There is an epidemic... , February, 2004

The Trouble with Getting Old... , December 28, 2003

Blue Christmas Sermon , December 14, 2003

Doing a 180 , December 7, 2003

Mark 10: 25-35, September 28, 2003

Shall We Dance? June 8, 2003

Short Pieces of String July 13, 2003

Food Glorious Food, July 20, 2003

There Is An Epidemic...
February, 2004

There is an epidemic sweeping across the country. It affects more people that SARS or AIDS, the bird virus or the latest flu. There are no drugs to cure it - no vaccines to prevent it. It can make you miserable. It can even kill you...It is loneliness.

It can strike at any time. The middle of the night when everyone else is asleep but you. On a special holiday - you’re the only one, it seems, who has no plans. At a party, where everyone else seems to feels at home and you are hunched into a corner - just watching.

No one’s immune. People can feel lonely because they don't have the friendships they need. They describe feelings of being isolated, almost as if they are invisible. They are convinced that no one around them understands what that they are going through. They long for friends who would take notice of them, understand and empathize with their situation, and provide a little support when needed. Is that too much to ask?

All of us at times struggle with loneliness - children who feel left out of playground games, adolescent youth who are trying to find their place in the world, single adults who are not married or who are divorced or widowed, parents whose children are growing up and moving on, the elderly who find themselves facing long hours alone.

Not long ago I read a story that really chilled me....three weeks before Christmas of 1993, a man named Wolfgang Dircks died while watching television. Neighbors in his Berlin apartment complex didn’t notice the absence of the 43-year-old. His rent continued to be paid automatically out of his bank account. Five years later, the money ran out. The rent was due and so, at last, the landlord entered Dircks's apartment to inquire. He found Dircks's remains still in front of the TV. The TV guide on his lap was open to December 3, the presumed day of his death. Although the set had burnt out, the lights on Dircks's Christmas tree were still twinkling away.

It's a bizarre story, but it shouldn't surprise us. Every year thousands of people are found accidentally days or weeks after their solitary deaths in the affluent cities and suburbs of the Western world. If a person can die in such isolation that his neighbours never notice, how lonely was he when alive?

Forget about the Information Age: we live in the age of loneliness.

Caught in our aloneness, we hunger for community–sometimes we are so desperate that instead of the real thing, we often settle for a pale imitation . Perhaps there is no better example of this than the television Sitcom "Cheers." It ran from 1982 to 1993 - and is still being re-run. You probably remember the theme song - feel free to join in-, "Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came; You want to be where you can see, Our troubles are all the same; You want to be where everybody knows your name!"

For many people it’s "the soaps" which provide a family, a group of friends whose lives and crises engage a lonely person for hours and even make them forget that these are just stories, not real life. Actors in these daytime dramas often have people approaching them in public places to berate them for their bad behaviour or sympathize with their latest misfortune - as though they really knew each other.

Occasionally that lonely person will venture out to events where he or she is surrounded by crowds of people, but the loneliness persists. There is more to our cravings for community than can be answered by the simple presence of others around us-who hasn't felt lonely in the middle of a crowd? The theologian Kierkegaard, by way of example, once wrote in his Journal that though he was often the life and soul of a party, he was desperate underneath: "Wit poured from my lips, everyone laughed and admired me. But I went away...and wanted to shoot myself."

Our two Old Testament lessons give us examples of lonely people who found a friend when they needed it most.
Naomi was lonely. She and her husband and sons had left Bethlehem because of a famine and had gone to live in the highlands of Moab. Her sons married Moabite women but then tragedy struck and Naomi’s husband and sons all died. Old and weary, Naomi longed to return to the land of her birth. She instructed her daughters -in-law to return to their mother’s home as was the custom. She was prepared to go it alone. But Ruth must have seen the loneliness in her eyes. She loved her mother-in-law and gave up everything that was familiar to her; she risked the possibility of loneliness herself for love of Naomi

Please...please

Don’t make me leave you. Let me come with you.

Wherever you go...I’ll go

Wherever you stay...I’ll stay there too

Your family will become my family

Your God will be the one I will worship

And so they turned their faces toward Palestine.

The journey was about the distance from here to Brandon - we’d do it and back and a day. But thirteen centuries before Christ, for two lone women with little money and no protector, it was a long and dangerous trek. It took them through desolate places but drew them closer together. They became not just mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but inseparable friends.

And then we have the friendship of David and Jonathon. You know how the story begins: David initially thought King Saul cared for him. As a young lad he played music to soothe the king’s fits of depression. Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well. When the men were returning home after battle the women came out of all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines. As they danced, they sang: ‘‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.’’ Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. ‘‘They have credited David with tens of thousands,’’ he thought, ‘‘but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?’’ And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

As far as Saul was concerned, David was his enemy.

It must have been a shock to David —here he was, doing his best and then suddenly he was violently opposed. He was caught in circumstances beyond his control. But, interwoven throughout Saul’s murderous plotting is the extraordinary friendship between David and Jonathan. Saul’s son Jonathan was David’s closest friend. Jonathan attempted to bring about reconciliation between his father and his friend. He appointed himself as mediator, representing David before Saul and nearly lost his own life in the process. Saul was so angry at Jonathan for defending David that he hurled his spear at his son..

