Resources Yr. B (24resources_yrb&epyrc)

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Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission Advent/Christmas -On the Bus for Chrismas Eve ecclesicakes B203 This is a play in which much of the writing is done by those who put it on - an opportunity for creativity. I will provide a framework and a few central ideas and scene, and you the players can write a lot of the dialogue from your own imagination experience, insights, and ideas. Characters; Give each of the following characters a "nickname." Each of the following characters represents a common attitude toward Christmas. The purpose of the play will be to play with these characteristics and find in them something true about Christmas. Character 1. : Sees Christmas as a time to get things. This character has lots of things, and hopes to get more this Christmas.  His/her nickname is _______________________________________________ Character 2. : Sees Christmas as a time to party, and looks forward to Christmas a time to do just that - Party!!  Nickname is _______________________________________________________ Character 3: Sees Christmas a s a religious festival, and likes to go to church at this time of year to hear the carols, and participate in the liturgy. Not necessarily a deeply spiritual person. Nickname is ________________________________________________________ Character 4. : For this character Christmas is about food. Loves to cook and eat. Nickname is ________________________________________________________ Character 5 Holiday time! For this character Christmas is a time to travel - like to Disney World! Nickname is _________________________________________________________ Bus Driver  - No nickname yet. Is a family person, who wants to be home for Christmas Eve. Stranger -  --------------------------------------------------------00000000000000000000--------------------------------------------------- Prologue   Empty interior of the bus. Two rows of chairs serve as passenger seats. A chair for Driver. Driver has decorated the driver area of the bus with some tinsel. There are advertising posters on one wall of the bus, a very prominent one is an ad for a food charity, showing the face of a hungry child, asking for donations for homless children.   Driver, gets on the bus and addresses the audience: "I want to tell you what happened to me last Christmas Eve. I was working my usual shift, which turned out to be on Christmas Eve. I was really looking forward to being home with my wife and kids when my shift ended at 11 O'clock that night. But, you may remember the storm we had last Christmas Eve. The whole city was socked in. I and five teenagers where stuck in the storm in this very bus for two hours. That was quite a Christmas Eve. That was the night that Jesus got on my bus. Let me show you what happened. -----------------------------------------------------000000000000000000---------------------------------------------------- [Note to players" The purpose of the following dialogue is to show the audience what each character is all about. See my example re Char 1 below. What kind of interaction do you imagine between these charcaters: friendliness? teasing? hurtfulness? camaraderie? Imagine where each of these characters is going on Christmay eve - for example,  Char no. 2 may be going to a party.] Scene 1, Getting on the Bus  Driver sits and pantomimes driving away, then stopping and opening the door. Char no. 1. gets on carrying a Ghetto Blaster, which is playing loud music.Driver shouts: "Merry Christmas to you!"Char 1: "Huh? What did you say?" Turns off the Blaster. Driver: "Merry Christmas!" Char 1: loudly, "Yeah! I call it 'Merry Get-stuff,' haha. Got this Blaster last Christmas, and I am lookin' to get more stuff this time. Merry Get Stuff!" Goes to a seat mid way down the bus, and turns on the blaster. This Char is carrying a bag of gifts for family members. Driver pantomimes driving to the next stop and opening door. Char 2 and 4 get on, and pantomime brushing snow from their clothes. After speaking with driver, take seat together in front of Char 1.  Blaster music is turned down so audience can hear dialogue. Char 2 is wearing [Party Dress?]_____________________________ and carrying [ Party Favours?]______________________ Char 4 is carrying [ Food?]_______________________________________ Driver: "Merry Christmas." Char 2: "_______________________________________________________________________ Char 4: ________________________________________________________________________ Char 1 recognizes 2 & 4 from school and greets them with their nicknames:  ___________________ Char 2&4 reply: ___________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Driver mimes turning on windshield wipers and driving to next stop.  Char 3 gets on, mimes stamping snow from feet and brushing snow. Char 3 is carrying____________________ Driver, "Merry Christmas!" Char 3: " _______________________________________ _______________________________" goes to seat a little way from the others. Char 1 calls out to Char 3 using nickname: ________________________________________________ Char 3: ________________________________________________________________________ Char 2 calls out to Char 3: " __________________________________________________________ Char 4 calls out to Char 3: " __________________________________________________________ Char 3 replies: ___________________________________________________________________ Driver mimes driving with difficulty due to the storm, opens door at next stop. Char 5 gets on, and mimes removing snow, and rubbing hands together for warmth. Driver: "Merry Christmas!  Come in from the storm1" Char 5 : "O, Winnipeg is horrible in the winter. ........_______________________________________________ Char 1 calls out to Char 5: " __________________________________________________________ Char 5 replies: " __________________________________________________________________ The other Characters speak to Char 5.  Driver mimes trying to drive away. Peers out the windshield. Takes microphone and radios to dispatcher for snowplough. Then turns to the passengers:" I 'm afraid we're stuck in this snow. I have called for help, but it might be a while." Passengers sit in stunned silence.  [ Players, review the dialogue you have written. Does it give the audience and idea of what kind of characters are on this bus? Is it lively and have funny spots. Does it show any conflict or tension among the passengers?] ----------------------------------------------------------000000000000------------------------------------------------------------- Scene 2, Complaints   [This scene begins with the passengers complaining because they will miss what means most to them about Christmas. So write dialogue that expresses this. Again, where do you imagine each char is going on Christmas Eve? For dramatic purposes you might have Char 1 speak first, and be the chief protagonist. For most of this scene the bus driver just sits and stares out the windshield.] Char 1: Complains because his family opens gifts on Christmas Eve, and he wants to be there to get his stuff. [ This encourages the others, except the driver, to complain that they will miss what is important to them about Christmas Eve, so write a dialogie of their complaints. Brainstorm what these complaints might be] Char 2: walks up the driver and asks in a challenging voice if the driver is going to miss any thing. Driver responds about wanting to go home, but first, he needs to make sure his passengers are safely through the storm. Char 4. to driver: "What shall we call you, Driver Boy or  Mommy's Boy, or _______________? -----------------------------------------------------00000000000000000000----------------------------------------------------- Scene 3, Turning All are sitting quietly, looking sad and bored. Someone says in a loud voice, "Boring!" Then there is quiet again until there is aloud knocking on the bus door (the sound of banging on metal is heard) Driver is startled and quickly opens the door. Everyone looks to see who it is.  Stranger enters dressed like homeless youth, dragging a medium sized bulging plastic bag, and slumps wearily into the first available seat and says to the driver, "Thanks, it's freezin' out there. I'm sure glad I found you." All the Characters approach the stranger with questions: What is it like out there? See any snowploughs? Where you from? I never saw you in our school! Finally, Char 4 asks: Got any food in that bag? I sure am hungry. I can pay. Stranger says that he/she does have food, but it is for St. ______ drop-in centre for street kids, like in the poster on bus wall.  This leads to comments and questions such as it must be a small drop-in if the contents of that bag are their Christmas supper, who are these people why are you doing this? Where do they live? Stranger explains that he volunteers for this drop-in centre for street youth, and he's trying to bring them what he can. Their cook is sick and most of the staff can't make it through the storm. But if this bus makes it, he can help the youth have a Christmas Eve . Each character responds from their own perspetive on Christmas:  Char 1: You mean they will have not get any gifts!? Char 2: __________________________________________________________ Char 4. __________________________________________________________ Char 5: __________________________________________________________ Char 3: __________________________________________________________ This leads to the characters on the bus to discover excitedly how each of them could also help (with gifts, food, a party, worship) - all except Char 5 who decides in the end that a trip to the group home would be a good way to start the holidays. They can phone home from there. Driver: announces the arrival of a snow plough. Everyone cheers.  