A Moment Aside ---- 30 June 2020

    If you think about this, it is not just humanly sensible but Gospel holiness. Humans have gone to a lot of trouble over all of history to “demonize” and “de-humanize” enemies so there is a good excuse to fight against them. If we take this short truth to heart, we realize that God loves us all.

     Now that really sounds like a bland platitude, doesn’t it? We hear that God loves us quite often and many of us (myself included) either wave at it or dismiss it. We might ask “How could God love them?” and maybe we might ask “How could God love ME?” More platitudes and slogans might answer those questions… and they’d hardly be any help at all. We might always have counter-arguments ready and a bowlful of tears to shed because we can’t believe it.

      There is one argument that is harder to refute. Every last one of us has heard that answer and it’s become a slogan/platitude/pat answer all its own. To stop and take a good hard look at it is well worth the time and trouble. Here it is:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3: 16-17)

God “loved” and “gave his only Son.” The Son was not sent to accuse, judge, or condemn. The Son was sent “in order that the world might be saved through him.” This tells us that everyone is included in the love of God, not just some, not just the “worthy”, not just those who are proper. John the Evangelist used the Greek word for “world” which meant the real, fleshy, messy, and often sinful world. It is not a world that exists in a philosophical mind or an imagination, but the real world as it is. Despite our misgivings, God was never one to worry about getting God’s hands dirty!

         So then each and every person we talk to or see or walk by is someone loved by God. There are no exceptions! Maybe this will change our perspective on what we do and who we see.

     I hope to God it does mine.

30 June 2020

The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost ---- 28 June 2020

Jeremiah 28:5-9

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; 6 and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. 7 But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet."

Romans 6:12-23

12 Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. 13 No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, 18 and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. 20 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 10:40-42

40 "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward."

Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.

·        How do we see ourselves before God? If we even think about it, I’d bet we see ourselves as at least humble creatures and at worst wretches without hope. We’ve been taught that or at least I should say I had been taught that. There are those, however, who think that they are God’s gift to reality. Their thinking… is another sermon for another time.

·        Now with that in mind, here’s something more to think about. Francis of Assisi told his brothers that “What a person is before God, that they are and nothing more.” You see, what we really are before God is probably more important than what we THINK we are.

·        Yes, I hear you thinking or muttering under your breath… “So what am I before God?” This passage from the Gospel says a lot of it. It doesn’t scold us for sin or comfort us in our sorrow and pain. There are other passages for both of those intents. What it says it that God trusts us enough to give us the mission of reflecting God’s presence in the world. Actually it goes further; We don’t just reflect that presence, we ARE to be that presence.

·        In any understanding of this, we are not worthy of it. And that makes no difference. God chooses who God will. We will all be that presence of God in different ways. It is true that one person might not see God’s presence in us but may well see it in another. That’s just fine. For my own self, one of the frustrations of preaching is the reality that what I say may not reach everyone who hears it. The fault could be mine or there might be no fault at all. Those whom I cannot reach may well be reached by another. The preacher’s business is to preach; God sees to the results. With that in mind, the same goes for each and every one of us.

·        Despite all of that, when we are welcomed as those who carry the Word of God and the grace of God in some way, it is Jesus who is welcomed. When Jesus is welcomed, the One who sent Jesus, the Father, is welcomed. There are days when we might not feel like a blessing to others and we still are… because of whose life we bear within us. Jesus even says whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.

·        It may seem strange to speak of ‘reward’ when talking about being received as a disciple. Yet that is what the presence of God and the life of the Spirit in us carries with it. Last week we heard of God’s concern for even the tiniest of birds and how none fall from the sky without God’s knowing. Here we see that even the smallest act of welcome and kindness is worthy of reward.

·        There will not be a welcome in every meeting and in all circumstances. As disciples who are not greater than our Master, we should probably expect, but no one says we have to like it.

·        If we are to carry the presence of God to all we meet – relative or friend or stranger – we can count ourselves blessed to be part of the over-flowing love of God for it is that love we are given to share, in word and in action. It overflows through us.

·        Amen.

