Sermon for March 27, 2022               Lent Four                    “Searching”

What do you want to be when you grow up? At age 3 or 4 it is one thing, at 15 or 16 quite another and along the way the responses keep changing. I keep wondering what I want to do when I grow up, I’ll wait and see. It is a question of discerning and discovery and what is different now than most of the last century, is that many now have many career shifts. Always searching and wondering and growing. And some figure it out and know for certainty what they want to do and it becomes a life’s work.

The question may not have been asked of the younger son in the teaching for today. We do know that at a young age he was certain he did not want to work for his brother. He wanted to search for his own path, he wanted to explore all the adventures he had only heard about from others. And so he decided to go exploring.

A few unusual things occurred, the father gave him permission and gave him, in advance, his inheritance (that was unheard of, but that is another sermon). And the son left to find his place in the world.

As is so often the case the search went fine until the money ran out and then life was not so much fun and it was not until he was fighting pigs for food scrapes that his ego subsided and the lessons of his upbringing that he so wanted to get away from came back to him.

The palate of colour and hue this teaching offers are many and I find delight in that texture and possibility. Let me offer this facet of teaching from this text.

The teachings, values, morals and life teachings we offer our children will last a lifetime. And it is vital that we take the time and effort to, as parents, teachers, faith leaders and neighbours to teach, instill and practice what we teach or preach.

The parents in the story would have taught all their children the same life values and teachings based on the Torah. Part of that teaching would have been the truth that the eldest son inherits the land, the other son’s inheritance is money and any daughters would be married. We may not like the idea in our 21^st century context but the story referenced made sense in a first century context.

We may wonder ‘did anything I teach my kids sink in? they learned about God and Jesus and the value of worship…what happened?’ For my adult self, the teaching is that I and we did the teaching of our children, that teaching did not disappear, it is there waiting for the right moment to emerge with new understanding. Understanding born of their own searching. Sometimes the search is short and by times much longer. The father’s/parent’s role in that time is to continue living and keep watch.

Part of the learning for the young son in the story is that you only have value in most venues so long as you have money. While dining with pigs the young son realized that his value was anchored in who he was and his core values. And those, much to his chagrin he learned at home. Dirty, scared, alone and embarrassed he turned his face toward home.

What he could not have known is that his parents kept an eye out for him every day. When the sorry image appeared at the entrance of the lane, rejoicing and relief were the welcoming embrace.

We often find ourselves as the parent, the young son and even the older son (but that is for another time) and it is one of the core understandings of the essential necessity of radical, uninhibited hospitality. All who come here are searching and all who come here are found.

Thanks be to God. Amen

Sermon for October 4, 2020                        World Wide Communion

With the first cut the rough stone begins its journey of transformation toward part of a useful and beautiful whole that is brought about by the skill and imagination of the mason.

One of the teachings in the parable today reminds us that we so often choose to direct the path and plan of God by our own egos and self-interests. We just heard the parable so in short, it is about a vineyard owner who planted vines, built a press and protected that with a fence and watchtower. Acquired tenants and left them in charge. At the appointed time a steward arrived to collect a fair share of the profits and the tenants killed the steward. Another steward was sent with the same result. Then the son was sent, with the thinking that he would be respected, the son met the same fate. Now, the tenants thought the vineyard was theirs.

What you have rejected will become the cornerstone for the building of my kin-dom says the vineyard owner. The chief priests and Pharisees were not happy or amused as they knew deep down that the teaching was about them.

World Wide Communion Sunday and the preparation for this time has caused to me ponder the dilemma of ‘how do I reconcile others who believe in the same God and Jesus as me and yet proclaim a very different view of the interpretation of scripture and understanding of God and Jesus’?   I must confess that I do not see eye to eye with some Christian ministers or teachers. By times I would even argue that from my perspective some teaching is just wrong. But as the parable teaches it is not for me to kill the messengers in order to play the role of God.

I, like all humans are like the rough ashlars of a mason who first gazes at the pile of rough stone in the quarry, chooses one and then decides how to chisel away the unnecessary bits until each stone is perfect and all stones when placed by the master form a beautiful and complete whole. So I wonder, are all Christian churches and proclaimers of the Christian message valid is some way? Are each being prepared as part of a greater whole that I and we are not capable of seeing? We each are chosen, we each take time with the teachings to shine bright and eventually we will, by God’s good graces complete a magnificent whole.