Family and friendships involve loyalty. Jonathan had the courage to face conflicting loyalties. Friendship with David must have complicated Jonathan’s life enormously but somehow he remained loyal to his father, yet also loyal to David. In the process, he learned that close friendships can bring about challenging difficulties. Conflict can test the depth of our friendships, but it can also strengthen these ties. Jonathan and David drew closer together when their friendship was tested.

David’s circumstances didn’t change. He was still in great danger, but he was no longer alone. He had a friend.
Friendship for David and Naomi, and for many of us, means quite literally the difference between life and death. Could Naomi have made it all the way alone to Bethlehem?. Would David has survived as long as he did without Jonathon? I don’t think so.

Our final story shows us a group of awkward, anxious, and probably fearful disciples who have just learned that their leader won’t be with them much longer and that they would be left alone. They had followed Jesus in the hope of a Kingdom and a Kingdom would come, but not they way they thought. They needed a friend and Jesus teaches that he truly is their friend.

He commands them to love one another - understanding that love doesn’t just come easily. Think again about the old testament stories - Naomi’s son married a foreign woman - a woman not of their faith - do you suppose it was love at first sight between these two women? I don’t think so. I think their loyalty came through hardships endured together, and love and care for the son and husband they shared. Did love come easily for David and Jonathon? They were rivals for the kingdom, on opposing sides. No it wasn’t easy.

Nor would it be easy for the disciples, and the events in the days to come showed that, and yet Jesus expected that his followers would love one another - even to the extent of dying for one another.

The relationship has changed : they are no longer teacher and pupils, leader and followers, master and servants. They are friends. Jesus has destroyed the barriers of hierarchy and asked them to share in his qualities of forgiveness, acceptance, and love. They have been chosen to be the kind of friend Jesus is:

forgiving one another, sharing the bad times, listening to each other’s troubles,, giving each other courage and strength.

They will fail. They did fail. But because the one who called them friend paid they ultimate price of friendship, they will try again. And fail again and try again. And so will we. So will we.

Amen

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The Trouble with Getting Old ...
December 28, 2003

You know, the trouble with getting old is that you become invisible. Nobody pays attention to you. Nobody listens to you. Nobody even sees you. Let me give you an example: the other day, I was standing in line at the market. I wanted to buy some lamb to add to the lentil stew I had made earlier that morning. Not much. Just a few ounces. It was my birthday. I thought it would be nice to have a little treat. I was almost to the front of the line when a young woman cut right in front of me. For once I spoke up. I said. "Hey, I was ahead of you." And she said "Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you." I know she was busy, she had three little kids with her. But still, I don’t like being invisible.

Even in the temple it happens. People come and go. They make their offerings, say their prayers. They can pass within inches of me and never see me there in the shadows. I’m there every day. And have been for years and years and years.

It wasn’t always like this. When I was young, they said Phanuel’s daughter Anna - that’s me - was the most beautiful girl around. The women of the tribe of Asher were known for their beauty and were expected to marry well. Because they were so lovely they were thought to be suitable for a leader in the community. And it was true that many men from the villages near ours, and even some from Jerusalem, came to see my father Phanuel, to ask if I were old enough to be given in marriage. My father was a good and thoughtful man. "Anna" he’d say, "I want a good husband for you He doesn’t have to be wealthy but I hope he’ll provide you a pleasant home to live in, and that you’ll have no money worries - you know what I mean." But my father also wanted me to marry a man of great faith, someone who would pray regularly and sincerely, who would read the Scriptures to me and take me to the temple on the high holy days. Someone who believed in the coming of the Messiah as our family did.

Of course I was young and romantic. I wanted a man who was handsome and rich. I wanted to live like a princess. But most of all I wanted babies. Lots and lots of babies.

I was barely into my teens when the marriage was arranged. We didn’t meet until our wedding day. I remember I was so scared. But my father had chosen wisely. My husband was a kind and loving man and little by little, I grew to love him. Time went by. I was ready to be a mother. But there were no babies. Not a single baby. I prayed. He prayed. We both prayed. But there were no babies. Then when we had been married seven years my husband died of the fever. It was so fast. One day he was well and strong, two days later we laid him in the tomb. I was devastated.

I prayed that I would find myself to be with child - but it wasn’t long before that dream was shattered. I prayed that I would someday marry again - I was still young, only twenty. It wasn’t too late for me to have children. But no man approached my father...who wanted a woman who couldn’t bear children?

But I had my faith.....And I went to the temple. I worshiped my God there day and night..I fasted...I prayed. I served others who had come to the temple - to the court of the women. I helped them in any way I could. I was always particularly interested in the young families who came to present their baby boys. Oh, when I was younger I was so envious I could hardly bear to look at them but as I prayed to God, I learned to trust that he had another purpose for my life and my envy went away.

Over the years I came to know a man named Simeon. He too spent much of his time in the temple praying. And like the members of my family, he looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. The Holy Spirit had told him that the Messiah would come during his own lifetime but now he was getting on in years - even older than I.

From time to time we’d speak....."Simeon - do you think this will be the day?" I’d ask. And he would always answer "Anna, Anna, only God knows the day of his coming. Be patient. We’ll wait. It will happen."

