Our Christmas weekend schedule

Because of how the dates fall this year, the Fourth Sunday of Advent is also Christmas Eve and the schedule of services will be different.

         Sunday, December 24      9:00am 
             A Service of Lessons & Carols, Trinity Anglican Church
            (The Sunday morning service at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
             has been cancelled for this Sunday. Those who wish to join in communal
             worship are invited to Trinity Anglican for the Service of Lessons
             & Carols.)
       Sunday, December 24       7:00pm 
              Christmas Eve Worship Service with Holy Communion at St. John's
       Sunday, December 24      11:00pm 
              Christmas Eve Holy Eucharist at Trinity Anglican
       Monday, December 25      9:00am 
              Christmas Day Holy Eucharist at Trinity Anglican
                          (This will be a quiet "spoken" service without singing.)

Trinity Anglican and St. John's Evangelical Lutheran are working toward a shared ministry in the town of Aylmer. More news about this will be forthcoming shortly.

The Third Sunday of Advent --- 17 December 2017

John 1:6-8, 19-28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said.  Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."  This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

·       The delegation sent to inquire about John the Baptizer wants an answer. The answer they receive will help them and the ones who sent them decide what to do with John and how to react to what he’s doing and what he’s teaching.

·       But that’s not what they really want. What they really want is an answer that fits the categories they’ve already prepared. They don’t seem to want to know who John really is; they want to know what pigeon-hole they can file him away in, especially since they’ve defined the categories and lined up the pigeon holes.

·       False prophets they can have stoned. False messiahs they can handle; they can always get Rome to help with that. They will decide who the real messiah is since they have set the prerequisites, and all the candidates had better toe the line. It’s as if they were saying “We’ll tell you who you can be in our narrative, since that lets us control you.”

·       To these powers-that-be control is far more important than a fresh message about the mercy of God, or compassion, or justice. All that mushy stuff is too hard to quantify, too hard to set in a balance sheet.

·       The delegation and the committee or group that sent them has forgotten an important point, namely that God is in charge rather than them.

·       To their credit, the people who sent this delegation of priests and Levites desired to keep their religion pure. They didn’t want some strange influence meddling with the people of God and some heretical beliefs splintering the people of God.

·       What they forgot in their desire for purity and perfection was the fact that God does not look or act like them and often does not have the same outward values. They made the mistake so often made in matters of faith: they took themselves as the example of what is best and judging all others by the standard they based on them.

·       We can see from John’s answers (“I am not the messiah… nor Elijah… nor the prophet. "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness”) In effect, he is saying that he is the unexpected voice that announces the words they’ve all known for years and years. He goes on to say further mysterious and confusing things about the one who is yet to be revealed.

·       We might wonder how all this was received by the delegation and those who sent them, especially if they had already decided what John was to be.

·       Do we have our own pre-conceived categories, pigeon-holes, or ready files? I’m sure I have and I still do. I won’t presume to speak for you.

·       The truth is that God will not fit our notions and ideas. There is always more to God than we can perceive or understand. It’s even been said that the Scriptures reveal God to us, but only what is needed for salvation and not everything about God in every aspect. Quite often, when we think we have everything about God figured out, something teaches us that we are not even close to having everything figured out.

·       This is not necessarily a bad thing. To be reminded that there will always be mystery about God and that we are not complete in our knowledge of the world and creation, let alone of God, lets us remember that we are and remain creatures created by God who stand in the created world and remain in awe of all that God has done and all that God is.

·       Paul advises the Thessalonian Christians that they should Rejoice always. We could say that as well, even if we do it through tears. We can rejoice that God remains in control and not our fallible and limited selves. None of us is God and none of us is in control of God. There are still surprises in store… and not just on Christmas morning. God will always be more than we can imagine or understand and God will neither dance to our tune or be confined to our categories.

Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

The Second Sunday of Advent ---- 10 December 2017

Mark 1:1-8

1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,' " 4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

·        The wilderness…

·        It almost like a character in the story rather than the setting. The messenger cries out in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight" The wilderness is the place, but the message might not be able to come from anywhere else.

·        There is a special reason for that. At this past week’s Bible Study, we briefly discussed what made up a wilderness and where they were in our world today. There ARE still wilderness areas around… and not just those places without decent internet connections or a Tim Horton’s nearby.

·        The far north of our country and even our province is still wilderness to a great extent. It’s hard to get there and hard to survive there. There are people who live there, but they have had to adapt to the environment, because it won’t adapt for them.

·        The Far North of Canada, Alaska, Lapland, and Siberia… the Sahara and the deserts of the western United States and Mexico… the whole continent of Antarctica… these are the wilderness areas that still come to mind and there are many others. These places were not known to the people of Israel or to Mark when he wrote his gospel. To them the “wilderness” was the Negev and the desert areas east of Judea, the land between the Jordan and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This was the wilderness that John the Baptizer walked out of with his message of repentance.

·        This action doesn’t really tell of the importance of the wilderness to the Jewish people of the time. True, the wilderness was seen as a wild place, populated by wild animals and strange people and possibly demons. It was a mysterious and terrible place.

·        It was also more than that. The people of Israel were formed by the wilderness, the wilderness they encountered after crossing the Red Sea as they followed Moses and the promise of freedom and of a promised land.

