Here I Am Lord, June 24, 2012

HERE I AM, LORD

Luke 10:1-11

St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church

Rev. Gary Paterson

June 24, 2012

            Imagine… there he is --Jesus, by the lake, ready to begin his journey south… down through Samaria, and along the Jordan valley, almost to the Dead Sea, over to Jericho, and then across the Judean wilderness, up to Jerusalem.  Jesus is ready to expand his ministry… and the only way to do that is to send his disciples on ahead of him, pair by pair, all seventy of them.  Seventy, not just the twelve from the inner circle; seventy unknown men and women, followers of Jesus, disciples; all of them sent into the countryside, to the small towns, villages, wherever the harvest was ready, wherever people were hungry for a word of hope, of healing, of good news.

            Christianity has always been a “sending” faith – at the very beginning, with Jesus himself being “sent,” and then feeling empowered at the moment of his baptism; a bit later, the twelve disciples sent throughout Galilee; then the seventy; and at the very end, the resurrected Christ sends his disciples into the whole world.  They were sent to heal, to confront the demons, to teach the way of compassion and love, to preach the good news of God’s inbreaking kingdom, a new reality, a new way of seeing the world, of living in the world. 

            Disciples are sent because Christianity is a partnership faith, where God works with us and through us.  St. Augustine -- “Without God, we cannot; without us, God will not.”  Or perhaps better known, St. Francis – “Make me a channel of your peace, where there is hatred let me bring your love, where there is injury, your healing power.”  Or remember St. Teresa of Avila, “In this world, Christ has no hands or feet but ours.”  Or here’s a modern expression of partnership, from the German theologian, Dorothy Soelle, her  poem, “when he came”, from the book Revolutionary Patience

                        He needs you

                        that’s all there is to it

                        without you he’s left hanging

                        goes up in dachau’s smoke

                        is sugar and spice in the baker’s hands

                        get’s revalued in the next stock market crash

                        he’s consumed and blown away

                        used up

                        without you

                        Help him

                        that’s what faith is

                        he can’t bring it about

                        his kingdom

                        couldn’t then couldn’t later can’t now

                        not at any rate without you

                        and that is his irresistible appeal

Sent; partnership.  Exciting, challenging, life-fulfilling… and yet, whew… a lot of work. 

But, then, this sending, partnership business is more than an ethics for living, a new commandment… it is that, to be sure.  But it’s also an invitation into an encounter with holiness; one of the paths that leads to God.  There is the God within, found in silence; the interior spirit, sitting quietly, deep in prayer.   There is God without, who, especially here on the Pacific coast, is met in the natural world, daily present on the seawall.  And there is also, in this disciples-sent-forth-partnership, the God who is found in the in-between… between two people, in moments of love; as if the spiritual energy in an individual leaps to complete the circuit with the spirit energy in the other, completed through relationships of care, kindness, compassion, given and received. 

            Which might explain what I’ve asked some people to do this morning, people from our congregation, people who have been sent, who have responded to Christ’s invitation to be his partners in caring for the world.  I’ve asked them to talk about where they have met God in the ministry they have found themselves in; don’t tell us all about your ministry, but tell us where you have encountered the Holy in that ministry. 

I’ve asked Christine to speak with us.  Christine is one of the teachers and leaders of our children and youth, one of the people we said thank you to, earlier in the service -- like Shirley, Missy, Camille, Nicole and Lauren.  Christine helps teach our young people on Sunday morning, and at least once a month, organizes a Youth Group adventure.  I’ve asked her to talk about where she has encountered God…

I had a whole list of things go through my mind -- Where is God in the midst of our youth group? Where is God in the midst of our Sunday School class? And what first came to mind was the sheer joyfulness of everyone when they get together… like puppies in a basket, where everyone is so full of joy, laughing together and sharing with one another what happened during the week.  It happens in the same way when we’re reflecting on Scripture, though pillows are being thrown, and everyone is running around the room.  It happens when we’re at a sleepover and there’s a screen door that doesn’t survive the night; or the lawn has footprints all the way around Jen’s house.  It happens when we go for a movie and  are reflecting afterwards sipping on our Slurpies -- the conversations are happening and this energy, this uncontainable energy is finding its own way to leak out -- there is such holiness in the freedom of that relationship, just to be who you are. We were at a youth conference last November and the guest minister who was there, Mark Yaconelli, he said, “The church is a space where we remember we can have the freedom to be as children, even as we get older; in a youth event we have the opportunity to let it fly, like nobody’s watching – so you can “dance like nobody’s watching.”  If you come to a youth event, if you come to the youth room on a Sunday morning -- it’s like nobody’s watching; and nobody’s judging; --  and that is so incredibly holy!

