The Pastor's Sermon - First Sunday in Lent, 26 February, 2012

the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

• My intention for Lent has been to preach a series of sermons focusing on the “Call to Spiritual Renewal” set by our National Bishop, the Rev. Susan Johnson. I felt her direction is a good one and the “seven words of spiritual renewal” are an excellent place to start. Those seven words are:
• Pray
• Read
• Worship
• Study
• Serve
• Give
• Tell
• Today our point is “pray” and the Gospel reading does say something about prayer.
• Jesus was baptized by John, which was followed by a definitive confirmation of Jesus' identity and mission. However, his mission did not start right them. Mark says “the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.” Mark likes to have things happen “immediately” and some scholars have noted that as one of Mark's favourite words.
• So what goes on in the wilderness? It is possibly more important to ask what the wilderness means in the Scriptures and to the people of Israel.
• The wilderness or the desert, if you prefer, is a frightening and uncontrolled place. It is the place of “the wild beasts” and devils. It is not an easy place to live in.
• Yet it holds a special place in the history and spirituality of the Hebrew people... and because of that, Christians. The Hebrew people wandered for 40 years in the wilderness of Sinai and eventually looked back on that time as one of pristine faith, for there was no one and nothing to depend on but God. It was God who took care of them and all their needs. To this day, Jewish people the world over celebrate this memory in the festival of Sukkot, which is know as the “Feast of Booths.”
• For Christians, the wilderness holds the example of Jesus going out into the desert after his baptism. Many, many Christians have followed his example since then, going into whatever passes for wilderness near them to be with God and God alone. Even if a person goes into a private space and prays, the experience is similar. The distractions are fewer and the temptations are laid bare.
• No matter what we might think, the wilderness is a place of prayer. It is dangerous since it is the place of the wild beasts, wild thoughts, and the simplest of concerns, like food and safety. Even the tamest of wilderness makes us depend on God for whatever we need, whether want is needed is found or carried.
• We can find quite a number of times in the Gospels where Jesus goes off to “a deserted place” to spend time in solitude and prayer. It is his example we follow when we pray.
• Now prayers at meals or at bedtime or at rising are very good things. There are other times to pray as well. Some folks pray while they drive, others while they walk. Some like to be in nature, while others prefer a comfortable chair. It makes no difference to anyone but the one praying. God is present no matter where we are.
• There are a few simple guidelines for prayer. (I almost wrote 'rules', but there are no rules since everyone prays differently.)
• First, the best prayer is the one that expresses what is in your heart. Sincerity is important, because God can see through all pretense, even if we can't. If all our prayer does is open our eyes to the truth about ourselves, we will have encountered God and come quite a long way.
• Second, use your own words. Memorized prayers are good when we all pray together and are very worthwhile as models of praying. Still, nothing beats our own words for expressing our own selves. Sometime we won't even use words! (That's something we'll look at another time.)
• Third, pray as you can and not as you can't. If you're sick, it's really hard to pray. If you're sad or angry, it will be difficult and even false to try to pray in a happy way. So pray as you are – happy, sad, disappointed, whatever – and don't try to fake a mood for prayer. God wants to be in communication with YOU, not with who you think you want to be.
• Fourth, pray for others and yourself and then keep quiet. Or do it the other way around, but in any event, be sure to listen. This takes practice and nobody gets it right the first time.
• Fifth, pray. Just pray... any way you can. Do it your own way. Listen to God and speak the words that make sense to you. If you want to know if you are praying, use this simple test: if you want to pray, you're praying.
• There are so many Scripture passages on prayer that I wouldn't know where to begin. It might be simpler to call on well-known people who have prayed for some wisdom to close this sermon. If we've spent in the wilderness, whether that wilderness is the wild places in the world or the hidden places in our heart, and that wilderness has taught us that we need God, these words will make sense. Abraham Lincoln said ‘I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.’

