Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Sunday, February 11, 2018

SLOW REVEAL


February 11, 2018
Epiphany Last - Transfiguration

(prayer)

The song of the angels is stilled.
The star in the sky is gone.
The kings and shepherds
have found their way home.
The Work of Christmas is begun.
(“I Am the Light of the World” - #87VU)

The light is in the world. 

The Work of Christmas is begun.

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You may know that Easter is (what is called) a movable feast.  Unlike Christmas, which is always on December 25th, Easter happens at different times in different years.

Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox.  Based on these criteria, Easter always falls betweenMarch 22nd and April 25th.

This year, the first day of spring is March 20th.

There will be a full moon on Sat, March 31st.

So, Easter Sunday 2018 is April 1st.  I’m not sure what to make of the fact tbat Easter will also be April Fools day.  I guess that we get to live out First Corinthians, chapter four, verse ten: We are fools for Christ.

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Within the calendar of the church year, a special season is set aside as a time to prepare ourselves for Easter.  Because - in the northern hemisphere - this happens during the lengthening days of spring, the season has become known as Lent.

Lent ends on the day before Easter and is always 46 days long (forty days, plus Sundays, so it always starts on a Wednesday - known as Ash Wednesday.

When Easter falls on April Fools Day, and if it is not a leap year, Lent will (coincidentally) begin on another easy-to-remember date: Valentine's Day.

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2018 is not a leap year... so, Lent will begin this Wednesday,  February 14th.

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That makes today the Last Sunday in the Season of Epiphany.

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As I have sung at the start of all of these Sundays of Epiphany, the work of Christmas begins as Jesus (the light) shines in the world.

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Since the beginning of January, each Sunday, the gospel of Mark has helped us learn about how Jesus’ ministry begun:

  • Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River;
  • Jesus took time alone with his temptations in the Judean wilderness;
  • Jesus returned to Galilee where he proclaimed that the kingdom of God had come near;
  • Jesus went to the fishing village of Capernaum (on the Sea of Galilee), where he began to acquire followers of his own, willing to help him fish for people;
  • Jesus taught and healed in the local synagogue, which led to many people flocking to Jesus to be part of what he was doing.
  • And, as we heard last week, Jesus decided to set out on a ministry-road-trip to share his message in the neighbouring towns too.

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Over the next couple of years, more lessons were shared; healing was known; more disciples joined in Jesus’ ministry.

Along the way, Jesus challenged the ridgedness of religious puritanism.  He even took his message to gentile (non-jewish) territories.  Political and religious elites began to notice how much influence Jesus was having.

In particular, Herod Antipas (the puppet King of Galilee) was concerned about the rumour that Jesus was a second coming of John the Baptist (whom Herod had had killed)

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Oneday while traveling among the villages of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus addressed the various rumours with his disciples:

Who do people say that I am?

John the Baptist, or Elijah,

or one of the other prophets.

But, who do you say that I am?

Peter: You are The Messiah!

Don't tell anyone about that!

The Son of Man will suffer rejection and be killed before rising again.

No, Jesus, that is not what mean when we say you are the messiah.

Oh Peter, your view is clouded by human thinking; set your mind on divine things.

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Six Days Later, Peter (and two other disciples) were given a chance to see Jesus in a different light.

We heard that story today.

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Jesus, Peter, James and John went up a high mountain where Jesus was changed [transfigured] before them; his clothes became dazzling white. Then they saw Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus.  A cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Belov`ed; listen to him!’ Suddenly when Peter, James and John looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.”

It was brief… no time to set up extra tents for Moses and Elijah.  But in that minÅ«te minute of mystery, the inner circle of Jesus’ band of followers were given a hint of God’s transcending glory alive in Jesus.

This experience was significant to the early church, in that it is shared in all three of the synopticgospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and may be hinted at in the introductory chapter of John: the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son.  The transfiguration is also referenced in the letter of Second Peter.

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There are four significant parts of the transfiguration vision seen by John, Peter and James:

  1. Jesus is seen as beyond their experience… clothes whiter than anyone in this world could bleach them;
  2. Jesus is seen as part of the scriptural and historical heritage of the Hebrew people by sharing the stage with Moses (the giver of the law) and Elijah (the first of the great prophets);
  3. Elijah offers a second significance - because he never died a natural death (blown into heaven by a whirlwind), it was believed - in some first century circles (based on an interpretation of a verse in Malachi) - that Elijah’s return would precede the coming of the messiah;
  4. And in case this was all too subtle, there was a heavenly affirmation of Jesus as God’s beloved child with the instruction to listen to him.

