Best Practices

I’m part of a liturgy discussion group and a recent thread has begun talking about vestments. Our seminary education regarding the mechanics of worship and liturgy were somewhat lacking since our instructor was in the process of being fired when I was in my first year there. We also only had half a term of required instruction in liturgics.

Someone asked what others do and know as far as how we vest ourselves. One question was whether the stole is worn over or under the chasuble. Apparently there’s a rule for this and I almost always break the rule. My chasubles are almost all plain, that is they have no decoration on them. But the stoles are almost all decorated. So I wear the stole over the chasuble. One chasuble, the white one which the church owns (I don’t have my own white chasuble yet), is decorated and the stole is plain so I wear it the other way around. So only during Christmas and Easter and on Baptism of Our Lord, Transfiguration, Christ the King and other white festivals am I vested properly.

I also used to wear a pectoral cross over my chasuble (except the white one because it would hang over the decoration). The "vestment police" once informed me that it was only a bishop’s prerogative to wear a pectoral cross. I continued to wear it anyway. I haven’t worn it for some time because the chain broke and I haven’t replaced it but I do intend to wear it again.

I wrote about this on the discussion site and one pastor responded rather vehemently decrying my lackadaisical practice. He intimated that anything less than BEST PRACTICE was akin to irreverence in worship. As if someone seeing me with a pectoral cross showing would mistake me for a bishop and that would confuse them to such a degree as to distract them from their worship. As if wearing my stole over my chasuble would be so off-putting that it would hinder the proclamation of the gospel.

I responded to his criticism. Regarding the pectoral cross, most people are unaware that it might be a symbol of a bishop’s office and that’s not high on my list of things that need to be taught to my congregation. But in baptism we are marked with the cross of Christ forever and rather than an invisible mark on our foreheads Christians might choose to wear a visible cross on the chest.

And talking about symbols of office then an argument can be made for wearing the stole over the chasuble rather than hiding a symbol of the pastoral office. I don’t find anything irreverent about wearing alb, chasuble, stole, and pectoral cross when presiding at worship. At the beginning of worship I begin with announcements (another no-no according to the liturgy police) and when I conclude them I say, "Let’s have a brief time of silence to prepare our hearts to worship God" and I sit down and pray. Part of my prayer is "May our words become your Word and may the things we say and do proclaim your love and grace." That’s what I believe worship is about. It’s about joyful worship and praise and proclaiming the gospel. I don’t think following some legalistic rules about the order of my vestments does anything to further that. Failing to follow them to some contrived letter doesn’t detract from that either.

...School's Out!

This is scheduled to appear in our local newspaper tomorrow.


I’ve always loved summer holidays. I was always a pretty good student but I still preferred being out of school to being in school. There may be some who prefer it the other way around but I’m pretty sure they’re in the minority.

Now that my kids don’t have to get up for school I don’t have to set my alarm. I don’t have to get up and make them breakfast. I don’t have to hurry them through their morning routine (sometimes by yelling at them) so that they get to school on time. In the evening when I come home and want to play Rock Band or Guitar Hero with them or watch a movie together I don’t have to think about whether they’ve done their homework.

For ten weeks life will be much more relaxed in our household. We’ll go away camping for a couple of weeks, something we’ve been looking forward to since the winter. We might go for a picnic in the park, maybe a day at the beach, swimming in a friend’s pool, an evening at the drive in.

For a couple of months life will be different. The regular routine of the rest of the year takes a break. We have the flexibility to do some different things, to be more spontaneous, to experience something out-of-the-ordinary. The summer holidays are a time when we can enjoy surprises and not be thrown for a loop by the unexpected, when we can be more relaxed and take things in stride because life is less regimented and we won’t be thrown off when things are out of the ordinary.

The readings and stories that we will hear in the Bible often bring us images and ideas that are out of the ordinary, that are surprising, that are unexpected. Jesus says that when God rules in our lives we’re in a strange place. The way we usually think of things, the way the world works, our normal ideas of power and glory, are turned upside down. The regular routine is disrupted.

A poor widow’s coin is valued more than the riches of the wealthy. Children are welcomed and the important and wealthy are humbled. The greatest of all is the servant of all. The one who has power over the wind and the waves empties himself of that power and follows a path in life that will lead to his death on a cross. It seems backward. It seems upside down. It’s out-of-the-ordinary.

The biblical story can seem an odd story. But for people of faith, people for whom the biblical story becomes their story, it becomes a life giving story. I enjoy the summer holidays. I enjoy the break from the routine. I enjoy the spontaneous interruptions. I enjoy the time to experience the out-of-the-ordinary. John Lennon wrote, and sang, that "Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans." It’s the unexpected and unplanned that is often the most life giving and joy filled.

The story of the Bible, like many of our summer experiences, is not necessarily what we expect, not what we’re used to. But the story of the Bible teaches us that a relationship with God is fulfilling, that Jesus came to give abundant life, that his love makes us new. May our summer experiences give us renewal and refreshment. May the stories of our faith and our life in God do the same.

An acceptable time ... a day of salvation

Our church's spring newsletter was published last week. This was my cover article.


Has the gospel changed your life? Are you a different person because of God’s grace, because of the love and mercy and forgiveness and generosity of God? I mean, are you a different person from the person you would be if Jesus hadn’t become a part of your life?

Most of us were baptized as infants, some of us as toddlers or even older children, maybe even a few of us as adults. What does that mean? We say that in baptism God sets us free from sin and death and that after baptism we grow in faith, love, and obedience to the will of God. We are raised to new life and joined with Christians throughout the world in God’s mission for the life of the world. How has that been working for you?

