All Saints, Oct. 30 2011, Prodigal God Series Part 3,
Mark 10:35-45
What’s a saint? A dictionary definition would be a person who is officially recognized by the church through a process called canonization, as pre-eminent in holiness.
But there is a larger group of saints referred to in Paul’s letters. That group includes faithful Christians, followers of the way of Christ throughout the ages, and that is who we are called to remember today.
Even those officially recognized as saints by the church are flesh and blood human beings. They have special gifts from God, which have enabled them to perform remarkable service to their fellow human beings in God’s name.
But they are also prone to human failings, just like you and I. In 1982 I met Mother Teresa when she visited a small town in northern Alberta. I was one of a few journalists on the scene and we had a chance to ask a few questions and meet this Nobel prize winning nun who is now going through the process to become a Saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
I was impressed by her down to earth manner, her serenity, her smile.
Recently years after her death a translation of her writings found that for years while she was helping people, she was experiencing inner desolation, a feeling of separation from God. But she persevered.
In today’s Gospel reading two of Jesus disciples, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, ask Jesus to do whatever they ask of him. What they want is to sit at his right hand and at his left in the kingdom, in paradise.
Think back to the parable of the Prodigal Son—that’s what the younger son was asking of his father---to do the unthinkable, that is to sell the land that is his estate ahead of time, so he can give it to the younger son.
Both requests are completely unreasonable and selfish.
Jesus responds, as he often does with a question to James and John. Are you able to drink the cup I drink, and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?
By this he means being willing to be baptized with death on the cross. This passage follows one of Jesus predictions of his death in Mark’s gospel.
The two disciples don’t understand. They say they are able. Jesus responds they will be asked to sacrifice their lives, in his name, but not yet. And places at his left and right hand, are not his to give.
The request of James and John causes disunity among the twelve disciples. They are angry at the two for requesting special privileges.
But Jesus uses this opportunity to teach about the nature of discipleship. What he calls for is servant leadership, not the kind of authoritarian, tyranny they are accustomed to in first century Israel. “Whoever is great among you must first be your servant.”
This ties in to the lives of many of the saints who have been recognized by the church. Mother Teresa served the poor of Calcutta with her sisters. Saint Francis of Assisi rejected the wealth of his family, and began the Franciscan order which has served those in need for centuries.
Jesus himself defied the conventional expectations of the “Son of Man,” the term for Messiah, not only because he came to serve others, but because he came to give his life as a ransom for many.
Let’s go back to the two disciples James and John. Like the two sons in the Prodigal Son, they have lost their way. They don’t really understand what God’s grace means. They don’t understand what loving God means.
James and John want to be at Jesus’ side in glory, but they don’t understand either the cost of that request, or what it would mean for them, or for the other disciples.
In Mark’s gospel in particular, the disciples are often depicted as slow to catch on to Jesus’ teaching, and this is just one of many examples.
It must have been difficult for these ordinary, uneducated men to grasp the teaching of a leader who literally turned the teaching of the world, and even the Hebrew faith upside down.
Yet in the three years the disciples were with Jesus, they were given the strength to go through hardship and persecution after his death, and lay the foundations for the building of the Church.
And after three centuries of the early church as an underground movement, came the radical transformation which saw Roman temples transformed into Christian Churches, such as the Pantheon in Rome.
Those disciples learned servant leadership. The saints through the ages learned servant leadership.
And servant leadership is the key to renewal of the church today. We need to find ways to recapture that spirit of serving others. Our parish starting with the goal of offering a Sunday school mission to the children of north Sarnia.
So we began as a mission, as an outreach. In those early days, the church was a centre of community life. There were plays, a football team which won the city championship, and records showed as many as 600 people attended services many Sundays.
Of course that was a different time. Sarnia was different. Life was different. In our current life as a parish we need to discern our mission, how we can serve God, and serve our community. Let us pray.
GOD the Holy Ghost, Sanctifier of the
faithful: Sanctify this parish by thine abiding
presence. Bless those who minister in holy things.
