Happy Holidays

With the conclusion of Christmas Eve service, I am on holidays until January 3rd of the new year. I've arranged for the Rev. Christine Crawford to cover any pastoral emergencies that might arise. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

sermon excerpts: "Of Shepherds and Sacraments"

Luke 2: 1-20

We are familiar with the Christmas story, almost desensitized to the fact that the expectant couple was shuffled off to sleep with livestock. I understand that the inn was full, and maybe it’s a cultural difference, but I find it hard to believe that no one offered their room to someone obviously in need of comfort. Or maybe our societies aren’t so different after all – the philosophy of “as long as I’m OK” prevails. The arrival of the Messiah intended to change that.

Throughout his ministry we know how Jesus reached out to the poor, the sick, the disadvantaged and the oppressed. So it is entirely in keeping with this justice-based approach that the shepherds were the first ones to hear the news of Christ’s birth. Angels brought the message to them in the middle of the night, right off the bat. They weren’t the most important people in Bethlehem, surely there were plenty of descendants of David that would have been housed in richly furnished palatial rooms, but these others did not receive word of the Messiah’s coming.

It’s interesting to note that these common shepherds were at the top of the guest list. It was the simple, ordinary shepherds who receive this world-changing news. We don’t know their names, who they are, just that they were shepherds. And isn’t that so much like Christ’s ministry? Bringing goodness and hope to the ordinary, everyday, hardworking, average person.

Now, on a night like tonight, remembering the birth of the Saviour, it seems counterintuitive to celebrate the sacrament of communion, a ritual based on the betrayal, crucifixion and tortured death of Jesus. It helps to remember that communion is a holy celebration of community (there’s a reason why the words sound so much alike). It is a universal invitation to taste of God’s grace. But we also recognize it for the meal that it was, a gathering of friends in a time of holiday.

In recognizing God’s holiness in ordinary everyday things, in simple bread and wine reminding us of Christ’s ministry and commandments, in a baby boy and ordinary citizens of the countryside, we see that great and wonderful things are possible. So as we receive the elements of food and drink, our spirits are nurtured and fed as we remember the fullness of the Christian story: the promise of new life, the agony the world’s unbelief and the still-enduring message of hope, justice, and shalom.

All this from a not-quite ordinary birth in a stable of a too-crowded town, reaching to all of us who are seeking meaning and purpose in life, in struggles and in community. In Christmas and Communion, we celebrate Christ. Blessings of the season to you on this night and always. Amen.

sermon excerpts: "All in the Family"

It is no surprise that the traditional family was not for the Son of God. Society has moved on from the traditional and legalistic notion that marriage was a business transaction, and a means of tracking inheritance processes. The woman as property of one man, her father, becomes the property of another man, her new husband. So when people bemoan the lack of respect we have for traditional marriage, I hold back a chuckle.

The cultural expectations in the time of Mary and Joseph put them in a difficult position, what with the news that she is pregnant with the Holy Spirit’s baby. Joseph could have reacted in so many different ways. He could have gone to Mary and called everything off, pressed charges, had her punished, even put to death even for adultery, according to the laws of the Bible. He could have gone to Mary’s father and demanded that they renegotiate the bride price because she’s damaged goods.

The fact that he didn’t do any of these things, that he paid attention to his dream, signals that he was a man of faith and trust. Joseph was convinced that he was a better person when he was with Mary, that they would be able to become a family. And in the eyes of the public, he would become a bit of a joke – the guy who believed his fiancée when she said she got pregnant by God!

In the face of community suspicion and disapproval, Joseph goes ahead and marries her anyway. They create a family, and certainly not one that would be “normal” or “traditional” by any means. He would love and raise the child of Mary with as much care and dedication as if the baby was his own.

We have a glimpse of what this might have been like as our society has seen parenting become more complex with blended families, shared custody and the legal right for a child to have more than 2 parents. Maybe Joseph realizes that families are messy complicated entities with lives of their own. Joseph chose to be with Mary and create a family with her, regardless of how that happened. It was not the legally proper thing to do, but it was the right thing to do.