Driver pantomimes driving to the end of the line, everyone exits excitedly except the driver. The Ghetto blaster is playing a Christmas  Charol such as "Joy to the World." -------------------------------------------------------------000000000000000000---------------------------------------------------- Postlogue Driver speaks to audience: "That was my experience last Christmas Eve. To me that stranger was just like Jesus coming onto my bus. I went home that night and told my family, and the next morning after the storm we too went the group home, and joined the party. May each of us have Jesus come into our lives every Christmas Eve. and every day after."  Driver exits. Curtain call. Rehearsal notes   [Note, you may find a different conclusion to this story - if you do feel free to follow your imagination and heart!]  In putting on this play two things are important:  1. prepare very well by practising twice as often as you want to. Learn your lines very well. 2. Speak  your lines loudly so the audience can hear you! It is a good idea to have guests come to your final dress rehearsal - this will help getting over the jitters. Have fun, Bob. Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission Baptized in the Spirit, a litany <B204ep> One: We have been baptized as Children of the Creator. All: We confess that we are creatures of the One God who made Heaven and Earth. One: At our baptism we were incorporated into Christ, All: We confess that by the grace of God we have been united with Christ, in body, mind and soul so that we join Christ in the proclamation of Grace, and Peace.  One: Through our baptism we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. All: We confess that by the grace of God we have been given the Spirit to nurture and guide us in the work of Grace and Peace. One: The fruit of the Spirit is love and joy, All: Come O Holy Spirit, in Christ's name fill us with your love and give us a joyful heart. One: The fruit of the Spirit is patience, and kindness All: Come O holy Spirit, in Christ's name fill us with patience and direct all our actions to kindness. One: The fruit of the Spirit is generosity, gentleness and self control, All: Come, O Holy Spirit. In Christ's name lead us to be a generous people, gentle and thoughtful in our deeds. One: The fruit of the Spirit is Faithfulness, All: Enable us, O holy Spirit to be true to the Gospel. One: If we, the Children of the Creator God, live by the Spirit,  All: Let us be guided by the Spirit in Christ's name. So be it, Amen. Note: When using this litany on Epiphany 1,  I suggest offeing it after the sermon on baptism, and conclude the service with the closinbg of the advent wreath (see  Advent Wreath Closing liturgy found at ecclesicakes a205 ) Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission Baptism  <baptsermon> Any Sunday when baptism is observed, or Epiphany 1, Yr. C  Mt.3:13-17;Mk. 1:9-12;Lk.3:21-22;Jn.1:32-34;Acts:2:38,8:38;Rom.6:4; Corinthians 12: 1-13 Today we have celebrated baptism. Let us now open ourselves to what baptism may mean for each of us, even though we were baptized long ago. There are a number of things that all of us in this room have in common. ( Name some of them). There are a number of things we share with everyone in our town, our country, and our world. Then, there is one thing we share with every Christian. That, is Baptism.  The different churches in our town have different ideas about how baptism should be done, and when it should be done, but one thing we all have in common is this: baptism is the doorway into the Christian faith. As far as I know baptism is the one sacrament that can be administered by a lay person. For instance, if an unbaptized baby is about to die in a hospital, a Christian nurse can take water, put it on the child and say: I baptize you in the name of God the Creator, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ." In an emergency any baptized person can administer baptism, and most churches will recognize that. In every church baptism is the doorway into the community of Christ. In this morning's scripture lesson, St. Paul says that we are the Body of Christ. We become part of this boy through baptism. I once had the very high privilege of administering baptism to a man and his 12-year-old son. I had taken the funeral of Anne, the wife and mother of this family. After the funeral Steve came to me and said, "My wife was baptized as a Christian, but I have not, neither has William.  Could we be baptized?" Of course I said yes, and met with them several times to discuss the meaning of baptism. Then, on the last Sunday before Christmas, Steve and son, William stood side by side at the baptismal font and declared faith in God, and were baptized. It was very moving moment.  From that moment on, by the rite of baptism, Steve and William belonged to the Body of Christ. Baptism marks a person forever; it is very difficult to undo it.  To undo baptism, you would have to come to the church, and declare before the congregation: "I renounce my baptism! I renounce Christ! I tear myself away from the community of faith!" There is a story of a man who was disliked by every person in his village. He was a nasty unkind, hurtful person. Of course he never came to the village church, and always refused to donate to the church or any village charity. He was Dickens' character, Scrooge, but unlike Scrooge, he never repented. Everyone disliked him. Then, one day, as happens with us all, he fell seriously ill. The local priest noticed that he had not seen this man for several days, and no smoke came from his chimney, so the priest went to the man's door. When there was no answer to his knock, the priest went in, and found the man sick in bed with high fever.  So, the priest got him water, and sat beside him every day, and when the man died, he prayed for him and administered the last rites, and conducted a funeral for the man. The members of the church council were upset. "Why, " they asked, "did the priest spend so much time with this man? Why did he give him the last rites, and a funeral and burial in the church yard?" The pries replied, "I did those things because that man had been baptized." The priest saw the man as within the circle of God's grace. He said: "I know what kind of person he seemed to be, but I must leave judgement of him to his Creator. Perhaps I failed in not showing love to him until the end." Baptism marks us forever as belonging to God the Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit. We are baptized in the name of the Creator who made us "in God's image" (Genesis 1:27). We are baptized in the name of Christ who lived to welcome us into God's grace, and who will never desert us. We are also baptized in the Holy Spirit, who is our companion and Guide. The New English Bible quotes St. Paul as saying: "In the one Spirit we are brought into the one body by baptism." (1 Cor. 12:13) This is the part that we are most likely to ignore. It is the Holy Spirit who makes our baptism into the living and dynamic power of God. Again, St. Paul declares: "in each of us the Spirit is seen to be at work." The Good News Bibles translates that same verse in this way: "The Spirit's presence is known in some way in each person for the good of all." So, on this day we have celebrated our baptism, the doorway into the community of Christ; the rite by which we recognize that we all are children of one Creator; and the ritual that opens us to the power of God's Holy Spirit. May we see that love, that grace, that power in ourselves and in one another. Amen. Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission Using the Hebrew Testament Lessons as theological framework for public worship  A202                            During Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, Year A. The Hebrew Testament passages given by the lectionary for this year's Advent to Epiphany are ones that are often referred as being at the foundation of Christian theology and faithful living. Liturgically, they provide an excellent context and continuity for worship through this season.  Personally, their poetic beauty and spiritual profundity resonate both with those who have been a part of the church all their lives and with newcomers to the Faith. Communally, they give us the foundation for wholesome community. Finally, they give us a solid stepping off place for the preaching of the Gospel, and all the other ways we communicate the Good News at this time of year. So, my suggestion is simply this: - Read the Hebrew Testament lesson with the people within the Approach section of your service  (In unison or responsively, using pew bibles, or by printing the passages in the bulletin. At other times, you can recruit two or more readers to read these passages in parts.). - Offer Prayers of Invocation/Approach/Confession building on the theme of this text. - In preaching show how it and the Psalm, Epistle, and Gospel lesson relate to one another. - Read it at the beginning of the service also on those Sundays when the sermon is replaced by Choir work, or by a Christmas pageant. A further suggestion is that you look at the epistle reading for each Sunday to see if it could helpfully be read in the dismissal movement of your service. Using this method, the order of Sunday worship for Advent 1, Year A, might be a follows: Introit Welcome, and opening prayers Communal reading of Hebrew Testament  Prayer of confession Kyrie Assurance of Grace Doxology The Word: - Psalm - Gospel Hymn Sermon Hymn Offering Announcements Prayers of the People Epistle  Benediction Or, on the 1st Sunday after Christmas in Yr. A.  