sunday).  Three weeks from today (on the Victoria Day long weekend, this year), it will be Pentecost.

Here's a heads up: on that day, we will also be reading from Acts - an account of what happened to Peter and the others during the spring harvest festival: only seven weeks after the Passover festival when Jesus was arrested, crucified and resurrected.

I won't foreshadow the whole story, but “something happened” that expanded the number of people who were interested in Jesus' Way and the work of Jesus’ disciples in the wake of Jesus’ death: there was a particular expansion among Hebrews from places other than Galilee and Judea (the so-called, Jews of the Diaspora)

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It is fair to say that (certainly the early chapters of) Acts are a story of the growth and influence of the young Christian faith.

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Jesus first followers were pretty much exclusively Hebrews from first Galilee and then Judea (the traditional lands of Israel).

After Pentecost, there was the inclusion of Diaspora Jews. 

This growth required an expansion of the leadership as the numbers of people within the movement were more that the twelve disciples could manage (the original 11 plus Matthias who was selected to replace Judas): even just carry for all of the widows was challenging – it led to some complaints that the newest disciple’s needy were being ignored.  I’m prepared to give Peter and the others the benefit of the doubt and assume that they were simply overwhelmed by the growing popularity of the Jesus Movement. 

So, seven men from among the diaspora believers were commissioned to care of the greek-speaking Christians. [the numbers here are symbolically significant - 12 was the number of the original tribes of Israel (a number of completeness within Judaism); 7 served a similar complete, perfect connotation within the wider greco-roman world.]

One of these seven was Phillip who played a central role in the next expansion of the church.  On the main highway between Judea and Eqypt, Phillip met an Ethiopian, who was a convert to Judaism (a so-called proselyte).  The man was new enough to the faith that he asked Phillip for help in understanding the book of Isaiah.  It is likely that (as they talked about the servant songs in Isaiah) Phillip brought Jesus into the conversation. 

"There is a pond here.  Is there anything stopping me from being baptized here and now?", the Ethiopian asked.  With a joyous splash, the once uniquely Galilean movement, which had expanded to Judea and then out in to the diaspora (including Phillip, himself), now welcomed foreigners who believed in the Jewish God, Yahweh.

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Peter's actions at the house of Cornelius in Caesarea, however, may have gone too far.  These were complete strangers to the faith which the others held, the faith Jesus himself held.  These were foreigners, gentiles - beyond all but the most basic charity of Judaism.  How could they become part of Jesus' Way?  How could non-Jews believe in the Jewish messiah?

When Peter got back to Jerusalem (after his rural check-ins at places like Lydda and Joppa), he was asked to explain himself to the others.

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Peter noted that he understood the concern; he admitted that his initial reaction was that the gentiles should be considered unclean and were beyond their 'mission field' (so to speak).  If they converted to Judaism first, fine, but not if they were still ‘uncircumsized’.

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Then, Peter told them about his hungry vision of unclean foods and his vision-based conversation with God that convinced him to be open to something beyond his traditional beliefs - and he told them about that curious holy command, “Do not call profane what I have declared clean!”

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Peter explained that he did not expect it but that after the vision, he was utterly convinced that God wanted the gospel spead among the gentiles - even to those who were not proselytes to the faith. 

So that's why (Peter said) that he accepted Cornelius' invitation, why he ate and drank with them as he would anyone else in all of Judaism and why he shared the good news about Christ Jesus with Cornelius and the people of his host's household.  Peter was open to the possibility that his instincts about God’s desires for a wider church would be right.

But it was when Peter saw these gentiles had similar spiritual experiences that the saints in Jerusalem had known, Peter knew that God was indeed at work in Caesarea: Who am I to hinder God?

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After Peter was finished with his report, and after the story sunk in, they all agreed that the membership criteria for People of The Way had expanded once again. 

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The obvious question became:  Was there anyone beyond the 'spirit-filled life' in Christ?

