Indexed by Date. Sermons for Epiphany Year C

January 12, 2025 - Baptism of Jesus -Season of Epiphany

Isaiah 43: 1-7
Psalm 29
Luke 3: 15-22

Even in Light There is Darkness

Welcome to the season of Epiphany. Despite what is going on the “outside” (such as the often perishing wind-chill, the snowfall, the slippery roads, the price of groceries and gas, and it being cold and flu season) it is a season of light. The message of “God with us,” of Emmanuel, is starting to dawn on us once again with the power to dispel our darkness and shed more than enough light on our paths.

For this Sunday we have a passage on the ministry of John, Jesus’ relative, and some of the writings of one of the prophets called Isaiah. For the most part,they are passages of hope but they contain just enough acknowledgement of suffering and tragic circumstances to keep them from being seen only as “sweetness and light” or “pollyanna.” They are passages written for people who have known years of depravation and disappointment. The people to whom Isaiah was writing had known defeat and living in exile and they longed for the good old days when King David was a powerful leader who was able to lead his small city state to overcome all enemies. Yet, things did not last and the country split in two and one part disappeared in the maelstrom of the politics of the time and the other struggled against world powers much larger and much more powerful. By the time this passage was written they had been defeated and were returning from exile by as the diplomatic pawn of another power in the game of world domination.

Things had not gotten much better through the years and by the time of John and Jesus they were under heavy and brutal Roman occupation. The temple authorities had worked out a way to collaborate and lived - from day to day in a delicate truce that compromised just about everything. The age old passages of hope kept them going - which involved this dream for new life in the form of political freedom and self government.

In the stories that have survived, John’s role was to prepare the way for Jesus, whom he proclaimed as the Messiah. Keep in mind that there was no concept of the “separation of church and state,” so the leadership of this hoped-for figure was both political and religious.

As Epiphany moves on though, we will hear the passages read and we will have to decide for ourselves what exactly this means as we find out what Jesus teachings actually were.

Today we are asked to reaffirm our baptismal faith. Ideally, this would be paired with the baptism of a child where parents were making the promises for a child, or an adult who was making the promises for the first time, by their own decision. We would affirm our own faith and make our own promises to the ones about to be baptized to provide supportive Christian community for the children and adults being baptized. But we have no candidates for baptism today; today, we offer ourselves, already baptized, and re-commit to the promises made previously.

As with all good liturgy we begin that part of the service by making it very clear what we are about to do. Our Sunday worship begins with something along the lines of “we are here to worship God.” Weddings begin with the stated intention that we are here to witness the vows of two people to be united in matrimony. Funerals remind us of the frailty of life and announce that we are giving thanks for the life of a particular child of God and at Communion we give thanks for the life and ministry of Jesus as we participate in the mystery of his life, death and resurrection.

So in a few minutes we will intentionally remember our own baptism and the promises made in the past, whether we made them or our parents made them on our behalf.

Baptism is about an individual’s relationship with God but it is also about the community of faith which is why baptism in the United Church is rarely private, it takes a village to raise a child and it takes a community of faith to live out baptismal vows.

The beliefs are about God, Christ and the Spirit. Our belief is what we call Trinitarian, one God, three persons. To follow Jesus is to undertake a journey or trip and intentionally decide to turn our back on the ways of life and the actions that do not lead to faithfulness.

This new life is one of freedom not bondage. Sin is bondage, faith is freedom. Here, in this community of faith, it is the Christian path we have chosen and so we commit, once again, to Jesus. It is not just an intellectual pursuit but one of action

It is also a community commitment - we are part of a community of faith; we support one another as we seek to faithful to the call of Jesus.

Water is an essential part of baptism; just as water was essential to creation and water is essential to life it is part of Baptism and the re-affirmation of this faith. No life would exist without water. The explorations of other planets involve looking for water, for without it there is no hope of life. It nourishes, cleanses and gives growth.

Human beings need to be reminded of certain things. I have talked to so many people who have immigrated to Canada and have lost their facility in their first language. We need to use and exercise our faith to keep it in our hearts, minds and souls. As we say the words, may our commitment be refreshed and strengthened.

One of the highlights of the meetings of Conference and now Regional Council is the service of Celebration of Ministries - usually called :the “Ordination Service,” because it is about much more than ordination. In the Maritimes the large majority of clergy would trade their very casual clothes usually worn at the meeting, for their Sunday best, including a clerical collar. I still do, even here in Saskatchewan, but it’s not so much of a tradition. During that service, some of us re-visit our own ordination, whether it was the year before or for some 50 or more years before. When I was still a student I listened very carefully to the words of the service hoping that one day, when I had jumped through all the hoops, I would be up there , promising my life to the Christian ministry. I know the wording of the service has changed, but the purpose is the same. The Spirit is still calling, still moving and still invoked.

