tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57660572550375180162024-03-28T11:47:23.193-07:00This Is MeThese blogs are the true and unedited me. They are spiritual, religiously liturgical, honest, and transparent. This is me.RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.comBlogger315125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-89761864231434572322024-03-28T11:46:00.000-07:002024-03-28T11:47:22.704-07:00When is an Ending Not the End?: A Sermon for Resurrection Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijccb8q7OoNRPLM-tAgbM5p9fDaOgcBvJyONq11w75QRdHDhoZPpcNtAutUMB31E7_7enkMwQlf-vw0bz8d6yWau77Yjyc9MYvupEUWPD2v6xb6BX0H_3U1aI2BlQa22cSmg2-J_F3CcRiEDDI8NSdUf8hIZd2rhre2ZiDlOrCiaEIRsUZagFsi5IHpCny/s259/Tomb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijccb8q7OoNRPLM-tAgbM5p9fDaOgcBvJyONq11w75QRdHDhoZPpcNtAutUMB31E7_7enkMwQlf-vw0bz8d6yWau77Yjyc9MYvupEUWPD2v6xb6BX0H_3U1aI2BlQa22cSmg2-J_F3CcRiEDDI8NSdUf8hIZd2rhre2ZiDlOrCiaEIRsUZagFsi5IHpCny/s1600/Tomb.png" width="259" /></a></div><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">May only truth be spoken and truth heard. Amen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">According
to Jewish law, the body of the deceased is to be washed thoroughly, wrapped in
a simple white shroud, and buried. All this is to happen within 24 hours of
death.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Also
under Jewish law, no work can be done on the Sabbath.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">So
when Jesus died as the Sabbath began, the disciples weren’t allowed to tend to
his body. Jesus was placed in his tomb but the ritual of cleansing the body did
not happen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">At
the beginning of chapter 16 of Mark, the women who were part of the Jesus’ entourage
– Mary Magdalene, James’ mother Mary, and Mary’s half-sister Salome – headed to
Jesus’ tomb to complete the Jewish burial ritual.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">They
go anticipating what will be, and what they will need to do. They talk about
the plans they have for how things will unfold: <i>Who will roll away the stone?</i> And likely the other details too. <i>Who will anoint Jesus’ body? Do we need
someone to keep watch?</i> (another part of the Jewish burial ritual)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">We
can imagine the conversation unfolding as they make their way to the tomb. Conversations
many of us have had as we make our own preparations and funeral arrangements
for a loved one. We know what it is to be overwhelmed by our grief and to be
focused, almost singlehandedly on the tasks at hand.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">When
they got to the tomb, the stone was moved and there sat a young man dressed in
a white robe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">This
man told the women that Jesus wasn’t there, that he has been raised and isn’t
there. He then told them to run and tell the disciples that Jesus will meet
them all in Galilee, just as he promised.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Mark
tells us that the women ran away and told no one about what they saw.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">And
then the Gospel just ends.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Mark’s
version of the resurrection is anticlimactic to say the least. Like much of the
rest of his gospel, it is brief and leaves us… wanting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">It
is believed that monks, as they were transcribing this Gospel, didn’t like the
sudden ending and wrote in the “shorter ending of Mark” and the “longer ending
of Mark” that adds in details about Jesus’ appearance to the disciples
post-resurrection.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Let’s
imagine for a moment though that Mark knew exactly what he was doing. That he
crafted an incomplete ending by design. That he left the story hanging on this
moment of failure and disappointment for a reason.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Why
would he do that?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Maybe
because he knew that no story about death and resurrection could possibly have
a neat and tidy ending.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Maybe
because he believed that this story isn’t over yet, and he writes an open
ending to his gospel in order to invite us to jump in and take up our part in
continuing it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Are
you ready to take up where Jesus left off?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Will
you run in fear or will you proclaim the good news in word and action?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Author
Madeleine L'Engle wrote, “The disciples did not bother to try to understand the
resurrection body. They doubted, and then they believed. They believed
something so wonderful that it changed this broken, fragmented, beaten-down
little group of men and women in a moment from depression to enthusiasm, from
despair to new life, vibrant and unafraid."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">But
when you don’t get to hear the resurrection part of the story, as with how Mark
ends his Gospel, we are left alarmed and afraid.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
women are alarmed, anxious, and afraid. Their friend, their teacher, the Son of
God has been killed by the very empire he came to redeem, and now his body is
not where they had laid it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What
do we do when God is not in the place we expect and have been told and taught to
believe God will be?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">What
do we do when God isn’t there and we are unsure where God has gone… where God’s
been taken to, how or when or if God will be returned to us?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">How
do you respond to an empty tomb?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">It
is human nature to want clean endings, to want closure. But it was no accident
that Mark left his Gospel unfinished.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">That’s
because the story is just beginning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s
only the beginning; this story isn’t over.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s
only the beginning, and we have a part to play.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">If
you wonder why there is still so much distress and pain in the world, it’s
because God’s not done yet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s
only the beginning, and Mark is inviting us to get out of our seats and into
the game, sharing the good news of Jesus’ complete identification with those
who are suffering, and his triumph over injustice and death with everyone we
meet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">If
you do not like the end of Mark’s gospel, then write a better one…with your
life!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">You
are the end of the Gospel!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">You
want to experience the resurrected Christ? Live as he lived, love as he loved,
forgive as he forgave, and believe as he believed and you will experience
Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Repent
and believe. Turn from your ideas, your expectations, your ideas, wants, desires,
and ways - die to your old self - and believe in this good news of new and abundant
life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Walking
into the newness of resurrected life means and requires us to leave part of ourselves
behind. Our old selves. Old ways. And sometimes this happens without our being
ready or even wanting to. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Sometimes
it means leaving things we are not ready to leave behind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Today
is not the end of the story. Today is the beginning. The beginning which is not
yet known and still unwritten. We don’t know where God… where Jesus is leading
us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">But
we know, and God has promised to prepare a place for us and us for the place where
we are going.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">That
is the good news on this Easter morning. Just as Jesus has told us before,
Jesus tells us now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Resurrection,
new life, often doesn’t look the way we expect, anticipate, or plan. In fact, it
very likely will alarm us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Do
not be afraid. Follow where Jesus is leading… where Jesus is going… where Jesus
is waiting for us to see him and to continue living into the new life we have
been given.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Mark
wants us to know that Jesus’ death is only the beginning. The rest of the story
is unfolding before our very eyes and through our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">We
don’t get closure to this story, because it is still ongoing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Mark’s
Gospel is “<i>The beginning of the good news</i>”
(1:1). Our story is its continuation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Resources</u>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">pulpitfiction.com</span></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-41101570669996557092024-03-27T12:51:00.000-07:002024-03-27T12:55:01.031-07:00Always Carry a Towel: A Sermon for Maundy Thursday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdhCBah6gtgqW-8gTB-aHjEihxoDFXacMcx1uvdslcBJuJfgF36pN1iFSMxd6hUPr0-9KFwB3ytTUUP7gyfvAvQETnAHOfQB58Oi0bgcF-XUm2bU7FrqH7kbkFqsYgdyHB8BHDjTKB9I_fU4cY2Z_Iqpa1Mfpg1DLZ_qZBOaRC_8osf0jpCtw4-yvA1F-/s400/Towel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="400" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdhCBah6gtgqW-8gTB-aHjEihxoDFXacMcx1uvdslcBJuJfgF36pN1iFSMxd6hUPr0-9KFwB3ytTUUP7gyfvAvQETnAHOfQB58Oi0bgcF-XUm2bU7FrqH7kbkFqsYgdyHB8BHDjTKB9I_fU4cY2Z_Iqpa1Mfpg1DLZ_qZBOaRC_8osf0jpCtw4-yvA1F-/s320/Towel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord.
Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today
we enter the three sacred days. This is the ancient Triduum – Maundy Thursday,
Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. After the emotional roller coaster of Lent, we
take an extreme journey over three days that will undoubtably leave us broken.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus
knows that things have come to a head. He knows that his final hours are upon
him. He knows that tonight he is having his final meal with his friends. And
while they might not completely understand, the twelve around the table could
feel the solemnity of these final, dark hours.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus
knew his time among humans was coming to an end and he wanted to leave his disciples
with something special, something to show how much he loved them. This brings
us back to the prophet Elijah who, as he was to depart the world in a final blaze
of glory, offered Elisha “a double share of his spirit”. As the chariot of fire
drives off, he leaves behind a mantle, the mantle he just used to part the
waters of the Jordan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Perhaps
the people around the table on this night were hoping that Jesus would leave
them something like that, a memento of sorts filled with Jesus’ power to heal
and to perform miracles. Some token of greatness that they can take with them
after Jesus leaves them (which of course they continue to deny will happen.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
what does Jesus leave them? A mandate and a towel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Maundy
comes from the Latin <i>mandatum</i>, which means mandate. And the mandate that
Jesus leaves his disciples with, and us with, is to love one another. Not just
in simple (or grand) actions, but in authentic feeling, deep engagement, and generous
action. Love is the litmus test of Christian witness. Our love for each other
is how the world will know who we are and whose we are. Our love for each other
is how the world will see, taste, touch, hear, and find Jesus. It’s through our
love that we will embody Jesus, make Jesus relatable, possible, plausible, to a
dying world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sounds
hard, right? But here’s our saving grace: Jesus doesn’t leave us alone and
bereft. He gives us a road map, in the second half of his commandment: “As I
have loved you.” Follow my example, he says. Do what I do. Love as I love. Live
as you have seen me live. Weep with those who weep. Laugh with those who laugh.
Touch the untouchables. Feed the hungry. Welcome the child. Release the
captive. Forgive the sinner. Confront the oppressor. Comfort the oppressed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">“I
give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved
you, you also should love one another.” This is Jesus’ mandate. It sounds hard
but don’t worry because Jesus is going to equip us with the only thing we will
need – a towel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A
towel: something used to dry dishes, wipe tables, mop up sweat, and dry away tears.
While the mantel of Elijah’s power parts water, Jesus’ mantel is a tool of
mundane work, a tool of humility, hospitality, and hope.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
Jesus’ time, foot washing wasn’t an unusual activity. People walked around in sandals
or barefoot and so their feet got dirty and dusty. When they would go into a home,
whether theirs or as a guest somewhere, they would be given a bowl to wash
their feet off so as not to drag all that dust everywhere through the house.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">By
proceeding on all fours around the table, washing his disciples’ dust-encrusted
feet, Jesus is offering one of the oldest forms of hospitality. In this humbling
act, Jesus is at the same time showing his love for his friends, showing his
friends how to love others, and allowing his friends to experience what it is
like to be served.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">To
be on the receiving end of service can make you feel quite vulnerable. It
forces you to let go of control, to let someone else do something for you that
you know you could easily do yourself. Or maybe if you can’t do it yourself,
the vulnerability lies in admitting that fact and accepting help.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">By
experiencing this vulnerability, Jesus’ disciples will better understand how to
care for others without coming across as condescending. By being on the
receiving end of service, we learn how to take care of the small and mundane
details instead of seeking out glory in a spectacular show of allowing
ourselves to be cared for.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Which
leads us into a lesson of humility. Many of us resist the vulnerability of being
cared for, preferring to remain in control of everything that happens to us. We
prefer to choose what gifts we accept rather than admitting our dependency.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">How
hard is it for us to receive a gift? It brings out a vulnerability in us that
really we’d just rather avoid. We would prefer to be like Peter, saying that we
would never ask a friend to do such a menial thing as wash our feet. But if we
can’t even accept the small gift of clean feet, how on earth are we going to
accept the greatest gift of all – the cleansing of sin through death on a
cross?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
all of this talk about vulnerability in giving and receiving hospitality, there
is hope and a lesson to be learned in reconciliation. Jesus doesn’t just wash
the feet of his friends. He also washes the feet of his betrayer. Loving those
with whom we agree is the easy part. Loving the rest of the folks we come in
contact with is a much harder proposition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus
could not be clearer: People will know we are disciples of Christ quite simply
by our loving acts — acts of service and sacrifice, acts that point to the love
of God for the world made known in Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
it will all be done with a towel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Amen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Resources</u>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Feasting on the Word" edited by David Bartlett & Barbara Brown Taylor</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">journeywithjesus.net</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">workingpreahcer.org</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">"A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams</span></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-36217070639768928852024-03-16T15:13:00.000-07:002024-03-16T15:18:00.695-07:00A Review of the Book "A Gospel of Shame" by Frank Bruni & Elinor Burkett<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLNhUqhnK8bwHXI2AGfP08s6mfVBuAcbXjYNIn1QW8WBvdx40QPWOUVgiyBmuibbLOnErWq5FZD3_QbIQ1kMKctjgeh5TAWpEpw4_5toR2Q1gIwARyi5OiBTB6rpPePwMA4956Qm_xN4jlv5lsQGq2tTWhLlXZjeI__-ypWRlu7ypC-IFJVvADLI7SlY6/s283/Gospel%20Shame.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="178" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLNhUqhnK8bwHXI2AGfP08s6mfVBuAcbXjYNIn1QW8WBvdx40QPWOUVgiyBmuibbLOnErWq5FZD3_QbIQ1kMKctjgeh5TAWpEpw4_5toR2Q1gIwARyi5OiBTB6rpPePwMA4956Qm_xN4jlv5lsQGq2tTWhLlXZjeI__-ypWRlu7ypC-IFJVvADLI7SlY6/s1600/Gospel%20Shame.jpg" width="178" /></a></div><br /><div><div>Title: A Gospel of Shame</div><div>Author: Frank Bruni & Elinor Burkett</div><div>Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers</div><div>Year: 1993</div><div>265 pages</div><div><br /></div><div><u>From the Back</u>: The relentless crescendo of revelations of sexual abuse in its Catholic churches has rocked the nations. Just how wide-spread is child sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy? And why hasn't the Catholic Church done more to stop it? Journalists Frank Bruni and Elinor Burkett provide the answers to these questions and more. The answers, however, turn out to be infuriating and heartbreaking, difficult to accept but impossible to dismiss. The authors thoroughly document dozens of cases across the country and reveal how this heinous abuse of trust has been tacitly sanctioned by the Church's silence. Containing unforgettable accounts of individual and institutional cover-ups, <i>A Gospel of Shame</i> will serve those who need and want an analysis of the scandal that is currently rocking the Catholic Church.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Personal Thoughts</u>: The Catholic Church has a horrendous reputation. Very often, when people talk about Catholic priests, the conversation also includes the topic of child molestation and sexual abuse. I have heard these things for most of my life and became hyper aware of it the closer I got to becoming a priest myself. I wanted to know more about it and how things got this bad. I found <i>A Gospel of Shame</i> at a book fair and snatched it up.</div><div><span> The book contains stories from survivors and their families, their lawyers, and anyone else brave enough to share their story. I will admit, it took me a very long time to read this book because of how personal the accounts were and how much detail was contained in these few pages. It became increasingly difficult to read about how the church, from top to bottom, covered up these events, and that the most common solution was to simply move the priests to different parishes while sweeping the sexual abuse under the rug.</span><br /></div><div><span><span> Bruni and Burkett did an amazing job of bringing forth these events with all the sensitivity they deserve while still being forthright with the unacceptable answers from the Catholic Church about the criminal events taking place within its walls. As difficult as the topic is to explore, I think it's important for the world to understand what happened and how the church worked so tirelessly to cover it up. Without that knowledge, there would be no way to fight for change.</span><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-5879990771164257572024-03-16T09:52:00.000-07:002024-03-16T10:51:23.485-07:00The Joy of Vocation: A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Lent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPyHGYCKmOV1eh_-PgVnevYo-ZpysXzwpBF7pwk-K-R5AA2FyYnzv9ZQb10SdaQ24zKVvk9pvaxvEunJrtwnYBW379J5b1x03W4IS7BwvuNmTqYdNsecDwvVzb9euQKzXLm0uAniSxyuMUGPnBOIbeFZ8rcB1-JVY8kg39kkWbB1woqn9eCDz45Mpe2QH5/s400/Vocation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="400" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPyHGYCKmOV1eh_-PgVnevYo-ZpysXzwpBF7pwk-K-R5AA2FyYnzv9ZQb10SdaQ24zKVvk9pvaxvEunJrtwnYBW379J5b1x03W4IS7BwvuNmTqYdNsecDwvVzb9euQKzXLm0uAniSxyuMUGPnBOIbeFZ8rcB1-JVY8kg39kkWbB1woqn9eCDz45Mpe2QH5/s320/Vocation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><i>This sermon is heavily borrowed from the Barn Geese "Seeds of Joy" resource.</i></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord.
Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Have
you always known what you were meant to do in life? Your goals? Your aspirations?
Were they constant throughout life, or ever-changing? Did everything go as
planned or do you look back over your life and wonder how you ended up where
you are today?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is certainly not where I thought I’d end up, that’s for sure! When I was a kid,
I wanted to be things like a police officer or a librarian. As I got older and
headed into university, I thought for sure I’d be a high school chemistry teacher.
After flunking out of university, I felt lost and settled on banking and
accounting because I seemed to have a talent with numbers and loved the organized
details of the business world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
nothing ever felt quite right. Do you know what I mean? I never felt like I fit
in, like I was where I was supposed to be. I couldn’t find the joy in my
vocation. As they say, I was just in it for the money.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
vocation in more than just paid work. It is who you are called to be and what
you are called to do across all the parts of your life – not only in
professional work, but also in your family and friendships, community
engagements, relationship with the earth, search for meaning, and pursuit of justice.
It essentially amounts to a sense of calling. Vocation is work that is
meaningful to the person who engages in it. In ministry, whether clergy or lay,
vocation is often preceded by a spiritual calling from God to engage in a
particular type of activity or function or even turn that vocation into a
profession. Vocation should be something in which we feel joy, that makes us
feel alive to the reality that we do not merely exist, but we are “called
forth” to a divine purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
vocational summons is often against the will of the one who is called into
service. Abraham at first doubted that God’s covenant with him could be
fulfilled. Moses complained that the Israelites, to whom God sent him, had
never listened to him and therefore neither would Pharaoh, “poor speaker that I
am”. Jeremiah, the Hebrew prophet, not only resisted the call, but continued to
complain that God had overpowered him and placed him in an impossibly difficult
circumstance, even protesting that God’s call had made him “like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter” (Jeremiah 11:19). Jonah attempted to flee from the Lord
to Tarshish, rather than going to Nineveh where he had been called. Even Jesus
prays to be delivered from his appointed calling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Have
you ever felt called to a vocation that seemed strange or out of place? Where
you doubted that you were understanding the call correctly?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Everyone
engages in vocational discernment at some point in their life, wondering where
God is calling them to be or to do, whether this career is right for them, or
what their role is in the community. Questions like “is this all that there is?”
or “Where is the joy in this work?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Presbyterian
theologian Frederick Buechner wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place
where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” This quote invites
us to do something that we often don’t: to bring the question of our deep
gladness to the question of what we’re going to do with our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are all sorts of reasons why we might disconnect our sense of joy from our
sense of God’s call. For one thing, prioritizing joy in one’s work or service
can feel privileged, even selfish. It can seem superfluous, especially when
juxtaposed with the world’s deep hunger. Why should my joy matter if I’m in a
position to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, free the captive? Shouldn’t
their need trump my joy?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are certainly situations in which another person’s urgent need can supersede
the need for personal gladness. But the reality of burnout tells us that this
isn’t good for us. Over the long term, prioritizing others’ needs at the cost
of our own leaves us exhausted and disillusioned by the bottomless hunger of
broken systems and people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
need deep gladness to sustain us. Perhaps this reveals a deeper reason why we
don’t prioritize joy in our work: we’re afraid of what will happen to us when
we allow our joy to guide us into the hungriest parts of the world. Joy might
take us to the places where the world is gasping in pain. It might bring us to
the places where systems of trauma and abuse have already taken a terrible toll
and stand poised to take even more. These places are just like the one where
Jesus is standing in today’s gospel. What will happen to our joy there? Will it
be swallowed whole? That breathless question leads us into today’s text from
John 12.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
scene occurs just after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The whole city
is talking about Jesus. In the verses leading up to this morning’s gospel
reading, the crowd that witnessed Lazarus’ raising was testifying, and their
story was compelling. Now, these Greeks want to see Jesus! Everyone wants to
see Jesus! It’s all very glorious and shiny. But Jesus can perceive the cross in
the near distance. He recognizes that he has arrived precisely where God has
called him to be. Here, he will be led into pain, suffering, and even death.
The world’s deep hunger is about to gulp him down. Where do we perceive joy in
this scene?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Over
the last few weeks, we have been talking a lot about joy and have touched on
the truth that suffering and joy are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they
might even been connected, “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you
have crushed rejoice,” we hear in this week’s psalm (51:8). As Jesus grapples
with the impending reality of the cross, he holds fast to God’s call, to his purpose.
The profound joy of that purpose is written into every line of the gospel that
has led up to this moment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You’ve
heard me say before that joy thrums throughout Jesus’ life, overflowing into
actions every time he heals, casts out a demon, prays to God, speaks with his
disciples, and teaches in the synagogues. These are not things he is required
to do out of sheer obedience to God’s will. These are the things he is
privileged to do because he is God’s incarnate, enfleshed Child. He can walk
and speak and touch as God never has before or since, and he can love up close.
That is what he spends his whole life doing: loving. Here is the nexus of
Jesus’ deep gladness and our deep hunger: God loving us up close. Jesus is so
deeply in contact with this divine love that the very voice of God, which
speaks in this gospel scene, is no longer something he needs to hear, because
his life resonates with those frequencies all the time. God’s call is written
on his heart (Jeremiah 31:33).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Following
God’s call to the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep hunger
doesn’t guarantee that you will be happy, popular, or even respected. It does
offer a lifelong opportunity to follow Jesus in this particular way: to pay
attention to the intersections where the work and play that make us most joyful
meet the places where the world needs us most.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Imagine
that the thing God wants you to do is to live with joy, to be guided by it
(John 15:11). Imagine that such joy is not selfish but is actually the thing
that leads you deeper into the will of God. Imagine that following such joy
might lead you deeper into selflessness. How might your life change if you
internalized God’s desire for your joyfulness as well as for your service? How
might it transform the way that you think about your vocational call?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Perhaps
a savoring of joy can lead us to the place where we no longer need to hear the
voice of God thundering assurances of the rightness of our path from heaven. Perhaps
we, too, will perceive the harmonies of God’s call resonating within us—I am
your God, and you are my people—the notation etched onto our very hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Resources</u>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Barn Geese Worship</span></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-66677254338794019522024-03-09T09:55:00.000-08:002024-03-09T10:02:16.046-08:00A Review of the Book "Hench" by Natalie Zina Walschots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-B8_Mn132kOyKvbcwIYgIZMhE81FG3Fhbut-f-8MK0KPZFwL04vP-8l_Xc1iTvw0xaF9j1EUbMHEhyphenhyphenADW6YoUR5oH0qAjW69qXlg-K4SoKfym57VG51E0knI6vWIELb0YhqgPBbiiny9NtAoEsKEvBRNG9Jjy1QGQQYDAyD5bPmF00UmCHhXsfHuT1be/s276/Hench.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="183" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-B8_Mn132kOyKvbcwIYgIZMhE81FG3Fhbut-f-8MK0KPZFwL04vP-8l_Xc1iTvw0xaF9j1EUbMHEhyphenhyphenADW6YoUR5oH0qAjW69qXlg-K4SoKfym57VG51E0knI6vWIELb0YhqgPBbiiny9NtAoEsKEvBRNG9Jjy1QGQQYDAyD5bPmF00UmCHhXsfHuT1be/s1600/Hench.jpg" width="183" /></a></div><div>Title: Hench</div><div><div>Author: Natalie Zina Walschots</div><div>Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers</div><div>Year: 2020</div><div>399 pages</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>From the Back</u>: Anna does boring things for terrible people, because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn't glamorous. But is it really words than working for an oil conglomerate or an insurance company? In this economy? As a temp, she's just a cog in the machine. But when she finally gets a promising assignment, everything foes very wrong, and an encounter with the so-called hero leaves her badly injured. And, to her horror, compared to the other bodies strewn about, she's the lucky one. So, of course, then she gets laid off. With no money and no mobility, with only her anger and Internet research acumen, she discovers her suffering at the hands of a hero is far from unique. When people start listening to the story that her date tells, she realizes she might not be as powerless as she thinks. Because the key to everything is data: knowing how to collate it, how to manipulate it, and how to weaponize it. By tallying up the human cost these caped forces of nature wreak upon the world, she discovers that the line between good and evil is mostly marketing. And with social media and viral videos, she can control that appearance. It's not too long before she's employed once more, this time by one of the worst villains on earth. As she becomes an increasingly valuable lieutenant, she might just save the world.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Personal Thoughts</u>: So many books are centered on the heroes. Everyone wants to hear about the good guys winning over the bad guys and all that. But what about the villains? Actually, what about all the hench people who are actually the ones doing all the dirty work and getting none of the glory? Don't they deserve a moment in the spotlight?</div><div> <i>Hench</i> is a whimsical story about the behind the scenes action in the lives of criminals told from the point of view of hench people. The main character, Anna, is an office administrator, processing all the paperwork that goes with doing villainous acts. What she discovers is that despite what the media shows to the public, about how scary and dangerous villains are, it is in fact the heroes that are more destructive and cause more casualties.</div><div><span> This isn't a book I would have likely picked up off the shelf but that is the great thing about receiving ARCS. However, it turned out to be a fun story to read with quite enjoyable characters and just enough mystery to keep the plot moving forward quite nicely.</span><br /></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-16020836451707099302024-03-08T14:16:00.000-08:002024-03-15T13:41:38.719-07:00The Joy of Transformation: A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Lent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHifhK2-7ok0a85smLghq_B7KwivJ1wm8xsLwEJRgfzv4U3BHqlb6U7w4qldfU9MrgZ1zssq7D76G5FUXhoDs52guom7deqTCYkRmaedcwQAt9h1aWBxNuEdax3uqPw6B1WyiyOkrwZZaEk6r7Ft7nPuDNTpnhX-n7FyEnV6hk3xo1lmNJ65tnQT7DeKV/s400/Transformation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="400" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTHifhK2-7ok0a85smLghq_B7KwivJ1wm8xsLwEJRgfzv4U3BHqlb6U7w4qldfU9MrgZ1zssq7D76G5FUXhoDs52guom7deqTCYkRmaedcwQAt9h1aWBxNuEdax3uqPw6B1WyiyOkrwZZaEk6r7Ft7nPuDNTpnhX-n7FyEnV6hk3xo1lmNJ65tnQT7DeKV/s320/Transformation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@scw1217?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Suzanne D. Williams</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/three-pupas-VMKBFR6r_jg?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let
the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O
Lord. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today’s gospel reading seems to come out
of nowhere. Last week we were in Jerusalem where Jesus was tossing tables, and
now we’re talking about a snake on a stick. How the heck did we get here?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The passage today is the end of a
conversation Jesus had with the Pharisee Nicodemus, a conversation that we
heard last year during the 2<sup>nd</sup> week of Lent. As a Pharisee,
Nicodemus is an educated man, a “pillar of the community.” The Jewish leaders
are pretty ticked off at Jesus, so, as Jewish leader himself, Nicodemus wants
to have a conversation with him. And he comes to see Jesus in the darkness of
night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We might be tempted to think the worst of
Nicodemus. Perhaps he doesn’t want to be seen with Jesus, and so is trying to
slip in to see him under the cover of darkness. However, some commentators note
that coming at night could be a way that Nicodemus honors Jesus. Coming on his
own time, after a full day’s work, demonstrates that Nicodemus is motivated by
a genuine desire to learn from him. Almost like a student booking time with a
professor not to argue, but to confirm understanding in a subject matter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night, not
knowing really what it is he is looking for. He has heard stories, no doubt,
about this strange person. He has seen something happening in Jesus that he
can't quite explain. He has seen and heard of healing and love and celebration.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">During their exchange, Nicodemus acknowledges
that Jesus must be from God because he’s heard about the signs that Jesus has
been doing, and only someone from God could possibly perform such miracles. In
other words, he’s seeking clarity, as if to say, “It seems to me that we know
that you come from God because, otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to do the
things that you do.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nicodemus seems pretty sincere about wanting
to understand more about who Jesus is, what he is doing, and why he is doing
it. Nicodemus, a man deeply imbedded in Jewish religious leadership, is
starting to question, is starting to be curious about faith, is starting to be curious
about something new that is beyond his imagination. Nicodemus has heard of
Jesus and seen all that Jesus is doing – healing, feeding, and celebrating with
people – and in confusion asks him, "Who are you and where are you
from?"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus responds with the most famous verse
in the New Testament, the “Gospel in nutshell”, as Luther once coined, “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.” God so loves the world that God
comes close to us in Jesus. God moves into our neighbourhoods and searches us
out. And when God finds us, we are invited by Jesus, like Nicodemus, into a
journey of loving, of being compassionate, of having and sharing a true, living
heart. When God finds us, we are invited to be transformed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Can you see yourself in Nicodemus? Have
you had a transformative moment in your life? Perhaps a moment that changed the
course of your life forever?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">John 3:16 shows up in countless public
places. We can find it on posters, in music, and etched on jewelry. It is commonly
seen at sporting events and some people even have “John 3:16” tattooed on their
body. This verse has become a symbol of the key message of Christian faith. When
I was in school, we were discussing this verse in class and my professor said
that he believes the Christian statement of faith is contained within that verse
but in an abbreviated format. “For God so loved the world.” Period. Full stop.
This was a transformative moment for me. God loves all people, creatures, and
living things on earth and is accepting to anyone who searches for God. God
sent Jesus to show us the way to this all-inclusive love. God sent Jesus to
transform the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Nicodemus experiences in his encounter
with Jesus love, acceptance, and inclusion. He is invited on the journey, loved
without conditions, invited to give up what he has and what he knows in order
to become a person who also loves without conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We are invited on that same journey. God
sent Jesus to transform our hearts and our minds and our souls, so that we know
we are always loved, and accepted, and included and that we should do the same
for others. But this is not an easy journey, nor is it a straightforward one. Nicodemus,
an intelligent and established religious man, skulked in the darkness to find
answers only to walk back into the darkness even more confused than when he
arrived.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To believe in God, to trust in the words
that Jesus is saying, even if we don’t completely understand them, means
confronting the inconvenient truth that God’s purposes for those God loves might
push us beyond our boundaries, beyond our comfort zones. Nicodemus may have
been confused when he went back out into the darkness that night, but he was
transformed by the words he heard. He became a supporter of Jesus in spite
knowing that he would be excised from religious leadership.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The trail of faith that Jesus blazed
reveals that, while there is nothing in this world worth killing for, there are
things worth dying for. Any parent knows that the love for one’s child is so
great one might sacrifice oneself for a child. And for the sake of this world,
God gives his most cherished beloved son as the ultimate sacrifice of love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How else for us to respond but to love and
cherish the world and every creature in it as beloved of God. If we can trust
in the process, trust in the journey that following Jesus takes us on, we can
trust that, just like Nicodemus, through the eternal love of God, we will be
joyfully transformed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amen.</span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Resources</u>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">episcopalchurch.org</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">pulpitfiction.com</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">workingpreacher.com</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">"New Collegeville Bible Commentary: New Testament" edited by Daniel Durken</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pastor Michael Kurtz</span></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-23328071964690524482024-03-01T13:10:00.000-08:002024-03-01T13:21:30.672-08:00The Joy of Liberation: A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Lent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mrS2kbMarULmak0fy5sy0dfbwO8pQ0qga9kEu0dVzOInTuMCgOUpZ3aO49V4gGyekS_TLmbANHpOPHK8jdlMJRpgvr6uTcnmlo-0rO_pXIuoUBPVldwONjbkoTC-R0plieUhLVpVkjcpmrKhGCTPkJdqPktXXUAvypNEBWc8LfKE6ZhyRYsfAMZVZ04q/s400/Liberation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mrS2kbMarULmak0fy5sy0dfbwO8pQ0qga9kEu0dVzOInTuMCgOUpZ3aO49V4gGyekS_TLmbANHpOPHK8jdlMJRpgvr6uTcnmlo-0rO_pXIuoUBPVldwONjbkoTC-R0plieUhLVpVkjcpmrKhGCTPkJdqPktXXUAvypNEBWc8LfKE6ZhyRYsfAMZVZ04q/s320/Liberation.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord.
Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus
comes to Jerusalem after the wedding at Cana for the Passover festival. He goes
to the Temple, which was considered the site of God's presence for devout
Jewish people. The temple in Jerusalem is the quintessential sacred place. In
ancient Israel, it was thought to be the place where the special presence of
God dwelled on earth. Hence its name: “House of Yahweh.” As Solomon says, he
built God a dwelling place, a home where God will live forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even
though the temple was the center of Israelite life, because of its very
sacredness, the general Populus had access only to its outer courts. Even the
clergy did not circulate freely within the building, and the inner sanctum, the
holy of holies, was off limits to all but the chief priest, and to him only on
one day a year. At festival times, pilgrims would flock to Jerusalem and to the
precincts of the temple to come close to the dwelling place of God, to bring
offerings and to receive blessings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
Jesus sees there, on his arrival, rather than a holy place dedicated to the God
of manna-sharing and justice-doing, is what he calls a "marketplace,"
a place where vendors are being allowed to take advantage of regular people's
devout, sincere religiosity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">You
couldn't use Roman coins in the Temple because they had a "graven
image" of Caesar on them, who was considered a god by the Romans. So you
had to exchange them for Temple coins that had no image. But that exchange cost
you a fair sum. Then, with the Temple coins you could purchase animals for
sacrifice in the Temple, with which you could make thank-offerings to God or
offerings for forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus
has no trouble with the sincerity of ordinary people wanting to make devout gratitude
offerings or forgiveness offerings to God. What makes him crazy is the insane
amount of profit being made on these transactions - and that all these profits
are heavily taxed by the Romans, as everyone knew.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So,
a great part of this money was flowing into the Roman occupation machine, oppressing
his people, making them poor, making them hungry, making them sick. And Jesus
loses it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus
overturns the money changers’ tables in the temple and proclaims that if the
temple itself were destroyed, he could rebuild it in three days. The text
itself clues us in to the meaning behind Jesus’ words – the temple is Jesus’
body – but the religious leaders, as always, miss the dramatic irony. They
scoff at Jesus, explaining that the temple has been under construction for
forty-six years. How could anyone rebuild it in three days?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
temple was undeniably the locus of religious joy for the Israelite people. It
was the place where they could worship their God under their own rules, in
their own language, and, at least to some degree, free from the control of the
imperial culture that occupied their land. It was also the entire center of their
worship life, the location of the beating heart of their faith. There was only
one temple, and no other place could approach its significance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Still,
leaders who cite a decades-long building project reveal a deep level of
institutional inertia. The temple’s course has been set for generations. The
plan is made, the mission set, and the people are following through. From one
perspective, this looks like absolute faithfulness to the mission: carry out
the commitments of the previous generations and do so according to the
blueprints they have made. From another perspective, following the previous generations’
plans also means living with the concessions and accommodations they made.
Efforts to undo mistakes or to rethink assumptions will come at an increasing
cost.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">While
none of our modern church buildings remotely approach the singular importance
of the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">ancient
temple, we know what it means to find joy in the spaces we call our own. When congregations
break ground on new building projects, they do so with great hope for how their
new facilities will center their communities. Worshipers decorate church
buildings with great care, often filling them with dedicatory vessels, memorial
plaques, fine woodwork and metalwork, lovely ceramics, and beautiful banners.
The impulse is faithful: we do these things to share our joy for what God has
done among us. We return to these physical spaces to reconnect our current
experience to the past joy we have found there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">These
sacred spaces are places where we can feel especially close to God, places
where we feel we can communicate with God, through worship, ritual, and other
types of prayer. As places where heaven and earth meet, where God is made
manifest, sacred spaces attract people who seek blessing, healing, and
forgiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
we also know how the burden of church buildings, construction projects, and
worship spaces can, at times, entirely drain the joy from our communities. We
know the extreme costs required to renovate old buildings for accessibility to
people of all abilities. Perhaps we live with buildings that are too large,
whether previous generations built too optimistically to attract a larger crowd
or because the crowds that once filled those buildings are gone. How liberating
might it be to not have to worry about the building?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Perhaps
we grapple with too much old stuff at church – stuff that has lost its meaning
to us but that we resist throwing away. It’s possible to recognize that all
these buildings, things, and traditions used to give our worshiping communities
life. We can simultaneously recognize how much they stifle current growth and
budding creativity. To rediscover our joy again, we may need to be reminded
that joy can live and grow in a place, and it can feel connected to a physical
space, but joy is never defined by any one location.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
suspect that Jesus encounters something like this when he confronts the money
changers in the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">temple.
In this moment, Jesus shows us the glee of destroying the customary accommodations
that have burdened us with history, stifled our worship, and masked our mission.
How the people must thrill to see Jesus overturn greed in God’s house! How they
must marvel to realize they are not required to meet such expectations to
worship God. How many powerful people Jesus must cross when he demands a
different road. They may have come to believe their joy is inseparable from the
places where they’ve fostered it, but Jesus wants to unbind their joy from
these limited expectations.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How
thrillingly dangerous it is to smash what binds us! How quickly could we
rebuild for the future, if we only followed the God who can reconstruct and
resurrect the dead? How much joy could we rediscover in our spiritual lives if
we remembered that we are a church that celebrates Jesus, not a church that
celebrates brick and mortar?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><u><span style="font-size: x-small;">Resources:</span></u></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Barn Geese Worship</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pastor Michael Kurtz, First Lutheran</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">episcopalchurch.org</span></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-86720251292926381612024-02-29T05:29:00.000-08:002024-02-29T05:31:08.224-08:00A Review of the Book "What's the T?" by Juno Dawson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijn7vcUDWywzuFqEjAGV8BGgGn4F_V1nH-AR7BhOFldAo1iA-rnMjt38lbl8f6hxIzUsfYcq2AgSyY5tHjQC93mq1t_gYpaLkoPyR1Ukbj4Nabeh-UyzGu7MFy3pRFC1Kr8wBZV1PbzRD6n8Ggf-ZTOiEXYQEqXu_LfcT_39Tz0kQ0UgKDjXx2PzlZS5Bu/s750/Whats%20the%20t.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijn7vcUDWywzuFqEjAGV8BGgGn4F_V1nH-AR7BhOFldAo1iA-rnMjt38lbl8f6hxIzUsfYcq2AgSyY5tHjQC93mq1t_gYpaLkoPyR1Ukbj4Nabeh-UyzGu7MFy3pRFC1Kr8wBZV1PbzRD6n8Ggf-ZTOiEXYQEqXu_LfcT_39Tz0kQ0UgKDjXx2PzlZS5Bu/s320/Whats%20the%20t.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div><div>Title: What's the T?</div><div><div>Author: Juno Dawson</div><div>Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire</div><div>Year: 2022</div><div>325 pages</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>From the Back</u>: Discover what it means to be a young transgender and/or nonbinary person in the twenty-first century in this frank and funny guide. Filled with stories from real teens about their own experiences, straightforward educational information, and hilarious illustrations, this book offers a fun, enlightening introduction to the full spectrum of gender identity. The perfect blend of informative and supportive, this is the ultimate handbook for those questioning their identity or just looking to learn more from trans and nonbinary voices.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Personal Thoughts</u>: If there was anything you wanted to know about being transgender, this is an excellent resource. Juno Dawson is a British author and a transgender woman. She wrote "What's the T?" geared towards teenagers who are possibly questioning their gender and gender identity. However, everyone would benefit from reading this book, whether you are questioning, already transitioning, or an ally. There is even an entire section for parents and caregivers. With an incredible sense of humour, Dawson brings to the forefront some of the difficult topics that people who are questioning their gender or gender identity might be dealing with like what it means to be transgender, the difficulties of coming out (possibly for the 2nd time), and how to deal with the dreaded bathroom issue. Dawson talks a little bit about the law but is open about the fact that she lives in England and can only speak to British laws.</div></div><div><span> Because it is written for teens, reading this book was very easy. However, it still contained very good information and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for more information about the T in 2SLGBTQ+. I especially enjoyed the brief blurbs on historically transgender people. It shows that being transgender isn't a new thing, despite what some very vocal people are trying to tell the world.</span><br /></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-24721091744685334292024-02-23T12:41:00.000-08:002024-03-01T13:11:44.912-08:00The Joy of Expectation: A Sermon for the Second Sunday of Lent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLLXMSZuyLOy4EY7ZK3ou37AbZEq975Q6ENHYmgGpo0QXdJaXycATlgOVW1bTNQeP7wuddkGaca0XaCYBEgcZe-j0F7szfSMAbghtMIQne7IQXZ9zCtnxA4g88eB1dnf_smlTVbRg51IF4V7p6zIJwBMJftfpbUtoa6pjCJ-xpsXzbah9dIbkCRlQCGqW/s400/Pile%20of%20Gifts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLLXMSZuyLOy4EY7ZK3ou37AbZEq975Q6ENHYmgGpo0QXdJaXycATlgOVW1bTNQeP7wuddkGaca0XaCYBEgcZe-j0F7szfSMAbghtMIQne7IQXZ9zCtnxA4g88eB1dnf_smlTVbRg51IF4V7p6zIJwBMJftfpbUtoa6pjCJ-xpsXzbah9dIbkCRlQCGqW/s320/Pile%20of%20Gifts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@nina_mercado?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Nina Mercado</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/gold-and-silver-gift-box-CnrDuY0tFrg?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a></span><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord.
Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
My mom has always been that mom who buys Christmas presents all year and then,
as soon as December hits, she gets them all wrapped and put under the tree. When
we were younger, my brother and I would be tortured by seeing a big pile of gifts
of all different shapes, colours, and sizes just sitting there, waiting to be
opened. Every day after school, we’d sit there, playing with the boxes wrapped
in pretty paper, rearranging the pile – by size, by name, by colour…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
anticipation of Christmas morning was almost painful. There was so much joy and
expectation amassed in those gifts. One year, I decided to add to the fun and try
to guess what each of my presents were. Turns out, I guessed correctly almost
every time which, as it turns out, took away all of the fun of opening the gift.
It seems that the joy found in the unexpected was higher than the joy of the
expected.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Life
is full of expectant moments: expecting a visitor that you haven’t seen in a
long time, a baby that you’ve waited months to meet, an award you were
nominated for, a new job you applied for. The joy of these moments is found in
the nervousness of waiting, of expecting something new, big, exciting…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Expectant
joy is the joy that we know is coming, but it is not here yet in its fullness. Expectant
joy trembles with shimmering possibility that has not yet come into being but
will, and that sheer potential is enough to lighten loads, strengthen hearts,
unbind minds, and stir hopes. Practicing <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">expectant
joy might look absurd: it’s an act that resists rationalization and believes in
six impossible things before breakfast, à la Alice in Wonderland. Expectant joy
invites our faith, and it demands our trust.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
expectant joy echoes through God’s words to Abram, even before Abram’s son
Isaac is born: “I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations”. God
shows up and repeats the covenantal promise to Abraham that his descendants
would be exceedingly numerous. And Abraham, now 99 years old, with a
90-year-old wife, “fell on his face and laughed.” Abraham simply did not
believe that God could or would keep the promise. The thing about expectations
is that God always seems to exceed them, to do the completely unexpected. God
kept the covenant with Abraham and Sarah, who gave birth to Isaac. Abraham then
trusted God’s promises and there was an expected continuation of deliverance
from God on the other promises that were made.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
expectant joy is also revealed in the gospel text. Jesus stands in the center
of the scene, the Messiah who has come to fulfill God’s ancient promises. Peter
knows this. He just said it himself in the verses leading up to today’s reading.
But here is the Son of God with a repellent forecast, quite openly telling his
disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering and rejection,
be killed, and rise again after three days, breaking the power of sin and
death. That, Jesus knows, is the good news that he has come to bring, embody,
and accomplish. The expectant joy at the very center of Christian faith comes
from his resurrection from the dead. This is the jubilant realization of God’s
salvific intent, but it cannot arrive until after Jesus suffers crucifixion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Peter
can’t buy Jesus’ absurd proposal. Why does Jesus need to suffer and endure
anything to introduce pure joy? Isn’t his presence on earth already joyful
enough? The man can heal the sick and cast out demons! He preaches, and crowds
gather to listen! He teaches, and the experts can’t refute him! He is baptized,
and the heavens are torn apart! What is this nonsense about suffering and rejection?
Where is the joy in that? Jesus interrupts Peter’s well-intended lecture. “Get
behind me, Satan,” he says. “You are setting your mind not on divine things,
but on human things” (Mark 8:33).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s
only from behind Jesus that Peter, or any of us, can learn to follow him. If
Jesus gave us a choice, we’d never pick the path that leads to the cross. That,
Jesus tells us, is exactly what he’s <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">asking
us to do. He promises that there is joy on the other side: beyond the cross, he
will be raised. Beyond the cross, we will find our lives. Beyond the cross, we
will learn that joy does not need a reason to exist that the world deems
“sufficient.” We will find it in the darkness before the dawn, in the emptiness
of a tomb, in the weeping confusion of the Easter proclamation that the women make.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Christians
live in between the right now and the not yet. So how do we find joy in the
time of expectation, in the period of coming, but not here yet? The present
moment is often fraught with grief: neither the world nor we ourselves are as
God desires. Creation is rife with violence and division, suffering and hate,
and we don’t know if we will see it change in our lifetimes. But God will fulfill
all that God has promised. That joy is with us even in the midst of the not
yet, and it has the power to shape our encounter with the right now. Through
this complexity, God invites and equips us to cultivate expectant joy, a
persistent trust in God’s future promises that empowers us to work toward God’s
vision immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lent
is a time of waiting and of expectation. Peter and the rest of the apostles
might not understand, but Jesus knows that he is walking towards something new,
big, exciting… Jesus knows that there will be joy on the other side of the
cross. It thrums through his promise to the displaced disciples that he will
prepare a place for them. It inhabits each crumb of communion bread, a
foretaste of the feast to come. It resounds through baptism and funeral liturgies
when we recall Paul’s words: “if we have been united with him in a death like his,
we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
is joy in the waiting, in the expectation. We know something important is about
to happen. When we hear the promise of the resurrection, we can feel joy in
that expectation. And while laughing might seem like the wrong thing to do
during a time like Lent, as we wait for Easter, as we hold our expectation of
promises fulfilled, sometimes, in all of that expectant joy, all you can do is laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">God
of joy, turn our laughter into the joy of expectation and the realization of
faith. Teach us to laugh with Sarah and Abraham, with Peter and the apostles,
and with all whom you bless.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amen.</span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Resources</u>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">workingpreacher.org</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Barn Geese Worship</span></div></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-81036894260669879812024-02-17T08:37:00.000-08:002024-03-01T13:11:49.688-08:00The Joy of Rainbows: A Sermon for the First Sunday of Lent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-Rz9didNf91QGq-46L7Z_0YiwtZq70Qd-mSw86sxQ9VPl9hvjwiwNyzv2BBhK522b1XHeeXnJmkNwyz2e1h7srO53ZAPdf_i8yWs-seoI2wzITfUuF7n2Gcz896RWp3-TizR5eM_6R9aguy3VWhyMNt5wWWxHGP_Yp90lngNZR-YWnbTeNUP45PHfIie/s568/Rainbows.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="568" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-Rz9didNf91QGq-46L7Z_0YiwtZq70Qd-mSw86sxQ9VPl9hvjwiwNyzv2BBhK522b1XHeeXnJmkNwyz2e1h7srO53ZAPdf_i8yWs-seoI2wzITfUuF7n2Gcz896RWp3-TizR5eM_6R9aguy3VWhyMNt5wWWxHGP_Yp90lngNZR-YWnbTeNUP45PHfIie/s320/Rainbows.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord.
Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Have
you ever noticed that when you’ve heard or read a story so many times that it
becomes so familiar that you don’t even have to read all the words to play out
the story in your head? Take, for example, the story of Noah’s Ark. Now, for
most of us, we have heard this story since we were kids. I bet just hearing the
words “Noah’s Ark” you can practically picture the entire story but I’m going retell
it here anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">God
called down to Noah and told him to build a big boat because God was going to
send a huge flood to wipe everything off the face of the earth – people, animals,
plants, everything. God wasn’t happy with the way people were living so God
wanted to erase it all and start over. God gave Noah lots of instructions about
this boat and who all was allowed on it – Noah and his family as well as two of
every animal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">So,
everyone got onto the boat and suddenly it began to rain. It rained for 40 days,
and 40 nights and the entire earth became covered in water. Eventually the rain
stopped, and the boat came aground on a mountain. God told Noah and his family
and all the animals that they were to fill the earth once again. God also
promised that never again would an attempt be made to destroy the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">What
is one of the first things that comes to mind when you think back on the story
of Noah’s Ark? A Rainbow! Noah and his wife, in front of the ark, surrounded by
all sorts of animals, and a giant rainbow across the sky. Something like that,
right?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ah
but listen to this. Here is Genesis verse 13: “I have set my <b><i>bow</i></b>
in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
bow mentioned here is a weapon, as in bow and arrow. By setting the “bow in the
clouds”, God is hanging up his weapon, God is disarming himself. The hanging
bow is a reminder to God that God will not lift up such violence again. It is a
reminder that God’s way of “doing business” will forever be different. And just
as all action of the covenant is initiated by God, all promises in the future
are God’s alone. There is no action required by people, there is only a promise
that God’s way of dealing with creation will never include destruction again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Suddenly,
the story of Noah’s Ark seems even more powerful than it was before. It wasn't
just that God looked around after the flood and thought, "Gee, the place
could really use some more color." It was that God looked around after the
flood and felt an emotion so powerful that it led God to put down God's weapon
of war forever – or rather, to hang it in the sky as a sign and a promise that
God would never again destroy the earth by flood.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">So,
while the bible never actually uses the word “rainbow”, it has become a visual
reminder of God’s willingness to put down a weapon of destruction, a visual
reminder of God’s faithfulness to all people, a visual reminder of the beginning
of a new relationship between God and humanity. The rainbow is potent because
it follows a great tragedy and marks God’s change of heart.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">I
guess you could say it’s a pretty famous rainbow because plenty of people have
an idea of Noah’s story and God’s placing of that rainbow in the sky. The
second most famous rainbow, in my opinion, is the rainbow flag.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
recent years, some more conservative Christians have tried to declare that the
queer community has “stolen” the rainbow from God, citing Genesis 9 and calling
on their followers to reappropriate it as a Christian anti-Queer symbol. And while
the rainbow obviously has deep roots in Jewish and Christian scripture and
tradition, as we just talked about, the scriptural references to a rainbow
indicate God’s inclusion, redemption, love, and joy, not exclusion or
condemnation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">It's
also important to note here that the queer community is not the only group to
fly a rainbow flag. In the anti-nuclear movement, rainbow flags waved for a
world free of nuclear weapons in the wake of the nuclear age. Rainbow flags
flew for peace when Europe became involved with the invasion of Iraq in 2002.
They also waved over movements for Indigenous rights and freedom in Peru. The
rainbow has become a symbol of diversity and liberation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">However,
the 2SLGBTQ+ flag has become the most recognizable rainbow flag and no, we didn’t
steal it from anyone. Its celebratory colors bore witness to events from the
assassination of Harvey Milk to the AIDS pandemic to hate crimes. It was flown for
the legalization of same-gender marriage, and it’s raised every year at Winnipeg
City Hall to mark the beginning of Pride Week. Like the biblical rainbow, the
pride flag’s rainbow is a vivid witness to the suffering and survival of its
people. Today, the flag’s colors are multiplying, representing more pieces of
the 2SLGBTQ+ community, making the flag that represents inclusion even more inclusive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">When
you see a rainbow, whether flying high in solidarity or through the water
following a rainstorm, it’s hard to feel anything but joy. The rainbow is a
powerful symbol of joy across time periods and cultures, and wherever it is
used, it marks faithful persistence through suffering and injustice. Like joy,
the rainbow gains richer meaning from what it endures.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">God’s
rainbow covenant does not guarantee that humanity will never suffer again but
it does promise to accompany and persist. Likewise, joy persists in order to
assure humanity that God will never give up on us. The joy that is represented
in God’s rainbow gives humanity’s most vulnerable people the courage to heal,
gather strength, and thrive into the future.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Therefore,
while we are singing the Hymn of the Day, I want to share with you the joy of
rainbows by giving you all a rainbow sticker to take home with you. Keep it as reminder
of God’s promise to always be with you, to stand by you in times of distress,
and to give you hope for the possibility of a brighter future.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;">(If you've read this blog and would like a sticker mailed to you, please mail a pre-stamped envelope to Reverend Theo Robinson c/o Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd 106 Sawchuk Drive St. Andrews, Manitoba R1A 4B4)</p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Resources</u>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">pulpitfiction.com</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Barn Geese Worship</span></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-53256815037429764522024-02-13T07:17:00.000-08:002024-02-13T07:18:05.457-08:00To Love You Shall Return: A Sermon for Ash Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9cIJhLxjlPwOAWNKtmsZu72E_rmxfdVtRzns8lALR-ol2S4AFp1EZ1fqy3Qk9XIR20n4kmV2HHJt8a70wFPO8YalVOk7Puk4S6u8SRH3iUlJMrx8Tc5sMcDgjwLCFRl1RJhDEXdqUhHqae8VtgNHyugyxEXLliIlNEpWlH0pHfwcYWyZ6ICC-Z3gM1rn/s275/Love%20and%20Ashes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9cIJhLxjlPwOAWNKtmsZu72E_rmxfdVtRzns8lALR-ol2S4AFp1EZ1fqy3Qk9XIR20n4kmV2HHJt8a70wFPO8YalVOk7Puk4S6u8SRH3iUlJMrx8Tc5sMcDgjwLCFRl1RJhDEXdqUhHqae8VtgNHyugyxEXLliIlNEpWlH0pHfwcYWyZ6ICC-Z3gM1rn/s1600/Love%20and%20Ashes.jpg" width="275" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo: Melissa Hartog Illustration / Shutterstock</span><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Let the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
an odd mashing up of days this year – Ash Wednesday on Valentine’s Day. It’s
like the Christian and secular calendars have conspired to play a cruel
practical joke on us with the irony of wanting to enjoy a box of chocolates on
the first day of Lent, a time of fasting and self-denial.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Valentine’s
Day wasn’t always about the chocolate though. There are a number of versions of
the history of Valentine’s Day but the most noted legend is of a Roman priest
who secretly performed marriages for soldiers against the wishes of Emperor
Claudias II, who prohibited his soldiers from marrying. He felt that soldiers
served better without being tied down to a wife and children.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Because
of his willingness to join couples in holy matrimony, Valentine became known as
the “friend of lovers”. When he was discovered, Valentine was imprisoned and executed
on February 14. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius I declared February 14 to be a day of
celebration in honor of St. Valentine. Modern day commercialization has turned
the day into what it is now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ash
Wednesday marks the beginning of our Lenten season. Lent is a time for
Christians to examine our lives, repent our sins, and be renewed in forgiveness
for our sins through the crucified and risen Christ. It is a day when we reveal
our invisible cross.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When
you were baptized, a priest would have marked your forehead with a cross in
oil. This marking sealed you by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked you as
Christ’s own forever. Ash Wednesday is a special day of the year because we use
the ashes from the previous year’s palms to make that cross appear on our
foreheads once again.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
making visible again the cross that we received at Baptism, we acknowledge our
impiety, our lack of repentance, our apathy to the suffering in the world. The
imposition of ashes on our forehead is an outward symbol of our repentance and
the renewed visibility of our baptismal cross reminds us of our baptismal
promises.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">By
marking ourselves with the sign of the cross to signify the beginning of Lent,
we also honour Jesus’ 40-day trek through the wilderness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How
strange it is to combine a day of commercialization and overabundance of food,
drink, and of course, chocolate with a day where we begin a fast of such
luxuries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">How
strange it is to combine a day of love with a day where we are acknowledging
the departure of Jesus into the wilderness and the time leading up to his
gruesome death.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So,
can Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday coexist? Can the frivolity of Valentine’s
Day offer anything to the penitence of Ash Wednesday?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
is one obvious common denominator between the two days…love.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">On
Valentine’s Day, we celebrate the love we share with one another, whether it be
with spouse, family, or friends. And tonight, we celebrate our love for God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
the reading from the book of Joel, God asks for us to "return to God with
all our heart" and to "rend our hearts".<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">God
wants to have ALL of us, every piece of us, loving God... as the Almighty gave
it ALL to show love for us. We do that partly by showing God our dedication,
commitment, and love in showing up for Lent – giving up earthly things to focus
on the sacred. Setting aside the chocolate and reveling in the love of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
while it seems that Valentine’s Day is very much a secular custom rather than a
celebration of the life of St Valentine the martyr, there remains a very
Christian message that should be remembered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ash
Wednesday points us towards the greatest act of love when Jesus gave up His
life on the cross so that we might be forgiven of our sins. The love of our
Lord Jesus Christ is a sacrificial, selfless, and unconditional love. Jesus
died for us knowing we might never love him back. Such is the love that each
Christian is called to express in their own lives, for God, and for neighbour.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tonight’s
readings from Joel and from the Psalm speak of the Lord’s steadfast and
everlasting love. In Corinthians, Paul declares us to be ambassadors for
Christ. And never forget what Jesus said in John chapter 15, “This is my
commandment: love one another as I have loved you. There is no greater love
than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">St
Valentine fulfilled this command, and we need to do the same. In a world where
hate, distrust, and violence seem to be on every news channel and every social
media feed, we need to remember Jesus’ commandment and sacrifice of love even
more than ever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today,
in honor of the love of Valentine’s Day and the holiness of Ash Wednesday, let
us take Jesus’ message into our hearts and pledge our love to our family, our
friends, and to the stranger, praying for their intentions, promising fidelity
to them, and never expecting anything in return.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus
broke death through love. God sent Jesus to break that death for us because of
God’s love for the world. In our death, we remember that we are loved. We say,
“remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” But we could just as
easily say, “remember you are loved and to love you shall return.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
friend provided me with this affirmation that I think applies to us all
tonight: Deep in the center of me flows an infinite wellspring of love that
fills my entire being and radiates out from me in all directions, returning to
me multiplied. I give and receive more love every day and the supply is
endless.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">May
you feel an abundance of love tonight and forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amen.</span></p></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-71046776555100528602024-02-10T09:16:00.000-08:002024-02-23T12:58:24.365-08:00A Review of the Book "Firestarter" by Stephen King<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DvnjTmdYGrcNQZsVqUyDebY1caEJeoND1btXxBhJD5Orr7g98pUk8OlAuOS-sKgQ7s5LGQVHWbgbnAfo_Xqjk8XMNNrJAK2WiPP31xB38WAXjppkR2DcUL_lPOqF4C-M6ICZbvOF0uSpak_ZUsLJyViqojLh6sEb-AJGnXz-sRTrjctNZz1RHk61lkdE/s1000/Firstarter.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="550" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DvnjTmdYGrcNQZsVqUyDebY1caEJeoND1btXxBhJD5Orr7g98pUk8OlAuOS-sKgQ7s5LGQVHWbgbnAfo_Xqjk8XMNNrJAK2WiPP31xB38WAXjppkR2DcUL_lPOqF4C-M6ICZbvOF0uSpak_ZUsLJyViqojLh6sEb-AJGnXz-sRTrjctNZz1RHk61lkdE/s320/Firstarter.jpg" width="176" /></a></div><br /><div>Title: Firestarter</div><div><div>Author: Stephen King</div><div>Publisher: The Viking Press</div><div>Year: 1980</div><div>428 pages</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>From the Back</u>: The Department of Scientific Intelligence (aka "The Shop") never anticipated that two participants in their research program would marry and have a child. Charlie McGee inherited pyrokinetic powers from her parents, who had been given a low-grade hallucinogen called "Lot Six" while at college. Now the government is trying to capture young Charlie and harness her powerful fire-starting skills as a weapon as the couple desperately tries to hide their daughter from them. Her father taught her how to defuse her power, but as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. When a mysterious operative finally finds the family, he tries to seize Charlie once and for all - but she has other plans.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Personal Thoughts</u>: In my opinion, this story leans more into the science-fiction genre than horror or thriller. Which I didn't mind because I also love reading science-fiction books. There were multiple layers of storylines throughout <i>Firestarter</i>. The main point of the story was that the government wanted to capture a young girl, Charlie, who has very destructive powers, powers that she is slowly losing control over. The question is, how did she get these powers to begin with? The government trying to capture and possibly eliminate her was the primary cause of her powers.</div><div><br /></div><div>When Charlie's dad was in college, he was short on money and decided to take part in a government experiment. The issue is that the people involved weren't told the truth about the effects of the drugs they were given. One of my favorite parts of this book was how King wrote about the side effects of the mini-super power Charlie's dad has. King's writing makes you believe you could actually feel his symptoms.</div><div><br /></div><div>As the book progressed, more and more of Charlie's history was revealed and you can't help but root for her and her dad in their fight against the government. There were spurts where I just couldn't put the book down. <i>Firestarter</i> is full of action, government conspiracy, excitement, and familial love and King's writing pulls you deep into the story. His ability to write across genres is incredible.</div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-21702072983430575122024-02-05T15:06:00.000-08:002024-02-05T15:08:01.573-08:00Transgender Liturgies: Why Are They Important?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJFT3OLy7ZHrH2PaW_29ZOdeuz1te65S4Kf1p_-z2S3CsNEuGq1RSn5mbjnMRgjptIp_MWomGF8aCcl-Uf0VtbUvtS0AUp4XuzYb7y1S19h8h1qwhnq5Sn4W3Xd7yNDu3hP3go3K6O4_CHflsj19vxJz0u02FRxSMfN1WeOL-f42_JvT2e0gFJJ4r6sEa/s290/Transgender%20Symbol.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="290" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiJFT3OLy7ZHrH2PaW_29ZOdeuz1te65S4Kf1p_-z2S3CsNEuGq1RSn5mbjnMRgjptIp_MWomGF8aCcl-Uf0VtbUvtS0AUp4XuzYb7y1S19h8h1qwhnq5Sn4W3Xd7yNDu3hP3go3K6O4_CHflsj19vxJz0u02FRxSMfN1WeOL-f42_JvT2e0gFJJ4r6sEa/s1600/Transgender%20Symbol.png" width="290" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i>A version of this piece was published in the Broadview online magazine in July. You can read it <a href="https://broadview.org/anglican-church-canada-gender-affirming-liturgies/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</i></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Transphobia has been rearing it's ugly head all across North America. People are attacked while trying to use the bathroom. Kids are afraid to go to school for fear of bullying. Politicians are making laws that are forcing teachers to out students to their parents. And in all of these instances of blatant transphobia, the bible is used as a weapon. Sermons are preached from the pulpit defending these transphobic actions. So-called Christians rejected transgender people with claims of "it's a fad", "protect the children", and "God doesn't make mistakes". So it makes sense that churches aren't seen as places someone can go for a safe haven and it makes sense that an increasing number of transgender people are walking away from church communities and losing faith in God.</div><div><br /></div><div>No matter that some people are claiming that transgender people are a new thing, transgender and non-binary Christians are now and have always been in the church, including the Anglican Church. What's new is that we are no longer hiding who we are and we are looking to be seen, loved, and cared for within the church. The Anglican Church of Canada has spent the last 20 years working on social statements of the church, standing against homophobia and transphobia, and calling for protection of the vulnerable. Unfortunately, there has been more talk than action which makes the transgender community wonder if the church is really listening.</div><div><br /></div><div>So when, in the fall of 2020, I was contacted by the Reverend Dr Eileen Scully to join a working group around transgender liturgies, I immediately agreed to be a participant. Over the last few years, I have had the amazing opportunity to work with transgender and gender non-binary persons, along with a few chosen allies, to be the consultative group to discuss the theological, pastoral, and liturgical lenses as a way to shape new Anglican liturgical rites and the careful pastoral introduction to them. As we lived across the country, we met over Zoom and had amazing discussions about what parts of liturgy we loved and what we thought was missing. Although there were sporadic conversations about God being gendered as male through the Book of Alternative Services, most of the discussion centered on specific rites and prayers that we, as transgender people, are in search of when we are worshipping, and to acknowledge different points of our transition. Through the time that these liturgies were discussed, written, and re-written, it was so amazing to work with a group of people who were just like me. It can feel a little lonely not knowing if there are any other transgender people in leadership, or even in the church. Not everyone is comfortable advertising their gender identity, so you just don’t know who is out there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Changing and adding liturgies within the Anglican Church of Canada. It involves submitting them to the highest governing body of the church for approval. Every three years, the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, meets to discuss matters of national importance, review and approve financial reports, and consider legislation that affects the national church. On occasion, matters of worship and liturgy are brought to General Synod for review and approval, as was the case at last year’s meeting which convened June 27-July 2 in Calgary, AB. Resolution A122, Pastoral Liturgies for Journeys for Gender Transition and Affirmation, was brought to the floor of General Synod by Finn Keesmaat-Walsh (Ontario) and Reverend Marnie Peterson (British Columbia).