For
Yr. C Planning
Advent-Epiph.
BOOKS
Theological
books
I read recently:
-Brickner,
Finding
God
in Garden
Resources
by
Category:
Click
a heading
below
to go
to a
category.
-Administration
and
Pastoral
Relations:
resolving
conflict;
-Children
&
Church
School:
Lit
for start
of
sch term
-discussion
resources
-Liturgical
-movies
reviewd
-Mission
cong's
chaplain
outreach
Peace
for churches
-Sermon/Story
-Social
Comment
Spanking,
Liberal
Muslims
-Series
for SUMMER
Two non-lectionary Sermon and Worship series
A. Summmer 1.Garden; 2.water, 3. travel; 4. picnics.
B. Hands of Christ Click here
------000000------
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
Summer Sermon Series I - “Garden”
ecclesicakes A405
See order of service A208a
For any summer
Sunday, Trinity Sunday Yr. A, Epiphany 1, Yr. B.
Genesis
chapters 1 and 2, Psalm 1:3, 65:9-11,96:11-13
Resource: Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About Stories in the Bible, “Partners,” Marc Gellman, Harper Collins Publishers, 1989
For today and for the next three Sundays my intention, during the sermon time, is to reflect theologically about some of the more common aspects of Summer, which many of us enjoy. This week I want to talk about Gardening, and next week, The Beach, then Holiday Travel, ending by reflecting theologically on the summer theme aratof Picnics.
Today, my theme is Gardens. How many folks here planted a flower garden this year? How about a vegetable garden? Did you start from scratch with seeds or did you plant seedlings? I have a friend who always starts his tomatoes from seeds. Sometime in the month of March he goes down into his basement and spend a joyous time “playing” in the soil, putting a few seeds into each of six seedling containers and giving each of these tiny pots of hope just the right amount of water. Once the planting was completed, he carefully places each pot in long trays and brings them upstairs where they could soak up the warmth and the goodness of the sun. Every day he checks his little plants with great anticipation, watching for the 1st little shoot to push its way up out of the soil. Then, for several weeks, he takes these seedlings outside tgo a shelteed snny spot on his back porch. This is to "harden" them in prepion for then day on or shortly after May 24 he takes the strongest of these seedlings and transfers them to the garden. I believe this act of gardening; from the preparation work of buying soil, pots and seeds, to the planting and the watching and transplanting, was for him, an act of love and of hope...
I want to read to you a story about another gardener. It is small story that holds within it the seeds of a big idea. The story is by one of my favourite Hebrew Testament theologians, Marc Gellman. Now, before I read the story I want to remind us that both Jesus and the Biblical prophets were very fond of telling small stories about big ideas. Today we call these stories parables. I like to think of them as children’s stories because, in my experience, it is often children, who most easily get the point of the story.
So, I invite you to get yourselves comfortable to hear this story; close yours eyes if you so wish. As I read this story be alert to the big ideas, for there may be more than one, which has been planted into it.
[Read Mac Gellman’s,
“Partners” from Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About
Stories in the Bible. ]
So, what big ideas do we find
within this story? [Write down responses when using in a discussion group]
For me the Good News in Marc Gellman’s story is this: we are BIG ENOUGH to work within the Holy’ garden. We are BIG ENOUGH to be entrusted with the awesome responsibility of tending a garden of of that which is holy. We are BIG ENOUGH to take the watering can of hope out of storage and to pour its contents into the world with care and generosity. When we all do this, we help make the world a garden of the holy.
Then, I might also come to understand, that we have a huge responsibility to care for and nurture this garden in which we have been placed. We are both plants in the garden and gardener, both creatures and partners in creation.
This leads me reflect on our gardens in terms of faith and learn from them many things about the nature of holiness and about how we are to live.
For instance, when I pass by a garden, or work in my own little plot, I may be reminded that I am one of God’s seedlings, and so is my neighbour; we are all a part of a holy garden.
Then, I often find myself judging gardens; assessing as superior those, which, in my eye, have the most attractive plants, and the fewest weeds. This can lead me to the startling conclusion that, unlike our gardens, the holy garden has no weeds, or favorite plants. In the Holy Garden all things grow together in Grace.
In this coming week, may you and I receive the nurture we need, so that we may blossum such a way that we become seeds of faith and care which take root in our world, and give hopeful nurture to all of creation's creatures.
-----0000----
To contact me, to share your ideas about this or any other tooic, click here
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
Summer Sermon/Story Series
II - Water ecclesicakes A406
Liturgical
for this theme is at A209
Please
acknowledge ecclesicakes when using this material
Matthew 3:13;
4:18; 8:23; 8:32; 14:22. Mark 3:7f; Luke 5:1f; John 6:16f; 21:1f
May
also apply to: Yr. B, Baptism
of Jesus, Ep. 5
Yr. A,Ep.3 Prop. 14 . Yr. C, Prop. 12 Ep. 5.
Bible Quest Yr.
2, session 7
I offer today the second sermon in a four part series, which aims to reflect theologically on some of the more common themes of summer. Last week the theme was garden today its the beach.
I begin with an observation and then a wonder; an observation and a wonder about Jesus and his experiences at the beach.
My observation is that Jesus did not grow up by water. He spent his childhood at least a couple of days walking distance from the Sea of Galilee. The Bible does not tell us if he ever spent time by the Galilee as a young person.
Which led me to wonder: for a person who had not grown up by or maybe never visited a large body of water, Jesus gave water an enormously important role in his ministry. At places of water Jesus gave himself to the Good News, and called others to it. That is, he was baptized and visited by the Holy Spirit, in the River Jordan, then called the first disciples by the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
He used an image of the sea to describe the mission as fishing; being catchers of people! When he would sit with the people to teach them about God and the realm of heaven, he would often sit by the lake or in a boat on it. He enacted the Good News by calming the storm at sea, and walking on water, and feeding the five thousand by the shore of the lake. There was no lake or river near Nazareth, so how do you suppose Jesus came to be so comfortable with water imagery, and with the sea?
Those of you who were here last week will remember that I read to you from Marc Gellman's book "Does God Have A Big Toe." that story was about a tale in the Bible - an interpretation of Holy Scripture through story.
Today I want to offer you another story; a tale that comes from my wondering about Jesus' fondness for water. I think he must have visited the Sea of Galilee as a boy. Here is how that might have happened.
---------------Jesus' first trip to the Beach---------------
I invite you to imagine Jesus as a boy of about 10 years, a boy who is of average height, with dark brown curly hair, sparkling brown eyes and an olive complexion; a boy with a vivid imagination, or so the neighbours thought. This is a boy who loved to explore,and who could also be quite introspective, and open to the wonderment of all creation. He is the eldest child of Joseph the carpenter and his wife Mary
Now, picture this boy racing his siblings home for supper and barely outrunning a younger sister. After the supper blessing was offered, everyone begins talking at once, passing food, pouring cups of water; such laughter and joy. Then they all stopped talking as their father, Joseph, put up his hand, and spoke with excitement: "I have a something special to tell you. Your cousin Isaac is getting married to a daughter of a Galilee fisherman. Her name is Sarah. They will be married at her home, of course - in Magdala on the lakeshore of Galilee."
This announcement started a buzz of questions: "How far is it? when do we go? Are there robbers on the road? Is it true that there are monsters in the Lake? Can we go into the water? Joseph and Mary laughed and told them that it was good two days journey from Nazareth to Magdala, and they would be leaving in three days. No one asked, "How will we travel?" An ordinary family like theirs would walk.
