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         January 15, 2012            "Can You Hear Me Now?"            Rev Lorne O'Neill

                                    1 Samuel 3:1-10           1 Cor. 6:12-20            John 1: 43-51

            Today we heard three Scripture passages, each one speaking to us of God’s call.

            There was God’s call to Samuel to be a prophet; and Jesus’ call to Nathanael to be a disciple, and Paul’s letter to the congregation at Corinth to remind them that they had been called to live as God’s own people.

            Often we think that God’s call is to become a minister, to lead worship and preach in a church.  But God’s call is to ministry, not to the ministry.  He calls all of us to a life of service.  And I want to speak with you about this call.

            The call to Samuel came at a very sensitive time.  The writer tells us that “The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not wide-spread.”  People were going through the motions of worship, but there was not a lot of faith in their hearts.

            And there was trouble in the Temple.  The old priest, Eli, had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also priests, who were corrupt.  When people brought meat offerings to be burned on the altar as a sacrifice to God, these two priests demanded the best cuts for themselves, before they were even sacrificed.  I suspect they had a really nice barbeque out back.  And they also seduced the young women who came to serve at the temple.

            But you remember that Samuel was an answer to prayer.  Hannah could not have children, but God had finally blessed her with a baby boy.  She brought him to live and serve at the Temple as her way of saying “Thank you, Lord”.

            One night, he was wakened by a voice, “Samuel, Samuel”.  He thought it was Eli calling, but no.  Again the voice called him, but it was not Eli.  When it happened the third time, Eli realized it must be the Lord, and he told Samuel, next time, answer, “Speak, for your servant is listening”, then come and tell me what He said.

            And Samuel grew up to become a prophet, a man who speaks for God.     

            A prophet is not a fortune-teller.  He does speak of the future, but to warn us of the consequences of our own actions.  The message Samuel received was that Eli had failed to bring up his sons properly, and both sons would die on the same day, while God would raise up a new priest in Eli’s place.  And so it happened, the consequences of their sins. 

            There are many prophets in the Old Testament.  They believed that there is a moral law that governs our universe.  We break that moral law at our peril.  It’s like gravity; if you jump off a cliff, you don’t break the law of gravity, it breaks you!

            They believed that the moral law said that everyone must be treated fairly; it was wrong that some had unlimited amounts of money and power, while others struggled to survive.  Amos: “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an every-flowing stream.”  Micah:” What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”  And whenever the nation refused to listen, it was weakened and conquered by its enemies; the judgment of God!

            So today, is it just, that a company goes into bankruptcy and the workers lose their jobs and their pensions, while the executives who failed so badly at management are rewarded with million dollar severance payments?

            The Occupy Movement asked, “Is it just, that 3% of the people control 90 per cent of the wealth, while the other 97% struggle?

            Tommy Douglas asked, “Is it just that only the rich should have medical care, while the working class goes without?”

            But you also are prophets. You stood against placing the mega-dump on top of the Alliston aquifer.  And now you stand against destroying good farm land and disrupting the water table so that some powerful company might make millions from a mega quarry. 

            We are all called to be prophets!

                                                                 -----

            The second story today is about Jesus calling people to be his disciples.

             The prophets wanted to bring the world into line with the will of God.  Jesus used another term:  the Kingdom of God.

            Israel at the time was under the thumb of Rome.  They knew all about being ruled by kings and emperors.  Jesus is setting up a new kingdom, in which God alone is King.  He described it in the great prayer he taught his followers: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

            When he called Philip and Nathanael, he was recruiting helpers to bring in that kingdom.

            The constitution of the kingdom is very simple: Love your neighbour as yourself; Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; Do not seek revenge, but be willing to turn the other cheek; Forgive one another and you will be forgiven ; Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you.

            These are essential, because if we don’t live by them we face the consequences; we create conflict in our families and neighbourhoods, and war with other nations.

            This kingdom is made up of all kinds of people and every one of us is called to give our loyalty to Christ the King, and to change the world.

                                                                        ----------

            And now we look at Paul’s letter to the congregation at Corinth, and the call the people of that church received.

              Paul speaks of the sins of that city, that people were idolaters, adulterers, prostitutes, thieves, greedy, drunkards, and so on, and says, “And this is what some of you used to be.”

            But you have been called to live as God’s people, with a cleanliness and purity that would be an example for the whole of society.

            Two things he says that I think are important. 

            a) He points out that these sins are addictions.  They own us.  They enslave us.  People become addicted to pornography, and pedophilia and alcohol.  We’ve all seen people who are enslaved to cigarettes.  I remember when the tide turned against smoking, and one building after another became smoke-free.  And one group of smokers was so angry that they threatened to go to court because their freedom was being taken away.  And it always seemed funny to me, people demanding the freedom to be slaves!                                                                                                                           

            In those days people could be owned as slaves and be badly mistreated.  But if you were fortunate, someone might buy you, and treat you well.  So Paul is saying that Jesus paid for you at the Cross.  He frees you from your slavery to sin.  You are not your own; you were bought with a price.

            (b) The second thing he says is that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. We are not to defile it, as Hophni and Phinehas had done centuries before.  The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
             When the Holy Spirit is in us, we can be all that God calls us to be.

                                                                 ----------------------

            I want to conclude with this, from the Call of Nathanael.  Perhaps you remember the Old Testament story of Jacob, who slept outdoors, and one night had a dream.  In it he saw a stairway going up to heaven.  Angels were ascending and descending on it, and God stood by the stairway.  When he awoke, Jacob said, “Surely this is the house of God; surely this is the gate of heaven.”

            When Nathanael answered Jesus’ call, Jesus said to him, “You will see angels ascending and descending on the Son of man”, which was the name he used for himself.

            In other words, Jesus was making the astounding claim that he is the stairway to heaven.

            I know that most of you are here today because you have heard God’s call, and answered it.  But if you haven’t heard God’s call to be one of His own people, listen for it.  And when you hear him call your name, answer, “Here I am, Lord.”  Because, as some people say, the benefits are out of this world!  

 

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      January 8, 2012        Baptism of Jesus Sunday

               

                                                        THE RIVERSIDE                Brenda McCurdy 

 

The Jordan River!

I come here to the Jordan – to sit beside its familiar shores

to think and to remember.

 

This river has such an important place in the history of my people.

When God delivered our ancestors from slavery in Egypt,

Moses led them with great anticipation towards the Promised Land.

Once they had crossed the Jordan River and had reached Canaan,

they knew that they had reached the Promised Land!

 

Sometimes when I am here beside the river, I think about their journey,

their forty years in the wilderness.

How incredible it must have been when they first caught a glimpse of this very river.

How they must have rejoiced!

 

And I come here to remember a day that changed my life.

It started out as a day like any other.

A man we call John the Baptizer was here that day

as he was so many days.

He was an odd sort of fellow –

his clothes were made out of camel’s hair

which must have been awfully rough and scratchy.

He tied a leather belt around his waist

and everyone made comparisons

because that is what the great prophet Elijah wore.

 

John had the zeal of a prophet –

he wasn’t the sort that people followed day and night –

he spent a lot of time alone – away from people.

But those times when he emerged from the wilderness

and came down to the river,

the people flocked to the shores.

John preached repentance

and the people would crowd into the river to be baptized by him.

We were so hungry for the forgiveness of our sins –

and we yearned for so much more,

without really knowing what it was we longed for.