</div><div><br /></div><div>Finn Keesmaat-Walsh was one of those people I met and as I was not able to attend the General Synod personally, I asked them what it was like being on the floor for this resolution. Finn told me that with the 2019 General Synod in mind where the Synod was considering the motion of change the marriage canon, they were bracing for the worst, convinced that someone would request a vote by orders. (The vote in 2019 was ultimately lost in the order of bishops.) No request was made; therefore, a simple vote was taken with a majority overwhelmingly achieved. It was such a different result than the 2019 General Synod that I think we are still in a bit of shock.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ultimately, the end result was good news! The Anglican Church of Canada became the first in the worldwide communion to have Pastoral Liturgies for Journeys for Gender Transition and Affirmation. As Primate Linda Nichols stated following the vote, “by approving these liturgies, we are sending a message that the Anglican Church of Canada stands in solidarity with transgender people.” These liturgies represent a public affirmation by the Anglican Church that we as transgender and non-binary folx are accepted, welcomed, and loved as the people that we are, and that we are all beloved children of God. According to Dr Scully, the person who spearheaded the consultation group, "This is historic for our part of the Christian church, in the worldwide Anglican Communion, and is an important moment in the life of the world and a great example of a grassroots movement in the church met with the discernment – in parliamentary process – of the church in a really good way. It’s the church waking up and recognizing a need for change in ourselves, a change that’s coming as we welcome the gifts of those we’ve not recognized well or at all in our midst."</div><div><br /></div><div>Again, the acceptance of these liturgies represents a public affirmation by the Anglican Church that we as transgender and non-binary folx are accepted, welcomed, and loved as the people that we are, and that we are all beloved children of God. We have moved beyond talking into action by listening to the people who are actually affected by the work, or lack of work, of the task forces that have been set up over the last two decades. Rather than a group of straight cisgender people making decisions, the church is actually listening the transgender community. Having these liturgies affirmed by the national church is the beginning of creating space for healing the church’s relationship with those who left their home church, whether by choice or by force, because they are transgender or non-binary. It is one of many steps towards true and full inclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ people in the Anglican Church of Canada. This public affirmation could, ultimately, save lives.</div><div><br /></div><div>Previously, when I came out as transgender to my priest, I feared rejection from her and my parish. I was also scared to come out to my bishop as I thought he would revoke my request to become a priest. If I had seen liturgies such as these being offered, I would have trusted that support would be there for me. In the end, I was one of the lucky ones because support for me never wavered. My priest was pleased to do a renaming ceremony for me. We created it ourselves because these now-authorized liturgies didn’t exist at the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Someone asked me if I would now go back and use some of these new liturgies on myself, like the Affirmation of Gender Identity, for example. Honestly, I hadn’t thought of it. But even if I don’t use these liturgies for myself, I am sure glad that they exist now. It shows that the Anglican Church of Canada is making space for me and others like me! And that’s the best feeling in the world right now.</div></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-53843867979865047752024-02-02T11:56:00.000-08:002024-02-02T11:56:26.878-08:00To Work, To Serve, To Minister: A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday After Epiphany<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOB-Kqxb7BOcckSpBKyxuA1LQ3iv85AAk69tJ6T8RF4JMNbzLgXC_aYZHjD7bAehupriRG6jpBDF2l8qPLqFfGhFTjMfyLpocz7kTq8mNvRrGoNxPKQWYngZaQ1OTBe3p9zZriuSwXAtY0AV9q3zkK5mS04M9c3lT9RYxPrZjTM-YulpDWssNsbB5maPXf/s369/Server.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="369" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOB-Kqxb7BOcckSpBKyxuA1LQ3iv85AAk69tJ6T8RF4JMNbzLgXC_aYZHjD7bAehupriRG6jpBDF2l8qPLqFfGhFTjMfyLpocz7kTq8mNvRrGoNxPKQWYngZaQ1OTBe3p9zZriuSwXAtY0AV9q3zkK5mS04M9c3lT9RYxPrZjTM-YulpDWssNsbB5maPXf/s320/Server.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Grace, mercy, and
peace to you in the name of Christ our Saviour. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
of the things that has always irked me about the Bible is the lack of details.
When you read a good novel, there are chapters that introduce you to characters
and their backstories. These chapters are used to get you involved with the
people and then you want to read on to find out what happens to them. But in
the bible, those details are lacking. One of the most poignant examples is what
was Jesus up to for 30 years? I won’t get into that right now, but you get my
drift.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Today’s
Gospel reading is no different. Jesus is at Simon and Andrew’s house where
Simon’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever. I have questions. Why do Simon and
Andrew live together? If Simon has a mother-in-law, it implies that he is
married. So to whom is he married? Saying that she has a fever is pretty
general. Is it just a fever that most of us would just sleep it off? Or is it a
more life-threatening illness? Where are the details??<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Especially
when it comes to women, the Bible more than not leaves them nameless even
though they are some of the most important pieces of the development of our
relationship with Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Simon’s
mother-in-law is left nameless, Simon’s spouse seems to have been left out of
the story, and we have no idea how threatening the illness is, but what we do
know is that Simon was worried enough that after witnessing Jesus dispel the
unclean spirit from the man earlier in the day, he asked Jesus to come and heal
his mother-in-law.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
healing of Simon’s mother-in-law is a classic healing story. It’s all fine and
good. It’s what Jesus does. It’s what he’s good at. But there is something disturbing
about this story that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with healing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">According
to the NRSV translation, verse 31 goes as such: “He came and took her by the
hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” Did
anyone else bristle at these words?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Assuming
that this fever was life-threatening, this woman was just brought back to life
with Jesus’ healing. What would you do if you were brought back from the edge
of death? Would your first instinct be to get up and serve people?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
decided to look up some other translations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">NIV
– “So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and
she began to wait on them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">KJV
– “And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the
fever left her, and she ministered unto them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Message
– “He went to her, took her hand, and raised her up. No sooner had the fever
left than she was up fixing dinner for them.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Yikes.
That last one especially gets my goat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Of
course Jesus healed her – they needed someone to make them some dinner! As if
Jesus is saying, "What do you mean she’s sick? We can’t have this. I’ll
have her up and cooking in no time.” As my friend Rachel Twigg put it in her
2018 sermon, “Jesus heals her and immediately she gets up and begins to serve
him. What did she serve him? A sandwich?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
say again, yikes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
don’t tend to read the King James Version, but I think that translation hits a
little closer to home than the rest. Here’s why I say that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mark
1:31 uses the word serve which translates to diakoneo in the Greek language.
This same word was used in Mark 10:45 “for the Son of Man came not to be served
but to serve” and in Mark 1:13 when “angels waited on him.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Translating
the same Greek word as “minister” when angels are the subject but “serve” when
a woman is the subject downplays her action. As translated, Jesus’ healing of
Simon’s mother-in-law and the miracle’s outcome are extremely gendered in ways
that veer too close to the stereotypes we know to be tired and destructive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead,
let’s look at the fact that <i>diakoneo</i> is the root of the word Deacon.
Perhaps Simon’s mother-in-law is the first to understand what it is to follow
Jesus thus becoming the first deacon. Unlike many stories of healing in the
Bible, she doesn’t get healed because of her great faith; there is no mention
that she believed at all. But once she is healed, the woman gets right out of
bed and begins to work, to serve, to minister.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Though
the details about her are left out of the story, details like her name and the
reason for her illness, this woman who appears not to have been a believer, is
now a follower of Christ. She has been transformed by her encounter with Christ
and will now live out her life in service of others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Just
as the demons do in the previous scene, the fever “leaves her.” Having been
“raised,” she “serves” them. While literally it could mean she served them food
and drink, the word’s presence here shows that her service is to be interpreted
as a model response of faith. Meaning both to serve at a table and to do
ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
agree with Rachel Twigg when she says, “Simon’s unnamed mother-in-law is really
a model of Christian discipleship, the embodiment of the type of discipleship
that Jesus will embody in his own life and ministry, and which he will call his
disciples to emulate. A type of service that his male disciples will often fail
to live up to.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So
while the words “she began to serve them” makes us cringe because of how we
know society treats women, then and now, the healed woman’s reaction to her
encounter with Christ is actually something for us to strive towards.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus
heals this woman – she is brought to wholeness, to completeness – and she takes
her rightful role in service to others. We could learn so much from her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Serving
is not “woman’s work”, nor is it lesser than being served. Simon’s
mother-in-law is more than a cook, waiter, and dishwasher. She’s also a
follower. If she’s a follower, and a follower who is willing to serve as she
goes, then she’s also a disciple. If she’s a disciple, then to her “has been
given the secret of the kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11). Service is not the “proper
place of women” it is the proper place for all Christians.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
woman shows us that when we allow Jesus to come near and touch us, we are
raised to the highest calling – to serve others. And her service was not a
one-time, over-and-done-with action, like cooking a meal. Simon’s mother-in-law
began to serve Jesus and his followers. But the meaning of her actions was
transformed by Jesus’ healing touch. She did not serve and minister to them because
of some duty. She served out of love. Simon’s mother-in-law became as much a
follower of Jesus as any of his disciples. Mark describes her using language
that makes her the first deacon in Christianity. She was the first person to
have their ordinary <i>diakonos</i>, or service of others, transformed into
servant ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Simon
Peter’s mother-in-law provides us an example by which to live – to respond to
the love of God, the healing and forgiving touch of Jesus, by sharing that love
with those around us. And, as you share God’s love, you are living into your
own vocation as a minister of the Gospel as a teacher, lawyer, salesperson,
doctor, volunteer, parent, grandparent, spouse, friend to the glory of God.
Your ordinary work will be ministry simply by the virtue of your baptism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Resources</u>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">"New Collegeville Bible Commentary: New Testament" edited by Daniel Durken</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">"The Women's Bible Commentary" edited by Carol A Newsom and Sharon H Ringe</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Feasting on the Word" edited by David L Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">pulpitfiction.com</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">workingpreacher.com</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">theologicalstew.com</span></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-82822030600609229052024-01-26T11:27:00.000-08:002024-01-26T11:28:14.970-08:00Address Your Demons: A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday After Epiphany<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7dtyIUyp4Pe8i39AM6978YCGozJw5jlXiO8ytBtCn_09EWe-0Xg9XlyR-QT4MCbmqSPt5NK9-UtOZHFeq2wg4APAK-ajCmRV6SZNQpnHCdQs2za21CZDk_R8qgjOoyQrM1FVrUN_SpRa-ON9QRfJrw8JvjWHX0hbO3b7G8bYdiuwFzl0JYdXaowLi5kF/s450/Demon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7dtyIUyp4Pe8i39AM6978YCGozJw5jlXiO8ytBtCn_09EWe-0Xg9XlyR-QT4MCbmqSPt5NK9-UtOZHFeq2wg4APAK-ajCmRV6SZNQpnHCdQs2za21CZDk_R8qgjOoyQrM1FVrUN_SpRa-ON9QRfJrw8JvjWHX0hbO3b7G8bYdiuwFzl0JYdXaowLi5kF/s320/Demon.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: Alessio Zaccaria on unsplash.com</span><br /><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Grace, mercy, and
peace to you in the name of Christ our Saviour. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
few years ago, I was working a shift at St Boniface Hospital during the first couple
of months of my clinical pastoral education practicum. For the practicum, we
are assigned a ward, or two, given a list of patients, and taught how triage
patient visits. During this particular shift, I was standing at the end of the
hallway, with my list in hand, when suddenly I couldn’t catch my breath. I was
shaky, and sweaty, and just couldn’t bring myself to set foot onto that ward. Instead,
I sat in the stairwell, trying to regain my composure, and then spent the rest
of that shift doing a bunch of online training. I had no idea what was going on
or why I reacted in this way. Turns out, I live with a not-formally diagnosed
general anxiety disorder. It’s my demon that I discovered in that hallway all
those years ago, and it’s a demon I continue to battle today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Demons,
or unclean spirits, come up in today’s gospel reading. Last week, Jesus rounded
up his ministry team and now he can start his preaching and teaching. He
decides to start in Capernum. It’s the day of Sabbath so Jesus takes his team
to the temple. I suppose he would have been considered a guest preacher at the synagogue
that day. Few, if any, had ever heard of him before and once they looked at the
bulletin and saw he was from Nazareth originally, not a few perhaps groaned
inwardly. (Does anything good come out of Nazareth?) But then he started to
teach and although he was no John the Baptist full of theatrics and arm-waving
fire-and-brimstone rhetoric, there was something striking in the very way this
Jesus spoke.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
people were astounded at his teaching. He really knew his stuff! He brings scripture
to life, not like those other boring scribes. It wasn’t just that his ideas and
vocabulary were fresh and innovative. There was something in the very presence
of the man that made you want to sit up straighter. This man had authority. He
had a moral gravity, a weightiness and substance to him that people found
difficult to explain. Somehow, they sensed that this man and the message about
God’s kingdom he was talking about were one and the same thing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Everyone
was leaned in, listening intently, when suddenly a man in the back row starts
yelling and causing a ruckus. The man began heckling Jesus, “What have you to
do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” The text says that
the man had an unclean spirit, that he had a demon inside of him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When
we hear about demons or unclean spirits in the gospels and throughout the
bible, often people will link that concept to mental illnesses like schizophrenia
and autism or medical conditions such as epilepsy. These are medical diagnoses
that are relatively recent so it’s not surprising that the folks in Mark’s
world would have attributed someone having a seizure or schizophrenic episode to
demonic possession.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">But
we are so much more educated now, and when we talk about demons or unclean
spirits, things like mental illness and physical disabilities aren’t even part
of the conversation anymore. We all have demons inside of us if we are honest
with ourselves. We have become good at hiding them, organizing them, justifying
them, making them presentable. These demons are things like disbelief, loss of
faith, homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, religious intolerance, abuse,
violence, terrorism, war, greed, ignorance…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It's
important that we name these demons because it’s a way of recognizing that they
exist. Unless we name the demons, they will name us; they will control us and
destroy us. People suffering from demons lose the ability to control their voice
and their actions. A demon is anything that has power that is not of God, and
that keeps a person from living a fully abundant and loving relationship with
God and with others. It can be something personal like anxiety and depression
that, at times, can be crippling. Or something systemic like oppression and
discrimination, the voices that advocate against women, people of colour, and 2SLGBTQ+
people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
don’t know what kind of demon was in the man at the synagogue that morning. But
something about what Jesus was teaching made that man react by lashing out. And
how does Jesus react? By calling the man out, with authority. Jesus teaches in
a such a way that makes his audience think of things in new ways. He teaches in
such a way that gets us to name the demon and cast it out. He teaches about a God
that breaks the boundaries in our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So,
what does this text promise us today? What does this story mean for those who
don’t share the worldviews of the gospels, where it comes to understanding what
makes human existence perilous, where illnesses come from, and what it means to
acknowledge that some powerful forces appear to remain stubbornly beyond our
ability to control?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
text today promises that Jesus reveals to us a boundary breaking God. Each and
every boundary we try to put in place, we think is in place, even that which we
perceive as impenetrable, God bursts through. Political, social, religious,
ethic, racial, sexual, gendered, cosmic, even death. Jesus is telling us that
God is here, breaking through the barrier that holds at bay the unclean, the
evil of the universe, the places and spaces where it seems God could never be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
text today promises us that God is in all that possesses us. Depression and anxiety?