On the Third Sunday after Pentecost, in the second reading, St. Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah and then puts a new spin on those words. In Isaiah 49:8 we read:
“In a time of favour I have answered you,
on a day of salvation I have helped you.”
This was part of a prophecy about God delivering the people of Israel from exile in Babylon and wherever they are scattered in the world. God promises to bring them back to their home, back to the promised land.

When Paul reads this prophecy he finds new meaning in those words and in the promise. Because of his faith in Jesus Christ he understands the prophecy in a new way. It’s no longer just about captives being set free to return to their homes. In this prophecy, and in the death and resurrection of Jesus, he sees a new homecoming and a new restoration. Now when Paul reads about “a time of favour” and “a day of salvation” he sees a restored relationship with God. So instead of “a time” and “a day” Paul writes:
“See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor 6:2).

Paul also urges his readers not to take this for granted. The preceding verse says, “we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain” (2 Cor 6:1). God has given us a marvellous gift. The good news is that through Jesus Christ we are reconciled to God. In him there is grace and help. God’s anger and wrath at our sinfulness is turned away. Instead we receive love and generosity and good. We receive forgiveness of sins and mercy and reconciliation.

Just as Isaiah announced that God would set the people of Israel free, we are set free from sin and death and all that would separate us from God. Martin Luther wrote a document titled Christian Liberty. In it he wrote about the freedom that we have in Christ but he goes further than simply writing about what we are set free from. He also writes about what we are set free for.
“I will therefore give myself as a Christ to my neighbour, just as Christ offered himself to me; I will do nothing in this life except what I see as necessary, profitable, and salutary to my neighbour, since through faith I have an abundance of all good things in Christ.
“Behold, from faith thus flow forth love and joy in the Lord, and from love a joyful, willing, and free mind that serves one’s neighbour willingly.”

When Jesus meets us and the good news of God’s grace impacts our lives we are set free and changed and now our lives aren’t about US anymore. Now we live for others and for what we can do to make a difference in the world, for what we can do as gospel people, spreading the good news of God’s love and mercy.

“See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation.” The time and the day are here for us to worship, learn, witness, serve, and share. The time and the day are here to make a difference in the world. The time and the day are here to be and do and live for others just as Christ was and did and does for us. How will that be working for you?

Wascally Wabbits

So, after posting links to the newspaper articles that refer to our church vegetable garden I wonder just what we'll be able to harvest.

The beans we planted came up quickly. The sprouts appeared about a week after we planted them. They pushed up and put out a couple of leaves on each stem. Now more than half of them are just stems, with the leaves stripped off by a rabbit or rabbits in the neighbourhood.

A few years ago they took off the leaves of the pepper plants we planted. I asked an old woman who lived next door (she died a couple of years ago) who always had a beautiful vegetable garden if she ever had trouble with rabbits. She answered, "Oh, you vouldn't believe how many rabbits I've killed over ze years!"

I don't want to start killing anything and I don't want to spend the money on an electric fence so I'll have to do some research into how to discourage the rabbits from destroying our garden.

Rose

I know I'm kind of blowing my own horn, but after the article in the paper on Thursday, on Friday the editorial page did it's weekly "Roses and Thorns" about the week's news and we received the first rose. You can read it here.

Loving our neighbours

My wife and I are in the paper today. They did a story on our church's vegetable garden from which we take the produce to the food bank. You can read it here.

Too nice outside

I just can't get into work this week. My oldest daughter has her last exam and is done grade 10 at the end of this week. The other three kids are done a week from tomorrow. After a pretty cool spring it's finally looking and feeling summery out there. And I'm in the office working on items for the newsletter and putting off working on my sermon. I'd rather be at home, out in the backyard, either relaxing or even actually doing some yard work. I'm planning to repaint and rebuild part of the picket fence, build a new gate at the side yard. Or I could be out at a golf course somewhere just eating up the glorious weather.

I'm searching for inspiration for my front page newsletter article. I haven't even thought about my sermon yet and I like to have them done by the end of Thursday so that I can take Friday and Saturday off. Five weeks from now we'll be camping. Three-and-a-half months from now we'll be at Disney World. I like my job but lately I've been pining a lot more for the not-job stuff.

Ho hum. I guess I better get at it.

7

So yesterday, June 9, it was seven years since I first presided at worship as pastor of this congregation. I commented to my secretary on some of the changes over seven years, citing as an example the members of our congregational council. As I run down the list I think there are currently only three or four who were members of council back then. Four of the council members weren't even members of our congregation back then. Five of the council members had either been inactive church members or had moved away and since come back.

On Monday I had a funeral which makes a total of 73 funerals since I've been here. They were not all active members but some were.

A couple of Sundays ago we had confirmation which makes a total of 20 kids that have made an affirmation of their baptism while I've been pastor here. About six of them still come to church on any kind of a regular basis. Another two come maybe once or thrice a year.

I've baptized 28 babies and children and one adult. About five of them come to church and Sunday School.

Some of that might sound like complaining, but I'm really happy here. There is a good spirit in this church. There is love for one another, wonderful fellowship, a welcoming atmosphere. Sure there's room for growth. Not just in numbers (quite a bit of room for that) but growth in faithfulness and service and witness to our community. But I think that's coming.

This Sunday's gospel reading describes the growth of a seed without the farmer knowing how it grows. It's like St. Paul writes, that it's "only God who gives the growth" (1 Cor 3:7). The Holy Spirit is present in this faith community and if we continue to be a gospel people then God will give the growth.

