ST. DAVID'S UNITED CHURCH: September 2013

Sunday, September 22, 2013

A PEACEABLE LIFE

September 22, 2013

Pentecost 18

Jeremiah 8:18 -9:1

1^st Timothy 2:1-7

(prayer)

Yesterday morning, I had breakfast at the Coloniale Golf and Country Club. It was a gathering of pastors, church people, politicians, community leaders, etc. for the Beaumont Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.

These type of events happen in many communities.

For the past dozen years, I have helped organized the City of Leduc’s Mayor’s prayer breakfast. And at various times in the past, I have also attended the Alberta premier’s prayer breakfast and the Leduc County prayer breakfast. I once heard a politician promote his city’s breakfast by saying "I attend a lot of these and we do it the best of anyone". I can forgive the passive aggressive condemnation of other communities as this politician lauded his town, because I know, it is part of political-speak to judge all other communities by calling your own “the best”.

For me, I am okay if other’s do things well too!

[That's why you'll never hear me say that Canada is the greatest country in the world. Don't get me wrong, I love living here. It's a great country. But I don't need to compare it to anywhere else to be happy about my home.]

I have been to many good prayer breakfasts hosted by many communities. After all... they always include a breakfast - how good is that?!

Most of these kind of early morning events are done in cooperation with the local Christian Community and so it is not uncommon for 1^st Timothy, chapter 2 to be quoted somewhere (directly or indirectly): ¹First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be made for everyone, ²for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.

The book I currently assimilating is Marcus Borg’s “Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written”.

The premise of the book is that we get a better understanding of the development of early Christian thought and practice if we are able to see the way the movement once called Jesus’ “Way” evolved over its first 100 years or so as we read the documents that the church shared, read and re-read - those words that were so treasured that they were preserved long enough (to mid 4^th century) for the church to become an institution and hold large canonical councils to decide (officially) what would constitute Christian Scripture and what would be discarded as heresy.

So, the context of a particular New Testament writing is essential in their understanding; by context I mean... who wrote it? to whom? where? when? and why?

Of the 27 documents (books) in the New Testament, Marcus Borg places First Timothy as number 24: the fourth last to be written (coming from the late first century or early second century).

Although the body of the letter says that the author is Paul, this letter was actually penned many decades after Paul died as a Roman prisoner. In our time, that would be considered unethical (at best) or (at worst) identity theft. But in New Testament times, it was not uncommon for certain leader’s successors to continue to write in that leader’s name after their death. It was a way of claiming an authority from an earlier time. Kind of like, “if Paul were still here, he would say ‘this’ about ‘that’.

The three best pieces of evidence of 'non-Paul' authorship are that:

1. the Greek writing style is (apparently) very different from the earlier letters;

2. the place of female leadership is markedly diminished from the time of Paul;

3. and leadership within the church has become more structured and formalized. First Timothy describes the personal characteristics of people who can qualify as overseers (bishops) and servants (deacons).

Of course, the successor ofPaul who wrote the (so called) Pastoral Epistles (1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus) had lived through times of theological expansion and so the new thoughts and opinions espoused in Paul’s name were not from Paul’s time but from the authors.

Context matters if we want to understand.

In fact, there is a large scholarly consensus that the Apostle Paul actually only wrote seven of the thirteen letters that claim him as the author (1^st Thessalonians; Galations; 1^st Corinthians; Philemon; Philippians; 2^nd Corinthians; and Romans).

The six other later non-Paul letters of Paul relay for us an evolution of early Christian thought that did not yet exist in Paul’s life time. They must be appreciated for the context 'in' and 'for which' they were written.

So, what might be behind this encouragement to pray for kings and all who are in high positions? At first glance it seems a long way removed from that zealous attitude that was ripe in Galilee and Judea in the time of Jesus that those who held political power (directly Roman or through complicity to the empire) were a barrier to faithful living. Remember Jesus was executed because he was accused of promoting a kingdom and authority other than Caesar and Rome!

So, how did we go from Jesus being crucified because he was the King of the Jews to Paul’s legacy being brought out to encourage people to pray for the Roman Caesar (who was the king for virtually all of the Christian communities of at the turn of the first century)?

The short answer: "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em".

As I mentioned earlier, Institutionalism is a key theme is f First Timothy. So too is... Accommodation. As Paul was traveling, preaching, teaching and writing as an Apostle of Christ Jesus, a revolutionary zeal was alive and well in the Hebrew homeland. Prior to the advent of the Roman Empire, Judea and Galilee were basically self governed. The advance of Greek influence was more cultural than political. Even after Rome became THE world power, for a few decades in the century before Jesus lifetime, Judea (under the Maccabee family) had the empire on it's heals. But, it didn't last.