God is there. Grief, loss, and sorrow? God is there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Looking
at the world around us, it is hard to believe that God is anywhere in all of
this anxiety, and hatred, and oppression, and discrimination. The truth of the unconditional
acceptance of God can evoke dark opposition from the destructive forces in the
human spirit that seem to prefer bondage and oppression over liberation and
freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So,
what do we do? We name these demons, we recognize that they exist, we listen to
Jesus’ teachings, and we pray. Praying is not a simple giving in to God’s will,
or an exercise that puts our minds at ease. It is a way for us to look inside ourselves,
at our own demons, and to resist the despair that causes us to practice
unbelief, and to abandon or avoid the way of Jesus. In other words, it is the
struggle to believe that change can really happen, that a better world is
possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Progress,
whether in self or in society, is not just destroying the demons that are
there. It’s a dismantling of the causes of those demons. That is what Jesus was
teaching at the synagogue that morning – that progress can happen if we address
our demons, the causes and the symptoms, with the goal of liberating the
individual and reconciling with ourselves, our community, and with God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">May
we all have the courage to address our demons, to name and acknowledge them,
and to respect the doubt and disappointment that may come along side of them. May
we also have the strength to still utter these words of truth, “God is here.” Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Resources</u>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">workingpreacher.com</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">theologicalstew.com</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">cepreaching.org</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">pulpitfiction.com</span></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-20143095493762161102024-01-23T07:52:00.000-08:002024-01-23T07:57:34.701-08:00A Review of the Book "God Engines" by John Scalzi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYKK3ulutduvS4pAYF2ZzdemmsdMMqqrBRC6mUknlhhn6nDp_18mhyf1Pvtilz2kuX-Wpryr5ezhVIxlZMaEBeyeYNrJPr15pm9GpIdpA7ag3Fage_maIDRh5B5DlQiqDQrm4_I99Zhl3nYCVOAJEn-eFQ-xxTvFKIYNQOX5jDyDiJg9FpXH92QLDgJCU/s224/god%20engines%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="157" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYKK3ulutduvS4pAYF2ZzdemmsdMMqqrBRC6mUknlhhn6nDp_18mhyf1Pvtilz2kuX-Wpryr5ezhVIxlZMaEBeyeYNrJPr15pm9GpIdpA7ag3Fage_maIDRh5B5DlQiqDQrm4_I99Zhl3nYCVOAJEn-eFQ-xxTvFKIYNQOX5jDyDiJg9FpXH92QLDgJCU/s1600/god%20engines%201.jpg" width="157" /></a></div><br /><div><div>Title: God Engines</div><div>Author: John Scalzi</div><div>Publisher: Subterranean Press</div><div>Year: 2009</div><div>136 pages</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Summary from the Back</u>: Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. The Bishopry Militant knows this - and so, when it needs a ship and crew to undertake a secret, sacred mission to a hidden land, Tephe is the captain to whom the task is given. Tephe knows from the start that his mission will be a test of his skill as a leader of men and as a devout follower of his god. It's what he doesn't know that matters: to what ends his faith and his ship will ultimately be put - and that the tests he will face will come not only from his god and the Bishopry Militant, but from another, more malevolent source entirely.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Personal Thoughts</u>: This was a fun book to read. Scalzi has mastered the art of literary sarcasm and in this book, he takes on the intersection of religion and politics. We all know that the underlying cause of most wars is religion. Well this story takes it to the extreme. The government has figured out how to control the gods in order to achieve full control. And once the people of faith have realized things have gone too far, it's too late to doing anything about it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Scalzi's writing is fun and witty and flows so easy that I read this book in just a couple of days. I'm not going to sugar coat it, this book pokes fun at fundamental religious types and so, if you can't take a joke at your own expense, you may not like it. But if you've got a good sense of humour, then G<i>od Engines</i> is quite enjoyable. In my books, Scalzi is 3 for 3! (See previous Scalzi reviews.)</div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-72002584773809986042024-01-19T08:10:00.000-08:002024-01-19T08:10:09.330-08:00You Can Run but You Can't Hide: A Sermon for the 3rd Week After Epiphany<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijH5yfOniQ2gfVs3iM8vnw8N6jA3wgGaOCqynAh3DAorFyEr0yANPDP7dmb6b9rO1vwxd89u49V0wm27xdjeU-bT3eU_9EMvFBw3QqjGwBTYCV4tr7CzKRX39XysepUsEvg0I7FiYpVAUyucweDXUO9-QZLYEL9C-iispxpXuzvJ9I-cBRW8U0yuNA7xkz/s300/Hiding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="300" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijH5yfOniQ2gfVs3iM8vnw8N6jA3wgGaOCqynAh3DAorFyEr0yANPDP7dmb6b9rO1vwxd89u49V0wm27xdjeU-bT3eU_9EMvFBw3QqjGwBTYCV4tr7CzKRX39XysepUsEvg0I7FiYpVAUyucweDXUO9-QZLYEL9C-iispxpXuzvJ9I-cBRW8U0yuNA7xkz/s1600/Hiding.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on unsplash.com</span><div><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Grace, mercy, and peace to you in the name of
Christ our Saviour. Amen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Although
I’m sure everyone knows how it goes, Jonah’s story isn’t one we hear very often
in our lectionary. The Book of Jonah is only four chapters long, but we only
get a few phrases of it this morning. So, I’m going to back up the story a
little bit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">One
day, God said to Jonah, "Go to the city of Nineveh and tell the people who
live there that they are a very wicked people and that they need to change
their ways." But Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh. He didn’t like the
people in that city, and maybe he was afraid of them and of the size of the
city. So, Jonah decided to run away and hide from God. He caught the first ship
out of town and headed in the opposite direction from where God told him to go.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Jonah
learned a very important lesson that day. He learned that you might run from
God, but you cannot hide. Jonah got on that ship and hid way down deep inside.
"Surely God won't find me here," Jonah thought. But God sent a big
storm and tossed that boat around so much that the other sailors thought they
were going to drown.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">They
found Jonah in the bottom of the ship and asked him, "Who are you and what
are you doing here?" Jonah answered, "I am a worshiper of the God of
heaven, who made the land and the sea." Jonah told the sailors that he was
running from God because he didn't want to go to Nineveh as God had told him to
do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">When
the sailors learned that Jonah was running from God, they were even more
afraid. "What should we do to stop this terrible storm?" the sailors
asked. "Throw me overboard into the sea," Jonah answered, "and
the sea will become calm." The sailors picked up Jonah and threw him into
the sea and the storm stopped at once. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Did
Jonah drown in the sea? No! God sent a great fish to swallow Jonah, and he was
inside the fish for three days and three nights. Spending all that time inside
the great fish gave Jonah plenty of time to think. He prayed to the Lord from
inside the fish. He confessed that he had been wrong to run from the Lord and
promised to fulfill his promises to God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">God
caused the fish to spit Jonah out onto the shore. Then the Lord spoke to Jonah
again and said, "Get up and go to Nineveh and deliver the message that I
have given you." This time Jonah obeyed the Lord's command and went to
Nineveh. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Unlike
some of the other books in the bible, it’s pretty hard to believe that Jonah’s
story is historical. More than like it is meant to be taken as satire. But Jonah
is more than just a big fish tale. It is a humourous story about a lousy
prophet, a story filled with surprise and humor and pokes fun at would-be
prophets who are called to proclaim a God of love and acceptance but instead stand
on the street corner announcing that God hates everyone who is not like they
are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Jonah
was called by God to spread the word of God, to be a prophet. But, unlike Simon,
Andrew, James, and John, he doesn’t leave what he’s doing and immediately
follow God’s call. He jumps on the first boat going in the opposite direction
and he hides in the hold of the ship, hoping that somehow God won’t take
notice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Imagine
if Simon, Andrew, James, and John, upon encountering Jesus, jumped into their
fishing boats and rowed like madmen for the opposite shore, as far away from
this dangerous itinerant preacher as they could get.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">That’s
what Jonah did.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Jonah
got as far away from God, and God’s bizarre instructions, as he could get. Go
to Nineveh? The capital of the Assyrian Empire, that destroyer of Israel, that
brutal occupying force? It was unthinkable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Jonah
runs away, but God sends a storm. The sailors are more pious than Jonah but
they eventually, reluctantly throw Jonah overboard. The sea calms down
immediately and so the sailors accept the existence of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">God
then calls on a big fish to swallow Jonah whole, who is then stuck in there for
three days and three nights. Jonah, totally immersed in sea water and fish
blubber, does end up praying to God. It was a self-serving prayer, with the
sole purpose of saving Jonah’s life. God hears Jonah’s prayer. God speaks to
the great fish, and the fish spits him out onto dry land.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">That’s
where we enter the story with today’s reading. God, once again, tells Jonah to
go to Ninevah to deliver the message to change and repent. And, this time,
still covered in sea water and fish saliva, Jonah obeys. He walks into the city
and preaches the shortest and most hopeless sermon ever recorded, “Forty days
more, and Nineveh will be overthrown!” Where was the promise, the hope, the
love of God in this sermon?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
people of Nineveh believed Jonah without question, just like Simon, Andrew, James,
and John believed Jesus without question. The Ninevites believed that God is
about to destroy them, spewed acts and words of repentance, and changed their
lives so completely that God forgave them and decided to not bring about any
punishment regarding their actions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">That
would make Jonah the most successful prophet in the bible! Every person in
Nineveh believed Jonah and turned to God. But instead of celebrating, Jonah
storms off and pouts under a tree. Jonah wants God to punish those nasty
Ninevites for all of the terrible things they have done. That God did not
punish the Ninevites was shocking to Jonah. And the prospect of worshipping in
the same pew with a repulsive Ninevite, those newly repentant folk in the city
dancing and singing for joy at their newfound faith, fills him with disgust. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Jonah’s
story ends with God asking Jonah why the Ninevites don’t deserve God’s care,
grace, and love but we don’t get to hear Jonah’s answer. We are left hanging.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Jonah
is a prophet gone bad and, unfortunately, he is alive and well and living among
us, and too often, in us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Here’s
the thing about following the call of God in and through the waters: God is God
and does not act as we think God should act. In good faith, we follow where we
hear God’s call, we go to the city, or the suburb, or to the small town, or the
rural community, and we are prepared to bring God’s word to that place, and
what we find is that God is already there before us. We find that no people,
and no place, not even Nineveh, can be called God-forsaken. God is everywhere,
even before we get there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whenever
we read the Bible and use it to exclude, deny, and reject living creatures of
God, there is Jonah.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whenever
we say we will follow God but in fact follow our own desires, our own narrow-minded
ways, there is Jonah.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whenever
we hope that persons who are not like us, who do not sound like us or think
like us or act like us, should be removed from the earth by some edict of God,
there is Jonah.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Think
of a person you find difficult to love. Now consider the fact that the God that
loves you, loves them just as much.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
same God who gave Jonah a second chance gives the people of Nineveh a second
chance, and we can’t begrudge that kind of mercy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">God
is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. May
this loving and merciful God quell the Jonahs in our hearts and in our lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Resources</u>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Feasting on the Word" edited by David L Bartlett & Barbara Brown Taylor</span></div></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-32993988906273957212024-01-16T11:14:00.000-08:002024-01-16T11:15:23.940-08:00A Review of the Book "Discovering Hope" by David Poling-Goldenne & L Shannon Jung<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAynZEWHy9eA9ILW009CiXmWlO8A9cXi2CCILWPwTKf15K_Wwewa6OCgeqowMRbDIJjEJolufv-t3wamg0INFPrYjmtTFFuRKRU5V4CQNaxirYC2AMihnps5b22iYMooe6Z-aF9yVLlyOHMH1AOxOtG4-XONCh2wwg0P8rL83m6Z2t9LuG0mvGa1s6x2Nw/s256/Discovering%20Hope%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="197" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAynZEWHy9eA9ILW009CiXmWlO8A9cXi2CCILWPwTKf15K_Wwewa6OCgeqowMRbDIJjEJolufv-t3wamg0INFPrYjmtTFFuRKRU5V4CQNaxirYC2AMihnps5b22iYMooe6Z-aF9yVLlyOHMH1AOxOtG4-XONCh2wwg0P8rL83m6Z2t9LuG0mvGa1s6x2Nw/s1600/Discovering%20Hope%201.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><div><div><br /></div><div>Title: Discovering Hope</div><div>Author: David Poling-Goldenne & L Shannon Jung</div><div>Publisher: Augsburg Fortress</div><div>Year: 2001</div><div>113 pages</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Summary from the Back</u>: God's Spirit is breathing new vitality into rural congregations! Hear what 26 effective rural congregations have to say about God's activity in and through them. In these stories, you can explore the best practices for vital ministry and identify action steps for your own setting. Use <i>Discovering Hope</i> on your own, in a group, or at learning events involving many congregations.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Personal Thoughts</u>: I work in rural ministry but I don't live rurally. So sometimes I try to put my city views into my ministry. Through the books that I've been reading, I'm coming to realize that doing so just doesn't work. Living in a city neighbourhood is quite different than living in a rural community.</div><div><br /></div><div>Doing church in a rural community is different, as well. One of the things I've been learning is that there is a difference between a congregation with high attendance and a congregation with high vitality. I have noticed that, in my parishes at least, while Sunday churchgoers might be on the low side, their love and commitment to their community is quite high. Everyone knows each and can report on their neighbour's well-being. If they don't see someone around, say at the grocery store, they will check up on their neighbour. The love for neighbour in a rural community seems to far exceed love for neighbour in an urban setting. And this is what gives churches hope in rural communities.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Discovering Hope</i> is an excellent short read that is full of stories from vital rural congregations, telling stories about how and where they find hope in their communities. It's written in a format that would be easy to use for a small group study. As well, each chapter ends with actions that a group, or a congregation, could take to put what they are learning to work.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you're looking around at some empty pews on a Sunday morning, reminiscing about how things used to be, then I think it's time for your congregation to pick up this book and find ways to discover hope in the vitality of your community.</div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-91474321636793311642024-01-13T09:50:00.000-08:002024-01-13T10:43:48.764-08:00The Touch of God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_g4gQLxEjVULLmqgXetPAlkB9CC3NyPpvKpel67axvIKCOO-v4ivr1MQNCOmCOaBPFnyizQ7vtw6WmuFy87z4NP7o9-92ZtDa7cu6uVzQ3PCTo9fVkYkEbJZilAkxExPtrfKPywAj9lL9OsqogIVNn66KHZPLEHCsh3WASCV5AsSUZYRg87tA-tyslD8/s251/Touch%20of%20God.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="251" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_g4gQLxEjVULLmqgXetPAlkB9CC3NyPpvKpel67axvIKCOO-v4ivr1MQNCOmCOaBPFnyizQ7vtw6WmuFy87z4NP7o9-92ZtDa7cu6uVzQ3PCTo9fVkYkEbJZilAkxExPtrfKPywAj9lL9OsqogIVNn66KHZPLEHCsh3WASCV5AsSUZYRg87tA-tyslD8/s1600/Touch%20of%20God.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><br /><div><i>I wrote a blog that was cross-posted on Faith + Lead and Enter the Bible about how I felt the touch of God and it changed my life. You can find it on their websites by clicking <a href="https://faithlead.org/blog/the-touch-of-god/" target="_blank">here</a> or <a href="https://enterthebible.org/the-touch-of-god" target="_blank">here</a>, respectively. I’ve also included the text below:</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 0cm; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jeremiah 18:1-11</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 0cm; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you, from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 0cm; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">1 Corinthians 11:23-26</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 0cm; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 0cm; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 0cm; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">As I came into my
third decade of life I had a life-changing moment, a spiritual conversion of
sorts. It came at a Maundy Thursday service in 2010 when I was asked to passage
from the 1st Letter from Paul to the Corinthians, “For I received from the Lord
what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was
betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and
said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the
same way he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do
this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat
this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I spent almost my entire life swinging from
all-out believer to apparent atheist and back again. As a kid, I only went to
church to be with my grandma but always loved the stories and the music. In my
teens years I was too busy for church and no one I knew believed in God, so I
decided I didn’t either. However, there were still times when I went to church
– usually during occasions of sorrow, or confusion. I never could explain my
need to go to church, and it certainly didn’t make me go on a regular basis.