On this day of love, we uplift the value of gritty, real-life love that accepts imperfection and flaws. Of course it is an unfortunate caveat of our world that I must also say in the very next breath that any situation that is filled with abuse, fear and intimidation is not love and should not be presented as such. True family and community life are meant to nurture and support one another, to work for the best of everyone involved.

Still, as unconventional and unique our lives and relationships and families may be, we do all share one truth, a truth found in Christ’s name. Emmanuel is God with us. God is with us in the families that are created for us and that we create for ourselves. We find God within the persons closest to us, even within ourselves. That is the promise of Christ: that the prophecies are fulfilled leaving us free to live in the spirit of God’s laws, rather than the literal, translated, and interpreted letter of the law.

Ideally, we offer the benefit of the doubt, unconditional support and loyalty, because we believe that God is with us, and God is within those around us. Living in relationship isn’t always easy, it may not seem worth it sometimes, but the mystery of compassion, care and prayer for one another lends strength, purpose and hope to our days and nights. God’s love and care surrounds us, is with us. Theologians call it “incarnation”; I call it being part of the greater human family.

Ready for The Swell

People going to The Swell worship service on Friday are meeting at Trinity at 5:30 p.m. to arrange carpooling.

The advertised theme is "Whatever", with a throwback to 2002's song "My United States of Whatever":

for Dec. 23 – Matthew 1: 18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’

All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

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What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

sermon excerpts: "This Desert Life"

(Isaiah 35: 1-10; Matthew 11: 2-11)

The texts don’t easily lend themselves to the theme of joy. Matthew talks about John the Baptist in jail and the great truth of his ministry, Isaiah’s vision evokes more a sense of hope than it does of actual rejoicing. There is some joy in the wonder of miracles wrought and prophecies fulfilled, questions are asked and lovely images are created, but to find the joy we need to look beneath the surface. And that is a truth that I’d like us to keep in mind: to find true joy, we need to look beneath the surface.

Here, Isaiah makes some bold promises. The land and all creation will bloom and grow, the assurance that the power of life and growth will triumph over any environmental distress. The last minute agreement on climate change at an international conference in Bali this weekend is reason to rejoice and have hope.

Such is the joyful promise of Isaiah. People will be cured, healed, made strong. He upholds the joy is that things will get easier. That is the promise and the hope. But the main focus is the return of the exiled Israelites, journeying on a highway through the wilderness.

It speaks of an actual pathway of safety and protection from Babylon to Jerusalem, but it also serves as a wonderful image for being the church in the world. We often refer to this scripture for the description of a clear path, where everyone will be empowered and enabled to join the journey. We work for a world where all obstacles cleared away so that everyone might know God’s presence and justice. There would be no excuse or roadblock to accepting the invitation to living in a holy and just fashion.

Snowshovelling is something that I grew up with, living in The Snowbelt. I’d have to dig out the sliding doors to the equipment shed so that Dad could get to the tractor-mounted snowblower. The irony of that task was not lost on me. Years later, I had dubious distinction of living at the longest driveway in Arkona that was shoveled out by hand. At least that what it felt like to me.

Yet there was something satisfying about the work. To visibly see the difference you’ve made because of your time and your labour. So one of the first tasks I undertake upon arriving at the church office during the week is to shovel a path to the door. No one may come visit, but I strongly believe that it sends a message of thoughtful welcome and open accessibility to those passing by. And I likened what I was doing to clearing a pathway for people to church. Literally; and as a metaphor in general.

Yet to hear all these wonderful prophecies by Isaiah, they are cause for hope definitely. But joy? Not yet. All these promises had yet to be fulfilled, they all speak of joy in the future.
Even in Matthew as the followers of John the Baptist marvel at the messianic prophecies coming true, it is difficult to rejoice when your leader is in prison awaiting execution. So the scriptures don’t exactly fill us with happiness and bliss; if anything, we have to take our joy with a grain of salt.