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A singer-songwriter (whom I adore and will see play live in five days) once introduced his song “Beyond Belief”, by saying:

Expecting more from your relationship with the infinite than just some theological gated community:  my love of this song comes from when I try and follow this crazy carpenter and he’s such a wily, sort of interesting [guy],  well the funny part for me is that we just sort of build this religion around this person and then suddenly the gates are all closed and the fences are high and we look around and… he’s outside the fence and we say ‘hey wait a minute, your supposed to be’ and he says ‘oh no, remember the part about love your neighbour’ and we say ‘yeah, like us, right?’ ‘noooo…’  I love the confounding, sort of brave love … daring to follow.

I’m not going to play the song right now (I know I did so in a past sermon), but I will post a couple of links to YouTube videos along with the online sermon notes for today ("Beyond Belief" (live) and Interview with David Wilcox about "Beyond Belief").

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And so, on the night he would be arrested (according to the Gospel of John), Jesus invited his disciples to “love one another as I have loved you.”  Jesus notes that having love for each other will be an obvious sign of their discipleship.  In other words, being a follower of Jesus is all about peace (getting along) and compassion (loving each other) – and so it was essential that Jesus’ disciples lived this out amongst themselves.

Hypocrisy really gets in the way of gospel.  Coincidently, the first verse of Wilcox’s ‘Beyond Belief’ is:

Jesus called me a hypocrite

when I said that “I believe”.

He said “How can you follow love

without a willingness to leave?”

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As the definition of who 'another' is in ‘love one another’ expanded, the possibilities for new disciples expands beyond belief.

We see that process within the stories in Acts.

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Can we believe that this invitation of Jesus was not just for the disciples in the upper room, but for all the followers of Jesus for all time to come?

If so, as modern followers of Jesus, let us love as Jesus loves. 

That begins by admitting that God is too big to be limited to one church or congregation – one way of being faithful.  Jesus cannot be contained within the walls of the safe places of denominationalism or theology.

This has always been true.  In the post-Acts time of the church, Christianity has a long and repeated history of coming up against the next ‘wall of exclusion’ and we have had to ask ourselves – who are we to hinder God? 

Just beyond the wall is a worthy disciple of Jesus – one whom we are challenged to ‘welcome in’.

Every time we try to say:

Surely not this one too, God.  Surely, you can’t expect us to welcome and accept ‘this one’ into your grace and love.  We thought they were beyond your compassion.

Every time we try to say that, we eventually have to ask, who are we to hinder God?

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Sometimes the wider society had to lead the church into inclusiveness.  Sometimes it has been the other way around

We accepted slavery until less than 200 years ago; we are less than 100 years away from when we acknowledged women as persons.

There is a line in the Oscar winning movie Lincoln where the politicians voting on the 13^th Amendment to the US constitution: asked how inclusive were they expected to be: 

“What’s next?  The Vote for these freed slaves.  Then what, The Vote for women?”

It was 1919 that women in Canada were declared persons.  The United Church of Canada didn’t ordain its first woman until 1936.

Even today, some church denominations have not evolved to the point of seeing women equal enough to be ordained (most notably the Roman Catholic and Lutheran Church-Canada; you won’t be seeing a female minister at St. Michael’s RCC or St. Peter’s LC in Leduc anytime soon).

Slavery was abolished in the US in the 1860s, but a bold Civil Rights law was still needed 100 years later.  Christian people of faith led that movement.  And a struggle with racism towards African-Americans is still a present-day issue south of the border.

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The most modern example of this struggle with inclusiveness is that Christianity and Western society are finding it harder and harder to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation. 

The UCC clarified the issue in 1988.  Other churches are having to address the issues because of pressure from within.

Society too - just a few days ago, France approved same sex-marriage,. Becoming the 14^th country to do so. 

Loving one another as Christ loves is a process that must evolve.  Unconditional love and compassion are gaining steam once again. 

And that is a good thing, except for those who desire hatred, destruction, fear, genocide, revenge? 

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Love finds away.

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Society and the church will not be able to hinder the desire of God to reach ever deeper into the human experience – that is true even though we have been down this path before of finding a worthy disciple on the other side of the wall we have built.

