May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
Well
today’s readings are fun, aren’t they? There’s the writer of Isaiah singing a mournful
song to an unfruitful vineyard. The letter to the Hebrews speaking about the
difficulties of following Christ and the elusiveness of faith. And Luke is talking
about Jesus causing division rather than peace and how families and households
will be torn apart. These are pretty severe readings, ones that probably make
you upset when you hear them. What a great selection to start off my preaching
ministry here at St Peter’s. Sheesh! That said, I think there are some nuggets
in here that we can lean on as we head into our ministry together, especially
considering all of the change that St Peter’s has had to face recently.
We
know that Jesus was a disrupter. He fought against the Romans and wanted change
for a better life for his followers. He tossed tables. He changed peoples’
lives just by walking into those lives. Jesus was a disrupter. But he was also supposed
to be a bringer of peace. He was supposed to be the one to join the world in
unity. So why are we talking about division and disunity? Is this the same Jesus?
We don’t want to think of Jesus as a bringer of division, but there is some
truth there.
When
you think back on the last few years here at St Peter’s, I could probably guarantee
that there wasn’t 100% agreement 100% of the time. We’d be kidding ourselves if
we thought that. I think the point Jesus is trying to make is that there isn’t
anything wrong with disagreement. Jesus is telling us that we are called to the
work of discerning, of arguing, of bringing our varied places of experience and
individual truths to the table, so that we can work towards peace, unity, and
the future of St Peter’s place in the world in relationship with one another.
While
the words in today’s Gospel are hard to hear, the message we can take away is
that if we work hard at it, peace and unity will come. And it is our faith that
will move us towards that day through grace with one another. Grace with each other
as we learn how to work together, learn how to worship together, and learn how
to be at peace with one another. Through all of this, one of the things that we
will have to manage during yet another time of transition for St Peter’s, and
for me, is expectation, which is a theme I see running through our readings
today.
We’re
all familiar with the anguish of unmet expectations. We’ve done everything right,
but nothing is going as we planned. In Isaiah, the gardener is trying to figure
out what happened to his vineyard. He was expecting grapes in order to make
wine, and he got nothing but rotten grapes, even though he did everything right
in caring for his vineyard. The gardener’s expectation of a full harvest of
grapes wasn’t met and now he’s asking why. We know that feeling. We all know
that even if we follow every proper step, sometimes the unexpected happens. And
often we don’t see it coming because it’s not like we can see into the future.
Luke
also talks about how things don’t always happen as we expect them to. When we
see clouds in the sky, we expect rain. But does it always rain? We feel hot
winds, so we expect a scorching heat. But is that always the case? We expect
Jesus to bring peace, and yet he talks about bringing division. So, what can we
do about our expectations, and the knowledge that sometimes our expectations
fall short of reality? Let’s turn to the reading from Hebrews. Perhaps there’s
some answers there.
The
letter to the Hebrews tells us what we know in our hearts as Christians. That
we can look to Jesus for strength and for perseverance through anything that we
are going through, including disagreements, transitions, and expectations, met
and unmet. And we can be reassured that God walks with us through our entire
faith journey. This knowledge is something important that we need to hold on to.
At
the end of July, I turned the page on the previous chapter of my faith journey.
A leap of faith that was taken almost a year ago has come to fruition with me
standing here before you. Having left everything I know behind, including my
family, nothing has gone as expected since I left Winnipeg at the beginning of
the month. But in situations like this, I can find support when I surround myself
in a community of faith, with people of faith. When you are surrounded by a living
cloud of witnesses to Jesus, you can’t help but feel uplifted and not alone.
Now that I am here, the work has begun, and we will be turning the page on our next chapter together. Sure, there will be bumps in the road, disagreements, and unexpected events. But no matter what, we are in it together, our faith in Jesus will keep us strong, and God will be walking with us every step of the way.
I want to leave you
with two questions to ponder as you leave this place. I hope they spark conversation
amongst us all.
1)
What
are your hopes for our ministry together?
2)
How
do you think God will speak through this church to share the gospel?
I think it’s important for us to share how we each hear God speaking to us, even if it’s not in the same way that other people hear it. It will help us to understand each other’s hopes and dreams for this congregation as we start our new chapter together. As we take these first steps together in our faith journeys, I pray that God’s love and mercy will uphold us all by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
