SIGHS AND WORDS

May 24, 2015

Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

Romans 8:22-27

(prayer)

Our world is not the same today as it was fifty days ago.  Seven weeks ago, there was barely a green blade of grass to be seen.  If memory serves, there wasn't any fresh snow on the ground on Easter morning, but I do remember deciding it would be wiser to hold the 8am service inside the church rather than on the church yard.

In these past seven weeks, the presidents of Cuba and the United States formally met together significantly thawing one of the last remaining icicles of the Cold War - that dominated world affairs for the latter half of the 20th century.

A baby girl named Charlotte became fourth in line to succeed Queen Elizabeth II of England.

An earthquake devastated the mountainous nation of Nepal killing thousands.

A Boston Marathon bomber was convicted of murder and domestic terrorism.  He was sentenced to death.

Alberta elected a new provincial government that will formally begin its work in about three hours.

Tom Brady was suspended for one quarter of the next NFL season for making sure he could throw slightly deflated footballs - while a former teammate of his was found guilty of murder.

And... just yesterday, we learned that Ireland was welcomed into the league of nations that offer marriage equality.

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Beyond the home pages of news website, each of us has experienced our own changes since April 5th.  Some good, some sad, some hopeful, some worrisome.

In the grand span of history 50 days is but an instant.  And yet, these past seven weeks have witnessed change.

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The disciples of Jesus were back in Jerusalem for the spring harvest festival known as 'Pentecost' or 'Weeks'.  It had only been about 50 days since Jesus was crucified.  Barely seven weeks had passed since they heard idle tales of an empty tomb.

It had been less than two months since the Risen Jesus had stood among the offering words of peace and invited them into the world to share good news of God’s deep compassion.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place... and they were changed once again... on the rush of the wind.

An unexpected unity was known (not just among Jesus' followers) but within the diverse group of pilgrims that had come to celebrate the first fruits of the harvest.

It was amazing.

It was confusing.

It must have been scary.

And it was inspiring - literally 'in-spiriting'.

Peter offered words from scripture (from the scroll of the minor prophets). The prophet Joel said: God’s Spirit will pour out on ALL flesh - women, men, young, old, servants, masters.  ALL will see with new eyes, dream grand visions and proclaim the nearness of the Reign of God.  It will be obvious to anyone who has eyes to see and ears to hear.

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In the gospel of John, it says that many people were drawn to Jesus because of "signs and wonders" he performed.  It is likely very true that it was Jesus reputation as a skilled healer (miracle worker some would say) that invited people to seek him out.

On that Pentecost morning, Peter saw the breaking down of the barriers of language as a sign of some ever broader wonder: God can (and does) ignore the dividing lines we draw between people.

Over the past few weeks, I have been preaching about the ever-widening circle of welcome within the early Christian movement as we read through the book of Acts.

We have take a step back in that chronology this morning.  Peter's Pentecost Prognostications predate the leadership of Stephen, the encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian and the invitation from Cornelius.

The inertia of the followers of Jesus open arms rather than close doors begins with leaving the house on Pentecost and joining the crowds in the street - allowing them to see and hear the Spirit touching those beyond their group.  Joel's words made manifest.  God's Spirit pouring out on all flesh.

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Yes, signs and wonders can make an impact.  But the Spirit moves in subtle ways as well.

A few decades after that Pentecost, a new follower of Christ Jesus would offer a new metaphor for The Spirit in a letter to believers in Rome.

The Spirit is a midwife, who is helping birth something wonderful and new.  Yes, there is struggle leading up to that moment.  "The whole creation - including us - ", Paul wrote "have been groan in labour pains." The Spirit helps us breathe through the pains - sighing along with us until the new life has emerged.

Yes, signs and wonders can get God's Spirit noticed on grand scales, but the Spirit also moves amidst the sighs too deep for words.  The Spirit moves not only in the streets where division reigns, but also in hearts and minds where real change always happens.

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One of the big news stories this weekend is the Yes win in Ireland's same sex marriage referendum.  Several nations have marriage equality laws, but what is different (in this case) is that it is the first time such a law was enacted by an open popular vote - as opposed to legislative or judicial actions.