You may have noticed what seems like an aside in the story about John. The writer of today’s gospel reminds us that John and Herod came to blows and at the end of the day John was sent to prison. In the middle of setting up the story of Jesus we have a sense of danger and risk. The lectionary actually removes it, but I put it back. The power of the Herods of the world is always hanging over us.

Shadowlands is a movie, now over 30 years old, about the life of the quiet and reserved professor and writer C.S. Lewis and the outspoken American poet, divorcee, Joy Gresham. They became friends through correspondence between writers and they finally met and after a period of deeper friendship they were married. Wrapped up in their courtship and marriage is her diagnosis of cancer and the knowledge that their time together would be all too short. The middle-aged bachelor professor at Oxford University who often lectured on the meaning of suffering learned a great deal from his wife as his theories became tested and sometimes shattered. As the movie ends, Lewis says, “Why love if losing hurts so much? I have no answers any more. Only the life I have lived. Twice in that life I've been given the choice: as a boy and as a man. The boy chose safety, the man chooses suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal."

Alfred Lord Tennyson, wrote In Memoriam, a poem on the death of his friend, 22 year old Arthur Hallam,

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all. 

I think I was in high school when a poem, erroneously attributed to someone in the congregation, was printed in the pastoral charge bulletin.

“God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labour, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love. 

Of course, when I was in High School there was no internet and no search engine to tell me that it is a hymn by Annie J Flint and has 2 more verses.

In discipleship and in life there are no guarantees, but we are promised presence and love as we journey. Whether it be life itself, or the life of discipleship we will know God’s guidance not as a path to safety but in the knowledge that we are not alone.

Amen.

January 19, 2025 - Season of Epiphany

Isaiah 62: 1-5
Psalm 37
John 2: 1-11

Where Jesus is, There is Joy!

At a later meeting, the Presbyterial president reminded everyone that Presbytery meals were supposed to be a “set meal”, ie a roast beef dinner where the ladies in the kitchen plated the meal and delivered it to the tables which assumed they were able to calculate how many pounds of meat and vegetables were needed for the number we would normally expect.

Years later, I bought a ticket for a community fund-raiser because I was told it was always a delicious meal. I did not realize that it was first come, first served for the buffet style meal AND that all the food was put on the table at the beginning. Unlike many other similar suppers I had attended, there was no reserve in the kitchen being kept hot in the oven. Everyone was supposed to arrive at the beginning and keep track of their place when the line formed. I saw the plate the first in line served himself and thought he must not have eaten all day. I was anticipating lots of choice and lots of food but I was last in line and by the time I got to the table all that was left was a small piece of lasagna and one roll. I felt no joy and did not buy a ticket the next year even though it was in our church basement that year.

We all remember the meals where the food was plentiful and delicious, we all remember the meal where they “ran out!”

I watched several episodes of Four Brides, a so-called “reality” tv show where 4 brides invite one another to their weddings and compete for reviews. The prize was a luxurious honeymoon. They rated one another on venue, food, her dress, overall experience and originality. The brides were brutal - giving lower scores to the others for running out of food or booze, or the food being cold, or the food was too plain, or the decorations were not up to par, or, in one case, the church the bride chose was a poor location, (that week there was only 1 church wedding and the bride commenting had no idea why someone might chose a church. ) There did not seem to be a lot of joy - at least by the show’s primary participants.

A former professor of mine died a few years ago. He was a man who simply exuded knowledge. ((Christene and Karen, and he was from Cape Breton!!!!)) As he lectured, it was as if he was pulling enormous words from his head - like so. (Mimic his action). I think Dumbledore did something like that in the Harry Potter movies, but of course they were produced long after I graduated. His obituary said that he loved single-malt scotch and sesquipedalianisms. In other words he preferred the best scotch and the biggest words he could pull out of his head. When I read the obituary I had never heard the word, sesquipedalian, but I knew it was fitting. It is simply a 48 dollar word to describe 48 dollar words! We were complaining about his complex vocabulary to another professor at the school, who had known him since their university days, who advised us that we could understand what he said, if we listened.

