tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3947603788692692282024-03-18T21:57:27.957-06:00ST. DAVID'S UNITED CHURCH4614-48 Street
Leduc AB T9E 4R2
780-986-2085Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.comBlogger326125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-79803602475806900362018-02-14T20:13:00.002-07:002018-02-14T20:26:54.044-07:00NEW CHURCH WEBSITE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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St. David's sermons can now be found on the church's updated website: <a href="https://www.stdavidsleduc.com/" target="_blank">https://www.stdavidsleduc.com</a><br />
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Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-85834001595562748802018-02-11T11:26:00.000-07:002018-02-16T17:56:04.337-07:00SLOW REVEAL<br />
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">February 11, 2018</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Epiphany Last - Transfiguration</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=385200406" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mark 1:9-11</span></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=385200406" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mark 9:2-9</span></a></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)</span></div>
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<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The song of the angels is stilled.<br />
The star in the sky is gone.<br />
The kings and shepherds<br />
have found their way home.<br />
The Work of Christmas is begun.<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(“I Am the Light of the World” - #87VU)</b></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The
light is in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The
Work of Christmas is begun.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You
may know that Easter is (what is called) a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">movable
feast.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike Christmas, which is
always on December 25th, Easter happens at different times in different years.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Easter
is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the
vernal equinox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on these criteria,
Easter always falls </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_for_Easter" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">betweenMarch 22nd and April 25th</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This
year, the first day of spring is March 20th. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There will
be a full moon on Sat, March 31st.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">So, Easter
Sunday 2018 is April 1st.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure
what to make of the fact tbat Easter will also be April Fools day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess that we get to live out First
Corinthians, chapter four, verse ten: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We
are fools for Christ.</i></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Within
the calendar of the church year, a special season is set aside as a time to
prepare ourselves for Easter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because -
in the northern hemisphere - this happens during the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lengthening days of spring</i>, the season has become known as Lent.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2018
is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not</i> a leap year... so, Lent will
begin <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this</i></b> Wednesday,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>February
14th. </span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That
makes today the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Last Sunday in the Season
of Epiphany. </i></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As
I have sung at the start of all of these Sundays of Epiphany, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the work of Christmas begins </i>as Jesus
(the light) shines in the world.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Since
the beginning of January, each Sunday, the gospel of Mark has helped us learn
about how Jesus’ ministry begun: </span></div>
<br />
<ul style="direction: ltr; list-style-type: disc;">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the
Jordan River;</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus took time alone with his temptations in
the Judean wilderness;</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus returned to Galilee where he proclaimed
that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">the kingdom
of God had come near</span></i>;</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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;</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus taught and healed in the local synagogue,
which led to many people flocking to Jesus to be part of what he was doing. </span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And, as we heard last week, Jesus decided to set
out on a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ministry-road-trip</i> to share
his message in the neighbouring towns too.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Over
the next couple of years, more lessons were shared; healing was known; more
disciples joined in Jesus’ ministry. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Along
the way, Jesus challenged the ridgedness of religious puritanism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He even took his message to gentile (non-jewish)
territories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Political and religious
elites began to notice how much influence Jesus was having. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In
particular, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_Antipas" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Herod Antipas</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">
(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)</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=385199490" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Oneday</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> while traveling among the villages of Caesarea
Philippi, Jesus addressed the various rumours with his disciples:</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Who do people say that I am?</span></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">John
the Baptist, or Elijah, </span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">or
one of the other prophets.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But, who do <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">you </b>say that I am?</span></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Peter:
You are The Messiah!</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Don't tell anyone about that!</span></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Son of Man will suffer rejection
and be killed before rising again.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">No,
Jesus, that is not what mean when we say you are the messiah.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Oh Peter, your view is clouded by
human thinking; set your mind on divine things.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Six Days Later</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">, Peter
(and two other disciples) were given a chance to see Jesus in a different
light.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We
heard that story today.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">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.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A cloud overshadowed
them, and from the cloud came a voice, ‘</span></i><span style="color: #b45f06;">This
is my Son, the Belov`ed; listen to him!<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">’
Suddenly when Peter, James and John looked around, they saw no one with them
any more, but only Jesus</i></span>.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It
was brief… no time to set up extra tents for Moses and Elijah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in that minūte minute of mystery, the inner
circle of Jesus’ band of followers were given a hint of God’s transcending
glory alive in Jesus.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This
experience was significant to the early church, in that it is </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=385307196" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">shared</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">
in all three of the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synoptic_Gospels" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">synopticgospels</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and may be hinted at
in the introductory chapter of John: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have
seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son</span></i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The transfiguration is also referenced in the
letter of Second Peter.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There
are four significant parts of the transfiguration vision seen by John, Peter
and James:</span></div>
<br />
<ol style="direction: ltr; list-style-type: decimal;">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus is seen as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">beyond their experience</b>… clothes whiter than anyone in this world
could bleach them;</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus is seen as part of the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">scriptural and historical heritage</b> of
the Hebrew people by sharing the stage with Moses (the giver of the law) and
Elijah (the first of the great prophets);</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Elijah offers a second significance - because he
never died a natural death (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=385202147" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">blown into heaven by a whirlwind</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">),
it was believed - in some first century circles (based on an interpretation of
a </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=385202521" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">verse</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">
in Malachi) - that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Elijah’s return</b>
would precede the coming of the messiah;</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And in case this was all too subtle, there was a
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">heavenly affirmation</b> of Jesus as
God’s beloved child with the instruction to listen to him.</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The
disciples’ eyes and ears confirmed the rumour that Peter had voiced less than a
week earlier: Jesus <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i></b> the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One of God.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When
they re-joined the other disciples, the ministry of Jesus carried on much as it
had before.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even
through Peter, James and John honoured Jesus’ order to keep the details of
their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mountain top experience</i> to
themselves, I wonder if any of the others noticed that their perspective on
Jesus had changed.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">If
you are like me, you may find that final verse (in today’s reading) a bit
intriguing: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">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</span></i>.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This
was a repeat of how Jesus responded six days earlier when Peter exclaimed that
he believed that Jesus was the messiah…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"> [Jesus] sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about
him</span></i> (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=385206124" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mt8:30</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">).</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Why
all of this secrecy?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Why
is the full truth about Jesus revealed so slowly?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I
have a theory.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus
did not want the focus to be on him.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus
was not interested in being the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">centre of
a charismatic cult</i> but the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mentor of
mission movement</i>.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus
encouraged his followers to take this mission into their spheres of influence
and make disciples there... not bring him back converts.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Message
over the messenger.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It
is significant - to me - that the transfiguration is in the middle of the
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Preaching, teaching and healing
precede it … and preaching, teaching and healing follow it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The
heavenly voice even tells us that this is not to be the end (or climax) of Jesus’
story: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">listen to him</i>.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There
was more of Jesus to be revealed.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The
structure of Mark’s gospel points to this progressive revelation.</span></div>
<br />
<ul style="direction: ltr; list-style-type: disc;">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">At the beginning, as part of the baptism story,
a heaven voice speaks only to Jesus (notice second person language): <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">you</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"> are my belov`ed son; I am pleased with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">you</b></span>.</i></span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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): <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">this</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"> is my belov`ed
son; listen to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">him</b></span></i>.</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">At the end, the Risen Jesus gives his closest
followers one final lesson: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole
creation</span></i>.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">At
first, Jesus knows.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Then
a few disciples know.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And
finally, the world is told.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We
are still in the midst of step three.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The
ministry of Jesus is still be revealed.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Peter,
James and John must have treasured their mountain top experience, but they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">listened to Jesus</i> by keeping the focus
on what what was being said and done, not on who Jesus was.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Message
over the messenger. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Ministry
over the minister.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Last
year, I made use of study leave time take two seperate courses where I could
delve into the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://imnedu.org/interim_transitonal-education/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Fundamentalsof Transitional Ministry</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">- <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">learning about</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">building
on</i> the best practices of how churches evolve with the times as their
circumstances change.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There
are many factors that lead congregations into transition eras - healthy
congregations are as proactive as they can be in addressing these.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But sometimes, even the best of them have
trouble evolving away from the peripheral aspects of their identity.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Change
is hard,</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">when
we are reluctant to change.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The
second course I took concluded with my classmates and I, each, designing a
fieldwork project dealing with some aspect of congregational transition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We
were divided into groups of five who have continued to meet monthly by
conference. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I
am still going over all of answers people wrote down at last week's annual
congregational meeting to the question: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What
is good about this church?</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have
actually been collecting input on that question since last December as part of
my project: <span style="color: #0b5394;">In the modern reality of a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">spiritual
not religious</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>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</span>.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Thank
you for helping me with my homework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have my last conference call with my classmates this coming Tuesday morning.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">St.
David’s United Church has existed (in some form or another) for 120 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unless, some of you look incredible for your
age, I assume that none of us have been here for all twelve of those decades.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I
have been here for less than ⅙ of that history but I have witnessed an evolving
church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2018’s
St. David's is not 2000’s St. David's.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And
it is certainly not 1898’s St.David's. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I
know that this congregation has accepted and chosen changes over the years.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I
don't just mean physical changes to the building, or AV systems, or staff
changes…</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">St.
David’s has also evolved in its understanding of its mission and how to live
that out.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Some
of these evolutions have happened easily; other changes have been met with
understandable resistance.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Peter
might have wanted to freeze the moment with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">transfigured
Jesus </i>- to set up camp permanently on the mountain top, but their mission
lay down in the valley.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Can
you imagine the reaction the others would have had if Peter, James and John had
created a shrine on the mountain?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People
might have ignored the world below in hopes of re-experiencing a time that had
passed.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Is
there still relevance in this congregation’s stated <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">mission</b> that we are a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nurturing
Christian community [that inspires] people to serve others as Christ taught</i>?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The
words of our <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">motto</b> - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Welcoming In ~ Reaching Out</i> - roll easy
off the tongue, but… what can that mean in 2018?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">May
we not be so distracted by the wonder of today's mountain that we forget we are
called into the valley.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The
story of our part in Jesus’ mission and ministry is still being written.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let
us embrace that which is fresh and unfolding.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God, you
are the source of light in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Shine in our hearts so that - through us - the world might see the
compassion of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amen.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#104VU “We
Have Come at Christ’s Own Bidding”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
</div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-46785550528003297912018-02-04T11:11:00.000-07:002018-02-04T11:11:43.468-07:00FREE TO CHOOSE<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">February 4, 2018<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Epiphany 5<sup><o:p></o:p></sup></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=384201402" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1st Corinthians 9:17-23</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=384201402" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mark 1:29-39</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The song of the angels is stilled.<br />
The star in the sky is gone.<br />
The kings and shepherds<br />
have found their way home.<br />
The Work of Christmas is begun.<br />
<b>(“I Am the Light of the World” - #87VU)</b></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The light is in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Work of Christmas is begun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus spent time with John the Baptist and
John’s followers by the Jordan River;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus took time alone with his temptations in
the Judean wilderness;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus returned to Galilee where he proclaimed
(like John had in Judea): <i><span style="color: red;">the kingdom of God has come near</span></i>;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus spent time by the Sea of Galilee, where he
began to acquire followers of his own;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus taught and healed - with surprising
authority - in the Capernaum synagogue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is at this point in the narrative, that the gospel writer notes that
“<b><i><u><span style="color: #0b5394;">at once</span></u></i></b><span style="color: #0b5394;">,
[Jesus’] fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee</span>”
(Mk1:28). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Up to this point, Jesus was able to pick and choose where he went and
with whom he interacted:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus chose to retreat into the wilderness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus chose to take John’s proclamation to
Galilee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo8; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus chose to enter the synagogue and offer his
insights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo5; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus chose to offer calm and renewal to a
troubled member of the synagogue congregation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">After “synagogue/church", one of Jesus’ fisherman disciples hosted
them in his home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It sounds overwhelming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g3BE6aMpRsA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g3BE6aMpRsA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And yet, when people woke up the next morning, Jesus was nowhere to be
found. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We are told that Jesus chose some prayerful solitude before the sun came
up. This seems to imply that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus needed to re-charge his batteries; or<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus needed to sort out what he should do next.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">...or both.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The young ministry of Jesus had already faced a few choice points.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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 <i>John the
Baptist</i>’s group and stayed among them until John was arrested.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> choice
set up the choice Jesus faced in today's reading… He had prayed about it early
that morning. <b>W</b>hat <b>W</b>ould <b>J</b>esus <b>D</b>o<b>?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">‘<i><span style="color: red;">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.</span></i>’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">For that is what I came out to do.</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> Jesus seems to be saying that it
was his destined fate to be a travelling preacher-teacher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That brings me to what I want to explore today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Fate versus Choice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pre-destination versus Free Will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Does God have our lives mapped out for us and we simply live out that
divine plan with only an illusion of choice?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">or</span></i></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Predestination</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> and <i>Free Will</i> 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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Free Will is pretty easy to understand.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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 <b>we</b> respond;
Free Will proposes that the path we end up on is the result of the physics of
the universe, human interactions <i>and</i>
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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A Free Will doctrine can be uncomfortable because it is lonely. It seems to be the antithesis of the basic
hope of faith … that <i>we are not alone; </i>that
<i>we live in God's world. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A Pre-Destination doctrine brings comfort into an uncomfortable
world. We long for a deeper meaning
behind circumstances that defy understanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We often hear Pre-Destination language in the aftermath of a
tragedy. There must be a greater purpose
behind the suffering:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This happened for a reason.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God must have a greater plan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God was looking out for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A child dies… God needed a new angel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God wanted me to get on this plane…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God has blessed me...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A Pre-Destination doctrine can be uncomfortable because it is
cruel. It seems to be the antithesis of
the basic hope of faith … that <i>God is
love. </i> 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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Free Will offers opportunities to have an impact in the world;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pre-Destination offers contentment that there is a time and purpose for
everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Free Will paints a lonely existence;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pre-Destination - a cruel one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">All of this hinges on how we understand the nature of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Two characteristics often ascribed to God:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-
Omniscient;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-
Omnipotent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">For many of us these are the very definition of God: all-knowing and
all-powerful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This does give rise to the skeptic’s </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence_paradox" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">paradoxical question</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">: <i>Does
God know how to make a stone that is so heavy that God is unable to lift it?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The “omnipotence paradox” comes in many forms: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The oldest might be from Pseudo-Dionysius in the
6th century: <i>Can God deny himself?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Other variations: <i>Can God create a prison so secure that God could not escape?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Can God draw a triangle who angles do not add up to 180°?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Or my personal favorite - </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://youtu.be/JhhXCuUG2pw" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Homer Simpson</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> asking Ned Flanders: <i>Could Jesus
microwave a burrito so hot that he, himself, could not eat it?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Our language forces us to <i>anthropomorphize</i>
God. <i> </i>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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Here’s an ironic question on the free well, pre-destination debate:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In the 1999 movie, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://youtu.be/tGgCqGm_6Hs" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Matrix</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">, Morpheus </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://youtu.be/fHjMhYoY4Mg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">tells</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> Neo that <i>there
is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I really want to believe that I am more than an algorithm being played
out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I really want to have my life matter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I get hints that this is possible when I see all of the choices at work
within today’s gospel reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus chooses to expand how he will teach people about the Realm of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">He chooses to show wholeness and renewal in his actions as well as his
words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Simon’s mother-in-law offers her service to guests in her home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The disciples choose to go looking for Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus (like John the Baptism) had been preaching a gospel of choice: <i><span style="color: red;">The Kingdom of God
is near. Will you turn toward it and
believe in this good news?</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Perhaps my best hope for free will comes from the day that Jesus came
down to the lake shore: <i><span style="color: red;">I will be fishing
for people. Will you come and follow me?<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Simon, James and their brothers chose to leave their boats on the
shoreline and seek other seas when Jesus called their names.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The book of </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=384697432" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Acts</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> 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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Maybe I have free will, but God exists beyond linear time and knows
(ahead of time) what I will choose. ?? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">For me… I will assume that my choices matter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And… I will assume that God remains my companion, regardless of where
those choices take me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">If God can have it both ways, I will too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God, for me, is my companion and guide - not my auto-pilot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I will walk the paths I choose, but I will never walk alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Guided by testaments, old and new...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I choose kindness, mercy and humility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo6; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I choose faith, hope and love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And… I will greet the Christ-light in you as we find ourselves sharing
the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I believe that we will make a difference… because we can.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Holy
God, we seek wisdom to make good choices so that we may advance Jesus’ good
news. Be with us on this journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">***offering***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
Minister (St David's UC)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16801847321838075746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-52504387902599674882018-01-28T11:43:00.000-07:002018-01-28T11:43:01.041-07:00NEW TEACHER; NEW TEACHING<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic16lASreJsZUisj4IkqFxGQO6jJo-nBQrfUaz0A-n-hscUj-y_mksB64XgUyPMFutS1GJur42b6rTOdY6_7jNUr-4oeB_VhOG_Txp-jvM60L53bSG74xepHtgJW5EFwxUnOFIFnb_X857/s1600/JesusTeaches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="580" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic16lASreJsZUisj4IkqFxGQO6jJo-nBQrfUaz0A-n-hscUj-y_mksB64XgUyPMFutS1GJur42b6rTOdY6_7jNUr-4oeB_VhOG_Txp-jvM60L53bSG74xepHtgJW5EFwxUnOFIFnb_X857/s320/JesusTeaches.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">January 28, 2018<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Epiphany 4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=383817683"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Deuteronomy 18:15-18</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=383817683"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mark 1:21-28</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The song of the angels is stilled.<br />
The star in the sky is gone.<br />
The kings and shepherds<br />
have found their way home.<br />
The Work of Christmas is begun.<br />
<b>(“I Am the Light of the World” - #87VU)</b></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The light is in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Work of Christmas is begun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As the Israelite exodus from Egypt went from months to years to decades,
Moses began to realize that there was a good chance that he wasn't going to see
the end of the journey: when the people would enter the land of Canaan, from
where their ancestor Jacob had once lived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Moses had become quite elderly.
He had to prepare for the possibility that he, himself, was not going to
set foot in the Promised Land.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">He took it upon himself to offer what wisdom he could to the next
generation of leaders. Moses spoke
about how Hebrew society could function when they transitioned from nomads to
settlers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The compiler of the various laws and rituals within the book of
Deuteronomy structured the text to read as instructions - given by Moses - to a
people ready to make that change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And… as we heard today, Moses assured the people that true leadership is
from God, not any one person. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In every generation, great holy wisdom would be taught anew. New prophets would emerge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God (and God’s hope for the people) would continue to be known… spoken
with fresh words from a fresh voice for the people of each time in history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The story of faith is one of evolving lessons from a living God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The New Testament tells us that Jesus died on the executioner’s cross on
a Friday afternoon. His body was hastily
buried before sunset because his followers, faithful Jews, would be observing the Sabbath from sundown Friday
to sundown Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">All four biblical gospels relay stories of women coming to the tomb
early Sunday morning. They all agree
that Mary Magdalene was there, but the gospel various texts differ on the
details of which of Jesus’ other followers came to anoint his body that Sunday
morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The gospel of John gives us a wonderful story of Mary Magdalene crying
alone near the tomb after it was discovered that Jesus’ body was not
there. A man (she assumes to be the
gardener) joins her and asks why she is crying.
Through her tears, she doesn't realize that it is (in fact) Jesus -
raised from the dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is when Jesus says her name, <i>Miriam</i>,
that she knows that it is ‘him’. John
quotes Mary as responding “<i>Rabbouni</i>”. The text has no punctuation, so we can't be
sure if this was: a question - <i>Rabbouni?</i>
(Is that you?); or an exclamation - <i>Rabbouni!</i>
(It's you!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even though, the fourth gospel is written in greek, the author
intentionally spells <i>Miriam</i> and <i>Rabbouni</i> so that they read with Aramaic
pronunciations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Aramaic was the day-to-day language spoken by Jesus and his
disciples. The <i>language-choice</i> in John, chapter 20 really highlights the
conversational nature of this resurrection appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When Mary (who believed Jesus to be dead) sees Jesus <b>alive</b>, and hears her name spoken in his
familiar voice, the first word out of her mouth is <i>Rabbouni</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In that moment of unbridled joy and amazement, Mary calls Jesus...
“Teacher”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Over the last couple of Sundays, we have been hearing some of stories
that come from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus spending time with John the Baptist and
John’s followers by the Jordan River,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus taking time alone with his temptations in
the Judean wilderness,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus returning to Galilee proclaiming: <i><span style="color: red;">The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the
good news</span></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And… Jesus spending time by the Sea of Galilee,
where he began to acquire followers of his own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Today, we heard about Jesus (and presumably his first disciples) going
to the synagogue in the fishing town of Capernaum. Mark makes a point to tell us that Jesus took
an active role in the sabbath day discussions in the synagogue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The sense from others who were there was that Jesus’ words were
interesting and surprisingly insightful for someone who was not an expert in
the Torah: “<i>[People] were astounded at
[Jesus’] teaching, for he taught them as one having authority.</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">From the earliest days of his active ministry, Jesus was more than a
preacher who proclaimed that <i><span style="color: red;">the Kingdom of God has come near</span></i>; he was a teacher
who helped people understand, more deeply, what <i>that</i> means.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The second half of the gospel reading today describes an encounter with
another person who was in the synagogue that sabbath day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Reading between the lines of the few sentences Mark gives us, it sounds
like (while Jesus was teaching), this man blurted out: <i>What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I wonder whether mentioning that Jesus was from Nazareth was a way of
saying that this outsider shouldn't be so presumptuous to teach the people of
Capernaum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Certainly, the man seems concerned about Jesus’ motives: <i>Why have you come here? To destroy us?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A modern interpretation of the story is that this man was mentally
disturbed. Regulars at this synagogue
may have known this man’s history; perhaps he was known for shouting out at
others in such a way that people believed that he was not in his right mind. In the vernacular of the day, he was assumed
to be possessed by an <i>unclean spirit</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Assuming that this person may have been living with the <i>spirit</i> for sometime, the people of
Capernaum had either learned to ignore him, or perhaps, these “fits" were
frightening and people avoided him.
Either way, I imagine that he was an isolated, lonely soul… who may not
have really understood why he seemed so different from everyone else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Perhaps, because Jesus was new to town and didn't have a history with
this person, Jesus’ fresh perspective saw the struggle within this troubled
man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus didn’t ignore or shun the man, but spoke directly to what was
ailing him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Then, in a scene that would make a faith-healing TV preacher jealous,
while the man screamed and convulsed on the floor, Jesus commanded the spirit
to come out of him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And then… there was calm… and I imagine some shock in the eyes of
everyone there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In the stunned silence, the man got up off the ground, bothered no more
by the <i>spirit </i>that had been tormenting
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I like to imagine that what followed... were hugs and shouts of joy as
this man was fully welcomed back into the congregation of that synagogue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We might be tempted to see this gospel story as simply one about a
miraculous healing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But… it is more than that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">All we have to do is look at the reaction of the others in the synagogue
that day. Yes, they are amazed that an
unclean spirit obeyed Jesus; but they see that act as part of a bigger picture
emerging about this newcomer from Nazareth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The crowd looked past the example of a single medical miracle and
realized that a new wisdom was being offered - a new truth was being shared:
something beyond what even the learn’ed scribes were teaching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus’ actions with the troubled man merely reinforced what he had been
sharing (in conversation) earlier: Jesus had come to town to teach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And he was exhibiting an authority that was worth paying attention to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We should listen to this guy</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">, the people of Capernaum began to say. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That day in the synagogue set the tone for the travelling ministry that
Jesus and his followers were beginning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus would call them Disciples-Learners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">They would call him Rabbi-Teacher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">About three years later - in a graveside garden, through tear soaked
eyes, Mary would see her teacher alive again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Ad lib examples, like...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The advantages and pitfalls of an
impactful leader… 1988 UCCan, Living Stones (RD), Jamestown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Ego. Selfishness. Abuse.