Wow! Seven years! I'm hoping for a lot more. I love this place. I love these people. I'm not getting itchy feet or any desire to move on from here.

Busy, Fun, Weekend

So, as I wrote below, last week was my daughter's birthday. Well, yesterday was my wife's birthday.

Being a pastor and working on Sundays, I take Friday and Saturday as my weekend. Most Sundays I'm home and done for the day by about 1 p.m. so it's almost like I have a 2 1/2 day weekend.

Anyway, on Friday my wife and I walked the kids to school then continued downtown to go to the market and buy some perogies from Maria and some Kettle Corn from the Kettle Corn guy. When we got home I had a sore back so I sat down and watched TV and played solitaire on the laptop while my wife went downstairs and watched her taped General Hospital episode. After the Advil and the ice pack took care of the sore back I went out to mow the lawn and she did some gardening next door at the church. After I finished mowing the lawn it was lunch time so I set up a little table in the shade of our maple tree and went to get some take out fish and chips from the fry truck a few blocks away. Then I called her over for lunch. She was surprised and very happy with the treat. After lunch I got out the patio furniture (for which we haven't had appropriate weather because of a pretty cool spring) in anticipation of a nice day on Sunday.

On Saturday we spent the day cleaning the house for the guests (family) who were coming on Sunday to celebrate both birthdays. The kids were actually helpful because we had planned a surprise party for mom that evening. We spent much of the afternoon gardening and planted our church vegetable garden, the produce from which we take to the food bank. Finally it was just after 5 p.m. and my wife wanted to do more gardening when I said, "NO! Get inside and have a shower and get dressed again in case your family wants to do something with you this evening." She later said that she figured we might take her out for dinner and a movie. Instead we did a little last minute decorating and preparation for the surprise party.

Two couples who are friends of ours and whose kids are friends of our kids came over and showed up at the door surprising my wife. It was a lovely evening so we could sit out on the patio. Our oldest daughter and I got out some snacks and appetizers, made some punch, we had some cheese cake (thawed, from a box) and had a really nice visit together. She had no idea we planned anything. Again, surprised and very happy.

Yesterday after church my brother came (his wife wasn't feeling well) then my parents-in-law, two sisters-in-law and one of them's boyfriend came. We barbecued lunch, sat on the patio for a while, they opened presents, we went inside where some of us played video games, others did other stuff, then we had cake, sat and chatted, and had a relaxing nice time.

It was a good weekend. Nobody got on anybody's nerves. Surprised worked out. The weather cooperated. It was just really nice.

Sweet 16

My oldest daughter, my oldest child, is 16 years old today. I'm so proud of all of my kids and love them so much. I don't feel like an old man, I don't think I'm an old man, but holy smokes I have a 16 year old daughter!

We let her take the day off school today. They weren't having classes, just some kind of school spirit day with games and activities and then an awards assembly. When I was home for lunch we watched an episode of Quantum Leap while we ate then went downstairs and played some Rockband. My parents and inlaws are coming over this afternoon and then we'll go out for dinner together.

She's so grown up, a real young woman, and I can still remember the little girl she used to be. It's kind of sad that she's not that little girl anymore, but I'm proud of, and thankful for, the woman she has become and is becoming.

Thank you God.

Serenity Prayer (in full)

I came across "The Serenity Prayer," attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, in its entirety. You see plenty of bookmarks and wall plaques with the first four lines. I guess the whole thing's too long to stitch on a sampler. Here's the whole thing.

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,

enjoying one moment at a time,

accepting hardship as the pathway to peace;

taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it;

trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His will;

that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

and supremely happy with Him forever

in the next.

In reading that again, my hope is that I don't resign myself too quickly to line 2. It's easy to give up because we're convinced there's nothing that can be done to change things for the better. Sure, there's such thing as banging your head against a brick wall, but if your head's hard enough maybe you'll make a dent and with others' help you might just get through.

I do like lines 5 and 6, about living and enjoying life as it comes, as best you can. And lines 7, 8, and 9 tell me that there is crap in the world that we have to deal with and struggle through, but I know we don't go it alone. And I don't just mean that God is there with us, perhaps carrying us like the sappy "footprints" poem says. We have each other, families, friends, faith communities who accompany us, and we accompany others in their times of need.

I pray that I have the trust of line 10. I believe I do, and that God gives me that faith. Line 11 tends to be a tough one. Surrendering just doesn't seem to be part of the human DNA, at least not mine. Am I right or wrong? Don't we fight for our independence, to do it "My Way"? To try to discern "His will" and to surrender and follow is hard. Again, I pray that God gives me the will and the way to do that.

I wonder about lines 12, 13, and 14. It might be semantics, but I think there's a whole lot to the meaning. What I'm getting at is the difference between this world and the next. Sure, we believe and hope in a "new heaven and new earth." But isn't being in a faith relationship with God about rebirth and a start to the "supremely happy" part already now in this life? I don't mean that we're guaranteed "happy, happy, joy, joy" our whole lives long, that we have to put on a brave face and smile in all kinds of adversity. But I think that living in the trust and hope that we have an eternity with God can give us glimpses of that supreme happiness already. I don't buy the idea that God's grace saves us for something someday somewhere out there. I believe we're saved and given new life and new joy for this life now, to continue in eternity.

Pentecost

Each Sunday the Sunday School children begin worship with us in the sanctuary. After the Gathering rite and before the scripture readings I sit down with them on the chancel steps and talk to them, usually about the scripture reading they'll be focusing on in their Sunday School lesson, then I say a prayer with them and send them off to Sunday School. Here's my Children's Chat for this Sunday, the Day of Pentecost



Who paid attention and knows what day it is today? It’s Pentecost.