For safety, they would make the journey with two other families and several merchants who traded their wares along this route. This would allow them arrive in plenty of time to visit with relatives and maybe, just maybe, go onto the great sea in their new relative's fishing boat. As well as being the best fisherman on the entire Sea of Galilee, Joseph declared that the new cousin's father was also reputed to be a great storyteller who spun entertaining tales of the sea.
Can you imagine the hanging mouths and eyes wide as saucers as Joseph told them with a twinkle in his eye, of Cousin Isaac falling into the sea and being swallowed by a giant sea monster only to be spit back onto shore. Just like the story in the Torah of Jonah and the whale, their mother reassured them laughingly.
Such excitement! A trip to the Sea of Galilee and sea monsters! For Jesus and his siblings it seemed like forever before the donkey was loaded with sleeping mats, food, water and gifts for the wedding couple, but finally they set off for the great seaside city of Magdala. For two days Jesus and the other children ran and played, and explored the changing scenery. At night around a fire, they listened to the merchants tell scary stories of robbers who frequented that road. Then, as they lay wrapped up in their bedrolls, under a starry canopy, images of ships and sea monsters filled their imaginations.
On the evening of the second day, this little caravan arrived tired and footsore on the crest of a hill overlooking the seaside city of Magdala. For Jesus and his family, it was a sight that took their breath away, and caused them to forget how weary they were. Below them, set against the lush green of the plants and trees and the sparkling brown sand lay the Sea of Galilee. The varied blues of the water was intensified by small whitecaps moving across the lake, and lapping upon the shore.
Never before had Jesus seen such vastness or beauty. He watched as below him families gathered on the beach to share an evening meal with friends. Children of all ages were running and playing together in the shallow water, the sounds of their laughter and squeals of delight carried to the top of the valley each time a piece of sea weed caught in their toes. All this was enveloped in the setting sun's warm, red glow.
As he felt bathed in all this glory, Mary took his hand and quietly recited phrases from one of her favourite psalms:
"O Lord, where can I flee
from your spirit?
If I take the wings of the
morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall lead
me." (psalm 139)
Then Joseph led them in prayer, giving thanks for a safe journey.
Finally, the whole
company recited together from Psalms :
"The earth is the
Creator's and the fullness thereof;
The world and those who live in it;
For God hath founded it upon
the seas." (Psalm 24)
"God leads me besides
still waters;
God restoreth my soul,
restoreth my soul. " (Psalm 23)
The young boy, Jesus, knew that he was standing in the presence of the Holy. He felt that Yahweh was showing him a glimpse of the way it would be in God's Realm, which would come about through the lives of very ordinary people, like his own family and those he saw at the sea shore below him.
Sensing the change in her son, Mary whispered in his ear, "Remember always, my precious child, that the Holy One's love for us is deeper and wider than this sea. Like the fishermen in the boats casting their nets for fish so you will one day be casting Holy's nets of love; you will one day be a fisher of people. You, my son, will one day bring God's people to the shores of God's realm and share with them a great feast, for this is your destiny."
As they descended into the city, Jesus knew these images would stay with him forever. In his heart he knew that he had been connected to the source of his being, a source that had filled his heart with wonderment and awe and his eyes with tears of pure joy.
Though we do not know for sure when Jesus first went to the lakeshore, I would like to believe it was when he was a child. I like to think that it was through the eyes of a child that he caught a glimpse of God's love that is wide and deep, like Lake Galilee, and enveloping all like the warmth of the setting sun. And as he looked upon the people laughing and sharing without reserve, he saw an image of the Realm of God.
As it may have been for the child, Jesus, when he visited the seashore for the very first time, may it also be for us. May it be that our time at the lake or the beach will connect us to the source of our being. May the water and the good companionship join us to the Holy One who created us out of love and for love.
When next you go to the lake. as you come around the bend or over the hill and you catch that first glimpse of water, stop, take a moment and as you gaze upon the water be aware that God's love for you is wider that the widest ocean, deeper than the deepest sea; be aware of the warmth of the sun as the warmth of God's love. If it is storming, know that God is there with you and will always be with you in all the storms of life. As you watch the children trying to scoop up minnows with their nets, know that, because of Jesus, we too have been scooped up into God's net, and know that you, also, are a precious child of God.
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
Summer Sermon Series III - Travel ecclesicakes A407
Genesis 12-15, 16, 24,28,37; Exodus 2:17, 14; Ruth; 1 Kings 19; Ezekiel 12;
Matthew, 2:1, 13,4:1,12, 17:1,21:1; Luke 1:39, 2:1, 24:13; Acts 8:4, 9:32, 13:1
If you are like many Canadians, you would have been preparing for a summer vacation trip during the months of June, July or August . Canadians do a lot of travelling in the summer. The rise in thed proce of gas may mean this tear our trips will be short ones; visits to relatives and family gatherings, we go on weekend camping trips, some go to the lakeside others trek to the mountains or the coast, some visit cities to attend events like the Fringe Festivals and Folk fests, Others of us yet fly to far more exotic lands like Europe, Australia and the Far East, or cruise up the coast to Alaska. Some will be modern pilgrims travelling with a tour to the Holy Land, or to the origins of their faith in other places. Also on the road this summer are those who are moving to a new home.
Travel was an essential part of the life and faith experience of some of our biblical forbearers. The Bible is full of travelers: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Joseph, Moses and Miriam, Ruth and Naomi, King David, Elijah, Jesus, Peter, Paul, Silas, Priscilla. They all travelled at the behest of the Spirit, taking the message of a holy, faithful, righteous creator with them wherever they went.
Down through the ages this sort of travel has been a part of the spiritual life of the faithful outside the Bible too. Millions of people have embarked on holy pilgrimage .
This morning I invite you to consider the spiritual spiritual dimension of your summer travel. Is it possible that our summer travel could be a sacred trip or pilgrimage to discover again the Holy, perhaps taking the love of God with you?
In our tradition, holy travel began with Abraham and Sarah, our spiritual mother and Father. Their travel was not of the summer holiday variety. It was more like the travel of those who migrated to this land from Europe, Africa, or Asia. They left the settled life of Ur when God called to them: "Leave your country and your neighbours and your family and go to a land I will show you." So off they went, taking the scenic route they meandered to Canaan, then Bethel and the Negeb, with a side trip to Egypt, then onto the Hebron and Gerar, finally settling in in Palestine.
Does this fit with your travel experience? If you have moved from one place to another, can you see your relocation as your response to the call of God? Or if it doesn't seem that God called you to move, could you say at least that God was with you as you were uprooted from one place to resettle in another?
Every year when I take to the road for a holiday, I see cars and trucks loaded to the brim and puling utility trailers. This reminds me that I am sharing the highway with people who, like Abraham and Sarah, have packed up everything they have, and are on the way to a new home. When we identify such travellers, it would be good to say a prayer for them, asking for their safety on the road, and a happy life in a new land.
The type of biblical travel that was closest to our holiday trips, was the trek to Jerusalem to take part in a festive event, such as Passover, or Pentecost. As holidays these occasions were a bit like Mardi-Gras or a mix of: a summer fair, a trip to an exotic place and Christmas all rolled up together, combining the fun of a summer fair, the wonder of special place, and a religious focus like Christmas or Thanksgiving.
I had a holiday trip that was something like this last year. In September I went to England on a holiday-come pilgrimage. I am not sure that I could say that God called me to fly to England, but I am sure that the Spirit was lead leading me all through it.
The holiday part was fulfilled by being a gawking tourist taking in the sights of London, and Bath and Portsmouth. The pilgrimage part was a "roots" sort of thing. I wanted to get in touch with one part of my family origins, and one aspect of my religious origins.
