June 26, 2016
Pentecost 6
(prayer)
I have ministered among you for the most recent sixteen of this
congregation's 118 year history.
When Patti and I moved to
Leduc from Red Deer in 2000, we only had two (of our eventual, four)
children. None of them had even gone to
kindergarten yet.
Now...sixteen years later,
we are the parents of two adults, three drivers, and no more pre-teens.
We are moving forward into
new parental territory: gradually releasing our children into their own lives -
where they will rely more and more on their own decisions, hopes and dreams.
Many of you have travelled
these roads before and know the joys and pains of the stage of life I find
myself in.
//
It is hard to give up
control.
[With reference to what I
said last week about the Myers-Briggs personality
Type Indicator,
this is especially hard for such a strong "J" like me - who prefers
life to be pretty predictable and organized]
And...
//
(if memory serves) it is also an exciting and worrisome time for
the young adults as well - venturing out on their own... bit by bit, at least.
//
My spouse and I have almost
21 years of parenting experience. We
have to hope that - along the way - we have offered (and modeled) some good
advice which will help our children as they move forward in their lives: more
good than bad, hopefully.
I am hopeful.
I have to be. For the most part, the mantle has already
been passed with the first two. Our
years of required influence have evolved into the times of nosy suggestions and
'ah well, welcome to the real world'.
//
//
Elijah was a hebrew prophet
during the reign of King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom about 900 years before
Jesus. Ahab's spouse, Jezebel, was a
Canannite who worshipped the god, Baal.
Their marriage had been arranged by Ahab's father King Omri - a classic
example of a wedding of political, economic and military convenience.
However, the prophet Elijah
was deeply troubled by intrusion of Baal worship into Israelite society. He openly challenged the king - predicting a
severe famine.
Like most kings (or
powerful, but insecure and thinskinned leaders), Ahab did not take well to
criticism.
Eventhough Elijah was
forced to flee out of Israel on several occassions to escape the king's wrath,
he is not detered in his belief that (under Ahab and Jezebel) the nation had
lost its focus on Yahweh, the God of Moses.
One of these exile periods
took Elijah to Mount Horeb (in the Sinai wilderness - where Moses had received
the ten commandments). While on Horeb,
Yahweh-God tells Elijah to go back and "anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as
(God's choice of) king over Israel; and... to anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of
Abel-meholah as prophet in your [Elijah's] place."
Elijah found Elisha out
plowing a field and put his outer coat (mantle) on Elisha' shoulders as a
symbol of inviting Elisha to join him.
After saying his goodbyes, from that day forward... Elisha became
Elijah's servant-assistant with a view to being his eventual successor.
//
Today, we read about the
culmination of this master-servant relationship - when Elisha, literally, took
possession of his master's mantle.
Elisha stayed attentive to
his master-mentor until Elijah was gone from his sight - then he moved forward
and focused on the practical prophetic work that was before him.
If you rēad on in 2nd
Kings, you will see that Elisha's story (in many ways) is as impressive as
Elijah's.
God chose wisely.
//
//
//
In Luke, we heard about
inspired people (listening and watching Jesus) expressing a desire to join the
group of Jesus' followers. In the
passage, they are challenged to examine how deep that commitment runs. Are they just caught up in the moment with a shallow
enthusiasm?
They needed to be warned
that a disciple's life would be very unsettled.
Jesus was (after all) a travelling preacher; they would not be home very
often.
Following Jesus would
completely change their lives. Was the
inspiration deep enough to be able to handle the uncertainties the future would
bring?
Using shocking examples,
Jesus invites the would-be disciples
to decide if they will be able to focus fully
on the path ahead or will their allegiances be split between where they were going and where they had been.
To make his point, Jesus
wasn't even prepared to be as kind as Elijah, who let Elisha go home and say
goodbye.
Jesus wanted his disciples
to be honest about how committed they were willing to be.
//
//
Reading on in the gospels,
we know that - eventually - the disciples (long time and new) were forced to
carry on without Jesus (physically) in their midst.
//
It is
universally true, that eventually, all followers must move forward - leaving the times of
mentorship in the past.
//
The time would
come when Jesus' disciples would hold a sacred duty of ministry (although
shaped by their experiences of Jesus) that was unique to them.
The faith and
practice of the church would continue to evolve through new experiences of new
generations of believers.
//
//
There is value
in remembering our history - afterall we are people of a long story of
faith. We continued to be led and
influenced by that great cloud of
witnesses that have gone before us.
It is essential
for us to know the arc of the church's
story in order to understand the impact for faith today.
Modern,
healthy, vibrant communities of faith - although
mindful of all that has carried them to today - keep their primary focus on where they are now and
where they hope to move to in the future.
We have
a history.
We are not
history.
We are the
living presence of Jesus Christ in the world!
