Water is essential for life. Yet we can easily take a plentiful supply forgranted here in Canada, with one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the world, and many lakes and rivers and underground aquifers.
But in the desert Moses and the Hebrews wandered in, the story of Exodus, and in the land of Samaria, where Jesus encountered this unknown woman at the well, water was not taken forgranted. It was highly valued.
In our scriptures water is a symbol of life, both for the Hebrew people of Exodus and for the Samaritan woman.
Yet the Hebrews and the Samaritan woman had a thirst which couldn’t be quenched by the water the earth provided, but only by the grace and love of God.
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman, the furthest thing from her mind was that her life would be transformed by meeting this Jewish stranger.
Who knows what she was thinking as this man approached her and asked for water.
Up until that point she seems to have led a challenging life. That’s why she’s gathering water in the heat of the day, when no-one else is around.
What strikes us about this remarkable story, one of the longest dialogues in the Gospels, is that God reaches out to this woman through Jesus, offering her grace and healing she has never found before.
What makes this all the more remarkable is that Jesus, as a Jewish man, would never have been expected to have any contact or conversation with a Samaritan, let alone a Samaritan woman.
Samaritans and Jews were bitter enemies. They did not share things in common.
Samaritans built their own Temple at Mount Gerazim in competition with the Temple of Jerusalem. Jewish troops destroyed the Samaritan temple in 128 BC.
So this meeting broke all society’s unwritten laws, a man speaking to a woman, a Jew speaking to a Samaritan.
And the well was the domain of the Samaritan woman.
John tells this story at length to show the world the good news of Christ—the living water—is for all of us, men and women, of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Jesus breaks down the barriers which keep us apart to bring the living water of Salvation.
This is part of the signs and wonders Gospel we are now studying each Monday afternoon.
John was written about 90AD in the context of an early Jewish Christian community which had been expelled from synagogue and Temple worship.
The Gospel writer makes it clear Christ is the saviour, not just of the Jews, but of Gentiles as well, and even hated rivals, such as the Samaritans.
In fact, it is the Samaritans, represented by the woman at the well and her fellow villagers who are the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the saviour, the Son of God.
Perhaps one of the most misunderstood parts of the story is the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman over her past. Jesus tells her she has had five husbands. Some commentators have used this to suggest she was of questionable moral chracter.
But we notice that Jesus doesn’t say anything to her about sin, and forgiveness, as he does in other stories, like the woman caught in adultery.
Perhaps the Samaritan woman had suffered enough from her bad choices in life.
Jesus gave her the peace and strength she needed to carry on. He gave her the living water of salvation by revealing himself to her as the Messiah after she had first called him a prophet.
Now I’d like to go back to the story from Exodus. We have those murmuring, grumbling, complaining people of Israel, whining about a lack of water. Rather than rejoice that they have escaped slavery in Egypt they are giving Moses a hard time, demanding action.
We’d be better off back in Egypt, they said. At least we’d have water.
The people of Israel are suffering from a crisis of faith. They knew God had brought them this far, saved them from Pharoah’s army.
But the desert was a scary place. They were thirsty. And they began to doubt whether God would provide the water they needed to stay alive. They were in a foreign land. Their fear turned to anger with Moses and with God.
Sure God had parted the Red Sea. But that was past. Now they were thirsty, and someone had better do something about it.
As they were to learn, with God all things are possible. In spite of their lack of trust in God, the rocks explode with living water when Moses strikes them.
God reached out to those grumbling Hebrews, and he reached out to the Samaritan woman.
As Christians we believe God reaches out to us through Jesus, providing us with the living water we need, our faith through the Holy spirit.
Each of us probably has a story about a thirst we can not quench through the water of the world. And we each probably have a story of the saving grace of God which we have finally accepted.
The reassuring thing about the story of the Samaritan woman is its offer of redemption to those who are rejected by the world.
The Samaritan woman begins the journey to faith by sharing her encounter with her friends and neighbours, who come to meet Jesus too.
This unnamed woman becomes a disciple of Christ, despite her faults.
So we can all be disciples, whatever our shortcomings. One interesting footnote to the story is that the disciples who were not with Jesus when he encountered the woman, are shocked that he would speak to her. But when they learn about this meeting, they are afraid to ask him about it.
Henri Nouwen, a well known Christian author, coined the term “wounded healer” to refer to the ministry we undertake in following Christ.
