Saturday, May 31, 2014

Due to some technical or human difficulties, we've missed posting today's reflection on Ezekiel 3:4-17.

We will revisit Ezekiel in June. In the meantime take a peek at it. It is a long, but very visual and stimulating book!

Ezekiel's first vision. [http://christimages.org/biblebooks/Book_of_Ezekiel.htm]

Friday, May 30, 2014

Friday May 30, 2014    

[Roberta Elizabeth Tilton, A founder of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Canadian Church 1885/6]

Matthew 25: 31 - 40

Today's reading follows the familiar parable of the talents, in which a wealthy landowner entrusts varying amounts of money to his servants while he is away.  How they used (or didn’t use) it demonstrated faithfulness to the landowner.  Using the talents to make profit for the landowner was the expectation.

Immediately, this passage follows, clearly stating that when The Son of Man (Jesus) returns in glory (like the landowner who returned), he will sort out all the people of the world (all nations).  The image of sorting goats from sheep would have been a familiar one - look very similar, but quite different animals and flocks.

Jesus does not speak about beliefs, church/synagogue, mosque attendance, careful following of religious rules (such as dietary or purity laws), but rather looks at their daily life behaviour. He says they fed him, gave him a drink, clothed, housed or visited him, meeting his ordinary human need.  He says that these people are blessed by God for having cared for him (Jesus), God’s son.  It would seem that most if not all of this group are surprised, claiming that they had never met Jesus before, so wondering how he thinks they had cared for him.  Jesus’s answer has become familiar to us: “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me - you did it to me.” [in another translation, “the least of these who are part of my family”, or “the least of these my brothers”]

As I go about my ordinary life here in Kitchener Waterloo, I feel that Jesus is calling me to look out for, not overlook, the other members of his family.  I remember God’s asking Cain about Abel, and Cain asking “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  Jesus says here that the answer is Yes.  The parable of the Good Samaritan seems to make the same point - God’s command to love my neighbour includes anyone in need, no conditions. It also reminds me of part of our Baptismal covenant: to seek and serve Christ in everyone.

The fact that God, Jesus, the Scripture, seem to make this point over and over, in many ways and contexts suggests to me that this is important!!  I need to pay attention. In my daily life I may have many opportunities.  Will I take the time to see and to respond?

One thing that helps me remember and encourages me to keep trying is a fridge magnet I look at daily.  “Be Kind: No Exceptions.”  

Blessings

Ann Kelland

Thursday May 29, 2014

Matthew 28: 16-20

Today's reading contains the last few words of St. Matthew's gospel.  The disciples have gathered in Galilee because the women in their group told them to.  These are the same women who went to Jesus' tomb after his crucifixion; first they met an angel and then the resurrected Jesus.  Both the angel and Jesus give them the same message - go tell the disciples to go to Galilee because they will see Jesus there.

So the women go tell the disciples; and the disciples go to Galilee. There Jesus appears to them on a mountain.  Mountains are important in Matthew's gospel; there is the mountain where Jesus is tempted, the sermon on the Mount, a mountain on which he feeds four thousand people, and one on which he is transfigured.  And in today's reading it is on a mountain that he meets his disciples and tells them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'  

You may have noticed that the word "go" is used a lot in this reading.  The women go to the tomb and then fearfully and joyfully go to tell the disciples to go to Galilee; the disciples go from Jerusalem to Galilee and when they see Jesus "they worshiped him, but some doubted".  And yet Jesus tells these doubting, fearful, hesitant followers - who are already being undermined by an intentional rumour that they had stolen Jesus' body - that they are ones to go and make disciples.

What about us?  Jesus is still telling us to go and make disciples in the face of fear, doubt, joy, hesitancy, or less than ideal circumstances.  What is our response?

Marilyn Malton

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Psalm 68

At the end of April, I went to see the movie Noah. Walking out of the theatre, I could not quite decide how I felt about the movie. There were some really extraordinary moments, some moments that were disturbing beyond all others, and then plenty more that left me wanting. Sitting in the theatre, though, watching thousands of people drown in God’s floods, I couldn’t help but wonder, how do I see God in this brutal, angry, and violent destruction of humanity? 

One of the best concepts in the film for me was “the Watchers”: angels who had chosen to come down to earth to aid Adam and Eve. In heaven, these angels had bodies of light; to punish them, God imprisoned them in the matter of the earth – rock and mud and dirt – so that throughout the film, they stumbled along, trapped and reduced by their form. 