A Moment Aside --- 26 June 2020

     I always found it strange that Paul compares the Christian's life to the armour of a Roman soldier in his letter to the Ephesians. (Ephesians 6:10-18) He also alludes to this in the letter to the Romans as "the armour of light." (Romans 13:12) It might not be so strange since the people he was writing to would have seen the Roman legionaries often. The rider in the picture above is not a depiction of a Roman; I like the quote and the picture is nice.
     Many people take these passages and envision a knight. That's not the case. Knights in full armour came much later than Paul's letters. He is describing a soldier of the Roman empire with specific equipment. He writes: Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these,[c] take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
     The belt of truth is a reference to a special belt (the "military belt') the soldiers wore that protected their legs and hips as well as showing them to be a soldier. No one else but soldiers could wear it and it was the insignia of one in the service.
     The breastplate of righteousness is pretty much self-explanatory, although the Roman armour for the torso was distinctive. (See the picture below)
     The shoes were again specially made for the soldier and allowed long marches.
     The shield of faith reflects the large Roman shield that you could cover your whole body with.
     The helmet of salvation in Roman terms covered the whole face and the back of the neck, while leaving the ears open for hearing and the eyes uncovered but protected for seeing.
     The sword of the Spirit reflects another distinctive piece of equipment, used only by the Roman soldiers.
     The most telling thing about this set of armour was that it was meant for use by troops working together, not a "knight" working alone. Some of the armour provided protection for the soldier to the left or right of the subject talked about. Just so, we are not alone in our struggle with sin, death, and evil in our lives. We move in God's grace and we move in the company of other Christians who aid us and whom we aid.
     We're all in this together and working together in God's grace, we can see each other through what may come. The Spirit has dressed us in all the armour we need, so watch to your left and right for your comrades.

Roman legionaries in full armour

The Lamb is the light of the city of God.

The Third Sunday after Pentecost ----- 21 June 2020

Jeremiah 20:7-13

7 O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. 8 For whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. 9 If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. 10 For I hear many whispering: "Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. "Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him, and take our revenge on him." 11 But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous, you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. 13 Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

Romans 6:1b-11

1 Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8 But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 10:24-39

24 "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! 26 "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. 34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted.  So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

·        I think I decided to preach on this passage today because it appeals to me personally. We are enduring tough times, for us as individuals and as a society. We are all taking steps to avoid spreading the pandemic virus to others. We are overwhelmed by news of brutality, anger, and violence. Political lines appear to be hardening into barriers and possibly even fortifications. The image of a few little inconsequential birds having the attention of the Almighty seems ridiculous because it is both a comfort and a confusion.

·        Jesus was sending the Twelve on a mission to preach and heal and he was warning them of opposition. What they had to say would both comfort and challenge those who heard it. The idea of God’s attention being on tiny sparrows could comfort those who felt they were as forgotten as those little birds. Yet Jesus also said "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. The very act of comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable (as the old saying goes) will lead to opposition and often to persecution – bringing not peace, but a sword. The proclamation of the Gospel will always challenge those who hear it, either to realize that God loves them as they are (a hard enough task) or to realize that they are not the center of all creation (which might be the original sin of humanity.) To those

·        Yet through it all, there is the assurance that you are of more value than many sparrows. This is what we can tell those around us: they are worth more to God than money can show. And just so, they are worth more to US than money can tell. That’s how people will know that God loves and cares for them – by how we show them. Our mission now is to show that in whatever way we know how. It will make us uncomfortable at times; I know it does for me. And it is still our calling.

·        It can be troubling to hear that Jesus came to bring a sword to the earth. He knew that his message would effect people and that it would be opposed. Hearing the Gospel and living that message requires change… and change is always hard, even if it is for the better. The Gospel will always be opposed even as it changes things and sets people free, often because it sets people free. That freedom threatens the assertion of human power over God’s power, so it will be opposed.

·        We have been set free, even if we somehow prefer the chains we could leave behind. Sticking with Jesus’ original image, we are worth more than many sparrows and if each and every little bird is held and known in the mind of God, so are we.

·        That is something to take comfort in. It is also something to remember when the Gospel as we live it out is opposed, whether by the world around us or by our own will and desires. God remains with us always, even as we realize A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master… What Jesus received, we too might receive in some portion.

·        The best I can hope for would be for my life and my words to reflect a true acknowledgement of Jesus before the world and the realization of my value in the eyes of God where even the hairs of your head are all counted. 

The Second Sunday after Pentecost --- 14 June 2020

Exodus 19:2-8a

2 They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: 4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, 6 but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites." 7 So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 The people all answered as one: "Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do."

Romans 5:1-8

1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
     6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Matthew 9:35-10:8 [9-23]

35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
   1 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
   5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, "The kingdom of heaven has come near.' 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
   [9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
   16 "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.]