He was right, you know. Over the years there had been many men who claimed to be the Messiah. But it wouldn’t be long before their true motives were revealed - they wanted to exploit Israel and promote themselves to a glorious position. They’d be the centre of attention and hope for a little while, and then they’d disappear, leaving behind them betrayal and despair. Perhaps as a people we wanted the Messiah too much, longed for him too intensely and that made us vulnerable to those charlatans.

But, let’s face it, the Messiah’s coming had been foretold for hundreds of years. Generation after generation had looked hopefully at each new military leader thinking he would be the one - the one to restore David’s throne and Israel’s glory.

Lately, though I’d been thinking that perhaps we’re on the wrong track. I remembered hearing the words of the prophet Isaiah being read in the temple, " For to us a child is born, to us a son is given"...a shoot shall come forth from the stump of Jesse...and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him...

The wolf shall lie down with the lamb

And the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

And the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

And a little child shall lead them.

I thought to myself: maybe the sovereign God will bring his Kingdom to earth in the weakness of a baby instead of the strength of a champion.

Yesterday I went to the temple, with a special feeling of anticipation. I hadn’t been there long when I spotted a young couple bringing their baby for presentation . I thought to myself : "maybe that’s the one". It’s not that there was anything special about them. They were poorly dressed, and so very young. The mother in her early teens, the father not much older. They made their offering shyly, nervously.

I saw Simeon go over to the couple and take the baby from the mother’s arms. He looked so intently at the baby’s face, as though he saw something nobody else could see. And then from my corner in the shadows of the temple I heard his voice:

Lord, God, you now have set your servant free

to go in peace as promised in your word

my eyes have seen the Saviour Christ the Lord

prepared by you for all the world to see

to shine on nations trapped in darkest night

the glory of your people and their light.

The promise to Simeon had been fulfilled. He would die in peace, knowing that the Messiah had come at last. He rejoiced and praised God. All those years of waiting and praying and never giving up hope.

As for me, I knew that I had seen the Saviour. I might have been invisible to the world but God had seen my faithfulness and allowed me this wonderful moment. I saw, I saw with my own eyes and my own heart that this baby was the Saviour of Israel. I gave thanks to God and ran to tell everyone the good news. Listen! The darkness is over; the light has come. God has sent the Messiah to bring peace and hope and joy and love . I told everyone. Some believed. Others didn’t. But I told them.....I told them. Amen

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Blue Christmas Sermon
December 14, 2003

Last Wednesday evening my husband and I had the joy of watching our 9 year old grandson Matthew in the role of the angel Gabriel in his school play. In his white robe and wings - with real feathers mind you - he looked very impressive. I don’t remember reading about this in the Bible but his job as Gabriel was to whip the heavenly hosts into shape so they’d sing well and on cue at the birth of the baby Jesus. Matthew strode up and down the stage giving orders, the heavenly hosts saluted and sang out good and loud. He was kind of a sergeant-major style of angel.

We see angels all over the place these days, don’t we? I’m quite partial to the one who offers you cream cheese for your bagel as you recline on your fluffy white cloud. And you will all have received Christmas cards in the last few weeks with angels that range from little cherubs to tall elegant beings to kittens with wings.

But what do angels really look like? In the Bible, in the book of Genesis, angels come to visit Abraham and Sarah to tell them they will, at last, become parents. But they just look like ordinary men, seeking a meal and safe lodging for the night. On the other hand, the prophet Isaiah saw seraphim - very high ranking angels: huge creatures with six wings each, In the very last book of the Bible the writer of Revelation gives us pictures of angels who are blowing trumpets and are bright with splendour.

It seems that for a long time we thought of angelic appearances happening only in the Bible, and perhaps only to very important people, on momentous occasions. But in recent years, many people report having had the experience of sensing a presence that has rescued them from a dangerous situation, or they have felt that an unseen being has comforted them or given them guidance just when they needed it the most. Such experiences have not been limited to churchgoers but have often happened to people who didn’t even think of themselves as particularly religious. Here we are in the 21st century, living in an extremely technological age; nevertheless people have begun to be more and more conscious of angels. We have them in our homes, wear them in our lapels, and give them as gifts to those we care about.

In this season of the year, the passages from Luke that refer to the messages of angels around the birth of Jesus are important to us. Those messages have a few things in common. First, they were to ordinary people: Zechariah was religious leader, but was not likely known much beyond his own town and temple. His wife Elizabeth was barren. Her young cousin Mary was just a young girl, engaged to the local carpenter. As for the shepherds, they were barely even respectable, living outdoors as they did with more animals than people for companionship. They were rough and ready men, hardly the type you'd expect to be having spiritual visitors.

The second thing common to these visits was the message they received. Each time the angel spoke he began by saying "Don't be afraid." Even though events are beyond our understanding, the angel says we have no reason to fear. God has a plan for each of us and cares for each of us. Of course the appearance of a supernatural being could cause us to feel alarmed but the message is one of assurance.