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You know, it would be a lot easier if we just tore down those walls entirely and embraced the vast potential of the gospel of Jesus’ love.

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“Everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Let us pray:

God, give us a vision of the world and its people as you see it in all its strange beauty and wonderful variety.  Amen.

#145MV  “Draw the Circle Wide”

TREASURED BY GOD

April 21, 2013

Easter 4

Acts 9:36-43

John 10:22-30

(prayer)

There may be a real shepherd or two in the room today, but for most of us, the image of the good shepherd is one we have to imagine.  It’s not really that hard – even for the most urban among us, we can picture the role of the one entrusted with the well being of the flock.  The one who does hands-on work to tend to the flock’s needs – finding good pasture land, access to drinking water, protection from the threats of the wilderness.

And we can imagine how bad it would be for the sheep, if the shepherd was negligent.

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When the psalmist says that Yahweh [God] is our shepherd and describes the good ways this shepherd serves the flocks’ needs [our needs], we are expected to feel that we are cared for; that our well being is in good hands; that we do not need to worry.

Now, the metaphor only can take us so far.  We have more complex lives than a flock of sheep – we might argue that our lives have greater opportunity.  We are called to willingly follow: not blindly, but with longing, promise and hope.

I think the basic promise in Psalm 23 and the passage from John 10 is that we are of concern to God – that the Holiness at the Heart of the Universe desires our well being, our safety – that our lives have meaning and purpose.

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In the gospel of John, Jesus is described as the good shepherd.  This old image for God is heaped on Jesus.  It is one of the many (not so subtle) hints in the fourth gospel that Jesus and God are one! 

The sheep of Jesus' flock trust his voice - his actions have proven him to be a good shepherd.

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Simply put... if you're gonna be a sheep, having a good shepherd will make this life better.

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// change of theme

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Most children have one.  For me it was a blanket, which I could not do without (or so I am told).  I believe that official story is that it got so thin after thousands and thousands of wash cycles that it one day vanished into nothingness.

What was it for you?  Did you have the experience of it getting lost, or broken? 

Not a happy memory, eh?

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Some adults have them too.  But we call them heirlooms or keepsakes or collectibles.

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We grow attached to these items, not necessarily because of the item itself, but because of the experiences and memories it represents.

The verb ‘treasured’ makes sense because, these items are treasure to us – regardless of what price they might command at auction.

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It is a reality of being the only United Church minister in town – I am asked to officiate at quite a number of funerals:  some for families I know (including church families, some in this room) and others for people from the wider community.

I have noticed a universal truth: ‘it is hard to part with the people we have treasured in our lives.’

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The setting of today’s reading from book of Acts was Joppa. Ancient Joppa (aka Jaffa, Yafo) is part of modern Tel Aviv, Israel (a coastal village of first century Judea).  There was a woman in Joppa who became ill and died. 

She was truly treasured by people in her community.  She was devoted to good works and charity.  She was a seamstress, who made tunics and other clothing.  We know little else about her.  But we read about the impact of her life.

Meanwhile, Simon Peter was in Lydda, a town about 15km to the southeast.  In Acts 9:32, it says that “Peter went here and there among all the believers”.  In Peter’s visit to Lydda, he is said to have healed a paralysed man: ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!’

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There must have been a group of believers of Jesus’ Way in Joppa as well, because after Tabitha died and they learned that Peter was in Lydda, they sent for him.

There is no indication in the text that the Christians in Joppa were expecting Peter to perform a post-mortem healing.  It may simply be they wanted Peter to pay his respects to this honoured woman.

When Peter arrived, her friends took him up to the room where Tabitha’s body was laid.  They proudly showed him some of the clothing she had made – no doubt they spoke glowingly about what a good person she was and the good she brought to the community.  I would not be surprised if the sentiment was something like, “we don’t know what we’re going do without her.”

When Peter asked for a private moment, they respectfully left the room.

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A few minutes later, they were invited back in and... beyond all belief, Tabitha was sitting up on the edge of the bed, alive!