Prosperity Gospel.
Disappointment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is about the learning, not the
teacher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Moses gave way to new leadership.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Disciples become next rabbis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mary after garden… <i>I have seen the Lord!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> //<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us be open to new learning from new voices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us share what we have learned - and then hash it all out again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That is what disciples do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We know
who you are, Holy God, and yet we are still learning how to recognize your
authority in our lives. May your spirit
inspire us to faithful living. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#595VU
“We Are Pilgrims”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
Minister (St David's UC)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16801847321838075746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-43768331315327100692018-01-21T11:16:00.000-07:002018-01-21T11:16:53.212-07:00TIME'S A-WASTIN'<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3yQq26E-vxcRrgWhTO0fLxZixt4RLi2olXRPkGSSChh_MN78ksyZD26PNPQWmTIyLntwNwkuW-RS2U_eXHYmEco-0uPGHE3Gm-GgsaW0LWtn_E5l-FK18h02GGXJaEaVpTreXBVzGg2Z/s1600/WaitingClock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="349" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3yQq26E-vxcRrgWhTO0fLxZixt4RLi2olXRPkGSSChh_MN78ksyZD26PNPQWmTIyLntwNwkuW-RS2U_eXHYmEco-0uPGHE3Gm-GgsaW0LWtn_E5l-FK18h02GGXJaEaVpTreXBVzGg2Z/s320/WaitingClock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">January 21, 2018<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Epiphany 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=383133652" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1st Corinthians 7:29-31</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=383133652" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mark 1:14-20</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The song of the angels is stilled.<br />
The star in the sky is gone.<br />
The kings and shepherds<br />
have found their way home.<br />
The Work of Christmas is begun.<br />
<b>(“I Am the Light of the World” - #87VU)</b></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The light is in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Work of Christmas is begun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Some of you know - when it comes to the work of the wider United Church
of Canada - that I and the <i>recording
secretary</i> of the Yellowhead Presbytery.
[A <i>Presbytery </i>is a level of
the UCCan made up of ministers and congregational reps from a defined
geographic region; YHP gathers people from the triangle formed by Jasper to
Leduc to Ft McMurray - about 40 congregations.]
Basically, I take and prepare minutes of meetings of the full presbytery
(and its executive Council) and I sign forms relating to decisions that the
Presbytery makes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The full Presbytery is meeting later this week at a retreat centre in
St. Albert. We are not meeting in a
church this time, so I have been keeping track of registrations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Expecting people to register helps us make arrangements for meals and
accommodations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Normally notices of meetings go out about five or six weeks ahead of
time. That is not practical for a
January meeting, because the registration info can get lost during the busyness
of Christmas. So, I sent it out in
mid-November.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I appreciate that many of us want to take some time before we feel ready
to commit ourselves filling a page on our calendar. Almost no one likes to feel pressured to
decide before we are ready.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I knew that a problem with sending out a ten week meeting notice was
that some people would tell themselves that they have “lots of time” before the
registration deadline of January 15th.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As of January 1st, of the 46 potential presbytery members, only five had
registered (counting me). So, I sent out
a reminder. I got a flood of registrations almost immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But, as of this past Monday (the deadline day), only 27 has
registered. So, I sent out another
reminder, with the tongue-and-cheek comment, that <i>although most of us would probably be willing to share, it you want to
be ‘guaranteed’ a seat at the lunch table, let me know by Friday</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">By Friday, 36 presbyters had registered.
Counting the two people who let me know they weren't able to come, only
eight people remain unaccounted for: an 83% response rate - pretty good,
really.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">If anymore come in this week or if people show up un-registered, I won't
worry. History tells me that the number
of people who come at the last minute will be offset by people who end up not
coming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I understand that all of us value our time. We are limited by the numbers of waking hours
of the day… and everyone juggles multiple activities we want to include in that
time (and probably a few things we wish we didn't have to spend time on).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And yet, occasionally we run up against a deadline that forces a
decision right away. And it is not
always a deadline that we have known about for ten weeks - sometimes, we find
out that an immediate decision is required with no notice at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The bible doesn't give us any details about it, but when Jesus was about
thirty years old, he began to spend time among the disciples of John the
Baptist. Something about what John was
doing and saying must have motivated Jesus to put his life in Galilee on hold
and spend time in the Jordan River valley.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Matthew quotes John as preaching “<i>Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven has come near.</i>”
Mark and Luke simply say that John <i>proclaimed
a baptism of repentance. </i>All three </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synoptic_Gospels" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">synoptic</span></i></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> gospels report that Jesus chose to be baptised by John and that - after
coming out of the water - Jesus had a mystical experience where he was touched
by the Spirit of God and was assured that he was a beloved son of god who made
God proud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">All three gospels then tell of Jesus following up his baptism by
retreating alone in the Judean wilderness where he struggled with what all of
this meant and what he should do with his life moving forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The common understanding of the timeline of Jesus’ life is that - as
soon as he came out of the wilderness - he <i>immediately</i>
returned to galilee and began an active ministry of his own. That is the way Luke reads. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But… that is not what Mark and Matthew say. They both describe a pause between the
wilderness and Jesus’ active ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As we heard this morning, Mark
(the oldest gospel record) writes that it is not until <b><i>after</i></b><i> John is arrested</i> that Jesus is motivated to venture out on his
own.<i><span style="color: #660000;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The implication is that (after his vision quest in the wilderness) Jesus
stayed in Judea - presumably with John the Baptist and his other disciples…
advancing (with John) the message that people should <i>Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near</i> (Mt3:2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Plans changed when John was arrested.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That is when Jesus returned home and started his own version of what
John had been doing (verses 14 and 15): <i><span style="color: #660000;">Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee,
proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, </span><span style="color: red;">The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in
the good news</span><span style="color: #660000;">.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As had been the case with John, Jesus’ message began to excite
people. Jesus began to develop a
following of his own. As the story
unfolds, we see that a major change that he made to John’s style is that Jesus
took his message on the road. John set
up camp and people came to him; Jesus was a travelling preacher.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Reading between the lines of today’s reading from Mark, among those
intrigued by what Jesus was doing and saying in Galilee were Simon and James:
fishermen in Capernaum. One day, as
Jesus walked among the fishing boats he - separately - invited these two to
join him on this ministry journey. Not
only did James and Simon leave their nets and follow Jesus, they brought along
their brothers (Andrew and John). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Just because this seaside encounter is the first time that the gospel
writer mentions the two sets of brothers, I don't think we have to assume that
this was the first time they had encountered Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I suppose it is possible that maybe Jesus made an amazing first
impression and the fishermen possessed almost super-human intuition, but (to
me) it is more likely they chose to go with Jesus that day because they had
seen him around town, heard him teach and liked what they saw and heard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I like to think that Jesus had already planted a seed of discipleship in
these would-be disciples before that day on the beach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even so, when the time came, Simon, Andrew, James and John had to make a
quick decision… and they did:<i><span style="color: #990000;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">immediately</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> they left their nets<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">[and boats and co-workers]<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">and followed [Jesus]</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(Mk1:18,20)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As I was (sitting in a coffee shop on Friday) writing out these sermon
notes, I had the audio of MSNBC news playing in my headphones listening to the
potential impacts of a looming government shutdown in the US. The american political rules required that a
decision had to be before midnight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">//</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Not every decision can be deferred.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There can be opportunities-lost when deadlines come and go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We heard the urgency in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. He uses
shocking language - emploring people to ignore their personal needs as he
appealed to them to focus on the faith needs of the moment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The passage we read this morning is an extreme version of a theme Paul
expresses elsewhere in his letter-writing.
He encourages people to focus on all things spiritual rather than the
selfish desires of the flesh. This is
classic Hellenistic dualistic philosophy
- taught by the likes Plato and Aristotle - and still popular in the first
century: mind over the body, spirit over the flesh, heaven over earth, divine
over human. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The apostle Paul wanted faith to have priority in the lives of the early
Christians. He didn't want them to put
spiritual matters aside just because the busyness and stress of daily living
tends to want to dominate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Unlike Paul, I don't ascribe to a strict dualistic view of the
world. It is not as simple of going to
one extreme or the other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul was a single man, so it was easy for him to tell married men to
focus 100% on God and 0% on their spouses.
I doubt he even expected to be taken literally; but I am positive that
he did want his readers to think about how important their families are to
them; how grief and death affect them; how good it feels to rejoice; and about
the intrinsic value we place on treasured possessions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Setting aside his extremist “all or nothing" rhetoric, Paul’s
point, I believe, is - <i>as important as it
is to focus on these aspects of life</i> - we are to acknowledge an even
greater value on focusing on our faith and spirituality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">My point is: we are not one dimensional beings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We are <i>mind, body</i> and <i>spirit</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Unless we are able to appreciate the need for balance, for growth and
purpose, we will feel unfulfilled and incomplete… like trying to sit on a one
or two-legged stool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We might be tempting to set aside spirit (God, faith) when life gets
full. Consider a couple of modern
proverbs:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There are few things in life that can’t wait for
a few minutes;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Some of that which busys us can be left behind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I am convinced that if we are mindful of a wider view, opportunities to
live out discipleship present themselves all the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But, instead of seeing the call to follow Jesus as just another thing to
add to busy lives, see it as a gift of God… an opportunity to be a fuller and
more complete holy creation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us find a hopeful path in the words of Psalm 65: <i>For God my soul waits in silence for God; my
hope is from God. God is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. On God rests my deliverance and my honour; my
mighty rock, my refuge is in God</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God of
today and always,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We have
heard your call to follow in the Way of Jesus.
Inspire us, encourage us and lead us.
Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#356VU
“Seek Ye First”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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Minister (St David's UC)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16801847321838075746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-13810095018338976852018-01-14T11:47:00.000-07:002018-01-14T12:58:48.893-07:00NOT SO QUICK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPAD6IsA_frFvKMREKQ79-a6JSd1S_oTfPXrKvfto2N1iZiW5I1GYY0HBRWPKSFcU0YVXD2coPpDTYdfZVZ3tY6W8yW-OGl3Zwmmw-apAB5SRMC_9fUTVteg7_AQOVqckU4clyJggW9M/s1600/Skeptical2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPAD6IsA_frFvKMREKQ79-a6JSd1S_oTfPXrKvfto2N1iZiW5I1GYY0HBRWPKSFcU0YVXD2coPpDTYdfZVZ3tY6W8yW-OGl3Zwmmw-apAB5SRMC_9fUTVteg7_AQOVqckU4clyJggW9M/s320/Skeptical2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">January 14, 2018</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Epiphany 2</span></div>
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<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=382608039" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">1st Samuel 3:1-11</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=382608039" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">John 1:43-51</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">(prayer)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The song of the angels is stilled.</span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The star in the sky is gone.</span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The kings and shepherds</span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">have found their way home.</span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The work of Christmas is begun.</span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">(“I Am the Light of the World” - #87VU)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The light is in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The work of Christmas is begun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The apostle Paul recognized that the community of believers was strengthen by the fact that different people brought different things to the table. In </span><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=382777443" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">1st Corinthians, chapter 12</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">, Paul highlighted nine ‘spiritual’ gifts - in particular - that he believed the Corinthian community had in their midst:</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">wisdom</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">knowledge</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">faith</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">healing</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">miracles</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">prophecy</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">discernment</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">various</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">tongues</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">interpretation</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I don't presume to assume that Paul meant to express that this was the complete and exhaustive list of all of the ways God has gifted the church. I imagine that Paul mentioned </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">these</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> particular gifts because he knew that the Corinthians would be able to picture specific people in </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">that</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> church who offered these things to the community.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">We are not the initial intended audience for Paul’s letter, but his assertions speak well beyond Greece of the first century. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I am sure you have witnessed the real world truth of some of these gifts in people you have encountered. Others may have seen some of these gifts manifest in you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Let’s admit, the more practically skeptical among us wonder how common a couple of those gifts really are (especially by modern standards of understanding). I mean, how often do we experience authentic, literal gifts of </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">healing</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">miracles</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">speaking and understanding in unknown languages</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Let’s admit, many of us in 2018 might be more comfortable speaking of the potential gifts of </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">wisdom</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">knowledge</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">discernment</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I am always surprised about one of those gifts on Paul’s list. Paul says that some people are uniquely gifted with “faith". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Am I the only one that finds that odd? Isn't “the church” a </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">community of believers</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">? Aren't they all (by definition) </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">people of faith</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">? Doesn't every believer have </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">faith</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The more I think about it, I do know that there are some people who are able to see beyond their own experience and knowledge - people who can trust beyond logic - people (who when faced with uncertainty) are still willing to take the next step - people who </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">truly</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> have the gift of faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">That is not everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I'm not even sure that this is </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">me</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> most days. I </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">do</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> accept that there are limits to what I fully know and understand. I accept that mystery is real. I am not closed to things that can't be proven. I am open to exploring my mystical side. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Yet, the way my mind ‘prefers’ to work (if I am honest), I may be stronger with other gifts. Fortunately… “to another the same Spirit gives faith." (1Cor12:9)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Thanks be to God for a variety of gifts: sprinkled among different people, so that - together - we can serve a wider good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">The Word of Yahweh was rare; visions were not widespread.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">Can anything good come out of Nazareth?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Skeptical voices. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Skepticism probably founded in experience… at least, rumours of someone else's experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Hannah saw her unexpected pregnancy as a gift and blessing directly from God. She had long lamented her barrenness and has prayed for a child, so when she did give birth, she named her son, Sh’ma-el: ‘god had heard”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Hannah’s deep faith inspired her to offer Samuel in service of her Lord. I guess she just wanted to </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">have</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> a child, not </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">raise</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> a child. After Hannah’s child was weaned off her breast milk, she sent him live at the temple and work with Eli, the priest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Samuel and Eli were alone in the temple. It was night. Other that the ceremonial lamp, it was dark. The day’s oil had not run out, but Eli needed to go to sleep, so (the much younger) Samuel stayed in the sanctuary until the went out. Actually, Samuel probably expected to just sleep there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The dark, lonely silence was broken when a voice called, “</span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Samuel! Samuel!</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Even though young Samuel knew his mother’s story of strong faith, there was no reason for him not to assume that the voice was coming from Eli’s bedroom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">And there was no reason not to go with the priest's explaination: “I didn't call you, son. You must have imagined it. Go back and lie down.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">When it happened a second time, everyone made the same assumptions again. And… both of them must have begun to question the boy’s hearing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The third time, Samuel must have begun to think that his master was playing a trick on him. I bet that Samuel even debated whether he would even go to Eli again. But... </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">what if it wasn’t a joke? What if Eli </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">really</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"> needed him, this time? Better go, just in case.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">“Here I am, for you called me.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The old priest’s </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">eyesight</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> might have grown dim, but his </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">insight</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> was still sharp. This time, he moved past the usual explanations and expectations. Eli opened his mind and soul to the mystical.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">“Samuel, go lie down and if you are called again, say ‘</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">speak Lord, for your servant is listening’</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The leap of faith paid off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">John the Baptist had been teaching his disciples that God’s messiah was coming. One day, John showed two of his followers who this </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">lamb of god</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> was: Jesus. One of these disciples of John was named Andrew. Andrew was so impressed by his experience with Jesus that he brought his brother Simon to meet him. This is the same Simon that Jesus eventually nicknamed Cephas (rock)... the english version of the nickname is Peter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The day after Jesus met Simon Peter, the growing band of followers went to Galilee where Jesus met Philip of Bethesda.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">[Remember that old shampoo commercial?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">You tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Well, that seems to be Jesus’ recruitment policy according to the gospel of John.]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Philip was so impressed by his experience with Jesus that he wanted his friend Nathaniel to meet him too. “Nate, we have found the [The Messiah] written about in the law and the prophets: Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth. Come and see.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">But Nathaniel couldn't share his friend’s enthusiasm about Jesus... because of a previously held opinion about Nazareth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The gospel text doesn't give us any hint as to why Nathaniel felt this way. We can assume that some experience (or rumours of someone else's experience) helped him form this opinion of Nazareth and nazarenes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I must admit that this kind of </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">blanket prejudice</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> does not sit well with me (whether it comes from someone like Nathaniel or someone like the president of the United States).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I don't care if you have had a legitimate bad experience with one or two people - or while visiting a certain place - or if have been taught to believe some historical bad experience or prejudice - my ethics and morals don't allow me to accept (or even tolerate) your extrapolating of those opinions to include others... just because they share some innocuous characteristics with those maligned people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I regret that (too often) I have chosen to offer </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">polite silence</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> in the face of words founded in racism, sexism, homophobia, and other nasty expressions of exclusivist-superiority. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">But, as I mature, I </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">am</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> trying to reclaim a confident voice that - more often - will speak up and challenge the bigots of the world - even when that bigotry is based on </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">ignorance</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> or </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">once acceptable attitudes</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I will still strive to be polite, but... I want to be more openly honest about what I think is universally right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">It is not okay to blanketly </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-attacks-protections-for-immigrants-from-shithole-countries-in-oval-office-meeting/2018/01/11/bfc0725c-f711-11e7-91af-31ac729add94_story.html?utm_term=.70c7b867c8e4" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">claim</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> that a continent is filled with “[poop]hole countries” - a continent which, by the way, is home to almost one-sixth of the world’s population.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">And… it was not okay to blanketly bemoan Nazareth of being unworthy of anything good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">“Nathaniel, come and see Jesus: the messiah!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">“Ok... but if he is from Nazareth, there is no way he can be the messiah.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Nathaniel had never met Jesus, but he thinks he knows enough to disparage him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Look what happens next in the story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Jesus (who had never met Nathaniel) greets him with “[You are] truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” The Living Bible translates it this way: “an honest man—a true son of Israel”; the Message version says: “a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Nathaniel is moved by this flattery: “Why Jesus, how do you know much about me?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">“</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Well, I saw you over by the tree</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">My question for Jesus would be: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">How exactly does seeing someone by a tree dictate how honest they are? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">As absurd as Jesus’ answer was, Nathaniel obviously had his ego stroked enough to accept that </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">this Nazarene was okay</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">: “You </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">are</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> the son of god - the King of Israel!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Now, I don't know if Jesus was just messing around or if he was just as prejudiced as Nathaniel, but the next line moves us past that anyway: “</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The truth is</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">", Jesus says, “</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">you ain't seen nothing yet</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">In other words… </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">pay attention; you will have </span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">new</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> experiences that will convince you of what is really true</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Both Nathaniel’s and Eli’s quick skepticism clouded their ability to see that there was a sacred holiness in their midst. They both formed fast opinions based on what they </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">thought</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> they knew.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">But not so quick…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">As their experience broadened, they were opened to a new view.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Even though ‘the word of the Lord was rare and visions were not widespread’, God </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">might</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> be reaching out to Samuel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Even though ‘nothing good comes out of Nazareth’, Jesus </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">might</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> be God’s Anointed One.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">It took a small leap of faith (based on no real tangible evidence) for Eli to be open to the possibility that God was present.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">It took a small leap of faith (based on nothing more than some hollow flattery) for Nathanial to be open to the possibility that God was present.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">I see something very hopeful in these scripture readings this morning... you don't necessarily have to blessed with the full gift of faith to be able to make meaningful little leaps of faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Even without the gift of faith,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">we can still be changed by</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">little leaps of faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Growing our faith can happen through big, profound, mystical, spiritual experiences, but it does seem to be the case (for most of us, at least) that it is the </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">little leaps of faith</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> that bring us closer to our God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">And so…</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">let us appreciate the hint of holiness pointed to by the very breaths we breath - this life is a miracle;</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">let us grab a tiny bit of faith when we see kindness being lived out - not for personal gain, but simply because it is right;</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">let us look for the eyes of Jesus in a stranger;</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">let us see a spark of the spirit within even the most hateful person - for they are a child of God too - even when it is not obvious;</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">let us trust in the good creation that we are - let us tell ourselves “God you have searched me and know me, and (like all of your creation) I am made in your image and I am good”;</span></div>
</li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">and... when we find ourselves in a very familiar circumstance - when we think we know everything we need to know - let us (remind ouselves) </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">not so quick</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">, the Spirit might be doing something new in our midst.</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">//</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Let us pray:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Holy One, as we continue on this path of light, may we see you all around us. Amen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13pt; vertical-align: baseline;">#567VU “Will You Come and Follow Me”</span></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-52589274337310556492018-01-07T11:21:00.000-07:002018-01-08T18:46:45.939-07:00A NEW DAY<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt;">
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">January 7, 2018<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Epiphany 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=382179518"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Genesis 1:1-5</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=382179518"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mark 1:4-11</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The song of the angels is stilled.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The star in the sky is gone.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The kings and shepherds <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">have found their way home.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Work of Christmas is begun.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #bf9000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(“I Am the Light of the World” -
#87VU)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In the calender of the church year, the Christmas season ended on
Friday. Each year, the twelve days of
Christmas run from December 25th though to January 5th.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Yesterday (January 6th) was the day of epiphany. Epiphany is when the church remembers the Matthew-sourced
story of travelling astrologers (aka: wise men, magi) bearing gifts who came to
visit young Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Today is the first Sunday in the church Season After Epiphany. For the next five weeks (before we enter the
Season of Lent), the common themes that will dominate this Epiphany Season are
the first actions of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. In fact, for our gospel readings, we will be
in the first chapter of Mark for four of the first five Sundays (including
today); the exception will next week, but it is still an early ministry story:
from John, chapter one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">An image often associated with this time of year is that of a <i>brightening light</i>. This is reinforced by the fact that we (in
the northern hemisphere at least) are on the summer side of the winter solstice
- with each day getting a little bit longer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Genesis 1 creation… as each day dawns, the complexity and
interdependence of the world is expanded. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And it begins (as we heard this morning) with the introduction of light
into the primordial dark. Day One of
Genesis is the <i>creation of perspective</i>
(light and darkness interacting); allowing for depth to be observed. Adding light to darkness opens up greater
possibilities for discovery. If there is
only light or only darkness, the result is the same… <b><i>nothing</i></b> new can be
observed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Season of Epiphany might begin with magi observing literal
starlight, but beyond-the-literal it is about <i>enlightenment.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And so, sit back and enjoy some time (over the next month) discovering
what we can learn from <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus inviting the spiritually curious to
“follow”; and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus speaking and acting with surprising
authority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Our enlightenment begins - today - at the Jordan river with John, the
son of Zechariah and Elizabeth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">If the passage from Mark sounded a bit familiar this morning, you might
be remembering that some of the same verses were read during the December 10th
service less than a month ago. Four
weeks back (as we were anticipating Christmas), the focus was on John preparing
the way for Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Today, we read a little further and heard about Jesus coming to receive
the baptism that John offered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Advance Notice: we will revisit
Jesus and John at the Jorden one more time in the near future (at the end of
the season of epiphany: February 11th).