I am not convinced that 'minority rights' should only be doled at the whim of the majority.  Often the last half century we have seen that legislating and adjudication equal civil rights very often precedes public support.  When it comes to what is just and right, societies can not always wait for public opinion to catch up.

The test of time - on the issues of civil rights - continually confirms that hearts and minds do change.

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The movement of the Spirit on that first Christian Pentecost was grand and powerfully inspiring, but the real work of the Spirit is often slower and more personal - Peter who experienced the Spirit being poured out on ALL flesh still took a while before he could offer the waters of baptism to the household of the gentile Roman centurian Cornelius - proclaiming on that day: "I now see that God shows no partiality!"

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We are inheritors of this movement.

We are vessels of the moving Spirit of God who reaches past the boundaries "we" put around each other.  The Spirit ignores our cliques, our prejudices, our illusions of grandeur.  The Spirit sighs in the struggle to open arms of welcome.  And... the Spirit works on our hearts and minds until the new life of God's love emerges.

Let's take that hope and promise beyond these walls and into the streets.

Thanks be to God.

Let us pray:

Spirit of the Living God, fall freshly on us.  Guide us.  Inspire us.  Fill us.  Use us.  Amen.

#79MV  “Spirit, Open My Heart”

BECOMING COMPLETE

May 10, 2015

Easter 6

John 15:9-17

Acts 10:44-48

(prayer)

I don’t know if anyone noticed, but (apparently) last Tuesday, there were some new MLAs elected to serve Albertans as their government and loyal opposition.

Changes happen, I suppose. 
Not everyone likes change.  I think that - as part of the nature of our species - we are generally reluctant to change.

Changes are hard.  We know the truth of this all throughout our lives.  Psychologists will tell us that the most stressful times of life are the times of change:

·     The death of a loved one;

·     The ending of a significant relationship: divorce;

·     Advancing a relationship (getting married, moving in together);

·     Moving; 
·     Major Illness;

·     Change in job (job loss);

·     Having children;

·     Children moving out.

The truth is - whether change is forced upon us, or (reluctantly) accepted - it is not easy.  An unfamiliar path before us creates uncertainty as much as it might excite us about possibilities.

And so, I appreciate that the fact that we, as Albertans have just experienced only the fourth change in government in 110 years, change brings with it - the question that can be both stressful and hopeful:  what will this be like?

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Last Sunday, we read a section from the book of Acts, chapter 8, where the early church leader, Phillip met a traveler from Africa on the wilderness road between Jerusalem and Gaza.

I spoke about how this represented a change in the degree of welcome within the community of the followers of Jesus.

To recap:

-    Jesus’ first followers were all people of the Hebrew tradition from either Galilee or Judea.  Now, Jesus had expanded his ministry to include sharing of his gifts (of healing in particular) to anyone in need - including those beyond his faith tradition - but there is no indication that there the religious aspects of Jesus’ mission expanded beyond his own people from his part of the world.

-    Then, in the early months and years of the post-Easter Christian movement, Hebrew believers from the Diaspora were welcomed in: greek-speaking Jews who lived beyond the traditional land of Israel.  In fact, Phillip (from last week’s reading) was, himself, one of these so-called Hellenistic believers.

-    The movement opened a third door when it welcomed those who not even born into the Hebrew tradition - proselytes or converts became part of the movement.  One of Phillip’s colleagues, a leader named Nicolaus was such a convert.

-    Last week, the Ethiopian traveler was not just any convert to Judaism.  He was also a eunuch (apparently a job requirement for his role within his Queen’s court).  A eunuch is a man with no testicles (either as a result of an accident or some willful act). There had been eunuchs among the people of Israel from the earliest days of the religion, but such men were
not able to fully participate in the life of faith (cf Dt23:1).  And yet, when Phillip shared the story of Jesus and the new movement in his name, the Ethiopian was not denied baptism.

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Jesus had commanded his disciples that the were to love others (show compassion and commitment to others) in the way he had loved them.
Their lives were to be founded on a deep, selfless, compassion.

Jesus said: God has loved me, I have loved you, now go out and do the same.

Like the circle of welcome within the church, divine love starts with God at the centre and expands out.