The teaching of Jesus in the parable today is a caution to set aside our ego, our desire for greed and our desire to be God and allow God to be God and we the as yet incomplete workings of the master.

The wonder of Communion, however it is celebrated across the traditions, whether you have bread or wafers of crackers, whether wine or grape juice or coffee, at homes or wherever the faithful and seekers are gathered is, that God in Jesus loves us just as we are, imperfect and perfect at the same time. Humans capable of love and cruel, joy and sorrow, seeking, lost and found all tied together by the unbreakable binds of the Holy Spirit. And we are left whispering and shouting our glorious hallelujahs.  

And so in the name of Jesus who says ‘follow me’, come, join the others with Jesus at the table…please…Amen

Sermon for November 25, 2018                     Reign of Christ                        “Truth”

The teaching of Jesus in the Gospel today is “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” I am not sure that Jesus was aware of the can of worms that would be opened as future generations struggled with unravelling the meaning of truth.

In 1925, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Pius XI, instituted the Feast of Christ the King.  He was responding to the rise of fascism and felt that Christians were also succumbing to an increasing secularism in the world.  Over time, most mainline churches, who follow the lectionary, began to observe this Sunday in some fashion. In the United Church we call it the Reign of Christ Sunday. And it is the last Sunday in the liturgical year.

Of course, we have no choice but to live in the “real world” (we have to go to school, have jobs, buy groceries, heat our homes, clothe ourselves and our children, find a way to get around and to communicate with  others and all of those things )  but the question remains: whose values really govern our lives?  What are our priorities?  Are we governed by the values of materialism, consumerism, elitism, militarism, sexism, racism, and the other “isms” that vie for our loyalty?  Or are we governed by the Good News of Jesus.

When I clicked on the right buttons to get the computer to get me the meaning of truth, I got: Truth is disambiguation. And now I am so much more enlightened! So I looked further.

Truth is a concept most often used to mean in accord with fact or reality, or fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal.

Biblical inerrancy, as formulated in the “Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy“, is the doctrine that the Protestant Bible “is without error or fault in all its teaching”; or, at least, that “Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact”. Various interpretations have been applied, depending on the tradition. According to some interpretations of the doctrine, all of the Bible is without error, i.e., is to be taken as true, no matter what the issue. Other interpretations hold that the Bible is always true on important matters of faith, while other interpretations hold that the Bible is true but must be specifically interpreted in the context of the language, culture and time that relevant passages were written.

When Jesus speaks of truth in this context he is speaking to Pilate and pointing out to him that his idea of truth differs from God’s idea of truth. That Pilate’s idea of community is vastly different that the community of Jesus. It is into this environment that Jesus is challenging Pilate and lifting up this teaching for all people.

It is at this moment that we leave the world of empirical data and evidence and move into the place of heart, soul and grace. It is an area that most in the western world are fidgety and uncomfortable. Jesus calls us past the facts and into our hearts. He says to Pilate, you have all this wealth and power, armies and resources and yet they are meaningless to me for they will perish and be dust and rust. My realm was, is and always will be of the spirit and soul and not subject to your idea of power nor will it return to rust and dust.

As we attempt to understand Jesus with the rule of law or even good governance, we will fail. If we insist on understanding Jesus and the realm of Jesus with fact and data, we will fail. It will require of us a leap of faith. That leap that gets us out of our heads and into our heart and spirit. And that for a cyber, fact driven people is a challenge. Though we were born as true spirit, it was taught out of us and replaced with fact and fact has become our default position. Being in our spirit and heart place takes attention and time and work and most challenging of all, a suspension of fact and an acceptance of grace. It is there that we hear the truth of the teachings of Jesus. It is there that our hearts are touched with compassion and passion. It is there where allow ourselves to live with our hearts in the realm of Jesus, and our lives in the world, ever striving to live out the prayer: ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’.

Sermon for November 18, 2018                  26^th after Pentecost        “Into Your Heart”

You are forgiven.

