LIVING IN GOD'S WAY

August 30, 2015

Pentecost 14

Micah 6:6-8

James 1:17-27

(prayer)

If you talk to people who aspire to a living faith that actively seeks to make a difference in the world, you will find a lot of love for our first scripture reading today:  do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God.  Basic requirements for faithfulness off the pen of an ancient prophet - as applicable today as it was 2500 years ago.

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Most people seek some level of meaning in their lives - many people articulate this within the language of faith and holy mystery.

There is a hunger for wider purpose for the lives we get to live.  There is a thirst for Spirit.  Some are able to quench that thirst within a particular community of faith or the tenants of an organized religion - and still others find the structures and dogmas inadequate but they thirst nevertheless.

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I have to believe (for my faith to have any meaning) that there is value in the mission and ministry of the community of faith of which I am a part.  But I also have to believe that God is not limited to my church; that God is not limited to my experiences; that God has an interest and a stake in creation that is bigger than anything I know.

And so, for me - as valuable as my personal faith is - I strive to never discount the spiritual yearnings of others.

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Further to that - from our scripture readings today, I feel an encouragement to live out a faith that has more to it that what I can gain for myself - spiritually.

I don’t want to discount the personal impact of a connection to God - far from it!  I suspect that most of us would be less motivated to seek a spiritual presence in our lives if it didn’t bring something valuable into our lives.

But, a message that seems obvious today, as I hear Micah and James, is that as much as it is about “me”, it has to be about more than me.

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In the final verse of the passage from James today, there is a two-pronged call to faithful living: care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

These are held together as a call to remain focused on having a meaning and purpose in our lives.  The biblical call to care for the widows and orphans is as old as the bible itself - James is not inventing a new theology here.

Throughout the history of faith, there is an expectation that the most vulnerable of the society will not be forgotten.  In the patriarchal society of the old cultures of the bible, the male head of household was responsible for the well-being of his family:  aging parents, spouses, children, and any people who worked for the family (servants or slaves).

When some tragedy occurred so that a family was left without such leadership, the wider community would step up to fill the void.  It was a social safety net embedded in the expectations of the religion.

You can see this in many places in the Old Testament.  For example, from Exodus 22 - ²¹You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. ²²You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. 

And from Deuteronomy 10 - ¹²So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to [revere] the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God ... ¹⁷For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, ... ¹⁸who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the [foreign] strangers, providing them with food and clothing.

And from Isaiah 1 - ¹⁷learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. 

The author of James wants to ensure that this ancient ethic is embedded in the Christian moral code as well.

This demonstrates that having faith is incomplete if we are only focused on ourselves.  We have a sacred duty to others as well - especially the most vulnerable.

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James also says - keep oneself unstained by the world.

The wider message from James is not to isolate ourselves from all that might distract us; from all ways of thinking and being that might seem in opposition to what we are seeking to believe.  It is not about avoiding the world - as far too many isolationist systems of religion seem to encourage.  To borrow a quote you’ll hear later: some churches (and some individual Christians) treat themselves as some sort of ‘theological gated community’ with high walls of isolation.

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James wants us to be ‘in the world’ bringing our best light and hope in to the dark and lonely places, but not to forget what motivates and inspires us.

So, James wants us to hear the Word of God - the scriptures, the traditions, the understandings of our fellow faithful travellers.  James (like the old prophet Jeremiah) wants this word to be held deep within our hearts; to be part of who we are.

And then... James says to put that word into action.  Followers of Jesus are to be ¹⁷doers of the Word and not merely hearers.

That calls us beyond our isolated circles of inner faith and into a world that is filled with goodness and wonder and holiness, but also might not always support our ethic.

The challenge is to maintain our focus on (as Micah said) ‘doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God.’

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If you saw the facebook post for today’s service, you would have noticed my reference to folk singer David Wilcox’s song, Beyond Belief.  I showed it a few years back, but it bears repeating.  So, here’s a video of my favorite singer-songwriter performing that song in a 2007 concert - pay particular attention to what he says before the song.