Pentecost means 50, and today it’s 50 days after Easter. Easter doesn’t seem that long ago to me. The Jewish people celebrated Pentecost long before Jesus, long before there were Christian churches. For them it wasn’t 50 days after Easter, but 50 days after Passover, another festival when the Jews remembered and gave thanks to God for setting their ancestors free from slavery. The Pentecost celebration had two meanings for them. It was a celebration of the harvest, kind of like our thanksgiving. It was also a celebration of the gift of the laws and teachings that God gave the people through Moses, like the Ten Commandments, the laws that teach us how to live together with God and with each other.

Well, at the Pentecost festival in Jerusalem there were people gathered and celebrating who had come from far away, from Jewish communities all over the world. On that day, Jesus’ disciples were gathered together, probably to worship and pray, when all of a sudden something strange and wonderful happened. There was a sound, a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like flames of fire moving in all directions, and a flame settled on each person there. This was God’s Holy Spirit coming to the people, just like Jesus had promised. He said he’d send them the Spirit to be with them always after he was gone.

It’s interesting that the Holy Spirit came like wind and fire. At the very beginning of the Bible where we read about God creating the world, it says "the Spirit of God moved over the water." But some Bibles say "a wind from God swept over the waters." Still others say, "the breath of God moved over the water." Why the different words? Spirit, wind, breath? Well, in both of the original languages of the Bible, the Hebrew and the Greek, the word for Spirit, wind, and breath are the same. And in the Pentecost story we read about the sound of a mighty wind, and it’s the Holy Spirit coming.

What about the fire? Well, in the story of the Exodus, of God’s people being set free from slavery, we read that they traveled and camped in the wilderness for 40 years before the arrived in the land God promised them. And while they traveled and camped God showed them that he was with them by appearing as a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire during the night. That’s what the Holy Spirit is for us, the presence of God with us always. So in the Pentecost story we read about flames of fire settling on each person, that’s the Holy Spirit coming to them.

There was something else that happened on that Pentecost day. All of a sudden, the disciples had courage and received the ability to share the news of God’s love with all who were there. And there were people from all over the world there for the celebration and they all heard the message in their own languages. The Holy Spirit might not make us speak other languages, but the Holy Spirit does give us the power to share God’s love with others.

We believe that the Holy Spirit comes to us in baptism. When I baptize someone, besides pouring water on them do you remember what else I do? I put my hands on their head and pray for the Holy Spirit to be with them, then I dip my thumb in oil and mark a cross on their forehead as a sign that God is with them.

So, instead of us saying a prayer together, I’m going to have you line up on your way down to Sunday School and I’ll place my hand on your head, say a prayer of blessing, and mark a cross on your forehead as a reminder and sign that God is always with you, just like God’s word promises in baptism.

Child of God, you have been marked with the cross + of Christ forever, and sealed by the Holy Spirit, you have the power to share God’s love with the rest of the world. Amen

Confirmation Sunday

Yesterday we had Confirmation Sunday in our church. Four young women and one young man made an affirmation of their baptism in our worship service. One of the young women was my daughter #2. She had been so excited in the time leading up to the day.

Maybe a little because of the presents she'd be receiving.
Maybe a little because grandparents and aunts and uncles were going to be there.
Maybe a little because we were going for a special lunch in a private room at the County Club.
Maybe a little because it was a special day focused on her (and her fellow confirmands, but for her family it was focused on her).
Maybe a little because the day before confirmation she was using the gift certificate she got on her birthday to get a haircut and manicure.
Maybe a little because there are no more confirmation classes.

I hope a little because she is a young woman of faith and this meant something to her.

I got choked up as I read the verse that I chose for her (1 Corinthians 13:13) and as I laid my hands on her head to pray the blessing.

I liked these five kids. I don't always like teaching confirmation classes but I like hanging out with the kids. Unfortunately and sadly I think that I'll rarely, maybe never, see three of the five kids in church anymore.

It was a really nice day. It was a really nice service. I'm proud of all of my kids, and yesterday I was especially proud of my daughter.

Ascension of Our Lord

Today is the festival of the Ascension of Our Lord. This evening at church we're having a pot-luck supper, followed by a worship service of Holy Communion, after which we'll be going down to the park by the lake and flying kites so that we can "gaze up toward heaven" (Acts 1.10).

The Ascension of Our Lord is a fairly new festival for me. The church I grew up in didn't observe this festival. I remember my mother going to worship at one of the other Lutheran churches in the same city that had an Ascension service every year during the day.

When I came here as pastor, nearly 7 years ago, I started having an Ascension Day service on the Thursday evening 40 days after Easter. We didn't get a huge crowd. The choir was there because we'd practice after worship. Then a few years ago we started having a pot-luck before the service which boosted our numbers somewhat.

But I think it's also a difficult festival to understand. We're modern now and we have a hard time believing some story about Jesus being lifted up by a cloud into some heaven "up there." The Hubble telescope was repaired this week by a space shuttle crew. They say now it will work better than when it was brand new. But I don't think it's going to find heaven hidden behind some planet or star, or in some undiscovered galaxy, or through some black hole.

So what do we do with the Ascension of Our Lord? I think what we do with it, is what the two men in white robes suggested. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1.11). They didn't tell the disciples what they should be doing, but I think they told them what they shouldn't be doing.