We admit that we are all wounded in some way, and try to offer what we can to love God and love our neighbour.
Let us give thanks during this Lenten pilgrimage that God’s grace is a gift, whatever wounds we bear.
Monday 28 March 2011
Monday 21 March 2011
Transfiguration for us?
Homily Lent 2, March 20, 2011
I don’t know about you, but watching the earthquake, and tsunami, and nuclear tragedy unfold in Japan has been difficult for me.
It is hard to watch the suffering and death among my fellow human beings. Thanks to modern technology we have a much clearer idea of what is happening---the devastation, the shock and sadness of the faces of the people.
Perhaps that’s why I’d like to begin my meditation on the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ with a brief story to brighten your morning:
A teacher in a Sunday school class was reading the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus from Matthew’s Gospel, and she notice one little boy seemed confused.
When she finished reading she asked him: “Johnny, why don’t you tell us where Jesus was in the story?”
“He was on a mountain,” he replied.
“Yes, that’s right,” the teacher said. “Now, do you remember why he was up there?”
“I guess that’s where his math class was,” said Johnny, still looking a little confused.
The teacher looked at him and wondered what he was talking about. “What do you mean— Jesus didn’t have a math class.”
“Well,” Johnny replied. The Bible said Jesus went up the mountain and he began to FIGURE.”
Well we won’t be having math class here this morning. Instead of figuring, we are considering this mountain top experience---this transfiguration of Jesus and what it means to us in our spiritual journey this Lent.
When Jesus takes Peter, James, and John on top of the mountain—he is transfigured before their eyes—which means his appearance changes to pure white—whiter than they had ever seen.
And the spirits of Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, appear along with him.
The voice from above says: “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”
When we marked the Baptism of Christ at the beginning of Epiphany, the celebration of Christ as the light of the world, the voice from heaven used these same words.
The second time God adds: “Listen to Jesus.”
Following the Transfiguration, Jesus begins his final journey to Jerusalem, towards the Cross on Calvary. We follow him on this path each year as we mark the Lenten season.
The Transfiguration is an important story in many ways. It vividly depicts God’s light shining through Jesus to prepare his disciples for the challenges ahead.
It also teaches us that we can’t stay on the mountain top in our spiritual journey.
The disciples didn’t have an easy time listening to Jesus. Peter, who later denies Christ three times, testifies to Christ’s power and glory in the transfiguration story.
Indeed in his letter—now part of scripture-- he mentions the story of the Transfiguration, the only mention of it outside the Gospels.
The Transfiguration story also reinforces the Jewish roots of our Christian faith, being patterned on the story of Moses meeting God on the mountain in the Book of Exodus.
The story of the Transfiguration, with its supernatural character, is a key moment in the Gospel story, not so much for Jesus as for his most trusted disciples.
It was, for them, a sign. After all, while they had accompanied Jesus in his ministry of teaching and healing, they would need the Transfiguration: this vision of God shining in the face of the man they knew as their master and friend to inspire them on their journey.
Perhaps this vision gave them more clarity, more capacity to see God’s hand at work through Jesus, and then shining forth through their own efforts.
Rather than focus on the darkness of the world, the Transfiguration offers us an image of God’s light breaking in dramatically, transforming, enlivening and energizing God’s people—a light in the midst of darkness.
On that mountain-top Jesus is temporarily transported into the timeless cosmos—a vision of God’s love for humanity. But, like the disciples, we can’t stay there. We have to live in a hurting world.
And we are reminded that despite the apocalyptic or end times scenes of death and destruction, through wars, earthquakes, fires, and floods, that we are called to live in the present as God’s faithful servants, and continue as Christ did, on our journey.
As a parish celebrating 85 years of mission and ministry this year, we need to also consider the lessons of the Transfiguration.
We can’t compare what our parish life was in the 50’s, 60 and 70’s—when the Sundays schools and pews were full, and the church was a centre for the surrounding community, with the hall in constant use.
Perhaps that was a mountain top experience for the church in some ways; for Canon Davis and for many other parishes.
However, times have changed and we have to deal with the same reality Jesus and his disciples dealt with when they came down from the mountain, a hurting world in need of healing.
Perhaps our vision of what our life as a parish has to be Transfigured, so we can find new ways of shining the light of the love of Jesus in this community.
We have to think outside the box, and try new things. Let us pray as we observe our Lenten journey that we find strength to love and serve Jesus.