David:  How can you teach of love unless you live what you have heard?

James: Be doers of the word and not merely hearers.

Micah:  Seek justice; love kindness; walk humbly with God.

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How can we approach trying to living a balanced, active life of faith.  Well, the letter of James has some basic advice:

·         be quick to listen,

·         slow to speak,

·         slow to anger,

·         welcome with meekness.

There is a preaching of measured patience in these words.

To listen over speaking is an encouragement to understand the heart and mind of others in our lives.  We enhance our 'story' when we know the story of others.  We can even learn about ourselves when we realize that there may be other perspectives out there.

I know - for myself - that my beliefs have grown and evolved  because of new things I have embraced from learning from others.  Even Jesus did that (as we will hear next week).

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Yesterday, I was blessed (once again) by the privilege to officiate at a wedding service.  I reminded that couple that when we look at the earth and the universe, it is fair to say that God’s creation is based on relationships.  That is true at both the subatomic and interstellar levels.  Isaac Newton articulated that all matter is affected by other matter, no matter what the size.  The physical wonders of God are in relationship.

The cycles of the earth are based on relationships: tides, weather patterns, food chains; and there are symbiotic and adversarial relationships within the animal kingdom.

But it goes further, relationships - certain among the human animals - are also matters of the mind, and heart and soul.

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Some biblical scholars like to pit the letter of James against the letters of Paul.  Paul’s overarching theme was that faith trumps works: focus on beliefs.  James is all about the works: focus on actions.  Of course, a more in depth appreciation of each letter writer’s words allows us to see that both of these first century witnesses shared a truth... that what we believe and how we behave are two sides of the same coin.  James wrote: Faith without works is dead (Jms 2:14).  Paul wrote: Love fulfills the law (Rms 13:8).

The first words from the James letter we read today affirm that good acts of giving, originate from God. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians proclaims that love is the greatest of those gifts.

God’s love for us makes our love for one another not only possible, but imperative.  It is a necessary part of our relationship with the infinite holy.

This law of love (expressed in action) prepares us for the summary of James’ understanding of religion in the last words we read from the letter today.  

The emphasis on the care and keeping of others while maintaining relationship with God recalls similar teachings in scripture. The prophet Micah counselled doing justice, loving kindness, and walking in humility with God (Micah 6:8). Jesus summarized the commandments in love of God, love of neighbour, and love of self (Mark 12:28–31). For Micah, James, and Jesus, love is the key. Our ability to “be love” arises out of first being loved.

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Love is not just a concept.  It is a practical approach to the interactions we have in this life.  If we see the same love of God given to others that we feel within ourselves, we will not be able to write off the vulnerable by saying they deserve their lot in life. 

We will not be able to view the differences between people as excuses to vilify or ignore.

We will genuinely care what is happening in the hearts and minds of others.  The law of God’s love is ‘compassion’.

When we see God’s gift in others and in the way we live in the world, we seek justice; we will embrace kindness; and we will know that God is so much more than we understand at any given moment.

The compassion and grace of God unites us.  We are kin.  We are family... even beyond belief.

When we do that we are living in God’s Way.

Let us pray:

O God, you call us into your deep love. May we remember this love when we feel unloved: alone, scared, worried. May we practice this love when others rely on us. In Jesus’ love we pray, Amen.

#154MV  “Deep In Our Hearts”

MORE THAN LITERAL

August 30, 2015

Pentecost 13

Ephesians 6:10-20

John 6:63-69

(prayer)

My New Testament Professor at theological college had a tradition of telling a Friday Joke.

One week, he claimed that through his habit of telling parables, Jesus, like Obi Wan Kenobi (of Star Wars fame), espoused a Jedi Theology:  Metaphors be with you!

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Jesus made his teaching points by telling memorable stories that emphasized the lesson.