I could easily end there for that is the only thing you need to hear from the texts today. You know me better than that I am sure. The author of Hebrews wants in no uncertain terms for readers to know that what Christ has done in his death on the cross is a ‘once and for all’ act that frees us from our sin and the need to offer any sort of sacrifice. It opens the door to a new way of community and personal life that is organized by love and respect. It is an invitation to live wholeheartedly in the spirit and love of Jesus.

This is not an ‘oh that’s nice sort of sentiment’. This is a live changing event that we so often struggle to grasp. Imagine the first followers of Jesus after his death. No more are they concerned about sending the best of what they had as a sacrifice. Imagine not having to take the time and expense to travel to the High Priest and confess and then give the subscribed penance. Jesus willingness to be crucified for our forgiveness was and is beyond our comprehension. Our old patterns of living and being are broken, and not broken so they can be fixed again, broken, smashed destroyed beyond repair. We are in a new way of being that is light and love and forgiving.

I can remember thinking that when my children both went to school I would have so much free time. That was not true. I hear over and over again how much time there may be when retirement comes. And yet I hear constantly from folks who are retired that they are so busy they could not imagine working too. Hebrew’s is thinking ahead of us when we think that we will not have to gather in church. The direction is; ‘do not neglect to meet together in community’ and there provoke one another to love and do good deeds.

Do not neglect to meet together as a community. It is a truth that humans need and even crave to be gathered together in community. This is a gentle reminder to gather and actively wait on the acceptable year of the Lord. This gathering happened on the Sabbath day, the day God directed we rest. For the past 50 years there have been a steady erosion of the Sabbath day or any idea that we need Sabbath. With technology, travel, work in a global context we are all, from infant to senior, on the go 24/7. We were led to believe that was good, it was progress, it was innovative and progressive. And yet we are more disconnected from each other now than any other time in history. Gathering cannot and I do not think ever will be as simple as a happy face emoticon. What I find interesting is that corporations that are now seen as progressive and supportive of life work balance are insisting that work cell phones be left at work. That there are days in a week for self and family. And in the back of our minds we hear the teaching to gather as community so that we can provoke one another to love and good deeds.

As we reach the ending of this liturgical year, it may be interesting to set intentions for the next year. I know you are familiar with this task as most do it in January and call it new years resolutions. I heard this week that a problem with church attendance is that other activities have moved into Sunday morning. When I step back and peek, and I am doing this as we are in the midst of a strategic planning process, I discover that while other activities have moved into Sunday the church has remained resolute in claiming the only time to worship is Sunday morning. The teaching of God and Jesus is: remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, it is a day of rest. The church for the past 2000 years has understood Sabbath and worship are connected and only on that day. A new liturgical year intention may be to consider that worship is appropriate on any of the days of the week.

It is clear in the text from Hebrews that God has carved love into our heart, and remembrance in our minds. With every beat of our heart the love of God courses through our bodies. With every synapse of our brain the memory of God is present. This leads me to believe that it is really hard to escape God, for God is embedded in our very being. Further each breath we take is a time of honouring God, each word we utter, each thought we think, all our being infused with God. Is it any wonder that the primary teaching of Jesus is to love, to be kind, to speak generously and act humbly? For Jesus, his followers are followers each moment of each day.

In a world that has become cruel, in Christianity that has become judgmental,  in communities that are insular and protective, Jesus gift of life, opens the door to a new way of community and personal life that is organized by love and respect. It is an invitation to live wholeheartedly in the spirit and love of Jesus.

Sermon for September 23, 2018                 18^th after Pentecost        “What are you Talking About?”

I was listening to a speech given by Steve Jobs this week and part of the message was that we need to trust that the dots will connect. He did not graduate from university but in his words, he dropped out and then dropped in on classes he liked. He and Steve Wozniak started building computers in the garage and then founded Apple, Jobs was fired and started an animation company that became Pixar, had cancer and was cured, back to Apple then more cancer. In the moment, he could not see that dropping out of university and dropping into a calligraphy class would lead to fonts and type faces and make the words we type have pizazz. He could not see how the dots connected until he looked back on his life and could see that his success was linked to his perceived failure and both were connected and essential.