Thank you… and will all of you join with me as together we sing, “Thuma Mina”…

            Thuma mina, thuma mina

            Thuma mina, somandla.

            Here I am, Lord, here I am Lord,

            Here I am Lord, fill my heart.

            Send me Spirit, send me Spirit,

            Send me Spirit, send me Lord.

Now, Pam and Emily will be leaving Vancouver in a few weeks, heading back home to Australia.  They have been part of our congregation for several years now… and we will miss them terribly, even though we’re thrilled they’re setting off on such a good adventure.  Mother and daughter… part of the Sunday School, of the children and families ministry, part of the Youth Group.  And part of the ministry with people in Guatemala.  For some years now, Pam and Emily have spent volunteer time in the summer at Safe Passage, a school located right at the edge of the vast garbage dump of Guatemala City.  They have raised awareness and money for the benefit of that school.  I’ve asked them to talk about where they have encountered God.

When do we feel God's presence in our lives? Emily and I talked about this question and without hesitation agreed that our time in the Church helps us think about reaching out to others less fortunate than ourselves. During the past 4 years, Emily and I have spent our summers in the slums of Guatemala, working at a school called Safe Passage. We have raised money for the 550 children and spent time teaching them art, music and English. [Indeed, Pam and Emily, working with friends and with the school where Pam teaches and the school where Emily attends, have raised over forty thousand dollars for Safe Passage.]  I want to give this photo that I took of my daughter, Emily, and a little Guatemalan girl to the Church. When I look at this photo I feel God's presence. And to this day, Emily and I are helping to pay for this girl's education at Safe Passage School . Our hope is that she will eventually lead her family out of poverty.
We have also felt God's presence recently when we had a garage sale. As many of you know, we are leaving Vancouver and going to live in Australia with family. We raised $500. We want to give this money to St Andrew's-Wesley for the national church’s Mission and Service Fund.

There are many other times that Emily and I have felt God's presence. It often happens when we reach out to those in need. As we continue along our path, we will continue to be disciples--spreading goodness, compassion and love to others. We will miss you all! Thank you for all the wonderful memories.

We would like to finish with a poem. Emily recently wrote this poem and it was published a few weeks ago.

Each and Every One of Us

Emily Grills- 12 Years Old

Grade 8

Like diamonds on a rainbow

Like stars in the sun

Each and every one of us

A new life just begun

Like leaves that flutter endlessly

Like silver stalks of corn

Each and every one of us

Our hearts and souls reborn

Like loving the untouched

Like laughing through the rain

Each and every one of us

Our choices and our pain

Like words strung together

Like pieces of the past

Each and every one of us

In love we all contrast

Like lights that cast no shadow

Like waking in your sleep

Each and every one of us

This life is ours to keep

Like flowers that never bloom

Like secrets kept inside

Each and every one of us

Rejoice in life-take pride!

Emily, we give you this Prayer Shawl, to hold our prayers close to your heart as you travel to Australia, to be with grandma, aunts and cousins.  Pam… we know you already have yours, from when you were ill.  We send both of you on your journey with our love and our prayers.  Everyone, will you join with me in singing,

            Thuma mina, thuma mina

            Thuma mina, somandla.

            Here I am, Lord, here I am Lord,

            Here I am Lord, fill my heart.

            Send me Spirit, send me Spirit,

            Send me Spirit, send me Lord.

Let me pause for a moment, before asking the next person up.  I don’t want you to get caught in that… “Oh aren’t they wonderful, amazing; I could never do that” kind of feeling.  Sure, there needs to be a willingness to say yes to the invitation into partnership, to agree to being sent, responding, “Here I am!”  But the other side of the equation is how God is at work in this relationship – or rather, how is that we access the holy, spiritual  power that makes it all possible.  To be church is to be in the energy business, searching for ways to be open to the Spirit, for it is the Spirit that empowers us, that fill us with energy.  

I’ve just recently finished reading a book lent to me by Tom Baerg… yes, he read the Scripture this morning.  It’s called Mary Magdalene (written by Margaret George).  I resisted reading it for a while, thinking it might be another Dan Brown clone, where Jesus and Mary become an item.  I should have known better, ‘cause I know Tom.  Turns out, it’s a fine historical novel, that faithfully follows the gospel story and fleshes out Jesus’ ministry in wonderful detail.  And let me tell you, after having spent a couple of months in Israel, well, it was a treat to read. But it’s the conclusion that has stayed with me:-  after the beginnings in Galilee and the endings in Jerusalem, the resurrected Jesus finally leaves his disciples, and, according to the Gospel of John, he breathes the Holy Spirit into each of his disciples.