Should be a different sermon, though. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus’ baptism is described in three of the four biblical gospels:
Matthew, Mark, Luke. The Fourth Gospel </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=382262959" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">wrote</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> that John <i>was</i>
a baptizer, who witnessed the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus “like a dove”,
but the text never mentions a baptism of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">According to what Biblical scholars call the </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-source_hypothesis" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">two-source hypothesis</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> of
gospel authorship, Mark is believed to be the first of the New Testament
gospels to be written. As such, what we
heard today is (quite likely) the oldest written account of Jesus baptism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Again, this two-source theory assumes that Matthew and Luke had copies
of Mark’s version when they penned their own texts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As far as Jesus’ baptism goes, both of these later authors changed a
word here and there and added an extra detail or two compared to Mark, but </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=382181096" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">all three</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> share the same significant
insight… in the wake of his baptism, Jesus had a tangible, spiritual, mystical,
‘thin place’ encounter:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">the Spirit of God <i>descended from heaven</i> and touched Jesus; and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">a <i>heavenly
voice</i> spoke (with pride) that Jesus was the belov-ed Son of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The three gospel writers seem to differ on how much (if any) of this was
noticable to others at the river, but clearly the whole encounter had a direct
impact on Jesus. Mark (and Luke)
describe[s] the voice speaking directly to Jesus “<b><i>YOU</i></b><i> are my son, the beloved; with <b>YOU</b>
I am well pleased</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Our biblical gospels tell us, that - in the wake of his baptism - Jesus
was inspired and encouraged to proclaim (along with John the Baptist) that “<i><span style="color: red;">the time is at
hand; the Kingdom of God is near;
believe in this good news</span></i>”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even though (as Luke insists) Jesus was about thirty years old at the
time (not a young man by 1st century peasant standards), this began a new path
on the journey of his life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It was a new day… with fresh possibilities and opportunities on the
horizon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Each dawn (that broke from that point on) shed new light into the
world... wherever Jesus went - with whomever he encountered, hearts and minds
were opened to God’s compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">With each evening, each morning, the Spirit was being made known… and it
was good!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is a nice coincidence that (this year), we are hearing the story of
Jesus’ baptism on the first Sunday of a New Year. The theme of newness is all around us when we
add a new number to the calendar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When John of Judah began calling people down to the river for a baptism
of repentance and re-commitment to God, he was drawing on a long and strong
history of ritual washing within the Hebrew religious culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The codes of ritual evolved to help people approach formal worship with
a fresh heart, mind and soul. The hebrew
theology was that making time for worship was to feel special… distinct from
the other activities of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Read through Leviticus (if you dare) and you will discover the language
of cleanliness. I think that it is overly
simplistic to equate “unclean" with <i>profane
</i>or <i>unworthy</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The truth is... that the ancient priests developed the prescriptions of
rituals as disciplines of focusing one’s soul and body on the specialness of
worship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The truth is - most of the time, uncleanliness had nothing to do with a
lack of faith or sinfulness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Living an ordinary life would regularly result in everyone achieving
some level of ritual uncleanliness (coming into contact with certain animals;
preparing a body for burial; having a baby; experiencing normal, natural,
regular body functions…).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And so, one would go through the efforts of special offerings, prayers,
or ritual washings as disciplines of preparation for participation in formal
worship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I mention this to point out that John’s baptism was not really a new
thing. He was simply adding a new twist
on a familiar activity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Within the modern Christian church, baptism is a ritual with a complex
array of meanings. Different sects of
Christianity process very different beliefs about baptism, although pretty much
all of us accept that its roots are in ancient Hebrew cleanliness rituals and
that (for John) it was a act of re-focussing one’s life on God. John explicitly proclaimed that the baptism
was a symbol of God’s forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">New Testament authors began to compare the act of going in and out of
the water during baptism as a metaphor for participating in the dying and
rising of Jesus - the death and resurrection of Christ. This is an extrapolation of something Mark
wrote in his gospel: <span style="color: #666666;">to be a disciple, one will
take up their cross and follow Jesus</span> (Mark 8:34).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Perhaps the earliest interpretation of baptism is that it is a <i>rite of initiation </i>into the community of
Jesus’ followers. It is the ritual of
membership.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We still use that language today.
Some modern churches define their membership rolls by those who have
been baptized. But almost universally,
baptism is a response to a conscious decision to let faith into the life of the
one being baptized.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Churches (like ours) that welcome people of all ages to be baptised have
developed a secondary ritual of <i>confirmation</i>
for those who were baptised as children who want to make their own profession
of faith. <i><span style="color: #666666;">Advance Notice: I’ll be offering
Confirmation Classes on <a href="https://calendar.google.com/calendar?cid=cGljdHVyZXNzZHVjQGdtYWlsLmNvbQ" target="_blank">Sunday afternoons in March</a>.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">From the earliest days of the christian church, Baptism has been
enmeshed with Belonging.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Book of Acts uses the language of baptism to describe increasing
numbers of people believing in Jesus as the Messiah: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Those who welcomed [Peter’s] message were
baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">. (Acts 2:41); <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Baptism
was a response to hearing the good news:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">[Phillip] proclaimed to [the man from Ethiopian]
the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some
water; and the [man] said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from
being baptized?’</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> (Acts 8:35-36)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Regardless of how baptism is defined in various denominational bylaws
and dogmas, there is a broader sense that we are talking about <i>inviting</i>, <i>welcoming</i>, <i>belonging</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is human nature to <i>long to
belong</i>… to be connected with others around common needs and purpose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">At a memorial service here in the church yesterday, I reminded that
congregation that <span style="color: #a61c00;">God's creation seems to be based
on relationships. We see this in the
physics of the universe: from quantum level attractions to how distant galaxies
influence each other's journey through the void.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #a61c00; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">At the level of the human heart and mind, our lives are
enriched by the interactions we have with those around us. Each person longs to be enriched in this way…
and so we choose:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #a61c00; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #a61c00; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">to establish friendships, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #a61c00; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #a61c00; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">to nurture family bonds,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #a61c00; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #a61c00; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">to feed our emotional need to have
a place and a purpose in this life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In the light of this new year, we have the opportunity to explore what
it can mean to identify as a <i>Follower of
Jesus</i> (a Christian)... in 2018.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">What might it mean for me to belong to the collection of jesus-followers
in the world today, in my community, in my life?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">For me, I start with the nature of God’s relationship with
humanity. The overarching theme of the
creation story in the first chapter in Genesis is that God speaks goodness into
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As I said, I think it is an oversimplification of the cleanliness
rituals to presume that God views us as sinful and unclean creations. I believe that Genesis 1:31 is still true - <i>God saw everything that he had made, and
indeed, it was very good.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I believe (as the Apostle Paul did) that there is nothing that is <i>able to seperate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus</i>. (Romans 8:39)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I believe that the same voice that called Jesus “beloved”, loves us…
even (especially) when we fall short of our best potential.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Being a <i>follower of jesus</i> is <b><i>not</i></b>
an exercise in perfection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We are not loved for our good deeds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We are not loved for our pure thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We are loved because God is well pleased with the universe and we are
part of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This is what theologians call <i>grace.
<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God’s love is not dependent on us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is a divine gift to the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Being a follower of Jesus is an invitation to show this grace-filled
compassion to the World we share. There
are simply too many people who feel left out.
We can be the local sparks of the wider light of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As we accept our belonging, we can become increasingly aware of the
warmth in the love of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And then share the light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God of
Love, help us to rejoice in the new life to which you call us. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">***offering***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
Minister (St David's UC)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16801847321838075746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-37259068398690775212017-12-24T21:43:00.000-07:002018-01-02T13:12:21.218-07:00A PLACE FOR US<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt;">
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">December 24, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Christmas Eve<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=381165145" target="_blank">Luke 1:30-38<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=381165145" target="_blank">Luke 2:1-7<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=381165145" target="_blank">John 1:1-14</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Only two of the four New Testament Gospels (Matthew and Luke) share any
specific stories of the beginning of Jesus’ life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Okay, <b>John</b> kind of does it...
in an artsy, poetic, metaphoric way (<i>The
Word became flesh and lived among us</i> - Jn1:14). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The closest <b>Mark</b> come to
“Christmas” is referring to the adult Jesus as <i>the son of Mary</i> (Mk6:3); we have to extrapolate that backwards on
our own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even <b>Matthew</b>’s focus is
largely on the month’s leading up to Jesus’ birth and the immaculate tradition
of his conception. When it comes to the
actual day of Jesus’ birth all Matthew wrote was <i>[Joseph] took [Mary] as his wife, but had no marital relations with her
until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus</i>. Then Matthew jumps ahead as much as two years
to a time when ‘toddler Jesus’ received three special gifts from foreign
visitors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The reason why we tend to focus on <b>Luke</b>’s
version on Christmas Eve is because the third gospel shares an interesting
story about the actual day that Jesus was born.
Imagine how boring Sunday School pageants and Christmas cards would be
if Luke had not written a gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Thanks to the third gospel, we are able to picture a very pregnant mary
making the journey from Nazareth to Bethelem… of a stable functioning as a
hotel… of shepherds watching their flocks by night… of choir of angels singing
about a new born lying in a manger… of those same shepherds discovering things
just as the angel song had proclaimed and becoming the first christian
evangelists. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Thanks to Luke, we are able to picture a new mother quietly reflecting
on the wonder and mystery that had happened, as she pondered all that the
shepherds had said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">John - “The Word became flesh”: makes you think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mark - “Jesus is Mary's son": not enough
information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Matthew - “And Joseph and Mary practiced
abstinence”: too much information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But... Luke: “An unexpected pregnancy,
inconvenient travel plans thanks to some government bureaucrat, overbooked
inns, cow poop, curious shepherds”. Now <i>that</i> is a story we can enter!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We can enter it because it is our story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We know what it is like when things don't go as planned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Allow me to extrapolate what Luke has given us...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mary and Joseph would have expected marriage to change their lives, but
a baby <i>so soon</i> put a wrench in the
plans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And not everyone was going to buy the it’s an angel’s fault tale; maybe
that is why Mary was sent off to stay with relatives for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Was it the census announcement that brought the young couple back
together before the baby was born? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Joseph was not a wealthy man. He
owned no land. His family had not farmed
for a generation or two which is why he made a living as an artisan. They couldn't afford a long trip to Bethlehem
so, they left it until the last minute.
By the time they arrived, accommodation options were very limited. <i>A stable place </i>[would] <i>suffice.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Meanwhile, on the hills outside of town, the sheephands had no reason to
expect anything but a normal night. Now,
a normal night could still be exciting, but it might be limited to dealing with
a hungry wolf or a wayward lamb. As Luke tells it, this was <i>not</i> a normal night:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“<i>In that region there were
shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then
an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around
them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid;
for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is
born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth
and lying in a manger.’ … So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had
been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the
shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in
her heart</i>.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Luke 2:8-12,16-19<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Plans change. Expectations are
thrown out the window. To put it another
way… something unexpected happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Christmas story is one of a change at the heart of the cosmos. The human and divine realms intersected in a
new and wonderful way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The manger was not an ideal cradle.
You've got to know that Joseph
has built something special but that it was back in Nazareth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But the borrowed manger was enough: enough for God to touch the earth.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There was a place for Mary, Joseph and Jesus in Bethlelem… a place for
word to become flesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There is a place for us in Christmas (human-divine story) even in today’s
world where things don't go as planned or hoped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The shepherds first response to the Christmas news was to retreat in
fear. But the good news of great joy
begins with simple words of comfort: <i>don’t
be afraid</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This is unexpected - and the unexpected can be
scary, but </span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">‘don’t be afraid’. <i>In
fact, seek out even more. Go and see.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There was a place where wonder was on display.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A place to ponder and treasure our place in heart of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Each of us know a unique combination of comfort and struggle, serenity
and stress. If you are in a fortunate
time of balance, wonderful. Appreciate it.
Enjoy it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But if you are teetering (and that could be a great number of us), know
that there is a place for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">If Luke's Christmas story tells us anything, it is that there is enough grace in our midst
to let us glimpse a greater joy… even if the next day it is obvious that the
struggle has more challenge in store. We
have been given something that we will carry into the next chapter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The divine-human drama (that unfolded in a Bethlehem stable) has a place
for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We are part of something grand and wonderful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The best part of this good news is that the glad tidings of great joy
are still being revealed; the divine-human story is still being written.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And we are part of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Thanks be to God!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(ad lib)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">May
peace and goodwill be known to all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We pray
in Jesus' name, who taught his followers to pray together,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Our Father,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">who art in heaven, hallow-ed be thy name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Thy kingdom come, thy will be done<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">on earth as it is in heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Give us this day, our daily bread<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">and forgive us our trespasses<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">as we forgive those that trespass against us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And lead us not into temptation,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-pagination: widow-orphan;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">but deliver us from evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">For thine is the kingdom<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">and the power and the glory<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">forever and ever,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">****Offering****<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#55VU
“In the Bleak Mid-Winter”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Minister (St David's UC)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16801847321838075746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-48271470386705561762017-12-17T11:19:00.000-07:002017-12-17T12:19:06.268-07:00LET JOY SHINE<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt;">
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">December 17, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Advent 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=380269811" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=380269811" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1 Thessalonians 5:16-23</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Today is the third (of four) Sundays in this year's pre-christmas church
season of Advent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As has been the case for the last two weeks, our Hebrew Bible reading
came from the prophetic book of Isaiah.
Please forgive my redundancy - I have mentioned every week this month: <i>the book of </i></span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Isaiah" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Isaiah</span></i></a></span><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> has three distinct sections that speak to three distinct periods of
Judean history</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">… defined by their proximity to the the 6th
century BCE exile, when the Babylonian Empire invaded Judah, occupied
Jerusalem, destroyed the temple and deported a significant portion of the
city’s occupants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Chapters 1-39: pre-exile… actually about 200
years before (8c BCE): <span style="color: #38761d;">The height of Judean
development and independence: sure, the successionist northern tribes were
losing autonomy to their Assyrian neighbours but Judah remained strong. Judah obviously enjoys God's special favour.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Chapters 40-55: during exile… early to mid 6c
BCE; <span style="color: #38761d;">How can this be? Where is God, now that God’s
house is gone?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Chapters 56-66: post-exile… late 6c BCE; <span style="color: #38761d;">We persisted - we endured the time of exile - but now we
have to start over and it is not going to be easy.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As is <i>always true</i> with good
bible study, the social-political-&-religious context of the original
audience matters... in helping us listen to what the text can say to us today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Imagine yourself one of the returnees to Judah: You were born in exile. As an adult, you chose to leave the only home
you had ever known; you took your family on a 1000km journey across the
wilderness to the place you had only heard about in legends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Your grandmother had told you stories of a grand city with a magnificent
temple, but... all you see are broken walls. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Your grandfather had spoken of how they believed that the Ruah Elohim
(the spirit of god) literally existed in a special room (first in the tent
tabernacle and then in the stone temple) called the inner sanctuary (or <i>The Holy of Holies</i>),<i> </i>but… that sacred space (like all of the rooms of Solomon’s temple)
is now nothing more than rubble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But, you also remember preachers from your youth who proposed that the
ruah elohim was not defeated when Jerusalem fell but rose up from the ruins and
journeyed to be with the people by the rivers of Babylon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And… exile prophets imagined God would one day create a path back to
Judah for the people. This fresh
understanding of the nature of God is what sustained the exiles… it is the
source of what you believe today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You made that journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You are a fulfilment of that promise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Imagine yourself one of the returnees to Judah, when someone get up to
speak and says…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">The
spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; sent me to
bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of
the Lord’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who
mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion — to give them a garland instead
of ashes,<br />
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a
faint spirit. They will be called oaks
of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall
build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they
shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Imagine (as one of those returnees to Jerusalem) how those words would
make you feel… <i>the spirit of god is here
to build up ancient ruins, bring liberty to the captives and replace grief with
gladness</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">To use a modern phrase: the words
passed on to us (as Isaiah chapter sixty-one) are an ancient <i>pep-talk</i>. They are words to encourage the work of
restoration; words to motivate action… and they do this by highlighting the
people’s new context. The last part of
‘verse three’ basically says: <i>The Lord
has planted you in Judah; here you will grow</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">[with reference to the advent wreath]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I imagine that (in the ears of the returnees) these were words of <b><span style="color: #0b5394;">hope</span></b>
(things will get better); words of <b><span style="color: #0b5394;">peace</span></b> (we are now safe after decades of
oppression).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But... I’m not sure that Isaiah 61 gets us around to today’s pink
candle. If I were a returned exile
listening to the fiery sermon by the ruins of the temple, I'm not sure that <b><span style="color: magenta;">joy</span></b>
would be my natural reaction: at least not a very deep joy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The motivational speech might rile me up (like a hockey coach pumping up
the team between periods). I might be
excited. I might be on an adrenaline
high. I might even be so caught up in
the moment that I’d volunteer to be on the building committee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I’d be feeling something real and powerful… but I'm not sure that I
could call it joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">No matter how good the preacher is, I don't think she or he can <i>make</i> me feel joy. Joy must well up <i>from inside</i> me; it cannot be <i>put</i>
inside me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is one thing to <i>express</i>
joy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is quite another to <i>feel</i>
joy or to <i>know</i> joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The prophet, Jeremiah, </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=380304796" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">wrote</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> (just before the exile) that a time was coming when no one will have to
be <i>told</i> to “know the Lord"
because “the torah will be written on their hearts". It is one thing to hear the law, to read the
law, even to understand the law (at an intellectual level); it is another to
have the life-changing <i>intent of the law</i>
so ingrained within you that it is simply part of who you are. Jeremiah imagined a time when sermons were
lived out, not preached.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Another illustration: imagine I
work at a job in a store where I am dealing with customers all day. I know that my boss believes that <i>a happy customer is a repeat customer</i>. I accept the adage that <i>the customer is always right (even, especially, when they are wrong)</i>.
And so I am always kind and respectful to my customers when I am out front in
the store… but later in the lunch room…?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I can understand kindness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I can express kindness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But that doesn't necessarily mean that I am a kind person (deep down in
my heart). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Hey, not everyone has the gift of kindness</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Apostle Paul shared instructions with the early Christians in
Thessalonica: <i>Give thanks</i>... <i>Pray</i>... <i>Rejoice</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">More so, they were told that they were to do these things constantly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Give thanks (in <b>all</b> circumstances);<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pray (<b>without</b>
<b>ceasing</b>);<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Rejoice (<b>always</b>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">To add some weight to these instructions, Paul told the Thessalonians
that God (in Jesus Christ) wills this for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Of course - <i>at least when someone
was watching</i> - it would be possible to take actions that meet the letter of
this law: they could force themselves to say “thank you"... to say
prayers… even to express joy. But… does
that mean that they are <i>really</i>
connecting with their god; are they <i>really</i>
(in the depths of who they are) grateful and joyful?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Being <i>truly grateful</i> means
that we are honestly in awe of what we have in our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Being <i>honestly prayful</i> is an
willingness to be changed by allowing the mystery and wonder of the spirit to
influence us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And we know that we are being <i>authentically
joyful</i> when we can't hold it inside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Real joyfulness is that tingling in the stomach that makes us shudder
and smile... resisting any efforts to be quashed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Joyfulness is almost an unconscious reaction to what we experience in
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In order to react to life with joy, it is essential that we allow
overselves to appreciate that - even in the darkest time - there is light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The apostle Paul knew this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As we heard this morning, he wrote: <i>hold
fast to what is good.</i> He is not
suggesting that everything about our context (at any given time) will be good,
but that there will be <i>some</i> good to
hold on to… always, without ceasing, and in all circumstances. And - in that - lies the possibility for
gratefulness, prayerfulness and joyfulness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul wants the church to practice those things that open up the
possibility to honest, inner joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The preacher in post-exile Jerusalem wanted the returnees to build on
the fact that they had turned a corner on a dark part of their history… they
were a fresh planting with a fresh hope for a bountiful harvest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">So… what can we be practising within our lives (in <i>this</i> world today) to improve the possibilities that joy will be
known and felt?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Where is the guiding light?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Where is the good on which we can hold fast?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">For us to have ingrained joy deep within us, we can start by making room
for that joy to take root. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The apostle Paul invited the church to “hold fast to what is good”. What are we holding onto that gets in the way
of goodness and joy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">So… what is taking up space within us that we could do well without?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The pre-exile Judean prophet Micah spoke about what should be at the
heart of a faithful life. Micah preached
that all we really need is “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk
humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Justice, kindness and humility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The three life-attitudes (promoted by Micah more than 100 years before
the babylonian exile) can shed some light on what inhibits joy today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Each of these three has a shadow side that can fill us with anti-joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Justice … vengeance, greed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Kindness … envy, anger<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Humility … selfishness, pride<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I think that most people would agree that wollowing in selfishness and
pride can drain a person of joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And so, I hope that it makes sense that accepting - no matter how
skilled or prepared we are - that there are circumstances beyond our control
and wisdom beyond our means. Honouring
the value of humility can seed the soil where joy can grow,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Justice is about fairness - seeking justice is often a matter of
righting wrongs. But, that does not have
to be about retribution. No one deserves
to be on the wrong side injustice, but focusing our response on obsessive
vengeance will not build joy in our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even victims of injustice have the capacity for joy if they release
themselves from the self-imposed burdens of greed and vengeance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But… in my mind, <b><i>the key</i></b> to allowing joy to grow lies
with kindness… with a basic compassion that accepts the worthiness of every
human soul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Kindness is most possible when we believe what the ancient Hebrew </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=380375705" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">storyteller</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> believed: that God created
humankind in the divine image and that it was good. We are invited to be kind because we believe
that a spark of God’s spirit is alight in everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus’ ministry was all about kindness (compassion and love).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I am convinced that knowing real joy becomes more possible in our lives
(and in the world) as our practice of kindness increases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When I work on reducing the influence of my own selfishness and pride,
humility will take root and joy will have a better chance to shine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When I work on reducing the influence of my own vengeance and greed,
justice will take root and joy will have a better chance to shine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When I work on reducing the influence of my own anger and envious
nature, kindness will take root and joy will have a better chance to shine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">LET JOY SHINE!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Holy
Giver of Joy,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Thank
you for everything that lightens our hearts, that creates laughter, and that
invites us bring happiness into the lives of others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#79VU
“Spirit, Open My Heart”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
Minister (St David's UC)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16801847321838075746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-55848409607565494552017-12-10T11:27:00.000-07:002017-12-10T12:41:25.226-07:00JUST RELAX<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt;">
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVutwIFGsFRzKjB2E_lrSSVQV1bZEY0imgIHHsbMADoqukDKzyyY2AVq5kIl3WMS0uysSsYQlv7mpGhbWPEOnJmBHaYS3mp0nL3QY6RFX1JgEE_bqnuroVs_c8UoOh6SFWmeHmvgIFRTu3/s1600/LayZBoyEleven.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1182" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVutwIFGsFRzKjB2E_lrSSVQV1bZEY0imgIHHsbMADoqukDKzyyY2AVq5kIl3WMS0uysSsYQlv7mpGhbWPEOnJmBHaYS3mp0nL3QY6RFX1JgEE_bqnuroVs_c8UoOh6SFWmeHmvgIFRTu3/s320/LayZBoyEleven.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">December 10, 2017</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Advent 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=379335412" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Isaiah 40:1-11</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=379335412" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mark 1:1-8</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is <i>ironic</i> that two of the
most anxiety-inducing words in the english language are “just relax".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I am sure that most of you have had some experience with hearing those
words: when you had to try and let your mind dominate over matter: take that
deep breath, say ‘okay’ and then try to distract yourself with the mental image
of some beach somewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I love that scene in the 1986 film version of the musical “</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://youtu.be/XB7R0ZxNgC4" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Little Shop of Horrors</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">" when Bill Murray’s character visits the
sadistic dentist, played by Steve Martin.