And finally, in each of these passages, the angel announces a new life: a baby is going to be born to a woman who thought the hope of children was long lost to her ; another baby to a young girl who didn't know how it could be possible; new life in the most unlikely places and circumstances. And it is here at a service when many are grieving and feeling a great sense of loss that we are also given a message of new life. For the core of the Christian faith is this: that Jesus the Christ, that baby born in a stable, lived, and died, and rose again for us so that we would have eternal life. So that we would know that even as we leave behind our lives on earth and all that we have known and loved here, that there is a place of new life. A place beyond pain and sickness and death. So we have no need to fear.

Even in our darkest time we can be sure that the angel’s message is still true. The angels who announced the birth of Jesus also announced his resurrection: They told his followers who had come to his grave: The one you are looking for is not here; he is risen. Do not seek the living among the dead. Do not be afraid.

And how might we see angels? We may not ever spot a huge winged creature hovering over the horizon. We may not even meet friends who suddenly begin to glow as they speak to us of God’s love for us. But angels do come to us. This fall I was diagnosed with cancer for the second time - and once again faced surgery and follow-up treatments. Not a pleasant prospect. In preparing me for chemotherapy, my doctor said that many people visualize the drugs as an army storming in to fight and defeat the cancer cells in my body. I told him that wasn’t an image that appealed to me but I would think about all the angels surrounding me instead. Because I was surrounded by angels. In a literal sense, there were the angels that some friends from John Black Church "planted" on my front lawn. But there were other angels too. They were the cousin who appeared on the doorstep with a casserole ; the woman next door who offered me regular Reiki massages; a friend who insisted he drive me around when I wasn’t able to, or my sister living in Calgary hundreds of miles away who calmly re-arranged her whole winter so that she could come to be with me during the weeks I had treatments. Angelic messages of comfort and hope came not with the sound of trumpets, but in telephone calls, e-mails and cards. There were words of encouragement, of shared experience, they spoke of prayer.

Were they real angels? They didn’t have wings and long white robes? They were just as likely to be wearing an apron or a baseball cap. But they brought the same message. Do not be afraid. God is always preparing new life for you. You are not alone. The God who made you will never abandon you.

So do not be afraid. For to his Angels God has given a command to guard you in all of your ways.

Thanks be to God .Amen

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“DOING A 180”
Prepare ye the Way of the Lord
LUKE 3: 1-14

Repent! Repent. God’s kingdom is almost here!The time has come!
Make the way straight. Clear the path.....God is coming in glory!
Listen you brood of vipers! Hear me you sinners! Repent! The kingdom is coming.

It is the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Pontius Pilate is governor of Judea; Herod is tetrarch of Galilee...Annas and Caiaphas are the high priests.....


Imagine that you were standing near the river Jordan. You came out to hear the new preacher everyone’s talking about. Brought your family along. Thought you’d make a day of it. The wife packed a lunch, you put in a skinful of wine in case you were thirsty, and there was lots of room for the kids to run around on the riverbank if the sermon was too long. People were saying this John fellow was really something to see. Dressed kind of strange: a loose coat made of camel hair, a leather belt holding it together around his waist . His hair was wild - looked like it hadn’t been washed since last Passover . He would shake his fist and stare at you with those x-ray eyes of his. They said he ate nothing but grasshoppers and wild honey. So, you came out of curiosity.

Or, perhaps you came because you were spiritually hungry a seeker after new truth. You wanted something more than the dry teachings of the priests and rabbis in the synagogue. John’s message was compelling and challenging. He talked about real change.

You might, of course, have been there because you were a Roman soldier. Your job was to keep the peace, to see that the crowd doesn’t get out of hand. To make sure that this man John wasn’t trying to stir up the people against the Romans. You wouldn’t care so much what he had to say. Your job was to keep everything quiet.


Well, it doesn’t really matter why you came or who you are, you’ll all hear the same message from John.... Warnings...threats... You’ll be told that being a religious son of Abraham won’t be enough to get you into this kingdom. That you have to repent.

You have to wonder don’t you- why was John the Baptist so popular? Would we turn out in droves to be yelled at? To be called snakes? To be threatened with burning? Wouldn’t we rather run away, flee from the wrath to come?
As for that word Repent - what exactly does it mean anyway? It's not part of our common everyday language. We hear it in church occasionally, or we may see a sign painted on a rock by the side of the highway - REPENT ! THE END IS NEAR! And we giggle a little nervously and keep on going. Old-style revival preachers use it too: REPENT! PREPARE TO MEET YOUR MAKER. But who listens to them?

I’d wondered about that word for a long time until one night several years ago. I was driving home after Bible study. It was cold and it was icy - It was a Thursday. It was about ten o'clock and starting to snow. As I drove I was thinking about my sermon for Sunday and how hard it is to explain or talk about the word repent - kind of mumbling to myself; getting a little panicky. After all, it wasalready ten o clock Thursday night.

Suddenly, not far in front of me a car slammed on its brakes as it hit a patch of ice. It spun around until it was facing in exactly the opposite direction to where it had been going.
Did my life flash before my eyes? No! Instead I thought "Aha!" There's repentance! That's what John the Baptist was talking about. A complete reversal. A 180 degree turn. Not just a few changes here and there but a new direction for your life.