The story of the wedding at Cana is a bit of an odd story for the gospels, and it is found only in John’s gospel. When I was growing up, the ministers I knew did not quite know what to do with the story because they did not want to promote alcohol. Some insisted that since there was no time to allow it to ferment, the wine was basically grape juice.

I have read reviews on the internet which cannot bring themselves to admit that Jesus enjoyed a glass or two of good wine. One time Jesus remarked that some people did not like John because he did not drink, and did not like him because he liked food and wine.

I was visiting a couple from my church and we were talking about a proposed campaign to raise money to help sponsor a refugee family. We batted around a hypothetical figure to challenge people to donate and the husband turned to his wife and said, “Dear, if your tastes in wine were like mine, we would have that amount without giving up anything else- all you have to do is just switch to mine.” I gathered hers cost twice as much as his! She declined to switch but they did support the community campaign and the refugee family lived in our town for a year, before moving on to a place where more people spoke their language and shared their culture. I am still in touch on Facebook.

One of my favourite musical groups is Common Cup Company. Once based mainly in Winnipeg, the group of four clergy just loved singing and writing music to express the good news of God’s love. They are still touring and now include lay-people and come from across the country.

One of their early songs is about this Gospel passage. It’s called, “Cana Wine.” and I’ll quote some of it:

 “Some friends of mine got married
about three days ago,
I could take you to the place down in the
valley just below.
But I think I’ll stay up here a time and enjoy
the sweet warm glow,
That has come with the taste
   of Cana wine.                                    
It was just a simple wedding feast, 
you know the kind I mean,
Holding hands, holding hearts and holding
fast to all their dreams.
But somehow I got the feeling it was


more than first it seemed,
Must have been from the taste of  Cana wine.
Cana wine, Cana wine,
working on my heart and mind;
Flowing free, filling me,
’til I lose all sense of time.
Come, sit down, and we’ll
share some Cana wine.
 I didn’t have that much to drink,
but I never felt so tall,
The wine was finding empty holes
I hadn’t known at all.
It touched the deepest hurts in me,
’til it found and filled my soul,

Never tasted the like of  Cana wine.
That marriage down in Cana
brought new life to my friends,
I bless them and I wish them all
the fullness life can bring.
But a new life’s rising in   me too,
like an overflowing stream,
	
 As the season of Epiphany continues on, we find our more and more about Jesus.  John’s Gospel tells us of the signs that point to his true identity. 
	
 What is special about this passage?  I don’t think it’s really about the power to turn water into wine, per se, it is about the power to turn disappointment (no wine) into joy (the best of wine in abundance). 

joy (the best of wine in abundance)
	A colleague of mine said that one of the things she learned while living in a L’Arche community was that wine is a symbol of joy.  
	
 So, today we have Jesus trying to get his mother to stay quiet - but then he acts anyway. Many moms like to brag about their kids.  My kid is a real whiz.  He can work miracles, why he can help you with your wine shortage.  John’s gospel is about signs.
	
 When we think of signs we tend to think of road signs.  A few years ago, they changed an awkward intersection between several highways into a roundabout and used national standards for the signage.  National standards use highway numbers, not words.  So 


many people were confused and taking the wrong exit that thy had to add other signs to tell people what road to take when exiting the roundabout.  Recent clear cutting did not help.  You may remember the sign that the staff had at the site of their mobile hospital whose purpose was to remind them of their homes in the far away United States Boston, Coney Island, San Francisco, Burbank, Death Valley, Toledo, Decatur, Death Valley and Honolulu- as well as a few local places, Tokyo and Seoul.  Interestingly, the signs reminded them that unlike all other American road signs, Honolulu was the closest!  At least one person took her town’s sign with her when they packed up at the end of the war. 


	In the gospel of John all the signs point to Jesus’ identity as Messiah.   
	
 Most clergy I know don’t like going to wedding receptions - there are many where the clergy are only invited to say grace and don’t want the clergy to be there to see how tipsy everyone becomes.  I remember the wedding where the service was scheduled for the morning to have a better chance that the father of the bride would only be hungover and not drunk again! 
	
 I have been a minister a long time and often encounter a passage for Sunday that I have read a dozen or more times and then notice something I have never noticed before.  The beginning of today’s gospel is one of those passages.  It starts, “on the third day” and 


I think we are meant to recall the other passage where  the predictions of the resurrection are pinned to the third day after the crucifixion.  The resurrection is the ultimate joy.  It is the ultimate sign of Jesus’ identity.  It is the ultimate vindication of his way.
	This is a story of life being found in the midst of death and joy being found when none is anticipated.
For today lets put the God of wrath and judgement aside and focus on the God of joy.  We worship a God who wished that we might have joy and have it in a quality and abundance we can hardly imagine.
	