So, I went to the seaside city of Portsmouth and stood on the sidewalk in front of the house my Grandma Kales lived in just before she married, then I went down to the docks and stood near the place from which she embarked for Canada as young mother with a babe in arms. As did this I brought to mind all the adventures, and trials that I knew would await her in the new land. I thought of her courage and faith, and how my very existence arose from her. This was a deeply moving spiritual experience.
Then, I went to Salisbury where I slept in a Bed and Breakfast room with a window overlooking Salisbury Cathedral just yards away. I had no particular association with this specific church property, but I did find it meaningful to have my sleep punctuated with the sound of the cathedral bells, and to spend two days within the walls of the church grounds where God has been continually worshipped since medieval times.
I know of another holiday traveller who travelled across the sea to seek out the church in which her parents and been married during World War II, and to touch the baptism font at which she had been Christened in that same church. This too was experienced as a sacred journey.
One friend of mine returned from an organized tour to Southern Africa more deeply convinced of the need for equity in our world. She enjoyed the all the the tourists side trips that this program offered - the the wild creatures of the parks, the magnificent scenery, the great hotels, but what struck her most was the vast poverty in which the people lived, and the low pay the locals made for their work in the hotels. When she came back she asked me: "What exactly does out Mission and Service Fund support in Africa?"
I know of another families whose spiritual experience on holiday was quite different. This families was a poor working family, who saved up for two years to have one week in Disneyland. I found myself silently wondering why would a poor family spend its few resources to go to Disneyland. However as they told of the fun they had, and the store of good memories they had collected, I could see the value, and the spirituality they found in being together on this trip in which their poverty was set aside for one magical week.
Other families have told me of the strong presence of God they found in their first site of the the Canadian Rocky Mountains, or when standing in awe at the rim of the Grand Canyon.
So, I invite us all to reflect back on the holiday trips we have had, or are planning for his summer. Whether we travel across the continent or just down the road to the nearest park, may we, like our ancestors, know God's Holy Spirit as our constant companion, guiding us, and speaking to us in all that we do and see. Like them, let us begin each journey in prayer, and keep ourselves open to the presence of God's spirit in our fun, exploration and wonderment. May we all have spirit-filled travels, catching a glimpse of God in creation, in history, in play, and in being together with our travel companions.
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
Summer Sermon Series IV - Picnics ecclesicakes A 408
Matthew 14:13-21; Mar 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14
Yr. A: Proper 13; Yr. B: Proper 11 &12.
Today we conclude our series, which connects some of the more common aspects of summer like gardening, the beach and travel with our faith. Today the theme is picnics. How many of you have been on a picnic recently. Or had family or friends over for a barbecue in your backyard, and did you at anytime during your picnic or get together feel really good as you and your friends and their children enjoyed playing games, and sharing stories and jokes?
Well, you know this simple act of getting together for hamburgers and potato salad, taking delight in each other is not just something we do when the serious business of prayers and worship is over. In fact, the spirit of a good picnic echoes and reflects something of our worship and of the Holy Spirit. Didn't Jesus invite us to be like children? Well, playing and eating are two things children do well. For Jesus, there was great wisdom to be found in merely being playful. For adults, play rejuvenates; makes us young again. When we gather for something as ordinary and as simple as a holiday picnic, we are expressing something of God's will for us; that we should form playful and sharing and graceful community.
My grandmother Kayes once told me of the wonder and grace she experienced at her first picnic in Canada. She was a young mother, just emigrated from England, and was feeling uncertain about her place in this new land. Then she was invited to a community picnic. There she was embraced and made welcome, and invited to enjoy not only the contents of here her own meager basket, but also the wide array of wonderful food everyone else had brought. Everyone brought and everyone shared. She felt wonderfully at home. Her eyes filled with tears as she told me of it over fifty years later. This was for her an experience of Grace.
This morning I want to tell you about a picnic in the bible. This picnic took place on a hillside by the Sea of Galilee. I think it must have been similar to the picnics we have known; there would be laughter and play and the food. They say that there were 5,000 men at this picnic, not including the women and children. Now, this was no ordinary picnic, this was the greatest picnic there ever was! It was great because it was an example of the Realm of God.
----------------- -The Greatest Picnic There Ever Was-----------------------
Now let me bring you into that picnic by imaging what it was like for of these 5000 men and his family.
Imagine that at this picnic there was a man named Eli. Eli was a God fearing man who had been born into a family of carpenters in occupied Palestine. Eli, unlike his father the carpenter, was a farm worker on land owned by wealthy Roman. Eli loved the land; he took pleasure in planting the seed and watching it grow. He even took pleasure in the hard work of hauling water from the well to water the land. He would spend all day in the fields, picking stones, hoeing the weeds that grew in great abundance. "If only you could sell the produce, " Eli would say to himself, You would be to provide better for your family.
At one time Eli had owned the piece of land he worked on. It had belonged to his grandfather, but he had to give it up when he could no longer pay the heavy taxes the Romans had placed on him. This was true of all the small landowners like him, who had lost their land and now worked for the Romans.
The priests had told him he lost his land because he had sinned before God. God took away his land to punish him. Although Eli had great respect for the temple priests, he just didn't know what great sin he had committed that would cause God to punish him and his children by making them poor. His children were so beautiful and innocent. As he gathered in the harvest, he wondered, "What possibly could they have done that God would curse them so?"
These were the thoughts that occupied his mind when he walked home for supper the night before "the greatest picnic ever." What sin could he or his family have committed that would cause God to turn away from them and make them to live in fear of the Roman overlords. Why would God make it so that they had barely enough to eat each day? Eli thought, "If only the priests could be more specific."
Now as Eli walked through the tiny village to his home he sensed that there was something different something unusual with the people. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but there seemed to be an air of expectancy, a tenseness that was unusual. It was as if something of major importance was about to happen.
That night at the table Eli's children Ruth and Simon were talking about the stranger who was coming the next day. "What stranger?" their father asked. "The Teacher," Ruth said. "The healer!" exclaimed Simon. Eli looked at his wife. "Do you know of what the children speak, Rachel?"
"The women at the well and in the market have talked of nothing else for three days. It is even whispered that this man is, well, is the. Messiah! They say he has performed miracles that only a person sent from God could do."
"Can he part the water of the sea like Moses?" asked Ruth.
"Or bring down the walls of Jericho, like Joshua did?" Simon probed.
"Well," said their mother, "They say he can turn water into wine and after he touched the eyes of a blind man, he could see again. Others say that he has actually risen the dead"
"And what is his name, this man who is whispered to be the Messiah, the one who raises people from the dead?"
"They call him Jesus of Nazareth."
Jesus of Nazareth!", exclaimed Eli. "Little Yeshua! He is a relative of mine, on my father's side. He came to a wedding here when we both were children. I remember his fascination with the sea and the fishermen who were mending their nets. Oh, how he talked with them. He would ask questions for hours. He seemed to eager to learn that I thought he would become a fisherman, but you say he is a teacher and healer? He was a curious one this cousin Jesus. Hmmm, so you say that he is comes tomorrow and that he may be the Messiah. Oh his poor mother, Mary, what a gift and a burden our great God has given to her to bear.
Eli thought for a moment then announced, "Tomorrow we go see cousin Yeshua!"
Early the next morning as Eli, Ruth, Rachel and Simon, set out for the village, they had much company on the road. There were hundreds of people, all going in the same direction as they were. There were friends and neighbours, village merchants and farm workers, tradesmen, strangers and their families: the young, the elderly and the infirm, and one woman being carried on a litter, all making their way to the hills above the sea.
