A Thought For The Week Of July 27, 2015

"Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?'" (Acts 26:28) Paul was bold. He had known King Agrippa (a descendant of Herod the Great) for only a short time but almost immediately had begun to share with him the story of Jesus. Agrippa's reply is above. Paul had been challenging Agrippa to let go of what were probably long held beliefs and to adapt both a new way of living and a new way of living. To me, that says "boldness." It was a very bold move of Paul to seek to bear witness  to Jesus right off the bat - something that I suspect most Christians today would be uncomfortable doing, and that some Christians might even find offensive. But for Paul it was second nature. Whether uncomfortable or offended, many Christians today would shy away from following Paul's lead because, after all, we live in a pluralistic society and we don't want to be disrespectful. Well, it's worth noting that the same could be said for Paul - and yet he often received a favourable response when he shared the gospel. People were interested to hear what he had to say, because he shared respectfully. In response, he would get a hearing. Those who listened to him wouldn't always agree with him, but they would listen. And perhaps even more important is to note what Paul's agenda was: it was witnessing, plain and simple. It wasn't conversion. That, of course, was his hope, but Paul understood that faith came from God and that he had to leave the response to his message - whatever it was - to God. We see that in Paul's reply to Agrippa in the next verse: "Short time or long - I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am ..."  In other words, Paul was saying that the response to his message was out of his hands. His only goal was to share the gospel. How long it would take to have an impact on his listeners was between them and God. That, to me, sums up what the strategy and goal of evangelism should be: to share the good news with a heartfelt desire that those you share with will respond, but to leave the results to God. We do want people to respond. After all, we have to believe that what we're sharing is important or else we can't share it effectively.So we share with the earnest desire that somewhere along the way - at a time known only to God - what we share will have a positive impact on the lives of those we share with.

July 26 2015 sermon - Expectations

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, "It is I; don’t be afraid." Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

(John 6:1-21)

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     Expectations. Let’s be honest. We’ve come here this morning with expectations. You have expectations of me, and I have expectations of you. That’s a part of any new relationship, isn’t it. The author Marianne Williamson, whose words I included in the order of service today, wrote that “every ending is a new beginning.” And new beginnings are exciting. And so, we have expectations. High expectations. All of us have been through an ending a few weeks ago. I assume it was an emotional ending for you here; I know it was an emotional ending for me in Port Colborne. And now we’re together. And there are expectations. We expect a lot of each other. Truth be told - we may expect too much of each other.

     Most of you have heard of Mahatma Gandhi. He was truly one of the great men of the twentieth century. A Hindu, he became an Indian nationalist, and led India to independence from Great Britain in a non-violent revolution. As a young man, he lived and practiced law in South Africa. It was before the days of formal apartheid, but racism was well entrenched in South African society at the time, a nominally Christian society though it may have been. While he was there he read and was captivated by the Gospels and was attracted to Christianity. There’s a story that Gandhi at one time tried to attend a service in a South African church. He was turned away at the door - forbidden to enter because he was Indian - or “coloured” in the vernacular of the day - and the church was for “whites only.” He never showed interest in the Christian faith again. Years later, he was asked why, since so many of his teachings seemed consistent with those of Jesus. It had come down to expectations. “I admire your Christ,” Gandhi said, “but you Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Frankly, he had a point, and that’s where expectations about new relationships in the church tend to crash and burn.

     Jesus could do miracles! Some have their doubts about that, but I don’t. Incarnation - the belief that Jesus was in fact God in human form - is the centrepiece of my theology, so I believe that Jesus could do miracles. Today’s Gospel reading focussed on a miracle. It’s known as the feeding of the five thousand. And stories like it can lead to expectations. John Wimber was the founder of the very charismatic Vineyard movement. Wimber started his life of faith attending a very traditional Church of England congregation. After a while he went to the priest and asked “where’s the stuff?” “What ‘stuff’,” the priest asked in reply. “You know. The stuff Jesus did. The miracles. Where are they?” Wimber had expectations that we in the church should be like Jesus; that the things that happened when Jesus was around should be happening among us.