Jesus said gently, “The Kingdom has indeed been inaugurated, the new age ushered in, by my new life. …  You stand on its threshold, you open its doors.  He looked tenderly and possessively at each one of them…. “Now you must share this treasure.  You are witnesses to all these things.”  … Then, taking them in turn, he held each face in his hands and looking directly into the person’s eyes, he said, “Peace be with you.  As the Father sent me, so I send you.”  Then he took a breath and breathed directly on them, murmuring, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  When Mary[Magdalene] took her turn and he clasped her face in his warm hands, she felt weak with joy and the mystery of it.  He blew his breath gently across her face and nostrils, saying in a low voice, “Mary, receive the Holy Spirit.”  He held her face in a tight grip, then let it go.  He was telling her she must make way for the next in line.

It’s Mary’s yes and God’s energy that together create a partnership.  Which is what is possible for all of us.  

I’ve asked Mae Runions and John Pratt-Johnson to speak to us.  Seven or eight years ago they sensed a call to offer a hot, free lunch to seniors in the neighbourhood… a good meal, for those who found it hard to stretch their budgets; once a month, on the Wednesday before cheque day, when everything was getting tight. But it wasn’t just a matter of feeding people; what Mae and John and all the volunteers they coordinated were trying to do was create a community, a place and a time when people could simply gather, share a meal together, and connect with other people.  As an aside, the Vancouver Foundation recently released a research report about what people in Vancouver see as the most pressing social issues; lots of surveys, interviews… you know how it goes.  The researchers were expecting issues like homelessness, affordable housing, the economy to be the top concerns; oh, they were up there, all right, but the biggest concern of the people in Vancouver was… get this … isolation.  Lack of connection, partnership; being alone.  No wonder something like eighty to ninety people came last Wednesday, for a great lunch, and lots of conversation, and some music at the end.  For over seven years Mae and John have organized these lunches… ordered the food, called up the volunteers, greeted the guests, cleaned up the kitchen.  And now they need a rest… and who knows what new callings.   I’ve asked Mae and John to talk about where they have encountered God.

Where have we encountered God in this work?

This is a very good question to suddenly have to ask yourself, for although we pray and give thanks, where do we actually find God in it?

I would say first of all in our faithful volunteers.  Many of the folk who have been helping with this work have been with us from the beginning.  I see God, there, in them.

Then I would mention the generosity of our food supplier, Marcus, at Mava Foods.  We have been known to feed 100 people with food ordered for 80.  A certain dance goes on in the kitchen, in the serving.  I see God there.

Then I would mention the folk who walk in, our guests.  I see their humility and gratitude.  One dear lady comes early regularly and plops herself down with relief and says, “I love coming here because it’s so beautiful.”  I see God there.

Then I would mention our Finance Committee that takes seriously the scriptural call to care for the poor.  I see God present there.

Then I would mention our ministers.  Gary has come very time since he’s been at St. Andrew’s-Wesley, when he’s been in town – and sees these folk as another little congregation.  Jen and Kathryn come too, and share love.  I see God in them.

And I guess this is only the beginning….

And then John came to the microphone, leaned in, while looking at Mae, his wife, and said very gently, “And I see God in Mae.”

Mae and John… we thank you for all that you have done… for music, the Alpha Course, End Homelessness, fabric art… this stole, this communion table hanging of the Blue Heron Spirit… and for this ministry of the Seniors’ Outreach Lunch.  And before we sing, I would like to ask all those you have shared in this ministry… would you please stand?  Thank you… and now, let’s sing: oly Spirit.  When Mary MDGALENE TLLK HER TURNhOL

            Thuma mina, thuma mina

            Thuma mina, somandla.

            Here I am, Lord, here I am Lord,

            Here I am Lord, fill my heart.

            Send me Spirit, send me Spirit,

            Send me Spirit, send me Lord.

Another story… this one from Curt Allison, our minister of Urban Outreach, the Gospel Choir, the Word is Out.  He’s down in New York, right this moment, marching in their annual Pride Parade.  But let me back up a little… When Curt went to college, he ended up studying at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, one of the most conservative and fundamentalist universities in the U.S. -- and that’s saying something!  Well, he got a degree in Religious Music and Education, but he also was told over and over that being gay was sick and sinful.  Which given that he was gay made for a difficult journey.  Well, that’s all part of the past, but lately Curt has reconnected with a lot of alumni from Bob Jones University, and to his surprise, discovered that a goodly number… probably ye old 10%... were gay or lesbian.  And they had had as a bad a time as he; and some were still struggling.  Well, they got together, via Facebook and the internet, and formed a support group… for themselves, but also for those who are presently students at Bob Jones University.  Listen to how Curt described what’s happening in a recent email that he sent to his fellow staff at St. Andrew’s-Wesley (he gave me permission to share this with you):

Greetings from North Carolina! I have had a great time and will be heading to New York City tomorrow, returning on Monday, June 25. So I won't be at church on Sunday.