 Thanks be to God, Amen. 

 January 26, 2025 - Season of Epiphany 
 Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10	 

Psalm 19		

Luke 4: 14-21		


 
God’s Spirit is Calling US! 

	
 “The Rest of the Story” was a radio program that began during WWII  and it did, as its name suggests,  provide the background or the results of a well known event.  If the coverage of 9/11 had ended with the second plane hitting the south tower all we would have in our collective memory would be the image of both of the twin towers belching black smoke.  
	
 But of course that is not the whole story.  We know because we saw the towers fall on live television.
	
 We know because we heard little else on the news for months and months and months. The United States
attacked Iraq over it.   In many ways it was the event  that has changed the world, seemingly permanently.  
	
 It changed airport security.  
	
 It made many people more wary of people who appear to be “Arab.”  
	
 Various TV shows have strategically placed images of the twin towers, as they once stood, on the walls of offices, as a silent reminder of the loss.  
	
 Not that long ago I heard a “report” on a number of young adults, not yet born on 9/11 whose fathers were in the towers and other reports of finding bone fragments on the top of buildings at some distance from the towers. 
	
 On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a member of 
the Serbian Nationalist group, “The Black Hand”, assassinated Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian Archduke.  Do you know that this is not the whole story? This manner of assassination was not the original plan; an attempt earlier on the same day had failed. But the assassination is still not the rest of the story.  Would that it had been! 
	 
 In what seemed like the blink of an eye the world was at war.  When the dust settled on November 11, 1918,  12,000,000 people had died and the economic cost was in the billions.  Most historians would agree that the war reparations demanded of Germany after the war,  led directly to WW II,  and to more mayhem and destruction.  Indeed, the rest of that story may not yet be written.
	
 Similarly, Jesus went to his home town and read 
one of the great passages of hope from the prophet Isaiah and preached a sermon on those ancient words which began, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Today’s Gospel passage ends with words that we were supposed to hear next week, but I decided to tell the whole story at once.  Next week I plan to preach on the words found in the book of Jeremiah. 
	
 Some churches proclaim that they “believe in the 


Bible” or that the Bible is “inerrant,” or that it is essentially, “a direct quote.”  Some take it literally and take it as fact - as  history, science and ethics. The United Church, on the other hand takes the bible seriously.  
	
 Keeping in mind that the New Testament did not yet exist, Jesus’ Bible was essentially what we know as the Old Testament and he took it very seriously.  While many of the people to whom Jesus spoke, had given up on seeing the fulfilment of the age that God had promised in the prophets, Jesus had not!  He sought to apply the stories of old to the modern world in which he lived.  We may say “oh well that was JESUS after all.”  

 
I believe that Jesus was showing us how the timeless message of God’s grace and God’s challenge could apply to the present - as it did in the distant past.
	
 I preached the first sermon after my ordination in my “home church” on May 22, 1988.  I was probably more nervous than I had been in a long time.  My family was there. My parents’ friends and neighbours were there.  People I had grown up with were there.  It was Pentecost Sunday and my task, as always, was to bring to life a story that was almost 2,000 years old.  After the sermon they DID NOT threaten to lynch me though, they gave me gifts and have asked me to come back from time to time. 
	
 The people in Jesus’ home synagogue were much more harsh.  Of course they initially gushed with pride when he began to speak. “He read so well!” his former teacher might have said, “he can even get those difficult words.”  “Well Mary’s boy is sure doing fine, though he would have made a really good carpenter.  Joseph taught him well.  Too bad he didn’t live to see this day.”  The accolades would have gone on behind the murmurs of pleasure, until he got well into his sermon.  
	
 But where did it change?  The text hints that it was his references to two foreigners,  to the widow of Zarephath and Naaman, the Syrian. 
	 
 You need only to know that they were two of the 
small number of foreigners presented in a favourable light in the Older Testament.  Each of these was a story  with a bite Not only are they spoken of favourably, their stories are ones where the foreigners are more favourable than the locals.  That is hard to take, 7th generation Canadians more loyal than recent immigrants. 
	