Don't waste your time staring off into space. Don't waste your time thinking there's something better to be found somewhere out there, up, up and away from here. What Jesus said, just before he ascended, was "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1.8).

There's a saying about being too heavenly minded to be any earthly good. It's one of those sayings that's a little too cute and trite for my liking. But I think there's some truth to it, especially on Ascension Day. Don't stare off into space. Get to work spreading the good news and working to make our world a better place. Get to work making yourself and the world the person and the place God intended.

Maybe we look up and away, somewhere out there, because everything and everyone down here is so messed up. But this is the world we've been given, and we are the people God has tasked with caring for each messed up other and this messed up world. The good news is that we're not really left alone to do it. We have each other, and in our midst is the promised Holy Spirit who enables us to be the witnesses and stewards that Jesus wants us to be.

Happy Ascension Day

Astonishing

I just came across a little book that we read in our Intro. Church History course in seminary. It's The Astonished Heart: Reclaiming the Good News from the Lost-and-Found of Church History by Robert Farrar Capon. It contains one of my favourite quotes. It's actually a whole paragraph so here it is.


To begin with, Christianity is not a religion; it's the proclamation of the end of religion. Religion is a human activity dedicated to the job of reconciling God to humanity and humanity to itself. The Gospel, however—the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—is the astonishing announcement that God has done the whole work of reconciliation without a scrap of human assistance. It is the bizarre proclamation that religion is over, period. All the efforts of the human race to straighten up the mess of history by plausible religious devices—all the chicken sacrifices, all the fasts, all the mysticism, all the moral exhortations, all the threats—have been canceled by God for lack of saving interest. More astonishingly still, their purpose has been fulfilled, once for all and free for nothing, by the totally non-religious death and resurrection of a Galilean nobody. Admittedly, Christians may use the forms of religion—but only because the church is the sign to the world of God's accomplishment of what religion tried (and failed) to do, not because any of the church's devices can actually get the job done. The church, therefore, must always be on its guard against giving the impression that its rites, ceremonies, and requirements have any religious efficacy in and of themselves. All such things are simply sacraments—real presences under particular signs—of the indiscriminate gift of grace that God in Christ has given everybody.

Good Shepherd Sunday

Here's my sermon for this Sunday.

Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 3, 2009
John 10.11-18
Thomas Arth

In this age of email,
every so often you receive messages
that are forwarded from one person to another to another
and they make the rounds through vast networks
of friends, family, and acquaintances.
Sometimes you have to be careful
because the things being sent sound believable
when in actual fact they are fabrications or hoaxes.
At other times the stories that are sent around
contain the basics of a true story but then
there are embellishments and additions that distort the truth.
A lot of these stories can be like urban myths,
and sometimes you read,
"I heard this from a friend of a friend of my cousin's husband,
so it must be true."

Well, one of these forwarded emails that I've seen a few times
has to do with an interview with Anne Graham Lotz,
the daughter of the well-known evangelist Billy Graham.
I did some research to find the actual truth to the story,
without any embellishment
and this is what I found.

The interview took place on CBS's "The Early Show"
on Thursday, September 13, 2001, 2 days after the terrorist attacks
on the World Trade Center in New York.
Jane Clayson, conducted the interview with Anne Graham Lotz.

According to the transcript of the broadcast, Clayson asked,
"I've heard people say,
those who are religious, those who are not,
if God is good, how could God let this happen?
To that, you say?"

Lotz replied,
"I say God is also angry when he sees something like this.
I would say also for several years now Americans in a sense
have shaken their fist at God and said,
‘God, we want you out of our schools, our government,
our business, we want you out of our marketplace.'
And God, who is a gentleman,
has just quietly backed out of our national and political life,
our public life.
Removing his hand of blessing and protection.
We need to turn to God first of all and say,
‘God, we're sorry we have treated you this way
and we invite you now to come into our national life.
We put our trust in you.'
We have our trust in God on our coins, we need to practice it."

That's what was actually said,
but as the email made the rounds
some things were changed and some things were added,
the basics were still there.
And a lot of people have taken Mrs. Graham Lotz's words to heart,
thinking "Maybe she was right."
We've said, you can't pray or talk about God in the schools,
or in congress or parliament, or in public life in general
so maybe this is what happens
when we don't want God in our lives,
God steps back and says, "Okay, I'm outta here."
So this email comes across your computer screen and you think,
"You know, I think she's got something here!"
and you send it to your friends who send it to their friends,
and so on, and so on.

But is that what God is really like?
As Christians we believe that the best picture we have
of what God is really like
comes through Jesus.
And in today's gospel reading we hear Jesus say,
"I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
The hired hand,
who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep,
sees the wolf coming
and leaves the sheep and runs away."
So how does Jesus portray himself, portray God?
Is he the supposed gentleman who quietly backs out of our lives,
removing his hand of blessing and protection?
That sounds more like the hired hand.
Jesus makes a very clear contrast
between the good shepherd and the hired hand.