 

John always said that someone greater than himself was coming,

and that he, John, was not worthy even to untie

the thong of the sandals of this One who would follow.

John baptized with water.

With incredible insight, he knew

that the One who was to come would have a new symbolism,

the One to follow would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire –

not merely an outer cleansing with water,

but an inner cleansing of the soul –

a transformation of the heart.

 

Then one day, one very ordinary day, something happened –

something so incredible I can hardly believe it.

 

I was in my favourite spot here on the shore.

The crowds were in the water with John

when over that hill there appeared a lone figure.

I had never seen him before,

but I know him now to be Jesus from Nazareth.

He approached John requesting that he, too, be baptized.

 

John said no:  “I need to be baptized by you.”[1]

But Jesus convinced him that it must be so –

and Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River.

 

Suddenly, the clouds split open

and Jesus was bathed in a brilliant light.

A voice – the voice of God sweeping over the waters –

said “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”[2]

 

Oh wonder of wonders!!!  What can this mean?

Who is this man called Jesus?

Is he the one who will transform our hearts?

 

That was months ago – as I listen to this incredible man

and his message of love and forgiveness,

I make the decision every day to be a follower of this man, Jesus.

 

What have I learned?  What have I seen?

 

I’ve seen gentleness.

People were bringing their children to him

so that he might bless them and his friends began to shoo them away.  You can’t blame them – they’re a bit of a rough lot,

fishermen for the most part –

but they were only thinking of Jesus – trying to give him a break

from the crush and the demands of the crowds.

When Jesus saw what his followers were doing,

he said “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them;

for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs.”[3]

  

Jesus is like that – teaching us that the first shall be last

and the last shall be first.  He’s turning our thinking upside down.

He spends time with people no one else would associate with –

lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes – and women in general.

He talks with us –

something no one else of importance would stoop to do.

He recognizes that we are people and treats us with respect.

 

Jesus is teaching us about respect for others –

how to be together in community.

We share everything we have with each other.

We take care of each other.

No one is greater than anyone else

and no one is lesser than anyone else.

 

The Romans think they’re greater than we are –

that the Roman Empire has brought us peace

because of its power and authority.

Every uprising against the oppression of Rome by my people

has been crushed by the army of the Roman Empire.

So they say they have brought us peace!

 

I began to realize the enormous contrast between peace

which is accomplished by violence and by oppression

(by fear and by intimidation)

and the peace promised by Jesus.

I remember his words clearly:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

I do not give (peace) to you as the world gives.[4]

  

The peace that Jesus promises is not a peace

obtained by withdrawal from the world,

but rather an inner strength which enables us to live in the world,

to confront the injustices and fears under which people live daily –

not just in far off lands – but within our own land and community.

 

I’ve seen Jesus become incensed at the injustice of the money changers

in the Temple.  He knew they were dishonest –

cheating people who were the least able to afford their inflated prices.

Jesus pushed over their tables and threw them out of the Temple.

 

Jesus is showing us a different Kingdom –

the Kingdom of God brought about by love,

by a change within hearts and souls.

We’re learning that God is Love and Love is God.

Jesus is so close to the God of Love that he uses “Abba” –

which in Aramaic means “father.”

We’ve always used the LORD –

a mighty judge who reigns on high –

we would never have thought of approaching such a powerful deity with such familiarity.

But Jesus is changing all that – he is changing our hearts!

 

We all know the rituals, the law, the commandments,

but Jesus has brought us new commandments:

 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

and with all your soul, and with all your mind.[5]

and

You shall love your neighbour as yourself.[6]

 

Who are my neighbours and how am I to love them?

Again, I have learned from Jesus.

My neighbours are those in need.

I am to love them by feeding, clothing, visiting them,

caring for them in sickness.

But it doesn’t stop there.

When Jesus threw the money changers out of the Temple,

he showed us by his actions

that we must never turn away  

as people struggle against injustice.

 

We must always work together

against the people and the systems

which oppress and marginalize.

 

I come to the Jordan River as often as I can. 

I come to remember all that has gone before.

I come to rejoice with thanksgiving for my baptism

and for the life and teachings of Jesus.

And I come to renew and strengthen my resolve

to live my life as Jesus has taught

and as he has shown me

with his own life.

 

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      December 25, 2011         “For A Child Has Been Born For Us"        Rev Dr Alf Dumont

 

"The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness,

 on them light has shined."[1]

Christmas Day is a pivotal time in church celebrations.

Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

It was most likely at the Council of Antioch (386 CE), St. John of Chrysostom urged the Council to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25^th of December.

The celebration was linked initially to the celebration of Roman god Saturn, the ancient god of agriculture.  The feast of Saturn on December 17^th, was a time of the ceasing of war, the temporary freeing of slaves and the exchange of gifts. 

Converts were urged to join the Christian movement without giving up their celebrations.  They could greet the Son of God rather than the Sun God.[2]

When we do research and try to find the actual birth time of Jesus, we will discover that scholars will point us to either the spring or summer time in 6 or 4B.C., six to four years before the time that most of us think is the birth of Jesus.   So Jesus would have been years 6 -1 year old in 1 A.D.  The  Anno Domini (A.D.) way of dating years was devised around 585 A.D. and used commonly around 800 A.D. 

 What we are finding here is that the church in its early formation made some decisions about these dates that fit the best for them and encouraged new converts to share in the celebrations with them. Dates and times were not as important as the message that Jesus came to bring: the message of God's love for all people. [3]

The writer of Titus puts it this way

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all,
 training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly,
while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."[4]

We are still living into that hope as we seek to manifest God's love, in the way that we live our lives. Christmas is about celebrating the love that God has for us, and sharing that love with each other as a family of faith, and as we include and enfold others into our families.

It is interesting that for many families, in our modern time, December 25^th does not hold the same importance as it did a few years ago. 

Many families hold their Christmas celebrations on other days because

·      some families have commitments on alternate years to the different in-laws;

·      some families through re-marriage have complex family arrangements to make, and therefore chose alternate days to celebrate Christmas;

·      some family members have to work and celebrations are postponed to until later in the day or for Boxing Day;

·      some families travel to warmer climes and invite family members to celebrate Christmas there.

Our lives are not simple.   So celebrating Christmas and family life together is not simple.

That, in itself, should tell us what the early Christian communities had to face, and why they adopted the traditions and created other traditions that we still honour. 

I would imagine that the celebrations in the early Christian communities were quite simple…

gathering around the table for a communion meal,

greeting one another with the peace of Christ,

reading of scripture, praying together

and singing of the psalms.

 

Gradually over the last 1600 to 2000 years

we added other traditions

or created traditions that we still use today:

Christmas trees,

Christmas family gatherings,

Advent wreaths and candle lighting,

Christmas crèches,

Christmas plays,

Christmas carols,

Christmas hymns like O Holy Night and Silent Night.

Many of us would not feel Christmas was a celebration of Christ’s birth without those, even though our far-distant-relatives of 2000 years ago,

those who arrived, by foot and by donkey, in Bethlehem,

those who could find no room in the inn,

those who used a manger as a cradle,

would not recognize Christmas as we do.

In the midst of this season of celebrations and family gatherings let us to pause for a moment of quiet reflection - to reflect on the reason why we celebrate the way we do and why we celebrate in the first place.   

And let us reflect on how we are a part of the Christmas story, for God’s story of the birth of Jesus has become God’s story of re-birth for us.