With a smile on his face Eli wondered if anyone was working today and then wondered, with some apprehension, "What will the priests say and more pressing what will the Romans do when they find out that we have left our work for the day? There will be consequences he thought." Eli tried not to imagine in what form his punishment would take.
Then, quickly moving these thoughts out of his head, he wondered instead, "Will Yeshua remember me. It was such a long time ago and we were both children."
When they reached the place where Jesus was to be, Eli was amazed at the numbers of people who had already arrived. Never, in all his life, had he seen so many people assembled in one place. "Some must have come last night," he thought. At the back of the crowd, he noticed men he could identify as Pharisees.
With so many people, Rachel wondered where should they lay their blanket, and how were they going to find Jesus.
Then Eli saw him. There on a grassy knoll was Jesus, playing Catch Me if you can with a dozen or so children, laughing and running in circles, and swinging them in the air when he caught one of them.
In an instant Ruth was there with them, joining in the game as if she had known these children and Jesus all her life, so unafraid. "Oh, the innocence and freedom of children," Eli said to Rachel.
Can you imagine Eli's surprise when Jesus caught little Ruth up into his arms and looking into her face said, "Ruth, where is your father Eli?" And then looking toward Eli and Rachel, he smiled, his smile, so warm and inviting.
Then, he sat on a rock with the blue sky and the green sea as his backdrop and called to the crowd, "Let the children come to me for the Realm of God belongs to just such little ones as these." Opening his arms, he drew the children to him and blessed them.
Simon, who was twelve, moved closer to Jesus, but didn't sit with the children.
When Jesus lifted his head to speak, a hush came over the crowds so that his words were clearly heard by all those gathered on the Galilean hillside that day:
"Blessed are you, who are poor, for yours is the Realm of heaven;
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled;
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh."
Later Eli was to recall: "What Jesus said was difficult to accept at first. He spoke of God's great love for us all. Then, as he continued, his voice touched our hearts. It was as if he was drawing out our deepest longings for a better life for our children and our nation, drawing out our hopes and our desires, telling us that we were of great value to God and to each other.
"On that day he invited us to believe, to open our hearts and believe the Good News, to trust in the Good News; the Good News that God loves us and will never abandon us."
Though it only seemed like minutes he must have spoken for hours, for by the time he was finished many of the children had fallen asleep and the sun was beginning to set.
Simon came back to his parents, and told his mother, "I'm hungry."
Rachel opened the food basket of fish and bread she had prepared, and whispered, "Eli, it is time to eat and yet our neighbours have no food, not even a loaf of barley bread. We can't eat in front of them, and we don't have enough for everyone. What are we to do?"
Eli handed the basket to Simon. "Take this to Jesus. Tell him the people are hungry. He will know what to do, and, Simon, bring your sister back with you."
Jesus friend, Andrew, saw Simon coming toward Jesus and rose to meet him. So Simon gave Andrew the basket and they went to Jesus. "My father said you would know what to do with this."
Jesus smiled at the boy, took the basket, and spoke to the crowd: "It is time for us to eat together as one family of God." Then he took five loaves of barley bread and two dried pieces of fish, and raised them for all to see, gave thanks to God and blessed them. As he broke the bread he asked Simon if he would help his disciples feed the people.
As the people ate they laughed and spoke of the words they had heard."We are blessed," they said, "and we are a blessing to one another."
When they spoke of God's love for them, they wept tears of joy. "God has not abandoned us," they said.
When the people were finished eating, Simon asked his dad, "How did that happen, how could so many people be fed when there was so little food, and there are leftovers?
"It was a miracle," said Eli, "a miracle. Jesus took the bread of the poor and transformed it into a heavenly banquet. This day we have witnessed a miracle from God."
As the people celebrated, Eli noticed his cousin Jesus get up quietly to leave the gathering, and Eli felt within himself a new power, and he raised his hand to bless his cousin Jesus. Jesus felt the power of Eli's blessing, and turned to him and smiled, "thank-you my brother, thank you and good bye." At that moment Eli felt a great sadness rise up inside him. In that instant he knew he would never see his cousin again in this world, and also, as a farmer, he knew that this Great Picnic was like a seed of the Realm of God which would grow to change this world.
-----------------------The end of the story---------------
For some people today miracles can be a stumbling block. We no longer live in an age where miracles are expected around every corner. Miracles today are carefully sifted and examined until a satisfactory scientific explanation can be offered. Feeding the 5,000, they would say was just people feeling good and sharing their lunch with those who have none. Well, maybe, maybe not. If it was, that in itself would be a miracle. When I see it happen in our world through the Canadian Food Grains Bank, I see a miracle.
For me, miracles, however we view them, are signs which help us to understand the character of God. They also point to great and deep truths for our living as disciples.
In the time of Jesus, miracles were understood as gifts from God to God's people, and perhaps that is how we should consider them.
In terms of the picnics we take part this summer, let us remember that every community picnic is like a parable of the Realm of God and a demonstration of how God wants us to live all the time
My intention these past four weeks was to help us to see, to understand, to believe; to know that God is with us no matter what we do or where we go. God is our companion on the journey.
As we get back to work to school and to all the business of the coming fall and winter, I invite you to take time each day to sit with God to breath in God's spirit; to infuse the knowledge that as you played, gardened, picnicked, and traveled this summer. God was right there with you and continues to be. Thanks be to God.
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
Second
Non Lectionary Series
1.
We are the Hands; 2. Praying Hands;
3. Learning Hands; Healing Hands
We Are the
Hands of Christ ecclesicakes
Ahands
First in a series of four
See
liturgical material
Mark 16:18; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8
In the reading from Luke, we found the Risen Christ is preparing the disciples for the day when he would no longer be with them as a physical presence; a day when they would be the Hands of Christ.
Christ commissions them: "You are witnesses of the things I have
done so stay here, in the city, soon you will be clothed with power
from on high"(Acts 1:8). "Go into the world and proclaim
the good news."
Then he led them out as far as Bethany and lifting up his hands, he
blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and
was carried up into heaven.
The disciples may have expected that Jesus would be with them for
many years! Now he was gone. Not only was he gone, he had asked them
to take over; to be his hands.
The biblical scholar James Howell has written a small book which has
helped me to see our hands also as the hands of Christ. This is what
I will invite you to reflect on over the next four Sundays; our hands
as the hands of Christ.
To his beloved disciples says, "Look at my hands and my
feet." It's me he is saying, "I am with you. I will
not abandon you or leave you orphaned. Wherever you are I will be
there also. This is my promise to you."
One of the things I find peculiar about this story of Jesus' final
appearance to the disciples is the way he identifies himself.
"Look at my hands and my feet," he says. He could have
said, "Listen to my voice" or "Look at my face."
But instead, for identification purposes he offers to them his hands
and his feet.
Which led me to wonder, would I be able to identify someone I loved
by their hands and feet alone? I would like to think I could and I'm
not sure. A person's hands and feet are not usually the first thing
most of us would notice about one another. Well, except
perhaps, Sherlock Holmes.
I really like the author Conan Doyle's stories in which some
unsuspecting person is introduced to Holmes, spends five minutes in
the great detective's presence and leaves the room. When this person
has departed Sherlock turns to Watson and describes to him what this
person does for a living, his or her family status, income level and
hobbies - all based on having observed the person's hands.
For Holmes hands did not lie; nervous hands, clenched hands, damp
hands, calloused hands, soiled hands, scarred hands, they all told
him a piece of the person's story.
In his book "Yours Are The Hands of Christ: The Practice of
Faith" James Howell says that a mark that identifies a person as
a Christian is seen in their hands; they are the hands of Christ in
our world.