 I went to university in a small Maritime town.  Each November 11 it was the tradition for the University Chaplain to preach at the Remembrance Day service organized by the local legion.  That was fine when the chaplain was Caucasian and had even served in the Canadian Navy as a young man. (Then that Chaplain 


retired) They hired a minister who also happened to be Japanese. I heard that some Legion members protested that they could not have HIM preach.  Some had been prisoners of war in Japan. I believe he was too young to have been in any kind of active duty during the war but his nationality was enough to invite protest.  I don’t know who preached at that year’s service but I do know of other ones where the preacher was from a country on the other side and were chastized for preaching something they would have accepted from me.  In another community the service was well attended but one person was notably absent: the Prussian war veteran who had been conscripted into the German army and fought on the eastern front.  He had been in Canada for many years and told me on more than one occasion, “Canada is the best country in the world.”
	
 I could go on to talk about Canada’s internment of Canadians of Japanese ancestry during WWII and the confiscation of their property.  Canada later apologized for that! I’m not sure what reparations were offered.
 	When we hear this story of Jesus, is it one of those “we love to hear.”  Clearly the people who heard it with their own ears did not want to hear any more and were about to throw him off of the cliff.  Punishments byu mob rule were not uncommon.  You probably remember the story of Jesus intervening in the assault 
of the “woman caught in adultery.” 
	
 Again the question is, “what made the people so angry?”  Each of the stories to which he refers emphasizes that these particular foreigners were better at living in God’s way that the people who were actually children of Israel.  
	
 Historical hindsight is wonderful.  Geographic distance is also wonderful.  It’s so easy to see what is wrong in another family, another organization, another province, another country but in our own, much harder.  	
 Years ago the Pastoral Care Committee of the large hospital in which I visited often received a presentation from the Minister of Health and a clergy-person from one of the city churches had been asked to thank him for speaking.  It was a polite and articulate thank you but it in no way reflected our collective concern about the cut backs and the changing face of health care all over the province.  Sometimes it’s best to smile and say “thank you for coming.”
	
 On Tuesday, the Right Rev Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington decided not to utter polite words and call down God’s grace upon the new administration.  Mr Trump has never made it any secret that the problems in America come from illegal immigrants, trade with Canada, birthright citizens, and a myriad of other problems that will be solved by his policies. America becoming great again will only come from America first, second and third.
	
 As the Bishop’s sermon ended, she addressed the new president directly and asked him to remember the call to what she sees as the basic tenets of the faiths of many people: unity, justice, mercy, humility, and unity.  She told him, for example,  that LGBTQ@IS young people are living in fear AND she reminded him that many illegals are good neighbours, contribute to the economy and are NOT criminals.  She ended with a call to compassion.  
	
 As we know though the President was not amused.  One politician called for HER to be deported.  But she is not apologizing.  We may have to wait a while for the rest of this story. Canada is very wary of what Mr Trump’s policies will do to our economy, our autonomy and our identity.  Our political and economic story is still being written. 
	
 We are not sitting in the National Cathedral in Washington, or the small synagogue in Nazareth, but here in (Codette)(Nipawin) Saskatchewan seeking to live lives that reflect our faith. For what do we hope in politics and economics?   Do we seek God’s blessings or do we seek to use that blessing to be a blessing to others.  Do we seek justice for ourselves or do we seek to use what power we have to be champions of justice for others.  Do we plea for mercy or do we also hope that we can be merciful to others.
	
 These words spoken by Jesus were harsh because they did not pat the listeners on the back but challenged them to live out what they believed.  He challenged them to look at every other human being and see a child of God, AND also see someone who could teach them about that same love.
	
 The cost may not be as great as we fear but really how can we proclaim to be followers of Jesus is we have climbed over everyone else to get to the top of the mountain.  Can we live with ourselves if thagt happens. 
	
 Remember the kids game, climbing a pile of snow, and taunting others, “Im the king of the castle and you’re the dirty rascals.”  Inunderstand school children cannot play that game any more and must find other ways to play that do not involve what can be rough body contact.  Let us hope and work for a world where there is enough grace and mercy for everyone.
	
 Amen. 

 February 2, 2025 -Season of Epiphany  
 Jeremiah 1: 4-10	

Psalm 71 

Luke 4: 21-30	


 From the Very Beginning!

	
 At some point in 1988 I received a copy of a thick pamphlet, about the size of a Reader’s Digest:  “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 88". I took a look, but quickly tossed it in my cold fireplace, as I did with the second copy when it arrived a few weeks later.  As the name implies it predicted the end  of the world on a particular day in 1988. Several months later it was featured on CTV’s “soft news” program at 5pm.  They interviewed a few clergy with varying perspectives and took a “wait and see” attitude as that item concluded.  As the host signed off the next night, he said 


something along the lines of, “last night we reported on a booklet that predicted the world would be ending. As you can see though, we’re still here folks!”
	Prophets are not people who predict the future. Pollsters might predict the outcome of the upcoming election but that is not prophecy.  Prophets connect present action with probable outcomes. Prophets tell people to “pull up their socks” and to “change” or else!
	