When I read Psalm 68, the first images I have are of an angry, powerful – even controlling – God. It is a God who breaks those who are defiant, who “shatters the heads of his enemies.” But buried in these images within the Psalm is the God who is “Father of orphans and protector of widows,” the God who “provides for the needy.” This is a God who “gives power and strength to his people.” 

In the movie, Noah, God punishes the fallen angels. But God does not abandon them. As they die defending the ark against the depravity of humanity, the Watchers look up into heaven and weep for forgiveness. And God brings them home. They are a people who are desolate, who are broken, they have turned away from God. And still, God lifts them up into God’s presence. God watches over all. 

Blessed be God!

- Joshua Zentner-Barrett

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Tuesday May 27, 2014 – 1 Timothy 2:1-6



This letter to Timothy is traditionally attributed to St. Paul. However, many biblical scholars would dispute its authorship, preferring to believe that it was written by someone else – perhaps a follower or student of Paul.  This does not take away from the value of what is said in the letter – or, at least, most of it.  (Many women might not agree with the sentiment and tone of the latter part of this same chapter 2.)



What I focus on in these verses selected for today, is the author’s call to prayer for everyone – “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings” -  the instruction is inclusive, and includes “kings and all who are in high positions.”  This is a timely encouragement for us to pray for those who have offered themselves as candidates in the imminent Ontario election.



Our Anglican Provincial Synod has prepared resources to help us.  Here is a part of that resource:



Pray for candidates, and for voters, that we may all be

guided, not by self-interest, but by a genuine care for God’s people,

and concern for the needs of our neighbours. We invite your prayerful

consideration of these issues. Please also keep the leaders and

candidates seeking office, along with all citizens, in your prayers during

the election campaign.



Issues that we might wish to include in our prayers are poverty and hunger, and housing.    

- Rev'd Paul Kett

Monday, May 26, 2014

Monday, May 26, 2014

Reflection on Matthew 13:31-33

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

As this scene opens, Jesus tells stories from a boat to the people on shore, while explaining them to the disciples later.  For this purpose, Matthew collects many parables in one place, tying them all to the Isaiah prophesy that the people are blind and deaf and must be taught only in parables. 

Matt: 13: 15 “For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them” [Isaiah 6:9,10]

Jesus contrasts these people with his disciples. “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them,” he says. [Matt:13:11]  He describes the disciples as ‘insiders’ to the knowledge that prophets and righteous people have longed to see and hear.  No wonder they ask him for clarification later, in a more private setting.  Since they are party to ‘secrets’ the disciples surely want to get it right. They want to ‘understand with their hearts’.  Especially, they want to ‘turn’ and be healed.  And, so do we.

Parables are stories deliberately without any descriptive detail, loaded with double meanings – one at the narrative level, and one at the spiritual level.  We receive them like a bookmark or a timed-release capsule.  They remain as a memorable narrative – perhaps from childhood on.  When the spiritual level of meaning catches us, the deep lesson is released.  That is why they are the most powerful (and dangerous) device a teacher can use. [P.M.]

In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus points out that the seed is the smallest of all seeds, yet it produces a plant capable of growing so large birds can nest in its branches.  He compares this to the Kingdom of Heaven.  This begs the question: What is the Kingdom of Heaven?  I do not believe it is an actual ‘place’.  I’d like to think that the Kingdom of Heaven is a state of being (or a state of mind) where love-energy rules.  To act and think like Jesus is to be in this Kingdom.  So, when he compares it to a mustard seed, he may be saying that the smallest person, the smallest act of kindness, the smallest deed can produce the largest result.  Surely this was the idea J.R.R. Tolkien had in mind when he wrote “Lord of the Rings” – the smallest creatures in that story saved the entire world.

The Parable of the Yeast:  Jesus follows the idea of the mustard seed with an image of yeast.  Mix a tiny few crumbs of yeast plus water with flour and the result rises to become a large ball of dough.  Jesus mentions 60lb of flour (27kilos) – certainly enough to bake bread and feed hundreds.  Water and flour by themselves become nothing but glue.  But yeast turns it into bread.  Just like the mustard seed – a tiny, seemingly insignificant thing can be the catalyst for large, transformative results. Apparently, no act, however small, when done in the spirit of the Kingdom, will go to waste.  It will make a difference and produce both useful and wonderful results. 