Repentance is what John is calling for:
He castigates those coming to be baptized as a "brood of vipers," announces "the wrath to come," calls for repentance, says the ax is laid to the root of the trees, and declares the trees not bearing fruit will be "cut down and thrown into the fire." Pretty terrifying stuff.

But John also has answers to their questions. When the crowds ask, "What then should we do?" John replies: "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." When tax collectors coming to be baptized ask what they should do, John tells them: "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." To soldiers who ask, "What shall we do?" John answers: "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages." Practical, clear concrete. A obvious change in behaviour. That’s repentance

The gospel of Luke not only adds to the teaching found in the other gospels but also opens up the message of John the Baptist to Gentiles as well as Jews. Soldiers weren’t Jews, for under Roman law Jews were exempt from military service. When crowds ask John what they should do, he does not tell them to keep the commandments of the Torah. John’s message is the same for Jews and for Gentiles, for everyone. To repent, they are told means to share their clothing and food with the poor, and to be honest and fair.

You know,there is a timelessness as well as a universality to John’s message.

Once again it is Advent, the time of the coming of the Lord. Queen Elizabeth II is in the 51st year of her reign; Jean Chretien is Prime Minister for another week; Adrienne Clarkson is Governor-General of Canada; Gary Doer is Premier of Manitoba and the Pope is John Paul II.

The time is now. The Kingdom is coming.

And once again we hear the words of John the Baptist. Repent. Change your lives. The kingdom is coming and just being a church member won’t be enough to get you in. You must change - do a 180 - and go another way. John the Baptist is not a "fixer-upper" when it comes to human beings. He’s not "Dr. Phil" dispensing benign advice on the Oprah show. He is calling us to turn from our ways to God’s ways. To be ready for the coming of Christ, not just with the outward appearances of nicely decorated sanctuaries and wreaths on our front doors and a general spirit of good will. Not just by giving out of our extra abundance but sharing equally with those in need; not just by token gifts to the church , but giving as much as we are able for the work of bringing God’s reign here and now. Of course many of you are already doing that - the kingdom has come for you and you are part of it. But John calls the rest of us to repent, to turn around. To do a 180.

A number of years ago a delightful poem by Jenny Joseph was being circulated so you may have seen it. Some have, and formed a "Red Hat" Club, others have taken its title Fair Warning as the name for their choir:I’ll read you a bit of it:

WARNING
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens . . .

The poem ends...

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Last year a minister named Allison Seed, of Trinity Presbyterian Churrch in Independence Missouri, wrote her version of this poem and I found it on the internet and saved it.... (and miracle of miracles was still able to find it)It speaks to our season of Advent - the church’s purple season.....our time of repentance. It goes like this:

When the church is waiting faithfully, we shall wear purple
With a mixture of ages and races that doesn’t suit society.
And we shall spend our offerings on bread and sweet wine
and banquets for rich and poor and say we have no money or time for witch hunts,
We shall sit down on the pavement with the weary
And shall share the fruit of God’s creation with the stranger
And run with the most visionary among us
and make up for the narrow thinking of our youth.
We shall go into the most desperate of neighbourhoods in the dark
And plant flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to laugh.
We can wear skins of many colours and grow thin or thick
And worship with Bach or Rock
Or only with the simplicity of the psalms
And save souls and lives and nations for the rest of our days.
But maybe we ought to practice a little now?
So the angels and saints who knew the babe who died and was raised
are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly the church waits faithfully and starts to wear purple.

Amen

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Mark 10:25-35, September 28, 2003

James and John are sauntering along the beach. Beside the sea of Galilee...not far from the place they used to tie up their fishing boats. That life seemed far away now.

“Remember the day we just up and quit? Man, Dad was steamed. Said we were tossing our futures overboard.”
It was nearly three years ago. Jesus’ invitation to them was irresistible: “Come and follow me.” They put down their nets. They clambered out of their boats. They waded knee-deep into shore and life was never the same again. Were they glad? Did they regret it? Who had time to think about it?

They were always on the move. From Capernaum, up into the hills, to the country of the Garasenes, back and forth across the Sea of Galilee, stopping at Nazareth, Tyre and Sidon , and all those little villages.Those were exciting times - an age of miracles: the blind saw, the lame walked, the sick were healed, demons were cast out.

And now they were on the way to Jerusalem - to the big city. Wow! Their leader’s day in the sun was coming.

James and John inhaled deeply - breathed in the sweet sweet smell of success. They were full of confidence and hope. The journey to Jerusalem was the road to glory. Hallelujah brother. They continued walking on the beach, heads close together - a very private conversation. Over the sound of the waves they could hear opportunity knocking. A new kingdom is on its way - lets make sure of our place in it - right now.

Suddenly they spot Jesus. They’re not sauntering now, they’re walking briskly. Quickly they take Jesus aside:

“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. We’re ambitious, up and coming kind of guys. But we need your help.”

“So, what can I do for you?”

“Simple - give us power, give us status, give us authority. Let one of us sit beside you on the right, the other on the left. Doesn’t matter to us which is which. Just make sure it’s us."

Jesus sighs. “You don’t have a clue, do you? All this time we spent together and you still haven’t caught on.”

The most important person in my kingdom is a little child.If you want to rule you must become a slave. When my kingdom comes God will put down the mighty and promote the lowly.