We use the word ‘parable’ when talking about Jesus’ teaching stories.  Parable, as a word, has greek roots meaning ‘comparison’.  It does not need to be limited to Jesus, but that is where we hear it most often.

When we read in the gospels that “Jesus told the crowd a parable...”, we can understand that to mean Jesus used a metaphorical story to speak of a wider truth.

I think, we can get ourselves into an unnecessary mess, when we only look at the surface of what is said and not try to understand Jesus underlying point.

In fact, that is good advice, not only for Bible Study in general - but for healthy communications in our lives today.

I mean, how many times have you heard (or said) but that’s not what I meant when you’re talking with someone. 

What we mean is infinitely more crucial than what me might say.

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And, as people, we generally have greater respect for people whose words match the meanings.  We might even stoop to calling someone a hypocrite who says one thing and means another.

[Don’t get me going on the Mike Duffy trial.]

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One of the challenges we have as we read the Bible and try to understand its impact for us today is that we are removed from its original context and time.  Not only are we a couple thousand of years away from new testament times... we (well most of us, I assume) speak different languages that new testament greek, we live in a very different culture, and we might have a world view quite foreign to that of our first century storytellers.

Sometimes, the old metaphors do not apply to us as easily as they might have to their original audience.

And so we dig deeper and try to understand what teaching point the author wanted that original audience to get out of the parable or story.

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Both of our scripture passages this morning (from Ephesians and from John) were written to the early Christians in the latter half of the first century.  These are people who have grown to believe in Jesus as a great teacher from several decades earlier.  This same Jesus was professed to be (by his disciples at the time) the Messiah and Son of God.

Each of our readings today use the language of metaphor.

Ephesians mentions a soldier’s armour.  John speaks of useless flesh.

Let’s look at John first... the wider context of this passage is an instruction on the early Christian practice of sharing a ritual meal as a means of communing with Christ - the Lord’s Supper or Communion.  It is ironic that the book of John is the only one of the four gospels to NOT relay an account of Jesus last supper, but it has some of the deepest teachings about communion.  John’s author sneaks this theology in to teachings of Jesus in the early chapters of the gospel.  John chapter six, is where we have Jesus say, I Am the bread of life.  Before that, in chapter six, we can read the story of a miraculous feeding of a large crowd with only a few fish and a couple loaves of bread.

John makes the point that some of the opponents of Jesus challenged the statement that Jesus was living bread from heaven that would curb people’s hunger - the pharisees took the phrase literally.  How can this man give people his own flesh to eat?

Then (in the verses just before what we read this morning) the gospel author plays with this misinterpretation (we can hear communion language, but some of the audience were grossed out by the literal alternative):  unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

It’s either a metaphor or cannibalistic.

Without getting into high-ecclesiastical debates about transubstantiation or consubstantiation, I will say that most active Christians see only metaphors in the flesh and blood language of communion.  And I suspect that a lot of you like me find it kind of a less-than-appetizing image.

But it was new image for the church of the first century and people struggled with its meaning.  So much so, that John’s gospel admits (as we heard this morning) that some of the followers left the movement.

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I will profess today that I believe that the metaphor of the bread and juice of our communion services (first Sunday’s usually) are NOT made up of literal flesh and blood - it’s not even a representative of Jesus’ flesh and blood that just tastes like palatable food and drink to us.

The metaphor is not that we physically each bits of our Lord at his table, but that - in the heart and mind - we are taught and feel that we can have what we need through a reciprocal loving relationship with our God.  Jesus feeds our souls (so to speak).

I like to use a parallel metaphor:  In communion, we dine with our Christ - we share a common story (meal) that feeds us all.  It unites us in body and spirit.

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The metaphors are a vehicle for the teaching - they are not the teaching.

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In the Ephesians letter, we were told to put on the Whole Armour of God.  How many of us have ever put on armour?  Now, even for those who are members of a modern military, the armour from the 1^st century does not apply to the 21^st century.

Some people find it quite easy to speak of faith as a battle, but I also know that there are others who are pacifists and peacekeepers who do not always relate well to military imagery when it comes to matters of the spirit.

