Is Now A Good Time?
“Is Now A Good Time?”
Mark 9:2-9
This morning we’re closing out our series of looking at the miracles Jesus performed in his life on earth. Of course he did many more than we have looked at over the last few weeks, but it’s a start. We stopped and paused to dig a little deeper into the what was happening with the various encounters.
We started with looking at the healing of a paralyzed man in a house so crowded his friends had to lower him through the roof to get him in front of Jesus. We learned that the encounter was far more significant than Jesus healing the man, it was a revelation to the people in the room of the authority by which he is able to heal. Jesus showed he had more authority than just absolving people of their sins, he had the power to heal and make people like this paralyzed man walk. It was said that only God can forgive sins, and Jesus went well beyond that.
Then we looked at Jesus healing a man with a withered hand. Jesus healed him on the Sabbath, the day of rest. Work is forbidden on the Sabbath, yet Jesus healed the man anyway. Why make a man suffer any longer just because of the calendar?
Then we watched as Jesus calmed the storm as his friends were scrambling about in the boat, just trying to stay afloat. Jesus showed his power over nature, showing he had control of things we though uncontrollable. This challenges us deeply as we believe in what we know and see, and Jesus shows there is much more than this.
Then we moved onto the casting out of demons from a man who was tortured by a legion of demons within him. Again, showing us his authority over not just nature in this case, but over spirits and spiritual matters. The demons trembled as Jesus came near and begged for mercy. read more…
What Have You To Do With Me?
“What have you to do with me?”
Mark 5:1-20
Ever have one of those moments where you’re walking down the street, or through the mall and off in the distance you see someone you know? So you start to wave and smile, you’re happy to see your friend! As you continue walking toward this friend you can’t wait to talk to, you start to make out their face a little more clearly, and then you realize you don’t know who that person is at all! Has this ever happened to any of you? No? Well me neither.
There are times when things aren’t quite what they seem. Times where you may be surprised by what you discover. We used to have two rescued racing greyhounds, and one day Bev was out walking them when she stopped to talk to a friend in the neighbourhood. They went into the backyard and were looking at the in-ground pool. That’s when one of the dogs decided she needed a closer look and realized she couldn’t walk on the blue part of the lawn.
Today’s miracle is a bit of looking at both sides of these kinds of stories. On one side the person made the right assumption of who he was seeing, on the other, they weren’t sure.
Jesus has arrived at a small village by boat and as soon as he gets out he’s recognized from a distance by a man who is possessed by a demon or an unclean spirit. This man lives in the tombs, among the dead, which pretty much guaranteed he would be seen as unclean and ignored by the wider community.
But he is also a strong man, he keeps breaking the shackles they would use to tie him up and restrain him with. In fact, no one can overpower him any longer to tie him down. This man is no doubt causing great fear in the community because of his strength and being completely out of his mind. He cries all night long, like an animal, and cuts himself repeatedly in attempts to end the pain and suffering he is being subjected to.
The man is living in torture. Tormented by demons; shunned by the public; attacked by those who try to control him and his movement; people are terrified by his presence in the community. The guy is a bit of a freak show. read more…
An Open Letter To The Church
My friends,
The future of the United Church of Canada concerns me. The statistics over the last 20 years have been alarming, and the projection for the next 20 years are heart-breaking as we watch a once influential and well respected church decline so dramatically.
And we’re letting it happen.
To say I’m frustrated with the state of the church today is an understatement. I came into this church by the clear call of God in my life, and all I do is bump against bureaucracy and resignation for what is to come.
The latest straw laid upon my back is the recent letter informing us that pension contributions will increase by 2% for both ministry personnel and pastoral charges effective January 1, 2013. I know full well there will not be cent left for me in 30 years, should I be able to retire. Does this seem particularly fair given that the shortfall should have been predicted a number of years ago.
Couple this with the immense greed shown to us by our government and financial institutions in recent years where boomers approaching retirement seek to find the golden goose on which they can live comfortably into their golden years.
This goose ain’t got no eggs to lay. Much less golden ones.
But this issue is more than about financial comfort and retirement for me. This is about the future of the church of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, or at least it should be.