I've said before,
that we don't know much about sheep and shepherds around here.
As I travel around the countryside
I don't often see flocks of sheep.
Oh, there's the warm and wonderful wool farm out in Wellandport
and there are some Alpaca farms in the area,
but neither of these require shepherds.
When I was in Jordan and Israel a year-and-a-half ago
we would drive through what looked like totally inhospitable land
and now and then you'd see bedouin camps.
Their tents didn't look anything like what we'd call a tent.
They seemed to be long, rectangular structures
covered by big brown blankets.
There might be a small pick-up truck parked nearby,
maybe a camel or two,
and there were almost always flocks of sheep and/or goats around.
It was hard to see what they might have grazed on.
In a lot of places the countryside
looked like nothing but sand and dust and rocks.
But those bedouins were shepherds.
And their livelihood depended on them finding pasture land
and still waters,
to safely guide them along right pathways.
Another thing I saw here and there in the Middle East were dogs,
stray dogs.
I don't know what breed these dogs were.
You'd probably have to go a long way back in their family tree
to find any dog that resembled any breed
that would be recognized by a kennel club.
The dogs I saw were usually lying lazily in some shade to beat the heat.
But I'd expect in the cool of the evening of night
they could be pretty dangerous to a flock of sheep.
This would be a time and a situation
where you wouldn't want the shepherd to act like a gentleman
and quietly back out of the lives of the sheep. \
If you're one of those sheep,
you want a good shepherd who will keep you safe.

That still begs the question,
where was the protection of the good shepherd
on September 11, 2001 in New York City,
or on Boxing Day, 2004 when the tsunami killed so many
and caused such destruction along the Indian Ocean coast,
or on August 29, 2005
when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast,
or last month when an earthquake hit L'Aquila, Italy?
It's a question that's really hard to answer.
People will try to answer
and their answers might satisfy some hearts and minds,
but not others.
I may have told the story before,
about when I was a seminary student
taking my Clinical Pastoral Education course
and serving as a hospital chaplain.
I was on call one weekend, and my pager went off.
I was called to the ICU at Hamilton General Hospital.
The night before, the car that three teens were driving in
was hit by a driver who ran through a stop sign.
Two of the teens were killed
and the third was lying in a bed paralyzed.
I came into that young man's room, scared to death,
and he asked me "Why did this happen?"
What can you possibly say to that?
What kind of answer can you give?
Do you tell the kid
that we're not allowed to pray in our schools anymore,
that people don't go to church much anymore,
that we've put God out of our lives so much
that God has quietly backed out of our lives
and removed his hand of blessing and protection?
Sorry, but that's not the picture of God
that I find in my reading of the Bible.
What do you say to that kid?
Well, I'll tell you what I said.
When he asked, "Why did this happen?"
I said, "I don't know."

So where was God?
I hope God was with a nervous and frightened young chaplain
who didn't have any answers but came anyway
to try to provide some comfort
to a hurting boy and his family.
Where was God?
God was cradling the boy and girl who were killed in that crash.
Where was God?
God was with the nurse who called me and said,
"These people really need someone right now."

Bob Kelly, one of my professors at Seminary wrote:
"Genocide and starvation!
Nuclear destruction!
Poison and pollution!
Is it any wonder that people ask, ‘Where is God?
Why does God not act?
Why does God not end the slaughter and destruction?
Where can God possibly be?'
The Gospel is that God answers our question in a still, small voice:
‘Here I am, dying on this cross.'
"God's own response to all our sound and fury
is to remain the crucified God.
The crucified God is not a god who can be called upon
to bless economic systems, Christian schools,
military forces, or political powers.
The crucified God is the God who died at the hands of the Romans,
in the gas chambers of Auschwitz,
under the bomb at Hiroshima,
of starvation and AIDS in the Sub-Sahara,
in the streets of El Salvador,
in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan—
and the God who lives now as Lord
and will put an end to all gas chambers, all bombs,
all hunger, all death squads.
The crucified God does not try to explain our evil;
the crucified God suffers and dies as a victim of our evil,
and precisely in suffering and dying overcomes evil."

We may not know much about shepherds and sheep.
But I think we can imagine, pretty well,
what a good shepherd is like.
A good shepherd doesn't back out of our lives
and leave us to ourselves.
The Good Shepherd leaves 99 sheep who are safe
and relentlessly pursues the one that is lost.
A good shepherd doesn't remove his hand of blessing and protection
or pout because we've treated him badly.
The Good Shepherd shows the extent of his love
by laying down his life for the sheep.
The Good Shepherd shepherds us
"beyond our wants, beyond our fears, from death into life."
May we live in faith,
trusting in the presence and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ,
our Good Shepherd.
Amen

...about Organized Religion

I wrote the following for today's local paper, the InPort News.


I recently got back in touch with an old university friend who I'd lost touch with for 20 years. I was not always a pastor. I got to know this friend when we were studying Civil Engineering, which was my line of work before becoming a pastor. We exchanged long emails telling about our lives and families and work and what we've been up to over the past 20 years. He remembered that I was a church-goer but was a little surprised that I was not a pastor. One comment in his email was that he "had problems with organized religion" and something about the hypocrisy he so often sees among religious people.

I know that church and religion aren't everybody's thing and I'm okay with that. But my friend's comment got me thinking about the term "organized religion" and the way it's often used. I could always come back with the joke that says "If you knew my church you'd find out we're not that organized" but I know that's not what people are getting at when they use that phrase. I've always been a part of "organized religion" so I don't know exactly what they are getting at.

Some may be atheists who have, or claim to have, absolutely no faith in God. Some may be agnostic, who aren't sure about faith and God, but can't or don't want to find answers in a church. Some might claim that they can't find God in church, in "organized religion," and that religious experience can be better found communing with nature. Some may think that religion is the cause of too much strife in the world (and they may have a valid point). Some will say that you can be a good person without belonging to a church. I'm sure you can. And some will have a problem with hypocrisy among religious people, those who don't practice what they preach.

There are likely many more reasons why people have a problem with "organized religion." That list is just some of the reasons that I thought of off the top of my head. Now, the hypocrisy thing, I get that. The church and the Bible call people to live a certain way and to act a certain way toward others and the world, the whole "golden rule" thing, and we're not always that good at following through. But there's more to our religion and our faith than following rules.

