Ruth 1: 1-18
Psalm 146
Hebrews 9: 11-14
Mark 12: 28-34

A Call to Love - Everybody!

Where would the movie world be without love stories - Gone With The Wind, Pretty Woman, Ghost, My Girl, The Parent Trap, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Longtime Companion, Shadowlands, The Notebook, Titanic, and of course, long before the silver screen Will Shakespeare’s story of the star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliette? None of the ones I have mentioned are simple love stories where boy meets girl, girl and boy get engaged and married, have 2.5 kids and everyone lives happily ever after - in fact some aren’t even about boy meeting girl.

One of the greatest love stories ever told is found in the book of Ruth, but it is not the love between Ruth and Boaz I am speaking of, it is the love that Ruth had for her mother-in-law Naomi. Set in an era when family and clan were of utmost importance, the dedication of the foreigner Ruth to her Israelite mother-in-law is one of love overcoming boundaries and defying the odds. It provides a back-drop to the instructions on love that Jesus gave to his followers many generations later.

It is difficult for us to imagine the kinds of lives Naomi would have faced returning to Israel in a time of famine; returning home with no husband, no sons and a foreigner for a daughter-in-law. At many times in the history of Israel foreigners were distrusted or misunderstood, while at other times, they were downright hated. Ruth’s uncommon and unwavering dedication to her mother in law, when there was nothing in it for her, won over the people of Israel. After all, who could dislike someone who was so dedicated and selfless? How could people not notice? How could people help but be impressed?

There are some people who like to argue, often just for the sake of arguing. This os not just a product of the modern age; Jesus encountered some of these folks. In such an encounter the trick is to turn the philosophical encounter into one with an opportunity for serious learning. What is the greatest commandment? If someone were to ask me that question I would probably think of the so called “10 Commandments” which are common sense guidelines governing the life of Israel from their time in the wilderness. Is the prohibition against murder more important that coveting? Coveting sometimes leads to murder; coveting sometimes leads to adultery. Not honouring father and mother sometimes leads to a number of other sins, but that assumed the parents so truly have the child’s best interests at heart!

The commandments chosen by Jesus reflect other, equally important parts of the tradition. The verses quoted would have been well known to Jesus questioners and there really was nothing they could say.

It is easy to love when things are going well. It is easy to praise God in the midst of far weather, good health and prosperity. It is easy to love your neighbour when you are getting along with your neighbours and they or their animals are not causing you grief.

I once knew of a family conflict which involved some sort of bovine belonging to one family causing damage on the lawn of another fammily who responded by shooting said bovine, dead. Ever since that day, these two families have been at odds.

Jesus told the story we usually call “The Good Samaritan” to challenge any speculation that there might be someone who need not be classed as a neighbour and therefore outside of the command to love that person. “If someone does this or that to you, you don’t have to love them.” “If someone has blue skin, or seven toes on one foot, or has done such and such, you don’t have to love them.” Jesus did not give such an “out”.

The real test of love, I think, is when that love is hard; the real test of love comes when love is costly, and difficult and messy.

I wonder what would happen in our families, in our communities and in our country if we took these commands seriously! Does it mean that I have to give bags of money to everyone who comes to my door with a “sob story”? Does it mean that you can’t fire the employee who is no longer needed, or who is stealing from you? Does it mean that you have to turn a blind eye to the possible criminal activity going on around the corner because it’s not really hurting you? Does it mean that you have to stay in a marriage that has become unworkable and is putting you and your children mental and physical health in danger?

You might say that is easy to love “all people”, in theory, if those people remain little more than theories, but if their lives intersect yours on a regular basis then the harder it becomes to love them.

I think we need to remember that these commandments come as a set - a set of two. If we are trying to love neighbour ans self, without first loving God, them we will surely fail. Sometimes we need to state the obvious! All of our faith stories start with God. The biblical story starts with creation. The part of scripture that Jesus was quoting about loving God begins with God. The people of Israel were called to believe that they would be nothing without God. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one” or “Listen up! Our God is the one God. It was God who called them from freedom to bondage. It was their God who led them through the wilderness. It was their God who led them to the land of milk and honey.

When it comes to disputes between nations it is all too easy to believe that “God is on our side” and therefore not on “their side”. Jesus challenged this kind of belief in his people with stories such as the Good Samaritan, as I have already mentioned, and by his associations with people which called into question the accepted divisions of his day.

