Frances Skelton 1936-2011
I know that my Redeemer lives.
That memorable phrase from Job, in the Hebrew Bible, was immortalized by George Frederick Handel in his beloved Oratorio Messiah.
Fran Skelton was an exceptional singer, mother, wife, friend, and believer. I met Fran last fall when I moved to Sarnia. And her strong faith was evident from our first meeting.
It was a privilege to be with her a number of times during her last few months, as her health deteriorated. Her faith never wavered. She never complained. She displayed a courage and quiet confidence in the face of suffering which was amazing.
That’s why it is a privilege to offer a brief reflection this morning. In spite of all the suffering Job undergoes, in spite of all the pain, all the loss, Job refuses to deny God. His faith is rock solid.
Facing a terminal illness is a real challenge to our faith. It’s not easy to accept the pain, the suffering and the loss involved.
But our faith allows us to put our hopes and our dreams not only in the challenges of our life on earth, but in God’s promise, through his son Jesus, of eternal life, where there is no pain or suffering, where all tears are wiped away.
Christ offers to take our burdens, our cares. As St. Paul taught the people of the church in Rome so many years ago: nothing can separate us from the love of God, including death.
Those ringing words expressing confidence in Christ’s victory over death, God’s promise of salvation for all who believe, provide us with a way to face our culture’s fear of death.
And make no mistake there is an element of death denial, of science playing God, not only extending life, but creating life in our current secular society. The resurgence in militant atheism, displayed by authors such as Richard Dawkins, argues that once we gasp our last breath, it’s over. It is finished. There is nothing more.
As Christians, we have faith that they are wrong. We owe it to Fran and all those who have faithfully served this parish church through 85 years of its history to proclaim that as long as we are able---to speak truth to the faithless, to show by our loving and caring community and how we support each other that both our faith and the church do matter.
We know that our Redeemer lives. Fran certainly knew that. We give thanks for the privilege of having shared the journey of life with her.
Thursday 26 May 2011
Tuesday 24 May 2011
The Folly of Predicting the End Times
Homily May 22, 2011 Easter 5 Yr. A
Well, we are still here. Or else I wouldn’t be speaking to you this morning. Most of us probably heard about the billboards in Windsor and other cities in North America which called yesterday—May 21, 2011, judgment day, the time of the end of the world predicted in Bible, according to 89 year old Christian radio talk show host Harold Camping.
Many of Camping’s tiny group of followers honestly believed his calculations of the end times, quit their jobs and sold their possessions.
Sadly this kind of speculation about the end times has been around for centuries, and always would-be predictors have set a date based on the visions of John of Patmos in the book of Revelation, and waited.
When the world has not come to an end, it has been an embarrassment not only for them, but for the Church—which has unfortunately become an object of ridicule because of a few misguided believers.
Taking the Bible literally—or in the plain sense of the words
And applying our own prejudices in seeking connections with current events is a fool’s game. Jesus teaches that we will know neither the day nor the hour, when the world as we know it will come to an end.
Therefore we are to live each day as if it were our last, loving God and loving our neighbour—and modelling our lives on Jesus.
Today’s Gospel includes a phrase which—like the visions of the end times in the book of Revelation—have been much misinterpreted.
Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to my father, except through me.
Many have interpreted this to mean anyone who is not a Christian. Anyone who follows Islam, Judaism, Buddhism or any other faith is automatically doomed to hell—which we would see as separation from God our creator.
But there is a story I came across about Billy Graham, arguably one of the worlds greatest evangelists, who was asked about this text when he spoke to students at Harvard University.
An earnest Christian student asked a pointed question: “Since Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life, and no-one comes to the father except through me, doesn’t that mean people from other religions are going to hell?”
Dr. Graham replied: “I’m sure glad that God is the judge of people’s hearts and not me. And I trust God to decide those questions justly and mercifully.”
The student was disappointed not to have a clearcut answer and pressed further: “Well, what do you think God will decide?”
Dr. Graham responded: “Well, God doesn’t really ask my advice on these matters.”
Another questioner asked: “Well what about those who aren’t even monotheists—like the Buddhists?”
But Dr. Graham replied: “You know I have been to some Buddhist countries and so many of the people I’ve met seem to live more like Jesus than many Christians I’ve met.”
What Dr. Graham is saying is that the invitation to follow Jesus as the way, the truth and the life is not an exclusive one—it isn’t meant to limit the followers of Jesus to an elite. Instead it is meant as an open invitation to follow Jesus.