Even though this was not really a major topic of Paul's authentic letters, it was part of the background context as he actively sought contributions for the Christians in Jerusalem. By the time First Timothy is written Judea had clearly lost the battle with Rome. Fifteen years after Paul died, a brief Hebrew uprising was violently quashed which lead to the permanent destruction of the Jerusalem Temple.

For the Christians at the turn of the first century, an existence was carved out within the context of the Empire: accommodation.

A related example to can be seen in the fact that 'gone' is Paul's proclamation in Galations that "in Christ, there is no male or female, no slave or free". In First Timothy, women are told the best way to serve the church is to let the men lead and focus on child bearing. And slaves were told to just submit to their masters.

A message from First Timothy is that we are to focus influences (first and foremost) at the level of the heart.

All they wanted from the Empire was the opportunity to live 'a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity'. The church sought to survive within the Empire, in spite of the empire.

When Jeremiah's tome was written, some of the people of Judea had already been sent into exile by the Empire of that day: Babylon. Jeremiah is pained by the pain of others. He knows that these first exiles knew sufferings that those still huddled in a fortified Jerusalem could only imagine. He writes with such anguish - I wish my head were a spring or fountain, so I would have adequate water for the tears I need.

The prophet's message: don't let past/present suffering stop us. Yahweh is still their King, even though many the leaders in Judah were among the exiles.

Jeremiah was speaking about grabbing onto the peace that was still possible in life - no matter what the context.

Our context is different still. Where we live, we have the freedom to make waves w/o fear of violence and persecution. We are better to be worried about bring ignored. But that experience in not universal. I'm not sure that it still the best and most faithful way to live is to simply acquiesce to 'the empire'.

In our day, I think a quiet and peaceable life is hard to achieve. Not only is our world still drenched in the blood of violence and war, we have come to depend on huge economies that rely on a continuation of conflict to bring prosperity to people who (ironically) seldom have to face the violence (which they enable) themselves.

At a more local level, we are bombarded with opportunities and attitudes that discourage real quiet and peace in our lives: "rest" is interpreted as (at best) an opportunity lost or (at worst) as laziness.

But peace is what we need.

A gospel author wrote about Jesus wishing peace in the lives of his disciples: "my peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you." (John 14:27) After the resurrection, the same gospel had the Risen Christ greet the disciples by saying "peace be with you!" (John 20:19, 21) Each Sunday (here in church - as we did today), we greet each other in that same manner.

Can we accept the challenge to make that action more than words?

A message from First Timothy is that peace is enabled by being people of spirit, people of prayer. As we connect with our God, we pray for the means to live peaceably with each other - friend and stranger alike. First Timothy urges "that supplications, prayers, intercessions should be made for everyone!"

I wonder how many of us realized that yesterday (September 21st) was the International Day of Peace - the date coincides with the time of year that the United Nations General Assembly begins its annual sessions. I know, I missed it until I saw the extremely small crowed gathered at Edmonton's city hall.

If you plug “peaceful images” into a search engine, you’ll find lots that look like this one [on the screen]. Often there is no hint of a human presence. If there is, it is an old barn, or an empty dirt road. I can almost guarantee that you will not find a busy, city streetscape among the search results.

That seems to imply that we can’t have peace unless we get beyond our interaction with each other.

I don’t think that is what a peaceable life means. It is not just ‘unplugging’ for a while. It is finding the peace that does exist within our busyness. Finding peace between people, not apart from people.

If all it took to know peace was to take a quiet walk alone, we’d all do it. As valuable as that is (and I encourage it) the experience is temporary. To truly know peace, we need to inject it into the chaos.

Because of that a focus on a peaceable life is easy to avoid.

And yet it is the life to which we are called.

(prayer)

Let us pray:

Just and loving God, open our imaginations to catch your vision of all people living together in wholeness and harmony. And may we each be open to an inner peace to deepen our connection to you. Amen.