But that’s what Ephesians gives us: a soldier’s belt, a protective breastplate, armoured shoes, a shield, a helmet and a sword.

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But it’s a metaphor, so our task as modern interpreters of these scriptures is to find the meaning beyond the metaphor - to take it beyond the literal.

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The first thing I notice is that (with the exception of the sword, the rest of the armour mentioned in Ephesians are defensive - they are meant to protect - they are vehicles of endurance and preservation than they are of violent outburst.

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So... when we seek more than the literal, we can hear Ephesians in a fresh way.

One of things in the passage that might be easy to miss is the adjective the author uses to describe the armour.  The church is told to put on the whole armour of God.  The different parts each offer only partial protection - they have a value - in the sum total - that is beyond what any part might be able to do on its own.  We can imagine that it doesn’t matter how strong the breastplate is if the blow comes to our head.  So, more important that any of the individual aspects of faith spoken of in the passage, is the value of the totality of what is needed.

More than literal.

Literally, a belt is designed (primarily) to hold things up.  It can also be used to make carrying things easier.

Metaphorically, this belt in Ephesians is ‘truth’: honesty, authenticity.  One of the aspects of a faith than can endure - Ephesians is telling us - is that we begin with being authentic, truthful and honest about what we hold dear and what we believe.  Without this - the rest of what we seek to do and how we live might just fall around our feet.  Next week, I will focus on this topic in a bit more detail, but suffice it to say - hypocrisy makes an enduring faith very difficult.

Our bodies’ most vulnerable parts are our heads and the vital organs located in the core of our body.  So, literally, a wise solider utilizes a helmet and a breastplate.

Metaphorically, this section of Ephesians is similar to the image used in 1^st Corinthians 12, where the Apostle Paul speaks of the people of God as the body of Christ.  In that scripture Paul writes that

²²... the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect.

Metaphorically, we might conclude that faith involves a protection of the vulnerable - within us and beyond us.  Ephesians calls the breastplate, ‘righteousness’ and the helmet, ‘salvation’. 

We can consider the shield here as well.  It is the one piece of the armour that Ephesians doesn’t ascribe a metaphoric label to:  the shield is the first line of protection.  It can remind us of our ‘shelter’ - that place of retreat, where we can ‘hold fort’ so to speak.

Protecting us at our most vulnerable is the comfort and safety of living in God’s Way - a way that Jesus summed up by quoting two old commandments:

1.    love God with all you heart, soul and strength; and

2.    love your neighbour as yourself.

At the heart of our lives of faith is an assertion that ‘we are not alone’.  We are not isolated from each other and we are not distant from the source of our existence.  And the instruction is to respond to this proximity with a deep compassion - a care and concern for the value of good and right relations.

I think that one of the most significant messages we can find in Ephesians six is that our spirits are most vulnerable when we try to live in isolation - when we think that all this life needs is for us to ‘look out for number one’.  And to extend that, I would say that one of the harshest threats to a life of comforting faith is to fall prey to selfishness: to think we do not need or benefit from community.

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The other parts of the armour kind of go together:  the shoes of ‘proclamation’; and the sword of the ‘spirit’ and the ‘word of God’.

As we dig deeper that the literal, we can see a metaphor of moving beyond our place of retreat.

Ephesians speaks of the soldier’s shoes as a means of moving beyond where we are right now.  The shoes allow us to be ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.  There is wonderful irony in that phrase - the author of Ephesians speaks with military imagery while at the same time asserting that the goal is peaceful good news.

Let’s consider the context of the first century church.  It is the time of the Roman Empire - for the most part it was a time of peace: the pax romanus.  It was peaceful because the Empire’s military occupation of lands discouraged wide-sweeping wars - in a funny way the Roman might ensured peace.

