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