Is. 63:7-9 will serve well in one of three places: the part of worship often referred to as the Approach, or as Assurance of Grace, or as we prepare to return to the everyday world.   Psalm 148, would be an excellent vehicle for entering into worship on the Sunday which follows the wonder and joy of Christmas Eve.                      Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission Yr. C, Transfiguration Sunday (8th after Ep) <EpC8> Exodus 34:29-35 Moses face shines when he brings 10 Commandments Psalm 99 Holy God loves justice and righteousness 2 Cor. 2:12-42 Christ is one body with many parts Lk. 9:28-36 Jesus is transfigured Transforming a Grizzly Bear An atheist was taking a leisurely saunter through the woods. "What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!" he mused with himself. As he was walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look and saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charging towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing in on him. Still running, he looked over his shoulder again . . . the bear was even closer. His heart pumped frantically as he tried to run even faster, but suddenly he tripped and fell to the ground. When he rolled over to pick himself up. The bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his right paw with gleaming white claws and raised it to strike. At that instant the Atheist cried out: "Oh my God!!.." Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest wa  silent. As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky: "You denied my existence for all of these years, taught others I don't exist. You even credit creation to a cosmic accident! Do you expect me to help you out of this crisis? Am I to count you as a believer?" The heretic looked directly into the light. "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now! But perhaps could you make this BEAR a Christian?" "Very well," said the voice. The light went out.  And  the sounds of the forest resumed.  Then the bear dropped to the ground, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke: "Lord, Bless this food which I am about to receive." Forwarded by : "Leggetts" Shared by Bernard Lee, retired Sermon                           The theme of today's worship service is transformation and transfiguration. This comes fromtoday's scripture passages - especially Exodus and Luke. The impact of faith, once embraced, is that it will transform us - and even transfigure us. As I see it, transformation is what faith does to us inside, while transfiguration is the effect of transformation - it is the change in us that others see when they are with us. In our Hebrew scripture lesson for today the people see Moses' face shine brightly as he brings God's commandments to them. He has been transformed by his encounter with God, and his outward appearance is transfigured. In Luke's gospel Jesus is transformed by his acceptance of being chosen (6:35) and by his constant living in the presence of the Creator. This state of faith in which he lives attracts some and challenges all. In today's reading from Luke, Peter, James and John see Jesus transfigured- they witness a powerful almost overwhelming outward manifestation of who Jesus is. They are exposed to his glory and they see him in the company of Moses and Elijah. I wonder if any of us have ever had an experience like this. Have you ever seen anyone who was transfigured? I have. I am sure you have. I believe that we and our neighbours are transformed and transfigured. In my observation this happens throughout our lives. Sometimes it happens during special occasions, sometimes it takes place in everyday ordinary events. Week by week we are transformed and transfigured as we embrace God's love for us and our world. For instance, we all have see the transformation and transfiguration that takes place when new parents receive their first child. They beam with pride and their eyes glow in thanksgiving. Just last week I was talking about this with a young father. He told me of how his life was changed at the birth of his first child. On the everyday level, I also encounter people who have been transformed by the daily life of the church. I see them especially on Sunday mornings, very especially on the Sundays when we celebrate the sacrament of baptism or communion. I see you. I see transfiguration in your face and actions. I witness your face shining and your heart glowing with the glory of God's love. Mostly, I know that what I am witnessing is the result of a transformation that has taken place over many years. As I understand it, the key to transformation and transfiguration is our growing realization that we are children of God. Transformation is that spiritual maturing that takes place as we embrace this truth. As we acknowledge in life God's love for us and our neighbours, we develop into what we truly are: children of God. That inner development I call transformation. Then there is transfiguration. As I understand it, transfiguration is what shows on the outside as we are transformed. Transfiguration shows in our face, in our body, in our behavior, in our values. I once heard the preacher, Peter Gordon White warns us that the face we have from birth to age 18 is a gift, but after 18 we are responsible for how we look. I think that this change is what St. Paul had in mind when he wrote of us becoming a member of the body of Christ. Together we make up the Body of Christ, and individually, parts of it. This process has both a light and dark side. On the light side transformation and transfiguration show up as joy or satisfaction, and gentleness. As Jesus often displayed. It is also true that transformation may show as indignation, dissatisfaction, and disappointment. Again, as Jesus often displayed I need to say more about this darker side. For instance, in my expereince, I may feel deep dissatisfaction inside myself when I am made aware of the injustice and pain there is in the world. This too has a transforming and transfiguring effect. It moves us to action and prayer on behalf of those who suffer oppression and hunger. At such times our transfigured faces will show deep distress - even weeping. I and others feel God-inspired disappointment inside us when we see the church being less than the body of Christ. Again, this too has a transforming and transfiguring effect on us. It can awaken us to what we truly are called to be as children of God. At such times our transfigured faces may show deep sorrow. But such negative insights and experiences do not defeat us. Because our transformation is grounded in God's love and God's justice we remain full of hope and press on as agents of the Realm of God. Our transfigured faces show hope and the peace that passes understanding. What we seek in the end is what Jesus called the Kingdom of God, God's realm in which not only ourselves, but all of creation will be transformed and transfigured into a world of peace, justice and grace. May each of us and all of us continue through this coming week to be transformed more fully into who we really are, children of God. May our faces shine in the certain knowledge of God's peace. Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission Seventh after Epiphany Generosity <EpC7> Gen.45:3-11, 15 Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers Ps. 37:1-11. 39-40 Do not worry about the wicked, but trust in God I Cor. 15:35-38, 42-50 How will the dead be raised at the last trumpet? Lk. 6:27-38 Love enemies, do good, give and God will give to you. The faith element I find in today's scripture lessons is "generosity." Joseph is generous to his brothers who had sold him into slavery. Jesus invites us to be generous toward our neighbours as a part of our relationship with a generous God. The Psalm calls us to place priority in trusting God's generosity which St. Paul declares to extend beyond this mortal life. It is the nature of God to be generous. I would place generosity as one of the essential marks that defines a person of of faith. I find that nothing marks a spiritual person more than generosity. It is of the nature of faithfulness to be generous. I see the truth of this in many generous people within our communities of faith. If it is of the nature of faith in a generous God to be generous in return. (so says Luke 6:28), it is in the nature of sin to be ungenerous. No individual or corporation can fairly claim to love God or neighbor and be miserly, mean or greedy in policy, pocket, or heart. As I look out upon the world I see a huge struggle taking place between generosity on one side and and meanness and greed on the other. This is a challenge for us and our country and our corporations. Individually, each of us needs to choose which side we will be on. This is also true of us as a nation. Will