"The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined."[5]

 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!"[6]

 

Barb and I and our family have been grateful for the last 20 years in which we have been able to share that faith journey, with our St. John's family.

I thought it profound and humorous that on two occasions you gave me part of a present with the “contents to follow”.  First it was an empty billfold with a cheque to follow, and then an empty album with pictures to follow.

It says at least two things for me:

that it is never easy to let go, so we find ways to hold on a little longer;

that the relationship does not end, there are always promises of things to come.

We are grateful for the love that you have shared with us.

We are grateful for the opportunity you have given us to share in your family life.

We are honored for the trust that you have had in us, and what you have entrusted us with.

We have been profoundly moved by the strength and hope and peace that you have shared.

We have been deeply moved, as we always are, by the Christmas services...knowing that the Spirit is in our midst.

 We have been profoundly moved by the fact that this community has always been focused not only on love but on justice and service.

The other night at Bible Study, Earl asked me why I choose to come to St. John's 20 years ago.

I chose to come here because I saw you are not only a community who talked about your faith, but who sought to live out your faith through actions, through words, through the love you shared with the wider community.

Many years ago in Bethlehem, in the city of David a child was born.  We celebrate the birth of this child today and every Christmas Day, with the words of Isaiah:

"For a child has been born for us, a son given to us;

authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom.

He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. [7]

       

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December 18, 2011            “Do Not Quench The Spirit”        Alf and Barb

    Alf: Way back in 1962, as I was sitting on the veranda steps talking with my brother Jim about feeling a   

    call to enter into ministry, I felt overwhelmed and wondered what gifts I had to be a minister and why    

    God would want to call me. Even when I entered ministry and was ordained in 1971, I still felt

    overwhelmed and inadequately prepared to live out that calling.  So I sought training in chaplaincy.

    And then I trained as a caretaker, a parking lot attendant, and a hardware store clerk. After all of that

    practical training I felt ready to take up the challenge of the call.

 

    The other day I read these words from the book of Isaiah:

"The spirit of God is upon me, because God has anointed me; God has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to release the prisoners; proclaim the year of God's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion – to give them a garland instead of ashes, auto gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit."[1]

 

When I read those words, I realized that the call I accepted over 50 years ago was something that I could never have done alone.  If it was not for the Spirit of God working through me, I would not have been able to fulfill the calling for which I had been called.

  

  Barb:  At a young age I felt a calling also – to teach. I remember that while I was still in elementary

    school I decided that I wanted to teach grade four. Upon reflection, I realize that grade for is a level

    where I have taught the most in my career. I have felt guided by the spirit to many times over our years

    together. 

 

    I remember that soon after we were married we dropped into Beverley Hills United Church, a church

    looking for a Minister. We felt we had arrived at our new home. During that time at Beverley Hills we    

    found ourselves called to go to Australia on a ministerial exchange.

I remember those long conversations we had -

after we returned from the ministry of exchange in Australia. Both of us wrestled with whether we would accept the call for you to become Director of the Dr. Jessie Salteaux  Resource Centre. We talked while we were in Australia of our commitment to continue ministry at Beverley Hills United Church, for the foreseeable future. Then, in the summer and in the fall, after our return, we were called, not only once but twice, about this position in Saskatchewan. It was not easy for me because I've become very close to so many people, especially some of the women's groups that I had met with in the Toronto area. On top of that, we would be leaving behind our families.

Remember that God spoke to Mary through -

the angel Gabriel to give her a call to ministry: a ministry that she never expected, and the ministry that she didn't feel fully prepared for.  Remember when the angel Gabriel said to her:

"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you will name him Jesus." [2]

And Mary responded, saying:

"How can this be since I am a young maiden?"

She did not believe that she could do what she had been called to do.   And that's the way it was for us. Leaving our familiar life to go into the unknown was both an adventure and one of the biggest challenges we had to face.

Later after Mary had visited Elizabeth, she learned, from Elizabeth, how she could do what seemed impossible, because, with God "nothing is impossible"[3]. 

God calls out the greatest from each of us. Even when we don't believe in ourselves, God believes in us – God believes in what God has created.

    Alf: I had a dream the other night.

         I dreamt that I was in a workshop that had two rooms -

that were filled with tables and all the tables were loaded with all kinds of junk…[Good junk… The kind any man, who has a workshop, knows that you just can't throw out, because there might be a use for it.]  

[The workshop was just like my uncle's workshop that I worked in as a young man.]

Many people came into the shop that day walked around all the good junk and came over to me to share either their ideas or their concerns with me.  As I took the time to listen, I was aware that I had to trust that God would provide the time needed both for me  clean up the workshop and to listen to those who had come to see me.

My dream was about the time we are in now. There is so much to do before we leave and so many people that we want to share with that there doesn't seem to be enough time to do it all.

The dream tells me, at some level, to trust that the Spirit has provided the time we need.

Mary had a dream and with the dream she knew she had calling to fulfill.  Her dream was for her time. Her dream came at the time when things were challenging in her life. When she spent some time with Elizabeth and talked about her dream and her calling, she too recognized that God would grant her the time to complete what she needed to complete.

We all have dreams. If we can see in those dreams that the Spirit of God is guiding us, then we can respond to the calling that God gives us for our time.

    Barb:      Yes, that's true. Even though we did not -

recognize it, when we accepted the call to go west back in the early 80's, there were many blessings that were to come with that call.  Like Mary and Joseph, we too discovered the blessings and challenges that come with being parents: Michael and Daniel were both born in the west.

Mary's journey was not an easy one to undertake. After Mary gave birth to Jesus, she and Joseph raised their child in the best way they could, following the teachings and traditions that had been laid down for them from their parents. They, too, had to find a new home in the west, in Egypt, a home that their ancestor Joseph had been to, many years before. But eventually, like us, they did return east and settled in Nazareth, in the district of Galilee, because Bethlehem was still not safe.

All during this time Mary, as all mothers, raised her son to listen, to respect, to love, to share what he had with others.  And as all mothers, Mary felt the pain and the doubts the joy and the faith that her son also experienced. The call of mothers is not an easy call to live out.

    Alf:    Perhaps Paul's words reflect some of the -

wrestling that all of us go through when we are seeking to be faithful.  Paul encourages the faithful in Thessalonica to "pray without ceasing" and "not to quench the Spirit" and " not to despise the teaching of the prophets" and "to test everything and to hold fast to it, is good".[4] 

I believe Mary and Joseph lived out their calling... That they did all of those things:

·      that they followed their dreams, what the angels had said to them;

·      that Mary prayed without ceasing, because it's hard to watch your sons are your daughters go out into the world, seeking to live their calling;

·      that even though Mary trusted that God would be with Jesus, she must've had her times of doubt, as we all do;

·      that Mary held onto her faith remembering the words and teachings of the prophets, remembering what the rabbis shared with her and Joseph, holding on to certain phrases and sayings that the person going to be born to her would become a part of her;

·      and I believe that she had to test out everything, even what Jesus said to her, because it's hard for mothers or fathers to trust that their sons and daughters are on the right track….

    Barb:      Trusting God is not an easy thing to do;

however, all we are asked to do is to walk, in humility, the pathway that God provides for us, and to walk that pathway to the best of our ability, with the support of those around us and the strength of the Spirit within us.