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast, like other parables in this series have life lessons embedded in images from the lives of simple working folks in Jesus’ world – farmers, fishermen, women cooking and cleaning.  Anyone listening to Jesus then, as now, can picture a mustard seed – then see the full tree with birds making a home in the branches.  Likewise, the image of bread dough, rising because of yeast, is a tiny wonder that produces an amazing life-giving result.  Jesus’ words allow us to come closer to understanding the “Kingdom” to which we hope we belong. 

So we are left wondering if God can take a tiny creature such as ourselves and produce a wonderful, important result.  We long to be chosen for such tasks.  We pray we will be ready.

Peter Mansell,   Easter 2014   

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Sunday, May 25, 2014

James 1: 2-8, 16-18

Reading this passage for the first time our group, the discussion was centred around the theme of faith, with many comments on the strong language choice of James and prescriptiveness of his narrative.  Then we began to alter the tone of the text from that of reward and punishment to more of grace and love.  Originally we read a message that if our faith was not good enough, if we showed any seeds of doubt, wisdom and other gifts from God would not be provided.  Changing the understanding of the passage to be one of assurance in God’s love for us through the trials and the doubt made the text much more clear.  The gifts of God are always being offered, and we can choose to accept them in faith.  We might have times of doubt and feel like that wave being tossed about by the wind, but there can be joy in the steadfastness that emerges from the trials.

Steadfastness is one of James’ most eloquent language choices in this text.  An amazing result of growth, trial and faith.  It is also a characteristic that is beautifully illustrated in this excerpt from the book Perseverance by Margaret J Wheatly:

Steadfastness is a lovely, old-fashioned word that we don’t hear much about these days. It describes how warriors stand their ground, how they find their position and stay there, unshaken and immovable. Steadfast people are firm in their resolve; they are not shaken by events or circumstances. They stand clear in their beliefs, grounded in their cause, faithful to the end.

 Steadfast people seem very rare these days…we will have to look in new places – among those we’ve discounted and misjudged, those who disappeared from our awareness months or years ago.  We have to look again, and be willing to be surprised by who we see.  And once we find each other, we need to support and encourage our steadfast behaviours – the times when any one of us speaks up, stands our ground, sees clearly, refuses to yield, doesn’t give up.  Steadfastness is a capacity that gets easier as we’re together.  The ground we stand on gets more firm and offers more support. It expands to uphold a surprising number of spiritual warriors.

By: Eric, Kristin, Rachel and Julia

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Matthew 7: 13-21

Today’s passage is a small part of what has been called “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matt 5.1-7.29). One contemporary challenge that faces everyone today concerns the health of our island home -- Earth, a place we have come to discover as an increasingly fragile host to life. The passage in Matthew under study today starts as follows: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.  For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” What does this say to those of us who have taken the concerns of climate change seriously?

We live in an economy and a society in which very powerful interest groups wish to maintain the “faith” in fossil fuels as the sensible power choice that can only be jettisoned very cautiously over a long, long period of time.  In a sense, these false prophets; these societal leaders wish to lull us into a false sense of security by suggesting drastic actions are not only unnecessary but unwise. These interests seek to minimize knowledge about the urgent need to grapple with the real environmental costs of our continued dependence (addiction?) to this power source and the threats it poses to many life forms on the planet. What are people of faith required to do when overwhelming scientific evidence suggests we need to adjust our lifestyles and the way we extract and use this source of power? What is the apparent wide and easy road before us that ultimately leads to destruction? Who are counted among the many that deliberately opt for or allow themselves to be reassured about the status quo which threatens to lead to a destructive outcome? What should we do in our communities, for example, if an election is before us?

- Terry Rothwell

Friday, May 23, 2014

Friday May 23, 2014 – Leviticus 23:1-22

For those of us who are comfortable with the understanding that Moses did not write the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, this passage from Leviticus is thought to have been written by the Priestly class during the time that the Southern Kingdom was exiled in Babylon, some 500 years before the Common Era (BCE).  The attention to details –dates, times, measurements, and the insistence that no work be done on these holy days, are all giveaways to the probable Priestly authorship.  Be that as it may, what is said in these verses is more important than who wrote them.

This reading sets out what special days – holy days – are to be celebrated, and how they are to be celebrated.  The Sabbath is the first listed, and refers to the last day of creation set aside by God for rest and restoration.  Of all the listed days, the weekly Sabbath is the paramount one.  There follow other important days – Passover, and the Season of Unleavened Bread; and three agricultural festivals: celebrating and giving thanks for the early grain ripening, the harvesting of the first produce, and the final harvest festival of thanksgiving at the ingathering of all crops. 