Enlighten the minds of thy people more and more
with the light of the everlasting Gospel. Bring
erring souls to the knowledge of God our Saviour;
and those who are walking in the way of life,
keep stedfast unto the end. Give patience to the
sick and afflicted, and renew them in body
and soul. Guard from forgetfulness of thee those
who are strong and prosperous. Increase in us
thy manifold gifts of grace, and make us all to be
fruitful in good works; O blessed Spirit, whom
with the Father and the Son together we worship
and glorify, one God, world without end. Amen
Sunday 30 October 2011
Thursday 27 October 2011
The Scandal of the Teaching of Jesus
Homily Sunday October 23 Prodigal God Alternative Lectionary part 2
One of the challenging threads of the Gospels is echoed in today’s reading from Luke. Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, seems to attract the wrong kind of people.
Instead of devout religious folks, observant Jews, Pharisees, and leaders in the society, his followers, as Luke puts it, are “tax collectors” and “sinners.” These weren’t respectable people in a society built on honour and shame.
Jesus appealed to moral outcasts, and that very fact scandalized the Pharisees.
And perhaps even more difficult for the good Jewish people Jesus was scandalizing, was that he told parables like the two short ones offered today, which are both situated before the parable of the Prodigal Son.
First we have the shepherd who will not leave the wilderness with his 99 sheep until the one lost sheep is found. Then he will leave and have a celebration. So Jesus says there will be more rejoicing over one repentant sinner, than over 99 who have no need of repentance.
Then this is reinforced by the story of the woman who won’t cease the search for her lost drachma, then rejoices when it is found, leaving Jesus to conclude there is “more rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.”
This teaching of God’s grace is hard for us to understand.
The Pharisees and other religious leaders complained Jesus not only attracted tax collectors and sinners, he ate with them. Table fellowship was highly valued in the first century culture, and Jesus was showing acceptance and respect for those who were rejected and outcast.
Now you may be wondering what all this has to do with our “Prodigal God” theme which began last week with Bishop Terry preaching on the parable of the Prodigal Son.
What Jesus is trying to do is challenge the assumptions of the religious leaders, and all his listeners about God’s grace, sin, and salvation.
In both short parables, the lost sheep, and the lost coin, are both incapable of being found, except through God’s grace. They represent people who are spiritually lost, like the prodigal son. The sheep is lost through helplessness, the coin through thoughtlessness, and the son through wilfulness.
Sin is difficult for us to deal with. We all sin to varying degrees, part of our human nature. But in Jesus we find forgiveness through repentance and faith.
Salvation also enters into our parables, because if we think we have found God, and are sure in our faith, then one of the pitfalls we face is that we are tempted to look down on others who haven’t found God.
Jesus teaches that salvation doesn’t come to those who search hardest for God, but instead through God’s grace, not through our own merit.
That is a difficult concept for us. The joy is in finding those who are lost, those who are marginalized, those who are excluded.
Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple said the church is the only institution that exists for the benefit of those who are not members.
In the parables the Pharisees don’t see themselves as lost sinners saved by God’s grace. Indeed they feel superior to sinners. But Jesus teaches heaven rejoices when sinners repent.
Now to most people today Christianity represents both religion and moralism. But in the early church, and in Jesus teaching that was certainly not the case.
After all in the early church in the first three centuries there were almost no church buildings, no full-time clergy, no sacrifices, no Temples or Cathedrals.
Instead early Christianity was “The Way,” a way of sharing table fellowship and the sacraments in the homes of believers or the Catacombs of Rome; A Way of following Jesus who was himself the ultimate sacrifice.
Indeed religious people were offended by Jesus. It was outsiders, the underclass who formed the backbone of the early church. Jesus attracted the irreligious, and offended the believers of Hebrew scripture—the only Bible in his day.
Today the problem particularly in the west is that churches are not appealing to sinners and outcasts, or to younger brothers described in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
We are challenged as we undertake this Diocesan study to consider that while we mean well, we are too often like the older brother---we have worked hard, we have kept the faith, we have supported the church, and we like things the way they are.
Don’t we have enough on our plate without looking for new models of mission and ministry?