James, John, Don’t you get it? Your destiny is discipleship. Your future is to follow me. Can you do this? Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptised with my baptism?

On this day when we have baptised little children, Jesus’ question echoes in our ears. And it jars our sensibilities. What has this question to do with cuddly babies and beaming grandparents. What has this to do with the hopes and dreams parents have for their children? What has this to do with us?

And what is this cup? What is this baptism?

The prophet Isaiah described it this way:

He was oppressed and he was afflicted...
A lamb led to the slaughter cut off from the land of the living. And they made his grave with the wicked...although he had done no violence. He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus’ cup was death. His baptism was persecution. His throne was a cross.

On this day when we have baptised little children, Jesus’ question echoes in our ears. And it jars our sensibilities. What has this question to do with cuddly babies and beaming grandparents. What has this to do with the hopes and dreams parents have for their children? What has this to do with us? Well, the hard news is that it has everything to do with us. Because the question reminds us that the Christian life has less to do with cuteness and cuddliness and more to do with the cross.

The Christian life has nothing to do with position and status but is to be lived as a life of self-denial; of loving our enemies, of giving all we have to the poor.

Can we drink this cup. Can we be baptised with this baptism? Are we able?

The answer is, of course, that we are not. We will fail; these little children will fail, just as the disciples failed.

That’s the bad news.

Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem and there was that wonderful, triumphant entry that we love to read every Palm Sunday.

But by Friday, on his right and on his left were not ambitious disciples but a thief and a murderer.

Can you drink this cup, you who have promised to follow me? Can you accept this baptism, you who have promised to follow me?

James and John were so ready with their answer.“Of course we can!...We’re with you all the way. Right to the end.
But they didn’t really know the end. They didn’t perceive what lay ahead in Jerusalem - even though they had been told. Even though they had been warned. Even though Jesus had said “Whoever would follow me must carry a cross.” They didn’t catch on.

The Kingdom came. Their leader’s day came. But his throne was a cross. And on his right and on his left were not ambitious disciples but a thief and a murderer.

We know that when the disciples came to the end of the road, they failed. They fell asleep at prayer. They ran away. One denied. One betrayed.

But, friends, hear the good news. We heard it today in the book of Hebrews:

Jesus is the high priest who sympathise with our weakness - having
experienced temptation himself. That Jesus is the high priest who
identifies with human suffering and understands our needs but has
overcome the world. He is the we can draw near to with confidence. The
throne that was a cross is a throne of grace where we receive not only
forgiveness but strength.

Can we drink the cup? Can we be baptised? Are we able? No. Not by our own efforts. Not with our own courage. But in the strength of Jesus who lived and died and lives again.

Thanks be to God. Amen

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Food Glorious Food

John 6:11, July 20, 2003

This may come as a shock to you but I'm going to tell you anyway. Are you ready? Here it is. ..."I am not perfect." I have a little weakness here and there. A flaw or two. Actually I'm just going to tell you a couple. If I went further we'd be here all day.

First of all I have absolutely no sense of direction. I can learn directions. I can memorize locations. If the sun is shining I can even figure out east and west. But instinct gets me nowhere. Unlike my mother. Doesn't matter where you are, she just has a feeling that the place you're trying to get to is "over there to the left" and that's where it turns out to be. Every time. A glance at a map, a swift look around, and she's all set. I didn't inherit this gift.

To go along with this weakness, I have a matching flaw. I refuse to ask directions. It's just too embarrassing. I'd rather keep wandering around, hoping for the best. Who wants to go up to a total stranger and admit they're lost? Not me. Besides, I've tried it once or twice and ended up even more confused. So if you're with me and we get lost and you think "Let's ask someone." Leave me out of it. You go ask. I'll wait here pretending I don't know you.

You'd think I'd learn. But I don't. About ten years ago I took a trip to England. Was mostly on a bus tour but then had a few days in London all by myself. Thanks to a friend's advice, I located a very nice bed and breakfast, close to the tube, very close to the British Museum. On Sunday morning I got up and went to church (Westminster Abbey is hard to miss even for me) and came back to my B and B after lunch to have a little rest. When I woke up, I thought, what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than at the British Museum. And it's right around the corner, I can see it on the map. That's when I learned. London doesn't have corners. It has twists and turns and roundabouts. It doesn't have corners. Also I misread the map. I walked for 2 hours. It was April. The sun was weak. I was catching cold. And I was lost. But I didn't show it. People kept stopping me and asking me for directions. By then I'd passed so many landmarks I was often able to help them. But I was lost. Somehow, eventually - I found my way back - imperfectly but I got there. When I got to my little room I crawled into bed, pulled up the covers and stayed there till morning. I have yet to see the British Museum.

In preparation for this sermon, I spent some time reading about sheep and shepherd this week. I've come to believe that sheep have no sense of direction. They are always accused of being stupid. But getting lost isn't necessarily a sign of stupidity is it? Surely it's just a minor imperfection, a lack of concentration, getting distracted. That's why sheep need shepherds. They simply lack the instinct to keep themselves organized. They nibble a little grass. Wander off to a patch
that looks greener. Wander some more. Lie down to have a nap. Get turned around. They need a shepherd.