Bill Murray relaxes (and distracts himself from any potential pain) by
looking forward to getting some chocolate after it is all done… ‘candy bar,
candy bar, candy bar’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Now I am in my mid-50s, so it seems that I hear “<i>just relax</i>” (on an increasingly frequent basis) from medical
professionals performing routine procedures aimed at maintaining men’s health.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">**grimace** <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You can <i>relax.</i> I am not going to preach anymore about
colonoscopies... today, at least.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The prophetic book of </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Isaiah" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Isaiah</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> is a single text that is sixty-six chapters long, but it is fair to
think of it as three disctinct books. It
contains materials that come from three unique times in the History of Israel
and Judah.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Last week, our Hebrew Bible reading came from chapter 60 - the third
section (ch 56-66) - that spoke to the people who had returned to Jerusalem
after 70-plus years of living in exile by the Rivers of Babylon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This week, we read from the middle section of Isaiah (ch 40-55), that
was written <i>during the exile</i>,
speaking to the people who had been defeated by an expanding empire, had their
sacred sites looted and, been forced to put down roots in the squalor of a
foreign refugee camp. In fact, our reading
today was the first words that this prophet had for these exiles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Those words were “Your God says, <i>take
comfort my people</i>”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The message acknowledge the pain of the people’s circumstance: they
cried for Jerusalem. </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=379589916" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Psalm 139</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> (from about the same time)
says “By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion…
even too sad to sing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But, into that understandable sadness the prophet proclaims: <i>The people are not forgotten. The Jerusalem Temple might lay in ruins, but
their God is still mighty and eternal.
Their God has not forgotten them</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And the promise: <i>This exile will
not be permanent. A distant voice will
call them back through the desert. In
this… take comfort, O people of God</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As, we explored last week, the shifting sands of empires did eventually
allow for a new generation of judeans to return and do the hard work of
renewing their nation: forever changed by their experience in exile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Move ahead another five centuries and the renewed Hebrew kingdom is now
subject to puppet governments of the Roman Empire. East of Jerusalem, a new voice speaks
prophetic words: <i>Come and know the
cleansing renewal of God’s love and forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">John the Baptist spoke to people who knew an exile of sorts. They weren't force to physically move, but
they had witnessed their city, their nation, their institutions overrun by
forces beyond their control. Where was
their God in all of this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Comfort O my people. This is not the end. More is coming. A physical baptism might be a powerful ritual
to acknowledge a commitment to God, but it is nothing compared to what is in
store for you. ‘One is coming whose
baptism is meta-physical (beyond the physical); it will refresh you down to the
very depths of your spirit’.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When we consider the similarities between the 6th century BCE Babylonian
exile and the 1st century CE Roman occupation of Judea, it makes sense why <i>all</i> of the New Testament gospel writers
used Isaiah 40 language as part of the John the Baptist narratives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As the Jesus story begins in the gospels, people are invited to come out
of the wilderness of their despair and embrace the loving comfort of their God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I am going to be bold enough to say that this opportunity of renewal
continues to endure even today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Each of us has our own story, but I suspect we all have wilderness times
in our lives, where we feel cut off, facing difficult circumstances beyond our
control. Some of us have come through
such times; and others are in the midst of an unwelcomed exile of sorts right
now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">For me, when I am lost in my own exile, I try to follow Isaiah’s
advice. I am grateful for the poets who
penned the United Church Creed:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">We are not alone.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">We live in God's world.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">In life, in
death, in life beyond death<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;">God is with us.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">These words and ancients words of faith like Isaiah 40 remind me that
today's wildernesses are passable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I listen hard for divine comfort telling me to <i>Be At Peace, and know that I are not alone in today’s exile</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is an act of hopeful faith know peace even when life around us is
anything but peaceful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That is a promise of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Comfort, O comfort, my people!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Help us
O God to relax into your comfort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#12MV
“Come Touch Our Hearts”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
Minister (St David's UC)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16801847321838075746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-7701447085276806322017-12-03T11:25:00.002-07:002017-12-03T13:16:40.300-07:00BACK HERE AGAIN<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="610" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRChRzC64RxHG_3xO5kutwPATzv9jn8Iwa8rGk492jn4xIgpWrGtTTHEX8hUtV7XkAE_lc-UblXJ0j6o3UspELT7HoJrqHXCGcSU7pS8MmxjF30h1kpx4FqEgWIaozBklQM1bUVhoLLU9/s320/Advent1.jpg" width="320" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; padding: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">December 3, 2017</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Advent 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=379332176" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Isaiah 64:1-5,8</span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 0in 31.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=379332176" target="_blank">Mark 13:32-37</a></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Although I have been serving as this church’s minister for more than
seventeen years, if you are new to St. David’s this fall, I may be an
unfamiliar face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The last time I was in this pulpit was more than four months ago. Since then, I have enjoyed the gift of a time
of sabbatical - relieved from my regular ministry duties - to give thought and
spirit to renewal and learning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I highlighted some of what I have been up to in the most recent church
newsletter that is available at the back and through a </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://mailchi.mp/78f18b6ff8b9/tqymujsmqo"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">link</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> on the church’s </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/stdavidsleduc/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">facebook page</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As good as my sabbath time was (and <i>it
was</i>), it is good to be back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I know that the calendar says that we are in the month of December. I know that today is the first Sunday of
Advent … the first day of a new <i>liturgical</i>
year within the church: Christmas tree, lots of blue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And yet, I must confess that…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I feel <i>out of time</i>. It just doesn't <u>feel</u> like we are as
late into the year as we actually are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Normally, when I have a few weeks in a row away from leading Sunday
services, it is in the summer: I suspect that as long as I have school age
kids, I will take my holiday time in July or August. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Those rare times that I get to attend church somewhere else (simply as
an attendee), it is usually the summer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">During my sabbatical, most weeks, I was able to be a butt in a pew; I
visited a number of other United Churches in our area over the past several
months. But, unless I forced myself to
appreciate the truth of the fall calendar, those times <i>felt</i> like summer services… because that has been my experience most
years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In fact, on a Sunday in late October, I came to church <b><i>here</i></b>
(Phyllis Greenslade was the worship leader).
During that service, the senior choir sang a lovely anthem: and I
actually caught myself thinking: <i>gee, I
wonder why the choir is singing in the summer. What’s the special occasion?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">My personal experience of temporal paradox probably was enhanced by the
fact that I actually planned out the basics of this December 3rd service way
back in July.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Perhaps, it is a sign of a successful sabbatical that I got stuck in
time for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But, no more. There is no more
avoiding the facts that<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">a new church year has begun,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">the candle of hope is a-blaze, and (that)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Christmas is only 22 days away (three little
weeks as of tomorrow).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As followers of Jesus, we have come full circle. We are back at the beginning… again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The two scripture readings that I chose for this first Sunday of Advent
come from the suggested lessons for today as laid out in the Revised Common
Lectionary. The RCL offers a three year
cycle of readings to cover the Sundays between Advent 1 and Reign of Christ
Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is quite possible that three and six and nine (and 3<sup>n</sup>)
years ago, these same bible verses may have illuminated those first Sundays of
Advent of the past. I didn’t go back in
the records to check, but I wouldn't be surprised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As I reflect on Isaiah 64 and Mark 13 this year, I see reminders to <i>be mindful of the moment we are in</i> -
even as we think about where we have been … and <i>to look forward to the future we hope for.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The whole of </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=379259663"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mark chapter 13</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> is a record of Jesus teaching his followers about the hope that (one
day) God would re-create the world in to one where peace and righteous reigned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The discussion all began with these northern rural peasants gawking at
the large buildings of Jerusalem. Jesus
took the opportunity to remind them that even those carefully crafted stones
would not last forever: “[one day]”, Jesus said, “all [of these great
buildings] will be thrown down”.
Naturally, the disciples wanted to know <i>when</i> this would happen, but - as we heard today - Jesus simply
encouraged them to remain faithful and focused and watchful... in the moment
they found themselves in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Stay Awake! </span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">was
Jesus’ advice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The final eleven chapters of the book of Isaiah come from a time (within
the history of the Israelites) called <i>The
Post-Exile Restoration</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Around the turn of the 6th century BCE, the Babylonian Empire gained
control of the lands of Judah. Although,
the fortified walls of Jerusalem held off the invaders for a time (while the
countryside came under Empire control), eventually, even the city was overrun;
its temple was looted and left in ruins; and a significant portion of the
population (including political and religious leaders along with some ordinary
citizens) were/was forced to relocate to refugee camps by the <i>Rivers of Babylon</i>. The Empire forced
them into exile - quite an effective (if not extreme) population control
technique.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The basic reality was… that the stability that the Judeans had known
since the time of King David was over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">About 70 years later, the shifting sands of empires saw the rise of the
Persians (at the expense of the Babylonians) and new leadership allowed the
Judeans to return. After almost
three-quarters of a century, the returnees were made up (mostly) of new generations,
who had been born in exile).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is the voice of these post-exile judeans (the majority of whom who
had never lived in - or even seen - Judah) that we hear in the words of Isaiah
64. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In the verses today, we hear the hard struggle of restoring a memory
long gone. The prophet knows that restoring a nation, a community, a faith is
long, hard, frustrating (even disappointing) work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">They might long for God to simply make it all better - to shake the
ruins back to their former glory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">They might long for a holy re-set.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">They want their global status back.
But… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">their
faith history reminds them that this is not how God works: the people are the
vehicles of God’s action… the work of restoration will be done by the Judeans,
with a faith that their God has made them (equipped them) for this task.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“Restoration" might sound like the people were bringing their past
into the present. In reality, they are
building something new.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Judah that would (and did) emerge after the exile was a very
different one than the nation that preceded the time in Babylon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Extrapolating that theme to our context today… although Advent comes
around every year - always beginning four Sundays before December 25th - and
although, following a lectionary can result in repeated bible readings every
few years, this is a <i>new advent</i> that
comes into our midst today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Therein lies the challenge before us: to avoid just repeating ourselves
and <i>to
approach this season with fresh hearts, minds and souls</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Throughout my sabbatical, I was exploring ways to be workin in and with
the church during times of <i>transition. </i>While it is true that we are guardians of
an old, old story, we are also disciples of the Living God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Much of who we are now has been framed in the traditions and practices
and proclamations of the past… and yet we do not exist (simply) as testaments
to history, we are disciples of the Living God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Advent does not lead us <i>back</i>
to God’s incarnation that began with Mary’s child’s first breaths.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Advent guides us <i>in the present</i>...
so that we can experience a sacredness - the presence of God - in <i>this</i> moment in time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I appreciate that this can be challenging.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Finding <i>thin times and places</i>
(as the ancient celts, called them) - where the human and divine realms seem
especially close - is not easy, given the busyness and complexity of the modern
experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There is a lot to occupy our attention now a days:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">People’s calendars can fill up pretty fast,
especially at this time of year. We seem
to place less value on empty time in today’s world. There is a sense that if every moment isn't
filled, opportunities have been lost.
Recently, I binge-watched both Netflix season’s of </span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_Things"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Stranger Things</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">, which
is set in 1983/84: no cell phones, no computers, no instant GPS tracking
(parents needed their kids to find a landline line phone to check in with
home). But, we are living in 2017, not
1984.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Although, in a throwback to cold war tensions of
the early 80s, we have our own nuclear war worries with North Korean missile
launches and Twitter name-calling and taunts by world leaders. Diplomacy has become a lost art in some
circles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Anger and hatred dominates the news. We see it in violent rhetoric, wars,
terrorist acts and mass shootings so often that the call to offer <i>Thoughts and Prayers</i> has become routine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Given all this, is it surprising that (in some
communities, especially south of the border) people are escaping into
ever-increasing addictive drugs?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I know... that (in spite of the joy that this season is meant to
engender) hope can be hard to come by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Hard. But not beyond our best
efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We need hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Our world needs hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The story of <i>Yeshua ben Yosef
ve’Miriam</i> (Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph: the Christ) - and the
proclamations of his followers - is founded in hope and promise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Writing to early Christians in Corinth, the Apostle Paul had these
hopful words: “<i>...The grace of God… has
been given you in Christ Jesus. For, in every way, you have been enriched in
him, in speech and knowledge of every kind — just as the testimony of Christ
has been strengthened among you — so that you are not lacking in any spiritual
gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ</i>.” (1Cor1:4-7)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Finding hope in hard times <i>is</i>
a gift… a spiritual gift. And we are
people touched by spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A challenge that we (as 2017 followers of Jesus) might want to take on
is be intent on highlighting the new hope that <i>is</i> in our midst.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We</span></u></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> can be intentional about noticing and promoting the goodness and mercy
that is in our world and communities, even if this goodness tends to lose
airtime to the purveyors of hate and anger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Look hard for the good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Notice it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Appreciate it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But <i>noticing and promoting </i>hope
is not enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Just like <i>thoughts and prayers</i>
can’t be the only response to violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We are to make <i>hope</i> <u>real</u>
by living out the compassion and justice of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Notice the good. Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Appreciate it. Yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But more so… create it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We are sufficiently gifted to create new goodness in this world. We can be who our God knows we can be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">To the lonely soul, we can be a companion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">For the hungry, we can share the fruits of our
table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In the face of bigotry, we can insist on
equality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">At the sound of insults, we can speak of a
dignity for all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When we are told that it is smart to hide behind
walls and to pre-emptively bring hurt to those who frighten us, we can proclaim
a wisdom founded in reclamation, rehabilitation, and forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In our most self-reliant, <i>I don't need anyone </i>moment, we can be open to the generosity and
compassion of others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Bit by bit - day by day - in the small ways that always accumulate into
big changes - we can bring hope into the lives of neighbours and strangers
alike. We do this by moving beyond
pondering and meditation. Hope comes
into our world through our <i>lived out</i>
and <i>active </i>thought and prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God of
Hope, as we begin our annual pilgrimage to Bethlehem, may we discover how we
can shine the love of Christ today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">****Offering****<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Minister (St David's UC)http://www.blogger.com/profile/16801847321838075746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-73657408211004490842017-07-16T11:47:00.000-06:002017-07-16T11:47:39.492-06:00TAKING ADVANTAGE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRm7GAoKWWYx5u0UE6DWLjlVsruwbmtWIpI9DfUAlZb94YYZYyOH8qta9I3tYDUHVgyMiep22MWcIzZeO6-HvzLiNa3EG-9fH3OrhBAZVIc2BnVoMJY6fAvXRDaRgC-UvLOnMU_i-Ddo/s1600/Liar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRm7GAoKWWYx5u0UE6DWLjlVsruwbmtWIpI9DfUAlZb94YYZYyOH8qta9I3tYDUHVgyMiep22MWcIzZeO6-HvzLiNa3EG-9fH3OrhBAZVIc2BnVoMJY6fAvXRDaRgC-UvLOnMU_i-Ddo/s1600/Liar.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">July 16, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pentecost 6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=366878749">Genesis
25:21-34<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=366878749">Matthew 13:1-9</a></span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VkuAFWR4xvw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VkuAFWR4xvw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<span style="color: #b45f06;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #783f04; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><you got="" mail="" ve=""></you></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Dear Junior, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Remember me from the beauty pageant a few years ago? I know a guy who knows a <i>comrade</i> who can get you some juicy top secret spy info that will
help your dad. Let me know. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">From Rob.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #783f04; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #783f04; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Dear Rob, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #783f04; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I love it! Let’s
set it up asap. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #783f04; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Yours truly, DJ
<send><o:p></o:p></send></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In 1972, when (Washington Post reporter) Bob Woodward learned that Mark
Felt (the associate director of the FBI) was willing to be a deep cover source
to provide information relating to the Nixon Whitehouse’s role in the Watergate
scandal, Woodward took advantage of the situation to do (along with Carl
Bernstein) some of last century’s most important investigative journalism… <span style="color: #666666;">as immortalized in the Robert Redford movie “All the
President’s Men”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Thirteen months ago, when the son of a political candidate was offered
opposition research material from the files of a foreign government, he took
advantage of the opportunity to try and get the info… <span style="color: #666666;">not
sure <i>who will play who</i> in a future
movie about that one (story still being written).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In ancient Hebrew culture, the line of inheritance was supposed to go
through a family’s first born son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As we heard this morning, Isaac and Rebekah had two sons: twins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Although the age difference between Esau and Jacob was a matter of
minutes (or seconds if you take the Genesis account literally), the
luck-of-the-womb made Esau the <i>first born
son</i> - and therefore, he would be the primary beneficiary of Isaac’s estate
as a <i>right</i> of his <i>birth</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Now this birthright was not absolute.
The father still needed to formalize it with a <i>blessing</i> at some later date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Years later, it was clear that Jacob, the younger brother, resented this
societal norm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But what could he do about it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jacob knew that his brother was a shoo-in for Isaac’s blessing because
Esau was the <i>ideal son</i> in his
father’s eyes. Esau was a hard worker on
the farm; he was a skilled hunter. He
would manage Isaac’s legacy perfectly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It’s not that Jacob was devoid of skills that strengthened the
family. He was excellent around
camp. He was a pretty good cook. And he was quite skilled at getting people to
do what he wanted them to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">To use more modern language, I suspect that Isaac felt that his number
two son, Jacob, had admirable middle-management skills that should aid Esau in
his overall leadership of the family estate.
Both sons would play valuable future roles, if they would only work
together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We certainly can imply from the text we heard today, that Esau took
advantage of his role of the older brother (and the fact that he was bigger and
stronger than Jacob). I imagine that
Esau liked to order his <i>little</i>
brother around - in that stereotypical <i>big-brother-bully</i>
kind of way. We can reasonably assume
that (for his entire life) Jacob was under the thumb of Esau.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The legend goes that this struggle began <i>in vitro</i> as the two fetuses fought for position to see who would be
born first. Esau won that first battle
and the right to claim dominance forever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But, Jacob harboured a different desire - Jacob didn’t want to play
second fiddle his whole life; he wanted to be the concert master.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It was probably a typical day around the Isaac/Rebekah estate: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">• Esau
working out in the heat of the field; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">• Jacob
cooking in the shade of the tent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">At lunch
time, the big, sweaty, red-headed older brother barged into the tent.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #980000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That smells good! <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #980000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Hey Squirt - make yourself useful and bring me a big bowl
of that red stuff!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #980000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #980000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">What are you waiting for?
I’m starving over here!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Then the thought hit him. Jacob
could finally get the upper hand on his brother. He could take advantage of his brother’s
short-sighted priorities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Sure, I’ll bring you some of this
tasty stew… if… you promise me your birthright</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #980000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Whatever. What good
is a future birthright if I die today of starvation? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #980000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Food! <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #980000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Belly! <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #980000; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Now!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Here you go… a big red bowl for my
big red brother.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(munching) <i><span style="color: #980000;">Than’ you.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Heh, heh, heh.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">[btw…
Esau’s nickname was “Edom”: <b><span style="background: #E06666;">Red</span></b>.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jacob took advantage of the situation that day to stake a legitimate
claim to Esau’s birthright. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But that wasn't the end of the scheme.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">At some point, he would have to find some way to get Isaac’s blessing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">[You can read Genesis, chapter 27 (</span><span lang="EN-CA"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=366877047"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=366877047</span></a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">) to find out how exactly how Jacob managed to get the
formal blessing and finally secure his status as the beneficiary of the
family’s wealth and property. All I will
say is that it involved <i>taking advantage</i>
of his father’s failing eyesight.]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The phrase “taking advantage” often carries a negative connotation…
especially when the advantage is gained at the expense of someone else. Jacob exploited people’s weaknesses or
naïvete to improve his situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Taking advantage </span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">of
someone else (especially working in clandestine and sneaky ways) raises serious
ethical issues about what is <i>right</i>
and <i>wrong</i>. Anytime, we take advantage of a opportunity
that requires another person to <i>lose</i>
in order for us to <i>win</i> we are wading
into the murky waters of morals and ethics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Sadly, even if most people are good at heart, there are some people with
questionable ethics out there - intent on advancing their own interests at any
cost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I suspect that each of us knows what it feels like to be taken advantage
of by someone… who preyed on our generosity or trusting nature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And I suspect that each of us has learned to build up some walls of
suspicion and cynicism to avoid being taken advantage of in similar ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus’ parable (that we heard from Matthew 13 today) invites us to think
about <i>taking advantage</i> in a different
way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Taking advantage</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> of
another person (as an act of selfish greed) has little redeeming value, but
Jesus redeems the phrase in his story today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A farmer is planting seeds by tossing them on to the ground. The farmer is balancing the efficient use of
his time and pure accuracy of the planting.
The farmer is willing to let some of the seeds miss the mark, as long as
the good soil of the field gets an adequate supply of seeds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus points out that the seeds that land on that good soil will
flourish and return bounty harvests: the whole point of farming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But, Jesus points out a reality that all of his audience understood:
when you sew seeds by hand, a few seeds will get caught in the wind and end up
on the packed soil of the path. Before
they ever get a chance to take root, local birds will <i>take advantage</i> of these errand seeds for a quick meal...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Still other seeds might land on uncultivated, rockier soil. Those seeds will <i>take advantage</i> of the nutrients available and sprout, but the life
of these plants may be short-lived because the shallow roots won't be able to
find enough water to sustain it all the way to harvest time. That plant will only serve to decompose back
into the ground a return to the soil some of the nutrients it used...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And some seeds might land among other plants, where there may not be
enough nutrients in the soil to go around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In my most optimistic moments I believe that there is a potntially good
best path forward in even the toughest of situations. I do believe in the motto: <i><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">when like gives you lemons, make lemonade</span></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That’s actually a pretty good metaphor because of the unspoken middle
step. If all you have is lemons, you
can’t make <i>lemonade</i> - you can only
make lemon juice: not the most appealing libation. The path to lemonade also includes bringing
other ingredients to the table: water, sugar and a container to hold it all together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When life tastes sour, the path forward will often require us to pull
together other things that will aid us in creating a more rejuvenating
environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Right now - in every person's life - there is an opportunity for
personal growth and fulfillment in our midst.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We have been created to be constant <i>works-in-progress</i>. We are pre-loaded with an inner drive to seek
new sources of happiness and purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Are we willing to be perceptive enough to be able to take advantage of
such opportunities?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As many of you know, this is the last Sunday that I will be leading at
St. David's until December. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Starting later this week, I will be taking advantage of my annual
holiday time. It is a standard term of
call for United Churches that ministers get (at least) on month’s holidays per
year. Unlike some organizations (or even
the minimum expectations of provincial labour codes) where increased levels of
holidays are earned over time as a person remains with a company for years, in
the UCCan a minister fresh out of theological college is entitled to the same
time off as a person with 30+ years experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is healthy for ministers to take advantage of unstructured time to
focus on things other than church on a regular basis. Rest allows for rejuvenation. And rejuvenation leads to more effective
ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Equally important, a minister’s holiday time is an advantageous time for
congregations as well. A chance to hear
the Good News in fresh ways as (often) a variety of worship leaders plan Sunday
services. And (often) people/groups
within the congregation can take advantage of opportunities to provide insight
and leadership.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But, as many of you know, I am not taking four months of holiday
time. I probably have a bit of overtime
built up, but not <i>that much</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Following my annual holiday time (from mid-August to late-November), I
will be taking advantage of another standard term of call that is part of UCCan
pastoral relationships:</span></div>
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</div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">What makes sabbatical time different from holiday time is that it is
more than unstructured time off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">UCCan sabbaticals are explicitly expected to be a learning time focused
(in some way) on <i>the practice of ministry</i>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The biblical model of sabbatical [seventh day (sabbath), seventh year
(fallow), after seven times seven years (jubilee)] is largely <i>rest focused</i>. But it is more than rest for rest’s
sake. Biblical sabbatical provides an
opportunity for worship, learning and renewal (a fresh start with a fresh
focus).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">On the back table is a brochure (that I have prepared) which explains a
bit about this fall’s sabbatical. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Over the next several months, I plan on taking advantage of
opportunities to explore in serious and detailed ways <i>Transitions That 21st Century Church Are Facing</i> - and by
transitions, I mean more than being forced to change… in the 21st century,
healthy, growing, relevant churches are taking advantage of opportunities to
transform themselves into “modern” communities of faith… who live out what they
proclaim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">While it is most accurate to say that “the minister is taking a
sabbatical”... I am not the only one who will be on sabbatical this fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You - the congregation of St. David’s United Church - have a sabbatical
coming up, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A minister’ sabbatical time is a period of forced transition for a
congregation. Your routines will be
mixed up a bit. You will experience
“church” in new ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Your Worship Committee has arranged for a variety of Sunday worship
leaders (both from within and beyond the congregation).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mid-week church activities (that I will normally be connected to) will
function without me. Often that will
mean no changes at all … in other cases, adjustments will he made.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I know a few ministers who have been reluctant to take a sabbatical
because they are afraid that their congregations will get a taste of life
without that minister and “like it”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That prospect does frighten me.