we be a generous people or not? At one time not so long ago it seemed to me that human society was on the road to becoming more generous. Following the, hell and inhumanity of the Second World War, there was a strong will to create a generous world in which the whole reason for being would be to care for one another. Of course there were serious exceptions to this. They were the Soviet Union and China. None the less, the United Nations was formed around a charter that spelled out basic human rights for families, students, and workers. There seemed to be a commitment to making this charter the foundation for all human society. Christians saw this as a desire to fulfill the teachings of Jesus. In theological terms, every person was to be treated as a child of God. So, an era came into being in which sharing and caring and social justice became watch words for both the people and those who sought leadership. We were to do everything we could to remove the blights of racism, poverty, and ignorance. More importantly, people who were marginalized took it as their right to assert themselves as full participants in the world. This was evident in some of the great movements of that era. During this time many people's shook off the chains of colonialism. Also, Blacks in the United States and South Africa won significant human and political rights. What I am calling an openness to generosity was seen in Canada too. For instance, every mother was given a monthly family allowance cheque to help raise her family. Also during this time the cost a university education was such that few students graduated with a huge debt as they do today. Many workers gained the right to collective bargaining, and unemployment insurance. Aboriginal people in Canada took their land claims and other treaty rights to the supreme courts and got favorable rulings. At the close of that era the Berlin Wall was breached by East Germans, and the people of the Soviet Union claimed democratic rights. The era was far from perfect, yet as I see it, humanity did set out to make some very significant advances, and actually did gain some important yards toward the goal of a more generous world - a world which bears signs of the Realm of God that Jesus announced. However, during the time that all this was happening, there was a growing movement in the opposite direction. This was and is today a movement away from generosity and toward meanness. That is, it was and is a movement whose hallmark was and is the belief that we are not responsible for one another, we need only care for ourselves. It flowered first in the "Me" generation of the seventies. This movement has rights too. Those rights are the rights of the few to gain control of the earth's resources, including its water, its minerals, its land, and its political and economic levers. So today, we live in a world in which the rights of the few are more and more overriding the rights of the many - a less and less generous world. In this atmosphere, the generous God is being ushered out the door as irrelevant. Signs of this lack of generosity are all around us today. For instance, Steven Louis the Canadian ambassador for the millions of people dying from AIDS in Africa and in India, was asked recently how he accounts for the world's lack of response to this crisis. He was unable to answer. He was unable to understand our lack of generosity, and our willingness to allow children and grandchildren to suffer and die when drugs are available. This is just one of the many signs of this new ungenerous age we live in. However, let us not lose hope. For there still are many who are champions of generosity. Generosity canake many forms There are for instance, many African and Indian doctors and nurses giving themselves in generous service to the mothers and children with AIDS. Also, there are those who are generously giving time and energy. For instance, there are those whodevote time to pressure governments of wealthy nations and drug companies to make medicine available at cost to people in poor nations. There those who generously give from their own God -given bounty. The Canadian Food Grains bank is just ne such example. There many secular and church non government agencies working to bring health, peace and human rights around the world. Just a few weeks ago Canada and some other nations agreed to forgive the debt of Iraq, so that troubled nation could move forward without this burden. When you take even a small part in the life of your congregation and community you are you are taking part in God's generosity. [ use an instances of this as examples - ie hospital visiting, church school church, board, women's and mens groups, supporting mission finds.] The spirit of the generous God is showing in these works of love. God's work in the world is utterly dependant upon generous hearts and wills. Every day in our homes, in our church, and in our community each of us will be given an oportunity to be generous. May we be generous in heart, generous in hand, generous in will, generous in sharing from our bounty. As God is generous in this this life and the life to come, let us show with generous hearts and actions that we are a people of this generous God. Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission Sixth after epiphany, Curses & Blessings <EpC6> Jer. 17:5-19 Those whose trust are in the Lord is like a tree growing by a stream Ps. 1 Those who delight in the law of the Lord are like a tree fruit bearing . 1Cor. 15:12-20 If Christ has not been raised we have nothing Lk. 6:17-26 Poor and humble can happily look forward to great expectations The message in the biblical passages for today all carry a message like the one that we first heard at our parent's knee, certain actions lead to trouble while other behaviors lead to blessings. Our parents wanted the best for us, so they sought to guide us along the best path. If they saw us going toward hurt they warned us: You better change you ways or you will be sorry! Certain paths lead to trouble and sorrow, so don't go that way. They also give us positive guidance. They taught: there is a good path to follow, one that opens to vistas of beauty and leads to the good. In various ways they demonstrate this better way. The better way is avoiding reckless dangers, while practising sharing and caring, respect for yourself and others, taking care of your health, being a good friend and so on. If I were to take a poll among us here it would likely reveal that we have received many such instructions in our lifetime. Did your mother father or grandparents not warn you of the dangers in some activities, and the blessing of others? This morning's scripture readings give us similar messages. These biblical writers want the best for us, and so seek warn and to guide us. I am going to begin by sharing with you How the warning and guidance that I see in each of this morning's authors (Jeremiah, Psalm 1, Luke and St. Paul.) . Jeremiah and Psalm 1 see it as a matter of choice of values. We choose either to live like a tree planted by a holy stream, with wholesome spiritual roots reaching out into the damp earth, and drawing nourishment by which we produce fruit, or we decide to grow with materialistic unspiritual roots where the ground is dry and nothing grows - like the pictures we recently have seen of Mars. They suggest a challenge: "Which have we chosen?" When we turn to Luke we find a different take on this matter. According to Luke Jesus teaches that whether you get a blessing or a curse in life depends whether you are rich or poor. According to Jesus it is very difficult for the wealthy to find true blessings, while the poor can expect a blessing just by being poor. Luke portrays Jesus as speaking to a crowd made up of both the poor and the rich. To the common people he says: "Blessed are you poor, God's realm is yours." Then he turns to the well-dressed in the audience. To them he announces: "Woe to you who are rich. You have had your good times!" Our mothers were telling us something like this when they said: "You can't buy happiness." This is a very difficult teaching in our society. We have accepted it as good that some earn 10 times or a hundred times more than others. The way our society works, great wealth is a blessing, and to be poor is a curse, According to the public values of our society, the blessed live in mansions, the cursed sleep on the sidewalk! Our economy teaches: if you have to make a choice in life, choose to be rich! Jesus is warns against that logic. It is false wisdom that advocates a community in which we do not care for one another. To continue that way will ultimately bring a curse on our society. No people can exist in peace and harmony when the gap between rich and ordinary gets wider and wider as ours is, or when we use one another for profit. I learned recently of a local successful company which regularly calls meetings of it managers to decide who to fire every time the company's income sags. This is a common practise in this company: fire when profits dip, hire again when it picks up. No thought is given to sharing the pain; having everyone take less pay until the company's fortunes rise again. A manager told me that to be in these meetings, firing a colleagues, was a curse, and infected the whole company with a deep fear. On the other hand, we do know of people who choose to use their wealth in ways that give life. Recently, Bill Gates gave over