There are no easy answers. But all over North America and Europe many parishes and churches of all denominations are facing the same issues. It’s ironic that the areas where the church is fastest growing are those where the western churches did mission in the 20th century, in Latin America, Africa and Asia. We have a lot of financial resources, but lack in membership. They have few resources, but are growing quickly.
Let us close with a prayer from a Celtic resource Book.
“Grant us a vision, Lord,
To see what we can achieve
To reach out beyond ourselves
To share our lives with others
To stretch our capabilities
To increase our sense of purpose
To be aware of where we can help
To be sensitive to your presence
To give heed to your constant call,
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Amen”
One of the challenging threads of the Gospels is echoed in today’s reading from Luke. Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, seems to attract the wrong kind of people.
Instead of devout religious folks, observant Jews, Pharisees, and leaders in the society, his followers, as Luke puts it, are “tax collectors” and “sinners.” These weren’t respectable people in a society built on honour and shame.
Jesus appealed to moral outcasts, and that very fact scandalized the Pharisees.
And perhaps even more difficult for the good Jewish people Jesus was scandalizing, was that he told parables like the two short ones offered today, which are both situated before the parable of the Prodigal Son.
First we have the shepherd who will not leave the wilderness with his 99 sheep until the one lost sheep is found. Then he will leave and have a celebration. So Jesus says there will be more rejoicing over one repentant sinner, than over 99 who have no need of repentance.
Then this is reinforced by the story of the woman who won’t cease the search for her lost drachma, then rejoices when it is found, leaving Jesus to conclude there is “more rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.”
This teaching of God’s grace is hard for us to understand.
The Pharisees and other religious leaders complained Jesus not only attracted tax collectors and sinners, he ate with them. Table fellowship was highly valued in the first century culture, and Jesus was showing acceptance and respect for those who were rejected and outcast.
Now you may be wondering what all this has to do with our “Prodigal God” theme which began last week with Bishop Terry preaching on the parable of the Prodigal Son.
What Jesus is trying to do is challenge the assumptions of the religious leaders, and all his listeners about God’s grace, sin, and salvation.
In both short parables, the lost sheep, and the lost coin, are both incapable of being found, except through God’s grace. They represent people who are spiritually lost, like the prodigal son. The sheep is lost through helplessness, the coin through thoughtlessness, and the son through wilfulness.
Sin is difficult for us to deal with. We all sin to varying degrees, part of our human nature. But in Jesus we find forgiveness through repentance and faith.
Salvation also enters into our parables, because if we think we have found God, and are sure in our faith, then one of the pitfalls we face is that we are tempted to look down on others who haven’t found God.
Jesus teaches that salvation doesn’t come to those who search hardest for God, but instead through God’s grace, not through our own merit.
That is a difficult concept for us. The joy is in finding those who are lost, those who are marginalized, those who are excluded.
Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple said the church is the only institution that exists for the benefit of those who are not members.
In the parables the Pharisees don’t see themselves as lost sinners saved by God’s grace. Indeed they feel superior to sinners. But Jesus teaches heaven rejoices when sinners repent.
Now to most people today Christianity represents both religion and moralism. But in the early church, and in Jesus teaching that was certainly not the case.
After all in the early church in the first three centuries there were almost no church buildings, no full-time clergy, no sacrifices, no Temples or Cathedrals.
Instead early Christianity was “The Way,” a way of sharing table fellowship and the sacraments in the homes of believers or the Catacombs of Rome; A Way of following Jesus who was himself the ultimate sacrifice.
Indeed religious people were offended by Jesus. It was outsiders, the underclass who formed the backbone of the early church. Jesus attracted the irreligious, and offended the believers of Hebrew scripture—the only Bible in his day.
Today the problem particularly in the west is that churches are not appealing to sinners and outcasts, or to younger brothers described in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
We are challenged as we undertake this Diocesan study to consider that while we mean well, we are too often like the older brother---we have worked hard, we have kept the faith, we have supported the church, and we like things the way they are.
Don’t we have enough on our plate without looking for new models of mission and ministry?