This seems to have translated into our Advent life. All the preparation for Christmas is a time of stress and being run ragged, and the joy of the season can be hard to find. As I thought about John the Baptist in the wilderness and early ascetic monks and nuns being established in the desert places, I figured that they’re onto something.

The desert is a place of solitude and quiet, away from the pressuring crowd and the hustle and bustle and busy-ness. And therein was the search for joy. Recognizing that it could not be found in earthly things, but requires time and effort for soul searching, clearing away distraction and focus on the wonder of creation, of our own lives. It would be a place to take care of oneself, to clear everything else out enough so that you can hear your own spirit again.

So the biblical joy may not have arrived yet, and looking around the world today, we can figure that it won’t be coming anytime soon. But we can’t live our lives, waiting for someone or some thing to arrive to bring us joy. To find true joy, we need to look beneath the surface, to uncover the pathway of safety and protection through the wilderness, to clear off the highway justice and righteousness. To find true joy, we need to look beneath the surface, to tend to our inner spiritual life.

And on a day like today, equipped with snow shovels and warm mitts, we work to make a clear pathway in our world and in our lives, and send message of care and welcome when we do so.

Snow Day

After a phone call from the Clerk of Session, we decided to cancel worship at Appin United this morning, on account of the weather.

At the time of this post, worship at Trinity is still happening at 11:15; but we'll see what the roads are like in the next couple hours.

EDITED to add: And after posting this news and changing the answering machine message at the church, Trinity's Session called to likewise cancel worship this morning.

Happy shovelling, everyone!

AND ALSO: The SMUCKY group meeting tonight is cancelled. Plan to attend The Swell worship on Friday night; meet at Trinity at 5:30 p.m. to carpool.

for Dec. 16: Isaiah 35.1-10

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.'

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveller, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

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What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

sermon excerpts: "It's Not Natural"

Isaiah 11: 1-10
What Isaiah presents in his prophecy is a different world order. It is a lovely picture. It is a wonderful idea. If only wolves and lambs could coexist, bears and cows, goats and calves and lions all together in peace without bothering each other. Sure, it’s a dreamland hearkening back to the Garden of Eden, but it’s just not natural.

Prophets in the Bible, like Isaiah and John the Baptist, go against the grain. They speak against the way things are because they are not right, just or faithful. Isaiah refers to the stump of Jesse’s tree as a comment on the family tree of King David; Jesse was his father. In the time of Isaiah, an enemy empire had swept through the land, destroyed the Holy Temple and exiled the leaders of society.

It was a devastating loss, a time of discouragement and despair. The great tree of the land was gone. Nothing would be the same. Into this reality, Isaiah offers words of hope.

From the leveled stump of a tree, there is the promise of a greater and larger growth. “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch grow out of its roots”. We are reminded that there is more to life than what is visible to the eye. The vast, expansive root system is still working, beneath the scenes to gather and transport nutrients and water to what is left of the tree.

And in our day and age of declining involvement in church and busy schedules that take us elsewhere all the time, it very much feels like the tree of the congregation has been cut down. In our church we very much feel like a remnant or a stump.

The landscape is much different than what the original tree grew in. But new growth is about adaptation and indeed has very different vision than before. The root system is the same, but the trunk and the branches are going to be much different, maybe unrecognizable.

The church, and our local expression of it, is seeking to spring up from the stump of past glory. What that will look like, we’re trying to figure out. Maybe it’s more cooperation with other United Church congregations in the area, or working more closely with our Presbyterian (and Anglican) friends down/across the road. Maybe it will mean more use of technology; I hope it includes outreach and greater understanding of other faith traditions. Somehow it needs to connect body, mind and spirit. What all this relies on is the fact that the spirit of the Lord would be us.