Where might it stop?

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Well, Jesus’ rock of a disciple, Simon son of John, (aka Peter) saw the boundary as those who believed in the Hebrew God. 
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The story goes that Peter was on his way to Joppa (on the Mediterranean coast - now part of greater Tel-Aviv) when he was on a rooftop praying.  The text tells us that Peter went into a ‘trance’: a deep meditative state.  The text also tells us that Peter was hungry: but probably not so much that he was hallucinating from a lack of nourishment.  His trance was more likely
brought on by the deep prayer.

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In his dream-like state, Peter saw a collection of animals being brought down from the heavens.  He describes it as big tablecloth descending.  And this is goodnews for Peter because he is very hungry.  But... ironically, the animals in the sheet are all ones that are forbidden as food.  The book of Levitcus, chapter 11, has a brief list of some of the foods that are considered ‘unclean’.  There is not a description of ‘why’ - just of ‘what’.

’cause God says so!

It is the Apostle Peter’s own version of the ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’:

water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.

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“Peter, get up.  Kill.  Eat.”

“By no means!  I have never eaten anything profane or unclean.”

“What God has made clean, you must not call unclean.”

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“Peter, get up.  Kill.  Eat.”

“By no means!  I have never eaten anything profane or unclean.”

“What God has made clean, you must not call unclean.”

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“Peter, get up.  Kill.  Eat.”

“By no means!  I have never eaten anything profane or unclean.”

“What God has made clean, you must not call unclean.”

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Peter came out of his trance to see a stranger coming down the road.  It turned out to be an emissary from a roman centurion from Caesarea - who, although he was not Jewish (by birth nor conversion), had some semblance of faith in the Hebrew God.  Cornelius felt compelled to seek out Peter and sent his servants to get him. 

And Peter accepted: feeling similarly compelled - even though Peter knew that the Torah discouraged associations between Jews and non-Jews (aka Gentiles).  Now, I couldn’t find a direct Old Testament quote about that, but there are several references to driving the Gentiles out of the land and showing them no mercy.

Why did Peter go against this long held tradition and practice?
His prayer-dream:  what God has called clean, don’t call profane.

The doors of welcoming had been opening pretty freely within the early Christian movement, but this was a ‘biggy’ - faith in a Jewish teacher and healer, who preached an ethic of compassion from the Hebrew God, was now ready to welcome those from outside Jesus’ own faith tradition.

Peter said it best (Acts 10:34-35):  I truly understand that God shows now partiality.  Everyone (of any nation) who [respects] God and does what is right is acceptable to God.  Peter then went on to tell Cornelius more about Jesus.

While he was speaking, something happened that shocked Peter and his Christian companions: they witnessed an outpouring of the spirit among this group of gentiles that they had only seen among their own group.
This included charismatic fits like loudly praising God in words that were both familiar and unknown.

And then a question very similar to one we heard last week between the eunuch and Phillip: Can anyone withhold the baptismal waters for these people?

Of course, there was no reason.  The old assumptions about profane and clean were thrown out the window.

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Think of the church of Jesus as being like an unfinished work of art.
Maybe think of a Jackson Pollock spatter painting.  When is it finished?  When is it complete?  Is there no more room for change?  I guess it stops when the artist decides it stops.
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On his final evening with his disciples before he was arrested, the gospel of John records that Jesus told them he has been a conduit of God’s love and compassion for them, so that they can live that way too.  Jesus proclaims that - in this way - the divine joy can be in them.  They will come to be even more filled with Joy.  I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

The tapestry that is the Jesus’ Movement is in the process of becoming complete - with each new person, the fullness of God becomes more clear in our midst.

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The opening of the Christian movement to include Gentiles created some difficulties and exposed some conflicts within the early church.

Most of our New Testament is made up of letters exchanged with early Christian communities that were learning to live with the diversity of the family of Christ.

Saul of Tarsus was once a persecutor of the early Christians: concerned that they were perverting the faith.  But - like Peter - his eyes were open to a new vision.  At least seven of the NT books are letters written by Paul - who took on the new mission of sharing the good news of Jesus to Gentile communities.  With Paul’s guidance, many of the difficulties of inclusion were highlighted and addressed.