One of the phrases that comes out of my Lutheran tradition is a Latin phrase that says Christians are simul iustus et peccator. It means we are simultaneously righteous and sinful. Being a Christian or belonging to a church or even trying really hard to be good doesn't make you perfect. Being sinful is part of being human. Being righteous is part of being saved. And that's what the church, what "organized religion" is about. We're not perfect. I don't think any church would claim that they are.

There are plenty of social service clubs that do a lot of the same things that churches do, maybe even do them better than churches. They might offer support groups, soup kitchens, services to the elderly, food pantries, counseling hot lines, etc. But what the community of believers provides that those other agencies can't replace is called salvation.

We gather on a Sunday morning, to hear God's word of love for all, the promise of forgiveness of sins, encouragement to live a righteous life. We gather to meet a God who has promised to be there. We pray together for the church, the world, and all in need. We sing together, whether we're any good or not. We share a ritual meal in which God promises to come to us with love and forgiveness. We gather with others to give each other love and support and fellowship and together we work to spread the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ and to do what we can to make our world a better place. And every one receives a blessing, just for showing up.

That's what "organized religion," at least in the Christian tradition to which I belong, ought to be about. As I said, we're not perfect and we don't always live up to the standards others set for us or that we set for ourselves. But as a community of faith we encounter God together and we work together, support, and encourage one another as we muddle through and struggle along in this life.

...about violence

This is something I wrote 2 weeks ago and just got into our local newspaper today. And it's not even old.


I like to play. Most of the time I try to be a mature and responsible 42-year-old but once in a while the real me shows through and in many ways I'm still a 10-year-old kid. I have fun playing. Some of my favourite things to play are video games. Last year I gathered together with some of the youth from our church and one of them made a video recording of me playing Dance Dance Revolution. Thankfully he hasn't made that video widely available. It could be quite embarrassing.

Other video games I like to play are Guitar Hero and now Rock Band. I always did want to be a rock star but my life took a different turn. Anyway, knowing how much I like to play video games someone gave me one for Christmas thinking I might like it as well. But this game is one of the type of which I'm not a fan. I haven't even opened the package. I think I'm going to trade it for a different title (the gift giver is okay with that).

There are many video games available out there that are very violent in nature. This was one of those, rated ‘M' for "Mature" because of the simulated violence. I'm not a violent person. I don't think I would enjoy playing at something that is violent. I don't even want to try it and find out that something in me might enjoy it.

There's too much violence in our world. This past week in the news we heard of more Canadian soldiers being killed in Afghanistan. In the Gaza Strip along the Mediterranean Sea between Israel and Egypt people are dying, bombs and rockets are flying. By the time this appears in print I don't know if things will have escalated there or if some kind of cease-fire or calming of tensions will have occurred.

This kind of news deeply saddens me. Just over a year ago I took part in a tour of Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. While we were nowhere near any fighting the evidence of the tensions in the middle east were evident. In all three countries armed soldiers were in evidence all over the place. Traveling in the Golan Heights near the border of Israel with Syria there were signs on the fences along the road warning not to cross the fences since there were land mines in the fields. At one border crossing, while waiting for our tour bus to pick us up, a member of our tour was writing in his journal and a soldier came to see what he was writing.

One of the most disturbing sights was what Israel calls a "Security Fence" and the Palestinians call an "Apartheid Wall" between Israel and the West Bank. We had to pass through this barrier as we traveled from Jerusalem into Bethlehem. I understand the desire for safety and security but am saddened by the failure of people in that region to find a way to live in peace. The barrier is a symbol of our inability to live at peace.

This past Christmas we heard scripture readings in church about the song of the angels to the shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem on the night of the birth of Jesus our Lord. They sang, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among people" (Luke 2:14). Another reading speaks of Israel's hope for a king who will redeem them from enemy oppression and Christians have seen in Jesus a fulfilment of that hope. One of the titles given to this hoped for king is "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

As followers of this "Prince of Peace" I believe that Christians should do all they can for the cause of peace. Violence is not the answer to ending violence, it only perpetuates a cycle that begets more violence. Our goals should be the healing of society and a commitment to justice and to the well-being of every person. I'm not talking about wearing wreaths of flowers in our hair and standing in a circle holding hands and singing Kum ba yah. Jesus did command us to love our enemies and return good for evil (Luke 6:27).

The moment we undertake to fight violence with violence, we compromise our commitment to the good news of peace and have lowered ourselves to the level of the adversary. I will endeavour, in this new year, to live peacefully in my own life and in my interactions with others. I'll start by trading in a violent video game for something peaceful and maybe even silly to play with my kids. I want to have a part, even a small part, in building a world of peace for them to grow up in.

...about elections

I know it's old news, but I wrote this for the local paper just after we, and our neighbour to the south, had their big elections. As I had temporarily forgotten about this blog and didn't post it I figured I'd put it up now in case anybody cares.


I don't know if you could help but get caught up in the happenings of the election campaigns of the past few months, both here in Canada and in the United States. Last week Barak Obama made history by being the first black man elected president. There were also many younger voters who seem to have been influenced by Obama's message of hope and change. Hope-fully the changes he talked about and promised will come about and the people who were engaged by his message won't be disappointed.

Only a month ago we were in the midst of our own election campaign. I voted at one of the early polls because I was on vacation with my family on election day. We were in Florida and on the day after our election I surfed the channels through all the news programs trying to hear something about the results of Canada's election. I didn't hear a single thing. I had to phone my parents to find out what happened up here. What I heard was that nothing really changed.