I don’t know about you, but watching the earthquake, and tsunami, and nuclear tragedy unfold in Japan has been difficult for me.
It is hard to watch the suffering and death among my fellow human beings. Thanks to modern technology we have a much clearer idea of what is happening---the devastation, the shock and sadness of the faces of the people.
Perhaps that’s why I’d like to begin my meditation on the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ with a brief story to brighten your morning:
A teacher in a Sunday school class was reading the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus from Matthew’s Gospel, and she notice one little boy seemed confused.
When she finished reading she asked him: “Johnny, why don’t you tell us where Jesus was in the story?”
“He was on a mountain,” he replied.
“Yes, that’s right,” the teacher said. “Now, do you remember why he was up there?”
“I guess that’s where his math class was,” said Johnny, still looking a little confused.
The teacher looked at him and wondered what he was talking about. “What do you mean— Jesus didn’t have a math class.”
“Well,” Johnny replied. The Bible said Jesus went up the mountain and he began to FIGURE.”
Well we won’t be having math class here this morning. Instead of figuring, we are considering this mountain top experience---this transfiguration of Jesus and what it means to us in our spiritual journey this Lent.
When Jesus takes Peter, James, and John on top of the mountain—he is transfigured before their eyes—which means his appearance changes to pure white—whiter than they had ever seen.
And the spirits of Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, appear along with him.
The voice from above says: “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.”
When we marked the Baptism of Christ at the beginning of Epiphany, the celebration of Christ as the light of the world, the voice from heaven used these same words.
The second time God adds: “Listen to Jesus.”
Following the Transfiguration, Jesus begins his final journey to Jerusalem, towards the Cross on Calvary. We follow him on this path each year as we mark the Lenten season.
The Transfiguration is an important story in many ways. It vividly depicts God’s light shining through Jesus to prepare his disciples for the challenges ahead.
It also teaches us that we can’t stay on the mountain top in our spiritual journey.
The disciples didn’t have an easy time listening to Jesus. Peter, who later denies Christ three times, testifies to Christ’s power and glory in the transfiguration story.
Indeed in his letter—now part of scripture-- he mentions the story of the Transfiguration, the only mention of it outside the Gospels.
The Transfiguration story also reinforces the Jewish roots of our Christian faith, being patterned on the story of Moses meeting God on the mountain in the Book of Exodus.
The story of the Transfiguration, with its supernatural character, is a key moment in the Gospel story, not so much for Jesus as for his most trusted disciples.
It was, for them, a sign. After all, while they had accompanied Jesus in his ministry of teaching and healing, they would need the Transfiguration: this vision of God shining in the face of the man they knew as their master and friend to inspire them on their journey.
Perhaps this vision gave them more clarity, more capacity to see God’s hand at work through Jesus, and then shining forth through their own efforts.
Rather than focus on the darkness of the world, the Transfiguration offers us an image of God’s light breaking in dramatically, transforming, enlivening and energizing God’s people—a light in the midst of darkness.
On that mountain-top Jesus is temporarily transported into the timeless cosmos—a vision of God’s love for humanity. But, like the disciples, we can’t stay there. We have to live in a hurting world.
And we are reminded that despite the apocalyptic or end times scenes of death and destruction, through wars, earthquakes, fires, and floods, that we are called to live in the present as God’s faithful servants, and continue as Christ did, on our journey.
As a parish celebrating 85 years of mission and ministry this year, we need to also consider the lessons of the Transfiguration.
We can’t compare what our parish life was in the 50’s, 60 and 70’s—when the Sundays schools and pews were full, and the church was a centre for the surrounding community, with the hall in constant use.
Perhaps that was a mountain top experience for the church in some ways; for Canon Davis and for many other parishes.
However, times have changed and we have to deal with the same reality Jesus and his disciples dealt with when they came down from the mountain, a hurting world in need of healing.
Perhaps our vision of what our life as a parish has to be Transfigured, so we can find new ways of shining the light of the love of Jesus in this community.
We have to think outside the box, and try new things. Let us pray as we observe our Lenten journey that we find strength to love and serve Jesus.
Sunday 13 March 2011
Lent 2011: Facing Temptation
Homily Lent 1 Yr. A
Sackcloth & ashes & psalms penitential,
bowing & scraping, looking reverential.
ashes on foreheads, repenting of sins –
these are a few of our Lenten things..