There are no easy answers. But all over North America and Europe many parishes and churches of all denominations are facing the same issues. It’s ironic that the areas where the church is fastest growing are those where the western churches did mission in the 20th century, in Latin America, Africa and Asia. We have a lot of financial resources, but lack in membership. They have few resources, but are growing quickly.
Let us close with a prayer from a Celtic resource Book.
“Grant us a vision, Lord,
To see what we can achieve
To reach out beyond ourselves
To share our lives with others
To stretch our capabilities
To increase our sense of purpose
To be aware of where we can help
To be sensitive to your presence
To give heed to your constant call,
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Amen”
Sunday 9 October 2011
Giving thanks and thinking about truth and justice
Homily Oct 9, Pentecost 17, Yr. A
This Thanksgiving weekend as we gather with our families, we realize that we have a lot to be thankful for. So many things our pioneer ancestors never dreamed of are within reach of most Canadians.
Materially, we are blessed, but the challenge remains to live out our calling as followers of Christ, amidst an increasingly secular, and non-Christian society.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one place to start if you are looking for teaching on the Christian life. The passage we heard this morning is surely one of the most inspirational in Paul’s letters.
“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice,” Paul writes.
So as we live out our faith we are to do so, not in attitude of grumbling or reluctance, but in joy and enthusiasm
.
There is a great need to look on the positive side of life, to see possibilities not obstacles. To see opportunities, not lost causes.
This applies in our lives in the communities we live in, where we work and in the church.
You’ll notice Paul names two of his co-workers Eudoia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. That means these two women who have struggled beside Paul, must have either disagreed with other, or perhaps even with Paul. But Paul is urging them to work out their differences---literally in the Greek exercising their minds.
So what Paul is urging is not conformity but learning to solve problems while being faithful to God.
This is a help in our own life together as church. We can’t possibily agree on everything. But as followers of Christ we can learn to work things out and move ahead for the benefit of the whole body Christ, the whole community.
Paul tells us that the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will help keep our minds and hearts in Christ Jesus.
So our faith can help bring about that peace and unity Jesus calls us to, provided we trust in God.
The next promise is one I’ve personally found immense comfort in. Paul says whatever is true, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Paul is inviting us to look at the world in a whole different way, a positive life affirming way.
The trouble is if we complain, if we get angry, if we get caught up in blaming others, or always criticizing, or never being satisfied, then it poisons our whole approach to life.
Spiritually, Paul’s advice, offers us a way forward. While acknowledging the evil of the world, the Philippians are being urged to focus on the highest aspirations which humanity has: the search for truth, beauty, justice, excellence, and peace.
In that search we move forward with thanksgiving, rejoicing in the gifts that God has given us, in the things that give meaning to our lives amidst a hurting world.
Paul concludes by urging the Phillippians to keep on doing what they have been doing—to persist in what they have learned as followers of Christ.
God will be with them, and give them peace, as God offers us peace.
The message Paul had for the Philippian Christians is timeless. Indeed it seems even more needed today, as the world struggles with such huge and seemingly insoluble problems.
Instead of being overwhelmed with the difficulty of facing global economic difficulties we can’t do anything about, we need to be thankful for the gifts we have been given, and think about whatever is true, just, pleasing, commendable, praiseworthy.
From Paul, I’d to talk briefly about the Prodigal God, a Diocesan wide study program which begins next week.
We are lucky to have Bishop Dance, who is one of the finest preachers I’ve ever heard, launch a special six week set of readings starting with one of the most popular parables in the Bible, the Prodigal Son.
The study is based on a book called the Prodigal God, by Timothy Keller. As well as the six week lectionary and sermons based on it, there will be a weekly study six weeks on the Prodigal God starting Thursday Nov 3 at 10am in the Canterbury Room. Copies are for sale after church for $9.00.
There will also be a one day condensed study for those who can’t attend a weekly study Saturday Nov. 12 from 9:30 am to 2pm including lunch.
You may ask why a Diocesan wide study. The idea came from the Diocesan strategic planning process, which hopes there will be an opportunity to start looking outward as we consider the mission and ministry of the church.
Its meant to start a conversation, and I hope some of you will be able to join in.
The Prodigal God reference is to the fact that the father in the parable, who is so generous with both his sons, is extravagant in his generosity, as God is to us.