To follow Jesus means not to divide, but to include, to welcome, to care for our fellow human beings.
The theme of the Diocesan Synod which concluded on Tuesday was Astonished by Grace. Next week as part of the time, both Wendy Heasman, our delegate, and I will report on our experience of Synod.
It was inspiring to hear stories of God’s grace in the work of Anglicans throughout southwestern Ontario. It’s important for us to realize we are part of something larger.
We face the common challenge of living out our Christian faith in a secular world where the gospel and the church are often marginalized.
The way forward to us is renewal, recovering the excitement of learning our story, the story of scripture in a society where many Bibles sit on shelves, unread.
If anything the success of the church in the first two decades on my life—the 50’s and 60’s—was an aberration. It was the high water mark for Canon Davis, for most other congregations.
Yet now we have to realize that unique set of circumstances in which our congregations flourished in those two decades will never happen again and we have to seek out new patterns for our lives together.
We are not alone in facing these challenges. And there are no easy answers. But we have the assurance from Jesus, that we must not let our hearts be troubled—because indeed there are many mansions in God’s house. There is room for all.
So we can know the way, through Jesus, following his teachings. That way is the way of service, of caring, of sharing the bread and wine together, of hearing the word, of discerning how we can live out our faith.
No-one has seen God. The current fad which has seen the growth of best selling books by atheists denying God’s existence and debunking Christianity and other faiths, is a symptom of our sceptical age.
No-one has seen God. But Jesus was a real person, sent by God, whose life was mentioned by non-Christian historians, and who was crucified, died and rose again.
In Jesus, we have a doorway to God, a doorway which is the way, the truth and the life. That is something we must share with others as we live out our faith.
Well, we are still here. Or else I wouldn’t be speaking to you this morning. Most of us probably heard about the billboards in Windsor and other cities in North America which called yesterday—May 21, 2011, judgment day, the time of the end of the world predicted in Bible, according to 89 year old Christian radio talk show host Harold Camping.
Many of Camping’s tiny group of followers honestly believed his calculations of the end times, quit their jobs and sold their possessions.
Sadly this kind of speculation about the end times has been around for centuries, and always would-be predictors have set a date based on the visions of John of Patmos in the book of Revelation, and waited.
When the world has not come to an end, it has been an embarrassment not only for them, but for the Church—which has unfortunately become an object of ridicule because of a few misguided believers.
Taking the Bible literally—or in the plain sense of the words
And applying our own prejudices in seeking connections with current events is a fool’s game. Jesus teaches that we will know neither the day nor the hour, when the world as we know it will come to an end.
Therefore we are to live each day as if it were our last, loving God and loving our neighbour—and modelling our lives on Jesus.
Today’s Gospel includes a phrase which—like the visions of the end times in the book of Revelation—have been much misinterpreted.
Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to my father, except through me.
Many have interpreted this to mean anyone who is not a Christian. Anyone who follows Islam, Judaism, Buddhism or any other faith is automatically doomed to hell—which we would see as separation from God our creator.
But there is a story I came across about Billy Graham, arguably one of the worlds greatest evangelists, who was asked about this text when he spoke to students at Harvard University.
An earnest Christian student asked a pointed question: “Since Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life, and no-one comes to the father except through me, doesn’t that mean people from other religions are going to hell?”
Dr. Graham replied: “I’m sure glad that God is the judge of people’s hearts and not me. And I trust God to decide those questions justly and mercifully.”
The student was disappointed not to have a clearcut answer and pressed further: “Well, what do you think God will decide?”
Dr. Graham responded: “Well, God doesn’t really ask my advice on these matters.”
Another questioner asked: “Well what about those who aren’t even monotheists—like the Buddhists?”
But Dr. Graham replied: “You know I have been to some Buddhist countries and so many of the people I’ve met seem to live more like Jesus than many Christians I’ve met.”
What Dr. Graham is saying is that the invitation to follow Jesus as the way, the truth and the life is not an exclusive one—it isn’t meant to limit the followers of Jesus to an elite. Instead it is meant as an open invitation to follow Jesus.
To follow Jesus means not to divide, but to include, to welcome, to care for our fellow human beings.
The theme of the Diocesan Synod which concluded on Tuesday was Astonished by Grace. Next week as part of the time, both Wendy Heasman, our delegate, and I will report on our experience of Synod.
It was inspiring to hear stories of God’s grace in the work of Anglicans throughout southwestern Ontario. It’s important for us to realize we are part of something larger.
We face the common challenge of living out our Christian faith in a secular world where the gospel and the church are often marginalized.