As you know, this is certainly not a new idea. The concept that we
are the hands of Christ can be traced back to Jesus himself.
According to Mark's Gospel, the Risen Christ commissioned the church
to do as Jesus had done: which is to lay hands on people and to heal
them. They would even have the power to pick up venomous snakes and
not be poisoned.
Christ challenged his friends to leave the security of the locked
room they were hiding in and to go into the world to use their hands
to continue the ministry Jesus. St. Paul taught that when we act out
of this mandate from Christ we become the Body of Christ.
James Howell invites us to reflect on the prayer of Teresa of Avila:
"Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours,
no feet but yours.
"Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ is to
look out on a hurting world. Yours are the feet with which he is to
go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless now.
"Yours are the hands with which Jesus is to bless now."
Now what about us? What does it mean for you and I to be the blessing hands of Christ?
Howell is convinced that being the active hands of Christ is absolutely essential to our faith; it is as important as believing that God loves you. He argues that once we take God's love for us into our hearts that love will flow down our arms and into our hands. In that moment our hands are transformed as we become the loving, caring, healing hands of Christ.
Now, I am sure we can all think of some well-known persons who have given their hands into the service of Christ. Some obvious ones are Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King.
But what about you and I? Let's look at our hands. Put your hands out and up in front of you palm side up and take a good look at them. Now look at your neighbour's. Don't be shy. If you are comfortable, hold their hand in yours. Look at those hands; your hands and these hands that are in front of you and beside you and behind you are the hands of Christ.
Cast your memory back to yesterday or the day before to last week. and bring to mind one act of kindness that you have done that involved your hands. They need not be grandiose, probably things you do every week. Did you visit a friend in hospital, give someone a call just to say, "Hi." Were you one of those who came to the church this week to stock the Food Bank? Who offered refreshments this past Friday to the grieving family of Mrs. Brown?
Who offered to help a neighbour with a chore? Who gave money to the Mission and Service Fund, or helped a student with their home work? What were your acts of kindness this past week?
In remembering these times when you were the hands of Christ, become aware of how this act transformed your feelings. If it makes you feel like smiling please do so because in those moments your hands became the blessing hands of Christ; in those moments you contributed to bringing about God's realm "on Earth as it is in Heaven."
Mother Teresa put it this way, "In this life we cannot do great things, we can only do small things greatly."
The times that matters most in our lives are the moments when we touch one another with respect, love, generosity and compassion.
That is the message I would like us to hold for ourselves, young or old or in middle age, whatever out circumstances. What we are called to do in a hundred small ways is let God's love work through us, letting our hands become the hands of Christ in our everyday life.
Through these acts of loving-kindness God's work of transformation is done. You cannot act in love without it affecting you. By these acts both we and out neighbors may be transformed. In these small acts of loving-kindness the world is transformed.
So, Let us continue being the hands of Christ in all the many opportunities we have to act with love and compassion. Let us go, and Christ goes with us.
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
We
are the Hands of Christ ecclesicakes
A211
order
of service to accompany Sermon Ahands
We Gather in God’s Presence
WelcomeLife and
Work of Our Congregation
Minute for
MissionCentering Ourselves in the Love of GodOne: I Invite you
into a moment of stillness,This is a time to breathe deeply of the
Holy Spirit,To breathe out the distractions that you carry within
you,To welcome the Holy into your midst,To invite Jesus into your
hearts.All: Spirit of Life, come unto us this day,It is good to be
here today, O God, to sing psalms to your Holy name,To sing out with
joy and thanksgiving our songs of praises to you,We pray that we
would hear your voice singing in our hearts,in this hour, in this
day, in this coming week.
Silence
AmenHymn: Psalm 100, VU No. 820
Opening Liturgy Opening Liturgy - Magnificat to the God of
the Dawn, Joyce Rupp
One: My being proclaims the wonders of light as it slowly penetrates
the ebbing darkness.
All: And my spirit bows to the beauty of the One who gives life to
all that has existence. Oh, vibrant green stems of life sing out your
praise to the Heart who draws you forth. Bird songs rejoicing in the
breath of dawn, warble your joy in view of the morning star.
One: Dew drops radiant upon the wetness of grass give glory to the
Wise Creator who sustains you.
All: Flower gardens, rushing streams, silent desserts, sing, sing,
for the Dancer who rejoices in your midst. Peoples of the planet,
creatures of the universe, play before the Enlivener who delights in
you. and my soul, my soul, rise up and greet the day with gratitude,
in a stance of humble remembering.
One: Surround us with your mercy and love, O Beloved, as we share
with you how we have turned away from you.
silent reflection...
One: Here is Good News. the One who raised Jesus from the dead offers
us new life this day. For all that we are, and all that we are called
to be, is held in the forgiving hands of the Creator who daily loves
us into life. Thanks be to God.
Sung Response, Shout for God, Waltrer Farquharson, Vink. VU246
To Speak and Hear God’s Word:Psalm 84Epistle Colossians 3:12-17Here ends the readingThanks be to God.
We Respond to God’s WordAffirmation of Faith - Creed
We Present Our Gifts Prayer of Dedication (sung)We give thee but thine own, what e’er the gift may be;all that we have is thine alone, a trust, O God, from thee.
Prayers of the People
One: Lord, listen to your
children praying, Lord, send your Spirit to this place;All: Lord
listen to your children praying, send us love, send us power, send us grace!Sung
response: Make me a channel of your peace
Lord’s Prayer
Sending Forth of God’s People
Hymn: We are Marching. Anders Nyberg Siyahamba VU 646
Blessing Sung Amen
The Peace of ChristMay the peace of Christ be with you.And also with you.
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
Being the Praying Hands of Christ . ecclesicakes A440
Matthew 4:23; 14:23;
26:36. Mark 1:35; 6:46. Luke 3:21; 6:12; 24:50; John 17.
- May be obliquely
related to Mt. 14:22-23
NOTE: find
order of service at A211a
Today I want to begin a series
on "Being the Hands of Christ." My hope is that these
sermons will help us renew our identity as the hands of Christ in
this time. We are among those who as Christ's Hands in the world; the
hands of Christ that pray and teach and we are the hands of Christ
that heal and serve others. God has entrusted the work of Christ to
these hands of ours.
I have used as my inspiration
for these reflections a book by the biblical scholar James Howell
entitled "Being the Hands of Christ: The Practice of Faith".
This small book has helped me to make the connections between the
hands of Jesus and these hands; my hands and yours. He says that a
mark of being a Christian is to be the hands of Christ in our world.
So, this morning, I want to
talk about being the praying hands of Christ; offering the kinds of
prayers Jesus used and taught us and to wonder a bit about what
happens to our prayers after they are uttered.
For Jesus, prayer was integral
to his life, his spiritual life and his ministry.
Prayer was integral to the
spiritual environment in which he grew up. For instance, , recited
the Shema many times a day:
"Hear O Israel, the Lord
is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might. "
The Shema is attributed to
Moses who instructed the people: "Keep these words that I am
commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and
talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you
lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix
them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the door posts
of your house and on your gates. (Deut. 6:4-9):
So, the people of Israel
recited this prayer - the Shema - as a reminder of God's presence
always with them. Jews in Jesus' day, like Jewish and Muslim
believers today, prayed morning, afternoon and evening. They prayed
when they met a fellow neighbour, friend or stranger, they blessed
one another and they blessed God. Psalms and scripture, prayer and
songs filled the minds of their young. Prayer was the basis for their
decision making. Prayer was a familiar part of daily life, practised
by all and was embedded in the very fiber of a person's being.