twenty million to the University of Manitoba to support AIDS research in India and Africa where it is bringing death to thousands of women, men and children. I see a connection between what Bill Gates did and today's reading from St. Paul. This passage from 1 Corinthians 15 seems to be out of step with the theme I have chosen for today. Here Paul is writing about death and resurrection, which seems to have little to with blessing or curse. However, I do see a strong connection. St. Paul writes that Jesus resurrection is of absolute importance to receiving the blessings of the Christian faith. If Christ was not raised there is nothing to the faith, and Christianity itself is a dead thing, and believers are fools. To belive in the resurrection is more than accepting "Christ is risen" as a matter of doctrine. To me it means living in a way that gives life where there is death. So, from these four I find the following guides for a life with blessing. Jeremiah and Psalm 1 recommend choosing to plant our life in God, like a tree by water. Then we have Jesus teaching that blessing is much easier to come by when we live the common life of ordinary people caring for one another, while living worldly riches bring the danger of curse. Then, Paul reminds us that the blessings of the Christian faith comes with Christ's victory over death. I know many people who live this life and who know these blessings. The church is full of folk who are planted firmly in God, who live generously with modest incomes, who by faith in the risen Christ, strongly affirm life over death. May we continue to live by these values and see them grow in our society, so that we and our neighbours may be blessed by God's peace Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission fith after epiphany, When God Appears <EpC5> Is.6:1-8 Isaiah experiences the Holy within the Temple through sight, sound, touch and aroma Ps. 138 A worshipper experiences the presence of God in answer to prayer. 1 Cor. 15 Paul claims to have shared in the apostolic experiences of the risen Christ. Luke 5:1-11 Peter experiences the holy in Jesus. This season after Epiphany is all about "epiphany," by which we mean: the holy is made manifest to us, God appears to us. The Bible is full of stories of God appearing to men and women. From Eve and Adam being visited by God in the Garden (Gen. 3:8) to St. John having a vision of the Lamb at God's right hand, the Holy Eternal One appears to mortals (Rev. 5and 6). This is our focus for today. God's appearance isn't limited to the figures of the Bible. We too have experiences of God being made manifest. I am sure we all have had a sense of God being with us. God has made God's presence known to each of us and to all of of us. My guess is that we all have had that experience or we wouldn't be here today. I think it very common for Canadians to experience God in nature. There is a popular hymn which opens by recognizing this kind of epiphany. It declares that we experience the Holy in "all the works [God's] hands have made," including the "stars," the "rolling thunder," "forest glades," and the song of birds. I have had many people tell me that they always find God in nature. Is that true for you? Also, many experience the company of God in a place of worship. Isaiah tells us that he was overwhelmed God's appearance in the Temple. Perhaps that has been your experience too. Have you ever come into a church sanctuary when it is empty and quiet and sensed the presence of God there? The symbols some churches display in their sanctuaries are there surely to invoke the attendance of God in this place. What do we have here which may call to mind that God is with us? If not the sacred space, surely some part of the worship has revealed God to you. Many of us have come to a strong impression of God's holiness in the singing, or through the act of holy communion, or baptism, or in reading and preaching of the Word. Psalm 138, which we read this morning, tells of experiencing God in a sense of being loved and cared for in the midst of need. Surely this is an experience many of us have away from the church. Some great hurt comes to us, or we experience a great loss and in the midst of that we have a sense of God with us that is so strong we can feel it. On the other hand, It may be even more common to find God in moments of great joy. I particularly remember visiting families soon after the birth of their child and finding tem to be in awe and wonder at this gift from God, such that they see God in the child. Wordsworth sang of this as "trailing clouds of glory we do come from God. Heaven lies about us in our infancy" (1807, Intimations of Immortality) St. Paul reminds us that many in the primitive church had the Risen Christ appear to them. He counts himself among them. I wonder how many of us would claim that experience. I once heard of a family who always put an extra place at their table - a place set for Christ who was with them at every meal. A young woman told me that when she came to the front of the sanctuary to renew her baptismal vows she felt Christ was there to welcome her. Many Christians who practise regular prayer do so with the conviction that Christ is with them, and that the Holy Spirit is there receiving even their groans and tears as prayers. (Rom. 8:15-16;26-27). Surely Christ is among us every time two or more of us gather in Christ's name. At the opening of every church meeting we acknowledge that Christ, and the Holy Spirit are with us. Have you ever sensed that? Of course our faith s that God is there even if we don't feel it. God is also known on the frontiers of the church's mission. In many inner city outreach ministries those who live on the margins of society know God through the care of staff and volunteers who work there in Christ's name. It is also true that the staff and volunteers experience Christ in the people they seek to serve. Jeannette Brigit who once served at Winnipeg's Oak Table ministry tells of experiencing God in the care the poor showed for one another. Much more could be said about God being revealed to us in the midst of life. One question that I find important to ask before we close this topic is this: What is it that God says to you in those appearances? Surely God comes to us always with a message. It may be a message of hope, or good cheer, or of encouragement. It may also be a message of challenge urging us to be the presence of God ourselves. The highest to which we can aspire as Christians is that we may so be attentive to God among us that God may appear in us; that we would be an epiphany our selves. It happens many times. I confess to finding God in you Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission fourth after epiphany Yr C, Called  <EpC4> Jer. 1:4-10 In his youth Jeremiah is appointed by God to the office of Prophet over nations and kingdoms with a commission to call Israel back to the devotion of its earlier history. Ps.71 A cry from a youthful person who remains faithful even in the face of opponents who call for his arrest, claiming that this one is not truly called of God. I Cor. 13:1-13 Love is the essential and necessary mark of one who is called of God. Lk. 4:14-30 Jesus claims evidence of the Spirit as the sign of his calling which is not accepted by his neighbours. (Is. 61:1-2). At one time in our culture it was assumed that everyone was called to their place in society. That, of course is the root of the the word, "vocation;" God vocalizes everyone into their career, and role in life. I think we can continue to think this way about one another. Do you feel comfortable saying about yourself, "I have been called to be __________"? This may feel like a bit of a straight jacket - like being locked into one calling. At one time it was assumed that a person had one calling for their whole life - they never changed vocations. Today, however, a person may go through several vocations in a life-time, and God has always called us to fill two or more roles at the same time. Some say of themselves, "I have difficulty finding my vocation," or "I never came to my true vocation until later in life." It seems to me that there are two central meanings of being called: each of us named to play particular roles within creation. Not only are we chosen to play particular roles, we also are called to play those roles in certain ways - according to certain values. So, if this is true, whatever it is that you and I are doing in and with our life just now, we were elected by God to do that and to be that. Having said that, the next thing that occurs to me is to ask: "Is that OK with you?" Every role, job or position has something about it that we would rather not be doing. In our faith, there is a strong tradition of people being called to do things that are not always pleasant, and not what we might choose for ourselves. Yet we each are called to do our work with hope and love. This is how it was for Jeremiah. He experienced his call to be a prophet when he was just a youth. I don't know what young people aspired to in those days - a camel racer, a teacher, a soldier... Whatever it was - it was, Jeremiah had not planned to be a free-lance prophet. In Jeremiah's mind it was an old person's thing; something he might do in forty years when he had a long white beard. Also it was not a way to become popular. Prophets were critical of the rulers and when you said things the rulers didn't like they were