In today's Gospel reading we are told that Jesus looked around at the crowds following him and saw them as sheep without a shepherd. Lost. Unable to find their way home. Needing someone to lead them, guide them, help them when they fell over a cliff or got caught in a bramble bush. He was filled with compassion.

In another passage Jesus talks about himself as a shepherd - a good shepherd:

a good shepherd who calls his own sheep by name;
they know his voice;
a good shepherd who lies down across the opening to the sheep fold
- anyone who wants to harm his sheep has to get past him first;
a good shepherd who will, if necessary, lay down his life for his
sheep.

Sheepkeeping is not a job for the weak ; it is not for the fainthearted. It is a hands-on job - you can't just stay in your office thinking good thoughts about your sheep; making alphabetical lists of all your sheep's names, reading the latest books about sheep and sheepkeeping, you have to be out there where the sheep actually are. You can't be like the shepherd depicted by a New Yorker cartoon a while ago. It pictures a slender, bespectacled man standing before a flock of sheep. He is dressed in a cap, windbreaker, slacks and shoes ill suited to the task. He carries a briefcase. He says, "Your shepherd Louie has retired. I'm Mr. Smathers. I will be your ....grazing-resource coordinator ...and... flock welfare and security manager."

Oh you could try to be that kind of shepherd, but the sheep won't ever know your voice; they won't follow you in trust; if they are lost they'll call somebody else to come and find them.

Now, finding sheep is the toughest, most dangerous part of being a shepherd. It can take you to the edge of a cliff, down the steepest ravine, into the territory of wild animals. But a good shepherd doesn't hesitate. A good shepherd just goes.

Do you remember the old children's hymn: There were ninety and nine?
(You're welcome to sing along)

There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold.
But one was out on the hills far away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare.
Away from the tender Shepherd's care

But all through the mountains, thunder riven
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heaven,
Rejoice! I have found My sheep!
And the angels echoed around the throne,
Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!

I think my favourite stories that Jesus tells are all "lost and found" stories. The searching until the lost one is rescued, the patient waiting, the welcome home and rejoicing. I love them all. The shepherd who leaves the good well-behaved sheep behind and goes out after the one who wandered off; the woman who turned her house upside down to find a coin - it was that precious to her, the father who welcomed home his son- even though he had gone so far astray. The good shepherd never gives up.

Let me finish by telling you the story of what happened to a man named John. John was walking home from work one evening - he decided to take a short cut through a field near his home. He was just lallygagging along, not watching where he was going, when suddenly he tripped over a rock and fell into a deep hole.

He couldn't get out. He yelled for help. Nobody came. After a while he stopped yelling. He'd wait till he heard footsteps, then he'd call out some more. A group of his friends from work had not been very far behind him. For sure they'd help him out. When he heard them coming he yelled as loud as he could. They gathered around the hole. Hey John, they yelled, whatcha doing down there? We always knew you'd fall down one day, the way you walk around with your head in the clouds. Serves you right. And they went away, laughing and slapping each other on the back. John is still in the hole. Again John heard footsteps and called out. But, whoever was walking through the field was terrified at hearing a voice coming out of the ground and ran away. Not long after that a woman - a neighbour of his - came by. She'd been to the nursery to pick up a few more plants for her garden. She heard John yelling and came over to see. The sight of him offended her. He was a mess. And what an ugly hole, she thought to herself. It's a disgrace to the neighbourhood. So, being a woman of good heart, she planted her marigolds all around the hole. Very pretty. She went home feeling quite pleased with herself. But John was still in the hole. Then came another neighbour, an fine upstanding citizen he was. They were after him to run for mayor of the town. He heard John and he saw the hole. And was horrified. People had no business getting so close to that hole. It was dangerous. He ran home and came back with a sign he had made very quickly. He'd have a better one made in the morning but this would have to do. It said "No trespassing. Keep away from this hole." He pounded in the stake firmly, feeling very civic-minded and pleased with himself. But John was still in the hole.

John was about ready to give up. His voice was hoarse. He was hungry. He was scared. He heard another set of footsteps, walking slowly as though the owner of those feet was tired too. He called once more : Help. The footsteps stopped. The man walking by was just passing through town - a transient - no fixed address. He looked down at John. "What's your name, buddy?" "John" "Well John, you just reach up your arm to me. I know what it's like getting stuck in a hole. I've been there, done that. You can't get yourself out, no matter how hard you try. But you just reach up to me and I'll do the rest. Come on now, give me your hand." And he did. John was finally out of that hole.

And do you know who that stranger was? Do you know? Of course you do.

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The Lord does his dance with all the wrong people;
with slaves and lepers and tax collectors,
with cursing fishermen and adulterers and thieves,
with outcasts and castoffs.
He dances with the unclean and the orphan, with the displaced and the
broken.

And he won't dance with us...
he won't dance with us
until we become
(of all things)
as little children;
Until we admit that we are the needy,
we are the outcasts,
we are the orphans.
Then he says:
Come unto me !
And we become the accepted unacceptables,
our brokenness is bound,
And we are able to follow the dance.
The music is never-ending
And if we miss a step or two,
Or if we fall exhausted,
the Lord is always there to pull us to our feet.