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Change does involve difficulty. 

It can be very stressful.

We may even try to avoid it and keep things safe.

But - all throughout the history of our faith, change brought about by welcome has evolved the work of art that is the widening love of God.

And that is a good thing, right?

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Let us pray:

Gracious God, be with us when arms of welcome are wide and when we are closed to new possibilities.  Nurture us on this path of faith. Amen.

#163MV  “River Run Deep”

WHY? WHY NOT?

May 3, 2015

Easter 5

1^st John 4:7-21

Acts 8:26-38

(prayer)

In the early days of the Christian movement - that is the very beginnings of the church of Jesus - the Risen Christ (following that first Easter), the original disciples of Jesus of Jesus fostered a community that practiced welcome and hospitality.

Three weeks ago, we read from Acts, chapter four:

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul... There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold.  They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

This was really just an extension of the normal practices within the wider Hebrew culture.  In places, like the book of Deuteronomy, the Torah prescribed that ‘walking in the ways of God’, ‘loving God’, included ‘defending the cause’ of the most vulnerable: the orphans, the widows.

However, the early Christian movement grew quickly.  The book of Acts notes that day by day, the Lord added to their number (Acts 2:47).

And it was growing beyond its roots in Galilee and Judea.  Hebrew Christians - from beyond the traditional lands of Israel - became part of this new expression of faith.  These people were sometimes called “Hellenistic Jews” because they lived out in the greek-speaking world.

There is a story (also in Acts) that there were accusations of favouritism on behalf of the disciples - the concern was that they were not paying enough attention to the needy among the Hellenistic believers (cf. Acts 6).
Their defence - they didn’t have time to look after everyone.  The bible isn’t clear whether the favouritism claims were justified or if there was unmet needs among the Judean widows as well.

Many organizations desire to grow - but that creates problems of increased needs - good problems usually not to be ignored.

And so the immediate solution was to ‘add staff’ - the group of the twelve apostles would be expanded to include seven more to help meet the needs of the whole community.  And these would be chosen from among the Hellenistic believers: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus.

In this story, we are witnessing, the broadening base of Jesus’ church.  Not only was this new faith expression and Way of life for those who walked the land that Jesus walked, it was also for all who were born into his faith tradition.  Actually, that is not quite true, because the seventh new leader (Nicolaus) was not born Jewish - he was a convert to Judaism.

The circle is widening.

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And it widens still in the passage we heard from Acts 8 this morning.

One of those seven new Hellenistic leaders, Philip was travelling the wilderness road between Jerusalem and Gaza.
Along the way, he met a man from Ethiopia: like Nicolaus, this person may have been a convert to Judaism.  Or he may have simply been someone intrigued by the Hebrew culture and religion. We are told that he had been in Jerusalem to worship and was returning home.

Acts 8 does not give us this man’s name, describing him as a court official of Queen Candace of Ethiopia.
Acts 8 also takes the time to tell us that this person was a eunuch.  It is the most common noun used in the passage.  “Eunuch” usually refers to a man who has been castrated, but sometimes includes those who are impotent or have chosen celibacy.  It was not unheard of in biblical times for monarchs to have eunuchs serve in their courts - the thinking being that because they would have not genetic legacy, they could be very loyal; as well, it was thought that they could perform important duties without sexual desires clouding their judgement.

It is unclear how welcome the convert from Ethiopia might have been at the Temple - there is a law in Deuteronomy (23:1) that excludes men with no testicles or penises from the Temple.  I can’t say for sure if that old rule was rigidly enforced or if anyone was checking at the door.

We cannot say anything for sure about the background of the man that Philip met on the wilderness road, but it is significant that he is foreign, that he is (at most) a convert to Judaism, and that his full participation within the worship life of his chosen faith might have be limited.