‘The Son of God is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again’. In the moment the disciples just could not get their head or their heart to understand what Jesus was saying. So they did what people have been doing for thousands of years…change the topic. They started arguing as boys have done for the same about of time, who’s better, faster, stronger, smarter etc. It seems that when the spiritual alludes us we pick up the mundane.

This past Wednesday the Board agreed to launch a strategic planning process. Not all the details are worked out, but the general principles are in place with an openness to flexibility and to the leading of the Spirit. It seems to me in that journey we will need to work on our ‘why’. Why is St. Mark’s a great place to be? That to me means we will have to get our heart and soul engaged. It also means that we will listen to the ‘elders’ who know that failure does not always mean failure. It may mean you are currently just going in an unhealthy way. It will mean being patient with newbies who are filled with ideas that may not have worked before but now just might. And it will mean depending on Jesus and Spirit that even in dark places light can shine, that in impossibility there is the joyful unexpected and that as we look back to plan ahead we can be assured that like before we will make mistakes and like before new doors are opened.

So let me have a go at my why.

I believe that living a life that takes me past my comfort zones is exhilarating; I believe that being socially unconventional is a powerful mechanism for social change. I believe that walking this path with others is way more fun and life giving than when walked alone. St. Mark’s believes this to be so. I invite you to walk into this adventure. It will mean that you just might be last, the wisdom of children is honoured, that giving is the best way to live with abundance and that in surrender comes truly wholehearted living.

And by the way, St. Mark’s has the terrific worship, programs and a mindset to be all this and more. And yes, we are a Christian church.

What the disciples did not know until the resurrection was all the crazy stuff Jesus talked about before his death was absolutely true. What we do not know until we have the humility to try is that it is still true. If you want the best seat, sit in the back of the bus. If you want abundance, give. If you want life, give yours to others. It is when we get older that it all starts to make sense, not just because we might be getting closer to the time when we will meet our maker but because we have seen it happen in our lives. And once we get a taste of it we want more of this truly wholehearted abundant life.

What are you talking about is the question of Jesus to the disciples? It is the same question we are asked. If our answer is me, me, me or how can I arrange the deck chairs so that I will survive, or how can I be perceived as great and wonderful, then like the disciples we sink in our self-imposed separation from God. We cannot serve God and ourselves. Not going to happen in any reality. We eventually learn that extravagant living comes from giving ourselves to God.

Why St. Mark’s…we are on an adventure. Each day is new and exciting. We are opening ourselves to the wonder and grace of Jesus who started the journey. What are we talking about? The crazy idea of Jesus that we can truly be loving.

Sermon for Sunday September 16, 2018                 17^th After Pentecost       “Who Is Jesus?”

Welcome back, I am overjoyed with glee that you are here. You complete us with your presence and live in the paradox that we will never be fully complete as there is always one more to welcome.

I did a quick check on welcome and it is a greeting, usually in a glad and friendly way, salutation, relief, it seems to always be used in a happy or outrageously delighted sort of way. So when I say welcome, it matches our introit that exclaims: come in, you are part of the family.

I also took a look at ‘back’ and depending on context it can be many things; as a noun, you back from shoulders to hips, as an adverb; toward the rear, the opposite direction, as a verb; to give financial, material or moral support to and as an adjective; at the back of something like the backyard.

I did the word search to try to figure out why we add back to welcome, when maybe just welcome would do. But the phrase does make sense because it acknowledges a return, a joyous return. So with wholehearted joy I say welcome back.

Now that we are mostly here we can learn a bit more about Jesus. Jesus; powerful and weak, demands we speak and be silent, healer and destroyer, human and divine, son, brother, Messiah and one who was is and always will be only about love. In the Gospel today Jesus beckons us to take up your cross and follow. Jesus did not say take up my cross, he is challenging us to discern our gifts and growing edges and from that tangled mess of life, take up your cross.

I was driving to the hospital on Wed and saw a man carrying a cross and I wondered why? I did not stop and ask so I do not have an answer. If he is showing that he is suffering like Jesus as an act of faith then I would suggest that he has misunderstood what Jesus is asking. If it is a personal journey like the 40 days in the wilderness or a pilgrimage, or seeking Sabbath time, or dessert time then I would say he is on a right track.