In today's reading from Mark we
learn that Jesus arose early in the morning for private prayer. Mark
also tells us that when Jesus was tired at the end of a long day he
would go up into the mountains to pray. He would go to a place of
solitude where he might indeed hear the voice of God speaking to him.
Luke tells us that he was praying when the Holy Spirit came to him at
his baptism and that he spent the whole night in prayer before he
chose the twelve who were to become his disciples and, at least, on
one occasion, Jesus stood in a boat and screamed against the roaring
wind and raging waves, "Be Still!!"
On the night of his arrest,
prayed passionately three times to be released for the Cross. Jesus'
last act was prayer. St. Luke reports that as the Risen Christ
ascended to the heavens Christ prayed a blessing on his friends. St.
John devotes a whole chapter to Jesus' prayer for the disciples.
So, what about us and our
prayer life as the Praying Hands of Christ?
To help us here I will now turn
to a book by Rabbi Marc Gellman & Monsignor Thomas Hartman
(Answers to Big Questions)*. They list five types of prayer. As I
read them, I invite you to ask yourselves, "Do my prayers fit
into this list? Let me know if you have other categories.
Five types of prayers they
identify are:
Gimme Prayers
Prayers of Woe,
Prayers of Thanks,
Oops! Prayers.
And Wow! Prayers (Repeat
this list)
Gimme Prayers as the name
implies are prayers in which we ask God to give us something or to
not take something away that you already have. I want to assure you
that there is nothing wrong with Gimme Prayers, if, the thing that
you are asking God from is a good thing.
There is nothing wrong with
asking God for strength and courage to face a loss, to ask for
guidance, wisdom, peace or protection. These are all good examples of
Gimme prayers. Also, to pray for the grace to be a good winner or
loser is also good, but asking God to help you win / conversely for
the other to lose is not worthy of us or of God.
Prayers of Woe or Prayers of
Lament: is our way of crying out to God. Prayers of Woe are offered
to express our grief over a loss. Or our despair we can't make sense
of the awful things that are happening in this world.
A cry of woe/anguish arose up
out of my heart this past week when I learnt of the death of two
young children who had been left in a sealed car while their mother
was getting her hair done.
How could this be
possible? Why is it that these children were sacrificed on an
altar of neglect; these deaths were preventable and I wonder if we,
in 2,000 years, have learnt nothing about compassion and being our sister/brother/children's
keeper? Did no one see these children in this car and if they did,
didn't it cross their minds that this was wrong, or to check out the
situation? When I heard this story I had no words, I just wept
at the news. For me, it is often through my tears that I express my
deep sense of woe to God.
Prayers of Thanks are the way
we say, "God, I know you are the reason why all good things come
into the world and I just want to say thank-you."
I often find myself praying:
"Thank you for this day; thank you for the joy and delight I
experienced as I watched your children play at the swimming pool;
thanks for those who have heard and accepted their call to bring
about economic justice and better health care to our sisters and
brothers in this world; thank you for my children and the delight
they bring to me, thank you for all the blessings you have showered
upon me.
Then there are the Oops!
Prayers: a prayer that I believe all of us have shared with God at
some point in our lives and I wonder if it isn't one of the main
motivations for us to speak with God.
Oops! Prayers are about
reconciliation; reconciliation with God and with our neighbour.
Through them we acknowledge brokeness in our lives, and commit to
change our heart and our behaviour. Through these prayers we
ask for forgiveness
assured of God's grace.
These Oops! Prayers have
important lessons for life. They can teach us is how to face the
people we have hurt and ask for forgiveness. Oops prayers enable me
to get a clearer idea of how can act the next time.
Then there are the Wow!
Prayers: Wow prayers are those spontaneous prayers we offer to
God when we come across something so beautiful or wonderful that it
literally can take our breath away; a prairie sunset, or a waterfall
usually does it for me. A Wow prayer also may come in response to the
miracle of birth or the smile on a child's or adult's face the moment
they realize they have accomplished something they thought impossible.
Which of these five do you pray
most often? Do some of you prayer not fit these five categories? St.
Paul assures us that God receives all our prayer - even those prayers
that without words (Romans 8:26-27).
Father Edward Hays, in his
book, "Feathers on the Wind", imagines that God has a
rather huge shoe box and in this shoe box are placed all of our
prayers, those treasured bits of notes and conversations that were
too precious to be cast away. Hays imagines that God has a shoebox
filled with expressions of love, of friendship, of cries of lament
and pain.
Can you imagine God having a
shoebox filled with our outbursts of glee, delight and jubilation,
prayers of struggle, prayers of hopes and dreams. Father Hayes
imagines that our every sign, groan and laughter (Rom. 8:26-27) are
stored within this big box. They are kept forever in God's
treasury to be valued forever by God. He says that when we pray our
prayers last forever and they are joined with the prayers of all
those who have come before us and with all who will come after us.
By his example, Jesus teaches
us that prayer is, or should be, our very breath, our life dedicated
to the service of God; that prayer is our way of pouring out to God
all that we hold in our hearts and that prayer is not some kind of
tool to get things we want or to bring things under our control or
that it will ease all of our burdens, but that prayer is yielding
everything that we are to God. Our prayer is the same one that
Jesus prayed on the cross: "Into your hands I commit my spirit."
Christ has no body but yours,
no feet and no hands but yours. Yours are the praying hands of Christ
today, so let us commit our spirits to God and join our hands
together in prayer as we pray together the Lords prayer.
*1995, Morrow Junior Books, New York
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
Order of
Service to accompany sermon:
Being
the Hands o Christ in Prayer A440
ecclesicakes A211a
Centering Ourselves in the Love of GodOne: I Invite you into a moment of stillness,This is a time to breathe deeply of the Holy Spirit,To breathe out the distractions that you carry within you,To welcome the Holy into your midst,To invite Jesus into your hearts.ALL: O God, we have gathered to celebrate your holy name and your presence in our lives and throughout the world. We ask you to refresh us and renew us in our gathering today. Open us to hear you in the words spoken and in the words sung; in the silence and the noises. Create in us hearts seeking love, lives seeking justice for all people. Enable us to see our hands as the praying hands of Christ. Amen.
Hymn No. This Is the Day. (Gerald Hobbes, This Is the Day) VU 412
Opening Liturgy - Magnificat to the God of the Dawn, by Joyce Rupp
One: My being proclaims the wonders of light as it slowly penetrates
the ebbing darkness.
All: And my spirit bows to the beauty of the One who gives life to
all that has existence. Oh, vibrant green stems of life sing out your
praise to the Heart who draws you forth. Bird songs rejoicing in the
breath of dawn, warble your joy in view of the morning star.
One: Dew drops radiant upon the wetness of grass give glory to the
Wise Creator who sustains you.
All: Flower gardens, rushing streams, silent desserts, sing, sing,
for the Dancer who rejoices in your midst. Peoples of the planet,
creatures of the universe, play before the Enlivener who delights in
you. and my soul, my soul, rise up and greet the day with gratitude,
in a stance of humble remembering.
One: Surround us with your mercy and love, O Beloved, as we share
with you how we have turned away from you.
silent reflection...
Here is Good News. the One who raised Jesus from the dead offers us
new life this day. For all that we are, and all that we are called to
be, is held in the forgiving hands of the Creator who daily loves us
into life. Thanks be to God.
Sung Response: Make Me A Channel of Your Peace VU 684 (St.
Francis, Channelof Peace)
To Speak and Hear God's Word
Epistle
Acts 16:25-34
Paul & Silas in Prison
One: ends the reading.