The final verse is a reminder to the people of how they are to provide for “the poor and the stranger” by leaving a few rows of grain and other produce around the periphery of the fields for their use.

In our world and in our day, we may well have lost sight of the middle celebrations, historical and agricultural in outlook.  It is the first and the last admonishment that stand out for me – how we keep Sabbath, and how we provide for the least, the last and the lost.  I invite you to think on these things today.

-Rev'd Paul Kett

Thursday May 22, 2014

Woody Allen — Image by © Elena Seibert/Corbis

Matthew 6: 25-34 

Today's reading flies in the face of our culture's preoccupation with worrying.  Don't worry! Don't worry about what you will eat or what you will drink or what you will wear?  Doesn't Jesus know that is only the beginning?  To quote from the MACLEAN's magazine article, The New Worry Epidemic (Feb. 5, 2014):

Worry. Never has a society worried about so much—and so little—simultaneously. We’re tied in Gordian knots of worry, every Twitter refresh delivering new fretting points. “Frost quakes” and polar vortex, the scary new term for winter, have been added to climate change fears. . . Everybody has his or her own worry list, which might or might not contain H5NI, vaccine fear, bioterrorism, your kid passing his finals, cyberterrorism, those grey hairs, the grid going dark, drivers who text, stock market collapse, job loss, gluten, debt, that guy eyeing your job, your RSP, E. coli in packaged salad.

Worrying is endemic, mental health professionals will tell you.  The term "worrying" has replaced "thinking" says California-based clinical psychologist Daniel Peters.  "People don't say, 'I'm thinking about this' anymore; they say, 'I'm worrying about this.'

Surely Jesus' advice seems naive at best, even irresponsible.  Don't worry; trust God.  On the other hand, his observation that "who here can claim to add even an hour to his life by worrying?" seems accurate.  

These teachings of Jesus about "don't worry" come in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount. That's the same section as the Beatitudes which boldly proclaim that God's kingdom is different from the kingdoms of the world.  In God's kingdom we are invited to trust rather than worry and our trust is to be placed in God rather than financial security.  In God's kingdom we commit to different priorities - like taking responsibility for the earth and each other rather than obsessive self-interest; like generosity rather than greed; like trust rather worry.  Easier said than done? Of course.  And so we pray that God's kingdom come and God's will be done, on earth as it is in heaven and risk being transformed by God's grace and love.

Marilyn Malton

Victoria Day

Monday, May 19, 2014

Matthew 6:1-6

In his book A Hidden Wholeness, Parker Palmer explores the concept of an 'undivided life' where the inner and outer aspects of one's life are seamlessly integrated.  This is a useful image when considering today's text, Matthew 6:1-6.  The text concerns practicing piety, giving alms, and praying, and is part of a longer discourse that begins with the beatitudes.  In the culture of Jesus' day acts of piety were revered, and the customary practice was to perform good deeds so that the deeds and the performer of the deeds would be seen and praised by others.  The focus was to enhance one's outer appearance and standing in the community.  Jesus' word for this type of person is "hypocrite!"--literally meaning an "actor", one who performs for the approval of others.

Seeing is at the center of this text.  Jesus challenges, not the spiritual practices themselves, but the motivation behind the practices, which is that of being seen and admired by others. He reminds his listeners that we do not need to perform for God, for God already sees us and approves of us.  True spiritual practices emerge from the inside--as an expression of our love and devotion to the One who knows even the secret places within us and loves us.  

Marianne Mellinger

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Luke 4:16-30

“…to let the oppressed go free...”

            Today’s Gospel is a powerful one for me. Jesus emanates such confidence. He knows who he is. He knows whose he is. He is completely convinced of his mission to those in need.

As I read today’s story, my mind goes to a recent encounter. I was in a shopping center and witnessed a scene that, to me, was distressing.  Apparently, a toddler had wandered off from her mother and was running down one aisle. I saw the mother run after her, snatch her up and begin to scold her loudly. “You know better than to run off like that!” She repeated the scolding over and over. The mother put her down, grabbed her arm and pulled her forcefully back to their cart, all the time yelling at her daughter and blaming her for the incident. She quite literally threw her in the cart and yelled, “Now you’ll stay in there forever!” The young girl, of course, was crying uncontrollably.