//
Jesus used an
image-parable for his rural audience that expressed this point. He said to would-be disciples: farmers are not fit for the job if they
plow looking backwards - the same goes for those who seek the Kingdom of God (Lk9:62).
(Meatballs -
killer bee season)
//
//
We are grateful
for the people and events that have shaped our history. They have given us this ministry - which is
ours to share as we move forward.
//
//
St. David's
United Church is the current configuration of a congregation that was
established in Leduc in 1898. It has -
over the years - benefited from both the Scottish Presbyterian and English
Methodist traditions, both of which were products of the 16th century western
European protestant movement - which of course grew out of Roman Christian
traditions that date back to the early centuries of Christianity.
We are
intentionally including in our history the influence and impact of First Nations
spirituality in the story of the United Church of Canada.
//
Our history is
important. We should share these stories
with honour and gratitude.
I love the fact
that the display board in room 2 will tell the share stories this summer of
people's home churches.
//
Even so, the
gospel is clear - the path we are on now supercedes where we have
been. Our ancestors' legacy has brought
us to this point. Do we really think
they did that, so that we could focus all of our energy on them?
Our legacy will
be to advance the good news in our
day.
//
I am acutely
aware that fate and circumstance (and a fair share of divine providence) has
graced me with the opportunity to become this congregation’s longest serving
minister. It has been (and continues to
be) a privilege and an honour to serve Christ with you.
//
As I do most
summers, I will be taking the next several weeks off as holiday time. The coming Sunday services will (no doubt)
follow patterns different from mine: not settled in my ruts and style.
I am glad for
that.
I encourage you
to embrace that.
There will be
glimpses of holiness among you everytime you gather together in this
place. Find them - these holy
hints. Let them light your path.
//
Although - on a
purely selfish level, I do appreciate the ego-stroke, but I cringe a bit when I
come back after some time away and someone says - "we sure missed
you". As is a personal
appreciation, great. If the is 'the
church needs you' or 'church isn't really church without you', I get worried
about the message my time here is sending.
St. David's
United Church has a ministry that supercedes what I do and have done.
Ministry should
never be so tied with a particular minister that it can't endure through
changing leadership.
//
I never
imagined still being your minister after 16 years. I certainly never considered that I might retire from here.
//
For some reason
- probably related to advancing middle age and my changing family dynamics - I
have been getting very reflective lately.
With each
passing year, I am becoming more and more aware that there will come a time
when you and I move on in different directions.
I have no firm
plans on what's next for me after SD'S - even when/if changes might make sense.
I will trust in
the Spirit to guide and encourage.
Above all, I do
not want to be one of those ministers whose legacy is to create a pastoral
relationship so co-defendant that good future ministry is impaired for
years.
St. David's
United Church is not about me (or any one
of us); it is (and was and will be) about the Spirit of Christ brought alive
through the combined spiritual energies and actions of people involved this
church.
//
Unlike
Aerosmith, I am not announcing a farewell tour.
I'll be back in August after my summer-time off, ready for the next part
of our shared work of Christ in Beaumont and Leduc. But I am quite sure that there are more days
behind than in front of this plow for me here.
My focus - as
always - will be on the present, with an eye on the path ahead.
//
This (kind of)
self-centered part of today's sermon is really just an illustration of what I
see as a main point of both of our scripture passages today.
//
Jesus'
disciples, just like Elisha before them, came to a point when they needed to
forge their own path, rather than being merely followers.
The path ahead
is not known with any certainty - but there are hopes and the promise of past
legacies.
Just as parents
release their children into adulthood, God invites us to build a meaningful
ministry that moves us forward.
//
This begs the
question: How will we chose to live in
the freedom and love of God's Spirit?
How will we
live out the next chapters of the story that has been passed on to us - the
grand story of God's heart that has been entrusted to us?
//
I believe that
we start with a recognition that - regardless of how much we feel connected to The Story, we are all more than
followers, but leaders too. We are more
than disciples, we are teachers. More
than apprentices... mentors.
That's one of
the beautiful, mysterious aspects of The Way of Jesus: the gifts we bring, the
services we offer, the activities we take part in - whatever they may be -
enhance the common good of the whole.
If you were
here at St. David's last week, when we celebrated baptism, we all were offered
wisdom, when one of the children reached into the water with curious fingers to
touch the ordinary water we used to express the activity of an extraordinary
God.
That action
from one of the youngest in our midst was a ministry and encouragement for all.
We begin to
live into the freedom and love of God when we are will to follow and lead with
hope and trust that God can do wondrous things through us.
//
Another way for
The Story to be known is for us to live it in ways that fit with being a people
of our time and place.
It may an
interesting historical exercise to parrot the language of the past, but a
living story must be relevant to those who are alive now.