The peace of Jesus stands in stark contrast to that.  The pax jesus is a peace (not through might) but through compassion:  it is a peace sought by extending the arm of welcome to the outcast and the vulnerable, even when the societal norm might have discouraged the full inclusion of children and women and roman collaborators (tax collectors) and all those labeled ‘sinners’ by established religion. 

It is not fear and force, but compassion and welcome that creates the peaceful table in the Way of Jesus.  To echo the old psalmist - it is a peace expressed in a banquet table prepared in the presence of (both those we might have labelled) friend and enemy.

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Back to Ephesians, what we carry with us on the peace-focused proclamation is not a sword for slicing or killing, but a spirit founded in the Word of God - the tradition of the faithful; the teachings and action examples of Jesus.

We move away from our places of inner retreats out into a world that hungry for the compassion and peace that our God has shown us in Jesus.

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And so it makes sense, that even as we come together in this space for times of inner retreat among others seeking to live in God’s way, we also regular move beyond these walls and take the inner strength and confidence that we are not alone in to the rest of our lives.

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And that might just be enough.  It might be all that we need to face the challenges to authentic, faithful living.

There is a powerful thread of thought moving through our scripture texts this morning: a call to find value in our being part of a community; to be grounded in the love and presence of God and to live truth-expressing lives.

We may couch these concepts in a metaphor or two from time to time, but we seek to be faithful in real and meaningful ways.

Thanks be to God. 

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Let us pray:

Loving God, we have made the bold choice to live our lives as your people. We thank you that you are with us as we equip ourselves for this life.  Amen.

#578VU

“As a Fire is Meant For Burning”

THE RHYTHM AND MELODY OF FAITH

August 16, 2015

Pentecost 12

Psalm 111

Ephesians 5:15-20

(prayer)

Back in April - in Cleveland Ohio - at the 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction concert, music fans had the opportunity to see Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr perform together.

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I am slightly too young to have appreciated the Beatles in real time.  I was just under seven years old when the band formally broke up.

Although, one of my earliest pre-school memories is listening to Oblabi Oblada on a small transistor radio, but that was about it for my real-time Beatles experience.

Then when I was a teenager, I (and some of my close friends) went on a retro-bender and rediscovered the music of the Fab Four.

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As many of you know, I enjoy the impact of music in my life.  I may have lost most of my high school French language skills, but the language of music still speaks to me and is a vessel through which I can express myself.

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Why is music so powerful?

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Is it the rhythm? Is it grounding beat of Ringo’s drum and Paul’s bass that sets the parameters of the musical experiences?

Is it the melody? Is it the notes sung by Paul or John (and the lead guitar lick of George) that glides above with pleasing tone worthy of humming or singing?

Is it the harmony? Paul and George sharing that mic with ohhs and ahhs and choruses of yeah, yeah, yeah - a combination of sounds that sends more to our ears than the sum of its parts.

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Faith is like music – there is grounding, there is memorable joy and there is synergy created in our coming together.

Rhythm, Melody and Harmony. 
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The Rhythm is the background - it is our foundation; it is our heart beat that gives us life.  Even when the melody comes in and is balanced with notes of harmony, the rhythm still sustains us - guiding us - keeping us together.

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The Rhythm of our faith is all that grounds us:  for me that scripture, traditions, spiritual practices, prayer.  It undergirds all that we are and who we are becoming.

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What grounds your faith?

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The melody of our faith is what gives us joy in the moment and that which we bring to mind from our past to give us a fresh expression of faith.
The melody is the vehicle of our inspiration. 
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What inspires you in your faith?

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In our readings today, we have bits of both rhythm and melody.

The early Christian letter invites us to look at how we are grounded: “Be careful how you live”.  It is about being mindful of why we are who we are - to seek wisdom for the time we are in.

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As well, Psalm 111 expresses a grounding in the history of God’s involvement in the lives of the faithful: God is the author of creation (including this world) that provides food; further to that the Psalmist professes that Yahweh’s righteousness endures forever.

Grounding.  Rhythm.