Sure, we have a new member of parliament from a different party representing our riding. A few more women MPs have been elected and are now serving in cabinet. The number of seats held by each party shifted a little here and there. But the overall picture didn't change much. The parties are in the same places in parliament. The governing party is still a minority government. We went through those weeks of campaigning, the parties and Elections Canada spent millions of dollars on this election, and nothing really changed.

It's frustrating for me, to see the vast sums of money that are spent on certain things, in this case on election campaigns, when there is so much need in our world and in our own communities. Shortly before the American election Barak Obama spent millions of dollars on a half hour television spot in prime time that was almost like an info-mercial. I couldn't help but wonder how many poor, hungry people could be fed with that money. How much medication could be sent to help the sick and suffering in the developing world.

I realize there are always trade-offs. These days you have to spend large sums of money to get elected, at least in the American presidential campaigns. For a politician to have influence and get elected and have the opportunity to do good for the poor he or she needs to spend a lot of money just to get into that position, money that could do a lot of good if spent in other ways.

In the Bible the prophets were often very critical of those in power who didn't care for the poor. A king was often described as a shepherd who was to care for his flock, the people he was ruling. There were very few "good" shepherds of the people. Eventually Jesus came, God's chosen one, to show the world what God's good rule looked like. He was the Good Shepherd who went so far as to give his life for the sheep, for every one of us.

In our church we pray, almost every Sunday, for the world's leaders and those in power. An example of such a prayer says, "God of every nation, you enfold all peoples, tribes, and languages in your care. Give your grace to all who govern, that peace would prevail among all of earth's inhabitants." Another says, "Righteous God, you call us to reflect your righteousness in all our living. Give to the leaders of the nations that right judgment in all things, that they may govern fairly and justly all people of the earth." Our prayers aren't just wishful thinking. We pray that God's will be done and we trust that it will happen. We continue to pray but we don't just sit back and wait. We participate in God's work in the world. We work for peace. We strive for justice. We advocate for fairness. And many people of faith participate in government and work to make the world a better place.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, bless the public servants in the government, that they may do their work win a spirit of wisdom, charity, and justice. Help them use their authority to serve faithfully and to promote our common life; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

This is what I hurriedly put together yesterday for our newsletter. It's not like I don't know we put out a newsletter but I always seem to leave it to the last minute.


God comes down. Christ arrives. He enters creation as every human ever has. It's a common thing. It happens all the time. But anyone who has ever given birth, or been present at the birth of a child, knows that there's nothing common about it. But this birth is even more uncommon because here is God.

But this baby is still a baby. He's born in a stable. He's laid in a manger. And who on this earth knows that there's anything special about this child? Mary knows, and Joseph, those who heard and believed the promises. And I know, and you. By faith we are present at the birth of our Lord and Saviour.

Tradition tells us that Mary was a very young mother. Finding no room in the village inn they are forced to bed down in a stable. Joseph scoops up some clean straw and makes a bed for Mary, as comfortable a bed as he can, stretching out a blanket for her to lay on. The time comes for her to deliver her child. The sounds and the pain of giving birth are the same as for any child. Joseph with his rough, thick carpenters hands becomes the midwife.

The pain of giving life ebbs and flows for Mary and suddenly there is release. Joseph's breathing checks in his throat as tears come to his eyes. He wipes baby Jesus clean and gives him to his mother. She wraps the swaddling cloths around his body as she kisses his face. She is tired. Jesus is tired. She lays him on clean straw using a rough feeding trough for a cradle. She strokes his cheek with the back of one finger. Then she lays back down, closes her eyes, and sleeps.

It's easy to romanticize the scene. The nativity scenes that we set up in our homes and churches are usually very beautiful but probably not very realistic. What would the situation be like in our day?

A young couple arrives in town. They don't have much money. The motel they could afford has the NO VACANCY sign lit. They ask if there's any place they might stay. The only option is a corner of the parking garage. The husband finds some cardboard boxes and old sheets of plywood in the alley that he props up to give them some privacy. The wife is pregnant and goes into labour. They don't know where the hospital is, and it's too late anyway. The baby is born in the parking garage. The father takes his best white shirt out of his suitcase to wrap up the newborn baby. They lay him in a cardboard box, pillowed by some towels. Mother and child fall asleep while father stays up through the night protecting them.

It's not quite the sanitized picture of our manger scenes and children's storybooks. But it might not be far from the mark. The cantata that the choir will sing on Christmas Eve includes a piece titled "No Candle Was There." No candle was there and no fire, in the stable where Jesus was born, in the stall where our Savour was laid ‘til the rosy red breaking of morn; for the Christchild and Saviour no light, and never a candle to burn.

This is how our God came down. He didn't tear open the sky and reveal his splendour and might. That would have likely been terrifying. Instead he appeared as a baby, a poor baby at that, and was laid in a manger. It was hardly an auspicious beginning. But this baby boy came to save the world, to liberate us and establish everlasting justice and mercy. Angels sang. All of creation rejoiced. Lowly shepherds were the first to hear the news. In this baby the creator of the universe was present. And Mary and Joseph named him Jesus meaning "the one who saves."

And now we gather each Christmas to celebrate. We pull out all the stops, ring the chimes, sing at the top of our voices. Because the one who came down all those years ago still comes down. We remember, and we give thanks. We join the song of the angels. And we witness again the miracle of grace that slept on a bed of straw in a lowly manger, and we pray for that same heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,

sleep in heavenly peace,
sleep in heavenly peace.