            I was deeply saddened by this interaction. The whole situation felt very wrong to me. My first impulse was to somehow console the daughter. I wanted to say something to the mother, but what? Was it any of my business? Is it ever okay to intervene in someone else’s parenting? What would you have done?

            When I got home, I sat with the situation for a long time. I tried to understand why I was feeling the way I was. I tried to see the incident through the eyes of both the mother and daughter. I can only assume that this behavior was common between the two. How will this shape the daughter as she grows up? What stresses was the mother under? What was her own upbringing like? Similar events from my past bubbled to the service: times when I felt oppressed by my parents, or times when I’m pretty sure I dished out a little oppression and humiliation of my own. I tried to connect with those deep feelings of frustration, shame and fear that I had known in the past and that, perhaps, the mother and daughter were then experiencing. My favorite spiritual teachers say that this is the best way to grow in compassion: to connect with these deeply-held and shared human experiences.

            This helps me to see Jesus and his mission in a clearer light. Jesus offers good news. He offers freedom and release to captives and the oppressed. In some ways, we are all held captive by our past, by negative experiences that have marked us, by the hold of our own ego that we rely on to protect our vulnerable selves. We all at some time or other can identify with either the mother or the daughter in that mall. But I think we can also all identify with moments when we have experienced God’s unconditional love, the very good news that Jesus offers. It is the succession of such moments of grace that slowly, over a lifetime, frees us from our own captivities and allows us to follow Jesus in bringing that freedom to others.

            I pray that both the mother and the daughter experience this love and freedom.

-David Shumaker

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Saturday, May 17, 2014
Matthew 5:38-48

     Today's selection comes out of Jesus' sayings called the Beatitudes, his radical redefining of behaviour, attitudes, religion, and relationships. Most scholars believe that Matthew's Gospel was written for a primarily Jewish audience, hence the motif on fulfilled prophecy (among other things). If you read the Beatitudes in Luke's Gospel you'll notice that they are set on a flat plain, but in Matthew's interpretation, they are delivered on a mountain or hill (hence the name, The Sermon on the Mount). This seems an intentional act (some would say of the author, others, Jesus) of likening the Beatitudes to the Ten Commandments.

Martin Luther King, Jr., with photograph of Mahatma Gandhi.
http://www.satyagrahafoundation.org/category/martin-luther-king-jr/

  
     It is curious and a little disturbing how many Christians have been so willing to dismiss the Beatitudes as wishful thinking or ideals that cannot be achieved. Some have taken them to heart and lived them out, though usually at great cost.

     There are many interpretations of today's reading, but it seems that a common theme of them is that they are designed to cause the offender to see the victim as a person. The actions are non-violent, but not at all passive. Some scholars say that they are aimed at coaxing the offender beyond the security of violence allowed by Roman law to unjust actions that would get them in trouble with their authorities.

     While our reactions to and interpretation of the Beatitudes might differ, the command to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors gives us much to think about and even more hard work to do. 

-Matthew Kieswetter

Friday, May 16, 2014

Friday, May 16, 2014

1 Thessalonians 3:1-13

After reading this passage three times, I perceived in Paul a sense of despair that is turned to relief. More than that, I feel in him an excitement that the faith of the Thessalonians is keeping them alive. For me, Paul is excited by the prospect of seeing the community, just as he feels they will be excited to see him. 

In my theology course this semester, we used a book by theologian Douglas John Hall called Why Christian?: for those on the edge of faith. In this book, Hall explores seven questions about what it means to be Christian, or, why one would wish to be Christian specifically. In the chapter “Why Church?” he discusses the idea of faith: “faith, which as we have seen before, ‘seeks understanding,’ also seeks community… There is something in faith…that drives one to seek out others” (136). 

In verse ten of this chapter of his letter, Paul expresses the hope of seeing the Thessalonians in order to be able to restore whatever is lacking in their faith. Set against the previous verses – which betray Paul’s relief and joy at the enduring faith of the Thessalonians – I do not see this “lack of faith” as a critique; rather, it is a recognition that faith cannot be perfect at all times, but when people are together in shared faith, they can find the strength to overcome any weaknesses. Paul ends with a prayer that emphasizes the importance of others: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.”

How do you find strength in being together with others in faith?