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The disciples’ eyes and ears confirmed the rumour that Peter had voiced less than a week earlier: Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One of God.

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When they re-joined the other disciples, the ministry of Jesus carried on much as it had before.

Even through Peter, James and John honoured Jesus’ order to keep the details of their mountain top experience to themselves, I wonder if any of the others noticed that their perspective on Jesus had changed.

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If you are like me, you may find that final verse (in today’s reading) a bit intriguing: As they were coming down the mountain, [Jesus] ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

This was a repeat of how Jesus responded six days earlier when Peter exclaimed that he believed that Jesus was the messiah… [Jesus] sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him (Mt8:30).

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Why all of this secrecy?

Why is the full truth about Jesus revealed so slowly?

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I have a theory.

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Jesus did not want the focus to be on him.

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Jesus was not interested in being the centre of a charismatic cult but the mentor of mission movement.

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Jesus encouraged his followers to take this mission into their spheres of influence and make disciples there... not bring him back converts.

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Message over the messenger.

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It is significant - to me - that the transfiguration is in the middle of the story.  Preaching, teaching and healing precede it … and preaching, teaching and healing follow it.

The heavenly voice even tells us that this is not to be the end (or climax) of Jesus’ story: listen to him.

There was more of Jesus to be revealed.

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The structure of Mark’s gospel points to this progressive revelation.

  • At the beginning, as part of the baptism story, a heaven voice speaks only to Jesus (notice second person language): you are my belov`ed son; I am pleased with you.
  • In the middle, as part of the transfiguration story, the voice speaks to a few disciples (the baptism words are repeated, but this time in the third person): this is my belov`ed son; listen to him.
  • At the end, the Risen Jesus gives his closest followers one final lesson: Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.

At first, Jesus knows.

Then a few disciples know.

And finally, the world is told.

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We are still in the midst of step three.

The ministry of Jesus is still be revealed.

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Peter, James and John must have treasured their mountain top experience, but they listened to Jesus by keeping the focus on what what was being said and done, not on who Jesus was.

Message over the messenger.

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Ministry over the minister.

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Last year, I made use of study leave time take two seperate courses where I could delve into the Fundamentalsof Transitional Ministry- learning about and building on the best practices of how churches evolve with the times as their circumstances change.

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There are many factors that lead congregations into transition eras - healthy congregations are as proactive as they can be in addressing these.  But sometimes, even the best of them have trouble evolving away from the peripheral aspects of their identity.

Change is hard,

when we are reluctant to change.

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The second course I took concluded with my classmates and I, each, designing a fieldwork project dealing with some aspect of congregational transition. 

We were divided into groups of five who have continued to meet monthly by conference.

I am still going over all of answers people wrote down at last week's annual congregational meeting to the question: What is good about this church?  I have actually been collecting input on that question since last December as part of my project: In the modern reality of a spiritual not religious context, if people are interested in learning what St. David's church is like, (if we are being honest) what should we say and how should we say it.

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Thank you for helping me with my homework.  I have my last conference call with my classmates this coming Tuesday morning.

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St. David’s United Church has existed (in some form or another) for 120 years.  Unless, some of you look incredible for your age, I assume that none of us have been here for all twelve of those decades.

I have been here for less than ⅙ of that history but I have witnessed an evolving church. 

2018’s St. David's is not 2000’s St. David's.

And it is certainly not 1898’s St.David's.

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I know that this congregation has accepted and chosen changes over the years.

I don't just mean physical changes to the building, or AV systems, or staff changes…

St. David’s has also evolved in its understanding of its mission and how to live that out.

Some of these evolutions have happened easily; other changes have been met with understandable resistance.

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A message I hear in today’s scripture reading is that Jesus knew that the ministry he and his disciples were sharing was an dynamic one.

Peter might have wanted to freeze the moment with transfigured Jesus - to set up camp permanently on the mountain top, but their mission lay down in the valley.

Can you imagine the reaction the others would have had if Peter, James and John had created a shrine on the mountain?  People might have ignored the world below in hopes of re-experiencing a time that had passed.

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I believe that Jesus’ followers (in the first and twenty-first centuries) are invited to see ourselves in the middle of a story that is still being written.

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We are both heirs of a evolving legacy and future benefactors who must constantly find a new relevance to what it means to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near.

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Is there still relevance in this congregation’s stated mission that we are a nurturing Christian community [that inspires] people to serve others as Christ taught?

The words of our motto - Welcoming In ~ Reaching Out - roll easy off the tongue, but… what can that mean in 2018?

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May we not be so distracted by the wonder of today's mountain that we forget we are called into the valley.