Downcast expressions & copious masses,
Beating of breasts & whipping of lashes,
No chocolate, no fun, no drinking of gin –
These are a few of our Lenten things..
When the sun shines,
When our hearts sing,
When we're feeling glad,
We simply remember our Lenten things,
& then we feel quite bad.
(to the tune of My Favourite Things, from Sound of Music)
Well, I don’t think those will ever be sung on stage anywhere. But that’s perhaps the popular impression of Lent, a season when Christians are supposed to drop their alleluias and glorias from worship, give up something, preferably a vice, and engage in prayer, confession, and study to prepare ourselves for the Easter feast to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
There’s some truth to the popular impression. Lent, for those Christians who observe it, is an important time of self examination and penitence. It is a yearly reminder of the cross we bear as Christians. We are connected to the journey to the cross, and the sacrifices made by Jesus, as he offered up his life on our behalf.
Since Lent is a time of self-examination for individual Christians, it is also a time of self-examination for Christian communities—congregations who are called to mission and ministry in God’s church.
Here at Canon Davis we are in the midst of a critical time in the 85 year history of this parish. The parish has not had a full time rector for a full year since 2008. Parishioners decided to seek out a new priest so the parish could continue its mission and ministry, and explore new directions in a new decade.
On behalf of the parish lay leadership I would like to keep you posted regularly on how we are doing. And that means talking about money. It is inevitable.
Money is the subject talked about almost as often as love in the Bible—there are more than 2,000 verses directly related to money in scripture.
Yet as Anglicans, we are often reluctant to talk about money, especially in church.
But the wardens and I think you need to know we are already facing a serious shortfall in 2011. Since I arrived last fall we have had a significant shortfall each month— and for the last two months—about $5,000 each month.
It means our current account is down to around $11,000 early this month----down from $30,000 when the year started.
W
e are already trying to make economies as much as possible, but we have a budget without significant spending to trim.
Most of our money is spent on building and rectory maintenance and services, and staff salaries. Our projected deficit for 2011 was $17,000 at the vestry meeting in late January, but at this point unless giving improves it will be much more.
What it boils down to is asking everyone who cares about Canon Davis to consider if it might be possible to increase your level of support.
But that isn’t enough and we recognize that. We need to attract more parishioners. We need everyone to invite friends, neighbours, relatives to join us for worship at the beautiful church.
Since it is our 85th anniversary, we hope to make a focal point for this year a celebration of the anniversary on June 5. We don’t want to wait until the fall for our customary anniversary Sunday.
This week some of our members are phoning people who are on our list but haven’t been active in recent months, to invite them to try us out again.
Our Lenten season offers not only a parish Bible study, but a study on the six marks of Mission which will include five churches from three denominations.
On Holy Week our friends at St. Bart’s are coming here for the Good Friday liturgy, and there will be an all-Sarnia Anglican church Easter Vigil at St. Bart’s at 8pm.
We, as the parish leadership team, are asking for your support both by your presence, and by your givings, as we continue with this process of renewal of the parish.
Now I’d like to turn back to our readings for the first Sunday of Lent---particularly the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness.
The common element in these two stories is temptation. When tempted, Adam and Eve chose the path that led to death. They thought they knew better than God, so they could eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Then even before encountering God, they tried to hide themselves.
Think of that in contrast to Jesus in the wilderness. Confronted with hunger, he is asked by the devil to turn stones into bread.
In other words –he is asked to yield to temptation and take the easy way out, after 40 days of fasting and prayer.
Then the devil challenges Jesus to throw himself off the pinnacle of the Temple, so he can be rescued by the angels and convince people of he is the Messiah.
But that temptation—which would have reduced Jesus to participating in a side-show—a spectacle, would have also taken him away from his mission—suffering in the wilderness, preparing himself for the journey to come.
And finally the challenge to bow down before the evil one, in order to achieve power over all the kingdoms of the world. That temptation dramatically demonstrates the devil’s misunderstanding of Christ’s mission.
So the question we are asked this Lent is: how do we respond to temptation?
Do we go along with the ways of the world, which value material well being over anything else, which see power and wealth as objectives, which ignore or downplay the needs of the poor, the widows, the orphans, and other disadvantaged groups?
Or, do we follow Jesus, who brought good news to the poor, who wants us to love one another as God loves us, who ate with tax collectors and sinners, and defied the conventions of his time?