If that is going to be the case - it will be good for us all to find
that our.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">No… my worst fear - connected to the coming months - is that the
congregation will simply tread water until December. That <i>ministry
of this church</i> is so tied to its minister that growth and creativeness will
halt for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I hope and pray that you - the people of St. David’s - take advantage of
this time to let go of some of the routines that are based on my style and
habits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I pray and hope that this church does new things… that “I” will be
forced to adjust to in a few months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Be a light of welcome in this community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Grow your faith. Engage your
spirits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The good news of Jesus (<i><span style="color: red;">that God is all love and compassion which is not to be
hoarded, but shared wide</span></i>) is not dependant on a given moment in time
or a particular leader in a particular place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It carried on - even after Jesus was executed. The Gospel has postdated Mary Magdalena, Simon Peter, Saul of Tarsus, Emperor
Constantine, Martin Luther, Oscar Romero and others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Take advantage a resilient Good News to bloom where you are planted…
today, over the next four months and for all of your time in this life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Gracious
God, we are forever in your midst. You
never leave us! Knowing that we are your
beloved is wonderful good news. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">AMEN.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#691VU
“Walls That Divide”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-85689080481532153512017-07-09T11:21:00.000-06:002017-07-09T12:53:35.110-06:00LET IT GO<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHEBRx5x7UHHTHfYyEbs_NLXTAQFZfuhOna5HUL7tY94g0GbayIzXKmP74sreFbLU2b_tvMGzY5FxONwXPbvyUDrbbiR_FiOsVvMWy-YhfBc_sn2mPddj794onBIsRSrd5AjRNbKELpE/s1600/HugSelf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1559" data-original-width="1600" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHEBRx5x7UHHTHfYyEbs_NLXTAQFZfuhOna5HUL7tY94g0GbayIzXKmP74sreFbLU2b_tvMGzY5FxONwXPbvyUDrbbiR_FiOsVvMWy-YhfBc_sn2mPddj794onBIsRSrd5AjRNbKELpE/s320/HugSelf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">July 9, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pentecost 5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Romans 7:15-25a<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Matthew 11:16-19,25-30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It was announced this past week that the Government of Canada agreed to <i>settle</i> a 2014 civil lawsuit that had
been filed against it by Omar Khadr based on his claim that his rights as a
Canadian citizen were not protected by the government during Khadr’s detention
by the US military from 2002 to 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Khadr’s was seeking $20 million.
The settlement was for $10.5 million.
It also included a formal apology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Anyone hear about that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Anyone have any opinions on that?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The spectrum of opinions seem to range <i>from</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is outrageous that the government (on behalf
of all Canadians) is rewarding a self-confessed convicted murderer and war
criminal.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">… <i>to</i> ...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Khadr deserves every penny because he was an
unwitting 15 year old child soldier when the attack happened <i>and</i> Canadian government officials were
complacent with (or turned a blind eye to) how he was treated at Gitmo…
including being tortured.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And there are many nuisanced opinions in between these extremes,
including:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">some are saying that this settlement is prudent
because it ultimately saved a lot of time and money because there was a real
possibility that the government was
going to lose the lawsuit, given a previous Supreme Court ruling; </span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">others were upset that the government gave up
without a fight.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I won't make my personal views on this a “sermon topic” for today -
but.... I’d be happy to get into the mud with anyone over a coffee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I will say that what I found most fascinating - <i>reading the blogs and listening to the talk shows this week</i> - were
the conversations about the apology from Canada to Khadr that was part of the
settlement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Over and over again, even many of those who begrudingly accepted that
the Canadian government did not treat its citizen with the support he deserved
- really didn't like the apology part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Money is one thing, but saying <i>“sorry”</i>? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">After all, isn’t the point of <i>settling</i>
lawsuits to be able to get away without having to admit any fault. Settling lawsuits is usually about making the
problem go away without being found guilty of anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A settlement that includes an apology is saying something significant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Apologies do not come easy for some people. And… apologies are not always easily
received.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I am sure that I am not the only one to notice that (seldom in the
public sphere) do we get unqualified apologies, because often people are less
sorry for what they did/said and more sorry for the embarrassment of being
found out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">If I have offended anyone,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I would certainly apologize.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The non-apology apology!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">On Saturday Night Live, last October, Alec Baldwin was parodying the
Republican nominee for US President - who was in the news (at the time) for a
video of him saying some rather vulgar things on an Access Hollywood bus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Baldwin’s SNL character kind of reflected real life saying:<i> I would like to apple-a-gize for what I
said</i>. Do you mean ‘apologize’? <i>No, I
would never say that</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The non-apology apology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Saying sorry without saying sorry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Certainly, there are times when people experience an authentic change in
heart and express honest regret for things they have intentionally done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But (truth be told), a lot of our apologies are the result of being
unintentionally inconsiderate. In those
cases, before we apologize, we might feel the need to explain <i>why</i> we did what we did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It seems to be human nature to want to explain the circumstances that
contributed to our regretable words and actions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The reality is that an “<i>I’m sorry,
but…</i> model” makes the apology sound disingenuous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">On the other side of the coin, when we have been wronged, the emotional
impact can linger long after the words and actions have ended. Sadness, disappointment or anger might not
allow us to <i>hear</i> (little lone <i>accept</i>) an apology - even an
unconditional, heart-felt apology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Apologies can be powerful things, leading to some of the most healing
words that exist: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I forgive you</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“Apology’s” power is diminished when we believe that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">the apologizer is insincere, or</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">the apologizee doesn't deserve the “sorry”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In fact, I feel confident proclaiming that the words <i>I forgive you</i> are much harder to say
than <i>I'm sorry</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The words<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“<i>I forgive
you</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">are much harder to say than<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“<i>I'm sorry</i>”.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A major theme of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans is about <i>what should hold authority in the lives of
the Christians</i>. Paul draws on two
antagonistic examples, in the strong tradition of greek philosophical dualism:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">• Spirit versus Flesh,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">• Faith versus Law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In Romans chapter seven, this is exactly the message that Paul is
preaching, when he goes off on the personal tangent that was our reading this
morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In his mind, Paul knows that faith and spirit are superior to law and
flesh. But he admits that he is unable
to fully embrace this in practice. This
fact frustrates Paul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I do not understand my own actions. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">For I do not do what I want, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">but I do the very thing I hate.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul doesn’t give us the juicy details, but he seems to be admiting that
he has some personal vice that he sees is in opposition to how he believes that
his faith calls him to live. Paul is
admiring a level of hypocrisy within himself.
He hates himself for what he might call a weakness in his faith: <i>Wretched man that I am!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul simply can't forgive himself.
He is a living embodiment of what Jesus is quoted as saying in Matthew
26:41 - <i><span style="color: red;">The
spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak</span></i>. For a brief moment, Paul seems to be trying
to justify his actions by externalizing these feelings beyond himself as “sin”
that is an outward force controlling him.
But he quickly comes back to the weakness is his own, not imposed on
him. Paul is not a “devil made me do it”
guy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul’s innermost being delights in God, but his outer being embraces
self-gratification. He openly wonders
why anyone would want to rescue him from <i>this
body of death</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We can hear Paul’s frustration: Is he worthy of love and forgiveness,
especially when he has been unable to change?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Through the other reading (Matthew 11) we move from forgivee to
forgiver.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus points of the inconsistent actions and unappreciative attitudes of
what he (later in chapter 17) calls a <i><span style="color: red;">faithless generation</span></i>. Jesus is making the case that they do not
deserve redemption, forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul has to admit, that by his own standards, he is unworthy of
forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus claims that people are rejecting him. We expect him to hold back his compassion
from them as long as they are unwilling to even admit their hypocrisy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">...that is not what happens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul asks <i>Who will rescue me?</i>…
and then says <i>Thanks be to God through
Jesus Christ our Lord!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus eloquently describes this hostile and faithless generation… and
then offers to carry their burdens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even without living fully within the best of his faith, Paul does NOT
need rescuing. It has already
happened. He has been proactively
rescued by a God of Grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus is NOT going to wait to be asked to support people’s lives; he
proactively goes to them and lightens their load.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Two (relatively recent) poetic expressions of this theology:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1772: “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that
saved a wretch like me.” (John Newton)</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1954: “During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints [in the sand], it was then that I
carried you.” (Margaret Fishback Powers)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is hard enough to forgive someone who has authentically expressed
remorse and changed their life. God’s
forgiveness is not so limited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">John Newton chose the right word: Grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Grace of God is a forgiveness that preceeds an apology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">GRACE<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">is<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">FORGIVESS <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">that proceeds <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">APOLOGY<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God rescues Paul, even if Paul can't let go of his guilt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus takes on burdens of those who probably deserve to feel the weight
of their choices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That is <b>grace</b>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This is amazingly radical.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It can be quite disturbing to those who want their god to share their
human ideals. Let’s be honest, there are
human monsters among us that we don’t want to receive any grace at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You will find some preachers who will want to water down this radical
grace. But you won’t get that from me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Some will say that all God does is <i>offer</i>
grace, but you can’t get it without offering something in return… humility,
faith, commitment, etc. But...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">...that is not what we see in Romans and Matthew today: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul is rescued even though his flesh still
dominates his spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus carries burdens of those who don't even
know how heavy their lives are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul doesn’t necessarily understand this, but he accepts it. His response to God’s grace is to simply say
“thank you”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus acts out of gentleness and humility as a response to the weariness
that inevitably results from hostility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Grace leads to gratitude and rest.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That is the Holy Way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God lets go of those things we can't.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus lifts us up even if we don't realize we are falling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Thanks be to God<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">through Jesus Christ, our Lord!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We thank
you God, Lord of heaven and earth. We
want to let go of all that does not serve the goodness of life. Help us carry all that burdens us. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#374VU
“Come and Find the Quiet Centre”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-33218695042385989122017-07-02T11:19:00.000-06:002017-07-02T11:19:05.060-06:00YOU'RE WELCOME<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2hYRGxpHEJ_zNTGpTObuAwsR2Bc9ZdS9mWVRH0-njdGLCwAyOL63nVU89d02Bqlx3Kb336hYJANpkw08M0K9H8aAgxnIL53catTFoKAr6gkCN8ONuax4G9mIF8vf1t0-5TV10gFHwoI/s1600/WelcomeMat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1500" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2hYRGxpHEJ_zNTGpTObuAwsR2Bc9ZdS9mWVRH0-njdGLCwAyOL63nVU89d02Bqlx3Kb336hYJANpkw08M0K9H8aAgxnIL53catTFoKAr6gkCN8ONuax4G9mIF8vf1t0-5TV10gFHwoI/s320/WelcomeMat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; padding: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">July 2, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pentecost 4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Matthew 10:40-42<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The modern word “welcome” has Old English roots:
from <i>wilcuma</i>...<i> </i>literally meaning a ‘desirable coming’.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">From a strictly word study perspective, a
person’s coming is welcomed when the welcomer is pleased by the fact that the
welcomee has shown up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That is basically how <i>welcoming</i> works. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When an outsider enters into an existing group,
it is the <i>insiders</i> who decide whether
the new comer is welcome or not.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Welcome can have conditions: formal-known</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Welcome often has informal expectations (need not be universally held to be
impactful)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Common for churches to proclaim: </span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">○<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> are welcome.
</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">○<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">All</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> are Welcome.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">○<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Welcoming In ~ Reaching Out. Thats what <i>we</i> do.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“Come in and sit down… nobody here has a claim
on a pew” - is that verse in VU? Owned
pew days are long gone. But… informally
“I sit there”. </span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Kick them out?
Not very good. Grumble? Almost as
bad? </span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">If the newcomer feels unwelcome - in any way -
they are not.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">UCC’s Emerging Spirit Program - 10 years ago
(wonder cafe). </span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Good welcoming practices are techniques.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But welcome needs authentic attitude.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus talks about how welcoming has its rewards,
which seems to put the focus on the welcomer.
But, really, it was all message focused.
The disciples had something to offer… share: <i><span style="color: red;">The Realm of God has come near</span></i>.</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Why would we want to be welcoming as a church?</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">○<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Find successors (focus on welcomer)</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">○<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Share good news (focus on welcomee)</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">American Sign Language… <i>you’re welcome</i> = <i>thank you</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHBQiofAd2I8kosiRAk71aT7E9taKTccwIwORk80zhzrnD5PUl99-ss14nSjCXhermM6dn2wcinVGnMG5I67a0HXmFdVwNY6FYYZz56RgM5ztiYKn37XYeXpIadyaXF4SSuRetP2Ii0U/s1600/ThankYouYoureWelcome.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="595" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHBQiofAd2I8kosiRAk71aT7E9taKTccwIwORk80zhzrnD5PUl99-ss14nSjCXhermM6dn2wcinVGnMG5I67a0HXmFdVwNY6FYYZz56RgM5ztiYKn37XYeXpIadyaXF4SSuRetP2Ii0U/s200/ThankYouYoureWelcome.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Grateful for becoming community.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><b>WELCOME LIKE JESUS !!</b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Yada yada</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(Prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#4MV
“All Who Are Thirsty”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-22570720363887862482017-06-18T11:30:00.000-06:002017-06-18T11:30:10.792-06:00KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycqMaUH340S3VgvxALpBL8Xh6wGyDgqix93R2LX4dq6YHhNyoC9_xPl_skMYZj0ZG2V7QMlAJ1wfbG1L54eLnvogIEeUtYlRASahvqL_oZmqUrOBila8X5sPWPmDPlqEBGRI2nB_JOuU/s1600/CalmLake2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="400" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycqMaUH340S3VgvxALpBL8Xh6wGyDgqix93R2LX4dq6YHhNyoC9_xPl_skMYZj0ZG2V7QMlAJ1wfbG1L54eLnvogIEeUtYlRASahvqL_oZmqUrOBila8X5sPWPmDPlqEBGRI2nB_JOuU/s320/CalmLake2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">June 18, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pentecost 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Genesis 18:9-16, 21:1-7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Matthew 9:35-38, 10:1,7-8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Following the first Great War of the 20th century (which resulted in ~18
million military and civilian deaths), the main world powers established <i>The League of Nations</i> with the goal of
“preventing wars through collective security and disarmament and settling
international disputes through negotiation and arbitration”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Central and Eastern European empires were broken up and new nations with
new borders were created in the wake of World War I. Just because new maps were drawn up did not
mean that the new boundaries were accepted and respected right away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even a very basic knowledge of the history of the first half of the
1900s tells us that the <i>League of Nations
</i>was less than successful.
Nationalistic movements and desires to expand territory and
(effectively) create new empires dominated much of the 20s and 30s in
Europe. By mid-1939, war with Nazi
Germany seemed inevitable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In late August of 1939, the British <i>Ministry
of Information</i> created three motivational posters to strengthen morale in
anticipation of potential wartime attacks.
The posters had the following slogans:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="background: #0b5394; color: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Your</span></u><span lang="EN-CA" style="background: #0b5394; color: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> Courage, <u>Your</u> Cheerfulness, <u>Your</u>
Resolution Will Bring Us Victory<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="background: #38761d; color: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Freedom Is in
Peril. Defend It With All Your Might<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">3.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="background: #cc0000; color: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Keep Calm and
Carry On<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Do any of those ring a bell? - <i><span style="color: #666666;">show of hands<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The first two posters went out in to circulation shortly after Great
Britain entered the war on September 3, 1939, but, like me, you may be
surprised to learn that the <i>Keep Calm and
Carry On</i> posters were not really used.
About 2.5 million were printed, but they were not sanctioned for public
display right away (only a very few were put out); the thinking was to save
them for after a significant attack. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The whole propaganda poster program was cancelled about a month after
the war began, and after about eight months in cold storage, most of the
KC&CO posters were re-pulped as part of a paper salvage program.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In fact, it is likely that none of us would have heard of this slogan if
it were not for the fact that an original copy of the poster was <a href="https://youtu.be/FrHkKXFRbCI" target="_blank">found in a box of old books</a> bought by the owners of a second hand bookstore in northeastern
England… <b><i>in the year 2000!<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">Mary and Stuart Manley framed it and hung it by the till in Barter Book
Shop.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">It was so popular with customers
that they began selling copies about a year later.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is easy to understand why this pre-WW2 slogan resonated with people
in the wake of 9/11. The phrase <i>Keep Calm and Carry On</i> has become part
of the lexicon of 21st century culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Over the last 17 years, varied images of this poster and slogan have
been shared millions and millions of times.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And it has given rise to countless serious and humourous adaptations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There is a funny scene in the 1988 film, <a href="https://youtu.be/rSjK2Oqrgic" target="_blank">The Naked Gun</a>, where a
fireworks store explodes and Lt Drebin (played by Leslie Nielsen) tries to
convince people to disperse because there is “nothing to see here”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This scene is an ironic situation where there is actually <i><u>something to see</u></i>, but the officer
is telling the crowd to ignore it.
Pretend you aren’t seeing what you are seeing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Sometimes when people are told to calmly carry on, it is because nothing
is really happening; there is nothing to see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But the intent of the 1939 poster (and its modern variations) is to hear
the message to <i>calmly carry on</i> in
times when the context does raise challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Unlike Leslie Neilsen, the posters are <u>not</u> a call to ignore the
situation around them - the opposite, in fact; it is an encouragement to
understand the seriousness of what is going on; then move forward in spite of
the acknowledged circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Keep Calm and Carry On</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> is a message for times when we might otherwise be tempted to be
paralyzed by fear or loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There are times when pausing and reflecting is valuable and necessary to
enable a healthy future, but I am sure that we can all think of examples of
people ‘getting stuck’ unsure or unable or unwilling to move on in a healthy
way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Times of traumatic change are often the sources of these times. Hard, strong emotions can stop us in our
tracks. Sadly, sometimes, we get so used
to those places that we become closed to any other possible ways of being.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Different <i>personality types</i>
rely on varying proportions of logical thinking and emotional feeling when
making decisions. Some of us are
governed more by the heart than the head and others are head over heart people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even so, virtually all of us try to move through life in ways that make
sense to us - whether that determination is made by the heart or the head. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We may see the logic of <i>moving on</i>
and deeply desire a sense of <i>calm</i> to
envelop our lives, but the means to that end can be difficult to
understand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Being stuck is a common experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//</span><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Abraham and Sarah were living in Haran (SE Turkey on a modern map) when
Abraham’s father died after a long life.
Sometime after that, Abraham was told by God (Gen12) to uproot his
entire household and move to the land of Canaan (modern Israel/Palestine). This was a wholescale resettlement: spouse,
nephew, other relatives, slaves, livestock, posessions. Part of this move was a promise that
Abraham’s offspring will live in that land… in fact, eventually, they would
dominate Canaan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The obvious problem with that promise was that Sarah had not been able
to have children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Abraham was not going to let this bilogical reality hold him back. To avoid having to pass on his estate to one
of his slaves, Abraham had a child with Hagar (Sarah’s maidservant): apparently
with Sarah’s blessing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Abraham and Sarah thought this creative family planning would put the
future on the right track. The covenant
with God could carry on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As we heard this morning, the story got a little bit more complicated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Against all logic, Sarah did give birth to Abraham’s son. So, strange was this turn of events, she
insisted that the child be named <i>laughter</i>
- Isaac.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Over the last couple of Sundays, here at St. David's, we heard bible
readings of how Jesus’ followers carried on his ministry after his death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Today, we heard about a similar situation that occured while Jesus was
with them. As Jesus and his disciples
went from town to town, the wonder of the words and actions began to build a
reputation for Jesus’ ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">To impact more people in more places, it was decided that the large
group would break up into smaller groups.
Jesus assured his followers that they would be up to the task - they
would be able to teach, heal and care with the same effectiveness as Jesus
himself… even actions that might be described as <i>miraculous</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The text doesn't give us any details, but I do wonder how confident the
disciples might have been when Jesus told them that they would share - in a
very direct way - in Jesus’ ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And even if the disciples warmed up to the idea - as you can read further
into Matthew, chapter ten - Jesus also warned them that they should not expect
to be greeted warmly by everyone they encounter: <i><span style="color: red;">be as innocent as doves, but also wise as
serpents</span></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It had to be (on some level, at least) an uneasy time for the disciples…
to be sent out <i>on their own</i> with the
awesome responsibility of Jesus’ ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When Isaac was born, Abraham and Sarah started a new phase of their life
that was going to be filled with unexpected events. They were going to have to approach each new
moment with a needed flexibility that could adjust to changes as they occurred.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As the disciples headed into the backwater towns of Judea and Galilee,
they carried no ‘certainty’ with them.
Jesus instructed them to rely on the generosity of strangers along they
way, with no guarantee whether people would welcome them or not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus had been at this game for a while and had learned through
experience that when people in a town welcomed what they offered, it was a very
<i>warm</i> welcome. But when they met resistance, there was
little value in sticking around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As they went out on their own, the disciples could expect more of the
same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus’ advice to his followers must have been based his own
experience. Jesus found an enthusiastic
audience for his ministry in some places and rejection in others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">No one likes to be rejected - especially when it relates to something
they are passionate about. Jesus
encouraged his surrogates to not dwell on the rejection, but to set their
sights on the next town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Years ago, I remember hearing an interview with comedian Jerry Lewis in
relation for his work with the Labour Day Muscular Dystrophy telethon that he
hosted for decades. He spoke about how
he got thousands of supportive letters every year complimenting the charitable
work he was doing. But when he got a
rare piece of hate mail, that is the one that stuck in his mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We all want to be liked and appreciated.