How do we respond to God’s generosity. How do we reach out to the community? How do we regain our outward focus?
These are all questions we will look at through the lens of the parable of the Prodigal Son.
This Thanksgiving weekend as we gather with our families, we realize that we have a lot to be thankful for. So many things our pioneer ancestors never dreamed of are within reach of most Canadians.
Materially, we are blessed, but the challenge remains to live out our calling as followers of Christ, amidst an increasingly secular, and non-Christian society.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians is one place to start if you are looking for teaching on the Christian life. The passage we heard this morning is surely one of the most inspirational in Paul’s letters.
“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice,” Paul writes.
So as we live out our faith we are to do so, not in attitude of grumbling or reluctance, but in joy and enthusiasm
.
There is a great need to look on the positive side of life, to see possibilities not obstacles. To see opportunities, not lost causes.
This applies in our lives in the communities we live in, where we work and in the church.
You’ll notice Paul names two of his co-workers Eudoia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. That means these two women who have struggled beside Paul, must have either disagreed with other, or perhaps even with Paul. But Paul is urging them to work out their differences---literally in the Greek exercising their minds.
So what Paul is urging is not conformity but learning to solve problems while being faithful to God.
This is a help in our own life together as church. We can’t possibily agree on everything. But as followers of Christ we can learn to work things out and move ahead for the benefit of the whole body Christ, the whole community.
Paul tells us that the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will help keep our minds and hearts in Christ Jesus.
So our faith can help bring about that peace and unity Jesus calls us to, provided we trust in God.
The next promise is one I’ve personally found immense comfort in. Paul says whatever is true, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Paul is inviting us to look at the world in a whole different way, a positive life affirming way.
The trouble is if we complain, if we get angry, if we get caught up in blaming others, or always criticizing, or never being satisfied, then it poisons our whole approach to life.
Spiritually, Paul’s advice, offers us a way forward. While acknowledging the evil of the world, the Philippians are being urged to focus on the highest aspirations which humanity has: the search for truth, beauty, justice, excellence, and peace.
In that search we move forward with thanksgiving, rejoicing in the gifts that God has given us, in the things that give meaning to our lives amidst a hurting world.
Paul concludes by urging the Phillippians to keep on doing what they have been doing—to persist in what they have learned as followers of Christ.
God will be with them, and give them peace, as God offers us peace.
The message Paul had for the Philippian Christians is timeless. Indeed it seems even more needed today, as the world struggles with such huge and seemingly insoluble problems.
Instead of being overwhelmed with the difficulty of facing global economic difficulties we can’t do anything about, we need to be thankful for the gifts we have been given, and think about whatever is true, just, pleasing, commendable, praiseworthy.
From Paul, I’d to talk briefly about the Prodigal God, a Diocesan wide study program which begins next week.
We are lucky to have Bishop Dance, who is one of the finest preachers I’ve ever heard, launch a special six week set of readings starting with one of the most popular parables in the Bible, the Prodigal Son.
The study is based on a book called the Prodigal God, by Timothy Keller. As well as the six week lectionary and sermons based on it, there will be a weekly study six weeks on the Prodigal God starting Thursday Nov 3 at 10am in the Canterbury Room. Copies are for sale after church for $9.00.
There will also be a one day condensed study for those who can’t attend a weekly study Saturday Nov. 12 from 9:30 am to 2pm including lunch.
You may ask why a Diocesan wide study. The idea came from the Diocesan strategic planning process, which hopes there will be an opportunity to start looking outward as we consider the mission and ministry of the church.
Its meant to start a conversation, and I hope some of you will be able to join in.
The Prodigal God reference is to the fact that the father in the parable, who is so generous with both his sons, is extravagant in his generosity, as God is to us.
How do we respond to God’s generosity. How do we reach out to the community? How do we regain our outward focus?
These are all questions we will look at through the lens of the parable of the Prodigal Son.
Tuesday 4 October 2011
A Love Affair with Evensong
Evensong Reflection
Having preached this morning on the ten commandments from Exodus, I think this wonderful service of evensong deserves more of a reflection and less teaching and sermonizing.