For years before Jesus’ death, the cross was a sign of oppression, a tool to keep the masses in line, a mechanism to silence the people with fear and it worked for the Empire of the day. When this pesky, disturbing Jesus was ordered to the cross the leaders of the Empire were convinced that, like before, it would silence and oppress. With resurrection, the cross lost all of its prior power. With Jesus, the cross is a sign of revolutionary love. It is a sign of love, so when Jesus says pick up your cross, it is about you discerning how you are best going to love. Not just love but revolutionary love for yourself and for every single person you meet. That is the hard work of being a follower of Jesus. Jesus did not call us to be a people who must suffer, self-inflicted or otherwise. He calls us to follow and to love.

I welcome you with extravagant joy and eagerness because I know that Jesus has work to do that requires you. Requires you to stoop down, pick up your way of love cross and rise to unimagined heights of fulfilled life. Jesus knew that love would lead to belonging and belonging would lead to worthiness and that would lead to increased capacity to love. That is the simple message. That is how I imagine church in its best self. A place where every word and action are motivated by love and that most elusive endeavor to serve leads to you craving to belong, for it lifts up your worthiness.

We are on the move. Not to a new local but a move that will see all welcomed with revolutionary hospitality, where all our words are life giving, where our actions holler Spirit and where the least will guide. Welcome back is also welcome to the journey. I am glad you are here.

Sermon for September 2, 2018                   15 after Pentecost           “Not Letting Go”

When Nelson Mandela was a young man, he was determined to change the course of South African politics and the oppression of Apartheid. The correct way, at the time, was to meet force with force. For many years that was the way. One day he was arrested and sent to prison and there he was for 27 years. There he learned a new way and learned to let go of the former way. After he was released, he started a peaceful movement to heal his homeland. It was in that letting go of conviction that force must be met with force, that life was restored for himself, his nation and set an example for the world.

Jesus spent 30 of his 33 years living and working in and around Nazareth most likely as a carpenter. Biblical historians believe he was content with his life and community. One day he let all that go as he headed toward Jerusalem and the Jordon River. It was in the letting go that brought forth the teachings and wisdom of Jesus that inspires and informs even today.

The Gospel teaching today is about clinging to the past at the risk of not living today. At issue in not the washing of hands but the setting aside of justice seeking and tending to the marginalized. The Elders had fallen into the belief that if they followed the rules and rituals then they were being faithful. What was slowly lost was compassion for the people. They became guardians of the rule and not caretakers of the mind, body or spirit. The simple message of Jesus for us today is; what are we hanging on to so tightly that abundant life alludes us and those around us? And it’s companion; what is it that we need to let go of to make way for truly spirit filled living?

Jesus reminds us today that following rules is important but tending to the hearts of people is more important. Now I like rules mostly when I am driving. For example when folks come in the lower parking lot, or when people stop while making a right hand turn from Westmoreland to Lock Lomond. At the end of the day though I get to where I am going.

St. Mark’s has rules or at least practices that make sense to some and not so much to others. Jesus reminds us that it is the human connection that is vital and important, not that I miss a hymn or mess up the order of worship. If our practice hinders me or another from fully participating in the life of our church then it is our perception of rules and practices that need challenging.

This is Labour Day weekend, a time to remember the long history of labour and the work that is emerging. Even there things changed, from workers being not more than slaves to the wealthy owners and aristocrats to workers having a place of esteem and worth. There was change and hearts and minds had to change, some easily some not so much so. It is important that we give the early champions of labour their due and continue to seek ways to make the relationship between labour and management advantageous to all.

All this being said the essential truth of Jesus to love one another, to do justice and show mercy is not debatable how we go about that may change over time but to do it does not. If the great teachings of Jesus to the Christian church and the world are melted down to “whatever feels right at the time”, then we are in grave danger of extinction. As we move into a time of planning and visioning at St. Mark’s we are committed to holding to the core teaching of Jesus and at the same time inviting ourselves to let go of those things that no longer serve us well. This summer, Kathy and I saw the movie “Winnie the Pooh”. There is great wisdom that come from that wee bear. There is a scene where Pooh is sitting on a log contemplating what to do and he says: “well, I suppose if I’m to go somewhere I’ll have to leave where I’m at”. Indeed, if we are to get somewhere we have to let go of some practices, words, rules that no longer serve our vision. We say thanks to the ways they have served us well in the past, let them go and then live into new and even scary ways of being, that will in time have to change again. The teaching of Jesus to love one another especially those that do not love you is what we cling to. How we do that has, has to and will change. Pooh’s wisdom is both spatial and spiritual, for we will have to leave where we are to get where Jesus is calling.