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The story of our part in Jesus’ mission and ministry is still being written.

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Let us embrace that which is fresh and unfolding.

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Let us pray:

God, you are the source of light in the world.  Shine in our hearts so that - through us - the world might see the compassion of Christ.  Amen.


#104VU “We Have Come at Christ’s Own Bidding”

Sunday, February 4, 2018

FREE TO CHOOSE

February 4, 2018
Epiphany 5
(prayer)
The song of the angels is stilled.
The star in the sky is gone.
The kings and shepherds
have found their way home.
The Work of Christmas is begun.
(“I Am the Light of the World” - #87VU)
The light is in the world. 
The Work of Christmas is begun.
//
//
We continue to make our way through the season of epiphany - the weeks from the 12 days of Christmas through to the start of Lent.
On Sundays, here in church - since the beginning of January - we have been methodically working our way through the first chapter of the gospel of Mark.
     Jesus spent time with John the Baptist and John’s followers by the Jordan River;
     Jesus took time alone with his temptations in the Judean wilderness;
     Jesus returned to Galilee where he proclaimed (like John had in Judea): the kingdom of God has come near;
     Jesus spent time by the Sea of Galilee, where he began to acquire followers of his own;
     Jesus taught and healed - with surprising authority - in the Capernaum synagogue. 
//
It is at this point in the narrative, that the gospel writer notes that “at once, [Jesus’] fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee” (Mk1:28). 
Up to this point, Jesus was able to pick and choose where he went and with whom he interacted:
-       Jesus chose to retreat into the wilderness.
-       Jesus chose to take John’s proclamation to Galilee.
-       Jesus chose to head down to the water where he chose to invite Simon, John and their brothers to join him in the ministry he was beginning.
-       Jesus chose to enter the synagogue and offer his insights.
-       Jesus chose to offer calm and renewal to a troubled member of the synagogue congregation.
But things changed after the people of Capernaum shared what they had seen and heard that Saturday in the synagogue.  And it didn't take long as we heard today.
After “synagogue/church", one of Jesus’ fisherman disciples hosted them in his home.  
As soon as the sabbath ended (with the setting sun), crowds of people began to arrive at Simon’s house longing to share in Jesus’ healing authority: fevers were abated; physical and mental illnesses were cured.
It sounds overwhelming.