[The author of Acts let us peek in the room when Peter was alone with the body – we read that (first) he prayed, then he went to the bedside and (in similar language he had used in Lydda) he called Tabitha by name and told her to ‘get up’.]

As part of the wider story of the early church in the book of Acts, these healing stories serve to build up Peter’s resumé as having continuity of Jesus’ actions.

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But Tabitha’s healing is markedly different that Aeneas’.  The man in Lydda was given the opportunity to increase the level of his involvement in the church – prior to Peter’s visit he was bedridden.  But with the woman in Joppa, it was the church that was restored – given the opportunity to experience of Tabitha’s ministry for a while longer.

Treasured faith and service renewed and faith expanded and new service made possible.

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The Easter Season is a call for the modern church and its people to ‘get up and live' in the power of the Risen Christ.  In this way we can take a lead in being vessels of loving, compassionate service in the communities in which we live.

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If “compassion” is part of our reason d’être, our reason for being, we are naturally community-minded – we will think and hold as valuable things beyond our own small life.

I know that there is not one person in this room who did not hold the City and people of Boston in their hearts and prayers this past week.

We don’t have to know anyone there personally; we don’t have to have ever lived there or even visited there – we had compassion for these people like they were our members of our own family. 

That is a hallmark of being an Easter people, followers of Jesus’ Way – the world is all kin to us.

Last week I preached about the power of unconditional love.  We have witnessed that in the last six days – on our TV sets, the internet and in our hearts and minds and souls.

Compassion for neighbour and stranger alike was shown by marathoners, spectators, first responders, police... by so many people.

However, one of the most remarkable examples of unconditional love I saw came from an odd place.  When the media scoured the world for insiders to interview, we heard from immediate family members of the Tsarneav brothers.  The aunt in Toronto, the mom and dad in Degestan – their love for their sons, could not allow them to admit that they were anything but innocent.  The love was so deep that it couldn’t be stopped by even the most evil and sinful of activities.

Imagine that.  That’s the depth of God’s love – not just for the righteous, but for all.

Can we have compassion deep enough for all of God’s world?

Jesus’ call to his followers was not a surface-level easy compassion, but one that challenges at the deepest levels of our souls.

Let us be an Easter people who honour the life of everything in creation.  Loving neighbour, stranger and enemy alike.

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We follow the Way of Jesus, the good shepherd.  A way highlighted with acts of welcoming, protection, hope, compassion and justice.

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We are inspired by the people whose faith we treasure.

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We are an Easter people!

Let us pray;

Good God, guide us, honour us, restore our souls.

Amen.

#161MV "I Have Called You By Your Name"

CHANGE, EVEN NOW

April 14, 2013

Easter 3

Acts 9:1-9

John 21:15-10

(prayer)

I have to admit that I was not a big political supporter of Ralph Kline, but I will say that he was a most authentic leader.  I respect that. He was pretty honest (so you knew what you agreed with and what you didn’t); and he was open to change and compromise when the political winds blew.

At his memorial service on April 5^th, former Ontario premier Mike Harris spoke about when Ralph took up golf, how he quickly became a fan of ‘the mulligan’ – that wonderful part of a fun game of golf, where the other members of your party can let you have a do-over, after a less than stellar shot. 

I golfed in a fundraising church tournament in Whitecourt a few years ago and you could purchase “mulligans” before your round.  They probably made more money on that than the green fees or the banquet.

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I’m sure there are many aspects of our lives where we would love to have a ‘do-over’.

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I was watching a news story on CNN the other day about a number of politicians who are attempted comebacks after some major scandal (with politicians, it was usually a revelation about some sexual indiscretion that lead their fall from grace).

The story focused on two current US politicians seeking to be elected anew:

There is Mark Sandford: the former governor of South Carolina who wants to gain a House of Representative seat.  Sandford was the guy who told his staff he was hiking in the Appalachian mountains when he was really in Argentina with his mistress.  It was also discovered that he had misused state travel funds relating to his affair, so he resigned.  Unlike most of these cases, Gov Sanford’s wife actually left him and divorced him asap.