#77MV "Be Still and Know"

Monday, September 16, 2013

NOT READY TO GIVE UP

Preached at First United Church: Fort Saskatchewan

September 15, 2013

Pentecost 17

Luke 15:1-7

Jeremiah 4:22-29

1^st Timothy 1:12-17

(prayer)

I am thrilled to have been invited to be with you today as you enjoy this sabbatical time without your regular minister, Rev. Danielle. I have had a good amount of connection with this church in recent years, mostly as a representative of the Yellowhead Presbytery (which connects United Churches between Ft McMurrary and Jasper). I helped with the final report of your transitions team a few years back. I reviewed your governance structure for the presbytery. I followed up with your board after last year's pastoral oversight visit. Currently, I am your pastoral charge supervisor while Danielle is on sabbatical. Add to that the fact that Rick Chaba recruited me to be on the organizing group for last fall's Banff Men's Conference; it's fair to say that I am pretty familiar with highway 21.

I have been an Ordained Minister in the United Church of Canada for 23 years: the last 13 of which I have be in ministry with the people who connect to St. David's United Church in Leduc. I am a husband, a father (of four), a dog owner, a football coach: sports fan, music lover and musician - just to scratch the surface.

As a parent, I have recently crossed a threshold: ten days ago, my son turned eighteen. As our oldest, every experience with him was a new one for my spouse and I. (whisper). And I won't lie to you there have been times when I was ready to throw in the towel.

It was actually kind of liberating to realize (a week and a half ago) that my official, legal obligations were at an end. Okay... he's still living at home, currently recovering from knee surgery before he finds gainful employment, so it is still hard to resist the urge to still offer "parental advice". Why not, my mom hasn't stopped and it's been 32 years since I reached voting age.

Even though I'm allowed to; I'm not ready to give up.

The Parable of the lost sheep in Luke chapter fifteen, is the first of three similar parables that the gospel writer puts together for the readers. We only read the one today:

1. One of 100 sheep gets separated from the flock;

The other parables in Luke 15 are:

2. One of 10 coins is lost in a house;

3. One of 2 sons leaves home.

At first glance, these all seem to be three variations of the same parable. They all have the same theme. The person responsible refuses to accept that the missing item is lost for good. She/he refuses to give up and keeps looking until it is found. And the result is joy - joy that is not only kept within the individual, but shared with the community: a celebration is held.

But... they are not exactly the same parable. The tales of different lost items seems to me to be more than just a variety of ways of telling the same story with the same lesson. The three Lukan ‘lost parables’ may have a similar effort in the search and a similar response to the finding, but how and why the loss happened in the first place is unique.

THE LOST SHEEP

With 100 sheep to keep watch over, it is not all that hard to believe that, as they graze and roam the hillside that one could go missing from time to time. That’s why the shepherd does a regular count - so that if one does go astray, it can be found before it is too late - before it gets hurt or before a predator grabs it for supper.

One of the ways, things can get lost is that we are just overwhelmed. We lose track with so many things on the go. It’s understandable. If this experience happens over and over, it may a sign that we are systemicly overburdened and could do with some more training or help.

THE LOST COIN

Ten coins is not 100 sheep. It is certainly a more managable number. And they were not scattered throughout the countryside; they were all in the house (keep in mind this is a first century tiny one room shack, not a modern 2,500 square foot showhome). We can imagine that when the coins were retrieved from their storage space, it was simply noticed that one of them was not there. When was it last seen? Who had it last? Was it not put back carefully?

One of the ways that things can get lost, is that we are neglectful to some degree. We just didn't offer it our best, due care.

THE LOST SON

The father's younger son is not an inanimate coin, nor and instinctual domesticated animal. The son gets lost on purpose. The decision may have been years in the making.

One of the ways 'we' get lost is... by choice. And likely we wouldn't even describe ourselves as getting lost. In fact, we might profess that we were 'lost' at home and needed to be out on our own to 'find' ourselves.

In these three stories, it is the shepherd, the woman and the father who experience the agony of the loss. Agony (in like) this is not fun. We don't like that feeling. If we have some hope that the item is not lost forever, the process of searching is also a process of easing our own pain.

The deeper the pain, the more we'll do to find it. We won't give up easily.

As the Babylonian invaders moved west, tensions in Jerusalem grew. The walls were reinforced; goods and weapons were stockpiled. The Judeans were a confident people. This was their land. Land promised to Abraham. Land controlled by the Israelites from the time of Joshua. They had weathered every attempt to wrest them from their home. In the previous century, Judah remained independent even as the northern tribes were assimilated into the Assyrian Empire.

The Judeans "knew" from past experience that although the Babylonians appeared overwhelming, this was their promised land.

So... how annoying Jeremiah must have been with his prophecies of unfaithfulness and a future of desolation. The prophet preached: God saw the people as foolish, stupid evil-doers. Their foolishness (read... arrogance) would ruin this land of promise. And God would let their over-confidence run it logical, predictable course.