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As you heard, when Philip meets him, the Ethiopian is reading from the scroll of Isaiah.  They begin to talk about the text.  Here’s what the Ethiopian and Philip read:

52:¹³See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.  ¹⁴Just
as there were many who were astonished at him — so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals — ¹⁵so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.  Who has believed what we have heard?  53:¹And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  ²For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  ³He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.  ⁴Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.  ⁵But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.  ⁶All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  ⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  ⁸By a perversion of justice he was taken away.  Who could have imagined his future?  For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.  ⁹They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.  ¹⁰Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.  When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.  ¹¹Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.  The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  ¹²Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

As you can well imagine that the Servant Songs in Isaiah (particularly the fourth servant song which is referred to in Acts 8) held special meaning for the early Christians - because they saw their story of Jesus’ final days described in these ancient words.  These parts of Isaiah provide Philip with the opportunity to tell his travelling companion about his new found faith in Jesus as the Christ - one who suffered and redeems just like this character in Isaiah.

The impact on the court official is deeply spiritual - he wants to be part of the same hope and promise that envelopes Philip.

Look, here is water.

Why not baptism me, right now?

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The circle of Christ’s church widens again - from Galilee to Judea to the Hebrew people living abroad to jewish converts and now to those who might have been barred from the worship of God.

All along the way, there were arguments to be made as to why the new person knocking on the
door of faith should remain outside.  But when confronted with the suffering servant’s conviction that faith in the radical welcome and grace of God is stronger than the experience of tribulation and stronger than the fear of change, all of the whys become why nots.

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As a 21^st century Christian who believes in the welcome and grace of God, I am constantly having to defend myself against the reputation of some within the wider family of Christ - who continue to argue for reasons why to exlude.

People ask me all the time, why do lots of United Churches support equal rights for people of all sexual orientations when other churches will argue that this is contrary to faith.

It is not a new kind of discrepancy.  Over the last 100 years, other ministers have been asked the same question when it came to issues of gendre and racial equality.  Sadly, my faith tradition has been (and is) often on the forefront of the opposition to the equality of people under the law - because, I have to argue, that some Christians believe that we are not all children of God in the same way.

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One of the facebook pages I like is called the NALT Christains Project.  NALT, N-A-L-T, stands for Not All Like That.

There are those of us, who try to reflect the evolving attitude that we see in the life of the early
church.

Why should we expand our welcome?  Why not?

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Next week, we will read about the next part of that evolution in Acts - an expansion of early Christianity that will have perhaps the greatest impact on its future.

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The results of this widening welcome is seen in some of the last letters of the New Testament to be written.

We also heard this morning from what is - for some - a very familiar passage from the letter of First John:  God is love.

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I am somewhat leery of language of “love” because it can seem too distant.  I know that is ironic, given that at its roots, love is all about connection - but when we speak of it as a noun, it can sometimes lose its vibrancy.  As a verb, it is still very relational, but as a noun - it can become theoretical.  Ironically, if we are not careful, “love” can become a thing of the mind, not the heart. 
And so, I suggest that when we read about the ‘concept of love’ in the New Testament that we think instead about ‘self-less compassion’.  For me, compassion is a less distant word.  It is

hard to say you are compassionate at a theoretical level.

God is compassion. If we have compassion for one another, God lives in us and God’s compassion becomes part of us.

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I believe (like the author of First John) that we cannot love God and hate each other.  We cannot know God if we are uncompassionate to others - by our actions or inactions.

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So much of the violence and destruction in our world is because there is a lack of compassion for the dignity of each soul.

It has long been known by military commanders that the most effective soldiers are the ones who are able to dehumanize their enemies - to see the opponent as less worthy and therefore, justifiably, excluded from compassion.

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Our news channels and website are filled with dehumanizing messages.
We label people.  We see them only from the outside.  We fail to acknowledge the hope within the chaos.

Thank God for cell phones and dash cameras.  I might still fear the prospect George Orwell’s Big Brother to a degree, I am coming to see that positive implications of the fact that we are more easily held accountable for our actions in a social media world.  Over time, we might become a more honest people; we might actually become more mindful of the degree of compassion we show in the moment, rather than the amount of regret we are forced to express 
afterwards.

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The call to be compassionate is not new.  It is old and wise.  And it is exalted by God.

Why should we live this way?

Why not?

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Let us pray:

Loving God, may we faithfully proclaim your good news until all are welcomed into the new life you so generously give. Amen.

***offering***