Sermon for July 1, 2018                  Sixth of Pentecost           “If Only I Could…”

The two healing stories in Mark’s Gospel are woven together for hope, impact, challenge and faith. At first reading they show the mercy and awareness of Jesus and his desire for healing, wellness and life. As the layers are peeled back we are exposed to even greater learnings and insights.

The first story tells of a man of privilege and place in society and church. Jairus represents order, status quo, the ‘true’ faith, and yet here he is talking with Jesus about his daughter. The love for his daughter outweighs any disturbance to his faith beliefs. On his way, Jairus is informed that his daughter has died so why bother Jesus further. Jesus continues to their home and takes Jairus, his wife and the disciples into the little girl’s room. Taking her by the hand, he says: Talitha cum which means ‘little girl get up’. She got up, they were amazed, Jesus asked them to tell no one and to get her something to eat. Hope is deepened and life is restored.

The second healing tells of a women hemorrhaging for twelve years. An outcast, unclean and unwanted, she had gone from doctor to doctor and spent all she had. She was in the crowd as Jesus was travelling to Jarius’ house and only wanted to touch the cloak of Jesus. As soon as she did, she was healed. Jesus felt the healing power flow through him and asked ‘who touched me?’ the woman confessed to touching him and Jesus reply is ‘your faith has made you well’.

For as much as two are healed in this story, many are not. I have sat with and prayed with many families for healing. In my whole career, healing has happened once. All the other times I have conducted a celebration of life, cared for grieving families, and loved ones. In Jesus day and ours some are healed and some are not, it just is and I do not think there is any real explanation and it is certainly not because one had more faith than another did.

The characters in the stories could not be more different. Jarius the man of privilege and named, and an outcast woman, un-named. The common factor is that they both seek out Jesus. Seeking Jesus is what started the journey, surprise is how it ended. How true is that still today.

The man is privileged and has position, the woman has for the past 12 years been bleeding her life force, all her spirit and energy gone. He approaches Jesus from a perspective of power, the woman from the position of outcast. Jesus treats them with the same dignity and respect. Beverly ZInck-Sawyer comments: “ Both victims of illness are female and ritually unclean, one as a result of death and one as a result of hemorrhage; both represent the significance of the number twelve in Jewish tradition (the twelve years of hemorrhage and the twelve year old girl); and both are regarded as daughters (the little girl being Jairus’s daughter and the woman is addressed by Jesus as Daughter). An act of touch restores both women to new life even as those surrounding them lack understanding.”

The question then and now is who has access to Jesus? I know the easy answer is everyone but is that really true. If Jesus were invited to Saint John who do you think would be the first invited? Then the next and the next and then the last. Would we get an invite. I raise this to get us thinking about status and privilege. Let me be clear that if Jesus came to Saint John, I think he would be with the poor and displaced and would outright reject the invitation to a ‘black tie’ event at the convention centre. And if Jesus came to town what lengths would we go to get a glimpse of him or to touch the hem of his garment.

How often do we say ‘if only’ and then leap into the next task.

Time to stop. Stop the ‘what if’ and come to the full realization that Jesus is here. Jesus is in you, Jesus is in me, Jesus is where ever two are gathered in his name. That is a powerful presence. I watched a wonderful face-book video where a teacher was teaching value of self and others. He asked the students to pair up, look the other in the eye and tell the other a truth. Then he asked them to look each other in the eye and say ‘I see me in you’. Barriers clattered to the floor like confetti at a wedding. There were tears and hugs as it began to dawn on these youngsters that they are connected at a heart and spirit level and not by status, looks, colour, or clothes.

In the Gospel story, both Jairus and the woman seek out Jesus from their own place in society. Jesus responds to both with love and compassion and both are not only healed but made well. Mind, body, spirit and heart are brought into alignment with the love of God.