We are seduced in many ways by our culture—by the internet, television, cell phones, retail stores, credit cards, the cult of celebrity which makes a sick and thoroughly obnoxious man like Charlie Sheen into a household name.
We can—like Jesus—refuse to submit to temptation—and live a different way. We have to use the wisdom, and the love God gives us to discern how to live out our faith in this often misguided culture. That’s an important thing for all of us to think about, and pray about during this season of Lent.
Sackcloth & ashes & psalms penitential,
bowing & scraping, looking reverential.
ashes on foreheads, repenting of sins –
these are a few of our Lenten things..
Downcast expressions & copious masses,
Beating of breasts & whipping of lashes,
No chocolate, no fun, no drinking of gin –
These are a few of our Lenten things..
When the sun shines,
When our hearts sing,
When we're feeling glad,
We simply remember our Lenten things,
& then we feel quite bad.
(to the tune of My Favourite Things, from Sound of Music)
Well, I don’t think those will ever be sung on stage anywhere. But that’s perhaps the popular impression of Lent, a season when Christians are supposed to drop their alleluias and glorias from worship, give up something, preferably a vice, and engage in prayer, confession, and study to prepare ourselves for the Easter feast to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
There’s some truth to the popular impression. Lent, for those Christians who observe it, is an important time of self examination and penitence. It is a yearly reminder of the cross we bear as Christians. We are connected to the journey to the cross, and the sacrifices made by Jesus, as he offered up his life on our behalf.
Since Lent is a time of self-examination for individual Christians, it is also a time of self-examination for Christian communities—congregations who are called to mission and ministry in God’s church.
Here at Canon Davis we are in the midst of a critical time in the 85 year history of this parish. The parish has not had a full time rector for a full year since 2008. Parishioners decided to seek out a new priest so the parish could continue its mission and ministry, and explore new directions in a new decade.
On behalf of the parish lay leadership I would like to keep you posted regularly on how we are doing. And that means talking about money. It is inevitable.
Money is the subject talked about almost as often as love in the Bible—there are more than 2,000 verses directly related to money in scripture.
Yet as Anglicans, we are often reluctant to talk about money, especially in church.
But the wardens and I think you need to know we are already facing a serious shortfall in 2011. Since I arrived last fall we have had a significant shortfall each month— and for the last two months—about $5,000 each month.
It means our current account is down to around $11,000 early this month----down from $30,000 when the year started.
W
e are already trying to make economies as much as possible, but we have a budget without significant spending to trim.
Most of our money is spent on building and rectory maintenance and services, and staff salaries. Our projected deficit for 2011 was $17,000 at the vestry meeting in late January, but at this point unless giving improves it will be much more.
What it boils down to is asking everyone who cares about Canon Davis to consider if it might be possible to increase your level of support.
But that isn’t enough and we recognize that. We need to attract more parishioners. We need everyone to invite friends, neighbours, relatives to join us for worship at the beautiful church.
Since it is our 85th anniversary, we hope to make a focal point for this year a celebration of the anniversary on June 5. We don’t want to wait until the fall for our customary anniversary Sunday.
This week some of our members are phoning people who are on our list but haven’t been active in recent months, to invite them to try us out again.
Our Lenten season offers not only a parish Bible study, but a study on the six marks of Mission which will include five churches from three denominations.
On Holy Week our friends at St. Bart’s are coming here for the Good Friday liturgy, and there will be an all-Sarnia Anglican church Easter Vigil at St. Bart’s at 8pm.
We, as the parish leadership team, are asking for your support both by your presence, and by your givings, as we continue with this process of renewal of the parish.
Now I’d like to turn back to our readings for the first Sunday of Lent---particularly the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness.
The common element in these two stories is temptation. When tempted, Adam and Eve chose the path that led to death. They thought they knew better than God, so they could eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Then even before encountering God, they tried to hide themselves.
Think of that in contrast to Jesus in the wilderness. Confronted with hunger, he is asked by the devil to turn stones into bread.
In other words –he is asked to yield to temptation and take the easy way out, after 40 days of fasting and prayer.
Then the devil challenges Jesus to throw himself off the pinnacle of the Temple, so he can be rescued by the angels and convince people of he is the Messiah.
But that temptation—which would have reduced Jesus to participating in a side-show—a spectacle, would have also taken him away from his mission—suffering in the wilderness, preparing himself for the journey to come.