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

·         It is obvious from this reading that Jesus was concerned about those around him. He healed and preached out of compassion for those he met. He also went out to meet them where they were rather than waiting for them to come to him.

·        He also realized that his message was so important and vital to the people in need of it that he delegated the sharing of that message to twelve of his disciples in a very particular way. Whether he did this because he realized that he could not be two places at once or because was concerned about his message being spread or because he knew that his ministry on earth would just be for so long is something we can debate at another time. The Gospel tells us that the message would be carried by his disciples and they would share Jesus’ own power in that message. They were told to Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. They were not to charge for this ministry. Further advice was added in the next few verses, which we did not read this morning. These included taking no money or baggage on the mission and offering a greeting of peace to any house they stay in. They are also told to expect opposition, persecution, and possibly death.

·        Now we’d think that Jesus would pick the cream of the crop from among his disciples, wouldn’t we? The best orators, the best teachers, the best at dealing with people, all those would be in the first rank.

·        However, Jesus chose twelve from among his disciples whom we might wonder about. Peter – who denied him and had pulled a sword when Jesus was arrested, cutting off the ear of one of the arresting group… James and John, the “Sons of Thunder”… Thomas, who came to be called (unjustly, I think) the Doubter… Matthew, who had made his living collecting taxes, a hated occupation… Simon the Cananaean who is also called “the Zealot” who was at least seen as part of a guerrilla band fighting the Roman occupation… and finally Judas Iscariot, who kept the common funds and whom Matthew calls “the one who betrayed him.” Quite a mixed and interesting group of people. It reflects the time and place they were living in and it says something about who Jesus would pick to proclaim the Kingdom of God.

·        This is a mixed bag if there ever was one; yet they were the ones Jesus chose. The reason for this may not be obvious and any thought on it might be very personal.

·        My take is this: the disciples were given the mission that depend on Jesus and NOT on their own holiness, fitness, skills, goodness, or deserving.

·        Their power and ability to do what they did – the healings and exorcisms - depended on Jesus as well and not on them, on their readiness or on their abilities. They were even told that when they were hauled up before courts and kings, the Spirit would speak through them. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

·        Their choosing gives us hope in our time and in our own places. We are all called, not necessarily because we are worthy but because we are to carry the message that reflects Jesus and not us. In Paul's letter to the Romans, one of today's readings, he says: For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly... But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

·        These are the words of Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians; Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:26-30 NRSV) Please don’t take this as an indictment, but as a realization that Jesus has chosen us despite all the blocks we have and have put up around us. Why us? Best to ask Jesus that in prayer.

·        So we were chosen – to reflect the grace of God in this world as we proclaim the coming of God’s Kingdom in our own ways. And we remain chosen to continue the Apostles’ mission and the mission of Jesus Christ himself in our world. You’ve heard the message before;

As you go, proclaim the good news, "The kingdom of heaven has come near.'

A Moment Aside --- 11 June 2020

Jesus our Healer, have mercy on us.

Just a short devotional at this time. The day has turned out to be busier than I expected.

Regarding the reopening of the churches, the Province of Ontario has okayed it but has not given many specific requirements beyond permitting 30% of the congregation to be present, maintaining social distancing in the building, and the forbidding of singing in worship. Our Synodical bishop has recommended that our churches stay closed until Labour Day at the earliest. St. John's church council has not made a decision as yet (they have the final say), and I as pastor feel we should follow the bishop's recommendation. Our bishop can recommend but he cannot require us to do so; that's not how the structure of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is set up. Time will tell and we'll keep you informed.

Until then, keep this in mind...

Sunday of the Blessed Trinity ---- 7 June 2020

Genesis 1:1-2:4a

1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20 And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." 29 God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2: 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. 4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

11 Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. 13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Matthew 28:16-20

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

·        Trinity Sunday is an odd day. Most Christian festival celebrate events in the Scripture or Christian history – Easter, Good Friday, Christmas, Pentecost, Reformation. Others celebrate certain people – Peter, Paul, Mary, John the Baptizer, or John the Evangelist to name a few.

·        We can get a handle on all those things. We can place ourselves at the Last Supper. We can see ourselves among the disciples at the Sermon on the Mount. We can imagine listening to Paul preach in Athens or see John the Baptizer in our mind’s eye with his camel’s hair tunic and his lunch of bugs and honey.