People who are enveloped in the support and compassion of others usually
have happier, more fulfilling, lives than those who surrounded by negativity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Unfortunately, like Jerry Lewis, some of us give a disproportionate
amount of weight to the negative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It might not be very logical, but sometimes it can be hard to let go of
the negativity of the rejection… it can even get in the way of something
positive that might be before us if we would be able to <i>will ourselves to carry on</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus knows this and wants his disciples to be able to shake off the
dust of rejection and carry on in hope and promise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Anyone who has paid attention to political discourse over the years
knows that negative attacks have a broad history of effectiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Although it might be tempting to think that this is a relatively new
aspect to political discourse, the truth is that negativity has always grabbed
more attention than positivity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even so, it does seem that people who peddle in extreme negativity have
been freshly emboldened lately … negative rhetoric has always used militaristic
language in relation to areas of disagreement, referring to situations as <i>battles</i> with a need to <i>defeat</i> or <i>destroy </i>the other side. The
extreme edge of this often includes the demonizing and dehumanizing of the
opposition, calling them <i>enemy</i> or <i>evil</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In this era of social media, hateful, targeted violent rhetoric is
easily expressed in violent images:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">parodying the iconic Barack Obama <i>hope</i> poster with a visual of the former
present being hanged (underscored with the word <i>rope</i>).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYkQabiFPGHRSbH18d-d5HTURBSQ2HVigjaVTShaIYDoabYSRl8E-YMgzhX1djgF4RSpFnW7OwZJ26xybYmmCMcjJPqr5rPIRyBuqs0Qk-YXjntWbsXFW-NJP_OvAnfDyNjE-jQ2hGEw/s1600/20170616_130220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYkQabiFPGHRSbH18d-d5HTURBSQ2HVigjaVTShaIYDoabYSRl8E-YMgzhX1djgF4RSpFnW7OwZJ26xybYmmCMcjJPqr5rPIRyBuqs0Qk-YXjntWbsXFW-NJP_OvAnfDyNjE-jQ2hGEw/s320/20170616_130220.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">parodying a terrorist beheading photo by holding
up a bloody mask of Donald Trump.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="image2.png" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:190.5pt;
height:223.5pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\DOCUME~1\Blaine\LOCALS~1\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.png"
o:title=""/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SYEQ6z3-LE7pqEpPZeJIP4ak858-_Xl1y9zNlLFFgnPMmkyPhdKcN9CnGFYUYgqGQzo3gkldGFPadUnkMBsEVI-cLZh6_7AdNeZ020QGfKI-f_uDbUFNNQCHs8MfRaoXYB_FC4AW86I/s1600/20170616_130432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SYEQ6z3-LE7pqEpPZeJIP4ak858-_Xl1y9zNlLFFgnPMmkyPhdKcN9CnGFYUYgqGQzo3gkldGFPadUnkMBsEVI-cLZh6_7AdNeZ020QGfKI-f_uDbUFNNQCHs8MfRaoXYB_FC4AW86I/s320/20170616_130432.jpg" width="272" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">//</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Militaristic phrases are commonly used as metaphic language when
describing competitive or challenging situations, often with a goal of being
motivating and keeping positive:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">fighting hard on a sports field, or</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">beating cancer…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And yet… when violent language and imagry begins to refer to specific
people rather than the movement or ideas they represent, society runs the risk
of inciting violent actions. We saw that
lived out in Virginia this past Wednesday, when a gunman opened fire at a
politician baseball practice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The only positive impact is this past week’s events is that (in the
short term, at least) more people are becoming aware of the power of language
and how thin <i>the line between words and
actions</i> can be… especially when passions are heighted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Normalizing hateful language and violent actions serve no good purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Personally, I remain convinced
(of something I have believed for a long time <i>and even try to practice as often as possible</i>) that circumstances
are made worse when negative language and violent imagry is responded to with
more negativity and violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even the most ardent free speech advocate has to admit that this
tit-for-tat rhetoric paves the path for violent and hateful actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We can't - if we have any measure of care for others - ignore that
language and actions are easily connected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And so, with the great power of language comes great responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When I think about how Jesus instructed his disciples, I find the two
parts of the slogan <i>Keep Calm and Carry
On</i> helpful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">They were not only to move toward the potential of the next town but
also to move away from the negativity of the current town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It not just about <i>carrying on</i>,
it is also about the <i>calm</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is not just being calm, but <u>keeping</u> calm. That implies intentional effort for calm to
emerge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Keeping calm is not a call to ignore what we have been through, but
Jesus seems to be saying that we should choose to leave the grudges in the
past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Carry with you only that which is helpful to where you are going. This might include lessons we gleaned from
those experiences, but only in so far as they improve our lives moving forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I know that it can be hard to let bygones be bygones. The fact that Jesus raises the issue with his
disciples tells me that he undrstood it as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">My sense of all this is a recognition that part of our ability to carry
on is to break the cycles of reactionary negativity. Brushing off the negativity is not admitting
defeat, but proclaiming that we want a deserve more compassion in our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As more and more of us are able to do this, I have to believe that
compassion will begin to weaken the control that negativity and violence has in
the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">For the disciples, <i>Keeping Calm
and Carrying On</i> meant focusing on the mission of proclaiming the nearness
of the Kingdom of God through words and actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">They were living out what the gospel of John would later have Jesus
telling his followers that the ‘world would know that they are [his] disciples
because they have love’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">An active and authentic compassion is the greatest evangelicalist tool
modern followers of Jesus have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God calls the church and its people to carry on Jesus’ work of bringing
God’s love into the world: living out compassion and care. On the way, we may encounter challenges but
we can trust in the holy promise of God’s faithfulness to sustain us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Loving
God, we will follow the example of Jesus as we live out holy compassion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">652VU
“Be Still My Soul”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-3506048667336244372017-06-11T11:28:00.001-06:002017-06-11T13:12:35.316-06:00REMEMBER, I AM WITH YOU<div style="border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 4.0pt 0in;">
<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcYokZanLhWLZ-DSFEiAYh7aCSETNA9oLcsb_8v-K9e6BTMOZk1sfy0pspq5i8MR2tKsOmIXJSdHhtFakFqVMappGoI0CE0ZTo6-Rvqkv-aeZxqZJFUs0tjI-g_zAVzYjmYEaff2zXSI/s1600/JesusWithYou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="397" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcYokZanLhWLZ-DSFEiAYh7aCSETNA9oLcsb_8v-K9e6BTMOZk1sfy0pspq5i8MR2tKsOmIXJSdHhtFakFqVMappGoI0CE0ZTo6-Rvqkv-aeZxqZJFUs0tjI-g_zAVzYjmYEaff2zXSI/s320/JesusWithYou.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">June 11, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pentecost 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=364208304" target="_blank">Genesis 1:1 - 2:4a<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=364208304" target="_blank">Matthew 28:16-20</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=364208304" target="_blank">2nd Corinthians 13:11-13</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.25in;">(prayer)</span></div>
</div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">You can see by my choice of shirt this morning, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">that there is a
preseason Canadian Football League game at Commonwealth Stadium today.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">You might even be able to guess which team, I
plan on rooting for.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzI21tFLtSQ8ajtHvWaEbjpQLDeZx74f5QsFXRjmAnqi-6FO6-3uGlNEa-XzA9WDwqwcgdv4gf3J1psUZDE8K17lOSoZluCQY9LITfOyefJER64ww5N-YyH7IN_j9HwkPYF643BkcbIV0/s1600/EE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="56" data-original-width="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzI21tFLtSQ8ajtHvWaEbjpQLDeZx74f5QsFXRjmAnqi-6FO6-3uGlNEa-XzA9WDwqwcgdv4gf3J1psUZDE8K17lOSoZluCQY9LITfOyefJER64ww5N-YyH7IN_j9HwkPYF643BkcbIV0/s1600/EE.JPG" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">As a act of public declaration, a lot of sports fans will express
support for their favorite teams through the clothes they wear… even those of us
who have never played a down of organized football can proclaim </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">I am with you <span style="color: #6aa84f;">green</span>
and <span style="color: yellow;">gold</span></i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Thirteen months ago, when the people of Ft. McMurray were forced to flee
that devastating forest fire, it did not take very long to begin seeing vinyl
stickers on the back of vehicles proclaiming “Alberta Strong”. You still see them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I suspect that many (if not most) of these stickers were on vans, cars
and trucks of people who do <u>not</u> live in Ft Mc. That is not a bad thing; in fact, it is the
whole point… wide professions of <i>Alberta
Strong</i> are (literally) signs of solidarity… of support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The same idea is common on social media sites, which respond quickly to
tragic events or civil rights movements or hockey playoff runs with
pre-programmed ways to post statements of solidarity - visible to people all
over the world - through specific memes, hashtags, profile picture frames, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Certainly, it is a fair conversation to ask whether simply changing your
profile picture is <i>enough</i> of a
response. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There is a somewhat fair backlash towards the hollow idea of <i>only</i> sending thoughts and prayers, when
other actions are possible and needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As a person who spends a lot of time thinking and praying, personally, I
think that expressing solidarity and advocacy is always valuable… even in small
ways. But I do agree that - in and of
itself - tapping your screen will not change the world very much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The point is that there are degrees to what we can mean when we proclaim
“I am with you!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Obviously, there are levels to how deeply we can be willing to be
committed to a cause or movement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As we are in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary series of weekly
bible readings for Sunday Church, many of the gospel readings since last
December are coming from Matthew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Easter account offered by Matthew is relatively short… one chapter:
only 20 verses long (fifteen actually - as five verses are dedicated to a
bribery scheme intended to counter the disciples claims of resurrection).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The first ten verses of Matthew 28 detail two women discovering that the
tomb is empty. Angels tell them that Jesus
is raised. On their way to tell the rest
of the disciples this news, they meet the Risen Christ himself… who tells them
to let the others know that they would see Jesus for themselves after they
return to Galilee. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The final five verses of Matthew 28 - <i>which we heard this morning</i> - detail that Galilean encounter when
Jesus says: <i><span style="color: #cc0000;">All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And <b>remember, I am with you </b>always, to the
end of the age</span></i><span style="color: #cc0000;">.</span> (Mt28:18-20)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Last Sunday (focusing on the Luke-Acts narratives), I spoke about the
transitions that the followers of Jesus made as they responded to the events of
<span style="color: #351c75;">Good Friday</span>, <span style="color: #f1c232;">Easter</span>
and <span style="color: red;">Pentecost</span>: how they responded to the<span style="color: #351c75;"> death</span> and<span style="color: #351c75;"> </span><span style="color: #f1c232;">resurrection </span>of Jesus, and the<span style="color: red;"> Spirit’s call to help others understand</span> why Jesus was
(and is) so important to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Today’s reading is Matthew’s abbreviated version of the same call.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">All four biblical gospels end with the mantle of Jesus’ ministry being
passed on to those who had learned from Jesus… the <i>followers</i> were transformed into <i>leaders</i>
as Jesus tells them:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Go therefore and make disciples of all nations</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> Matthew</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole
creation</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> Mark</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> Luke
(Acts)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Feed my sheep</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> John</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The followers were sent out to lead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But they were not sent out alone: <i><span style="color: red;">remember</span></i> (Jesus said)<i><span style="color: red;"> I am with you always</span>. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The promise of the Risen Christ is that the on-going ministry of the
Jesus-believers have an on-going advocate and supporter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In the UCCan (which celebrated its ninety-second anniversary yesterday),
we are fond of saying it this way:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We are not alone, we live in God’s
world.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">…<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In life, in death, in life beyond
death, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God is with us. We are not alone.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Thanks be to God.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The holy promise is “Holy Presence”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This past week, the church’s finance committee confirmed that our next
movie night will be September 23rd. The
movie to make you think that evening will be “The Shack” - based on the novel
of the same name. Unlike some of the
previous films we have screened here, this one has an explicitly religious
theme which onviously invites us to think about life and faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“The Shack” (book and film) offers a particular perspective on what <i>holy presence</i> is like. I won't blow the plot three months ahead of
our movie night, but I will say that <i>how</i>
the nature of god is presented in this work of fiction might challenge some
more orthodox beliefs - not <u>that</u> God is ever present, but what God
thinks about us <u>because</u> God is present.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Remember, I am with you always</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">If - as church - we believe that Jesus is more than our founding mentor
(locked in the past): that Christ is our companion (in the present), what might
that mean for us?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As the Apostle Paul closed out one of his letters to the Corinthians, he
prayed that the <i>Grace of Jesus</i>, the <i>Love of God</i>, and the <i>Communion of the Spirit</i> would be with
the people of the church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I read this as Paul wanting the faithful in Corinth to see themselves as
being spiritually united with the gift of divine compassion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When we look at what the letter says right before this final blessing,
we see a hint as to how Paul thinks the people should live under this grace and
love:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“put things in order” - This is a call to <i>stay focused</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“listen to my appeal” - part of the reason why
the letter was written was to raise money for Peter and the other people of the
Jerusalem Christian Community (aka, ‘the saints’). This is a call to <i>be generous</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">“agree with one another” - in other words,
listen to each other, understand each other.
This is a call to find <i>common
ground</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">finally, “<i>live
in peace</i>”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul even goes as far to say, that (as they do these things) they will
be able to - that much better - experience God’s peace. Living in peace with each other makes it
easier to know God’s presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Or to use the language I was using earlier… understanding each other
might just help them in understanding holy presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A letter of John phrased it this way: <i>Love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God</i>.
(1Jn4:7)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Corinthian Church had its issues with conflict. They had trouble agreeing on leadership
styles, how to include both gentile and jewish Christians. Paul wanted them to find unity - not by
becoming the same - but by appreciating the value of their difference because
there was a common good that was enhanced by the variety.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The old storyteller spoke of “goodness” as the first and most obvious
result of God’s creativeness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In poetic beauty, the story wove images of the known world into layers
of the work of Creator God (see Genesis 1).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even before the clock of time had
started, one day, into the chaotic dark, God spoke light into being. And it was good. Later God set lights in the sky both day and
night. And that was good, too.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Another day created a pocket for
life to emerge. Eventually, life filled
the waters and the skies. And this was
good too.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Another day, God made a solid
place for life that couldn't swim or fly to be and - in time - the land was
filled with life of all kinds… including humans who bore the image of the
Creator.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When everything was taken into
account, this whole thing was ‘oh so very good’. </span></i><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">טוֹב מְאוֹד</span><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The storyteller ended by stating
that such good, hard work warranted a day off… for rest, reflection and
appreciation.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I know that there are a lot of voices among us and around us that claim
that the story of our founding in goodness has ended and that what is needed
now-a-days is suspicion and ever-vigilant cautiousness. They effectivly argue against Paul’s
proclamation (to the Corinthians) that differences can be appreciated in the context
of a greater good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Rather, the goal is to hang around only with those who think like
you. Wall off ‘the other’ (literally and
figuratively) in the name of security.
Protect what you have accumulated at all costs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This way of approaching relationships has a way of dehumanizing those on
the outside of the protected circle as <i>less
than worthy</i> of the label “good”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I am not naïve to the reality of dangerous ideas and actions. There is a measure of wisdom to appreciating
the value of reasonable cautiousness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But I am stubborn in my assertion that we still live in a world that God
proudly proclaims as good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I do see most of the problems in our world as being the results of the
self-fulfilling prophecies of greed and artificial hierarchy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">When we label the people outside our walls as unworthy of real
relationship, eventually, they will begin to believe what we say about
them. Children born into a walled world
have no frame of reference for any other way of thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In 2001 and 2003, wars were imposed on Afghanistan and Iraq to combate terrorism
that occured half a world away. These
conflict zones continue in some form still today. Sixteen years later, an entire generation of
impressionable young minds have had to grow up in this context… being told that
they are unworthy of any label other than being a threat to a more civilized
world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And, we are surprised that this self-fulfilling prophecy came true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Virtually every perpetrator of the acts of terror in our world this year
(that we focus our thoughts and prayers on until the next tragedy happens) grew
up in the context of post-911 nationalistic fear where it is better to label
each brown-skinned person as a terrorist, just to be safe. In this context, ripping a hijab off a
woman’s head is claimed as an act of patriotism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This will continue until we change the collective worldview and the next
impressionable young minds can know a more peaceful and accepting context.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Albert Einstein is often credited with saying that the definition of <i>Insanity</i> is <i>doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different
results.</i> Regardless of who actually
said it, those words hold truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Paul of Tarsus knew that unless the Corinthians stopped practicing
theologies of division, they would not be able to begin to create a needed new
culture which could serve a wider good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Risen Christ, likewise, didn’t want his followers to lose the compassionate
context of their relationship just because Jesus wasn't among them in the same
way anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">They</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> (and <i>we</i>) were reminded that Jesus is with us
always. As a physical companion he
taught that the most important commandments were to love God from the core of
our being and love neighbours as one’s self.
As a spiritual companion, Jesus wanted his followers to continue to
preach that good news… teach newcomers to this faith to live the truth of these
commandments too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In a world where we are challenged to exclude more and more people from
the list of those worthy of the title of “neighbour”, we (as spiritual
companions of the Risen Christ, even today) need to retell parables like the
one that Jesus told when he was asked <i>but
who is my neighbour</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Read Luke chapter ten and you will see that the Parable of the Good
Samaritan non-answered the question <i>Who
is my neighbour?</i> with the statement: <i>Just
be a Neighbour!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In the context of the first biblical legend of creation, we hear that
God created <u>all</u> of humanity in the image of the divine: <i>Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our
image, according to our likeness’ ... So God created humankind in his image, in
the image of God he created them; male and female he created them</i>.
(Gen1:26-27 NRSV)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus reinforced this concept by ignoring the notion that we should pick
and chose who we declare worthy of our neighborly compassion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There are lots of ears in our world right now that are resistant to
hearing the grace and peace which Jesus invites us to proclaim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There are lots of competing voices in our world that preach gospels of
division.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We have allowed dehumanizing hate to become normal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I think our scriptures today are asking us to
infect the culture with a different worldview. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Put things in order, listen to my appeal,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">agree with one another, live in peace;<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">and the God of love and peace will be with you.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(2Cor13:11)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Not an easy task.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Changing the world never is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But we are not alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Jesus said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Remember, I am with you always, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">to the end of time.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(Mt28:20)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Holy
God, we long for those moments of clarity when we can feel the truth of your
holy presence. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#606VU
“In Christ, There is No East or West”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-19080520806406129202017-06-04T11:17:00.003-06:002017-06-04T11:17:49.862-06:00EVERY DAY'S A NEW DAY<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">June 4, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pentecost Sunday<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Acts 2:1-6,12-21<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1 Corinthians 12:3b-13<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As many of you know, this fall (as I approach my seventeenth year as
your minister) I will be taking a sabbatical time to engage in study, learning,
personal spiritual nurture and the blessing and opportunities of a less full
schedule.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I hope that when I return to this pulpit at Advent Time, I will have
expanded my ability to effectively minister among you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Your Worship Committee and Church Council are organizing a schedule of
guest preachers to lead services and some of my nearby minister colleagues will
be happy to offer ministry services as needed mid-week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Who we are as a community of faith is always more about the ministry
than the minister.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The general theme that I plan to explore this fall is “Being Church In
Times of Transition”. At the back of the
of the church is a (free-for-the-taking) brochure that I have made up to give
you some info about that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The history of faith is dotted with experiences of change … of the
people of God and their institutions being in the midst of transitions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Biblical scholarship, archeological finds, world events, scientific
discoveries, calls for justice and more have all driven change within the life
of The Church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Some transitions have been embraced; some resisted. Some have been fueled from within the church:
others because of outside factors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is human nature for people to think that the time in which they are
living is the most pivotal in all of history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The truth is that we are part of a universe that is expanding at an
ever-accelerating rate. We are (literally)
star dust on the move.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Certainly true in the realm of physics, but also at the metaphysical
levels of thought and emotion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Greek philosopher, Heraclitus of Ephesus, is often
attributed as originating the saying <i>The
only constant is change</i>. While that
assertion is disputed, we do know that Heraclitus did write… <i>Everything changes and nothing stands still </i>and<i> You cannot step twice into the same river.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Yes, the church has always been a dynamic entity… we have changed and will
change, but it is fair to say that some eras have involved times of more
intense or significant change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This past week, I was gratefully involved in two significant <i>rites of passage</i> in the life of our
congregation: a funeral on Wednesday and a wedding on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Junie</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> had a
vibrant life that spanned more than 103 years.
Her family helped establish the United Church at Telfordville before the
UCCan even existed. As people shared
stories from her life it was amazing to think of how different her world was at
the bookends of her life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Kristy</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"> and <i>Hannah</i> embraced some of the most
ritualistic marriage traditions in this sanctuary yesterday. A couple of their genders could not have been
legally married in Alberta a dozen years ago <i>and</i> many churches, today, would still deny them the opportunity to
celebrate their union as a religious act.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Things are changing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Truly, <i>you cannot stand in the
same river twice</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Some of us move easily through changes, others find <i>change</i> among life’s greatest challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Transition - even the most welcome of transitions - involves some
measure of loss. And loss creates grief.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">That is why - whether welcomed or resisted or begrudgingly accepted -
change is hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You will notice that the table clothes and banners (even my stole) have
changed colours from recent weeks. Since
Easter Sunday, we have seen <span style="background: #cccccc; color: white;">White</span>
as the liturgical colour. Today it is <span style="color: red;">Red</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">These textile changes mark the fact that we are transitioning into new
season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Each year, seven weeks after Easter,
the church calendar comes to the day of Pentecost. Pentecost (shavuot - the feast of weeks) is a
Jewish festival originally celebrating the spring harvest. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Feast of Weeks: it is held the day following
seven weeks after Passover.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pentecost: greek for fiftieth - seven weeks plus
a day equals 50 days</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This hebrew holiday became part of the Christian calendar because of the
story we heard in Acts, chapter two.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It had been less than fifty days since the women discovered that Jesus’
body was missing from its tomb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It had been less than fifty days since two agrieved followers of Jesus
walked (unknowingly) with the Risen Christ along the road between Jerusalem and
Emmaus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It had been less than fifty days since Cleopas and his companion rushed
back to Jerusalem in the dark to tell the others that Christ was made known to
them in the breaking of the bread. They
arrived in time to see Jesus appear to the gathered group there with the words <i>Peace Be with You </i>and an invitation to
view his crucifixion wounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It had been less than fifty days since they had witnessed Jesus carried
up into heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It had been less than fifty days since Matthias (who had followed Jesus
from the time of his baptism) was chosen to replace Judas as one of <i>The Twelve</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Fifty days earlier, when Jesus and his followers took part in Passover
festivities, they had no idea how much change they would have experienced seven
weeks later when the day of Pentecost came.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As day dawned on <i>Shavuot</i>, the
group of Jesus’ followers were still together in Jerusalem (numbering more than
120 by that time).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The Spirit moved in a special way among <i>the believers</i> that day … so special that it was noticeable to
others in that section of the city. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As Jesus’ followers were praising God in the streets, people in the
crowd were impressed with their communication skills: preaching in non-Aramaic
languages… until it was realized that they appeared to be speaking in several
different languages simultaneously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As people spoke about this experience, cynical onlookers wrote it off as
the effects of a drunken stupor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Simon Peter offered a different interpretation... this (he said) was a
fulfillment of old words from the Prophet Joel: <i>Afterwards,
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see
visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my
spirit</i>. (Joel 2:28-29)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">An broad outpouring of God that did not discriminate by age or gender or
status.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This is a powerful message that became a central part of the ethos of
the Jesus Movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A few decades later, the Apostle Paul would expand it beyond the Hebrew
people by saying that <i>there is no longer
Jew or Greek, along with there being no longer slave or free no longer male and
female; for all are one in Christ Jesus</i> (Galations 3:28). Paul also preached that <i>there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit… To each is given the
manifestation of the Spirit for the common good... All these are activated by
one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit
chooses</i>. (1 Corinthians 12:4,7,11)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Acts tells us that there were foreign Hebrew pilgrims from every
direction in Jerusalem for the feast of weeks.