But for brief, inexplicable moments, I found peace in those buildings.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Everything changed when I had my eldest child.
Suddenly, it was very important to me that they be baptized and raised in a
church. During the Baptismal interview, my newly-found minister asked me one
very important question – why do I want my child to be baptized? I couldn’t
answer that question right away – I just knew it was something I had to do,
something my heart was telling me to do.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Subsequently, we started coming to church.
Only on Mondays at first, as it was a more laid-back, contemplative service
where you could choose how much you participated. I was very hesitant in the
beginning, unsure of my beliefs and my reasons for being there. I didn’t even
take part in communion the first few times we came.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I did, however, decide to attend services
during Holy Week, beginning with Maundy Thursday. I was asked at the last
minute to read the Epistle and, having not read a bible in many years, had no
idea what I was about to read. I think I hesitated somewhere around “this is my
body”. The realization of the words I was about to speak struck me speechless.
The Eucharistic Prayer is such an important part of Jesus’ story; I was humbled
and honoured to be speaking these words aloud. Silly as it seems, in my head, these
words should have only been spoken by priests.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Suddenly, I felt the weight something on my
right shoulder, like a hand lending comfort and strength. I looked over but of
course there was no one there. Just the priest, sitting in her chair, head down
in prayer and listening to the reading. It was a very powerful moment. I knew
in my heart that God touched my shoulder that night, telling me it was okay to
go on, to finish reading the prayer. I felt a presence in those words, a
presence that I felt physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As my lips sounded
out the words of the Eucharistic prayer, I knew my life had changed forever.
That night, I became a disciple of Jesus.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">That’s when I really started listening to the
readings, to the songs, to the prayers. I learned the Lord’s Prayer as a child,
but I never really listened to the words. Same with all the music. Most of it
was the same as when I was younger, but only after that Maundy Thursday service
I really started to understand the meaning of the words behind the music.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">As I began hearing the words, not just
listening to them, I finally understood what God had been trying to say to me
all these years – that God is here, that God wants to be a part of my life, and
that God loves me. God’s words are beautiful and have changed my life.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">I have received so many lessons throughout my
life that I finally stopped to listen and let God’s hands guide me in the right
direction. As easy as clay in a potter’s hands, a person can be reshaped by
turning their mind and heart to God. By reading the word of God, praying to
God, and listening to God, we can all be the clay in the hands of the Divine
Potter.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Questions for reflection:</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Sometimes we need a little nudge to head in the right direction. Have you
ever had a moment in your life where you could physically feel the touch of
God?</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Doubt and faith have always walked together. Have you always believed in
God, or did you have a spiritual conversation of some kind?</span></p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">God calls us to be
evangelists. Are you willing to talk about the moments where God touches your
life, or do you keep it tucked away inside your heart?</span></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-85817919503174546392024-01-13T09:36:00.000-08:002024-01-13T09:53:07.613-08:00A New Perspective: A Sermon for the 2nd Week After Epiphany<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrndpKw-IdTK3MupbqQmohXV6rYuFrtoWCIaaPz21ZhoBnMipnf6Gug6DTeOT886lTrsVS4M08G9ZM-MrEaw3C26SuSO-aDk_KuBleEiJU9sPX5VDAi4lUfJ4aZtGHRF0QNVanSvFTB0hbypfitKeZad3P8rvDqLPT8FubfKfTf5yRQHHojA_Fru2c87x/s200/Perspective%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="133" data-original-width="200" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvrndpKw-IdTK3MupbqQmohXV6rYuFrtoWCIaaPz21ZhoBnMipnf6Gug6DTeOT886lTrsVS4M08G9ZM-MrEaw3C26SuSO-aDk_KuBleEiJU9sPX5VDAi4lUfJ4aZtGHRF0QNVanSvFTB0hbypfitKeZad3P8rvDqLPT8FubfKfTf5yRQHHojA_Fru2c87x/s1600/Perspective%201.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><div><i>Photo Credit: Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash</i></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Grace, mercy, and peace to you in the name
of Christ our Saviour. Amen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
good thing about how our liturgy is set up is that you get to hear 4 pieces of
scripture each Sunday. It gives us preachers lots of choice about which reading
we’ll concentrate on that week. The bad thing about it is that it’s really easy
to avoid the harder readings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Because
let’s face it – the bible isn’t the easiest book to read. And a piece like the
one we heard from Corinthians this morning sounds just awful. It makes you wonder
why, when so much of the rest of the book is left out, the lectionary puts this
reading in there. I’m sure it wasn’t the easiest one to read out loud, either.
In some translations, “fornication” is “sexual immorality”, and “fornicator” is
“sexual immoral person” which, in my opinion, makes it sound even worse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
would be easy to simply put it aside and talk about callings. Both Samuel and
John talk about callings – how Samuel hears God calling his name but doesn’t
understand what’s happening until the priest Eli clears it up for him. Good
thing too because after accepting his calling, Samuel goes on to be pretty
important in biblical history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Or
about how Philip calls Nathanial to “come and see” the man from Nazareth “whom
Moses in the law and also the prophets” spoke about and, upon meeting him, Nathanial
heard and followed his call to be with Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sometimes,
though, we need to talk about the hard stuff. The stuff that makes us cringe,
or gives us goosebumps, or makes us question. Maybe that’s why the lectionary
throws these rough bits as us – to see if we’re strong enough to tackle them on
a Sunday morning. Today is going to be one of those days.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
reason I decided to take on the reading from Corinthians is not only because of
what it contains, but because of what it follows. In the Common English Bible, 1
Corinthians 6:9-11 reads like this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Don’t
you know that people who are unjust won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Don’t be
deceived. Those who are sexually immoral, those who worship false gods,
adulterers, both participants in same-sex intercourse, thieves, the greedy,
drunks, abusive people, and swindlers won’t inherit God’s kingdom. That is what
some of you used to be! But you were washed clean, you were made holy to God,
and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in
the Spirit of our God.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is what’s called a clobber passage. It’s one of the many verses in the bible
used to propagate hate against the 2SLGBTQ+ community, supposedly giving biblical
proof that God is against two people of the same gender being together and that
if you only give yourself to God, you will be cured.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now
Paul definitely had his hang ups with sex and marriage but if you go back to
translations before the mid-20<sup>th</sup> century, there is no indication
Paul had anything against homosexual relationships. In fact, Paul didn’t like
sex at all! He didn’t believe in it; he didn’t believe in marriage to another
person. For Paul, it was all about a marriage to God and that anything else was
completely unnecessary.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now
I’m not here to give a lecture on sex and marriage. What I want to do today is
give a different perspective about what Paul is getting to here, in this
portion of his letter to the Corinthians, when he talks about “sexual
immorality.” I want to talk about it as a way to take back some of the power
from the people who are using the passage for hateful propaganda, and because I
think it’s important that we don’t ignore the hard parts of the bible. (If we
did that, we’d never read it!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are a couple of Greek words in these verses with multiple meanings that trip
people up. These words are <i>malakoi</i> and <i>arsenokoitai</i>. Pulling from
Holly Heron’s writing in the Queer Bible Commentary, in moral discourse, <i>Malakoi</i>
is translated to describe those who are morally weak: for example, men who
enjoy luxury and live decadently. But it could also refer to ‘a man who allowed
himself to be penetrated’. However, to limit the term to this meaning is simply
wrong and is where all the trouble stems from.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Arsenokoitai</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> can be understood
to be a male prostitute or a man who has sex with other men, but the term also occurs
elsewhere not in conjunction with adultery or prostitution, but economic
exploitation, thus suggesting it refers to prostitution or pimping.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
<i>malakoi</i> is understood as decadence and <i>arsenokoitai</i> as pimping,
then the entire list of vices in verses 9-11 can be seen to revolve around
behaviors that involve excess and exploitation, behaviors that ultimately place
one’s own interested at odds with God’s covenant relationship with humankind. In
other words, Paul is not talking about same-sex relationships at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
pretty much every one of his letters, his main concern is that everyone needs
to love one another in community. So, when Paul rattles on about all of these
vices, he is talking about all of the things people are doing that are hurtful and
harmful to the community. In the case of these specific verses, Paul’s underlying
plea to the people of Corinth is that just because something is legal doesn’t
mean you should do it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What
I mean is that in Corinth during the time of Roman dominance, sexual behaviour was
very regulated, and it was assumed that if something was legal then it was also
moral. There was no distinction between legality and morality. For example, Emperor
Augustus created the adultery law which stated that if a woman was unfaithful
to her husband, then she must divorce him. Which was pretty major because then she
lost everything – no place to live, she would be shunned by the community, she
would have nothing left. However, a married man could have sex with anyone
without penalty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
his letter, Paul is challenging doing what you want because it’s legal. He is
trying to tell the Corinthians that just because something is legal, or moral
in the eyes of the law, doesn’t mean it’s right, or beneficial to the community.