We as ordinary everyday people also carry within us the spirit of the LORD. The Spirit of the Lord fills the people, bringing us to a new energy and expression of peace. Through Isaiah and John the Baptist, we are called to change. To do things that are not natural to us – to seek to make peace, work in cooperation and not competition. What if Isaiah’s scripture read: “the Presbyterian shall live with the Roman Catholic, the Anglican and Pentecostal and the United together, and a little child shall lead them”?

Or Muslim and Hindu, Buddhist and Christian? Then it doesn’t become so flippant and sarcastic, it become the real and desperate hope of so many people of faith. And if it is a matter of survival, we need to work against our natural instinct for self-preservation and be guided into a way of peace and flourishing that is built on knowledge of God, respect for others and ourselves and a willingness to risk. And a little child shall lead us.

Imagining Isaiah's Peaceable Kingdom

I shared this graphic with the kids at Appin (I didn't have time at Trinity - although the kids might have responded better to this than to all my stuffed animals); for those who couldn't see Edward Hick's artwork, here it is:

South Korean Visitors

As it stands now, Glencoe-Appin Pastoral Charge will host 15 university students and leaders of the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea on Friday, January 25, 2008. As such, we will need to provide billets and some assistance with transportation to GessTwood Camp near Windsor.

I'll provide more details as we sort them out and we'll have more discussions closer to the time about what sort of program/worship will be involved. In the meantime, set this day aside and consider how we might express our hospitality, as individuals and as a faith community.

Just think: people are coming all the way from Korea, just to be with us! Well, technically, they'll be coming from Hamilton ... but still, how exciting!

Trinity - Unified Board Meeting notes

An update on the manse was given: a buyer has been found with the deal closing in the new year. The Trustees accepted a cash offer that had fewer conditions of sale than other offers and the manse has been rezoned from "Institutional" to "Commercial/Residential Non-Conforming".

During the Stewards report, we wondered how we might meet the projected increase in monthly expenses next year (approximately an $1000 per month). While interest from investment arising from the manse sale funds will offset some of this, more needs to be done.

This naturally led to the question of how to attract more people to church. The metaphor of a marketing campaign, of energetically promoting a quality product, was mentioned. (Might we even call such a venture "evangelism"?)

What if everyone connected to the church showed up one Sunday? It would be energizing for people to see how valued and important the church is in the community. How could we make this happen?

As an aside, I commented that the church needs to let go of trying to do everything for everyone, which is a discouraging exercise of trying to reclaim the glory years of the church, and focus its ministry – find its niche. It would be more fruitful to identify what is it that we do well, and concentrate on really developing that aspect of our being.

I encouraged people to consider attending The Swell, an "alternative" youth-oriented worship service, to see what attracts young people from all over southwestern Ontario to spend a Friday night in church, seeking the front and centre pews for a 90-minute to praise God.

Initial planning and consultation about Confirmation Class will begin in the new year. I'd like to use mentors in the congregation to match up with confirmation candidates to provide a further degree of connectedness and support.

I'll post an update about hosting a mission trip from South Korea later.

for Dec. 9 – Isaiah 11: 1-10

A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

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What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

The Real Gift

As a worshipper and secondary announcement-maker and pray-er for the White Gift Sevices, I came to the realization that one unmentioned gifts is the fact the children have been given leadership and a place in the church.

If we really believe there is a future for the church, we need to embrace this notion that the church space belongs to the kids. What difference does it really make if the worship service had some snags and imperfections? (Honestly, what Sunday service doesn't have its miscues?)

How freeing it must have been to have permission to make noise in church or run down the aisle like a thundering angel or to preside from the pulpit!

My congratulations and thanks to the Sunday Schools for a job well done and worship services that remind us of why we make all this fuss every year at Christmas.

SMUCKY reschedule

Just a note that tomorrow's Sr. SMUCKY youth group meeting is rescheduled for December 16, in conjunction with the Jr. SMUCKY group.

EDITED to add: seeing as the topic was World Hunger, in the meantime we can donate free rice to those in need while building our vocabulary by clicking here.