The Pastor's Sermon - Ash Wednesday - February 22, 2012

{This sermon was preached at the combined Ash Wednesday service held at Trinity Anglican Church, Aylmer. We share Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and the Easter Vigil with Trinity as well as Bible studies throughout the year.}

Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

• I think that we usually see Lent is a season of doing. We fast, we give alms, we pray. In short, we “practice (our) piety.” This emphasis on “doing” can actually be the ruin of Lent. It is entirely possible that doing is not what Lent is about.
• Yes, we fast and pray and give alms and do penance in other ways. The phrase “do penance” is one possible translation of Jesus first preached message. Other translations would be “repent” or “reform your lives.” In any event, it is a far-reaching thing. We can be penitent without reforming our lives, if we set about to “do” things without a thought as to why we do them.
• The 'doings' that Jesus speaks of in our Gospel reading this evening – alms giving, prayer, and fasting – appear to be things he assumes his disciples will do. Each topic is introduced with “Whenever you...”, showing that Jesus believes that his disciples would do these things. His concern is why they would do these things. If people fast and pray and give to the poor to impress others or to shore up their reputation for piety, the reward is given to them immediately. But if these things are done “in secret”, the reward is something else than the esteem of others or an enhanced reputation.
• We might wonder what such a reward is. Maybe the reward is nothing less than God.
• Take a look at the activities recommended for Lent: prayer, fasting, and alms-giving.
• We pray to communicate with God. An old definition of prayer is “the raising of the heart and mind to God” and that's as good as any we'll come across. To pray like this, we have to surrender our heart and mind... and attention to God. In many ways, we must empty ourselves to become full of God and all that God wishes to give.
• We fast to discipline our bodies, minds, and spirits. Fasting usually means not eating or drinking a certain thing. In Lent, people often fast from some pleasurable treat, like candy or possibly some favourite food. Others moderate their intake of any or all foods. Some avoid meat or strong drink or maybe even coffee... if such a thing is possible. In our time, there are those who “fast” from television or the Internet, either of which may be harder than you think. We don't lay aside these foods or activities because they are necessarily bad for us or bad in themselves; we lay them aside in order to give our attention to something else. For some, it is a way of being in solidarity with the hungry people of the world, being hungry with the hungry. For others, it is a way of emptying themselves. For either reason and for many more, fasting reminds us that we are not self sufficient, nor are we without our distractions.
• Lastly, we give alms or give to the poor or give to charity – however we wish to name it – in order to share the bounty we've been given. How this is done can take on many, many faces and directions. Money saved from food not eaten might be given to a worthy cause. We might decide to take a certain extra portion of our budget and put it aside especially for some specific person or direction. Maybe we'd just give to whoever asks, rather than ignoring them and passing by.
• All of these “traditional” Lenten practices are not out-dated in the 21^st century. In fact, they might be more needed than ever! Our age is one that is filled with the self. (It is possible that there really has been no change in this over time; perhaps all ages have been preoccupied with the self.) Fasting, prayer, and the giving of alms all are ways to get out of our selves and leave our selves behind. It could be that God cannot enter a locked place or a packed soul. We can open ourselves up or we can wait for God to pry us open. It depends on what we want. Each year's Lent is a way to remind ourselves of God's desire to fill us and our own over-stuffed existence.
• Taking ashes on our forehead is a reminder of our mortality and our creaturely-ness. We are not God and sometimes we need to be reminded of that. Listen well to the words that accompany the signing with the ashes.
• We'll close with this short story. I subscribe to an Internet devotional for Lent and this was their first offering:
• “What’s the difference between a flute and a stick in the mud?”
  our (pastor) asked on Sunday. They then went on,
  “The stick in the mud is full of itself. The flute has been emptied of itself so it can make music.”
  ...May we each use this Lenten season as an excuse to do something that empties us of ourselves so that our lives make better music.

The Pastor's Sermon - Sunday of the Transfiguration, February 19, 2012

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!"