All: Thanks be to God.
Gospel
Mark 1-35-39
Jesus Prayer
One: The Gospel According to Mark.
All: Thanks be to God.
Reflection: "Praying Hands"
Respond to God's Word
Hymn: Jesus' Hands Were Kind Hands VU 570 (Margaret Cropper.
Au Clair de la Lune)
We Present Our Gifts
Prayer of Dedication
Prayers of the People
Sending Forth of God's People
Hymn: He Leadeth Me VU 657 (J.H.Gilmore, He Leadeth Me)
Blessing
Sung Amen
The Peace of Christ
One :May the peace of Christ be with you.
All: And also with you.
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
Being Learning/Teaching Hands of Christ ecclesicakes A441
Matthew 7:28-29; 13:34; 28:19-20; Luke 2:19 and 46; John 15.
Today we continue worship
series on Being the Hands of Christ and considering what it means for
us to be the hands of Christ in our own times. St. Paul called the
church the Body of Christ; In this world, we are Christ's hands, and
feet and voice.
Last week we explored what it
meant to be the praying hands of Christ. Today I am speaking about
the learning/teaching Hands of Christ. And I begin with three
wonders, I ask you wonder :
· Did you learn anything
this past week? Was this a week in which you came to a fresh way of
looking at something or someone?
· Did you teach anything
this week; Was this a week in which you shared something of yourself;
let your family, your friends or neighbour see something fresh in
you, or in the world as you see it"
· Thirdly, I wonder who
was involved in your learning and your teaching this past week?
A major aspect of Jesus
ministry was his role as learner/teacher. Jesus was obviously a keen
learner. He looked at the world and saw things that other missed,
then he shared these insights in ways that were meaningful to those
he met. So, they called him called him Teacher.
As those who claim to be
followers of Jesus, we too are called to be learner/teachers. St.
Matthew tells that in his final meeting with his friends Jesus
instructed them to carry on his teaching ministry (Mt. 28:19-20)
To be such a disciple we take
Jesus as our model and seek to learn and teach as Jesus did. Jesus
taught wherever the people were, and in the language and images of
the people. He taught not only in words, but also in his every
action. I see five characteristics that made Jesus a special learner/teacher.
I see Jesus as a person for
whom every experience was an opportunity for learning. First, I think
he learned from his mother and father and the faith traditions of his
people. I am sure that he learned from his friends, from children
and, of course, from his own contemplation. Through all this, he came
to take one great learning into the core of his being; that was: God
is Love . From that one seminal truth he built everything else.
Then, he came to see how that
core truth applied to himself and to his neighbours. He learned to
see every person, and every situation through this lens: God is Love.
So, this is our starting place too. As Christians, our core learning
is: God is love. Everything else is built on that.
As one who fully learned this
core truth, Jesus was then an encouraging and compassionate and
accessible teacher.
He was accessible. He taught
where the people were. He spoke in synagogues, and in the
Temple. On the Sea of Galilee a fishing boat became a pulpit. At
other times he took advantage of a little curvature in the hillside
above the shore where a large number of listeners sat the grass a few
feet away. He taught near the tombs of the prophets above the Kidron
Valley. Everywhere he went from Galilee to at Bethsiada and Korazim,
Capernaum to Jerusalem, in Judea and also in the Gentile lands beyond
the Jordan.
His teachings were accessible
because there were cast in images taken from everyday life; tangible,
utterly familiar things: people at their work or at prayer, clouds
gathering, fields, homes, fig trees. He never said, "There are
five dogmas to which you must give mental assent to." No, Jesus
saw the mundane, routine of our daily lives as metaphors for Holy
things. His examples were of a sower who goes out to sow, or of a man
hiring workers for his vineyard, a woman sweeping the floor in search
of a lost coin, a man, beaten and left for dead by the roadside,
bypassed by holy men, helped by a foreigner. He spoke of two houses -
one built on sandy soil, the other built on a solid foundation. Taste
this salt, he said oh, and take a look at that mustard bush - hard to
believe something so large came from such a tiny, little seed, isn't it?
Another charcteristic that made
Jesus a memorable teacher was his story-telling. For Jesus, life was
not six ideas or seven propositions. Rather, life was a story, a
story packed with dramatic twists and turns and surprises which
illustrated an aspect of God's love.
Like all good teachers, he
invited his listeners to ask questions of him, of themselves and of
each other; to think again and again on the story, to move beyond the
obvious and to find within them selves the wisdom of God; in short,
to become learners.
When Jesus said, "Let
anyone with ears listen!" he was extending an invitation to us
to wrestle with the inexhaustible truths in the stories. It was an
invitation to discover the wisdom that is already within us and to
share that wisdom with others as we move and grow in our own
spiritual development.
Finally, Jesus was full of
surprises. He turned our usual view of reality upside down with
teachings such as "Love your enemy."
If we are to be the Hands of
Christ today, we will carry on this learning/teaching ministry, As
Jesus did we will both learn and teach wherever we are, and in the
language and images of our ordinary life. As the learning/ teaching
hands of Christ, we will use stories and we will be full of surprises.
We will be teachers in this
coming week, whether we want to teach or not. We will teach in the
four ways Jesus did:1. wherever we go, 2. in ordinary language, 3
through stories and 4. with surprise.
First, everywhere we go our
words and our actions will show our family and our neighbours what it
is that we most value, and how much or how little we value them.
Secondly, just as Jesus taught
by parable and metaphor so do we. Our very life is itself a parable
or metaphor. We are a parable every time we go to the coffee shop, or
conduct business.
Thirdly, each of us a story. As
we go down the street we are either a story of love and grace, or a
story of something else. As we do our business, we will be a story of
honesty and fairness, or a story of something else.
Fourthly, we will often be a
surprise to our neighbours. The terms we use to describe those are
weak or poor or outcast will show a surprising respect for all people.
As we share our insights with
family, friends, coffee buddies and especially with our children we
become the teacher who sees the world the way God does.
In all this, our most profound
lessons will be the one we teach through our doing. When Mahatma
Ghandi was asked by a reported for a message to the Indian people he
scribbled on a piece of paper - "My life is my message."
To be such a teacher, we must
also be a learner. As we listen to our family, friends, coffee
buddies and as we listen to our children, and reflect on the
teachings of Christ, we are a learner.
it is a cycle of growth -
we listen, we reflect, we learn and then we teach.
Finally, remember, the next
time a child asks you a really hard question - like why isn't God
married or why can't we send babies back to where they came from
remember that nothing gives birth to a deepened understanding of
faith than a good question.
To be the learning/teaching
hands of Christ is to let our lives be filled with God is Love, and
let our hands and our whole being messages of God's surprising grace.
Thanks be to God for this calling.
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
Parts
of Worship used with sermon:
Learning/Teaching
Hands of Christ ecclesicakes
A211b
Use
the outline found at A211
Opening Liturgy and Prayers (adapted from somewhere, if you know, tell me)
One: In the beginning, God made the world: God made it and mothered it, shaped it and fathered it; filled it with seed and with signs of fertility, filled it with love and its people with ability.
All: It is the hand of God that created us.
One: The world belongs to God; the earth and it's people All that is green, blue, deep and growing. All that is tender, firm fragrant and curious. All that suffers, lacks, limps or longs for an end.
All: It is the hand of God that created us.
One: God of life, prepare our
hands for a touch, a new and different touch.
A touch of encounter, a touch
of awakening, a touch of hope, a touch of feeling.
Many are the worn-out gestures,
many are the movements frozen in time. Many are the useless excuses
just to repeat attitudes.