This image of healing and wellness has added a layer to what makes a family of faith, a church, worship vital. Michael Lindvall offers this thought, which I agree with. “We are, in fact, shaped and made human in relationship to other persons. Our relationships: in the church, in friendships and in marriage, are not just something extra added on to life for distractions and entertainment, as if we would be complete human beings in individual isolation. Relationship, ‘touch’ if you will, makes us human and whole. As the contemporary Scottish philosopher John Macmurray on phrase it, ‘I need you in order to be myself’.”

For me and I hope for us, all this starts because we started seeking Jesus and have never stopped. Amen.

Sermon for June 24, 2018              Fifth of Pentecost            “Who Then is This?”

In the Gospel story of Jesus calming the waters, we have Jesus wanting to get some rest after a busy day. His disciples get into a boat with Jesus and head to a quiet spot on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  A storm suddenly rocks the boat. They wake Jesus and ask; do you not care that we are about to perish? Jesus calms the waters and asks the disciples why they were afraid. Then disciples are terrified (some versions say ‘awed’) and say to themselves; who then is this.

When I step back and take a longer look at this story there are some interesting bits that emerge. I know that at least three of the disciples are fishers and fished the Sea of Galilee. I expect that most of the disciples are familiar with fishing on the Sea. Jesus grew up in Nazareth a town nestled in the valley with no Sea, so in our language a ‘landlubber’. So when the Sea whips into a frenzy, as it is known to do, Jesus sleeps and the experienced fishers are fearing for their lives.

When they wake Jesus, he calms the storm and wonders aloud why the disciples are afraid. It is at this point that the disciples are terrified.

Another interesting aspect is that all the waters were calmed so all the boats and people in them were suddenly in calm waters. Jesus then is the teacher for all who come near his influence and the Saviour for those who listen and are inspired by His teaching. Jesus did not calm the waters just around his little boat but for the whole sea. We are not privy to the comments on the other boats but I am sure there was speculation going on as to what exactly happened. I also suspect that when the disciples landed they spread the news of what Jesus had done.

I think that image is vital and essential to understanding Jesus but is only part of the truth of this story.

At least three of the disciples are seasoned fishers, they were afraid for their lives, and so it goes that the others would also have a heightened level of fear. All the while Jesus is sleeping in the back of the boat. In our personal and church life, there are often times when we are afraid. That our world is rocked. In some of these moments, we have the capacity to draw on a strength we did not know we had and that is a great personal learning. In the case of the disciples, they did not gather to devise a strategy; they did not try to solve the problem of the wind and waves. They woke up Jesus. Jesus calmed the wind and waves and the anxiety of the disciples.

There are times when all our cleverness and ability do not solve the problem or our problem. It is in these moments that we, like the disciples, turn to Jesus. Jesus then has the capacity to, in love, offer perspective to the problem, to calm the stormy seas, or make the calm seas stormy. And we are thankful that Jesus is our Saviour.

The part of the story that I find fascinating is at the end. It is after the calming of the storm that the disciples are terrified/awed and exclaim: who then is this! That even the wind and waves obey. Did you get that? After the wind and waves, the anxiety of the disciples is calmed, then they are terrified. It is perhaps the most poignant moment of insight and understanding for the disciples, that they now know their lives have and will be, forever changed.

When placed side by side, believing in Jesus, and heeding his call to be about mission I have a feeling that we are most terrified about the latter. For the first we may have a sense that we will get our hands dirty and our hearts opened but for the latter we have no doubt. That terrifies us, at least it should for we come face to face with knowing that Jesus places in our hands the wellbeing of our neighbours and creation.

I wondered what constitutes a community of faith this week. Here is where I am at with my ever-evolving understanding; we are a group of individuals whose lives have and are being transformed by the glorious love of Jesus. We gather so that our unique skills and gifts can be combined for greater benefit to the mission of Jesus. We gather so that we can be encouraged by each other’s transformation and come to the humble realization that our lives are being transformed.  Like the disciples, we have work to do individually or in small groups, and we have work that requires us all.

It is after Jesus touches our heart with love that we are awed or terrified. Like the first disciples, we follow Jesus and there is no thought of turning back. The ending of the United Church’s Statement of faith rings clearer with sharper focus in light of this story: we are not alone, we live in God’s world. Thanks be to God.