·        Although they suffered privation and confusion in the wilderness, they were sure of one thing in their wanderings: God was with them. They followed a column of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night and God was with them. They rebelled and sinned and complained and were sometimes punished and God was with them.

·        The wilderness as it’s seen in the Scripture is always a place of danger and temptation and chaos. The story of the Exodus shows that very clearly.

·        However, the wilderness is also a place for solitude, of nourishment, and for revelation from God. The prophets often received their revelation of God and God’s message in a wilderness setting. For the entire people of Israel, the wilderness might be seen as the place of their failure and of God’s success… for God remained faithful to God’s people despite all they did or didn’t do. It was God who remained faithful and continues to be faithful. In our own day, this wilderness time is remembered by the Jewish people in the festival of Sukkot, the “Feast of Booths” which reminds the Jewish people of their dependence of the will and mercy of God.

·        John and his message comes out of the wilderness to proclaim a baptism of repentance and to prepare the way of the One- Who-Is-To-Come, the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. The God who remained faithful all through wilderness wanderings of God’s people still remains faithful and the wonderful, powerful, earth-shaking news comes in a voice from the wilderness.

·        So where is our wilderness? Where are the places where we must depend on God and God alone? We could go into some wild and dangerous place to hear the Word of God and there are some who have done just that. Some have gone to the deserts of the world and some others have gone  to the deserts of hopelessness and despair that we humans have made for ourselves.

·        Yet there are still deserts and wild places in ourselves, some that require leveling or straightening and some that long for soothing and healing. John the Baptizer, John the Messenger calls out the Good News to those places and from those places, reminding us that God remains faithful and God remains active in leveling and straightening, in soothing and healing. The odd thing, the odd and beautiful thing is this: were we to look at those wild and wounded places, it would not be a case of bringing God there, because were we to look at those wild and wounded places, we would uncover God already there. The grace of God is still a surprise and always will be, just as was John and his message of God’s fidelity to God’s promises.

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

W

First Sunday of Advent ---- 3 December 2018

Mark 13:24-37

24 "But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32 "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Therefore, keep awake--for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36 or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."

Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.

·       Years ago, I took the advice of an older preacher, a man I trusted and counted as a friend. He said when he was going to preach he always “looked for the good news” in the readings. “Good news”, of course, is the meaning of “Gospel” and even the word “Evangelical” is drawn from the Greek word we translate as “gospel.”

·       However, the Gospel reading today appears to be anything but “good news” with all the talk of falling stars, a darkened sun and moon, and the shaking of the heavenly powers. It appears to be the end of the world. I’ve said it before that some among us and around us have seen what appeared to be the end of all things. Others may not have experienced the end but, from where they stood, they could see it. Where is the Good News here?

·       Where, indeed! All this talk of cosmic upheaval and chaos does not seem comforting or hopeful. It involves change, to say the least! And change is always tough. Think of the changes in your own life. We could say “remember your birth.” Quite a change, but none of us could really do that. Think of the first day of school… or the time any of us moved to a place we didn’t know… or when you married … or if I dare to say it, when we lost a loved one to death. Any change is traumatic and often troubling. The change promised in the Gospels goes beyond anything we could imagine. It would seem like the end of the world.

·       And it would be. At least the end of the world as we know it. Of course, that brings uncertainty, anxiety, and even fear. It would be for the best if we did not know the exact time that all this would occur, for we’d all mark our calendars and shut down a few days or weeks before, complaining of the futility of doing anything.

·       The good news here is the story of the changes to come. Not when or exactly how they’ll come, but that they will come. The changes will not simply mean upheaval and destruction, but freedom and salvation. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Simply said, the changes are for us and in our favour. Matthew’s Gospel compared the troubles to “birth pangs” and we know that birth pangs – as painful as they might be - lead to changes and to new birth and new life.

·       Advent reminds us that the birth of Christ, that event we celebrate in a few short weeks. (Yes, a few short weeks!) is not simply the anniversary of a birth of a famous person, but a birth of new hope and the beginnings of a new creation.

·       This is one of the reasons the birth of Christ is heralded by choirs of angels and announced by archangels in Luke and a little less so in Matthew. It is such an incredible event that the powers in the heavens must be involved.

·       Mark’s Gospel tells of terrible and terrifying things yet to be because the presence of the Son of God a.k.a. the Son of Man has tremendous meaning. God isn’t dropping by for a visit, but is settling in for all time in the created world. This was not done so we’d be a little nicer to each other once a year, drop a few coins in a kettle or a collection can, or anything as short term as that. The Son of Man, the Anointed One, the Prince of Peace came to up-end everything, to make all the crooked ways straight, to right every wrong, and to reconcile all things in himself. If this were not so, all our favourite Christmas carols would be reduced to the “nice” melody, sentiment, and meaning of something like “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” Such a tremendous event requires such earth-shaking details as those spoken of by Mark.

·       Advent reminds us that what we still look forward to is not chaos and devastation, but new birth for all that is created. The time – that day or hour – is not ours to know, but the watchfulness and expectant waiting shown in the actions we heard about last week (Lord, when did we see you…) remains our mission, our imitation of Christ, and our way of being alert.

Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.