The stats do not lie. 50% of the clergy of the United Church of Canada will reach the age of retirement in the next 10 years. For the mathematically challenged, that’s half, or every other minister.
We as a denomination and a presbytery already acknowledge that we have too many churches and too few people. As I look forward over the next 30 years, I don’t like what I see.
In this presbytery we have 5 young ministers. Each of us passionate for the church and for Jesus Christ. We want to lead a spiritual church. We want people to be excited about the Gospel and we want people to love the Lord as much as we do.
But we are in palliative care. We run our churches with an end date in mind. We may not know the date, but we know it’s coming, so what we are doing is making ourselves as comfortable as possible as the end draws near.
I can’t speak for the other 4, but it disturbs me greatly that we, as a presbytery, are missing out on opportunities to create life in our churches because all we can focus on is death. This is not what I have signed up for.
Suggestions for change, suggestions for opportunities for renewal, shared ministries, spiritual events, all have been for not as people ignore what we do and settle in for the short trip to death.
We are looking at inheriting leadership of a church with dire financial projections, too many buildings, too few people and too few clergy. What in the world are we going to do with these things? What are we doing to address the problem TODAY? Not tomorrow, next month, or next meeting, but today!
Think carefully about how you want to respond. None of us have any strong ties to this part of the world. Yes we love being here, the people are wonderful, but I for one will not stand and watch the church die. It is just too draining of my energy. So I’ll have to consider leaving, to a church, a region, or even a denomination which is willing to work by the guidance of the Holy Spirit into a time of renewal and new life. A place where Jesus Christ is Lord and people take to heart his message for sharing and growing people in him. I cannot continue to sit around and mourn something that isn’t dead yet. I wasn’t ordained to help the church die.
*I apologize for the comments that have been lost. I had a server crash and the comments were lost. Please feel free to repost your comments, I fully appreciated them all.
Why Are You So Afraid?
“Why Are You So Afraid?”
Mark 4:35-41
Who here has been on an airplane? Do you remember the first time you flew? How did you feel? Maybe a little excited? Maybe a little bit nervous (you know, just a little)? It can be a little nerve-racking for sure. You are, after all, flying. You are hurtling through the air at thousands of feet above the ground in a little metal tube. So it’s ok to be a little nervous. You do get used to it though. Ask anyone who has flown regularly, it’s not so bad over time.
I still remember the fourth time I was on an airplane. It was in my final year of university in the fall of 1997 and I was invited to Ottawa for a job fair by a very large company. In fact, so were about 1000 other students. Over the weekend we were interviewed be numerous groups, and if we were lucky, we got a job offer on the spot.
I was one of the lucky ones. I had exactly what I had hoped for offered to me on Sunday morning. Man was I excited! I got to visit some friends and relax before my flight back to Halifax. It was a great day. It was also my girlfriends birthday, and I had already began the plans for how I was going to propose to her when I saw her later in the week. I had the world in the palm of my hand!
When I got to the airport for my flight home, the weather had picked up a bit. My friends and I who had gone didn’t care that our flight was slightly delayed, we all had new jobs! read more…
What Are You Doing?
“What Are You Doing?”
Mark 3: 1-6
Photo by http://www.sxc.hu/profile/_cheese
So this weekend we introduced the kids to Star Wars. It started when they wanted to play Star Wars Monopoly. Well it was a hit. But of course it’s a little tricky to explain places, ships and characters when they haven’t seen the movie. So last night we had a movie night and watched the first movie, Episode IV.
Again, it was a huge hit. There’s even a rumour it may have ousted Cars 2 out of the top spot of hit movies in the house. Who would have thought that was even possible?
However, as we watched the movie I was very glad I have seen it many times before. “Who’s that?” “Is that a good guy or a bad guy?” “What are they doing?” “Who’s that?” “Is that a good guy or a bad guy?” “Where are they going?” “Where’s that place?” “Is that earth?” “Who’s that?” “What blew up?” “Is that a good guy or a bad guy?” “What did he say?” “Is he a good guy or a bad guy?” “Is he dead?” “What’s ‘terminated’ mean?” “Do the good guys win?” I think you get my drift. read more…