They were drawn together for a common religious practice, but their
ability to inter-relate was limited by their different languages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It would be an overstatement of the text to say that the Movement of the
Spirit removed everyone’s language barriers - all Acts claims is that the
Aramaic words spoken by Jesus’ followers were understood by people who did not
speak Aramaic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The first Christian Pentecost gives us a glimpse of what is possible
when we experience the <i>gift of
understanding</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A couple of weeks ago, some world leaders met in Europe for NATO and G7
meetings. A few of them are
multilingual, but I don’t know if any of them are fluent enough in all of the
relevant languages to be able to forgo the translators.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You can always get a sense of who is truly not listening if they don't
bother to keep their earphones in when others are speaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Last weekend, I took part in a special United Church Conference
gathering in Olds. We explored the
themes of deep and authentic listening… putting in the efforts to move beyond
simply hearing and truly understanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This requires us to not be so focused on what we are going to say (when
it is our turn) and just be in the moment with open ears and an open mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We are living in an era when people have the ability to communicate more
quickly and directly than ever before.
With so many people carrying phones with them, we almost expect instant
responses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I don't begrudge this… most of the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I am still learning to know when I should respond asap and when I need
to ignore the thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And yet even the most up-to-date method of electronic communication
pales to the possibilities that come from being with someone in the same place
at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Words of a page or screen offers less than<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Voices over a phone, but is still less than<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A video call, which is close, but not as full as<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Face to face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">On this Pentecost Sunday, we are invited to appreciate what a wonderful
gift <i>understand</i> is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">To know and be known.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">However else we might be skilled or gifted, it is central to being part
of community that we grow our desire to understand the others who share the
faith we hold. In doing so, they will
better know us, which means we can discover the best of ourselves along the way
as well.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We live in a world right now where a lack of understanding - an unwillingness to live peaceably leads to horrible violence and a call to write off whole swaths of people because they look the violent ones.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Understanding is not as easy as blanket bigotry.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But it is theasy of Pentecost.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Holy
Wind, Flame of Life, blow among us today and warm our souls so that we might be
made the whole person we can be. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">***offering***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-45140065150573233902017-05-21T11:12:00.000-06:002017-05-21T11:12:10.881-06:00HOW DO YOU GET TO THE MacLAB CENTRE?<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">May 21, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Pentecost 6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">John 14:15-27<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Acts 17:22-25<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Explore the known unknown.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Universe.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Mind.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Travel Guides.
Map Apps.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">παράκλητος Paraclete</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">helper, advocate, counsellor</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Not alone (orphaned).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">How do you get to Carnegie Hall? <i>Practice</i>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Know through ‘practice’ = discipline</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">●<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Disciples = learners</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(ad lib)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#112SS
“One In The Spirit”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-62907835803288919952017-05-14T11:34:00.001-06:002017-05-14T11:34:32.766-06:00WOULD YOU?<div style="border-bottom: solid black 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">May 14, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Easter 5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1 Peter 2:2-10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Acts 7:55-60<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Last week (here in church at St. David's), we read about life in the
earliest weeks of the early church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Acts, chapter two, describes a community of mutual support and care... <i>All who believed were together and had all
things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute
the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time
together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad
and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people</i>.
(Acts 2:44-47)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Early on, the growing community of Jesus-followers were well-regarded
(had <i>the goodwill of all the people</i>).
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">// <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Today, we heard about <i>Stephen</i>,
who was one of the people who was welcomed into that early Christian
community. Stephen was one of the
thousands of new followers of Jesus. The
passage today described the public stoning of Stephen... hardly an expression
of goodwill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Obviously something happened between chapters two and seven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The early chapters of Acts make it clear that the disciples were open
and public about their faith in Jesus.
In chapter three, John and Peter heal a lame man at a temple gate and
preached in the courtyard about Jesus as the culmination of their historic
faith. The disciples invited people to
repent and know God's forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We get the first hint of opposition in chapter four. Led by members of the Sadducee sect and other
temple leaders, Peter and John were arrested for spreading a doctrine of
resurrection (something the Sadducees did not believe). The next morning, the two disciples faced the
high priest and were asked <i>by what power
(or by what name) are you doing this?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Acts says that Peter answered with words that were similar to what we
heard in the 1st Peter letter this morning... using the metaphor that Jesus was
a <i>once-rejected stone</i> that became a
valued <i>cornerstone</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">They were released, with an order from the Council to refrain from
speaking and teaching in Jesus' name, even though this was something Peter and
John said they couldn't and wouldn't do.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Even though more threats, arrests and even floggings occured, more and
more people came to the disciples in the Temple for healing and teaching and
(as a result) the community of believers continued to grow... it is up to more
than 5000 at one point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Acts 4:42 reads: <i>every day in the
Temple and at home, they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the
Messiah. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The group was becoming too large for the disciples to manage -
especially when it came to ensuring that no one in need was ignored. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Seven new leaders were appointed to help with this work. Stephen was one of these additional
leaders. He was described as one who was
<i>full of grace and power</i>, who <i>did great signs and wonders</i> among the
people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Stephen was a gifted defender of the early Christian faith and he is
said to have won an religious argument one day with some people in the <i>Synagogue of the Freedmen</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The key event that lead to today's reading was that Stephen was arrested
for preaching against the Temple... <i>blasphemy.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In his defense, Stephen recalled the faith of the people all throughout
history: Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Stephen noted that history is filled with examples of prophets of God
being persecuted by those opposing the Holy Spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The implication in Stephen's words was that the current opposition
against to the message of Jesus was part of this sad history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Stephen's words were pretty harsh to the Temple leaders (Acts 7:52):
"<i>You stiff-necked people ... which
of the prophets did your ancestors <u>not</u> persecute? They killed those who
foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers
and murderers</i>."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This personal attack enraged Stephen's opponents and sealed the disciple’s
fate. The Torah punishment for blasphemy
is laid out in Leviticus 24:14 - <i>Take the
blasphemer outside the camp... and let the whole congregation stone him</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As we heard today, that was the end result of Stephen's trial: a
crowd-frenzied, public execution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Stephen is sometimes described as the <i>first Christian martyr</i> - killed as a result of his faith in Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I would dare to say that - for each of us - there is at least one moment
in every single day when we find ourselves at odds with someone else ... a
clash of opinions to some degree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Sometimes, the dispute is significant (maybe even on-going). Other times, it might just be a situation
where we read or see something in the news that runs counter to how we feel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">If you enjoy social media, I am sure that you see things on a daily
basis that you might be tempted to respond with an angry face emoji. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BbX71aQ5VmMgkQXZD2Fm_d8VJ57901rjklfb4jTzIFRVTzeFIZEt2rz-Lo6Qjo7tKMujC_jFrq2fnL2yNlj40HyTRrExMn1lmTgSe64lG3vynnXwt15b865aIJdzeJEEff0D8DJPxTc/s1600/AngryFace.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5BbX71aQ5VmMgkQXZD2Fm_d8VJ57901rjklfb4jTzIFRVTzeFIZEt2rz-Lo6Qjo7tKMujC_jFrq2fnL2yNlj40HyTRrExMn1lmTgSe64lG3vynnXwt15b865aIJdzeJEEff0D8DJPxTc/s1600/AngryFace.png" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">We can find ourselves at odds with aquiantences or strangers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In extreme cases, some of us avoid conflict at all costs, while others
refuse to back down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Most us pick our battles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A lot of the time, we let the moment pass without really engaging in a
debate. Or maybe you engage a bit, and
the counter-reaction is more hostile than you expected, so you disengage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">You may have found yourself governed by one (or more) of the following axioms:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">- not
worth my time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">- live
and let live,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">- I
shouldn't care more than they do,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">- stupid
is as stupid does,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">- is
this really a hill I want to die on?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Then again, there are some conflicts that - even the most timid among us
- choose <u>not</u> to avoid... times when leaving things unresolved is an
undesirable option.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">As I said, there are some people who are <b><i>never</i></b> willing to concede
an argument (no matter how weak their position is)... and will keep at it,
never admitting defeat or showing any sign of weakness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I'm not talking about that kind of person (another problem for another
day).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">What I mean is... that there are times, in each of our lives, when we
decide that the stakes are so high, that we are willing to endure potential
hard consequences by embroiling ourselves <i><u>into</u></i>
the midst of conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I see two times that this generally would be the case:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The conflict has broken a relationship that we
desperately want to mend, or<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is a matter of principle... a conflict over
ideas, ideals: beliefs for which we are not willing to <i>compromise</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Of course, each of these has a full range of degrees to them. There are levels of conflict and our
willingness to be in conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">// <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Commitment is also fluid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Our level of commitment to the dispute might change over time. To borrow an Old Testament phrase, sometimes
hard hearts can soften. Old conflicts
might not seem as important after a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Who hasn't had cause to say... <i>I
can't believe that we let 'that' come between us</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Conflict involves pain because conflict threatens us with loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">It is a significant decision to willingly go down a path that has almost
certain hardship along its way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">The only reason we do this is for some greater good (as we see it).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Early Christians (like John, Peter and Stephen) so fervently believed
that the Kingdom of God had come near, that holy forgiveness was the gift of
that time, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, that Jesus had been
resurrected from the dead, that - on principle of those beliefs - they would
not recant their faith even after arrests, beatings, trials and hurled stones.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Not all of the 5000 members of the early church were so committed. The early chapters of Acts has some stories
about how certain members were less than forthright with their
involvement. And certainly, as the
decades passed, people began to question aspects of their faith... the New
Testament letters often address a call to remain watchful and committed; the
entire book of Revelation is written to churches on the brink of giving up (the
message being: don't worry... we have already won the battle, the slain lamb is
already on the throne).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Some - in the early church - had their faith tested more than others...
even at the cost of their lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">There is one particular part of the Stephen story that always sticks
with me. As the stones pelted down on
him, just before his skull is crushed, he prays for his executors: <i>Lord, do not hold this sin against them</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Stephen was <i>so</i> committed to a
belief in divine reclamation that (litetally) with his last breath, he preached
that gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">No wonder he was remembered for his above-and-beyond faithfulness and
held up as an example to others in the early church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Few of us are face death in relation to our deeply held ideals, beliefs
and faith. In our part of the world, as
long as we are not violent or overtly hateful, the worst we might face is being
openly scorned or publicly shamed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">This is not true everywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">A fear of differences (of ideas or lifestyles) can bring real danger
into some people’s lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Right now, somewhere on this globe we share, someone is facing death,
based simply who they are or on the ideals they profess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Right now, somewhere on this globe we share, someone is prepared to die,
rather than deny themselves or their convictions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Flip this 180° and I suppose you could argue that someone is so
committed to what they believe that they are willing to kill for it. That's the <i>crusades</i> model.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I simply can’t accept these as two sides to the same coin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Eliminating dissent does not strengthen faith. A truly strong faith should be able to endure
an environment of diverse ideals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">In a different context, Jesus put it this way: <i>If you love only those who love you, what do you gain?</i> (Mt5:46)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">If you can’t hold to your faith when others around you disagree, how
strong is it, really?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">What is so important to you that you will not back down or recant, no
matter the threat?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Where do you imagine that your martyrdom edge is?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Maybe you don’t have one. That's
okay… maybe even wise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Maybe you have several martyrdom edges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I would not expect us to all look at this the same way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">And, I refuse to tell you that you have to be prepared to die for
anything. In that situation, I would far
more judgmental toward the one wanting to kill for their beliefs than the one
wanting to preserve their life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">But, I do think... that taking time to discern what <i>ideas</i>, what <i>relationships</i>,
what <i>hopes</i> are truly important to us
that we have almost no room for compromise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">I invite us all - in the context of hearing Stephen's story today - to
imagine what hill we might be prepared to die on and why.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">// end //<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">Let us
pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">God of
Grace, Jesus calls us to live love with every fiber of our being. Be with us and give us courage to endure the
times when this ideal is risky. Amen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">#161MV <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">"I
Have Called You By Your Name"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-34461991105192754532017-05-07T11:16:00.000-06:002017-05-07T11:16:59.344-06:00INSIDE THE GATE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">May 7, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Easter 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">John 10:1-10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Acts 2:42-47<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">If we think about the
"Exodus" story from the Old Testament (cf. Charlton Heston in the
movie, <i>The Ten Commandments</i>), we can
see that (having left behind centuries of slavery in Egypt), when the Israelite
people crossed the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, they did so as an
identifiable <i>nation</i> of people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Their tradition was that
Canaan was a legitimate ancestral home because it was Jacob's family that had
made the move from Canaan to Egypt all those years ago. The <i>Israelites
of the Exodus</i> were the descendants of that one extended family... they
identified (literally) as <i>People of Jacob</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Although Jacob's brood was <i>large </i>in Canaan, they were not a
"nation"; they were a family.
The land which Jacob lived on was a family farm and estate, not a
"country". <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">During the drought that
initially led them to Egypt, they left their land. When they chose not to return and re-settle
in Egypt, Jacob's Canaan land could really only be described as <i>abandoned</i>. No one from that family laid claim to it for
centuries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To say this another way:
when the <i>Israelites of the Exodus</i>
entered Canaan, they were not "going home", but seeking a new
home. They were a collection of migrants
seeking new homes... more than they were a nation establishing a country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It was their identity as a
Jacob's descendants, their faith in Jacob's God, that bound them together, not
borders one could draw on a map.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">They were bound by <i>attitude</i> not <i>latitude</i>. Attitude Not
Latitude.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A further example of this
is that when the Israelites took up residence in Canaan, they did not set up a
central government to manage the affairs of the nation. instead, they were governed by the Torah - a
Law of God that they had practiced during their years of slavery and had
further developed during the 40 year journey between Egypt and Canaan... law
made manifest (in part) by the Ten Commandments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Early Israel had no
governors nor kings. God was their
sovereign. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Torah/Law was their
guide for how a just and faithful society would/should/could function.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">// pause //<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">About seven weeks after the
passover (during which Jesus was risen from the tomb), the disciples gained a special
confidence through a unique experience of spirit-led unity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We will talk more about <i>that</i> four weeks from today <i>when the Day of Pentecost comes</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">What I will say <u>today</u> is, on
Pentecost: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-<i>where</i>
people came from didn't matter...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-the <i>language</i> they spoke did not limit them... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-whether they had <i>known</i> Jesus in the flesh or not didn't exclude them... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">-the <i>criticism</i> of the cynics did not dissuade them...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Many, many people were
filled by holy presence and it opened their hearts, minds and souls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To sum up the impact...
less than two months after the followers of Jesus had their hearts-of-faith
ripped out of their chests as their Lord was hung out to die as a traitor of
the empire, <i>now</i> they were publicly
praising God and seeing to the goodwill of everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As we heard from Acts, the
nature of the growing post-pentecost community (which Peter and the others
established in Jerusalem) was defined by four basic activities:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">shared
learning,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">shared
fellowship, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">shared
meals,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">shared
prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Whether the early
Christians were out in public places (like the temple) or in the privacy of
their homes, these community-minded attitudes dominated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">People willingly offered
themselves (and all that they knew and held) for the benefit of the whole.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The followers of Jesus
believed that they were more together than any of them could be on their own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Together, they shared
insights into faith. Together, they
laughed and cried. People supported
others... and were held up when they were in need. No one went hungry or was forced to eat
alone. All of this was in the context of
communing with God in worship and prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Even more amazing... this
was possible with a group that numbered more than 3000 at this point... and
increasing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They
devoted themselves to the apostles</span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #38761d; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial;">’</span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> teaching
and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders
and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and
had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and
distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much
time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with
glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the
people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being
saved.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #38761d;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The gospel of John offers
us a third example of this. This example
is metaphoric rather than literal but it points to the same kind of community
known by the Hebrew migrants in Canaan and known the faith seeking Christians
in Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The fourth gospel presents
several metaphors to help the early church of the late first century understand
who the Risen Christ was for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">John's literary style is to
present these images in the form of "I Am" statements of Jesus. Some of these are quite well known and quoted
often in church circles: <span style="color: red;">I Am the bread of life</span>; <span style="color: red;">I Am
the Light of the world</span>; <span style="color: red;">I Am the true vine</span>;
<span style="color: red;">I Am the resurrection and the life</span>. If we had read one more verse in John 10, we
would have heard Jesus say another one of the familiar phrases... <span style="color: red;">I Am the good shepherd</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">But, one of the less-quoted
<i>I Am</i> phrases was in the ten verses we
heard from John this morning: Jesus said
<span style="color: red;">I Am the gate</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The scene that the gospel
writer wants you to picture in your head as you hear Jesus talking is that of a
sheep pen. The flock is safely protected
in a space that the good shepherd has prepared.
When they move beyond this <i>sanctuary</i>,
they will do so under the caring guidance of the shepherd who - through past
experiences - they have learned to trust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I think that John presents
this metaphor and expects us to see it from two perspectives. Certainly, 2000 years of preaching on this passage
has tended to go in one of these directions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
sheep pen is our ultimate destination... or<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We
are destined to move beyond the pen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Either, we have found our
eternal home in the pen and we need to protect that state of being... or ...the
is our place of respite, where we can know that we are held in safety, but that
we will leave the pen at times.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In the first instance,
Jesus is the conduit to the contained environment that is eternal life. This is traditional Christian salvation
theology... to gain entrance into the heavenly pen you've got to get by Jesus
first. This theology also finds support
in other parts of the Gospel of John:</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">John 3:17 </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God did not send the Son
into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">John 14:6 </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial;">‘</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I Am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The first perspective Jesus
being <i>the gate for the sheep</i> is that
the gate swings inwards. The goal is to
gain entrance into the pen.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">And then there the other
perspective, where the gate still allows for entry, but also swings outward,
where the path out into the world is foraged by the good shepherd. For Jesus' audience, the reality behind the
metaphor would have leaned toward this second perspective. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The first century
experience was that most of a flock's time would be spent <i>beyond</i> <i>the pen</i>...
nomadically existing in the hills, on pastures and fields, by still
waters. In fact, the confining
atmosphere of a sheep pen would be the exception rather than the rule: perhaps
because some special care was needed to be offered to part of the flock, or
there was some danger to a spread out flock that could be avoided by heading
back to the pen. But when the
opportunity to leave the pen arose, it would be taken.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The theology of the second
perspective in John 10, is that while we do (from time to rime) seek refuge
within our close communities of faith, but that we also venture beyond these
sanctuaries trusting that our Christ is a good shepherd beyond the pen as well.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Both perspectives can be
true.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">But more so, I would say
that ignoring the second perspective sells us short as a people of faith...
especially in the context of the example of the Acts 2 community.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As this congregation is
fond 9f saying. It is more than
Welcoming In... there is Reaching Out as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Peter and the early
Christians in Acts, did not isolate themselves.
Their life <i>out in the wider world</i>
was part of their sharing attitude. Even
John chapter ten recognizes this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">John 10:16 <span style="color: #6aa84f;">I
have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and
they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.</span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #6aa84f; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Acts 2:47 says it this way:<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> <span style="color: #6aa84f;">Day by day the
Lord added to their number those who were being saved.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Let me make my point this
way...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">If the ultimate promise of
faith is a safe, eternal existence in a heavenly sheep pen, let's admit that
that is not now. But... that we (like
ancient Israelites and early Christians) are be engaged with our world, not set
apart from it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">And so...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Enjoy the sanctuary of the
pen, when we are inside the gate where we are welcomed and greeted by the good
shepherd.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">But also, know that as we
venture out into the wider pastures (that are also part of God's good work)
that we do not leave the essence of the pen behind... The Lord is our shepherd,
we have all that we need. Goodness and
mercy journeys with us everywhere we go, every moment of every day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Let us pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Holy One, you are at the heart of all
that we are and all that we can accomplish.
Bless and keep us in your love united. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">***offering***<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-40109537888869094672017-04-16T11:17:00.001-06:002017-04-16T11:17:44.229-06:00THROUGH THE TEARS; THROUGH THE YEARS<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">April 16, 2017 (10:30am)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Easter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">John 20:1-18<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The four biblical gospels all relay
the Easter story slightly differently. Like how many and which women (or men)
went to the tomb; how many angels there were; and when, where and to whom does
Jesus appear? In summary, these are the basic, amalgamated details:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">women
come to the tomb (at first light on Sunday) to finish Jesus' burial ritual that
was interrupted by the onset of the Sabbath on Friday: sadness is the dominate
emotion,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">they
discover that Jesus' body was gone: fear accompanies sadness,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">3<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">an
angelic messenger proclaims that Jesus is risen: the women are told to 'not be
afraid' and to share the good news of Jesus' resurrection,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">4<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Then,
Jesus appears in person... alleviating any doubt about the angel's
proclamation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We read John's version this
morning. Other than the fact that it
implies that Mary Magdaline went to the tomb alone, it basically follows the
amalgamated pattern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I mentioned several times
throughout the season of Lent over the past several weeks, that the Gospel of
John uses a lot of poet8c license to play around with the details (compared to
how the other gospels tell it). John is
always less about history and more about meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">One of the beautify aspects
to the fourth gospel's Easter narrative is how personal the experiences
are. The first half of chapter 20
invites us to see Easter through <b>Mary</b>'s
eyes and heart. During the last half of
chapter 20, we share <b>Thomas</b>'
experience. Chapter 21 focuses on <b>Simon</b> <b>Peter</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Each of these disciples is
deeply burdened in some way. Their
personal connection to the Risen Christ brings relief to their souls.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Mary - resurrection was not
on her mind at all. Jesus' body was
gone... stolen for some reason. There
was no joy behind her tears. Only a
compounded sadness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Sir,
if you have taken away the body, please tell me where it is and I will take it
away.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Mary!</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">With that one word, sadness
becomes joy.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Thomas - the text doesn't
tell us where he had gone, but given that the huddled group of disciples were
from out of town, a good guess would be that he was out running some errand for
the group... maybe a post-sabbath food run.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He knew that he had missed
something big; the mood in the room was almost celebratory... 180° turn around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Mary was right... she <i>DID</i> see the Lord this morning. Jesus was here... while you were gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Thomas could not share
their excitement. The only emotion he
could muster was disappointment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A week later and his mood
had not improved, no matter how many times the others told the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I
just won't believe that it's real nless I see and touch Jesus for myself.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Thomas. Come over here and take a look.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">With that generous
invitation, exclusion became inclusion.