As our theological understanding grows and develops we see more and more clearly how human divisions between groups and nations are not created by God but by human inability to get along; our inability to love as we are called to love.

The key, I think, is to first see the others as people who are loved by God and created by God and for whom God wills all of the good God wills for us.

I believe that God’s heart breaks when nations go to war against one another and when people kill in the name of national interests, even when one nation is fighting the true tyranny of another. I believe that war is never God’s will. Yet in the course of history nations have found that war is a last resort to resolve conflict. Sometimes it is the only thing a nation can do to resolve the problem of a rogue nation who cannot be stopped in any other way.

At this time of year, as Canadian Christians it is imperative that we stand in that uneasy place of honouring our veterans, remembering those who died in the cause of a greater peace while at the same time working as hard as we can to eradicate those things which cause war in the first place.

If we in our international policies regard other nations and their people as less than we are and as a resource for our own comfort and profit, then are we really worshipping the one true God who created us all and called us to love our neighbour?

We have all lived long enough to see old enemies become friends - and unfortunately, we have seen good friends become enemies. The world’s alliances are very different than they were in 1918 or 1945 or at the end of the various conflicts that have caused much destruction and loss of life

We need to put as much effort into the things that make for true and lasting peace as we put into the wars we remember in this time. If we do that each and every day we may just achieve the peace our veterans fought and died for. If we do that we may just be following the Prince of Peace who called us to love God, and love neighbour as self.

Amen.

Ruth 3: 1-5, 4: 13-17
Mark 12: 38-44

Does The Gift Represent Us?

There was once a church which was raising a great deal of money for an important project. A man came to the minister’s study with a cheque and asked, “Is this enough Reverend” and without looking at it, he responded, “Does the gift represent you fairly?” The man took back the cheque and silently left. A week later he came back and again asked, “Is this enough?” and again the minister’s response was the same. “Does the gift fairly represent you?” The man hesitated a little longer this time but he put the cheque back in his pocket and left.

The following week the man arrived once again and handed the minister a cheque saying, “This is my gift for the campaign and YES, the gift does represent me!”

A while ago a colleague of mine was serving a church which was also building a new sanctuary and had mounted a building campaign. A former member of the congregation, a very wealthy man, came to the minister’s office and handed him a $20 bill for the campaign with the words, “I know it isn’t much but you will remember Revered that Jesus praised the widow’s mite!”

Yes the widow put only a few cents into the collection box in the temple. Yes, the coins were the smallest in circulation. BUT it was ALL the money she had. Jesus observed the others who came and went and put in much larger sums, but noted that they had plenty of money left over. It was not what she gave that was of note it was that she gave EVERYTHING. There are some commentators who assert that Jesus was actually launching a heavy attack on the temple system for requiring that such a person commit everything in the face of others with much more wealth but that is probably better left for another day.

She gave very little but it was everything. The story of Ruth and Naomi is one of complete devotion of one for the other. It is a story of dedication overcoming normal human divisions and boundaries. Ruth was a foreigner, she was, as we would say, “FROM AWAY”. Yet this foreigner has earned her place in the biblical story for her dedication and willingness to give everything for her mother-in-law.

Today is November 11 and on this day we remember those whose lives were given and lost in wartime. We remember those who signed up knowing full well they might not return. They endured great hardship for a greater cause. Of course many were looking for adventure but I am sure that hope was short lived, once the bullets started to fly by and their friends fell beside them.

Terry Kelly in his video, “Pittance of Time” asks us to remember how the young become vets and that to give 2 minutes is a pittance of time, in comparison to their sacrifice. When I look at the face of a veteran on Remembrance Day I wonder what they are seeing behind those closed eyes, and what they hear in the silence we kept at 11:00.

What is it that these passages and this day asks of us? What are we to do to fulfil our calling? Most of us are not asked to fight for our country or for the cause of freedom in other lands but we are asked to give of ourselves in many ways.

The question only we can answer is “Does our gift or our service truly represent us?” Are we thinking we are doing a great thing by giving so much more than others do - of our time - or our talents - or our treasures - but we aren’t giving that much at all when you look at the broader picture.

I don’t believe Jesus would have required the mite of the widow; I think he probably would have said to the rich throwing in their noisy and valuable coins, “Why don’t you give some to really help those in need?” Why don’t you make it so that the widows of this town have enough to live on and aren’t poor in the first place.

In a way, you could argue that Ruth did what she had to in order to survive in that long ago time and in order that she and Naomi would have a place to live and enough to eat and in so doing she earned a place in the history - her great grandson was King David. Yet it seems that she did this out of a genuine affection for her mother in law and her homeland.