    Alf:          And then as Paul says, 

"May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.".[5]

    As life unfolds Barb and I wish all of you, in this church community, God's blessing as all of us seek to

    fulfill that to which each of us is called.

    We trust that God will be with you every step of the way.

    And that is our prayer for you: that God be with you[6] as we have experienced God with us.[7]

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  December 11th, 2011    “Glass Angels Reflecting God’s Light”  Rev Dr Alf Dumont

St. Jude is the patron saint of "desperate causes and cases of despair".   When all other avenues are closed, St. Jude is the one to call upon, and his help often comes at the last moment.

Ministers often find themselves praying to the patron saint of desperate causes on Saturday night because they haven't started early enough in the week to write their sermons.

This year, I was aware that if I didn't begin writing December's sermons in mid-November, that I would have difficulty being prepared for all that would happen as we said goodbye to all of you.

A couple of weeks ago, I started writing this sermon,

And, I was, also, in the process of planning our trip south, southwest, through Texas, and then west through Arizona and north from California to British Columbia.  

I discovered that planning a trip and writing a sermon, doing things that are future oriented and things that have a present orientation, were not good things to do at the same time, because their energies pull you in different directions. 

So I was tempted to pray to St. Jude.

But, instead, I picked up a book, entitled Dying For A Hamburger [1] that Wayne van Dyke loaned me several months ago, and I decided that I should read it before I left town, or, maybe, it was St. Jude who nudged me and said, "You should read this!"

Who knows?

Well, I came across a couple sayings in the book. 

One saying reminded me of how much I have valued those people whom I have served here and who have passed on.

It's an old African proverb:

“When an old man dies, a library burns down”[2].

And I thought of all those people, who have passed on and who touched my life, in profound and meaningful ways.

And think of all those stories they carried.

And the valuable lessons, which they shared with me, before they passed through the portals of change.

I shall carry those stories and those lessons within me.

I am grateful for what they have shared.

And I remembered that all of you have been through many portals of change, transitions and changes that life brings. I carry your stories with me too.

Some people put their stories into stained glass creations. These creations made out of broken or shaped glass are important memories for me. Those creations of broken or shaped glass are symbolic all this happened, all that has shaped us, as we shared the journey of life here.

I also came across a second saying in the book, as saying that all of us have used, as children:

Ring around the Rosy

Pocket full of posies

Ashes ashes

(or A-choo A-choo)

We all fall down!

 

Even though this has become children's rhyme,

it originally was used to describe the Black Death or the Black Plague that struck Europe.

“Ring around the Rosy” referred to the rose-colored area of skin and a darker circle surrounding it, that was a sign of the plague.

“Pocket full of posies” referred to sweet smelling flowers that those who were attending the sick would carry to ward off the stench of the disease.

“Ashes ashes” meant impending death.

Or “A-choo A-choo” referred to the sneezing that came with the disease.

“We all fall down!” referred to the fact that the plague had a hundred percent death rate.[3]

 

I was reminded, as I read that verse to myself, of all of the challenges we have in ministry as we seek to reach out to those communities that are impoverished, where malnourishment is a common occurrence, and where death comes far too often, and where we as a church seek to challenge our governments to live up to their promises, those words we said to each other many years ago.     

 I thought of communities like Attawapiskat, Kashechewan and Garden River, Pikangikum and many others where we, as a country, have not lived up to our covenants and agreements - words spoken in sincerity but not lived in truth. 

We, as a country, have closed our eyes, not wanting to see the third world conditions in our own context.

   And I also thought of countries like Somalia and Haiti, where natural disaster and poor government combined to create a greater disaster, and how we, as a country have responded to that need.

How do we celebrate the Christmas message of hope and peace and joy, of "God is with you" with those communities?

    And what does "God is with us" mean for us and our responsibilities as we open ourselves to God’s Spirit working through us?

 

    Part of my ministry here involved helping you explore the meaning behind the words that we use. I think it is valuable to know what we're saying and why we use the words we do.

Remember last week we reminded ourselves that Jesus is called "Immanuel"?

We reminded ourselves that "Immanuel" means

"God is with us". 

Did we also remember that we were taught, that

"Goodbye" also means "God be with you"

So in a way, we have in the sayings "God is with us" and

 "God be with you"

both an affirmation and a prayer.

 

Will each of us now say "Goodbye" with its full meaning?

After working with someone at the Food Bank, or someone who needed help in this Christmas period, or as we donate to the Red Cross to help in communities like Attawapiskat,

 or as we leave for the night after we celebrate a Christmas concert together, will we now say "Goodbye" in that way, as an affirmation and as a blessing? 

Will we leave those we work with and those we celebrate with that blessing?

 

Often when I walked under starry skies, especially in those crisp clear winter nights, I think of the beauty that God has created in our world and how God wants us to reflect the beauty in our relationships with each other.

 

We can reflect that beauty by recognizing the richness that we have been given in the words that we use.

By becoming aware of how rich those words are, we can become conscious of the prayers we are using and the blessings we are giving as we relate to each other.

And perhaps becoming aware of what are words mean,

 and trying to live into the meaning of those words,

 we can change our world.

It was with that insight that I read, in a the December 2011 Observer, and article entitled Christmas In The Holy Land,[4] by Sherry Ann Chapman who shared these words from Bishop Munib Youman.  Bishop Youman spoke these words at the communion service at Sabeel, the Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in East Jerusalem: 

"Fear not… Palestinians and Israelis today face a common enemy: fear. In the absence of justice and peace, the common denominator is fear. Fear of the other. Fear of the future. Fear that freedom is not coming. Fear that children will grow in hatred. Fear of insecurity. The fear of the occupation. Fear is our common prison that keeps us locked up in cycles of mistrust and shattered dreams… It is a fear that will only ever vanish when there is a peace based on justice, and reconciliation built on forgiveness. We proclaimed that such a just peace is possible today. We pray that all political leaders will seize the opportunity before it is too late.

The same message of the first Christmas rings true today: 'Fear not! '"[5] 

When we can deal with the fears that we have, then perhaps we can hear the words of peace, from those we push away from us, because of fear - words that they want to speak to us. 

And if others can deal with their fear of us, then they can hear the words of peace and love and joy and hope we want to bring.

Several years ago I received a letter, at Christmas time from someone I had met, that had these words that were written to me and to many other friends:

"Hundreds of angels were seen during this Advent Season

in many congregations throughout Norway.  People said

that those angels have a head, a body and two wings.

They were even able to touch them.

Those angels were made out of glass, fragments of broken bottles thrown away or glass destroyed during the Israeli invasion of Bethlehem. Human hands picked them from among the rubble, then assembled them together.  [This was accomplished] by some of the poorest of the poor in the Bethlehem region at the International Center of Bethlehem art workshops.

Ordered by the Christian Council of Norway to be sent to hundreds of congregations, those angels told all about “the hopes and fears of all the years” that people have in Bethlehem today.

The broken glass pieces are a sign of the brokenness of our world, and it is also the reason for God to incarnate.

Through the incarnation God brought the divine and the human back together.  God picked what seems to be worthless and hopeless and transformed it into a beautiful and whole creation.

It is this incarnation, which took place here in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, which gives us the strength to continue to look for broken lives and [dashed] hopes and to transform them through art into angels, messengers of justice, peace and dignity. " [6]

God still speaks to us in the midst of despair, in the midst of the loss of loved ones and in the midst of destruction and war, and in the midst of brokenness. 