     I want to make one request of you today. Just one for now. Please don’t expect me to be Jesus! I won’t be Jesus. I’m not going to feed five thousand people with a few loaves and fishes. I’m not going to walk on water. I’m not likely to heal the sick and I’m even less likely to raise the dead! Please don’t expect me to be Jesus. That’s my one request of you this morning. And I make one promise to you today. Just one for now. I won’t expect you to be Jesus either. I’ll expect you to be a congregation with strengths and weaknesses, as long as you expect me to be a minister with strengths and weaknesses. And I’d like to both ask and promise that we celebrate each other’s strengths and forgive each other’s weaknesses. That’s a lot better than starting with unrealistic expectations.

     But I do want to suggest this. If we can start by agreeing that I’m not Jesus, and neither are you, I do want us all to consider the possibility that WE - together - are Jesus, to this community and to the world. We have strengths that can compensate for each other’s weaknesses - and we want to combine our strengths so that we don’t ever become that church Gandhi encountered that turned him permanently away from the Christian faith. And, if we can do that - then, together, we can be Jesus to those we encounter.

     How do we be like Jesus? Do we have to do miracles? Do we have to live up to that expectation? Maybe - but what was the miracle in this passage? Setting aside the drama, what really counted was the end result. Hungry people were fed; frightened people were calmed. Everyone was saved from the greatest need they had at that moment. That’s our ministry. That’s how - together - we become like Jesus. We have to live with our eyes open to the needs around us - the physical needs, the emotional needs, the spiritual needs. Jesus encountered five thousand people who had needs. We focus, I think, too much on the drama - on the five loaves and two fish - and I think we miss the point because of that. The story doesn’t actually say that five loaves and two fish fed five thousand people. It tells us that Andrew found one boy who had five loaves and two fish. There may well have been others who had food. The problem was that there were also many who were hungry, and some have suggested that the real miracle here was not that Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, but rather that Jesus convinced those who had food to share it with those who didn’t. Perhaps there was more than enough food - it just wasn’t accessible to everyone - which isn’t actually a bad analogy for the world today. Those who have a lot tend to hold on to it and end up having more and more, so that those who have little actually end up having less and less. Jesus met a physical need - he fed the hungry - but he also met a spiritual need - he freed others from the tyranny of self-centredness and selfishness and created a bond between people that moved them to help and share with each other. He created a community out of a diverse group of people who had different ideas and different priorities and maybe even different beliefs - and Jesus overcame those differences and made that great crowd of people one. That’s what we do if we live like Jesus. Paul wrote that “... I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love - how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is.” We bring that love of Jesus - not to mention his compassion and grace and presence - to every situation - and that makes us one, bridging our differences and creating a welcoming environment to everyone who wants to join us.

     So, once again, don’t expect ME to be Jesus, just as I promised that I won’t expect YOU to be Jesus. But let’s also remember that the world expects US to be Jesus - and that God empowers us to be so. For all our differences, God gives us all gifts and talents and abilities and if we use them together then we function as the Body of Christ. Paul wrote in Ephesians, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” If Christ dwells in our hearts then Christ should be shown through our hands and voices; through our missions and ministries; through our actions and attitudes; through our worship and witness. And, honestly, if the world doesn’t see Jesus in us and through us, then the world will - and should - turn away, but in those shining moments when Jesus really is revealed in us and through us - when, as a church, we’re at our best -  people will respond, and people will be transformed, and our community will be the stronger for it. Of that I have no doubt.

     So - it’s a new beginning, and it’s time to get started!