Biblical history tells us that it was worse than even Jeremiah imagined. Not only the countryside was lost to the Babylonians, but Jerusalem fell as well. The great stone Temple built in the time of King Solomon was pillaged and laid to ruin.

But... as Jeremiah hoped, this was "not a full end". A remenant of the people, including some key religious leaders and thinkers, were taken into exile to live as refugees by the rivers of Babylon. They kept their identity and culture alive. Their faith survived and even evolved beyond the Temple centric rituals. The people were not ready to give up. And so, when (a few generations later) their descendants returned home to Judah, they found they still had the ability to live as God's people.

The underlying message from both Jeremiah and Luke is that God does not give up on us. We may find ourselves lost from time to time, but we are watched over, emboldened from within and loved by the heart at the centre of the universe.

Discovering that unconditional grace brings almost indescribable joy. The first letter to Timothy recounts for the early church the experience of the Apostle Paul who began his connection with Jesus' Way as a zealous opponent of Jesus' followers. The story of the grace and loved that welcomed Paul, was an encouragement to a new generation that of believers that there is nothing that can separate them from the love of God through Christ Jesus, their lord. I love the phrase from today's reading : "Jesus Christ [displayed] the utmost patience [with me]."

Yeah, we are not perfect reflections of the image of God. We get lost from a life in homey comfort of God's love. It may be the busyness of life that makes it hard to find time for the Spirit no matter how much we long for it. Perhaps we just let the call of the Spirit fade into the forgotten background of the world, only to find it hard to find when we seek it. Or maybe we are gone from by choice. We have been hurt or disillusioned by religion or by people who live what you see as a hypocritical or indefensible faith.

The hope in our scriptures today is that it is not a "full end". That God is like a dedicated shepherd watching hillside for any trace of our whereabouts; a woman willing to sweep out the whole house to find what is deeply valuable to her; God is the parent sitting on the front porch watching the road everyday until we find our way home.

In one way or another you are all seekers of a homefor your spirit. Your very presence in this space today has bucked the dominant societal norm to avoid church on Sunday mornings.

Look within yourself and try to discover...

What it is you are seeking?

· What is in the process of being nurtured in you?

· How can God find and hold you today?

Seek that within you.

Know that you are not alone.

And celebrate that the Love of God is in your midst.

Amen? Amen!

#574VU "Come Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love

Sunday, September 8, 2013

IT NO LONGER FITS

September 8, 2013

Pentecost 16

Philemon 1-21

Jeremiah 18:1-11

(prayer)

A week and a half ago, I went and saw the movie, "TheButler". It is loosely based on the true story of an African-American man who began working on the service staff at the Whitehouse in 1952 during the Eisenhower administration straight through to the 1980s with Ronald Reagan. I say loosely based because that the fact that the movie character Cecil Gaines worked for eight presidents is about the only parallel to the real life Eugene Allen. The details of the movie's plot are largely fictitious, but ‘historically believable’ given the societal events and attitudes that existed over that time period. In that way it is similar to the Titanic storyline of Jack and Rose, set within a historically believable setting.

Both in the movie and in real life, it is fair to say that "The Butler" was around the Whitehouse during the progression of the civil rights movement and the evolution of race relations in the United States in the last half of the 20th century.

A key insight that I got from the movie was… how recent real race equality in the western world is. The equality of the races is a very recent legal reality in the US. I found myself also reflecting on how the practical implications of a diverse population are still a struggle in many places.

I get so bothered when people question whether racism still exists given that the US Civil War ended almost 150 years ago. C’mom Lincoln freed the slaves a long time ago - get over it! The recent US Supreme Court decision to strike down the key provision of the 1960s era Voting Rights Act (as a modern irrelevancy) is a denial of the lingering racism that is alive and well for African Americans today.

The attitudes that justified 400 years of north american slavery had lasting impacts and have not disappeared. That is an unavoidable reality despite the new textbooks out of Texas (which are used throughout the US) that has whitewashed the Slave Trade by renaming it the Atlantic Triangular Trade. Slavery has now been reduced from a moral issue to a historic economic system - ‘people’ were merely one-third of commodities shipped between Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Slavery had a sad and firm place within human history. Human beings reduced to “commodities” for the pleasure and profit of someone with power is a stain we still live with. Denying that does no one any good.

There are still counties in the US where an interracial couple can’t get married, no matter what the law says.

A fact: Attitudes are stronger than legislation.