It interesting how, out of shattered pieces of glass, people can create powerful recognizable symbols of hope and peace.

It is interesting that those, who have hope, tell us that God’s love is greater than the weapons of destruction.

It is interesting that we gain valuable lessons that bring joy into our lives, when we remember them  - lessons that come with stories of people we know, people who have influenced our lives with the way they have lived.

It is interesting that the rays of hope and beams of joy can come from the poor in the town of Bethlehem.

It is interesting that rays of hope and peace and joy still come from Bethlehem in our time.

It is interesting that rays of hope and peace and joy were birthed in Bethlehem so many years ago.

It is interesting that angels can travel across the world reflecting the light that will not be hidden by the darkness.

"How beautiful upon the mountains

are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,

who brings good news,

who announces salvation,

who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."

Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,

together they sing for joy;

for in plain sight they see

the return of the LORD to Zion.

Break forth together into singing,

you ruins of Jerusalem;

for the LORD has comforted his people,

he has redeemed Jerusalem.[7]

 

Broken glass made into glass angels that reflect God’s light.

Broken words that can be reformed into promises lived out, reflecting God’s justice.

                                                                ********************************************

     December 4th, 2011        “Comfort, O comfort my people.”        Rev Dr Alf Dumont

When I woke up one morning about a month ago

I had these words going through my mind,

"... the day of the Lord will come like a thief...."[1]

Earlier in the week, I had read those words from the second letter of Peter, as I was planning the Advent services.  This saying comes from a larger passage that reads:

"The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief."  [2]

I always find it interesting that certain phrases can tend to stick in your mind and you repeat them over and over again to yourself.  I think that is a way we learn.

It is a way in which we come to know Scripture, because, as we repeat it to ourselves, we see new meaning, we see different ways of interpreting and we gain possibly new insights that weren't there, in front of us, or obvious to us, when we read it for the first time.

John the Baptist has been considered as, primarily, a prophet who came to preach repentance.  But, what John was about was more than that.  He was about "his father's business" in many different ways, just as we are about, "our father's business" in many different ways, as well.

John not only called people to repentance, he also came to lead others, through baptism,

into a new way of life, he came to call others to seek the spirit of God

for their way of living, he came to call others to the realization that change was part of the dynamic that God built into life, that this is the way God created all life.

And even repentance has a broader definition that we sometimes give it.  “Metaneo” (μετάνοια) the Greek word for repentance means “to look, or perceive afterwards”, in others words, “to look back on where we have come from and what we have done”, to look back on all that we have done, the good the bad and the ugly[3].  Then writers used an even broader interpretation of the word giving it this meaning:  

“to have a change of heart”.

 And then theologians like Paul connected metaneo “to have a change of heart” with the word epistrophē (ἐπιστροφή)  which means “to turn around” or “to be converted”.              

                So we have this image of a people as they are walking down the road of life contented with what they are doing, or stuck at a certain place in life, until, after many moments of personal reflection,

·      they are spurred on or supported by the words they heard others saying,

·      or through the acts they saw someone doing,

·      or through the some challenge or circumstance they are confronted with in life,

·      or something inside them calls out for greater acknowledgement

·      or something comes out that can no longer be hidden,

and they stop, they turn around and they look at the road they have been walking, and decide that they need to change the way they are walking, and they need to choose another way of being and doing.

Repentance and conversion are regular events in our lives and we need to be about those, all the time.  

Repentance and conversion do not need to contain those heavy moral overtones of doing something wrong – they may, but not necessarily.  It may simply be the realization that we need to change direction, or “come out” to acknowledge who we really are, or acknowledge what God is calling us to do and be.                 

John and Jesus worked together on this message.

Think back to those times in your life or the lives of your family, when you or they had to make a change and when you or they had to choose another road to walk.  Think back to those changes and, now, remind yourselves that it was not just about making a change, because it had to be, but it was more than that: it was the Spirit of God speaking to you and giving you another opportunity to see how to walk in this world in a different way.

Well as a church you are going to be walking in a different way. As a church you are going to stop, look back, re-assess, re-evaluate your journey thus far.  And then you are going to look for new pathways to walk, until you find how best to walk in the next 20 years.   Think of that as good!  Think of that as the Spirit of God calling out to you.

 Isaiah’s words have become so well known:

“Nachamu nachamu ’ammi”

“Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.”[4]

But did you know that one of the meanings of nacham or “comfort” is “repent”.  

It is God’s repentance!

It is God’s turning away from anger at the people because they have been stubborn and not followed faithfully the way of life that had been laid out for them from the beginning.  So God has a change of heart and seeks to walk in a new way with the people.

That is Isaiah’s poetic way of describing our relationship with God and God’s relationship with us.

“God will feed his flock like a shepherd; God will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.”[5]

“God is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.”[6]

God wants all of us to turn around and look, as God has turned around and looked.  God wants us to seek new ways of walking with each other.                                                         

 We can be stubborn as sheep are stubborn, or we can look at how we have blocked the change that the Spirit wants to bring into our circle, or we can open ourselves to the change that the Spirit wants to bring into our lives, and, then, seek to change the way we relate to each other, so that, like God, we can

feed each other with what nourishes the soul; we can support with each other in community, as God gathers the lambs close together; and we can carry each other when times in life are tough or in times of joy and celebration, as God does, keeping all those who are part of the family close to the  heart, and we can walk gently with each other, on the road of life, as we move from birth, through life, to the portals of life beyond death, as God leads all lambs, all children, to the end which is like the beginning, to the mother sheep...to rebirth, in the world, of the Spirit of Life.”[7]

                                            ************************************************

     November 27th, 2011        "I Did Not Expect That"        Rev Dr Alf Dumont

     Barb and I and Dan had just driven back from Barrie.

     I looked at my watch it said 6:15 p.m.

    I said to my son Dan,

    "We should put all that scrap lumber from those skids you dismantled into those three boxes we        

    brought back from Costco."

    After we had done that I said to Barb

    "I am going to church now, then I should be back after my meeting around 9: 00 p.m.". 

     As I was walking over and noticed a piece of wood in the yard and decided to add it to the three boxes

    of wood we had collected for Brian.  I looked at my watch again and it said 6:15 p.m., so I

    decided that I would do a bit of clean-up in the garage.  I cleaned up in the corner, from where Wayne

    and Dan had taken the lathe, earlier in the day, and decided to put a wooden trunk in that corner, so I

    could store salt and other things.

    Then, I decided to clean up the top of the workbench.  

    I looked at my watch it said 6:15 p.m.  So I decided that I could do more work.

    Just about then Dan B. poked his head through the door and said,

    "Aren't you coming to the meeting?"

    I said,  "The meeting is not until 7:30 p.m.   Isn't it?  Dan said,  "It is 7:35 p.m."

    I looked at my watch and it said 6:15 p.m. 

    I laughed when I realized that my watch had stopped.

    I said to Dan,  "It's amazing how much work one can get done at how slowly time passes when, you're

    watch remains at the same time. 

    But it's all so amazing when you don't expect that you're watch has stopped, how you can miss out on    

    those important things you have to do."

    Because my watch had stopped I never expected that I might've missed a very important meeting, a

    meeting that was essential that I as the minister of the church had to attend.