• We all have at least 5 senses. Taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing. The largest organ of sense in the human body is... our skin, the organ of touch!
• When we are born, the first sense that appears to operate is hearing, and that one operates even before we are born. An unborn baby can respond to a person's voice while in the womb. A newborn will respond to voices and sounds long before the child can see.
• As our lives come to a close, we have been told that the sense of hearing is the last to leave us. People in comas have been known to come out of the coma and report what was said around them while they were in the coma. In my hospital training, we were always told to assume that the person can hear no matter what the status of their consciousness.
• We might bear this in mind when we read the Bible and especially when we hear the Word proclaimed in worship. It is particularly there that the Word is the “Living Word”. When the Word of God is spoken aloud for all to hear, that Word, one we could all read for ourselves in the Bible, takes on a character all it's own. If we read the word of the Scriptures in our own homes, think about them, meditate on them, digest them, and let them take root, then we can speak those words as living words. They become our words since the Word of God inspires us and resides in us.
• When the Word of God is proclaimed in worship, everyone who can hear may hear and those words become living words.
• As Luther once said, “The Bible is the swaddling clothes and manger in which Christ was wrapped and laid."
• All this being said, it seems strange that Mark's account of the event we call the Transfiguration has the disciples overshadowed by a cloud after they see Jesus in glory with Moses and Elijah. From the cloud comes a voice telling them to “listen to him!”
• Such an odd thing to say to people who have experienced a visual display that would rival and out-shine any fireworks display or light show we might ever see!
• Would the three disciples actually listen? We all know that they would eventually. Some commentators say that the Transfiguration is placed right in the middle of Mark's account of the ministry of Jesus in order to sustain the disciples through the fearful events that were to come. The opposition to Jesus' message and his subsequent arrest, trial, and crucifixion would be enough to drive away any of his followers... and we know that is exactly what happened. The disciples would come to understand why all this had to be, but there were dry times to come and it appears that the Transfiguration would only serve it's purpose in looking back.
• It is very possible that there is another reason for the narration of this passage. As we've heard before, in Mark's Gospel only a few characters know of Jesus' true identity – Jesus, the demons, the author... and the reader. It seems once again that this passage was written for us.
• We cannot see what the disciples saw; we cannot be present on that mountain top. We, and so many other Christians, are separated by time and space from this wonderful event. We can, however, hear the words of Jesus and let them sink in to inspire us and change us.
• We can't see the miracles, the crowds, the healings, the exorcisms, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection; we can only hear about them. Yet that is what God, speaking to the disciples, tells US to do in this passage.
• It's no mistake that John calls Jesus “The Word” in the prologue to his Gospel.
• It's no wonder that Paul puts so much emphasis on hearing the Word in his letters. In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes: “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
• It is the Word that come to us that is our source of salvation. It is in the Word proclaimed that we encounter Jesus. It is in the Word embodied in the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion that our Savior reaches out to us. It is the Word enfleshed in the community of faith around us that supports us in our faith and our continued journey with one another and with our Lord.
• So now we're coming on to Lent, starting with Ash Wednesday in the middle of this week. No matter how we keep this Lent, today's readings can help to sustain us even as we figuratively come off the mountain and find ourselves in the desert of Lent and in the exile of penance.
• This can still be a time of listening, since Lent is all about setting aside the things that keep us from hearing the Word of God. Be they good or bad, we may lay them aside in order to spend our time and energy in something better. If we make this a Lent of listening - really listening – then what is said at Easter will mean a real celebration for us all.

Ash Wednesday update!

It appears that I was mistaken in saying the time for the Ash Wednesday service at Trinity Anglican was 7:30 pm. The service will begin at 7:00pm. Should you come late, you won't be turned away, of course, but it'll be easier if we all get there for a 7:00 pm beginning.

Thanks for your understanding and tolerance.

Don't forget the Pancake supper tomorrow evening from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the Church fellowship hall. A free will offering will be taken.

Pr. John

The Pastor's Sermon - 12 February, 2012 - Epiphany VI

Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!"