Paul says that if you are hurting another person, you are hurting the
community, and thus hurting God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
key factor here is understanding that you should never use any sort of method
to manipulate another person, whether it be sex or money or anything else. In
these verses, Paul doesn’t care who’s with who and in what way. What he does
care about is if what you’re doing is raising up or tearing down the community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
his letter to the Corinthians, Paul isn’t really talking about sex, drugs,
alcohol, or rock and roll. He is talking about freedom. The people of Corinth
believed their freedom as Christians meant that they were free of all rules
concerning their behaviour – that they could do what they want because God gave
them ultimate freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Paul’s
challenge to that, though, is that although we have freedom, we also belong to
God, that our body is a temple full of the Holy Spirit. He argues that our bodies
are not our own but are a gift from God. And not only our body, but the body of
friend and foe, neighbour and enemy, and every member of the community.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Imagine
if we treated each others’ bodies as temples. What would that mean? If we
understood every person to be a gift from God, it would certainly be harder to
manipulate anyone by any sort of method, wouldn’t it?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">And
what if we treated ourselves as temples? I have heard many a statement that if
we treated our bodies as temples we wouldn’t drink or do drugs, we would eat
better and exercise more. Sometimes it’s more than that though. To treat your
body as a temple is to respect yourself, to love yourself, and to know that you
are and always will be a child of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">May
you always remember that the Holy Spirit dwells within you. Honor this indwelling
by giving glory to God through loving yourself and one another. This is the
freedom that God has given us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Resources</u>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">pulpitfiction.com</span></div></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">queertheology.com</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Feasting on the Word" edited by David Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor</span></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-37695735449120089912024-01-05T09:15:00.000-08:002024-01-05T09:15:36.551-08:00A Review of the Book "Jonny Appleseed" by Joshua Whitehead<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqfXyzoyrA7qJjmSCAPj_5VKZQBb133RT6-ZFc6aehZB_5SgSWdVVjvgjHnH2xLP2zffDjpdn4MzwvXGH48bUKFZ-RwnFYoWlsLm7OKG0a1arMnguA1Op_ev3yv24My_-YS0EIj4yU-KqqGJjLoyQJ6As8il6dAR3aQGONPxX5uLUcPn3gTOFrCcP-giU/s194/Appleseed%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="144" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqfXyzoyrA7qJjmSCAPj_5VKZQBb133RT6-ZFc6aehZB_5SgSWdVVjvgjHnH2xLP2zffDjpdn4MzwvXGH48bUKFZ-RwnFYoWlsLm7OKG0a1arMnguA1Op_ev3yv24My_-YS0EIj4yU-KqqGJjLoyQJ6As8il6dAR3aQGONPxX5uLUcPn3gTOFrCcP-giU/s1600/Appleseed%201.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div>Title: Jonny Appleseed</div><div>Author: Joshua Whitehead</div><div>Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press</div><div>Year: 2021</div><div>219 pages</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Summary from the Back</u>: Off the rez and trying to find ways to live, love, and survive in the big city, Jonny has one week before he must return to his home - and his former life - to attend the funeral of his stepfather. The seven days that follow are like a fevered dream: stories of love, trauma, sex, kinship, ambition, and heartbreaking recollections of his beloved kokum (grandmother). Jonny's life is a series of breakages, appendages, and linkages - and as he goes through the motions of preparing to return home, he learns how to put together the pieces of his life.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Personal Thoughts</u>: Since it's publication, I have heard many good things about <i>Jonny Appleseed</i> and it has been on my to-read list for a very long time. I'm not sure what took me so long to get around to reading it, but I finally did and my reaction is that it was nothing like what I was expecting. It was, however, completely worth the wait.</div><div><br /></div><div>First, I didn't clue in to the fact that Joshua Whitehead is from Manitoba. Reading familiar names and places as I read the story made for an interesting familiarity, especially when the main character was in Winnipeg. I always find it interesting when stories contain places I know because it seems to engage my imagination even that much more, knowing what places actually look like in real life and then reading about them in the pages of the book.</div><div><br /></div><div>Second, I absolutely loved the dipping in and out of the past as Whitehead talked about the present. I know that some people find that type of writing to get confusing, but this book wasn't like that at all. Perhaps it was just how it was written, but going back to the past in order to understand what's happening in the present worked great in this book. <i>Jonny Appleseed</i> is a fiction novel but is written as if it could be a biography, so it makes you wonder how much was truth and how much was fiction. If this story is based on Whitehead's actual life events, it makes the book even more powerful.</div><div><br /></div><div>The last bit of unexpectedness around <i>Jonny Appleseed</i> is the extremely descriptive nature of the writing. While there is nothing of the sort indicated on the book itself, I give you a content warning here. I didn't take any issue with what was written, but it is surprising if you're not expecting it. If you struggle to read books of a sexual nature, that contain suicidal thoughts and actions, or that touches deeply on the harsh reality of the treatment of Indigenous people in Manitoba, make sure you prepare yourself before reading this book.</div><div><br /></div><div>I highly recommend <i>Jonny Appleseed</i> as it is extremely well-written and captivating. I loved Joshua Whitehead's ability to grab my attention and keep it through the entire book. I hope he continues writing as I would love to read more of his work.</div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-16207531656504683942024-01-01T10:13:00.000-08:002024-01-01T10:13:56.336-08:00Progress, Seen and Unseen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgSftDuQxSmdrQRRG2vYjO9f4ZIKKjimnXtwppJzbYc2BCmmn6p4NP837POoCryRqyVmb4zG6AfIGKxioGSmhYoO2Z3IgwWDhLjwHhHPXs_q7cNFROaXeS5XEre1HHrt0NIl-yj_q5pAyhbb2VeVlRgjRU6zEfSij3vgstMiNBq4DOUOVMRhdQVFPyTllz/s4032/20240101_102554.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgSftDuQxSmdrQRRG2vYjO9f4ZIKKjimnXtwppJzbYc2BCmmn6p4NP837POoCryRqyVmb4zG6AfIGKxioGSmhYoO2Z3IgwWDhLjwHhHPXs_q7cNFROaXeS5XEre1HHrt0NIl-yj_q5pAyhbb2VeVlRgjRU6zEfSij3vgstMiNBq4DOUOVMRhdQVFPyTllz/s320/20240101_102554.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">For my birthday, my mom bought me
a wooden puzzle of a train. Now, this isn’t your typical puzzle. It’s 3-D and
the pieces are extremely tiny. It is delicate and intricate work. I was excited
to receive this gift because I absolutely love trains, but as I was daunted by
the task it got put on the shelf to spend its days gathering dust. I was too nervous
about whether or not my hands and my eyes were up to the challenge of something
so new. Building blocks made of plastic I’ve got down! But small pieces of wood
that could easily break in my hands?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;">Taking on new things can be scary. It puts us in a
vulnerable position of possible judgement and ridicule. When you don’t know how
to do something, your rate of failure is higher than if you were doing
something that you’ve done dozens of times before. Making the decision to take
that first step into the unfamiliar is frightening. Will you fail? Will you
succeed? The key is taking that first step because if you don’t, you’ll never
know! It is a courageous thing, taking that first step, taking the chance that
you will make mistakes or that someone might tease you. The discernment is
deciding which one you’d regret more – trying something new and failing, or
never trying anything new at all? And, just maybe, you might succeed on the
first try!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;">These decisions about trying something new tend to be most
prominent around New Year’s. As the year comes to a close, people begin posting
wrap-ups about what happened to them during the year, mostly their high points
because we all know that posting low points doesn’t get the likes on social
media, and what their plans and goals are for the next year. Their New Year’s
resolutions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;">The issue I have, and have had for myself pretty much every
year, is it’s easy to make a list of things that you want to accomplish
throughout the year. Lose weight. Exercise more. Learn a new language. Go back
to school. All kinds of things could be put on the list. It’s easy to make the
list. And it’s also easy to give up on the list when we don’t see immediate and
visible progress. In a society that is becoming increasingly dependent on
instant gratification, when we don’t see a quick effect in our lives, we tend
to just quit and move on.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;">Similar to trying something new, keeping up with that
something new is just as hard. Most things in life won’t have instant success
or visible progress. How many of you have children who you know are growing,
but you don’t truly see it until you look at old pictures? How many of you have
tried to lose weight but when nothing happens in the first couple of weeks, you
get discouraged? But then someone else points out that your face looks different?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;">Progress can be both seen and unseen. So often it takes
looking back on life to see the changes that have taken place. And, if we’re really
honest, sometimes it takes an outsider’s perspective to point out those changes
to us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;">Just before Christmas, I decided that I would pull the
wooden train puzzle off the shelf, dust it off, and give it a try. Doing the
work close up, I don’t see the progress. But each time I pull back and look at
the bigger picture, there it is. Progress. What started as sheets of tiny
pieces is starting to transform into a train. I still have many steps and need
much patience, but progress is there. I just need to keep going.</p></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-77818960949772494522023-12-28T09:28:00.000-08:002023-12-28T09:33:58.173-08:00A Review of the Book "Dreamcatcher" by Stephen King<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxxx193tTKG9o0SiB_bnMGU2hpwGBUmHO1L31azaUF6Fk3rNYVVipGXiHrf_oba0tPJF-vlxbTtH__7Ykz9NLkk52p2477QOSQ5FmGXcPu2mZDU91dmIUH73XaimqeLu6t9f-m3N8df7thogh-Ytwa7pNCM1Py4jnHT-JVFKuNkr6cWOUKC9WBRmzYEOa/s362/Dreamcatcher.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxxx193tTKG9o0SiB_bnMGU2hpwGBUmHO1L31azaUF6Fk3rNYVVipGXiHrf_oba0tPJF-vlxbTtH__7Ykz9NLkk52p2477QOSQ5FmGXcPu2mZDU91dmIUH73XaimqeLu6t9f-m3N8df7thogh-Ytwa7pNCM1Py4jnHT-JVFKuNkr6cWOUKC9WBRmzYEOa/s320/Dreamcatcher.jpg" width="177" /></a></div><br /><div><div>Title: Dreamcatcher</div><div>Author: Stephen King</div><div>Publisher: Pocket Books</div><div>Year: 2001</div><div>879 pages</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Summary from the Book</u>: Twenty-five years after saving a Down's-syndrome kid from bullies, Beav, Henry, Pete, and Jonesy - now men with separate lives and separate problems - reunite in the woods of Maine for their annual hunting trip. But when a stranger stumbles into their camp, disoriented and mumbling something about lights in the sky chaos erupts. Soon, the four friends are plunged into a horrifying struggle with a creature from another world where their only chance of survival is locked in their shared past - and in the Dreamcatcher.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Personal Thoughts</u>: This one took me a bit to get through. Not because it wasn't good, but because it's one of the longest books I've read in a long time. As always, King's writing churns your imagination with vivid descriptions that makes you feel like you're right in the story. This particular story is a little bit horror, a little bit science fiction, and a little bit weird and gross. But it is also captivating and while the size of the book is daunting, you just want to keep plugging on to find out what happens next. So far, I haven't found a Stephen King book I haven't like so I'm sure I sound like a broken record, continuously recommending his books. However, I do recommend this book as it is an excellently written story with quite an interesting finish to it.</div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-25886711857562204152023-12-28T08:15:00.000-08:002023-12-29T08:43:42.752-08:00A Review of the Book "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" by Suzanne Collins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnhAWUOG1IEyz2d5Hj4mMRqacM_EnBnqy69X53mR4AAdGB5ENe4TuEJ-DQRZoZLHZv20CpzneeBZJpWmG_thCoWKmFo3PXBuRRwwbPF6jjjTieuWAtGaycYPX9-VO9agDLEauhLtHA3jqt7e4mRbIu4gS-bunEFnSCzSJzVy8JeZMjB1QlVJjv3tHBFAm/s276/Ballad.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="182" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnhAWUOG1IEyz2d5Hj4mMRqacM_EnBnqy69X53mR4AAdGB5ENe4TuEJ-DQRZoZLHZv20CpzneeBZJpWmG_thCoWKmFo3PXBuRRwwbPF6jjjTieuWAtGaycYPX9-VO9agDLEauhLtHA3jqt7e4mRbIu4gS-bunEFnSCzSJzVy8JeZMjB1QlVJjv3tHBFAm/s1600/Ballad.jpg" width="182" /></a></div><br /><div><div>Title: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes</div><div>Author: Suzanne Collins</div><div>Publisher: Scholastic Press</div><div>Year: 2020</div><div>517 pages</div></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Summary</u>: Years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow remains the last hope for his fading lineage. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow becomes alarmed when he's assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and political savvy, they race against time to ultimately reveal who's a songbird and who's a snake.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Personal Thoughts</u>: I was super excited to read this prequel to the Hunger Games. I love that series so much. I remember borrowing the books from the library and having to wait desperately for each book to come available! So when I heard about "Songbirds and Snakes" I was ecstatic for the chance to read it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, it did not meet up to the hype of the book nor the level of writing from the rest of the series. This book was at least 100 pages too long and the story just dragged. The excitement of the Hunger Games simply wasn't there. Perhaps it was because Collins concentrated almost exclusively on the character development of Snow. Perhaps it was because I knew what was to come 75 years later in the Panem world. I'm not completely sure. All I know is that the story did not meet my expectations.</div><div><br /></div><div>That being said, it was still a good book overall, even if it was longer than required for the story. It was interesting to hear more about how the Hunger Games got started and why Snow turned out to be the man we know later in the series. If you can leave your expectations at the door, it is a decent read. Just not to the level I know from Suzanne Collins.</div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5766057255037518016.post-42919419520902324922023-12-19T14:01:00.000-08:002023-12-21T08:39:33.317-08:00The Shepherds of Christmas: A Sermon for Christmas Eve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWM-xAGAPd26SAfA9eAe4cOND-MR7lLCDxFTy5eftM6j97f85Bx5qC2c8NuR_xB96wE5wOgz-e7RRkMZ6trIynwHe3WMKGJHJQXqHFppazKnUUjsECURjSx_jhBMn4zxb6DERqoho9OWxD6lNAqhY4dDlMRM13FY9iMvHTRRaglX18K8PAOFsdWhh2fkVE/s259/Linus%20at%20Christmas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWM-xAGAPd26SAfA9eAe4cOND-MR7lLCDxFTy5eftM6j97f85Bx5qC2c8NuR_xB96wE5wOgz-e7RRkMZ6trIynwHe3WMKGJHJQXqHFppazKnUUjsECURjSx_jhBMn4zxb6DERqoho9OWxD6lNAqhY4dDlMRM13FY9iMvHTRRaglX18K8PAOFsdWhh2fkVE/s1600/Linus%20at%20Christmas.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Grace, mercy, and peace to you in the name of
Christ our Saviour. Amen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #0a0a0a; font-size: 12pt;">I’m sure you have all heard Linus tell the
shepherd’s version of the Christmas story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: #0a0a0a; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">And there were in the
same country shepherds abiding <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">And, lo, the angel of
the Lord came upon them,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">and the glory of the
Lord shone round about them: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">and they were so
afraid.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">And the angel said unto
them, Fear not: for, behold, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">I bring you good
tidings of great joy, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">which shall be to all
people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Saviour,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">which is Christ the
Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">And this shall be a
sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">And suddenly there was
with the angel a multitude of the<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">heavenly host praising
God, and saying,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 72.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 72pt; mso-add-space: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">good will toward men.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">But
why did God announce the birth to shepherds?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">The
presence of the shepherds is an interesting part of the Christmas story. They
don’t say much. They don’t do much. But it sure was important to God that they
be there for the birth of Jesus. And that says a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">When
the time came to tell Zechariah about the birth of John the Baptist, God sent
one angel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">When
the time came to tell Mary about the birth of Jesus, God sent one angel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">When
the time came to announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, he sent a whole
sky full of angels.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">These
guys were out in their fields, minding their own business, when this sky full
of angels suddenly appear, announcing the most important news in the world –
the fact that Jesus was born.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Shepherds
were the first to look, shepherds living in fields. Unlettered, unwashed
herders of livestock existing at the margins, far from the power-centers of
respectability and prestige.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">The
shepherds were faithful to what they heard. They listened to the message from
God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">The
shepherds then took the next step to find out if it’s true. They followed the
sign God had given them and they rushed into town to see the baby for
themselves. They met the savior because they listened and obeyed God’s
guidance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">And
they didn’t just huddle together and enjoy the blessing they had for
themselves. They went out and they told everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Those
shepherds were the first evangelists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">They
didn’t have a theological education.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">They
didn’t know the whole story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">But
they knew that God had spoken to them. God had touched their lives. And they
wanted others to know. They just told what God had done for them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">This
message of hope emerges among the least significant, among shepherds, among
those who could never have imagined that they would be forever remembered in
human history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">This
is news that deserved to be told to the most important people in the world: the
kings and emperors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">But
is this who heard the news first? No! God sent his angel to lowly shepherds
tending to flocks of sheep.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Let
it be said clearly this night. Heaven and earth meet in obscure places, not in
the halls of power.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Shepherds
and angels.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">A
birth in the city of King David, but far from a royal residence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">And
that birth, that joy is for all people. Verse 14a, “peace among those with whom
God favors” is not a phrase designed to limit God’s favor and peace to a few.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">We
human creatures, along with God’s other creatures, have been favored. The light
came in those dark fields and that dim room in Bethlehem because God longs, has
always longed, for us to know and love God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">The
shepherds put things together well enough to become jubilant. They’re promised
a baby, they see a baby, and they recognize that the rest of what they have
been told is true.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Here
he is, the One whom God has sent to show God’s favor. There’s a new world
coming! And that’s good news for the people in our story, for us, and for
everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Nothing
I’ve said so far should be new to you. The Christmas story doesn’t change year
to year. But how we feel about it might, how we are feeling right now will be
very different than last year, and certainly different from the year before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">In
the Christmas story, the entire hosts of angels appeared first to the shepherds
to announce the birth of Jesus. The angel-choir could have announced the birth
from the main hub of Jerusalem to the leaders of the time or gone to the kings
in the East or projected it on a huge billboard of Times Square (well, whatever
that was at the time). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Instead,
the angels went to the Shepherds - some of the lowliest in society at that
time, the marginalized, the unseen - in the middle of the night.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Who
are our modern-day shepherds? Who would be the ones receiving God’s
announcement?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria Math",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Those
that feel forgotten, marginalized, unseen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Our
healthcare workers, janitorial staff, technicians, etc in the ICUs who are
living a reality in the hospitals that's opposite to people's actions during
this Christmas season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Families
who have lost a sister, mom, dad, grandparent this year - but feel unseen as
people go on like things are normal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Mothers
trying to put food on the table for their kids so they go to work as a retail cashier
with people yelling at them because of one reason or another.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Church
members who have left their church, lost their church, or are feeling angst
about being at their church because they view differently about Loving our
Neighbors than what they are seeing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Families
who were already on the brink of poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">This
list could continue to go on. If you feel angst in this season prior to Christmas,
that's Advent, that's a longing for Hope. If you feel angst in this season and
are marginalized or feel forgotten, you are a Shepherd.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">And
that’s who the angels went to first. To herald in the birth of a Redeemer that
would years later say, "Blessed are you who are poor in spirit for yours
is the Kingdom of Heaven".<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">An
Overcomer who would take all shame, hurt, and pain on a cross and put it to
rest to set things right.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">An
Immanuel, God with us, who came for the sick, the poor, the marginalized, the
captives - with us and for us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">A
Love that said the entire law could be summed up in love God and love others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Especially
the Shepherds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Amen.</span></p></div>RevTheoRobinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08544407084315252859noreply@blogger.com0