·        What we can’t do is comprehend the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What we can’t understand is the nature of God. And that is what we celebrate on this Trinity Sunday. A doctrine of the Christian Church is what is laid before us today, one we can never hope to exhaust or fully understand. What fun! So, have you made your traditional Trinity cakes and puddings for today? If you haven’t, that’s fine because so far as I know… there aren’t any such things! I suppose it is just not that sort of festival. As pastors and preachers, we are often warned about preaching on the Trinity because it is VERY easy to spout heresy if we try to explain or expound on the Trinity. One comedic posting suggests we say nothing and put up pictures of kittens instead.

·        The idea of God as one and three is beyond us. Many great minds have pondered this and have gotten no further than you or I might on our best days. There are some who have done this and have given up, knowing that the nature of the Almighty is beyond them.

·        I don’t think it could be said better than in the words of St. Augustine, “We are talking about God. What wonder is it that you do not understand? If you do understand, then it is not God.”

·        With God, there is always more to say. God is always beyond our understanding, let alone our expressing.

·        However, the experience of God is not beyond us. Once again, we need to proceed cautiously, being wary of things that appear miraculous and aren’t, things that appear to be reverential, but are often blasphemous. Easy solutions and simple explanations will not cut it. More complicated answers will leave just as confused and frustrated as the original thought. The truth is the God who cannot be understood can be experienced, both in our own lives and in the lives of our sisters and brothers.

·        This is hard to do at times for all of us fail. Failing or not, we are all continually called to live a life that reflects the Trinity – loving, forgiving, hopeful, faithful, united, and in relationship with one another.

·        The Trinity actually invites us to enter ever more deeply into the inexhaustible relationship we have with God. We can never understand, but we can believe… and we can love… and we can humbly see ourselves as part of God’s creation. Genesis tell us something about God’s relationship with God’s creation, doesn’t it? What is said after each day of creating in that book? God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And it remains good, blessed, and awesome in the best sense of that over-used word. In those ways, creation itself reflects the Creator if you know where to look.

·        The same hold for our redemption in Christ Jesus; because of that none of us will ever meet someone Jesus did not die for.

·        As mysterious and confusing as all this can be, there remains our belief in God as Trinity. Because of that, even invoking the name and the presence of the Trinity becomes a blessing for us. So we can say…

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

A Moment Aside ---- 2 June 2020

When I leave my house these days, I wear a mask. It's not a Halloween mask or a mask to hide my face in criminal acts. Nor is it a mask to hide what I feel, the sort of mask we all wear to get along with each other. And again it isn't a mask to show who I pretend to be. It's more or less a surgical mask. My wife made one I use and a friend gave me a second one because it was too big for her face. I'm not afraid that someone will breathe on me and pass some disease on; the mask won't stop that from happening. What it does is protect others from what I might have. The Ministry of Heath of the nation of Slovakia has a motto:

"Your mask protects me. My mask protects you."

We may be wearing such masks for a long time. We may be washing our hand more often and using some oddly-scented hand sanitizer for some time. Why? Out of fear? Yes, but mostly out of fear for our loved ones, friends, and neighbors.

For some reason, all this reminded me of the story of Naaman the Syrian, a great general who suffered from leprosy, and his encounter with Elisha the prophet: (2 Kings 5:9b-14)

     "So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean."

Such a simple thing... "Wash and be clean." I wish it were that easy to cure everyone of the COVID-19 virus, but it isn't. Yet the wearing of a mask, the hand washing, and the sanitizing will make a difference. The medical authorities says so. Is it so much to ask?

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Another topic: When will the churches be opened again?

Each province is setting guidelines for holding public worship again. Ontario does not appear to be quite ready to issue such a complete outline. Alberta has a rather liberal outline while New Brunswick has very strict guidelines, including forbidding people over 60 years of age to attend. If that is the case, this pastor could not lead services since he himself is 65! Even Alberta's guideline includes things like one-door-in, one-door-out, no singing (that spreads droplets faster and further), sanitizing the entire building and its contents after each service, and social distancing in the church building.

St. John's council and pastor are anxious to hold services again but not at the cost of endangering the lives and health of member of the congregation. We are also waiting for the leadership and advice of our bishop. The pastors of the Synod have been meeting with Bishop Michael monthly through on-line meeting programs. We are keeping in close touch with each other and we will not to anything rash. That would not be the loving, Christ-like thing to do. 

You will be kept up-to-date each step of the way.

Pr. John

...If the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?
How much more, when all he said to you was,
‘Wash, and be clean’?”