- Joshua Zentner-Barrett

Wednesday, May 14, 2014 - St. Matthias the Apostle

Wednesday, May 14, 2014 - St Matthias the Apostle

John 15:1, 6-16

In the Canadian Anglican Church , May 14 now is a day set aside to commemorate Saint Matthias the Apostle. Matthias was chosen by the eleven apostles in that period between Jesus' ascension and Pentecost, to replace the void left behind in their numbers by Judas Iscariot's death. Likely this took place to complete the ancient number of twelve patriarchs of the twelve Hebrew tribes that Moses led out of Egypt into freedom, by helping them to symbolize their sense of a new Israel "in the Spirit". The Apostles were starting to assume responsibility for leadership & direction in the early church. We know little else about Matthias beyond the first chapter of the Book of Acts. He was chosen by lot , by election. Tradition places his burial in Trier , Germany, and also in Georgia.

In a sense, Matthias is like us. We may not be well known, but we are called by God, to assist in God's work on earth. As we read John 15;1 and particularly verses 6-16, ponder "I chose you, and appointed you, says the Lord, that you should go and bear fruit, fruit that will last." We are invited, nudged, and prodded to be part of what God is about , as evident in the way & life , and new Easter Life given to us in Jesus, the Christ.

Years ago, I remember first hearing a Blessing at a service at The Chautauqua Institute, which echos the reading for today, and the mantle and ministry that Matthias assumed. May it speak and resonate with you too!

"And now , go in peace, and remember... that it is through the goodness of God that you were born, and remember.. that it is through the love of Jesus the Christ that you are redeemed. Remember .. that he walks with you every day, he promised that he would.

And remember.. too , that though some would call you servant, he has called you friend.

Go forth then in the strength of that powerful friendship to serve...until we meet again!"

- Archdeacon Ken Cardwell

Tuesday May 13, 2014

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

In the Acts of the Apostles there is a story about Paul preaching, for several weeks, the good news of Jesus Christ in the synagogue in Thessalonica.  As a result of his preaching, "some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women" (Acts 17:4).  However, some of the Jews were unhappy with this development and stirred up a riot in the city by claiming that Paul and Silas were saying Jesus was a king and therefore they were defying Caesar's decree.  The authorities took bail money from Jason - Paul and Silas had been staying at Jason's house - and under cover of darkness, Paul and Silas escaped from the city of Thessalonica.  

Some time later, after Paul's co-worker, Timothy, had been to visit the young church in Thessalonica, Paul writes to the congregation to encourage them and correct some misconceptions which may have arisen because his teaching had been abruptly cut short there!

In today's reading, Paul and his co-workers, Silas and Timothy, give thanks for the followers of Jesus in Thessalonica.   They have become an example, or model, in the whole region because of their faith.  Paul highlights their: work of faith; labour of love; and steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Which of those qualities (or perhaps some other quality) do sense God would most like to see developed in your life?  What kind of example, or model, of faith are you and your congregation? 

Marilyn Malton

Monday, May 12, 2014 (Florence Nightengale)

Monday, May 12, 2014 (Florence Nightingale, Nurse, Social Reformer)

Micah 6:6-8

How do we worship the Lord? What practices help us to be in relationship with our Lord? Do our Sunday rituals and daily prayers suffice to bring us into full communion with the Triune God?

The rituals of Old Testament worship included burnt offerings and animal offerings. As offerings were burnt on the altar, beginning with Noah, they created an aroma which was pleasing to God and so the people believed they were calling the attention of God to their needs and requests. Peace (or fellowship) offerings of animals, which began with Cain and Abel, emphasize the close communion that the people of ancient Israel had with the Lord. They could eat the flesh of an animal offering to signify that all was well in the relationship between the Lord and the Lord’s people.  Through the sin (purification) offering worshippers could receive forgiveness for their sin.*

The prophet Micah tells us that there is something different which the Lord desires as our worship. It is to live in justice, kindness and humility. Jesus’ life of works and teachings is a living example of this new relationship. It is as we shape our life and actions to the justice, kindness and humility of Jesus that we can truly experience the goodness of the Lord and show forth God’s glory.

Today nurses around the world remember Florence Nightingale, the founder and patron saint of modern nursing. She modelled for us compassion for the people suffering in sick houses, work houses and the Crimean War. Using her gift in mathematical statistics, she lobbied the government for social reforms to improve sanitation and health in the British Empire. Florence Nightingale encouraged her nursing students to take time for daily bible study and so walk humbly under the guidance of God’s Word.