Later in the
service, as we pause for community prayer, we will honour the Lord's Prayer
that was recorded by the early church author of the Gospel of Matthew. Most English speaking protestant churches
still remain connected to the 16th century translation from the King James
Bible translation. And, at least once a
month, we honour the nostalgic power of those old words. But today, I invite us to pray a modern
paraphrase of Jesus' prayer. Perhaps,
the prayer can live in new ways as we think about the words we say, rather than
get lost in language-long-memorized by some.
//
Elijah did not
think that his God was irrelevant simply because the King saw a political
expediency in appeasing the practices of his in-laws.
Elijah found a
relevance for Yahweh in an increasingly pluralistic world.
We are living
in a world that is increasingly diverse - culturally, religiously. And yet, there is deep and real spiritual
hunger in a world we think is increasingly secular.
Our story will
be relevant in helping fill these yearnings for meaning (within the mysteries
that spiritual hunger brings out in people) when how we live out this enduring
faith makes sense given the realities of our world today.
//
Allow me to
offer three suggestions of ways that the Church can stay relevant in 2016.
ONE
Embrace Science as a companion to faith, not its opponent.
The authors of
the various books of the bible fully embraced the understandings of their
time. To them, the science of the day
was fully consistent with the stories they told.
And yet, a
movement of biblical liberalism has forced some modern Christians to let go of
that heritage.
From the
beginning of humanity, we have observed and expressed wonder at all we have
been able to see and experience. This
had been both an intellectual and spiritual endeavour.
Science is a
pursuit of understanding and meaning, just like spirituality.
Science, like
spirituality, appreciates mystery and
the unknown.
Modern people
of faith find room for the mystery of God with the vast limits of our
accumulated knowledge.
A modern
theological perspective is not that Global warming is just Jesus hugging the
earth tightly, but that in the balance of the created order of our planet, the
life forms that flourish are interacting with the natural geology in ways that
are ticking up the mean global temperature.
Spirituality
and science go hand in hand in the modern church.
//
TWO
Allow language to evolve.
When the
language of yesteryear no longer expresses God adequately, as followers of
Jesus have done since the beginning, we will discover new language to tell the
old, old story.
Every year the
prominent dictionaries add new words to their official lexicons. The new words do not appear out of thin
air. They have already been incorporated
into daily discourse. At the same time,
older expressions lose their impact.
We claim a faith
in Jesus Christ, who (as Hebrews 13:8 states) is the same yesterday, today and
forever. Why should we not let the
language of today express that.
For close to 40
years, the United Church of Canada has encouraged inclusive language when referring to the people of God's creation -
we are better called humanity than mankind.
They and their have become acceptable singular pronouns for unknown
individuals who may be either female or male, in place of the more
traditionally grammatically correct, but cumbersome, he/she and him/her.
In the same
way, for decades, we have allowed ourselves to embrace a wide variety of
metaphoric descriptions of God. Our creator is not just the authoritarian
father or king, but also mother, sustainer, weaver, midwife, wisdom.
//
THREE
See the spark of God in each person.
In the Lord's
prayer, we ask our God to 'deliver us from evil'.
Evil is a
loaded word that few take time to define.
Its gentler synonym is "bad".
In spiritual circles, 'evil' is that which distracts us or impedes us
from God's best dream for us.
Evil is best
understood as actions or attitudes, but...
Evil (too
often) has been ascribed to a person, rather than their actions or motivation.
In some church
circles (historic and modern), whole groups of people have been written off as
incapable of being a beacon of God's light.
This doesn't
fit well with the modern evolution of religious understand (which is actually
very ancient)... we are part of a good creation and God sees redemption
possibilities in every living being.
//
This meme has
been part of the pre-service slideshow.
St. David's
United Church, like the UCCan as a whole, lives on the leading edge of this old
faith reality.
God does not
desire to exclude or condemn but to welcome and embrace.
Over the years
in UCCan churches, we have gone to great lengths to widen the circle of our
care and community: men, women children; gay, lesbian, straight, trans,
bisexual, aboriginal, settlers newcomers and more.
Healthy,
vibrant, modern churches are truly welcoming.
Not that 'others' can join - but that there is no 'other'. As we read last week: We are
one in Christ.
//
//
So...
One: embrace
science as part of spirituality
Two: allow
evolving language to express the everlasting truth of God's compassion
Three: see the spark
of God in each other and in ourselves.
//
//
In the spirit
of the many ages of the people of faith, we are invited to embrace the modern
changes that can allow us to know God in fresh ways.
God bless where
we have been. And may we bless God where
we are now and in the new adventures we will have as we move forward.
//
//
Let us pray:
Holy God, we will - in faith - trust you... as we follow Jesus’
Way. Amen.
#559VU “Come O Fount of Every Blessing