    "It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with

    his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.  Therefore, keep awake--for you do not

    know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at

    dawn." [1]

    Fortunately for me Dan B. is a good doorkeeper.

    It is always challenging for all of us carry out our responsibilities when unexpected things happen in our

    lives. For me it was some simple matter of a watch battery wearing out.

    Or was it? 

    All of us know that batteries only last certainly length of time. 

    “Be aware!” said Jesus!

    Sometimes major unexpected things happen in our lives,

·      unexpected life-giving surgery,

·      the breakdown of what once was a life-giving relationship,

·      the challenge of losing a job, and thus losing not only the means of supporting our family, and the blow to our pride that we cannot give the support as we always have, and then, the knowledge that now we have to rely on other people, or other means, or seek a new direction in life.

    Many unexpected things happen in our lives for which we never feel fully prepared.

    When Jesus tells this parable, this story, which is recorded in the Book of Mark, we understand why

    many people in many other traditions regarded Jesus as a prophet.

    We often think of prophecy is forecasting the future.

    When we concentrate on that aspect of prophecy we fail to understand that, in the ancient Hebrew

    tradition, prophecy as much about remembering, as looking forward.

    Remember who you are!

    Remember who brought you here!

    Remember your relationship with God!

    Remember who called you here and why!

    Remember the promises you made!

    Remember the faith that has made you strong!

    Fortunately, we are surrounded by many people who care for us from within our families and many

    people in this community of faith.   Fortunately, these people, who surround us and care for us, are the   

    ones who also remind us, challenge us and help us to see our faith in a new light.

    Fortunately there are many good doorkeepers’ who watch out for us, either giving us warning, or giving

    us support,  or giving us insight, when unexpected things happen.

    Some time, in that same evening that Dan, the doorkeeper, found me in the shed working away, as if

    time had stopped 6:15 p.m., I bumped my right thigh against something and damaged the screen on my

    cell phone.

    I did not realize that, until about 10 o'clock that night.

    So all the data that I had stored in the phone - numbers and my daily calendar - I could not retrieve

    because most of the screen was not visible.

    I became aware how easily we can lose touch with people because we rely so heavily on these new tools, 

    this new media, to keep us informed, and to remind us, of our responsibilities and our commitments.

    Jesus said to the disciples,

    "Therefore, keep awake--for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or

    at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn. Or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.

    And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."[2]

    I thought it was apt that these two things happened to me on a week in which I have been reflecting on   

    the Scripture passages where Isaiah and Jesus were talking about preparing ourselves for the presence

    of God’s Spirit in our lives, always being prepared to let the Spirit direct our whole being.  

    Prophecy is not only looking forward to what the future what might be. Prophecy is equally about

    looking back to where we have been and what we have done…about looking back to our relationship

    with God and each other and how we have lived out that relationship.

    Through this prophecy was Jesus challenging us to think of something deeper: about how we must

    remember who we are, as God's children, so that we can prepare ourselves for the re-birth of God's Spirit

    within us and can be re-dedicated to living as Christ lived his life.

    It is not that with Advent is about?

    Is it not about indwelling spirit in these humble dwelling places, the humble abode of our human

    existences?

    And, with the indwelling of the Spirit, does that not call us look back, to remember and then to live

    forward, by living with, and for, each other, and, in that, being open to where God wants us to be.

    With that indwelling of the Spirit people will look at us and see hope expressed in our living, to which

    they too can respond,

    and they will ask us why,

     and we will share our stories of the hope which has been born in us?

    Isaiah cried out to God, because he desperately wanted to see God, to know that God was present in all

    trying times of the nation of Israel and, because he had been called to be a prophet, he felt alone and

    wanted to experience God's presence in his life, in that moment of doubt, so he said,

    "From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who

    works for those who wait for him.  You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your

    ways."[3]

    Isaiah remembered the stories of God coming to Moses, to Elijah and to Elisha, coming to them on the

    mountain tops, appearing to them in the clouds, in the lightning, and in the whirlwind. 

    Isaiah wanted to experience God in that way too.

    But don't we all?

    And because he cried out, God answered him,

“I dwell in the high and holy place,

and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit,

to revive the spirit of the humble,

and to revive the heart of the contrite.” [4]

    During this Advent time let us live with a faith that

    “…is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.[5]

    During this Advent time let us live with a faith that turns back, looks and remembers.

    During this Advent time let us live with a faith expects the unexpected and sees in the unexpected the

    Spirit of God, calling us

    to a new hope, to new possibilities, to renewed life.

                                **************************************************

    November 20th, 2011        “How Big is the Circle?”        Rev Dr Alf Dumont

    "Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth.

    Worship God with gladness;

    come into God’s presence with singing.

    Know that the LORD is God.

    It is God that made us, and we are God's." [1]

 

    Last weekend!

    What is amazing and overwhelming weekend!

    You reminded me, through your sharing,

    how important family is,

    you reminded me, through your acceptance,

    how love is the glue that keeps family together

    and you reminded me, through your pursuit of justice, how extended the family is, to which, all of us        

    belong.

    “Know that the LORD is God.

    It is God that made us, and we are God's." [2]

    We are part of God’s family.

    Barb, Mike, Dan and I, heard many stories during the celebration and after, of the ways our lives have        

    become intertwined.

    One person said:

    “You have just done exactly what was said of you and Barb yesterday - You have taken time from your    

    celebrations and family time to extend help to another.”
 

    Isn’t that what being family is all about?

    Isn’t that a healthy definition of family, that we are there for each other, no matter what the

    circumstances? 

      Mary Jane asked me to watch a video on U-tube entitled Chicken la Carte[3] by Ferdinand Dimadura.  Originally it was posted on U-tube on May 29, 2009 and shown at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival.  

    The film Chicken a la Carte is a six-minute true story of an impoverished Filipino community that lives in stark contrast to the country’s urban elite.

    Whereas well-off teens dine at the biggest international food-chains, impoverished communities live off of the scraps left behind.

In the documentary film, a young father of two arranges with one of the international food-chain restaurants, after closing time, to pick up the scraps left uneaten by customers.

He takes most of the scraps and collects them in his clean garbage bag and places them in a plastic garbage can that he has brought with him.  It looks as if he has done this many times.  Then he cycles back to his community, arriving early in the morning, and shares the scraps with many of the kids in the community.   They are overjoyed to have the left-over restaurant food – the scraps. 

Then he takes some of the left-over food to create a meal for his family.

However, before he allows the children to eat,

 he motions for them to fold their hands in prayer,

 as he gives thanks to God for what they have received that day…he says grace.

    We might ask

    “If we ate all the food on our table, leaving no scraps, would that make a difference to all the hungry

    people in the world?”

Watching this video, I now say to myself that we might never know, how, what is no longer important for us, might be vital for someone else.

And, if we are careful with our eating, might that mean that the money saved could go to helping others who have very little?

And if we have scraps left over, we might ask ourselves and others,

“What arrangements could be made with the scraps from our table, or from those things in our houses which we no longer use or have never used for years?”

This U-tube video made me think.

    Jesus gave a teaching to those who crowded around him, about what it means to be part of the family of

    God, and what defines us and what sets us apart:

    "Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the           kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was      thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you      gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.  'Truly I tell you,     just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."[4]

    We are all related to one another, all across this world. And what we do to one another, and how we        relate one another, reflects what we have learned from these teachings of Jesus and Ezekiel that we heard, this morning.