And finally the challenge to bow down before the evil one, in order to achieve power over all the kingdoms of the world. That temptation dramatically demonstrates the devil’s misunderstanding of Christ’s mission.
So the question we are asked this Lent is: how do we respond to temptation?
Do we go along with the ways of the world, which value material well being over anything else, which see power and wealth as objectives, which ignore or downplay the needs of the poor, the widows, the orphans, and other disadvantaged groups?
Or, do we follow Jesus, who brought good news to the poor, who wants us to love one another as God loves us, who ate with tax collectors and sinners, and defied the conventions of his time?
We are seduced in many ways by our culture—by the internet, television, cell phones, retail stores, credit cards, the cult of celebrity which makes a sick and thoroughly obnoxious man like Charlie Sheen into a household name.
We can—like Jesus—refuse to submit to temptation—and live a different way. We have to use the wisdom, and the love God gives us to discern how to live out our faith in this often misguided culture. That’s an important thing for all of us to think about, and pray about during this season of Lent.
Monday 7 March 2011
A Firm Foundation
Homily Proper 9 March 6,2011
The parable of the wise man who built the house on a rock, at first hearing, seems pretty elementary.
After all, who would be dumb enough to build a house on sand, in a world where wind, rain and floods are all too common.
As a carpenter’s son Jesus knew the power of nature, and undoubtedly learned what precautions to take to best withstand the elements when building.
Jesus really isn’t talking about building here. He’s talking about his teaching. He’s saying it’s all well and good for you to listen, and say Lord, Lord, but now you have to do something about it.
If you don’t act on what Jesus is teaching, then you are like the fool who builds on the sand. You don’t have any foundation. You won’t last.
On the other hand, if you not only listen to Jesus, but take what he says seriously and live your life as he called you to…then you will be like the man who built a house on the rock with a firm foundation.
It’s interesting that we have this Gospel on the same day that we have Paul’s teaching that salvation comes through faith alone.
The two teachings, first by Jesus, then by his most ardent follower, do appear to differ.
This is a debate that the church has struggled with throughout its existence. In the letter from James we are told faith without works, is dead.
On the other hand, Paul argues Salvation is by faith alone here, and elsewhere in his letters.
In Matthew’s Gospel, it seems clear Jesus requires not only faith, but action based on that faith.
Listen to what he said again: “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name. Did we not drive out demons in your name. Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?”
Spiritual exploits don’t seem to impress Jesus. Instead, he calls for faith which lives out his teaching in every day life.
So how do we understand Paul’s teaching and the teaching of Jesus as expressions of the same faith.
Perhaps the best way is to look at the context Paul is working in when he spreads the Gospel. He is trying to build a church, which unlike traditional Judaism is not based on the law.
While accepting the Hebrew law inherited through scripture, Paul sees the ultimate foundation of the church as faith in Christ crucified—the message of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit working in the world offering salvation to all who believe.
As a missionary to the Gentiles, Paul preaches Christ as salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike, and rejects the exclusivity of the Jewish Christians.
Salvation through faith alone, is an effort to avoid seeing God’s action as a quid pro quo…. which rewards our efforts…something we earn.
Instead, Paul sees God’s saving action through Jesus as an unmerited act of Grace.
And looking at Jesus, and what motivated this closing section of what we call the Sermon on the Mountain, a three chapter collection of Jesus teaching---we have to understand that Israel at that time was full of prophets, teachers, miracle workers, different factions of Judaism, and other religions brought in by the Romans and through commerce.
Jesus wants those who hear his teaching, not only to listen and say “what a great preacher”---he wants them to be ready to live out what he teaches. A new law, a law of love of God and love of neighbour.
In the beginning of the eighth chapter of Matthew, which follows this text, Jesus comes down from the mountain, and great crowds follow him.
In Matthew’s Gospel this is a pivotal moment in the story, and precedes dramatic healings, and other miracles.
Jesus has moved to a new stage in his ministry.
As we listen to the gospel week by week, as we worship, as we read our Bibles, as we pray, how do we take it to the next stage—and act on it?
That is something that we have wrestled with in the church for many years.
Some Christians put more stress on piety—that is dutifulness in religion. Others have put stress on caring for others, the social gospel. Still others have put more emphasis on spiritual gifts, and ecstatic worship. That is what the Pentecostal movement is all about.
What are we to make of these different manifestations of faith?