In fairness, Mark doesn't say that Jesus was unable to handle the pressures and demands of the crowd in the way Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice present things in their play; the image that the gospel presents is that of a healer in full control.
And yet, when people woke up the next morning, Jesus was nowhere to be found. 
We are told that Jesus chose some prayerful solitude before the sun came up.  This seems to imply that:
1.    Jesus needed to re-charge his batteries; or
2.    Jesus needed to sort out what he should do next.
...or both.
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When Simon finally found Jesus, he said “everyone [has been] searching for you!”  I read that as saying that the crowds were back.  The news of Jesus’ authority was still spreading and even more people wanted to experience it firsthand.
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The young ministry of Jesus had already faced a few choice points.
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It began in the Judean wilderness after Jesus’ baptism.  After weeks of weighing the options, Jesus chose not to abuse the authority he was given.  Jesus chose to return to John the Baptist’s group and stayed among them until John was arrested.
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At that point, Jesus then chose to return back to Galilee.  The gospel text doesn't give us any details, but, for some reason, Jesus chose not to go back to Nazareth, but to relocate to Capernaum, where his teachings inspired James, John, Andrew and Simon to leave their nets and follow Jesus.
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When Jesus met the troubled man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue, a new direction was chosen - Jesus would teach through actions as well as words.
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That choice set up the choice Jesus faced in today's reading… He had prayed about it early that morning.  What Would Jesus Do?
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Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.
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For that is what I came out to do.  Jesus seems to be saying that it was his destined fate to be a travelling preacher-teacher.
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That brings me to what I want to explore today.
Fate versus Choice.
Pre-destination versus Free Will.
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Does God have our lives mapped out for us and we simply live out that divine plan with only an illusion of choice?
or
Do we live it out our own choices and God is simply our companion along the way: perhaps offering guidance but not forcing us on one path or another?
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Predestination and Free Will are competing ideologies that - both - have long and strong histories within christian theological discourse.  This includes many attempts (over the centuries) to have it both ways.  Some of the arguments can get quite complicated, but the way I see it - in the end - people really have to lean one way or the other.
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Free Will is pretty easy to understand. 
It is the belief that when faced with a choice, we make the choice based on a search of the priorities of our hearts and minds.
While it is true that there are many circumstances that are beyond our control - when we might argue that we have no real choice, a Free Will doctrine would still argue that how we live in the wake of those circumstances can vary... based on how we respond; Free Will proposes that the path we end up on is the result of the physics of the universe, human interactions and our complex intersecting choices.  Free Will is the belief that God is not simply moving pieces around a chess board, all while hacking our minds with an illusion of choice.
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A Free Will doctrine can be uncomfortable because it is lonely.  It seems to be the antithesis of the basic hope of faith … that we are not alone; that we live in God's world.
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A Pre-Destination doctrine brings comfort into an uncomfortable world.  We long for a deeper meaning behind circumstances that defy understanding.
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We often hear Pre-Destination language in the aftermath of a tragedy.  There must be a greater purpose behind the suffering:
     This happened for a reason.
     God must have a greater plan.
     God was looking out for me.
     A child dies… God needed a new angel.
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People sometimes reflect on fortunate circumstances with pre-destination language.  Even when the results are good, if we can't see the logic, pre-destination offers an explanation.
     God wanted me to get on this plane…
     God has blessed me...
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A Pre-Destination doctrine can be uncomfortable because it is cruel.  It seems to be the antithesis of the basic hope of faith … that God is love.  Logic tells us that in a universe governed by Pre-Destination, God picks winners and losers… and the criteria for who the losers are doesn't always make sense.
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Free Will offers opportunities to have an impact in the world;
Pre-Destination offers contentment that there is a time and purpose for everything.
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But...
Free Will paints a lonely existence;
Pre-Destination - a cruel one.
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All of this hinges on how we understand the nature of God.
Two characteristics often ascribed to God:
- Omniscient;
- Omnipotent.
For many of us these are the very definition of God: all-knowing and all-powerful.
This does give rise to the skeptic’s paradoxical questionDoes God know how to make a stone that is so heavy that God is unable to lift it?
The “omnipotence paradox” comes in many forms:
     The oldest might be from Pseudo-Dionysius in the 6th century: Can God deny himself?
     Other variations: Can God create a prison so secure that God could not escape?
     Can God draw a triangle who angles do not add up to 180°?
     Or my personal favorite - Homer Simpson asking Ned Flanders: Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that he, himself, could not eat it?
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Our language forces us to anthropomorphize God.  Our ability to understand God is limited by our human experiences.  The best we can do is imagine what we might do if we were all-powerful and all-knowing.
Here’s an ironic question on the free well, pre-destination debate:
Is God destined to use God’s omnipotence and omniscience to their fullest potential or does God have the ability to freely choose to be less than that?
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In the 1999 movie, The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo that there is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.
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The truth is… I really don't know whether I am a slave to fate or whether everything depends on me.  I doubt that this is a knowable known.
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I really want to believe that I am more than an algorithm being played out.
I really want to have my life matter.
I want the conversations we have at times like our Annual Congregational Meeting after church today to have the potential to bring something new into our midst.
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I get hints that this is possible when I see all of the choices at work within today’s gospel reading.
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Jesus chooses to expand how he will teach people about the Realm of God.
He chooses to show wholeness and renewal in his actions as well as his words.
Simon’s mother-in-law offers her service to guests in her home.
The disciples choose to go looking for Jesus.
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Jesus (like John the Baptism) had been preaching a gospel of choice: The Kingdom of God is near.  Will you turn toward it and believe in this good news?
Perhaps my best hope for free will comes from the day that Jesus came down to the lake shore:  I will be fishing for people.  Will you come and follow me?
Simon, James and their brothers chose to leave their boats on the shoreline and seek other seas when Jesus called their names.
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The book of Acts tells us that this same Simon (now going by Peter) told the full story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection to stunned crowds during the Festival of Weeks (fifty days after the first Easter) and 3,000 people chose to walk the path discipleship that day.
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Maybe I have free will, but God exists beyond linear time and knows (ahead of time) what I will choose. ?? 
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For me… I will assume that my choices matter.
And… I will assume that God remains my companion, regardless of where those choices take me.
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If God can have it both ways, I will too.
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I will take seriously the invitation to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world, without expecting my god to force my actions.
God, for me, is my companion and guide - not my auto-pilot.
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I will walk the paths I choose, but I will never walk alone.
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Guided by testaments, old and new...
-       I choose kindness, mercy and humility.
-       I choose faith, hope and love.
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And… I will greet the Christ-light in you as we find ourselves sharing the road.
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I believe that we will make a difference… because we can.
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Let us pray:
Holy God, we seek wisdom to make good choices so that we may advance Jesus’ good news.  Be with us on this journey.
Amen.

***offering***