    So when we look at our way of living we need to ask ourselves,

    "How do we treat the least of those within our family?  Whom have we welcomed into our family?

    How big is our family?

    How big are our hearts? "

    These questions are not just about whether we will get into the kingdom of God or not. These questions         we ask ourselves are really about how we are to live now. If we only seek to be welcoming, and caring, and     accepting, because that's the only way we will get into heaven, then we have lost the essence of the             teaching to begin with. It is only when we live with truth from the heart that we will understand what Jesus was teaching, what he was teaching in turning back to the lessons of Ezekiel:

"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep."[5] 

Jesus used that image of the sheep, pushing and butting one another for space, and for place, and to gain advantage – when he spoke of those who were part of the family of God because they saw a need and responded and instead of butting each other for advantage over them, and sought to share of the food or resources that were provided - like the ones who came at night and gathered the leftovers, the scraps, and as we do, also rejoiced in what they had, always giving thanks to God. [6]  

When I was in the Carry The Kettle First Nations community back in the 1980’s, I experienced for the first time a Giveaway.  The Giveaway was a way of saying that everybody in the community had a place, everyone in the community needed to share in the riches of the community.

The Giveaway or the Potlach, which was banned by the government at the turn of the 1900’s, was a way of making sure that those who had gained much over the years would have the opportunity to share what they had gained, so that all the community could benefit.

You didn’t have to be rich to have a Giveaway. 

The Giveaway I attend was from a modest family, who were giving thanks to the community for how the people in the community respected their father who had passed away. 

The richest person is the one who gives away the most.  

Jesus teachings are hard teachings.  

Jesus teachings are teachings all of us have difficulty living.  

But those teachings about Giveaways, or Potlatches, are the same as the teachings that Jesus gave,

and the same as the teachings that came from his Jewish ancestry, the teachings of the prophets.

The teachings of Jesus are not easy to follow.

It is not an easy pathway to walk, being a follower of Jesus.  And that's why he gives this harsh parable, telling us that there will be a time when

 “I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep."[7]

 that there will be a time when that fat ones and the skinny ones will need to learn how to come together and share the gifts they have being entrusted with.

This is Reign of Christ Sunday.   If Jesus gave us this teaching, then where does that teaching come alive within us? 

When I attended Christine Smaller’s Covenanting service a couple of weeks ago, I sat beside a friend who gave up his job so that another person could earn a living, because he felt that he and his wife, who had a full-time job as a minister, could live on one salary.

I was challenged by him, because I do not think I could do that, but maybe I could have. 

"Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth.

 Worship God with gladness;

come into his presence with singing.

 Know that the LORD is God.

It is God that made us, and we are God's." [8]

I remember a story that John McFarlane, a minister from Lebret, Saskatchewan and colleague at the Dr. Jessie Saulteaux Resource Centre, told me. 

It was a story about a priest who was visiting from Central America and who came to share with the churches in Regina.  He was teaching at a church in the downtown, when a homeless person came into the church and walked up to the front where this priest was teaching and stood there.

The priest looked at the homeless man, and, at first, everyone thought he was going to ask the homeless man to leave; but instead he looked into his eyes and then he looked down at his hands and said,

"You live in nice watch there. I like your watch.

Would you like to trade your watch for mine?"

The homeless man who knew that his watch did not carry the same value as the watch of the priest said,

"Sure, let's trade!"

So they did.  The homeless man stayed for a while in that gathering, and then left, and went on his way.

As far as John knew the homeless man and the priest never met again.

John asked the priest, because he was deeply moved by the event, why he had traded his expensive watch for the old, less expensive, scratched watch of the homeless man. The priest said,

"Because I saw that he was eyeing my watch and because I knew he needed what I had, more than I needed to have it."

Like me, John said he didn't know if he could ever do that.   But, that day, he learned a deep and valuable lesson that would never leave him.

"Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth.

 Worship God with gladness;

come into his presence with singing.

 Know that the LORD is God.

It is God that made us, and we are God's." [9]

This is reign of Christ Sunday.

What we do to one another and how we relate one another reflects what we have learned from these teachings that we have before us.

So as we look back on our lives and we need to ask ourselves,

"How do we treat the least of those within our family?  Whom have we welcomed in to our family?

How big is our family?

How big are our hearts? "

This is reign of Christ Sunday.

"Where does Christ reign in our lives?"

"How big does Christ, who lives in us, make our hearts?"

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November 13th, 2011       “The Seven Teachings”       A Dialogue, Alf and Stan

 Alf shares -

Job says in the twilight years of his life,

"Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

 'Hear, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you declare to me.'

 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye sees you;

 therefore I despise myself,

and repent in dust and ashes."[1]

It's interesting, as we get older, that, actually, we begin to understand all those teachings and all those lessons that were shared with us when we were younger.

Job spent so much of his time searching for meaning, for the place that God had in his life, for what the sacred writings of the time had to teach him.

 It was only when he was older and when he came to God in humility that he began to understand what God was saying to him.

I think this is true for all of us.

It is only when we come humbly before God that we understand what God has called us to do and to be.

Stan, in each of our spiritual journeys we have discovered another teaching that embraces the wisdom of our traditional elders, and echoes some of those things which Job learned and certainly what Jesus taught.

The 7 teachings have been phrased in this way:

To cherish knowledge is to know WISDOM.

To know LOVE is to know peace

To honour all of the Creation is to have RESPECT.

BRAVERY is to face the foe with integrity.

HONESTY in facing a situation is to be brave.

HUMILITY is to know yourself as a sacred part of the Creation.

TRUTH is to know all of these things.

 

To cherish knowledge is to know WISDOM.

Many years ago, Stan, you and I each attended a theological college.  I attended Laurentian University and Emmanuel College at Victoria University and you attended the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg, where we studied the teachings and insights of philosophers and theologians who went before us, and where we studied scripture and sought to gain our own understanding of what the teachings of Jesus, the teaching of the wisdom writers, the teachings of the prophets and the teachings that come from the ancient stories meant to us.

It was later in life, that each of us acknowledged that there was more wisdom to be gained if we took into account the teachings of the elders and the leaders, who walked in the traditional way of our people.

So we added to the knowledge we gained from the theological college and the university, the knowledge that comes from the wisdom of our people.

The journey that I've taken from early childhood to these present days has been one where I have tried to take into account all the teachings of all those people who have tried to make a difference in our world.

For me, I have gained wisdom, as I listened to all of my elders, from all the communities, both first nations and non-first nation’s communities -

 those that I have entered, or where I have served.   

Any wisdom that I have gained came from the teaching of the elders from all those communities.   

Any wisdom that I've have gained came as people shared their stories with me and as I listened carefully to those stories. 

I've discovered that for a teaching to be real it must be lived out as we share life and love with all the people that we meet.

And the communities both of us have served have taught us so much about pursuing peace by loving our neighbor.

And that leads us to the next teaching:

 

To know LOVE is to know peace

Stan shares -

In 1971 I was settled, as an ordinand in the United Church, in Norway House. We arrived in August and discovered a group of elders who were serving the church/community out of a deep commitment, which was life-long. I want to make mention of one of these people who demonstrated her knowledge of love. Florence was a church elder who was a grandmother, in her 70’s and she took her turn in the worship schedule that the elders developed.