What are our motives? Does our giving truly represent us?

Amen!

1 Samuel 1: 4-20
1 Samuel 2: 1-10
Hebrews 10: 11-14 (15-18) 19-25
Mark 13: 1-8

What Not to Say On the Way Home From General Council !

If you have been on a commercial airliner lately, you will know that you have to pack carefully, putting only those things in your carry on which will past muster. Smaller is better when it comes to gels and liquids. You must be able to put them all into one, conveniently provided, zip lock bag. Oh yes, you can forget catching up on your knitting on that long layover in Montreal and don’t take you own water or pop because you cant get it through security - you have to buy it, at their prices, while you are waiting.

The departure lounges would not be a place to discuss your views on international terrorists especially if you utter words like “bomb” or “gun” within the hearing of security officials.

On the way home from General Council I figured it was best not to discuss our opinion of the Council’s motions on Israel and Palestine and the reaction in the press. We didn’t need to extend our stay in the Ottawa or Toronto airports!

Since the towers fell on 9/11 the world has changed in so many ways. Who would have thought that such things could happen - but they did. If you believe the crime dramas that are beamed into our living rooms the FBI, the CIA, the RCMP, CSIS, MI5 and INTERPOL have since thwarted an unknown number of terrorist plots to kill massive numbers of people. Apparently they prefer to keep these things quiet, they don’t want other would be terrorists to become better at flying under the radar and avoiding detection.

If the nightly news is any indication, it seems that the new enemy is our planet itself. More and more the stories are about massive loss of life and property because of fire, earthquake, tsunami hurricane and flooding. Many are blaming global warming and the consensus is that human activity is the cause of this. I heard on the news Friday that in terms of the insurance industry , “flood is the new fire”; with the destruction caused costing millions every year. Heads up - insurance premiums will rise.

Scientists are telling us that our unpredictable climate is going to become more unpredictable with so-called “weather events” becoming more and more severe! (The good news is that this building is built on one of the highest points of land in Kings County - so when the rest of the Island is flooded - we can all come here!!!)

I could go on to talk about the economic crisis that is driving people from our region to the oil patch. I could talk about the ever widening gap between rich and poor - but like many of the other things I have mentioned, this isn’t news.

In the summer of 1988, when I was a new ordinand serving my first pastoral charge, I received two copies of a booklet titled, “88 Reasons Why The Rapture Could Be In 88". When the first arrived I glanced at it quickly, dismissed it as craziness and then tossed it into my cold fireplace. The second copy met the same fate as the first.

It was on an evening in October, I think, that the booklet became the lead story on “Live At Five”. I can clearly remember standing there, in my living room, in front of my 12" black and white TV, turning, bending down and reaching into the fireplace and retrieving one of the slightly damp copies which predicted the end of the world and the rapture of the faithful that very evening.

On the tv were interviews with those who believed it wholeheartedly, with those who discounted it completely and some who thought it was “a possibility”- so the faithful had better get ready “just in case”.

The next night the news covered the usual mixture of political events, crimes and such - I have no memory of the specific content that night! I do remember that the last item was a VERY short update of the lead story from the night before and the news anchor signed off with the words, “We’re still here folks!”

Apparently, predictions about the end of the world were not new in Jesus’ day, nor have they ceased but they rarely make the news because, for the most part, the mainstream media don’t give them much time.

One of the reasons scholars believe that the gospels were not written for some time after Jesus death is that he is recorded in this passage as having referred to the destruction of the temple. This was something that actually happened about 40 years after Jesus death. Scholars surmise that the gospel was written after this happened and what is written about Jesus and his teachings reflect the need of the community to come to terms with this destruction which happened as the result of a revolt against Rome. It must have felt like the world was about to end. Some speculate that Mark recorded these words to actively discourage the church community from participating in the uprising. It would have been a no-win situation with Rome holding the upper hand. In Mark’s view, it would have gone against everything that Jesus had been preaching about

Who would have believed it - until it happened! Everyone in Jesus’ generation knew Solomon’s temple had been destroyed many centuries previously but “that was then”. When this temple, so solid, with its carefully placed stones and beautiful decoration was destroyed, it must have felt that their heart had been ripped out.