Give us daring, O God, to use our hands to create your community here on earth, to use our hands to break the chains that prevent us from true, encouraging and meaningful relationships. As followers of the Risen Christ, help us to use our hands to bear witness to the light.
All: Help us this day to be the Hands of Christ that will transform your world. Amen.
Good News: One: The Spirit of the Lord is upon you and has anointed you to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim the year of God's favour.
All: Thanks be to God.
Hymn: O, For a Thousand Tongues Charles Wesley, Westminster Abbey VU 326
Epistle, 1 Corinthians
12:4-11,27 Spiritual Gifts
Here ends the reading.
All: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Matthew
7:24-29 Christ is an astounding teacher
This is Testimony to Gospel
According to Matthew
All: Thanks be to God.
Reflection: Being the Learning and Teaching Hands of Christ A441
Hymn "Take My Life and Let It Be" (F.G. Havergal, Mozart) VU 506 "
Affirmation of Faith
(Dianne New, adapted) unison.
Blessed be the work of your
hands, O Holy One.
Blessed be these hands that
have touched life and have nurtured creativity.
Blessed be these hands that
have held pain and have embraced passion.
Blessed be these hands that
have learnt to write and express thoughts.
Blessed be these hands that
have closed in anger and opened in celebration.
Blessed be these hands that
have planted new seeds and have harvested ripe fields.
Blessed be these hands that
have cleaned, washed, mopped and scrubbed.
Blessed be these hands that
have become knotty with age.
Blessed be these hands that are
wrinkled and scarred from doing justice.
Blessed be these hands that
have reached out and been received.
Blessed be these hands that
have hold the promise of the future.
Blessed be the work of your
hands, O Holy One. Amen.
Hymn:"Be Thou My Vision" (Trad. Irish, Slane) VU 642
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
Being the Healing Hands of Christ ecclesicakes A442
Matthew 4:23, Acts 3:1-10,
James 5:13-15
Today I invite you to consider
being the Healing Hands of Christ. Along with prayer, and teaching,
healing was one of the prime ministries of Jesus, and the church.
I invite you to enter this
morning's theme with a question. It is this: how many times in the
past several months have you participated in healing? I pose that
question with the conviction that most of us have participated
recently in healing even though we may not think we have.
People of the church have a
very long history with healing, which continues even today. After the
death and resurrection of Jesus, one of the first acts of the
Apostles was to heal a man who could not walk (Acts 3:1-10). This was
a clear sign that the church would continue the healing ministry of Jesus.
Christian healing is rooted two
beliefs: First, we believe that God wants what is best for us in body
and mind as well as in soul, and secondly, we believe that God is
with us a companion in our times of sickness and trial. We take these
beliefs from Jesus. When Jesus met a sick person he believed that God
does not bring illness upon us, but rather God wants us to be well.
So, the church of Christ has always worked to bring healing.
For instance if you were sick
in the Middle Ages you went to the cathedral, or to the monks and
sisters of the monasteries who operated the first hospitals. For the
first half of this century our denomination operated many hospital in
isolated regions of Canada. Some of the most important healing
centres in North America were started by the church. This continues.
Today in Manitoba churches operate at least three of our largest
hospitals. Also, every large hospital in Manitoba has a chaplain.
Until quite recent times, most
young people who became nurses or doctors did so with the conviction
that this was a calling from God. It was understood to be a ministry.
I am sure than many of today's doctors and nurses consider their work
to be a part of their faith commitment.
We should not be surprised that
the Canadian Medicare system was first put in place by a politician
who was a Baptist minister. It was largely people motivated by the
Gospel who brought into being a medical system in which rich and poor
all get the same treatment.
So, one of the ways by which
Christians continue the ministry of Jesus is through healing and
attending to the sick through the healing sciences.
However, this healing ministry
isn't limited to doctors and nurses. In the epistle from James, the
elders of the first churches are instructed to go to those who are
sick and pray for their healing (James 5:13-15). We still do this. I
participate in this every week. I am sure that many of you also offer
prayers for your friends and neighbours who are unwell.
One of my friends who became a doctor chose to go into the field of public health because he said: "A basic healthy society is what keeps people well. Medicine can do little good if there is not clean water, safe food, and public policy that respects all persons."
One of my favourite passages of
scripture is the one from Isaiah 61, which Jesus read to describe his
ministry. It is Luke 4:18-19 (read it). I believe that this
passage describes the ministry that all we who follow Jesus are
called to. It also describes the some of the many ways we can
contribute to healing.
Therefore, I wonder: how times
this past few months have each of us, who are not nurses or
doctors, participated in healing. I wonder: how many lives have
you and I touched this week in a loving, accepting, healing way.
Healing can take many forms:
Perhaps you helped someone heal their spirit by giving them a warm
hug, or holding them as they wept in fear or in sorrow. Maybe you
prepared a nourishing meal for someone who was unable to do that for
themselves. Perhaps you ate with someone who might not have bothered
to eat if you were not there.
Perhaps you took a child into
your lap and told them a story.
Did you offer one on your
sisters/brothers in the faith support and understanding?
All these are ways to bring
health and healing to body, mind, or spirit.
I see people many people doing
this work of healing and promoting health:
Last week I read in the paper
of Habitant for Humanity volunteers who helped a family have a safe
and healthy place to live;
I notice how much this
congregation contributes to the health promoting work of the Mission
and Service Fund.;
I see people with smudges of
flour on their hands as they create casseroles/ bake pies/ and pots
of soup for a family in need or a fund raising project.
Healers and health bringers
come in all shape and sizes. In all colours and with all kinds of
attributes to meet every occasion. They hold our hands when it needs
to be held. They embrace us when we need to be held. They help us to
laugh and to cry. Then know when to speak and when silence is best.
Then know when to appear and when to stay away. Most of all they hold
us in prayer.
When I was going through a
series of tests to see if I had a malignancy, I know that many people
held me in their prayers.
So far I have spoken of us
bringing healing to someone else. However, our healing ministry also
includes our own selves. God calls us to seek ways of living that
promote our own well being. I once hear a medical doctor say: "I
can heal no one. All I can do is work with the natural healing
processes of the human mind and body. Also, I cannot heal a person
who does not want to be healed." We are called to participate in
our own health and healing.
Finally, healing is not always
a matter of being cured. Sometimes health means living meaningfully
with a condition that cannot be cured. A colleague of mine once said
that she often had her spirits lifted by the courage and peace she
found in the lives of those who live with an incurable disease. I
know a woman who lives with breast cancer, and is full of laughter.
I once saw a work of beautiful
art, and then I met the artist. I was astounded. A person whose hands
were terribly crippled with arthritis had created this beautiful
painting. She was a healing person who could never be cured.
A man once told me that there
is a difference between being healed and being cured. He had a
diseased heart, which could not be cured, but he said: "My heart
has been healed by the love of my family."
So, there are at least five
ways that we can be the healing hands of Christ. We can do this by
supporting our medical system, and the Mission and Service Fund, by
being a true friend, by seeking health for ourselves, by prayer and
by living with courage even in our pain.
And all of this is God's doing.
It is God's way of healing the brokeness that is around us and within
us. Christ calls : "Go and bear Fruit" (John 15:16).
In accepting Christ's injunction we become a part of God's presence.
We become the healing hands of Christ.
SEARCH: to search for other articles by category. click on one of the following> Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter* Pent. 1-14 * Pent 15-end * Child * Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission
<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/counter.js"></script><noscript><a href="http://www.statcounter.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://c2.statcounter.com/counter.php?sc_project=547929&java=0&security=&invisible=0" alt="free web hit counter" border="0"></a> </noscript>