This page is in honour of the 'pesky, perpetual, predictable and persistent return of the Sabbath'!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 Samuel 23: 1-7
Psalm 132
Revelation 1: 4b-8
John 18: 44-37

Are We There Yet?

When contestant # 43212 walked onto the stage of the Britain’s Got Talent auditions in April of this year, the three judges could barely hide their disdain for this plain, plump, 47 year old from Blackburn, a small village in Scotland, who stated that she wanted to become a famous singer. But by the time she had finished the first line of her chosen selection, “I Dreamed a Dream”, from the stage play Les Miserables, Susan Boyle had the judges in total awe and long before the end, the entire house on its feet. Though she did not end up winning the contest, and her life has been a bit of a roller coaster ever since, she has achieved her stated goal of becoming a professional singer. Her album “I Dreamed A Dream” has apparently broken all pre-sale records on Amazon. (since it wont be released until tomorrow, you can go home and add to those statistics if you like!)

Now, a large part of what has made Susan Boyle into an overnight sensation, would not have been possible even five years ago; it is the fact that her performance was uploaded to U-tube and circled the globe almost instantly. As far as I know, it is the most viewed performance on U-tube and the count is now somewhere below 79 million. I have watched it a number of times, mostly to see, and see again, the reactions of the three judges.

She now has what she wanted, a career as a professional singer, but only time can tell whether or not it is what she expected.

We come again to the last Sunday of the church year; often referred to as: “The Reign of Christ” Sunday. It is a day on which we reflect on what it means for Christ to reign, in our lives and in the world. Since we began our Advent journey 52 weeks ago, we have been moving toward this place. Since Advent 2008 we have been through a great deal. As they say, “It’s been quite a year!”

I’m not really talking about 2009; I am talking about year B! Year B is a way of referring to the middle year of the three year cycle of lectionary readings. In year B most of our readings come from the Gospel of Mark. Next week we start Year C and most of our Gospel readings will come from the gospel of Luke.

This cycle of the church year is like a permanent family road trip; one by one we whine to the driver, “are we there yet?” What did we have in mind when we believed the proclamation that the messiah was coming - way back in Advent of 2008? Did we anticipate all that happened? What did we mean when we, like Mary, agreed to let the Son of God grow within us? When we left the manger and told the world that the Lord had come, what DID we really mean? When we listened to Jesus as he taught us and when we saw him healing and casting out demons, what did we think?

What did we think when the disciples fled? Were we at their heels or were here are the foot of the cross to see how he was faithful to the end. No matter where we were though, we learned something that changed our lives, if we let it.

What did we do when he rose and showed his power over life and many other people truly believed? What happened to our own faith as we proclaimed “Christ is Risen”. What were we doing as our grand road-trip continues and we heard and lived the stories read over the summer and early fall. Did we whine and complain that we were bored or did we stare out the window and marvel at how different the landscape looked since we saw it on the last road-trip. In response to things going on in our lives, was our faith easily shaken, or has it stayed with us? Has our faith changed and grown, or has it changed us in the last year?

How are we different for having been a part of this listening, responding community of faith this past year? How have we been able to listen and follow the voice of the One whose kingdom does not operate by the standards and values of this world?

Essentially that is the challenge offered by Jesus’ response to Pilate, in the late night courtroom scene I read a few moments ago. Dragged through the courts, on trumped up charges, in the middle of the night, Jesus knew he wasn’t going to get out of this one. He stood his ground and proclaimed his good news to the end. Are we listening?

What did we expect when we signed on as Christians? How do our responses affect our beliefs. Too many people believe that faith is about believing things: like the things in the creed (you pick the creed). Too many people think that being “saved” is about going to heaven when you die. But the abundant life promised to the Christian is also about life, and life is about living in trust. but I think that faith is about living in trust. The Christian life is about living faithfully, not living in such a way that our primary goal is to avoid breaking rules. If we have managed to follow the ten commandments to the finest detail that is all well and good, but what have we done to live out the love of God. On this last Sunday of the year we are asked the question, “Is anyone else’s life better because we have believed”. The Christian life is about another world, another way of being, in this life - and showing this way to others.

What if we were on a road trip and at the end of the day we realize we are in the wrong place. We took a wrong turn, or did not turn when we should have. What do we do? We get up in the morning and retrace out steps so that we can get on track. What do we do when something we see or know does not meet our expectations. A few weeks ago I mentioned the song, “Sometimes I wish my eyes hadn’t been opened” and talked about those things we can’t ignore once we see them. We deal with what has happened and we get back to the journey.

This Sunday is also knows as Children’s Sunday and this year the United Church has asked that we pay special attention to the special needs of “children in care”. We used to call these children, “Foster Kids”. I have known a number of foster children and foster parents during the years of my ministry. Some of their stories would break your heart. Most of them and their special needs are largely ignored by the rest of us.

Why do children end up in foster care? I read a statistic on the internet that indicated that as many as 70,000 children in Canada are in foster care because of parental abuse or neglect. Children come into care with experiences and needs we can hardly imagine and with which the system can hardly cope. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome can and does haunt a child for his or her entire life. Witnessing a lifetime of severe abuse or being abused, sexually, emotionally or physically, can affect the child’s profoundly. Foster parenting is not just about warm beds, good meals and clean clothes.

Another child goes missing, and by the lessons of experience, the police always consider the parents suspects unless they can rule it out. Far too often a parent has murdered the child or children. Children become pawns in messy divorces and in unhealthy relationships. We all remember Karissa Boudreau, the girl from Nova Scotia, murdered by her mother.

What about child poverty? Did you know that Canada has the second highest rate of child poverty in the developed world? Is this something we can live with? What do we need to do as individuals and as a country to truly support all children, and especially , “children in crisis”?

On this great car trip of the Christian life we have arrived at the end and discover that it is also the beginning. No, We aren’t there yet. A tank of gas, a cup of coffee or a good meal and a rest break and we are back on the road. For now though we sit with the map and our coffee wondering what road we will take, next year.

Christ is King of our lives. How will that change our route next year?

Amen.

1995- 2009 The Rev. Beth W. Johnston.

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