The gospels were already doing what we as preachers try to do in sermons, which is to bring the scripture to bear on the current situation in people’s lives and in the wider world. Before there ever was a “New Testament” these stories of Jesus recalled his words as advice for their current situation. They tried to point the people to a faithful way forward by reflecting on what Jesus said and did in his time, a generation or so before.

A few years ago the WWJD bracelets were popular, particularly among teens. Some celebrities wore them as well, including golfer Payne Stewart - he was later killed in a plane crash. WWJD stands for What Would Jesus Do? - and by wearing it a person is indicating that the answer to this question is a focus of his or her life. Would Jesus lie to his parents about where he and his friends were going? Would Jesus try and steal a really cool outfit from a store? Would Jesus cheat on a mid-term? Would Jesus babysit a younger brother instead of hanging out at the mall with friends?

Yet for teens, and especially for adults the situations we face are not ones that even Jesus could have imagined and he too might have been left standing there scratching his head. Perhaps the more compelling question in the 21st century is What Would Jesus Have US Do?

I think that Jesus was warning people against losing their focus. The focus of those who follow Jesus is not to be the answer to the narrow one of “preparing for the end” but rather on the whole life of faith. Some people have indicated to me that the whole purpose of the Christian life is “getting into heaven” - but I would suggest that the people for whom this is a sole goal are “so heavenly minded they are no earthly good” ! I’ve used that phrase before.

There are people who like to proclaim certainty. This will happen and that will happen. As adults we know that there are few certainties in life. As people of faith what we need to be able to do is to live in faith in the midst of this uncertainty.

I believe that it is the hospice movement which has as its motto, “make each day count”.

If we look at the whole of Jesus teaching we find that he spent come time preparing the disciples for the end of his ministry in Jerusalem but that he spend the bulk of his ministry talking about caring for the poor and the disadvantaged. He spent his time talking about social responsibility. He spent time talking about making the world a better place for all of God’s children - for all of creation. He talked about getting beyond the rules that sometimes obscured the purpose for the rules in the firsts plaace. His primary purpose was to show the heart of a loving and a giving God who willed the best for all of creation.

It seems to me that what Jesus would have us do in the face of uncertainty is whatever we need to do to put into practice the principles of loving God and loving neighbour.

The Christian life is not about getting gold stars, or what I have often called “brownie points”, but about giving of our lives so that others may know the love of a God completely committed to showing self-giving love to all of creation. Perhaps the only question we need to ask is, “does this show the heart of a loving God?

In all the situations of our lives, certain or uncertain, the way of Jesus is the way of life - it is following the God of life and living as if this proclamation, in word and deed is the only thing that is worth doing.

Amen.

2 Samuel 23: 1-7
Psalm 132: 1-12
John 18: 33-37

The End and the Beginning

51 weeks ago we began advent with the proclamation of the coming of One who would reign in Glory. Today we see the fulfilment of that reign. Yet this is not a reign of pomp and pageantry, power and political might. What we see today could be seen as a reign of defeat, which isn’t much of a reign at all, in the minds of most people! A reign of defeat would hardly be a reign at all! Yet the gospel often asks us to embark on a journey with different values and different ways of looking at the world.

Firsts though, we need to ask the question, “ How did we arrive at this place” before we ask, “What does it all mean?”

Advent, which began 51 weeks ago is the church season of hope and expectation - and we usually see it as the expectation of the coming of Baby Jesus at Christmas, but it is about so much more than this! It s about the coming reign of God.

In the world around us and in history we have plenty of images of earthly reigns. We know a great deal about the house of Windsor - our current Royal Family. At this time they have very little power and they aren’t at all frightening because of this lack of power. They do cost a great deal of money, but it takes a lot of money to be elegant and wear the top fashions in the way that the Royals need to. They need to have jewels and lots of elegant dresses and uniforms and fancy palaces and horse drawn carriages and the like. They also need security because there is always the fear that someone would want to hurt them.

Generations ago, the roles of kings and queens were a different thing altogether. They commanded armies and had a kingdom over which they were seen to rule. They could command - “off with his head” and it would be done! They had POWER.

In Jesus day the people of Israel did not have their own king and had not for generations. They were ruled by the Roman Emperor - whose lands stretched far and wide and he “hired” lesser mortals as puppet rulers of that far away regime. In turn these kings hired other puppets who did their bidding and it was all held together by fear and by military might.

This kind of earthly king, who ruled by power and might was the kind of king Pilate was thinking of when he encountered Jesus on that long ago day. Kings are like Prime Ministers though; you can have only one at a time. You could say, “too many kings spoil the broth” (or something like that!!)