A Time Between Churches

I decided to start my ministry at Pickering Village United Church with three weeks of vacation - 21 days that end today.  Tomorrow I head into the church office for the first time as Lead Minister (well, officially anyway, although I have visited a couple of times.) There have been moments when I wondered if this time off was a good idea. Every now and then I've found myself a bit anxious to get started,  and it seems to have been a long time. But I think it was a good idea.  I had been at Central Port Colborne for a long time, all things considered - closing in on 11 years,  and I think I needed a break from a long term ministry before I could start somewhere else. So I've concentrated on moving in, helping set up the house and getting to know the community we're living in and the surrounding area just a little bit. And I went to church here in town.  Only once, but it was a very different setting than I had been accustomed to obviously. And I have to get used to things being different.

I had become very comfortable at Central. Comfortable with the liturgy, comfortable with the traditions, comfortable with the people.  Comfortable is nice. I knew what I could push for and how far I could push for it. When complaints emerged, I knew who I should really listen to (because they would be listened to) and who I could just allow to let off steam and then press forward. I knew what was worth fighting for in that context and what I should just allow to pass by. I was very comfortable.  That's part of why I moved on. Comfort isn't necessarily a good thing in ministry - and it was important to have some time away from that comfortable environment so that I could embrace the opportunity to do something different (and therefore challenging) without feeling the need to force how I've been used to doing things on an unsuspecting congregation. So I've had to let go of my comfort zone a little bit.

Hymns. I have no idea what hymns Pickering Village knows. They use Voices United, so I'm guessing they know the standards. What their favourites are, though,  I have no idea. And they use More Voices - a hymnbook I know only from limited usage at meetings of Niagara Presbytery. But when in Rome - so I've picked one hymn from More Voices for my first Sunday. It's called "Jesus Laughed Out Loud." I'm going to use it with the children. And there are some simple things about the liturgy that are different. Pickering Village has a Prayer of Approach and a Prayer of Confession, whereas I've combined them as a Prayer of Approach and Confession, which I've just called the Opening Prayer. And Pickering Village has the Lord's Prayer near the end of the service, whereas I've always had it near the beginning. When in Rome ... And I've usually just used one Scripture reading; Pickering Village uses two. Small things. No big deal. If I were sitting in the congregation I probably wouldn't even notice.  Well, I would but I wouldn't care. Leading worship with a different format than I've used for years will be strange - but when in Rome ...

That's why the break has been good.  I highly recommend it to others who change pastorates. Leading worship in one environment one Sunday and then in a completely different environment the next Sunday would be a bit jarring and I don't think it would be a service to the new congregation. It would feel odd; I'd feel like a visitor; a stranger. I did it when I moved from Sundridge to Port Colborne. I'd be standing in the pulpit thinking of them as something other than my people. It would be like being a guest preacher. There will probably still be a bit of that feeling,  but I think this time away from the familiar and comfortable has served its purpose. I realized that a few days ago. I don't remember the context, but my wife made reference to "the church." She was referring to Central; my mind went immediately to Pickering Village. Appropriately so.

The break has been good. It's accomplished what I wanted it to accomplish. I'm thinking of myself as the minister of Pickering Village United Church. I'm anxious to start. Tomorrow I'll head to the church office - and enter MY office. I need to do a few things with it to make it feel like mine. The desk needs to be moved. I want to work facing the office door and not the window. And I have phone calls to make - about some baptisms and a wedding. Possibly even a funeral,  although I won't find out about that until tomorrow morning. And there are people to get to know - and I have to learn who it's important to get to know. And I'll probably wander the building a few times over the next few weeks,  just to familiarize myself with where everything is.

The time between churches has been good and it's filled me with enthusiasm for what I'm beginning tomorrow.  I'm not leaving the past behind.  The past is part of me. All that I've experienced and learned as minister of Central United Church, and of the Sundridge Pastoral Charge, and of the Green Bay South Pastoral Charge comes with me. All that I've experienced and learned as an intern at Central Avenue United Church and as a lay person at Victoria Park United Church and as a student at Emmanuel College and through my doctoral studies in Chicago comes with me. But it's in the past. Reality as of tomorrow is Pickering Village United Church. There's a lot more to learn. There's always a lot more to learn.