So come now, let's dance in the temple !
Let's dance in the city !
Let's dance in the sanctuary and in the streets !
Let's join hands and dance where
the music leads us,
For the Lord's dance is never-ending;
The music goes on forever.!

A little boy stood dejectedly in his back yard, tightly clutching a piece of string. Earlier that afternoon he had laughed out loud as he watched his bright red balloon floating in the sky. But the string had broken, and now the balloon was gone. There was nothing but his piece of string. His mother came out and said, "Why are you just standing there with that piece of string? Go find something else to play with. Your balloon is gone." "I know it's gone" came the reply. " But when I hold on to the string, I remember how beautiful it was and I can still feel it tug. Just a piece of string. But it held beauty and joy.

Fred Craddock, my favourite preacher and story teller says that the Bible was written by people who had to put life together with short pieces of string The Bible was not written, he says by some relaxed person, all lathered up with sun screen under an umbrella by the beach drinking lemonade. The Bible was written by people who put life together with short pieces of string. The same might be said of those followers of Jesus who put together the early church. It didn't come fully formed. It wasn't at all obvious what would come next. They didn't have much to go on. But Jesus had made promises to them. Now they found themselves having to face a period in which they would simply have to wait for Christ's promise to them to come true.

After the resurrection - for many days - Jesus visited with his disciples on several occasions. They'd be in a closed room - and suddenly he was with them. Or they'd be fishing and see him building a fire on the beach, ready for breakfast. They heard his voice interpreting the Scriptures, they saw his wounded hands break the bread and share it around the table.
In those days after Easter, he taught them, he encouraged them, he commissioned them to bring his story and its salvation to the world, and then - on the day of his ascension into heaven, when they were standing around with their daytimers and palm pilots anxiously asking him when his kingdom would be established, when the next installment of the divine plan would take place, he tells them " It's not up to you to know. It's none of your business." Their job? Go back to Jerusalem - and wait,
wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit -
wait for the power they would need to witness to him there,
and in Judea and all of Samaria, and ultimately in all the world.

And then Jesus ascended into heaven right before the eyes of his disciples
to take his place as Lord at the right hand of God the father. Just like that, he was gone.

In one sentence it is accomplished, "a cloud took him out of their sight". And there they stood, like the little boy who lost his balloonn. Clutching their short pieces of string. Unable to move on. Two angels, two messengers came along just then and asked them:
"Men of Israel - why do you stand looking up toward heaven?
This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will
come back to you the same way he left."

They couldn't just stand there gawking. Looking at the sky till their necks got sore. Their leader had given them orders They had a mission to fulfill. And so they returned to Jerusalem as they had been commanded and waited there for his promise to them to be fulfilled. On the way, they must have turned over and over in their minds the words Jesus had said to them.

And while they waited - they devoted themselves to prayer. Prayer. One of those short pieces of string. One of the ways of staying tied to the one whom they had loved and followed these three years past. He had taught them to pray. Taught them by his example. Taught them to begin by
saying: "Our Father....

When the disciples returned to Jerusalem - they stayed together, in fact they joined themselves with the rest of those who believed in Jesus, with Mary and his brothers and many others, and they sought to be one as Christ had prayed that they would be. Although they scarecely knew what else to do, by staying together praying together, they prepared themselves for the job Jesus had told them that they would do when the Holy Spirit came. Now we have two short pieces of strong - prayer and fellowship - keeping them tied to one another and to Jesus. Helping them to be ready for the coming of the Spirit.

They had another , a third piece of string: trust and confidence that what had been promised to them would come to pass.

And as they "moved on", stopped staring at the sky and went on about the work that was left for them to do, they needed a new leader - remember Judas was no longer with them. And so they elected Matthias. Another "short piece of string" For he was never to be a "mover and shaker" like Peter or John, preaching to huge crowds, he was not one of the inner circle, although in order to qualify he had to have been with Jesus since his Baptism, but in fact, once Matthias was chosen, the Bible never speaks of him again. Still, Matthias filled in the broken circle. He brought wholeness to the group.

And so the early church was put together with short pieces of string: stories and prayer, fellowship, trust, and leadership.

And in the church today, we continue to build with short pieces of string. I asked a few people who have been deeply involved in Bile Study for a couple of years now this question: What difference does it make that you are in a study group? There were many answers - but it came down to this: rather than a blind faith, there was a surer faith, based on being linked to the stories of all the faithful who have gone before, rather than a blind faith, an understanding combined with trust. A pretty substantial piece of string.

And there is fellowship here - whether it is a group of young women going to a movie together, or a choir practicing, or helpers crowding into a kitchen after a funeral to wash dishes. More string.

And angels who ask questions. And some who give guidance. And stories to help us grasp what is going on. And leaders like Matthias. There when they are called on, doing what needs to be done - not famous, sometimes not heard about at all, but one of the strings that make up the fabric of the church.

Today in your bulletins you received a short piece of string and I must thank Sigrid and David for patiently placing them in there. I hope that you will take it home to remind you of the things that give you strength in your daily life. We are blessed with our community, our leaders, the stories of people's faith and God's faithfulness as told in Scripture.

Thanks be to God, Amen

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