If Jesus was a king-pretender, Pilate’s authority as ruler under Herod would be in question. But if Jesus was just a mystic crackpot who had no following he was hardly a danger to the authority of Rome.

The trouble with language is sometimes the lack of the perfect word. What word do you use to describe a world which in everty way fulfills God’s will perfectly.

Back in the days when the people were being led through the wilderness by Moses, they had no king. Moses was not the king. When they entered the promised land and began to call it their own, they had no king. They were governed by “judges” because God Almighty was seen to be their king. But like the people in the wilderness who were unhappy with the leadership of Moses, the children of those same people were unhappy in the land of promise because they wanted a king like the other nations. The whole vision of the promised land was a people who were “not like the other nations”. They were to be different. They were to have different values. They were to march to the beat of a different drummer. But the people persisted with their whining and as the story goes God eventually gave in and Saul was anointed as king. To make a long story short, Saul was a big disappointment and the shepherd boy David was anointed as king long before Saul’s death.

In the years to come it was his reign that was looked back on, with rose coloured glasses, as a time of great glory and honour. After they had been defeated in war and taken into captivity and not in charge of their own destiny for many generations the hope of a messiah came about. This messiah would be a warrior king like David, and would come and defeat the foreigners that held power over them and would set up his kingdom in Jerusalem. When this happened Israel would be great once again, great and united as it was under King David. Those will be the days. This hope was around for so long that many gave up on it as another pipe dream! Many people, but not all! It was this hope though that the Roman leaders feared. Rome was known for its iron fisted approach to anyone who might possibly try to seize power and they dealt with all such threats quickly and without mercy.

Yet, Jesus of Nazareth did not seem to be the type. Whata did he mean that his kingdom was not of this world? Did he mean that he was no danger to the authority of Roman rule?

It seems that the gospels are trying to say that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, but that he has re-defined the notion of King and Kingdom. In the modern church for various reasons, we tend to use the world “realm” - the “realm of God”.

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus if his rule is not “of this world”? We are mistaken I think if we interpret this to mean that he is only concerned about “life after death”. Jesus’ teaching and action showed us someone who was very much concerned for this life on earth and for how people treated one another. He had a concern for justice. He had a concern for the widows and orphans, for those who had been “forgotten’ by society.

The prophets were people who called Jesus’ ancestors back to faithful living when they had forgotten that - even though they had a king and looked like the other nations - they were called to be different and to be a light to those nations.

Jesus asked the people to take their faith tradition seriously, to allow it to transform their lives so that they could go about transforming the world.

The thing about being a light to the nations, or following the one who said he was the “light of the world” is that it is not about us and what we can get out of it; it’s about what we can do and what we can give.

Black Friday was the day before yesterday. It is said to be the day when retail businesses go from being in the red (losing money) to being in the black, and turning a profit for the year. It is a term and tradition we have adopted from our neighbours to the south. After American thanksgiving it is everyone’s civic duty to go out and buy, buy, buy. As we spend, spend, spend, we are showing others how much we love them. Isn’t that what the world of commerce tells us. We have to have the latest and the newest electronics, and fashions, and toys. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the money, put it on your credit card. Even though we frugal Canadians have traditionally waited for Boxing Day to blow all of our money on discounted goods the message is still the same, “Happiness can be found by giving that special someone the right stuff!” or in reverse, “Happiness will come when you receive the right stuff”.

Of course there are people who live in this province, people we know, who cannot afford to buy enough food for their families, let alone buy them the gadgets all of their friends have on their wish lists.

As a people of faith perhaps what we need to do as we observe the Reign of Christ is to reflect on how we as a people of faith can model a different way. It’s not just about toys and gadgets or lack of them at Christmas. It’s not just about making sure we share with those who don’t have enough at Christmas. It’s not just about trying to make sure these families have a few extras to put a smile on the face of a child at Christmas - it’s about a change all year long.

First of all, I think we need to change our own attitudes. Do we see the size of our income and the amount and quality of our stuff as a measure of our true worth? When someone asks how much a person is worth, don’t we usually respond with a dollar figure: “ So and so is worth 10 Million” !

As a people of faith, how is our worth to be calculated? Do we feel that it is important that everyone have enough rather than seeking to make it into the elite club of those who have so much more.

John Wesley the 18th century church leader tried to promote a more balanced perspective by advising, “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can”.

In what kind of realm, or kingdom, do we want to live? Whom do we follow?

Amen.