What does it mean for us to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God today? Are there just policies waiting to be developed and lived out in our community, country and world? What acts of kindness might we do this week? In which way might God be calling us to depend on heavenly guidance rather than our own power and will?

“When you walk from here, when you walk from here

  Walk with justice, walk with mercy and with God’s humble care.”**

May this be true for each one of us.

Elsie Millerd, Parish Nurse

*http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/offerings-and-sacrifices.html

**Linnea Good, “When You Walk from Here,” 1996, Borealis Music.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Colossians 3:1-17

Are you familiar with the ‘facepalm?’ It usually happens when one is faced with an extremely absurd or the disappointing situation. Reading the third chapter of Colossians can do that for a lot of people. Our little portion today ends before we get to it, but if you were to continue on, the oft-quoted “no longer Greek and Jew... slave and free” section gets followed up with a list of household rules that many see to legitimize sexism and slavery (3:18-25). 
< facepalm >

So what to do with these bits? One approach might be what we have today: editing so that the difficult passage is eliminated. This might make sense in some settings, but the danger is that by ignoring the challenging bits, we might never learn what to do with them. 

A different approach is to change or finesse your understanding of scripture. A more historical-critical approach might help you to read the passage in its original context. Some might suggest that the situation of the early Christians was fraught with danger and conflict, so the household rules help us to see that they did not want social revolution affecting the spread of the Gospel. Many Christians at this time may have anticipated a quick return of Christ, so the task of overturning social mores were secondary. Perhaps verse 11 has within it the seeds of social revolution that would develop over time. 

When considering tricky issues, many Christians think about what Jesus did or might do in such a situation. This approach seems to be in line with our reading today (3:15; 3:16; 3:17). Maybe when we wrestle with difficult scripture passages or real life situations we need to take a step back and instead of using tiny proof texts we need to consider in a more broad manner our history, theology, and scriptures. Such an approach might not always yield easy, black and white answers. But when Christ is at the core of our being, we might find some peace in the midst of chaos and confusion.

  As you're going about your day consider a few questions:

- What does it mean to call scripture 'inspired?'
- How does or might the Bible inspire or guide you in your own life? 
- How should the Church handle/understand/preach on the problematic bits? 

- Matthew Kieswetter

Friday May 9, 2014

Psalm 105: 1-22

Give thanks . . . call . . . make . . . sing . . . tell . . .  glory . . . rejoice . . . seek . . . 

The Psalmist invites and directs us to action.  Communicate, connect, and be in relationship with God!  And remember all God's wonderful actions that God has already done!

I haven't read the book, "Life is a Verb", but its a compelling title.  In English a verb is an essential part of a sentence:  a complete sentence requires a verb and in most of our sentences a verb is the key word.  What about in our lives?  If you or someone else were to write a sentence or a story about your life today, what action words would be used most often? What action words would you desire to be most reflective of your life today?  Would any of the verbs the psalmist uses be included - giving thanks?  singing God's praises?  seeking God?  Talk with God about the verbs in your life.

Marilyn Malton

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Thursday May 8, 2014 

 Exodus 20:1-21

Today’s selected reading is the familiar “Ten Commandments”.  Many of you may have memorized these Bible verses somewhere along the way – interestingly, I never did.  The Book of Common Prayer, in the Order for the Administration of the Lord’s Supper (the Eucharist), makes provision for the Ten Commandments to be recited by the priest at the beginning of each service – but I don’t remember attending very many services, if any, where this was a regular feature.

These commandments, or rules of life, we are told, were given by God to Moses amidst thunder and lightning, and loud blasts from a trumpet, enough to frighten the people of Israel into a terrorized submission.  Perhaps our most poignant image of this event would be a wild-eyed, and well-coifed Charlton Heston holding the two tablets of stone with the commandments etched into them.

The commandments can be divided into two categories, the first four outlining our duties to God, and the final six the duties we owe to humanity.  To us they may seem to make ultimate common sense.  If we wish to live in a right relationship with the God who has created all things, then the first four commandments delineate how this may best be done.  With the remaining six, the same is true for living in a healthy relationship with family, friends, neighbours, and, indeed, all the citizens of our world. 