• Lepers. The word alone invokes feelings in almost all of us. We've been well trained to feel revulsion at the idea of a leper. People suffering from leprosy are sometimes kept in separate places even today. They can live their lives but they must live them away from others. Modern medicine can treat the disease we call leprosy today and a cure is available. Still, leprosy or Hansen's Disease still exists...
• … but things were different in Jesus' time. Leprosy was more than what we call leprosy. Any skin disease was called “leprosy” and even mold on a house's wall or on clothing was considered leprosy. No one knew how it spread and everyone knew it took a literal act of God to cure it. A leprous house was burned as would leprous clothing. Lepers were driven out of the village to live in the wild or in cemeteries or other 'unclean' places. Lepers moved in groups and rang bells or shouted warnings to people so they could get out of the way (or leave an offering for them.) The families of the afflicted could not visit even when they left food for their family member to eat. The lepers life may have been brutal and uncivilized. Beyond any concern for catching the disease, the touching of a leper would lead to ritual impurity and removal from the community.
• Someone removed from the community had to go to a priest of the temple to be certified as 'clean.' This is seen in the incident we read of today in Mark's Gospel. Jesus tells the leper to show himself to the priest. Once seen and certified, that person could return to their family, home, and life as it was.
• Now we must admit that this person referred to as a leper may have suffered from true leprosy or he may have suffered from some other skin disease. This would be bad enough, but the reality of it goes deeper than that. The alienation the man would know -from his family, friends, and community- may have been even worse. He was an outcast with absolutely no place in society. He was unclean in every sense of the word. No one could touch him; no one could come near him or possibly even communicate with him. He might not even been able to pray, because his leprosy would have been seen as a result of some sin on his part, such as gossip, pride, theft, miserly behavior, illicit sexual behavior, or even murder. (The rabbis of the time had an exhaustive list.)
• To be cleansed meant more than health; it meant a restoration and resumption of relationships, even the person's relationship with God.
• When you think about it, this is exactly what Jesus came to do – to cleanse and restore, whether the relationship is that of the person with those around them or with God.
• This is part of the mission of the church as well – to let people know that their relationship with God is restored by the grace and the action of God. This is the true treasure of the church and something we celebrate every time we gather for worship.
• If our mission is like that of Jesus –to proclaim the Kingdom of God to all- then our mission would be to the same people Jesus ministered to. His words were heard by all in his society, rich and poor alike and many, both rich and poor, responded. While his preaching was often a comfort and a hope for the poor, his words just as often made the rich and powerful uncomfortable. He took special pains to minister to the poor and the outcast – the tax collectors and the sinners and the lepers.
• Through out history, there has always be a portion of the Christian church dedicated to those who are rejected. There have always been those who passion in Christ has been to bring the Good News to those who desperately needed to hear it. So who needs to hear the Gospel today? Who is it who needs the Good News?
• Are there lepers with us today? If that is the case, who are they? We don't need to look too far to see those who might occupy the same space in our time that lepers did in Jesus' time. Lepers then were unclean, outcast, sinful (since the leprosy had do come from somewhere), and rejected by society. (Remember how people with cancer used to be treated? How it was only spoken of in whispers?)
• It isn't much different in our own time although we don't usually blame sin, either present or past, for a person's medical condition.
• There are those we consider unclean, whom we might find physically or socially revolting.
• There are those who are outcast, left behind by our society to fend for themselves, socially if not physically, or never really fitting in and in that, made to never fit in.
• There are those we might call sinful and reject them on that score. This is an unusual case since we are often willing to tolerate some sin in another if the condition are right. For them we call it 'being human', but for others, it's sin, sin, sin with a full load of blame.
• Who are these modern lepers? Maybe people of other races, other colours, other places, other languages, other churches or religions; People who act differently than we do or hold different values than we do; Gay and Lesbian people; angry people; people with mental health problems; People younger than us... and older than us. You can add your own additions to this list.
• There are two things in common for everyone on this list or any such list. First, they are all “People who are...”, the common ground being that we are all people, no exceptions. When we exclude those modern lepers, we as much as say they are things and not “people.” The second is how Jesus acts when people come before him asking to be cleansed. What did he say in today's Gospel? “I do choose. Be made clean!"
• Do we dare reject who Jesus has chosen? We can, but the price might be our own rejection. I can think of nothing worse than to watch the healing hand of Jesus reach past and beyond me when I did not stand with those who needed Jesus' blessing and healing most. All it would take is a few words to restore them -and us- to the family of God.
• "If you choose, you can make me clean." "I do choose. Be made clean!"