liable to put you in jail or worse (ER 18:18f). Jeremiah did not choose to be a public scold, but he could not resist God. He saw that the people and even the priests had turned their back on the God who had brought them from slavery. instead they started worshipping idols made of wood. Also he saw how they were is-treating the poor. He couldn't help but say: "This is wrong! Come back to God. Start showing kindness to your neighbour!" (Jer. 2:26-28; 34). Fortunately, God gave Jeremiah more than scolding words. God also gave Jeremiah words of hope. God gave Jeremiah a vision of a day when God and people would be brought back together in a new covenant (ER. 31:31f). Behind all his criticism was love for his people and a vision of hope. In fact, without the hope there would be no point to the scolding. Some of us today are called to this Jeremiah kind of work. In every age God calls some of us to tell it the way it is and to urge change. Some in our day are daring to point out the damage being done to the environment by our gas consuming consumer society. Some can't help pointing out the great growing gap there is in Canada between rich and working class people. They say we call ourselves a great people, but look at what we do! Like Jeremiah, they cry out: "We must have change!" Again, like Jeremiah, they are full of love for Canada bursting with hope for a better world. I wonder if any of us could be Jeremiahs as a part of our calling. Could we as home maker, or carpenters or farmers or health care workers, seek good change in the world because we love the world and have hearts filled with hope. St. Paul tells us that no matter what our calling, we are doing it best when we carry out our role with love. Jesus attributed his calling to the power of the Holy Spirit within him, moving him to bring good news to all people. However as Jesus, Jeremiah, and probably Paul experienced, sometimes our calling leads us to be abused, and the question arises, "Do we stay where we are not being appreciated but being abused?" This is not an easy question to resolve - especially if you don't see alternatives, or do see that you are doing what meeds to be done in spite of the non support. The best answer I can come to is, "Talk about it with someone you trust, and see if you can build support of you decide to stay. Each of us has been given the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at our baptism, and we have God's love for planted deeply in our hearts. Each of us are being called each day to exercise our calling in love and hope with this power moving us to be good news in all we God has given us to do - sometimes in spite of the hurt we experience. Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission First after Epiphany Yr. C.Redeemed <EpC1> Click here to see  Second after Epiphany Yr C article, Delight Is. 43:1-7 "I have redeemed you...called you by name. you are mine" Acts 8:14-17 Full membership in the community includes participation in the Holy Spirit. Lk.3:15-17;21-22 John: Messiah will baptize with H. S. Jesus receives H.S. as Child of the Spirit. This morning I am focusing on one key concept from the Isaiah passage in today's readings, that is redemption. Redemption is one of the words used to capture God's activity to save humankind. It also applies to the work of Jesus. Jesus is our redeemer. Also, since this is the sunday to mark Jesus baptism, we wll consider baptism as redemption. Finally, I invite us to see how all this applies to us as baptised persons who are both redeemed and redeeming. Redemption is the key word in a poem found in the book of Isaiah; a poem written for a captured people who have been torn from their homeland and forced, like many of today's refugees, to live as second class citizens in a land far - away from home. In this homeless state they feel that God has abandoned them. To these lost, homeless people Isaiah assumes the voice of the Creator and writes a poem of hope. The poem calls to the people: Do not fear for I, God, have redeemed you. You are mine and I have called you by name, paid a ransom to free you and I will bring you home. The way home will be treacherous, there will be rivers to cross, there will even be forest fires along the way, but I, God, will be with you every step of that journey! I, God, have redeemed you! When Isaiah used the word, redeemed, the people knew exactly what he was referring to. To them it meant getting someone out of deep trouble. For instance, in Isaiah's time a person could fall into slavery if they could not repay a debt. If you didn't pay your bank loan, they could come and get you or one of your children and hold them until the debt was either paid or worked off with indentured labour. The person could be redeemed from that slavery if someone, almost always a family member, paid the price to set them free. To be redeemed meant having someone pay your debt so that you could come back home. If no other person could or would pay their debt, they themselves could eventually work it off after many years of indentured service. Some of the people to whom Isaiah wrote would have known about this first hand. Either they been redeemed themselves, or they may have redeemed someone else. Or they may have redeemed themselves by hard work. Isaiah used this concept of redemption to describe God's work in bringing the Hebrew people back home from capture in Babylon. They had gone into exile not through debt by through defeat in war. Now, God was going to Redeem them; bring them home. Redemption happens in our world too. I wonder if any of us here have been either redeemed or a redeemer. You have been redeemed if a person or community went to great trouble to bring you in from the cold, from being at risk to being safe, from being an alien to being one who belongs. You have been a redeemer if you have helped do this for another. Some of us may have had the experience of being both. A few, I suppose have redeemed themselves. I have had the privilege of playing the role of redeemer. Twenty years ago I was asked to be a friend to two young men who fled to Canada from a civil war in which their whole family had been slaughtered: parents, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, cousins - all murdered. They had lost everything. The government of Canada paid some money to bring them to Canada. The price that was asked of me was, "would I be their friend in Canada for a year?" I had lunch with these men recently - twenty years later. They now have family and home in Canada. I am convinced that this was the redemptive work of God. Perhaps you have been a part of something like that. I also know what it is to be redeemed. I grew up in a very poor single parent home. At school I was known as a welfare kid, who smelled of body odor because in my home we did not have water enough to bathe every day. But my mother redeemed me. She redeemed me by making sure that in our home we always had food, love and paper and pencils and books. With these things I was able to become a full person. I believe this was the redemtive work of God. Some of you have a story of being redeemed .  Maybe you can think of other kinds of redemption stories. In my opinion, the setting free of David Milgard and a growing number of others wrongly convicted of crime they didn't commit is another type of redemption. In fact, on November 28/03, the brother of murder convict, James Driskell, used the word, redemption to describe the clearing of his brother's name. I believe that God, who is righteous is at work rescuing people from wrongful imprisonment in Canada and around the world. In the passage from Luke, John the Baptizer speaks of a different kind of redemption. John sees that many of his neighbours have become slaves to sinful unrighteous behaviour. So John calls on them to redeem themselves by changing thing their behaviour. John is speaking to people whom he sees as having fallen into the habit of abusing one another. They no longer lived as descendents of Abraham because they do not live as brothers and sisters of one another. However, John offered a way for them to come back home into the household of God - a way for them to purchase their own redemption. They could buy their redemption simply by acting like good and generous people - by changing their behaviour toward one another. Luke gives us some examples of how they might do this: Soldiers could purchase their redemption and come home by refusing to abuse their power. Those who have two coats could redeem themselves by giving their spare coat a person who has no coat. Tax collectors could come home by giving up the collection of excess taxation. John's message is very appropriate in our times. When people behave badly today, like John, we want them to change their ways, don't we? When they have shown that they have changed we will consider welcoming them back into society. This seems like a good idea, requiring bad people to change. Jesus appears to support this approach when he asks John to baptize him. Perhaps at the beginning of his ministry Jesus did agree with John. But there is a problem with John's plan for self-redemption. John's plan for self-redemption doesn't account for people who cannot change. There are some people who cannot redeem themselves. We are told that some people cannot control their harmful urges. It seems that John would not baptize such people, and society doesn't know what to do with them either - except to lock them up or kill them. Now, Jesus takes an entirely different approach to our redemption. Luke's gospel shows us a Jesus who sees every person as a child of God. There is no person who is beyond the love of God. Luke tells us that Jesus received the holy Spirit at his baptism, and just a few verses later tells us what this means. It means that Jesus' role in life is to bring Good news of God's redemption to the poor and to announce redemptive freedom to all who are in bondage (Lk. 4:18-19; Is. 61:1-2). The best example of this is the parable of the prodigal son. This son wasted his father's money on a wild and sinful life. After all this he is warmly welcomed home, not because he is changed but because he needs to come home. The redeeming, welcoming, love of the parent is freely given in response to the son's need (Lk. 15:11f). This is true also of Isaiah's promise of redemption of the peole of Israel. Gof redeems them not because they are wonderful people, but because God has promised to be with them. This acceptance of the sinner makes Christian baptism different from John's baptism. Whereas John baptized as a sign of change, the church baptizes as a sign of belonging. I see the baptism through which we are welcomed into the church as a celebration of what we already are - children of Sarah and Abraham, brothers and sisters of Jesus, members of the community of Mary and Peter. Whereas John assumed that his people needed to change to be redeemed, our baptism assumes that we are already God's children, we are already redeemed as friends of Jesus. We do not need to be redeemed because we already are of God's household from the moment of our birth. Our membership does not depend on our own particular goodness. I realize that many Christians do not agree with this. I realize that some Christians believe that all children are born in sin and need baptism to redeem them so they can be called a child of God. All I say in response is that I consider this to be John's baptism not the church's baptism.  Here for me is a key factor: even the worst of us is a child of God, and even the best of us is sometimes a rebellious child of God, but all of us are children of God. We and our children and our neighbours have been once and for all redeemed by God's love in Jesus. This means that we are to take a very special approach to thoseof us who do hurt to our neighbours. We are to approach all offenders as children of God remembering they are human beings who are loved by God. This is not to say that we let them go on doing hurtful things. We do need to stop them and we do need to protect these who are in danger from them. We do this remembering three things: 1. even offenders are our brothers and sisters under God, 2. we have our own sin to deal with, 3. God's Spirit is with us all. Like Jesus, we all have been given the Holy Spirit at our baptism, and therefore each and all of us have been called to a ministry in Jesus name. Each of all of us are to do good we are able to do. Let us give thanks that we are able to act as God's daughters and sons commissioned by the Holy Spirit to live God's peace and justice in the world with our neighbours, until all humanity lives as one redeemed family. May we let the Spirit guide us so that we live out this truth in this coming week. Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission Second after Epiphany, Yr. C Delight <EpC2> Is. 62:1-5 As one wedding partner is delighted by the other, so God is delighted by Jerusalem,  Ps. 36:"5-10 How precious, O God, is your constant love. I Cor. 12:1-11 Our different gifts all originate from the same spirit John 2:1-11 Jesus transforms water into wine. During this season of the Sundays after Epiphany we are remembering and reclaiming significant concepts of our faith as they are suggested by one or more of the Sunday readings. Last week the concept was redemption. If anyone is interested in what was said about Redemption, a copy is available. This week's word is Delight, God's delight in us and our delight in God. This one faith aspect of our faith that gets very little play in our churches. Until very recently we have been far too solemn to relish either God's delight or our own.* Meanwhile, the bible we read each Sunday often makes reference to delight. We have often been told that God can be angry with us, but in the Bible one of the chief characteristics of God is God's delight in creation genersally and in us particularly. The biblical writers often show God to be acting out of delight for the people. For instance, when the people of Israel who had been wandering in the desert for forty years, came upon the Jordan valley, their leader Joshua said to them: "If God is delighted in us, God will give us this valley for our home." (Num. 14:8) What makes God delighted with us? One thing that gives God delight is our fairness toward one another. Proverbs 11:1 says that a false measure is an abomination to the lord, but an accurate weight is God's delight." God is tickled pink when we treat one another with justice. The prophets tell us of the great sorrow God feels over the hurt we do to one another (Amos 5:10-14). The opposite side of this sorrow is God's great delight over the good we do to one another. This raises a question for me: How many times have you and I caused our Creator to be delighted in us? Take a moment now to count the ways you have delighted God: wthin your family (pause), with your freinds (pause), at work (pause), within community groups you are a part of (pause). How many times have you and I delighted God by our generosity of spirit, our generosity of time, our generosity with money? Surely God is delighted with much of what we are and do! How much of our life as a community of faith gives God reason to be delighted with us? I know that you have done much that gives God joy! (pause). [Name a few such as world outreach projects, local church sponsored programs. Activities within the church that bring joy and comfort.] Also can we think of things going on in the world that must delight our Creator? [name a few such as Doctors without Borders, Peace activists, Canadian Food Grains Bank, etc]. Of course, God's delight in us is not dependent on our good works. Like a parent takes delight in her child, so God is delighted with us just because we are; just because we are God's creation, God takes delight in us. This morning's reading from Isaiah compares God's delight to the way a couple feel toward one another on their wedding day: "As a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall God rejoice over you." God's joy over Creation is expressed in the Bible from the very first chapter. The authors of the first 35 verses of Genesis believed that creation is good; the good work of a good God. So, after they described the wonder-full acts of God's creation they wrote this: "And the Creator saw that it was good" (Gen 1:25). Then, wonder of wonders they describe humankind as being created in the very image of God. Then, God was so delighted by this final act of creation, that all this wonderful world was given into in our care. Surely they understood God to be delighted by all that was made, including us. Of course we human have not always acted in ways that were likely to please our creator. Yet God could not abandon us. In the psalm for today the poet sees that God's delight in creation is transformed into love. Humans may plot mischief, but you, God, give them drink from the river of your delights (Ps. 36:4-8). What a powerful rich image this is! Imagine dipping your cup in the stream of God's delight,and drinking deeply of it. Let yourself take this in - the delight of God filling your whole being. This psalm is full also of delight in God. Its poetry is ecstatic over God's love: "Your faithful love extends to the heavens, How precious is your love!" Then there is a third dimension to this regime of delight. As well as God delighting in us, and us delighting in God, there also is you and I delighting in one another. St. Paul says that the Spirit of God gives us each a gift. The wonder in this is not simply that each person has something to contribute to the community. That can be a petty and condescending thing to say. No, the wonder is that in each person's gift we a manifestation of the Spirit. If this is how we see one another, how can we do anything but delight in one another? Surely this is the way that leads to peace and away from spiteful hatred and competition. In Canada we have been trying to build a society that honors people from every part of the world, and it seems we have a way to go before we become fully a society in which we delight in one a other's gifts. We continue to give the top positions to the "white" races, and there can be murderous tensions between our various groups. Paul's way of seeing one another as bearers of our own Spiritual gifts would lead us away from hatred and superiority and in the direction of taking delight in one another. This something to practise in our homes and community and churches. Who are the people in whom you most take delight? Who are the people in whom you forget to take delight? Do you see yourself as one in whom others take delight? Yet, there is a fourth delight. In John's Gospel Jesus begins his ministry by delighting his friends; turning water into wine. We too are called toa ministry of delight and the spirit enables us to carry it out!. I often see this