Another fact: Followers of the biblical tradition are partly to blame. The fact that the bible does not condemn slavery has perpetuated racial strife in the largely-christian west. In fact, the bible accepts and condones the practice.

Case in point: Paul's letter to Philemon.

While in a Roman prison, Paul shared the good news of Christ with Onesimus. Obesimus was a runaway slave owned by Philemon, with whom Paul had a previous connection. It is even possible that Paul remembered Onesimus as someone who served him while at Philemon's house sometime.

The context of the letter is that Onesimus was being returned to his master. It was wrong for human property to run away. The society valued the economic property rights of Philemon over any human rights owed to Onesimus. Paul gave the slave a letter to deliver to Philemon. Paul does not take this opportunity to condemn slavery but instead honours Philemon's right as an owner of this human property. The farthest Paul goes is to appeal to Philemon's vanity and good judgment to use his slave's passion for Christ to serve the gospel as part of his service to Philemon.

If Paul's letter to Philemon advances the movement to abolish slavery at all, it is the tiniest of tiny baby steps toward that goal.

But it is fair to say that the letter does advance an idea that is necessary for change: a call to be open to the notion that past practices and attitudes may not be what is needed now and in the future.

There was a time when The Church was threatened by the human mind’s ability to reason and discover. Copernicus’ and Galileo theories and observations challenged the ego of The Church: namely that God had built the universe around the human experience – that we were at the centre of it all. After all, Psalm 104:5 says that “Yahweh set the earth in its foundations. It can never be moved.”

Biblical literalism (which requires a mind which avoids the wonders of poetry and symbolism) has held The Church back. Ask Charles Darwin.

“God has created and is creating.” We said these words together earlier. We also heard similar words from Jeremiah in an image of a creating and recreating God. God, the potter.

Personally, I hold to an evolutionary theology – we are an evolving people in an ever-changing universe.

The world I was born into gave me a head start: the wheel was already created – I never had to think up the concept for myself. Electricity was already harnessed. And more…

I believe that what we find valuable to inform our best attitudes needs to be relevant to the current context. We are (from the beginning) people who grow and mature – not only in body, but in mind and spirit.

This past week, I crossed a threshold in my life. I became the parent of an adult. Patti and I have done what we could – it is his life to live now - free from our legal need try and manage his progress. With or without us, progress he will. And he will learn what works for him. It may not be as grand as moving from living in the water to living on land, but it is an evolution none the less.

As I put on facebook on the first day of school last Tuesday: One down. Three to go.

Cohen and Bentley both have a ways to go before their 18^th birthdays. And their futures will involve enormous change from the lives they know now.

On a small and big scale, we are an evolving people in an expanding universe.

In spite of past patterns and attitudes, thoughts (even theologies) evolve. Jeremiah, Jesus and Paul missed their opportunities to be critical of an economic system built on slavery. Long after them, it was finally largely abolished within the human experience (although not completely even in the 21^st century, where slavery is often tied to the sex trade).

AND it is certainly true that the impacts of the Atlantic Triangular Trade (aka 1500-1900 Slave Trade) are a long way from leaving this world.

The good news is that we can grow out of old attitudes into new ones. Just as the Potter can sit at the wheel with the clay and find a new form and function for a new future.

God has created and is creating.

We are not done yet.

Let us pray:

Holy God, centre of life and faith. Ground me in today. Prepare me for tomorrow. Amen.

#12MV “Come Touch Our Hearts”

Sunday, September 1, 2013

HOSPITABLE LIVING

SEPTEMBER 1, 2013
Pentecost 15

ad lib sermon including...

Hebrews 13

¹Let mutual love continue. ²Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. ³Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. ⁴Let marriage be held in honour by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. ⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ ⁶So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’ ⁷Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. …¹⁵Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. ¹⁶Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

You sit there nervously as they come up the aisle. They’re scanning their tickets. It looks like your jig is up. Yes, ‘you’ are sitting in ‘their’ seats. All you wanted was to get a better view and when you saw those empty seats, you thought “why not?”. Now, you give the embarrassed smile, apologize and climb up to the nosebleeds. It is rare that we make decisions in this life that affect only ourselves – that is obviously true for our co-workers, friends, family. But we are connected to people we don’t even know. And so, how we relate even to the stranger matters. How will we choose to be part of their lives and let them into ours? Jesus had some ideas about that.

Luke 14

¹On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. … ⁷When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. ⁸‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; ⁹and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. ¹¹For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’ ¹²He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. ¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’