Secondly, the CNN story focused on Anthony Wiener who is floating trial balloons about running for New York Mayor at the next election.  Wiener is the aptly named former US representative from the state of New York who made the news by sending pictures of his ‘tight’ underwear to a certain young female follower on twitter.  He resigned, but his wife stood by her man.

They might get another shot at political stardom.  After all, Bill Clinton was once an impeached President and is now (easily) the most popular political figure in the US.

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Generally... people can find that they will be given second chances in this life.  We all love a good comeback story.

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And... I am sure that when we have experienced the grace of a mulligan in life, we have appreciated it.  I know that is true for me.

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The Gospel (the good news) of Jesus is that God loves us unconditionally.  The new testament authors used the greek word agapé (agaph) – the most significant greek word we translate as love – it is more than romantic love (eros - erwς) or family love (philia - qilia) or passing affection (storgé - storgh) - agaph is deep, fully committed love, that is unbreakable.

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One of the most famous passages from the letters of Paul is his love poem in 1^st Corinthians chapter 13:  If I had faith enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing ... Love is patient and kind ... There is faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these gifts is love.

Paul uses agaph in this passage.

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What did Paul know about agaph? 

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I’ll talk about that in a few minutes.  First let’s talk about Peter.  His real name was Shimon ben Yohanan (Simon, son of John).  He was a fisherman by trade. Jesus gave him the nickname "Cephas" which means rock.  Translate the aramaic to english via greek and you get Peter.  Presumably, Jesus saw him as a pretty solid disciple: Peter, the rock.

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The way the gospel of John lays out the story, on the Sunday after Jesus was crucified, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb alone, only to discover the stone was rolled away and Jesus body had been removed.  She went for help and Peter was one of the ones who came to see what had happened.  Yes, Peter confirmed the news: the tomb was empty and Jesus’ body was gone.  That was it.  Later that morning, back in Jerusalem, Peter and the others listened to Mary tell them about meeting Jesus (alive, resurrected) in the garden by the tomb.  She claimed to have spoken with him; he called her by name.  “I have seen the lord”, she told them. 

It was hard to believe.

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But that same evening, Peter and the others (well, almost all of them) were visited by the risen Jesus in their rented room in Jerusalem.  Peter and the other others saw Jesus’ mortal wounds.  They could touch him and see for themselves.  Jesus had died and was now living again. 

Jesus commissioned Peter and the others to carry on his work; they were being sent out, as Jesus had been sent by God, offering the forgiveness and reconciliation needed by the world, guided by the ever-presence of the Holy Spirit.

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Some time later, back in Galilee, Peter was among seven former disciples out for a night of fishing.  Even though, the Risen Christ had commissioned them to an on-going ministry, they had gone back to their old job.

But after three years of discipling, it seems that they had lost their touch.  All night long, they cast nets, but not a single fish.  Until... as dawn approached and they headed toward shore, someone on the beach suggested that they try again, on the other side of the boat. 

So many fish: they could barely haul in the nets.

It was at that point that Peter figured out that it was Jesus on the shore, who had showed them the way.  Peter was so excited that he swam to Jesus on the beach leaving the others to deal with the catch.

When the fish arrived, they all had a fresh cooked breakfast.

That is where we picked up the story this morning.

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"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

Again...

"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

A third time...

"Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

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There are many levels to explore with this passage.  We could be here a long time.  But briefly...

1. The questions all look the same in English, but in the original greek the first two times Jesus asks the question, the word is philia:  Simon, do you love me [like a brother]?  The last time it is agape: Simon, do you love me [without reservation]?  The text says that Peter was upset by the third question.  A quick interpretation usually is that Peter was hurt and frustrated because Jesus kept asking over and over again even though Peter continually said yes, but it may be because Jesus upped the ante with the third question that bothered Peter.
2. Even the first two questions are different even though "love" is philia in both.  Jesus caveats the first question: do you love me 'more than these'?   In a way the first question is... are you my most loyal disciple?  If none of the others loved Jesus at all, Peter could answer yes, without having to love very deeply at all.  So, the second question was unqualified... simply, do you love me?
3.  We could also take a look at the three similar, but nevertheless different, answers: feed my lambs, tend my sheep and feed my sheep.  There seems to be an increasing level of responsibility each time.
1. First, ensure that the little ones, the newst members of the flock can grow and mature.
2. Second, watch over the full flock.
3. And, finally, do more than watch the flock, help every continue to grow and reach their greatest possible maturity.  That last one is going to take real commitment.