to be true. I see it in the joy of friends who start everyone laughing as soon as they enter the room, and I see it all the mittens on my congregation;s mitten tree. Today, I found it in a letter from Ian Macdonald, a colleague in ministry. It's a message about a delightful ministry he is a part of. Many years ago Ian and some friends formed a ministry of song; composing and singing delightful tunes and texts of the faith. So, Ian wrote to let me know about the newest Common Cup CD, "Like Water Through Rock." Now I can take delight in Ian's ministry and share this delight with my family by sharing the music of Ian and friends (www.commoncup.com) We are called to a life of delight: God delights in us, we delight in God and in one another and we please God and bless our neighbours through the delight of our ministry. *For instance, in the congregation in which I joined the church i n 1956, the service of the Lord's Supper was focused almost entirely on the grim reality of Christ's death, and our own sinfulness. The communion hymn (Here O My Lord, I see Thee Face to Face") actually described communion as "a foretaste of the festal joy" of heaven, but it was sung as if it were a funeral dirge - at least that is how it seemed to me. Since then I have learned and attitude toward communion as expressed in another hymn, "I Come With Joy." It does devote a line to Christ's death, both in word and music it makes this a reason for rejoicing. Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * Child + Story * Liturgy * Social * Pastor * Mission Third Sunday After Epiphany Yr C Holy Law <EpC3> Nehemia 8:-1- 10. The community hears and receives the Law with their minds , hearts and wills  Psalm 19:7-14. Receiving God's Law nurtures the core of life. 1 Cor. 12:12-13. The Law of the community is like that of a body; all members doing their parts in harmony Luke 4: 14-21. The Law is fulfilled by the indwelling of the Spirit. The spiritual concept we are reflecting on today is, Law. As a spiritual concept the law pertains to the very essence of our relationship with one another. For instance in the Hebrew Testament the law, which is called the Torah, begins with our total relationship with God, and then finishes with the total of our relationship with our neighbour.* When we think of law today, I suppose we usually mean a code which defines some actions as legal and other behaviours as illegal. Like in the children's game, one is permitted to go on the the green light and forbidden to go on the red. But we also know that there is a spiritual understanding of law. A spiritual understanding of law has to do with the way we agree to live together, to care for one another, to support one another. This spiritual law includes what is legal and illegal, and so much more. This week I have been reflecting on Psalm 19 and its praise for God's law. In the Bible we find law to be one of God's most precious gifts. We see this celebtrated in Psalm 19's praise for God's law. Let us read it together once more. The writers of this psalm experienced the law of God as refreshment, as enlightenment, as the true root of of the good life. All this flowed from God's holy law. That led me to ponder how valuable spiritual law is in our lives; our homes and our nation. Think for a moment about your home. What are the codes that you follow to make life good in your particular your home? There will be some behaviour that is not welcome in your home. Then, what are the behaviours that are a must in your home - ways of being together that make it work? Law of course is central to our wider community and nation. For instance, our constitutional law has just brought us through a peaceful change in national leadership. We got a new prime minister and cabinet in a very simple swearing in ceremony - less elaborate that most weddings . Many of those who have had power under the former prime minister, Jean Cretien, lost power under the new P.M., Paul Martin. This is all happened according to democratic constitutional law. During all this our law also permits political satire, making fun of the powerful. Already the cartoonists and stand-up comedians are showing us the clay feet of those to whom we have given power. Within the law we both give power and laugh over the foibles of our rulers. In all this, no one shot, or put in jail, no government offices were bombed. I would put forward that this was a deeply spiritual event for our country. The spirituality of this event was illustarted by the inclusion of a smudging ceremony of purification performed on the Prime minister elect by Aboriginal elder, Elmer Courchene. Of course, the spirit of the law is very import to the well-being of many nations just now. For instance, a couple of weeks ago I listened to a interview with Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan. In this conversation he described regular meetings he has with those who hold sway in the various regions of Afghanistan. These are men who enforce their rule by the power of private armies. President Karzai meets with these so-called war-lords to convince them that the democratic rule of constitutional law would be better way to distribute power and ensure peace. He asks them to give up their rule by an elite force, and welcome democratic insitutions. He argues that agreed upon democratic constitutional law established by the people and its leaders is the only way for the nation of Afghanistan to have order, peace, prosperity, and a healthy future. He is asking his people to make a spiritual change in how they will relate one to the other. It is no surprise that the ancient Hebrews also saw holy law as the basis of their society. Like Afghanistan, the Hebrew people went through a time of chaos followed by a time of rebuilding. They were defeated in war, Jerusalem was turned into ruins, their leaders and skilled workers taken away in bondage. Then a generation later some of them came back to rebuild. A key to that rebuilding was a reaffirmation of the rule of law. That was this morning's lesson from Nehemia. Their constitution was the law of God as they understood it. This holy law includes both injunctions for living today and promise for the future. Matthew tells us that Jesus came to fulfill these promises (Mt. 5:17). When Jesus was asked which part of the law was the greatest he replied: Love God and Love neighbour. When he did this he was reciting a Hebrew summation of the essence of spiritual law.** This is to be fulfilled in us: (read Mk. 12:29-31). Let's think some more about how this spiritual law may come to fulness in us. I referred earlier to the spiritual laws we have at home. Now, let's consider the church - our congregation. Think of the ways we have agreed to be together as a community of faith which are not written down anywhere. I see some of these in the way we work together. Every time the women of the church put on a Fall dinner, I am impressed at the way they have agreed to work together with care and respect, honoring one another's gifts. I experienced this personally when I joined with the men to paint the church. We worked together in a wonderful sense of harmony. I see this same spiritual law at work in the larger society. For instance, every morning I go for a walk down a certain street. As I go I often meet coming toward me an elderly gentleman wearing a turban. As we pass we acknowledge one another with slight bow of the head,a smile,and verbal greeting,"Good morning." Think of the things we don't do. We don't sneer at one another, thinking we are superior to the other; nor do we ignore one another as if the other was of no importance; neither do we push one another off the side walk. Rather, in that brief encounter he and I honour an unwritten spiritual law. Since we are both men I can call it a law of brotherhood, mutual respect and shared citizenship. I know nothing of the background of my brother with the turban, but from my perspective, this spiritual law is supported by the understanding of law which we find in the Bible. In the Bible, the law of God is not just a lists of rules such as the Ten Commandments. In the Bible God's law refers to the totality of our relationship with our Creator and our neighbour. As the Creator loves us so we are to love one another (Lk. 6:27-36). Jesus placed his ministry within this law when he read from the prophet Isaiah in his home synagogue (Lk. 4:18-21) He announced that the Spirit of God was moving him to fulfill the Torah, the holy law, by proclaiming the year of the Lord's favour: good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. You and I are all called to this same ministry of holy law. St. Paul understood this when he wrote that we all are members of the one body of Christ. Just as the law of a person's body ascribes functions to each part of the human body, so there is a similar law operating in the body of humankind. Each us has been given our own law-fulfilling function by which we bring God's peace to our community and world. May we and all human kind learn to live together in a holy law of peace in our homes , churches, villages, and nations. *Theological Word Book of the Bible, "Law," W.A. Whitehouse ** Dt. 6:4-5; Lv. 19:18 Search: Bible *Advt.-Xmas- Ep. . * Lent -Easter * Pene. 1-14 * Pent 15f * 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&amp;java=0&amp;security=&amp;invisible=0" alt="free web hit counter" border="0"></a> </noscript>          .   -