When Jesus was asked what is the greatest, or most important, commandment, he responded with a twofold answer: love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbour as yourself.  This summary moves to the heart of how we can best live – in a loving and caring relationship with God, and with all people.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

- Rev'd Paul Kett

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Wednesday, 7 May, 2014

Colossians 1:15-23

Yesterday’s scripture from John’s Gospel celebrates the profound mystery of the incarnation: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (v. 1)”.   “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth (v. 14).  Today’s scripture celebrates this same great mystery, with a different style and perspective.  John 1:3, for example, says, “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”  Colossians 1:16 says, “In him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers – all things have been created through him and for him.” How exalted above all is our Lord Jesus Christ, whom we worship and serve!

Indeed, these scriptures encourage and inspire us to celebrate the pre-eminence of our Lord Jesus Christ, to proclaim his greatness as we do each week in the liturgy, and to worship him with our whole hearts.  

But today’s scripture does not leave us in heavenly celebration.  Colossians 1:21 reminds us that we “were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.”  What a jarring comedown!  But Christ “has now reconciled [us] in his fleshly body through death.”  Christ will now present us to God “holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” What wonderful work of Christ!  Yet, we have our part too; we must “continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that [we] heard.”  

Yes, let us celebrate the exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us rejoice, let us proclaim his greatness, and let us worship reverently.  Let us give thanks that he has reconciled us to God and will present us to God holy, blameless, and irreproachable.  And, in joy and gratitude, let us continue in the faith, stable and steadfast in the hope of the gospel.

Blessings on the Way,

-- Robert Kruse

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 (St. John the Evangelist)

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 (Feast Day of St. John the Evangelist)

John 1:1-9

For a school project I’ve spent some time digging through the St. John’s archives and history books. Various documents related to the church proudly identify the gospel that bears the name of our patron saint as being the one that “soars the highest,” hence symbol of the eagle associated with John. You can see the eagle in our church crest, at the lectern from which readings are read, and (I think) among the figures of the evangelists that surround the wood carving of the last supper by the high altar. The Gospel of John, and the generations of Christians who have worshipped at St. John’s, have, like John the Baptizer, “testified to the light” (John 1:7). 

Our congregation came together after Kitchener (then Berlin) had become a county seat. The railroad came to town, and the new administrative offices brought an influx of people (many of whom of British descent, hence the need for an Anglican church). I came across some parish records that listed the parishioners associated with St. John’s in, I think, 1879, so within twenty years of the church’s founding. It seemed to tell the story of a thoroughly upper class church community. Listed was a school headmaster, physicians, bank managers, lawyers, and the like. And of course Joseph Seagram of the famous distillery. 

This brief sketch of nineteenth century Berlin is quite different from our more recent experience. While it is doing much better over the last couple of years, Downtown Kitchener has endured some challenging years in the 1990s and early 2000s. Overall, the cultural picture has changed since the 1960s or so, and church attendance and affiliation is no longer to be taken for granted. Many people are increasingly ambivalent, and even antagonistic toward religion. The new paradigm of the church, and its position in society has been described as follows:

• from the centre to the margins
• from the majority to the minority
• from settlers to sojourners
• from privileged to plurality
• from control to witness
• from maintenance to mission
• from institution to movement

This isn’t necessarily bad news. It’s just acknowledging that things have changed. The difficulty is that our structures haven’t all adapted to the new model. Moreover, conflict can arise when people cling to the assumptions and expectations of the old model. At St. John’s I sense that we are seeking to proclaim the Good News in our new context, and this will take some time. Our emphasis on our website, and I suppose also this blog, is indicative of this. Our Green Passion ministry has brought us in touch with local organizations, and has attracted attention to our building and our stewardship of resources. Recently at Parish Council we’ve been seriously looking at becoming more proactive in our ministry of greeting, as hospitality has become increasingly important for spiritual seekers and church shoppers. 

We continue to grow into new ways of ‘testifying to the light’ in the new cultural climate, and although times may be tough, there are also some amazing opportunities. One such example is the Mudpuppy Chase, last Sunday’s cross country run that wreaks havoc on our parking situation once a year. While we acknowledge the parking inconvenience, in recent years we’ve started to appreciate the blessing of having over 1000 people run by our church. This has motivated us to gather for morning prayer in our Memorial Garden, decorate the surrounding grounds with bright sidewalk chalk, cheer on the runners as they pass by, and chat with race marshals and police. It has become a Sunday that some of us eagerly anticipate. 

Many thanks to the hardy witnesses who joined us for morning prayer this past Sunday, despite the cold wind! 

- Matthew Kieswetter