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But today, I want to focus a bit on a very symbolic aspect of this story from the final chapter of John's gospel.

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After Jesus was arrested, Peter waited outside the high priest's house.  He warmed himself by a fire, with some other people.

Aren't you one of that man's disciples?

1.  No, I am not.

You are one of that man's disciples!

2.  No, not me.

But, I saw you with him in the garden tonight.

3.  No, I wasn't there.

Three times, Peter, the rock, crumbled and denied having anything to do with Jesus.  Fear was stronger than loyalty.  Less than a day later, Jesus was dead.  Even after the wonder of Easter, Peter had deep regrets.  He felt unworthy of the nickname Jesus had given him.

Maybe that's why Simon, the son of John, was so eager to reclaim his pre-Jesus identity: "I am going fishing".

1. I don't know him!  Simon, do you love me more than these? Yes, lord, you know that I love you.  Feed my lambs.
2. No, I am not one of his disciples!  Simon, do you love me?  Yes, lord, you know that I love you.  Tend my sheep.
3. I was not there tonight; I don't know him!  Simon, do you agape-love me?  Oh, lord, you know everything, you know that I love you.  Feed my sheep.

Three denials; three affirmations.  "I don't know him" became "Yes, I love you".

Jesus provided an opportunity for Peter's sand-like support to become rock-solid. 

Peter could love with agape love because he knew the wonder of being loved in that way.

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Paul was a faithful hebrew from Tarsus - a city in what is now modern Turkey.  Not all of the Jewish people lived in Judea or Galilee.  Others were disbursed throughout the greek speaking world.  We know this apostle as Paul, which is the greek version of his name.  In hebrew, he would have been called Saul.  Named after the first king of Israel. 

Saul/Paul was a fierce opponent to the early Christians. He agreed with the Temple leaders that the followers of Jesus' Way were off track.  He was concerned that their message was attracting new followers, not fading away.  The Christian gospel was rumoured to have spread beyond Judea and Galilee. 

Saul was so motivated to stop the followers of Jesus that he obtained letters of authority from the High Priest to present to synagogues in Damascus that said he could arrest any followers of The Way and bring them bound back to Jerusalem.

As we read earlier, on the Damascus road, Saul was knocked off his horse by a blinding light.  The persecutor of Jesus becomes dependent on his followers.  After a slow, dark three day journey to Damascus, Paul was found by Ananias, a followers of The Way who laid his hands on the helpless persecuter and said, "brother Saul, the lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road has sent me that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit".  Paul's sight returned and he got up and was baptized.

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Paul could love with agape love because he knew the wonder of being loved in that way.

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Peter and Paul were taught to love, by receiving love in their lives. And it was contagious.  These two changed apostles became the twin pillars of the first generations of the church.

Peter ministered in the lands of Israel an apostle among his own people.

Paul became an apostle to the gentiles.

Between Paul and Peter, Christianity became a worldwide movement.  [start music - see link below]

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Changes are always possible.  There is nothing beyond the reach of divine compassion. 

Changes can and do happen when "love" gets its way.

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[after music]
When love gets in the Way, change can happen.  Paul knew the truth of that.  Peter knew the truth of that.  May it be so with us.  Amen.

"All You Need is Love" from 'Across the Universe'

#326VU

"O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing""

SPEAKING UP

April 7, 2013
Easter 2
John 20:19-31
Acts 5:27-32
(prayer)
Ad lib sermon about having the confidence to speak up about what we believe about the experiences we have had.