She was a calm and quiet woman who had determined her particular ministry was to be present for persons nearing death, to care for them and their families. She provided palliative care because most people died in their own homes even though there was a small hospital in the community. A family would request that Florence come to their house when they felt that death was near.

Florence would go and stay at the home, sometimes for a few hours or often for a few days. She was volunteering - acting out love - to be with the dying and with their family. In faithful living, Florence acted as a “mid-wife” for the dying and in her person she carried the gift of peace.

 

To honour all of the Creation is to have RESPECT.

One evening in July when I was 8 or 9 and living at home on the Fisher River reserve, we played a game in the yard with about six neighbour children.

The games involved a lot of running and yelling.

We came in at dusk and my father met us and said,  “I was watching you playing. I noticed that you didn’t include Herman and also you teased him.”

(He was neighbour child who didn’t run as well as others). “People who are different are a gift to our community. They see the world differently and understand things that others may not.

We have to find ways to include them in our community.”

My mother and father made life on the land.

My mother kept a few animals, grew a garden, gathered wild fruit, sewed clothes and prepared food. My father hunted, trapped, and fished on Lake Winnipeg. With sharing and bartering in the community, we were living with an economic pattern of inter-dependence. We had what we needed.

It was only as my father grew older and told us more stories that I began to understand his insights - what they modeled. –

“You only take what you need from the earth and of what you have, you share.”

By observing the adults of our community, we learned about living out honour for Creation.

The stories of elders reinforced our experience of what it means to respect creation and our neighbours.

In the global context, living with an awareness of diversity of culture and spiritual customs, the teaching of respect is challenging for us. Another aspect is related to the degradation of water, land, air and all of nature. In a world of aggressive development we exploit resources and struggle for control of land. Religious and cultural conflicts continue to fuel tensions. We await an honouring of creation and respect for diversity

 

BRAVERY is to face the foe with integrity.

 

HONESTY in facing a situation is to be brave.

Alf shares -

When I think of these two teachings of bravery and honesty and of always having integrity as you face the challenges of life,

I think of my mother's story. 

She tells the story in this way:

"The Carpenter family lived about a mile south of the Shawanaga Reserve.  (Mom always tended to her family when they became sick, especially her mother who never recovered from the deaths of her children in the 1910 fire.)

There was a young woman looking after the children in that old house and the fire she built became too hot and it got out of control. My father had to chop a hole through the roof but by that time the boys were overcome with smoke.

He rescued one of the children but that child later died.

My sister Minnie and my brother Bill escaped the fire.

Where the old house was, there was a patch of sweetgrass that grew and my Mom would always go there. She never got over the deaths of her boys.  She would speak in Ojibwa.

I understood it then. She would talk about the fire.   Even my father (Freeman) talked about the fire on his deathbed.

We (the Carpenter family) were falling sick and Jim said we should get help.  We had TB.   I went into the General Hospital at Parry Sound.  Jeanette, my, sister and I were in the same ward then she moved upstairs.

My father (Freeman) was also in the hospital.

He kept calling out for me he was in so much pain with his arthritis. He disturbed the other patients so much that the staff moved him to a room next to mine.  

Jeanette died there from kidney failure (1939)

That same year Dr. MacKay told me I had TB and had to go to the Gravenhurst Sanatorium.  Minnie followed, but it was too late for her and she died in North wing, in 1939-40. 

 Jim watched her kids: Herb, Gus, and Bernice.

(When Mom returned from the Santorium she became their mother.)

Jim had horses and did not want to leave the farm.   

Amelia (his wife) thought she could home-cure him.

I told him that home-cure was no good.

He went to Gravenhurst but died there.

Bill was diagnosed with cancer of the liver and was sent to Haileybury.

I came out of Gravenhurst in 1942.  I worked for awhile at the CIL Plant in Nobel.   Met Dad (Alex) while I was picking mayflowers.  If my father were alive, your Dad wouldn't have come courting.   My father didn't care for Catholics!  

We got Dad married in December, 1942.  

I had all of you (Mary, Ralph, Jim, Alf, and an infant who died) between 1943 and 1948, then the TB came back and I had to go to Weston in Toronto for a rest cure from 1950-1952.  

I had a kidney and goitre removed.   I also had a splinter taken from my leg and put in my back for support.

It was in 1958 only six years after she had returned from the sanatorium Weston Ontario, but my mother had to face the loss of her oldest son Ralph in a drowning accident.

Though my mother was profoundly affected and influenced by all these deaths, so early in her life, she had been taught to be strong, to be brave, to face the situation and to help in whatever way she could.

All of her life she gave herself to helping any member of her family that was in need.

Most people don't know that story because, in her humility, she would never think of sharing it.

She would, more likely, quietly listen to others as they told their stories.

What was always important for my mother was that she lived lessons of grace, generosity, love and humility.  She always put the needs of others before her own needs.

And that leads us into the next teaching:

 

HUMILITY is to know yourself as a sacred part of the Creation.

 Stan shares -

Over the years we have known many elders who lived the sacred teachings and, Alf, you and I have been blessed to know an Annishinabe elder from Curve Lake. Murray Whetung is a role model.

He leads with humility and grace. I am very mindful of Murray on this Remembrance Day weekend because he served in communications in the Second World War and spent time in Europe. He is the only surviving W.W.II veteran from Curve Lake, where all the able bodied men enlisted for service.

I remember Murray serving as a leading elder for the consultation process (alongside Gladys Taylor, also from Curve Lake) Murray used his leadership to involve others, to be a peacemaker and to humbly share his wisdom and experience.

The elders teach in ceremonies about the expression “all my relations” which is a humble acknowledgement that we are related to all creation - the plant life, the ones that crawl, the ones that fly, the ones that swim, the four-legged and the two legged. In fact we are a part of earth - Our Mother.

Hunters and fishers offer tobacco as humble thanksgiving when life is taken/given for their family’s life.

Arthur Solomon shared a writing that expresses humility as the way we can understand our place in creation. He said, “Only humans have forgotten our original instructions” about how to live with respect in creation.

Alf, you began by quoting Job’s admission that he lacked understanding of wonderful things. The concluding verses in Job, chapter 42, tell of a restoration of Job’s fortunes, which was related to his prayer for friends. A feast happened, I expect much like the one that occurred last evening.

One of the significant aspects of Job’s response to the blessings he received was that he shared an inheritance with his daughters as well as his sons. It is a struggle to carry lessons of balance forward. An inclusive act has finally been put in place by the British parliament enabling daughters in the royal family to have equal access to the throne.

Job’s days then were celebrated in the sharing of life with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. It is similar to the wishes St. John’s and your friends here are praying will be your experience, Barb and Alf: “That you may live with blessings, having all that you need and share with generations yet unborn.”

 

TRUTH is to know all of these things.

Alf shares -

Truth is one of the hardest things to grasp.

However, if we seek to live out the teachings that we know and to live them with integrity, we will come to know what truth is. Truth is known in the heart and can only be known through the heart.

Jesus called us to love our neighbor as ourselves and we only know that truth as we seek to live it out.

And that is the way we come to know all truth.

Stan, I am grateful for all that I have learned from this community and in all the communities where I have had the opportunity to share those gifts that I had been entrusted with.

I am grateful that you have been with us this weekend. I've always valued our relationship.

So on behalf of this believing community I would like to thank you for coming to share with us, and share with me, as I give thanks for what I have received and what my family has received in these past 20 years.

Che Meegwetch Che Manido

                                      

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