The way forward to us is renewal, recovering the excitement of learning our story, the story of scripture in a society where many Bibles sit on shelves, unread.
If anything the success of the church in the first two decades on my life—the 50’s and 60’s—was an aberration. It was the high water mark for Canon Davis, for most other congregations.
Yet now we have to realize that unique set of circumstances in which our congregations flourished in those two decades will never happen again and we have to seek out new patterns for our lives together.
We are not alone in facing these challenges. And there are no easy answers. But we have the assurance from Jesus, that we must not let our hearts be troubled—because indeed there are many mansions in God’s house. There is room for all.
So we can know the way, through Jesus, following his teachings. That way is the way of service, of caring, of sharing the bread and wine together, of hearing the word, of discerning how we can live out our faith.
No-one has seen God. The current fad which has seen the growth of best selling books by atheists denying God’s existence and debunking Christianity and other faiths, is a symptom of our sceptical age.
No-one has seen God. But Jesus was a real person, sent by God, whose life was mentioned by non-Christian historians, and who was crucified, died and rose again.
In Jesus, we have a doorway to God, a doorway which is the way, the truth and the life. That is something we must share with others as we live out our faith.
From a different planet?
Homily Easter 4 Year A May 15, 2011
They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. All who believed were together and held all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.
This description of the early followers of Jesus at the time of the apostolic mission sounds like something from a different planet to 21st century ears.
Here we have a group of people who share their faith and their life in community, in a way which was totally contrary to the agrarian economy of the first centuries communities clustered around the Mediterranean.
Not only were those communities governed by the stern hand of Rome, they had a rigid class system with Romans, landowners, and local authorities at the top, merchants and small farmers in the middle and peasants and slaves at the bottom.
So when the early Christian communities described in Acts were forming, they faced formidable obstacles.
And that’s where the teaching of Jesus from John’s Gospel, of the psalms, and of Peter, come in.
Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd, and the gate for salvation for all. He comes that we may have life, and live it abundantly.
But that doesn’t mean things will be easy. As Peter reminds us, being faithful to Jesus, to God, can sometimes mean suffering unjustly. Christ himself suffered unjustly. And so Christians throughout the ages have often suffered unjustly.
But as an Easter people we believe Christ conquered sin and death, and gives us new life through his Resurrection.
One of the greatest images of consolation in our scriptures is provided by the 23rd psalm. We are both humbled in awe of these words:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.
He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his names sake. Though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over. Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
What strikes me about these words is how much they comfort us at many times in our lives, not just when approaching death.
Our souls long for peace, in our relationships, in our jobs, in our homes and communities. God desires that we find that peace, which passes understanding.
As Christians we believe we can find that peace in Jesus, and in community with other followers of Christ.
When we gather to worship each week in this parish church, as we have for the past 85 years we are doing the same thing those early Christians did—devoting ourselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, and to the breaking of bread and prayers.
They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. All who believed were together and held all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.
This description of the early followers of Jesus at the time of the apostolic mission sounds like something from a different planet to 21st century ears.
Here we have a group of people who share their faith and their life in community, in a way which was totally contrary to the agrarian economy of the first centuries communities clustered around the Mediterranean.
Not only were those communities governed by the stern hand of Rome, they had a rigid class system with Romans, landowners, and local authorities at the top, merchants and small farmers in the middle and peasants and slaves at the bottom.
So when the early Christian communities described in Acts were forming, they faced formidable obstacles.
And that’s where the teaching of Jesus from John’s Gospel, of the psalms, and of Peter, come in.
Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd, and the gate for salvation for all. He comes that we may have life, and live it abundantly.
But that doesn’t mean things will be easy. As Peter reminds us, being faithful to Jesus, to God, can sometimes mean suffering unjustly. Christ himself suffered unjustly. And so Christians throughout the ages have often suffered unjustly.
But as an Easter people we believe Christ conquered sin and death, and gives us new life through his Resurrection.
One of the greatest images of consolation in our scriptures is provided by the 23rd psalm. We are both humbled in awe of these words:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.
He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his names sake. Though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over. Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
What strikes me about these words is how much they comfort us at many times in our lives, not just when approaching death.
Our souls long for peace, in our relationships, in our jobs, in our homes and communities. God desires that we find that peace, which passes understanding.
As Christians we believe we can find that peace in Jesus, and in community with other followers of Christ.
When we gather to worship each week in this parish church, as we have for the past 85 years we are doing the same thing those early Christians did—devoting ourselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, and to the breaking of bread and prayers.
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