Disappointment gave way to faith.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Peter - Jesus had nicknamed
him <i>The Rock</i>, but he felt a lot more
like Simon than Peter ever since that night outside the high priest's
house. Some "rock" he was --
crumbled go dust as soon as a little pressure was applied. Not just once, but three times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I'm
going fishing.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Simon, son of
John, do you love me? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">You
know I love you. </span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Then feed my
sheep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Three times the question
was asked and answered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Put you love into
action, Peter. I'll take that over
words, any day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Simon, the fishermen was
still a valued fisher of people.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Jesus' blatant forgiveness
melted away the guilt that Peter was carrying. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">With words of encouragement
regret becomes resilience.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Resurrection turned around
the disciples' lives...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
burden of <i>Sadness</i> became <i>Joy</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
burden of <i>Exclusion</i> became <i>Inclusion</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The
burden of <i>Regret</i> became <i>Resilience</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">//</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jesus said, </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial;">‘</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Come to me, all you that are
weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial;">’</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
(Mt11:28-30)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Like Mary, Thomas and
Peter, are we ready to allow resurrection to change us? To un-burden us to new life?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Let us pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mighty God,</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As we move through every sorrow and
trial of this life, uphold us with knowledge that we are redeemed and restored
to the fullness of life and forever freed to be your people. Amen.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">**offering**<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-34526552611946482662017-04-16T09:07:00.000-06:002017-04-16T09:07:51.778-06:00GO QUICKLY AND TELL<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8tnkjZ3WDUUuJWNGTMLi2NX2qSsfSjDAKuZioq01cumh6_LQcPunij-mq9o0r1WIZhktBRv38z6pcpQ7qZAU7z68Z4PRrNIaGO5A2HBQOS4gdxl4wol9xSAeSfaiBmbjmR8ujF3GuEo/s1600/EasterTomb9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8tnkjZ3WDUUuJWNGTMLi2NX2qSsfSjDAKuZioq01cumh6_LQcPunij-mq9o0r1WIZhktBRv38z6pcpQ7qZAU7z68Z4PRrNIaGO5A2HBQOS4gdxl4wol9xSAeSfaiBmbjmR8ujF3GuEo/s320/EasterTomb9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">April 16, 2017 (8:30am)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Easter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Matthew 28:1-10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Acts 10:37b-42<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This morning begins where Friday left
off. Jesus is dead... executed
(officially) as a traitor to the Empire,
but (more accurately) the victim of a brutal regime ruling with the
power of fear... a non-threatening ideologue treated like a dangerous criminal
to send a message to anyone considering upsetting civil order.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Most of Jesus' close followers spent
the weekend huddled behind locked doors... evidence that Pirate's decision to
execute the group's leader was wise (from his perspective): it created enough
fear to paralyze the followers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Only one thing could get a few of them
venture outside... giving Jesus a dignified burial with aromatic spices. The women would leave as early as possible on
Sunday morning to minimize the chances of running into any trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #880000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Matthew
28</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">1</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">After the
sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary went to see the tomb. </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">2</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">And suddenly there was
a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and
rolled back the stone and sat on it.</span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">3</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">His
appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">4</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">For fear of
him the guards shook and became like dead men. </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">5</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">But the
angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for
Jesus who was crucified. </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">6</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">He is not here; for he
has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">7</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Then go
quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed
he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my
message for you.’ </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">8</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran
to tell his disciples. </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">9</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Suddenly Jesus met
them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and
worshipped him. </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">10</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my
brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">#412VU "This is the Day"</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The various gospels vary in their
descriptions of the women's reaction to finding the empty tomb. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The passage I read from Matthew is a
nice amalgam of the accounts in the other gospels... it contains most of the
major details we associate with the Easter story:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">- the women came to the
tomb at first light: sadness in the dominate emotion,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">- they discover that the
stone is rolled away: fear accompanies sadness,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">- an angelic messenger
proclaims that Jesus is risen: the women are told to 'not be afriad',<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">- the women are told to
share the good news of Jesus' resurrection,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; tab-stops: right 274.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">- Then, Jesus appears in
person... alleviating any doubt about the angel's proclamation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The four gospel accounts vary on who
is involved (how many women? did men go check things out?), how quickly people
believed, and ... when and where the risen Jesus appears and to whom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The phrase I really like in Matthew is
the angel saying, "</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">go quickly and tell his disciples, <i>He has been raised from the dead</i>.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I like the urgency of this
instruction. <i>Sadness</i> and <i>Fear</i>
dominated the women when they arrived at the tomb and realized that something
was not quite right. Relatively quickly
those emotions were transformed into <i>Reverence</i>
(fear) and <i>Great Joy</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But back in the upper room, the rest
of the followers of Jesus were still grief stricken and worried. In the urgency of the instruction (go quickly
and tell), I hear a desire to transform the mood of the rest of the disciples
in the same way it has happened for the women.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">#121MV "Singin' Hallelujah"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Matthew's version doesn't describe how
the disciples reacted when they were told the women's story, but - in the other
gospels, the words (on their own) are not very convincing. Luke says that the
others called it an <i>idle tale</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For the most part, it is not until
Jesus (himself) appears do others believe... the disciples in Emmaus when Jesus
broken the bread; Thomas' need to see and touch; even when Jesus appeared to
them in Galilee, Matthew says that 'some [still] doubted'.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Easter is a <i>hard to believe</i> part of our faith... it runs counter all that we
know about how things operate in this world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For those earliest, most fearful and
grief stricken disciples... words were not enough to believe that Jesus Is
Risen. So, it appears that a few special
resurrection appearances were arranged to get most of them over the hump.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If all that was important was for
people to believe <i>that Jesus was
physically resurrected</i>, there would have had to have been an endless string
of Christ appearing behind locked doors with his crucifixion wounds available
for inspection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But the next step for Jesus' followers
was not simply to bask in the knowledge of resurrection, but to learn to live
and minister in the name of the Risen Christ.
The mission of the church was not to only proclaim Christ Raised, but to
share Jesus' basic message dating back to his time with John the Baptist ... <i>the realm has come near!<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A few years later when Simon Peter
shared his faith with the household of Cornelius, it was not just the Easter
story he told.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #880000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Acts
10</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">37b</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Beginning
in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">38</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went
about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was
with him. </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">39</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in
Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">40</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">but God
raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">41</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">not to all
the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank
with him after he rose from the dead. </span><sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #777777; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">42</span></sup><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #010000; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">He
commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained
by God as judge of the living and the dead.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We carry the same legacy as Mary,
Peter, Cornelius and the countless other believers throughout these last two
millenia.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">From the old, we travel to the new.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">#639VU "One More Step"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Go in peace to great this new day with
hope and promise. Amen.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-69909117507889699122017-04-14T11:44:00.005-06:002017-04-14T12:08:39.565-06:00EXHAUSTED<div style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.5pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5PlMX6vwzdBce4aZkTVLa67CeM6KzS-yl0eyGfh6NJSP8N_MwcI-HSL9x-_MoNbK1-26o10HYCsT3BYaWYSR4xWYITwVnCtunLFCCQnbH0LN1oAjq6GvKoWzZvdo6lS2PiAMIzs4dkPs/s1600/Fatigue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5PlMX6vwzdBce4aZkTVLa67CeM6KzS-yl0eyGfh6NJSP8N_MwcI-HSL9x-_MoNbK1-26o10HYCsT3BYaWYSR4xWYITwVnCtunLFCCQnbH0LN1oAjq6GvKoWzZvdo6lS2PiAMIzs4dkPs/s1600/Fatigue.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">April 14, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Good Friday<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; padding: 0in; tab-stops: right 292.5pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Matthew 26:36-56;
27:33-37,45-50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">(silent prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">If you have spent time in
United Churches over the last few decades, you will probably recognize some of
the music of UCCan musician and hymn writer Linnea Good (<i>Make a Joyful Noise All the Earth</i>...<i> A Light is Gleaming</i>...<i>Hey
Now, Singing Hallelujah</i>...<i> When You
Walk From Here</i>). One of her early
songs (that never made the hymn books) is called "It Ain't Hip to be a Christian". The song highlights some of the questions that the absurd parts of Christianity raise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A dude was born in Bethlehem</span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">two thousand years away.</span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">He talked about love </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">and he talked about sharing, </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">so they tortured </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">and they killed him one day...</span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">He
talked about love and he talked about sharing, so they tortured and they killed
him one day...</span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It is an absurd tale when
you sum it up like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Good Friday is an absurd
twist within the story of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As a minister (especially
when talking to children or people new to the church), it is one of the hardest
issues to confront. How could kind and
loving Jesus go from hearing <i>Hosanna</i>
on Sunday to <i>Crucify</i> on Friday?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Last evening, there was a
Maundy Thursday service. It gets its
name from the latin, <i>mandatum</i> (the
same word behind the english word <i>mandate</i>)... In the gospel of John, chapter 13, Jesus is
quoted as saying to his disciples: <i><span style="color: red;">I give you a new commandment </span>(mandatum
novum)<span style="color: red;">, that you love one another as I have
loved you.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In the wider story of
Jesus' life, we see that Jesus' focus was on a faith that was love and service
lived-out. How could that possibly
result in a death sentence?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">This quandary is not
new. It is as old as Christianity
itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The crucifixion was a very
difficult for the early church to explain.
If Jesus was God-incarnate, how is it that he couldn't avoid <i>the</i> <i>cross</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In the end, the seeds of a
theology of <i>substitutional atonement </i>was
planted - thanks largely to the anonymous Letter to the Hebrews, which sought
to aid early Christians with Jewish roots to adapt to this new faith
expression: that Jesus' death was akin to a sacrificial offering as a means to
absolve sins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I can certainly see that
there must have been pressure in the early church to try an justify Jesus'
death as a meaningful and important part of the story of Jesus as the Messiah
of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The simple reality is that
neither the Temple's high priest, <i>Caiaphas</i>,
nor the Roman prefect, <i>Pontius</i> <i>Pilate</i>, were part of conspiracy to have
Jesus die for the sins of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Jesus ran afoul of the
temple authorities because he upset the way the temple operated. Most of the gospels agree that - right after
Jesus entered Jerusalem (under waving palm branches) - [that] he publicly
rebuked the practice that the temple grounds were being used to sell animals
for sacrifices and to buy temple currency for offerings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To the temple leaders,
Jesus was an insignificant, small town rabbi, who was out of his league at the
temple. Some accused him of blasphemy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As the week evolved,
Caiaphas could not simply ignore Jesus.
The high priest had to get to the bottom of these accusations. He had had enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">A bribe to one of Jesus'
own disciples provided information about the location of Jesus' campsite, so he
could be brought in for questioning after sunset to avoid as much public
scrutiny as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We heard the story of Jesus
arrest earlier from the gospel of Matthew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Before the temple police
arrived, Jesus was off praying alone in a garden on the Mount of Olives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">We heard the semi-humourous
account of three of Jesus' close followers being simply too exhausted to stay
awake while Jesus prayed.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It is a curious scene. Why was it so important that they stay
awake? We're they supposed to be on the
look out for any unwanted visitors? Was
it for moral support? </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Certainly, in retrospect...
it is symbolic of discipleship commitment.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The final verse from
Matthew 26 that was read indicates the level of commitment, not just of Peter,
James and John, but of all of Jesus' disciples... "<sup><span style="color: #999999;">56b</span></sup>Then all of the disciples deserted him
and fled."</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As I noted on Palm Sunday,
Pontius Pilate was correct. There was a political dimension to Jesus' message. Some called him a king - which the Empire could not allow. But, the Jesus-movement was non-violent. Pilate knew (through experience) that with
non-violent revolutionaries, deal harshly with the leader and the followers
will disappear. Pilate had no extra
energy to waste on a nuisance like Jesus.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I can relate to the
disciples. I have known times that
(regardless of what might be the best thing to do) I just want to walk away...
to hide... to pretend that the hard realities around me just aren't there.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I am not going to selfishly
bear the depths of my soul in the context of this worship, but I have felt like
crawling into a cave by myself a lot recently (not about my stolen car... that
was an inconvenience that resolved itself relatively quickly - for the better
in many ways).</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I doubt that I am alone in
wanting the <i>world to stop so I can get
off</i>.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Life - when dominated by
worry, fear, sadness, grief and other tough emotions can be exhausting.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Remembering or imagining
how that feels can help us relate to the harsh helplessness of Good Friday. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As we listen to Jesus'
Gethsemane prayer, he sounds as emotionally and spiritually exhausted as his
disciples are physically exhausted.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">If we read further in the
stories of Jesus' final day, we discover...</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">How Peter was too worried
about being dragged into court himself that he refused to admit knowing Jesus,
even after witnesses were able to point him out: too exhausted to face the
consequences of being an open follower of prisoner Jesus.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">How, before the Sanhedrin,
Pilate and Herod Antipas, Jesus expended almost no energy trying to fight the
charges.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">All of his options were
exhausted.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">How, after Jesus was crucified,
the disciples hid behind locked doors, mustering only the minimal amount of
energy to burn and anoint Jesus' lifeless body.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It was time to set aside
the past and try to pretend that the world outside did not exist.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">//</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">#133VU “Go to Dark Gethsemane”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-82640503605404104102017-04-13T18:23:00.001-06:002017-04-13T18:23:18.280-06:00A NEW SACRAMENT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkMz6tojbPcotClt4dFvyK4Bo1ECpsTAxex1kGSYPhTU5JxzWogeNq47k2aeuv_-J36-GMcLQCbRuF43MrFltsPVBAyWfG-1h1Sgzye8aKKLKttx7b1kQZvmpdochyUHwOx3D5m-sUe4/s1600/CommunionDiVinci.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkMz6tojbPcotClt4dFvyK4Bo1ECpsTAxex1kGSYPhTU5JxzWogeNq47k2aeuv_-J36-GMcLQCbRuF43MrFltsPVBAyWfG-1h1Sgzye8aKKLKttx7b1kQZvmpdochyUHwOx3D5m-sUe4/s320/CommunionDiVinci.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">April 13, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Maundy Thursday<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">John 13:3-10a,12-15,34<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1 Corinthians 11:23-25<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It was either the day
before passover (the day of preparation) or the passover itself, when Jesus and
his closest disciples shared supper together for the final time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Apostle Paul gives us
the oldest account of how The Last Supper was practiced in the early decades of
the Christian Church:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on
the night he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks,
he broke it and said, '<span style="color: red;">This is my body that is for
you. Do this in remembrance of me.</span>' In the same way he also took the cup, after
supper, saying, '<span style="color: red;">This cup is the new covenant in my
blood. Do this as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me.</span>'<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">#480VU </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">"Let Us
Break Bread Together"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">These are the gifts of God
for the people of God.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Even though the location
was a rented room, Jesus acted as <i>host</i>. On special occasions, it was customary for
the host to arrange for the guests to be comfortable as they arrived for the
evening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Life in 1st century Judea
was a walking culture and it was (for the most part) an arid climate. So, the host would arrange to have a
household servant wash the guests' feet: it would be appreciated as a special
luxury, allowing people to feel relaxed and ready for their time together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">From the Gospel of John...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jesus,
knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had
come from God and going to God, got up from the table, and tied a towel around
himself. Then he poured water into a
basin and began to wash his disciples feet and to wipe them with the towel that
was tied around him. He came to Simon
Peter, who said 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?' Jesus answered, '<span style="color: red;">You
do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.</span>' Peter said to him, 'You will never wash my
feet.' Jesus answered, '<span style="color: red;">Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.</span>' Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, not only my
feet but also my hands and my head!'
Jesus said to him, '<span style="color: red;">One who has bathed does not
need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean.</span>' ... After [Jesus] had washed their feet, had put his robe
on, and had returned to the table, he said to them, '<span style="color: red;">Do you know what I have done for you? You call me teacher and Lord - and you are
right for that is what I Am. So, if I,
your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash each other's
feet. For I have set you an example,
that you should do as I have done for you.</span>'</span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jesus - the host - takes on
the role of a servant. Peter gets that
and feels that Jesus (his lord and teacher) should be one who is served, rather
than the servant. Jesus convinces him to
play along.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After the foot washing is
finished, Jesus makes it clear that there was both a <i>metaphoric </i>dimension to this experience. It was a lived-out parable ... the actions
held a deeper meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">"<span style="color: red;">Do as I have done.</span>"<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">#560VU </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">"O Master
Let Me Walk with Thee"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If you are at all familiar
with the basic rituals of the Christian Church, you might know that we
regularly celebrate two sacraments that the Bible indicates were initiated by
Jesus... <b>Communion</b> (The Last Supper,
Eucharist): <i><span style="color: red;">Do
this often - eat and drink in remembrance of me</span></i>; and... <b>Baptism</b>:
<i><span style="color: red;">Go and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit</span></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But we do not
have a sacrament of <b>foot</b> <b>washing</b>, even though the bible clearly
says that Jesus told us to </span><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Do as I have done</span></i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. It would make sense if the had developed a
ritualized practice to be faithful to Jesus call for us to wash each other's
feet.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Now, I know
that - there are times when foot-washing is incorporated into Holy Thursday
services, but it is far from a regular universal practice across denominational
lines, like communion and baptism are.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I think that
this is because, before Jesus was finished speaking on that night, he made it
clear that the foot washing was not really about foot washing. It was a parable for what Jesus wanted his
disciples to be all about.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I give you a new commandment </span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">(a
new mandate)</span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">, that you love one
another. Just as I have loved you, you
should love one another.</span></i><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: red; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The practice of
Jesus, that he was mandating them to copy was his compassion... his practice of
servant love.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Let us go to love and serve
our God by living out the compassion of our Christ.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Make <i>Holy</i> <i>Love</i> real.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It is by love that the
world will know we are Jesus' disciples.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">//</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">#298VU </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">"When You
Walk From Here"</span></div>
Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-394760378869269228.post-63245823965217202712017-04-09T14:00:00.000-06:002017-04-09T21:45:02.097-06:00SET IN MOTION<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgIYg4QsnvC98tpAGc2j-fp3plkDU4gvqMlkshwl3FNGNQBNr9fLUYRyLd9Rc2mGFvMabpvRRm2x5GXmx5zvEbL0Hc2jUc54xeWE3c6o5zoGBR9kadCNyBztW-yC5DcvDE1KyWt_phpw/s1600/ChessMove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgIYg4QsnvC98tpAGc2j-fp3plkDU4gvqMlkshwl3FNGNQBNr9fLUYRyLd9Rc2mGFvMabpvRRm2x5GXmx5zvEbL0Hc2jUc54xeWE3c6o5zoGBR9kadCNyBztW-yC5DcvDE1KyWt_phpw/s320/ChessMove.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">April 9, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Palm/Passion Sunday<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=358329986" target="_blank">Matthew 21:1-11<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=358329986" target="_blank">Philippians 5:5-11</a></span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">(prayer)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The week of Palm Sunday was
(almost certainly) <b><i>not</i></b> Jesus' first time attending a passover festival in the
shadow of the Temple. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Luke's gospel tells us
that, as a 12 year old, Jesus' family made at least one pilgrimage to Jerusalem
- it may have been a <i>family</i> tradition
- The text implies that Mary, Joseph and Jesus traveled with other extended
family members. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">John's gospel describes
Jesus going to Jerusalem for the passover each of the three years of his active
ministry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It might be an accurate
guess to say that <i>travelling to Jerusalem
annually for the passover </i>was something Jesus had done his whole life. His parents had that habit and Jesus carried
the family tradition on during his adult life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In a way, the habit of
being in Jerusalem at passover time set in motion the events of Jesus' final
week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">And yet, something was
different about the year that turned out to be Jesus' last passover. I doubt that a Palm parade was an annual
tradition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">By the time of Jesus' third
passover since his baptism approached, his reputation had preceded him into
Jerusalem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Jesus built this reputation
on the strength of a large number of personal encounters. Yes, the gospels tell us about a few large
group events, but, mostly, the story of Jesus are accounts of Jesus touching
one heart at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Each of those people who
experienced <i>moments</i> <i>of</i> <i>clarity</i>
listening to Jesus teach - <i><span style="color: #674ea7;">each of those bodies made whole at his healing touch</span></i>
- <i><span style="color: #6aa84f;">each person
welcomed into the centre from the edges of exclusion</span></i> - were part of
the path that lead Jesus through the "Golden Gate" on the first day
of that fateful passover week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I do not believe that all
of the details of our lives are already laid out before us. I'm more of a <i>free</i> <i>will</i> guy than a <i>predestination</i> person. But, I do believe that the events of today
and the small (and big) choices we make along the way do set us off in
particular directions - ready to be impacted by the events and choices of new
moments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">When a few festival goers
got wind of the fact that the teacher-healer-prophet from Galilee was coming into
the city, a crowd began to gather at the Golden Gate along the Temple's eastern
wall (the most direct way into Jerusalem from the campsites on the Mount of
Olives).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Jesus' reputation <i>set</i> <i>in</i>
<i>motion</i> the events that would become
known as <i>Palm Sunday</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Palm parade led
directly into the Temple courtyard, where Jesus caused a disruptive scene over
issues of the:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> -sale of sacrificial animals and <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> -currency exchanges. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Matthew's narrative
mentions that (after the <i>turning of
tables</i>) people came to Jesus for acts of healing, right there on the Temple
grounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Shouts of "Hosanna to
the Son of David" that were heard during the palm parade echoed again
within the temple walls... an event that drew the suspicious ire of the
watchful priests and scribes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The religious elite
believed that Jesus was acting with more authority than someone <i>like</i> <i>him</i>
deserved. What bothered them the most
seems to have been... that the crowds were heaping authority and praise on this
small town rabbi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">This tension between temple
leaders and Jesus set in motion things that would happen later in the week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Jesus was being spoken of
as a <i>bless`ed Son of David</i> and that
set in motion messianic proclamations by people in the crowds, which further
concerned the Temple leaders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">There was also a political
parallel to these religious concerns.
"Messiah" (or annointed one) was a royal title... to the local
representatives of the Roman Empire, claims to kingship was a potential
political threat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">On both religious and
political planes, the events of Palm Sunday set things in motion that would
change human history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">By Thursday evening, the
consequences of Palm Sunday included the fact that certain Temple leaders
wanted to bring Jesus before the Sanhedrin Council so it could assess how much
of a threat he might actually be. The Sanhedrin feared a riot, so they bought
off one of Jesus' own followers to find out when and where they could arrest
him... away from the adoring crowds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The Sanhedrin religious
interrogation set in motion the involvement of the Roman Prefect of Judea,
whose focus was on those claims to kingship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Although Jesus was
provocative - he was peaceful enough to be a subtle threat to those in power
(religiously and politically). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Caiaphas, the high priest,
and Pilate, the governor, knew that a "revolution of ideas" could be
just as dangerous than a violent one... in the long run, maybe even more of a
threat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The threat was subtle and
small, but things were already set in motion, so Pilate thought that he might
as well deal with it swiftly and decisively.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Jesus was the leader of a
non-violent resistant movement. History
and practice told Pilate that one crucifixion would do the job. Pacifist protesters were predictable. Make an overly brutal example of their leader
and the movement will usually die of fear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">And so Jesus was executed
as a traitor of the empire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Pilate believed that it was
worthwhile sacrificing one life, now and then, to ensure the broader peace and
order.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It happened so quickly -
Jesus' execution came only five days after the palm parade. There were only five days between <i><span style="color: #38761d;">Hosanna to the
Son of David</span> </i>and<i> <span style="color: #990000;">Crucify Him</span></i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">But things were set in
motion long before that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week is busy around the church -
with a number of different opportunities to gather together in worship. St. David's plans a busy week before Easter
because, it was a busy week for Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Along with today's palm Sunday service:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">on
Thursday evening, we will focus on Jesus' last supper; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">on
Friday, we will remember how and why Jesus died; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and
then after a quiet Saturday, we come to Sunday morning, when <i>what we expect</i> is turned upside down...
and how that set in motion all of the events that brought St. David's United
Church into existence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">What lays <i>before</i> <i>us</i> will be impacted by where we have been and what we think about
those experiences: in as much as we can control things, we will chose our next
paths based what we want to endure and what timelines we want to bring to a
halt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-indent: .25in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">As we said together before,
let us try to trust in the words...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: right 274.5pt; text-align: center;">
<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">In life, <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">in death, <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">in life
beyond death, <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">God is with
us.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">//<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Let us pray:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Loving God, we dare to hear the harsh
story of this: the powerful truth of Jesus’ passion. We ponder endings so that we can know the
wonder of new beginnings. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">#122VU “All Glory Laud and Honour”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rev. Blaine Gregghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03458378603030362344noreply@blogger.com0