My thoughts seemed to coalesce around this service of Evensong, and what it has meant to me and countless more Anglicans over almost five centuries since Thomas Cranmer put together the Book of Common Prayer.
I think it is safe to say evensong has resisted any attempt at rewriting as part of the modern liturgical movement. Unlike the communion and morning prayer services, where it is offered, it continues to offer the traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer, with its power, its poetry and its majesty.
I can’t claim to have much acquaintance with evensong as a youth, although I heard about it from my Dad who always went to church twice on Sunday—for morning mass and then evensong. My grandmother sang in the choir at St. Mary Magdalene’s Church, Toronto, with the great Healey Willan.
When I was in the West Indies for the summer as a youth exchange group member in something called the Anglican Overseas work tour I had my first acquaintance with evensong, as it was a regular part of our Sunday worship on the island of Nevis.
Then at Trinity College,Toronto, when I did my undergraduate work, and at parishes in Calgary and Edmonton, I was an occasional attender.
But what really made me appreciate the beauty and power of this service was the chance to hear choirs like this one sing Evensong almost every night in a different cathedral on a trip to England.
Sadly Evensong is no longer a part of regular worship in many churches. Despite its liturgical strength, and the beauty of the music written for the service by countless composers, and the wonderful evening hymns, evensong has been a casualty of modernity in the church—save for choirs like St. Paul’s which keep it alive on occasions like this.
My love affair with evensong was capped while I was in seminary by the opportunity to sing with a talented group of students less than half my age in the Trinity College Chapel Choir. So every Wednesday in term I was able to sing arrangements of the Nunc Dimmitis, Magnificat, and Preces, along with a new anthem. We rehearsed twice a week. So it was demanding.
As an act of praise and worship Evensong can be sublime at its best. We offer our voices, our prayers to God to give thanks for all our blessings.
Let us give thanks for this treasure of our Anglican worship life, and especially to those like the choir of St. Paul’s which help to keep the flame of Evensong alive.
Having preached this morning on the ten commandments from Exodus, I think this wonderful service of evensong deserves more of a reflection and less teaching and sermonizing.
My thoughts seemed to coalesce around this service of Evensong, and what it has meant to me and countless more Anglicans over almost five centuries since Thomas Cranmer put together the Book of Common Prayer.
I think it is safe to say evensong has resisted any attempt at rewriting as part of the modern liturgical movement. Unlike the communion and morning prayer services, where it is offered, it continues to offer the traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer, with its power, its poetry and its majesty.
I can’t claim to have much acquaintance with evensong as a youth, although I heard about it from my Dad who always went to church twice on Sunday—for morning mass and then evensong. My grandmother sang in the choir at St. Mary Magdalene’s Church, Toronto, with the great Healey Willan.
When I was in the West Indies for the summer as a youth exchange group member in something called the Anglican Overseas work tour I had my first acquaintance with evensong, as it was a regular part of our Sunday worship on the island of Nevis.
Then at Trinity College,Toronto, when I did my undergraduate work, and at parishes in Calgary and Edmonton, I was an occasional attender.
But what really made me appreciate the beauty and power of this service was the chance to hear choirs like this one sing Evensong almost every night in a different cathedral on a trip to England.
Sadly Evensong is no longer a part of regular worship in many churches. Despite its liturgical strength, and the beauty of the music written for the service by countless composers, and the wonderful evening hymns, evensong has been a casualty of modernity in the church—save for choirs like St. Paul’s which keep it alive on occasions like this.
My love affair with evensong was capped while I was in seminary by the opportunity to sing with a talented group of students less than half my age in the Trinity College Chapel Choir. So every Wednesday in term I was able to sing arrangements of the Nunc Dimmitis, Magnificat, and Preces, along with a new anthem. We rehearsed twice a week. So it was demanding.
As an act of praise and worship Evensong can be sublime at its best. We offer our voices, our prayers to God to give thanks for all our blessings.
Let us give thanks for this treasure of our Anglican worship life, and especially to those like the choir of St. Paul’s which help to keep the flame of Evensong alive.
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