 Prophets are those who try and upset people’s “apple carts” and make them reassess their lives and actions.  Prophets are not needed when things are going well.  A “good news” prophet usually turns out to be a false one! 

	Two and a half thousand years ago, more or less, the word of God came to a teenager named Jeremiah.  He was from a priestly family and was a reluctant preacher of the “pull up your socks” kind of prophet.  He is revered as a prophet by Jews, Christians and Muslims.  
	The role of a prophet is not to preach good news to the wealthy and socially recognized  but to announce that the time has come for God’s great reversal. 
	
 He is called the weeping prophet because his news was of impending doom because of their idolatry, social injustice and moral decay; but he was also offering hope to the people.  Even though they would be 


defeated, God would come and restore his people. 
	His actions demonstrated his hope-filled outlook.  He also lived out his message and bought a field in a war zone and sealed the deed in a earthen jar which he buried.  In 2025, think of buying real estate in Los Angeles or on a flood plain  
	
 My memory does not reach as far back as many of yours.  The Episcopal Bishop of Washington has faced unprecedented backlash for telling U.S. President Donald Trump that the call of the Christian is to be kind an merciful. The backlash against Bishop Budde’s sermon at the service at the National Cathedral to honour the inagguration of Donald Trump as 47th 


President is unprecedented; at least she is in good company! 
	 Her prophetic words ring out across the millennia as she joins the long line of those who spoke truth to power.   Perhaps her words will become as powerful as Martin Luther King’s famous, “I have a dream speech,” or Winston Churchill in the early years of WWII affirming that they would “never surrender”. 
	
 The Farmers’ Almanac tends to be the go-to resource for predicting the coming summer’s growing conditions or the winter’s severity but that’s not really what prophecy is! .  By the nature of the calling prophets do not tend to be bearers of good news.  


Sunny days are ahead is not the call of a prophet.  A prophet is like Winston Churchill when he addressed the House of Commons in his first speech as Prime Minister in 1940, seeking the support of the House, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat".  He was supported unanimously.  On another occasion he said to the people of the commonwealth: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
	I was walking by the day care near the post office one day last winter.  A pay-loader was removing snow from the street and putting it into a dump truck.  Four 


or more little boys inside the day care had their faces glued to the window in wide-eyed wonder.  I wonder how many thought that this was what they wanted to do when they grew up.
	I was having a conversation with a middle-aged  woman in one of my former congregations.  The province had just begun to introduce a program for 4 year olds to prepare them for Kindergarten.  This woman said to me that “children that age should not be in school; they should be out playing in the mud.”  A friend of mine, a life-long teacher, indicated that earlier education was one of essential to better outcomes in education. Prophets feel their calling in 


their bones and cannot remain silent.
	Sometimes we realize that men and women of yesteryear were prophets in our midst.
	
 When former President Jimmy Carter passed away recently there were political cartoons in tribute of his legacy.  I believe the Washington Post carried at least two.  In one Jesus and Mr Carter were walking and talking in heaven.  Jesus remarked, “Its so good to have a fellow carpenter to talk to.” 
	 
 In another, Jimmy and Rosalynn, his wife of 77 years, were walking toward a Habitat for Humanity build, each carrying a hammer.  In following the carpenter from Nazareth the Carters took part in a 

program to make housing more affordable for the disadvantaged.  They did not sit back and enjoy their privilege and limited wealth but reached out in love as long as they could.
	I subscribe to an internet newsletter called, “Joyful Noise.” In its most recent issue the cartoon  featured an old-fashioned  classroomblackboard which bore the words, “It’s hard to hear God’s voice when you’ve already decided what you want him to say.” 
	
 It seems to me that our economic situation is showing us that we have to continue to struggle for justice for the ones who need it most.  For a variety of reasons the wealthy and those who hope to be wealthy 
are attracted to leaders who promise that they too will have more of what this world offers - but time and again we are brought up short by the call of the poor and the powerless.  
	God brought all of creation into being through loving action and each of us is alled to love what God loves with all of our being. 
	
 We are called to respond with empathy and courage so that all may truly know the power of the God who loves all creation.   We may be regarded as sissies and losers, but really, which would you rather be?  
 Amen.