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The melody of faith is that which catches our attention in the moment.  For me, spiritual melody is found in what inspires us:  those moments when we find ourselves in an emotional thin place - where the sacred seems especially close.

The word "inspiration" literally means to be filled with Spirit: to be in-spirited.

Just as - in music - melody can take a common rhythm and create a fresh and new experience.

For us as people of faith, while we may be grounded in our scriptures and traditions, there is great value in new and exciting spiritual experiences.

Growing, healthy churches today need to 'sing the melody' of the 21st century.  For most modern seekers of faith, we are well served to find the fresh ways to know God.
To see the holy source of the universe as not a deity trapped in the past, but a caring influence in the here and now.

When we limit ourselves to the melody of the past, we risk the danger of a nostalgic faith not a living faith.

For faith to be alive, it needs to take new breaths and enable growth and renewal to happen.

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So, was anyone else a church geek like me this past week and spent time watch the video of the United Church's General Council meeting from Corner Brook, NL?

No one can accuse us of being unwilling to consider new ways of being.

The United Church of Canada formally entered into a 'full communion' relationship with the United Church of Christ: USA.  Over time, this will likely mean that UCC and UCCan members and clergy should be able to move between the two denominations with less red tape.  I may have to start looking for vacancies at UCC churches in NYC.

This was an exciting new part of the UCCan's song.

The main topic of conversation and struggle for the 42nd General Council was to consider a dramatic change in the way the church is structured.

You may know that, currently, we have a four court, councillor structure with local churches, Presbyteries, Conferences and the General Council.  Each level (or court) sends representatives to the level above it.  For example, there were 30 people from Alberta and Northwest Conference who were  commissioners to GC42.  Yellowhead presbytery sent reps this past spring' meeting of ANWC.  There are three of us from St. David's who go to YHP.

Each court has unique responsibilities in the whole life of the denomination.

But a major change was approved at GC42 - a streamlining of that structure to a three level church: communities of faith, regional councils and a denominational council.  This is not simply a combining of Presbytery and Conference - the roles will be streamlined.
Some things will disappear and new ways of being church will emerge. 

These changes will require approval of the congregations and presbyteries before they can take effect.  The hope is to have clarity on this by mid-September 2017.

We can remain grounded and yet be the church in a fresh way.

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Some of you may have seen clips of US President Barack Obama's eulogy for South Carolina state senator the Rev Clementa Pinckney earlier this summer.  The president was widely praised for his inspiring words in the aftermath of the racist shootings in a Charleston church.

The president ending by sing Amazing Grace.

That hymn, written by John Newton in 1773, is still one of the most well known and belove'd sacred songs. There are literally thousands of versions and variations of the hymn. The text of Amazing Grace came from John Newton's personal experience.  He was a prosperous slave trader.  The story goes that in 1748, his ship was caught in a storm off the coast of Ireland, so Newton (who had never been overly religious) prayed out to God for mercy.  It was a thin time and place for him - he underwent a spiritual conversion.  This new melody in the song of his life challenged him to re-evaluate his choices and priorities.  Newton eventual left the slave trade behind.  All the while, he was struck to the core by the compassionate loving nature of God.  Newton felt deeply unworthy of this mercy but was forced to accept that it was God' grace - mercy is not earned but simply given.  Newton realized that even the most wretched life is not beyond the loving grace and that the word to best describe it was "amazing".

Amazing Grace

how sweet the sound

that saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now I'm found;

was blind but now I see.

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The grace and love of God - founded in our scriptures and best traditions - is the steady rhythm that frames the song of our faith.

The fresh experiences of the active spirit in the moments of our lives is the melody.

Melody is what evolves and is recreated for each new day.

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So let us - figuratively and literally - as the author of Ephesians encourages: be filled with the Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs; making melody to God in our hearts.

For the harmony we create, let us be thankful.

Let us pray:

God of Wisdom, in you we are grounded.  The faithful witness of your people guide us and inspire us.  Help us to add our voices to the Spirit’s symphony.  Amen.

#266VU “Amazing Grace”