The Pastor’s Sermon - February 5, 2012 - Epiphany V

Disclaimer: At the request of a few of the congregation, I’m ‘publishing’ the text of my sermon ‘as written.’ I cannot guarantee that I will deliver the sermon ‘as written.’

“...he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons... In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.”

• This passage from Mark's Gospel contains an interesting contrast. Jesus heals many people who were sick, and it didn't appear to matter what disease presented itself. He also set about to casting out demons. But then, he goes off by himself to pray in a deserted place. It's interesting that Mark sets these two so closely together.
• Once again the message Jesus preaches is the message of the Kingdom of God, the message that God reigns over all that exists and that we are part of that reign.
• In healing the sick, Jesus confronts the evil of sickness in the world, bringing it into the light of the Kingdom. Sickness might not be evil in the sense of malicious intent, but it is not a good thing. It is also not an expression of the goodness of creation,
• The casting out of demons and unclean spirits (the same thing, just using different expressions, depending on whether you speak Greek or Hebrew) is further confrontation of evil in the world. Here the intelligence and motivation of true evil is laid bare.
• In Biblical times, the work of demons and unclean spirits was used to explain the unexplainable in human behavior. Often demons were blamed for what we would know as epilepsy or mental illness in our time. These illnesses were unexplained and the causes were beyond anything people knew at the time, so the work of demons was the only thing that made sense to them.
• Think now. Have you ever encountered evil? Have you stood in the face of the evil one? I'm not talking about incompetence or stupidity – there is enough of either available in the world and both cause problems and cost us plenty.
• Here I am talking about true evil, malice personified in a person, place, or thing. Cartoon devils with their Halloween pitchforks are not the personification of evil; more often than not they are laughable characters. I have a feeling that many here have faced evil.
• True evil “smells”, makes us itch and squirm, and more often than not confuses us. That is the true sign of evil – a sense of confusion in the face of it, a sense that you've missed something and there are too many false paths, blind alleys, and misstated words to allow you to move through the surrounding fog without stumbling. Often you might feel that you are out of your depth or that something has slipped away just beyond your reach.
• Maybe you have faced and know evil in a person, in a group, or in a situation. Maybe you've felt the confusion that come with encountering evil.
• This is exactly what Jesus confronts in the story we hear today. The brokenness of creation of creation seen in illness and the presence of evil seen in the unclean spirits are both confronted and defeated. Those suffering are healed and those possessed are freed from their bondage. In both cases, the power of God is made manifest and is seen in power.
• What does Jesus do next? Does he crow in triumph? Does he gloat? No, he returns to the source of all his strength and power – his relationship with his Father. He goes to “a deserted place” to pray. He cannot continue his mission or even to live without constantly renewing his relationship with his Father. We have no idea what he prayed about or what words he used or if he even used words. His prayer was simply to be with the Father and to know the Father was present to him. That is the bottom line of prayer and enough for any day.
• Here is our lesson for today. Our call and mission – individually and as a congregation, indeed as an entire church- is to proclaim the Kingdom of God and the reign of God over all that exists. In particular and first of all, we are to follow the example of Jesus and proclaim the reign of God over all that is in us.
• We can expect this proclamation to be opposed by the broken elements of our world and lives. We may become discouraged and disappointed, angry and even despairing. We might even know and feel the presence of evil in this continued work for the Kingdom.
• The only way to counteract these influences is to renew and strengthen our relationship with our Father in Heaven. This is done by prayer through Jesus in the Holy Spirit. Anger, despair, discouragement, and disappointment cannot long stand in the face of the presence of God.
• How we pray is often less important than that we pray. Prayer from the heart is another way we follow the example of Jesus.
• The Kingdom of God is upon us and among us. Our mission has been what it always has been for the Church – to proclaim the Kingdom in word and deed. No power of earth or elsewhere can stand against this mission, for it has the presence of God in it. Our prayer and our worship continually places us in God's presence. That will be the following of Jesus who reminds us in Mark's Gospel: "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do."