Perhaps the biggest danger is to have tunnel vision and declare that one size fits all; that we all have to live out our faith the same way.
In that respect, Anglicanism has always included great diversity as the middle way between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
As we enter this period of Lent, a time for self-examination and renewal of our faith, this passage calls us to look at our faith carefully, and not take it forgranted.
That’s why we are trying to offer many opportunities during Lent for worship and study. As we prepare for the great Easter feast, the coming of spring, the birth of new life, let us use Lent as a chance to check out our own foundations.
Is our faith built soundly? Or does it need remedial work?
The parable of the wise man who built the house on a rock, at first hearing, seems pretty elementary.
After all, who would be dumb enough to build a house on sand, in a world where wind, rain and floods are all too common.
As a carpenter’s son Jesus knew the power of nature, and undoubtedly learned what precautions to take to best withstand the elements when building.
Jesus really isn’t talking about building here. He’s talking about his teaching. He’s saying it’s all well and good for you to listen, and say Lord, Lord, but now you have to do something about it.
If you don’t act on what Jesus is teaching, then you are like the fool who builds on the sand. You don’t have any foundation. You won’t last.
On the other hand, if you not only listen to Jesus, but take what he says seriously and live your life as he called you to…then you will be like the man who built a house on the rock with a firm foundation.
It’s interesting that we have this Gospel on the same day that we have Paul’s teaching that salvation comes through faith alone.
The two teachings, first by Jesus, then by his most ardent follower, do appear to differ.
This is a debate that the church has struggled with throughout its existence. In the letter from James we are told faith without works, is dead.
On the other hand, Paul argues Salvation is by faith alone here, and elsewhere in his letters.
In Matthew’s Gospel, it seems clear Jesus requires not only faith, but action based on that faith.
Listen to what he said again: “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name. Did we not drive out demons in your name. Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?”
Spiritual exploits don’t seem to impress Jesus. Instead, he calls for faith which lives out his teaching in every day life.
So how do we understand Paul’s teaching and the teaching of Jesus as expressions of the same faith.
Perhaps the best way is to look at the context Paul is working in when he spreads the Gospel. He is trying to build a church, which unlike traditional Judaism is not based on the law.
While accepting the Hebrew law inherited through scripture, Paul sees the ultimate foundation of the church as faith in Christ crucified—the message of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit working in the world offering salvation to all who believe.
As a missionary to the Gentiles, Paul preaches Christ as salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike, and rejects the exclusivity of the Jewish Christians.
Salvation through faith alone, is an effort to avoid seeing God’s action as a quid pro quo…. which rewards our efforts…something we earn.
Instead, Paul sees God’s saving action through Jesus as an unmerited act of Grace.
And looking at Jesus, and what motivated this closing section of what we call the Sermon on the Mountain, a three chapter collection of Jesus teaching---we have to understand that Israel at that time was full of prophets, teachers, miracle workers, different factions of Judaism, and other religions brought in by the Romans and through commerce.
Jesus wants those who hear his teaching, not only to listen and say “what a great preacher”---he wants them to be ready to live out what he teaches. A new law, a law of love of God and love of neighbour.
In the beginning of the eighth chapter of Matthew, which follows this text, Jesus comes down from the mountain, and great crowds follow him.
In Matthew’s Gospel this is a pivotal moment in the story, and precedes dramatic healings, and other miracles.
Jesus has moved to a new stage in his ministry.
As we listen to the gospel week by week, as we worship, as we read our Bibles, as we pray, how do we take it to the next stage—and act on it?
That is something that we have wrestled with in the church for many years.
Some Christians put more stress on piety—that is dutifulness in religion. Others have put stress on caring for others, the social gospel. Still others have put more emphasis on spiritual gifts, and ecstatic worship. That is what the Pentecostal movement is all about.
What are we to make of these different manifestations of faith?
Perhaps the biggest danger is to have tunnel vision and declare that one size fits all; that we all have to live out our faith the same way.
In that respect, Anglicanism has always included great diversity as the middle way between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
As we enter this period of Lent, a time for self-examination and renewal of our faith, this passage calls us to look at our faith carefully, and not take it forgranted.
That’s why we are trying to offer many opportunities during Lent for worship and study. As we prepare for the great Easter feast, the coming of spring, the birth of new life, let us use Lent as a chance to check out our own foundations.
Is our faith built soundly? Or does it need remedial work?
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