I do want to share with my ministerial colleagues a very significant event for me in my life occurring this weekend in NYC. I am on the board for BJUnity (we just launched our website this past Monday www.BJUnity.org). This is the association of LGBTQ former students of Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. My role on the board is Director of Faith and Spirituality. We just got our non-profit status in the State of New York. And we are marching in the Pride Parade in NYC this weekend. It's our coming out as an organization. Plus the Board is meeting and about 40-ish members are coming to NYC to celebrate pride together and the public launch of our organization.

Taken from our website, "BJUnity provides a safe harbor—a network of people and resources—for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and straight affirming people affected by fundamentalist Christianity.

BJUnity affirms and empowers lgbt+ from Bob Jones University and other Independent Fundamental Baptist organizations. BJUnity confronts homophobia in compassion, dignity and love, with the objective to promote dialogue and change."

So I go to NYC for this reason. I cannot tell you how significant this organization is. Already we've helped many alumni and current students who are LGBT. I've co-led 2 tele-sessions with members to discuss our coming out stories. Powerful stuff. BJU is the most homophobic institution in Christianity today. Our website has already been blocked from access to students on campus. But so many people are contacting us for help as well. I fully believe that being a part of BJUnity is a big reason I am here on earth - to take the devastation I experienced from fundamentalism and to use it to bring healing and hope to other gay people devastated by the evils of fundamentalism as well.

So I share this with you as co-labourers with Christ that you hold us in prayer this weekend as we march and that you celebrate with us as we continue to speak words of hope, healing, and liberation to thousands of BJU gay alumni as our ministry continues to be made public.

Blessings to you! I love serving in ministry with each of you. XO

Powerful stuff, eh?  A man who feels sent, who knows he’s in partnership with God, dealing with demons, working for healing, preaching good news.  And, perhaps at this very moment, walking in New York’s Pride Parade.  Let’s just pause for a moment, and hold Curt and BJUnity in our prayers.

I want to invite one final person to share with us -- Michael Dobbin, who for three years has been our Minister of Stewardship and Development.  This has not been an easy calling, for most of us have quick and prickly defenses when the topic of money comes up.  But with determination and skill Michael has taken on the challenge of being our “Minister of Money,” helping us talk about faith and finances.  He has helped us understand that money is really our energy in portable form, and that it is part of what enables all the other ministries that you have been hearing about.  He has helped us understand that we have a need to give… not just to meet budgets and bottom lines, but because our souls need to give.  And now, Michael’s time in this role is coming to an end, although he will continue to be part of the congregation, finding new places and avenues to share gifts and enthusiasm.  But it felt important to mark the ending his time with this particular Stewardship responsibility… to give thanks, and to acknowledge that his work has made a big difference in the life of our congregation.  But …. I asked him to speak, not about the specifics of his work, nor to give us an ongoing challenge, but, once again, to talk about where he has encountered the presence of God in what he has been doing.  Michael…..

Three and half years ago, I was living in Thailand, healing, wandering, and wondering. I was ready to come home and wanted a change. I went to the Canadian job web-site called Charity Village, and there, right at the top of the Vancouver list of jobs available was Director of Development, St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church.

God was with me that moment, the spirit moved me to apply. It was, I believe, a providential calling, for me to join the leadership team here.

My time as your Director of Development has been a hugely rewarding experience and I have encountered God almost everywhere, and on every day of my time in this post.

At the start, I saw God in the eager eyes of Alan Lowe and cautious look on Carol Acton’s face when they first interviewed me. (I did not take my earring out)

I saw God in the faces of the large group of congregants and staff who interviewed me a second time—and there was a gang of them, about 12 or more if I recall….not an interview panel, more like a posse. And God was there.

I encountered God in my relationship with our church Treasurer, Sue Parker as I grew to know and respect and love her over these years. Neither one of us is an easy person to truly “understand” but I can assure you that my work, especially at the beginning, could not have been done without God-sent-Sue and her obsessive dedication to her work here at this church.

God was revealed to me when, shortly after I started my job here, I spent an hour or so with Jim Ferguson and listened to him speak about this place, the financial realities of this church, the history, and the challenges that were met over all the decades he served this place.

His voice, as you may know, has a lovely Scottish lilt which is actually not at all like my Dad’s voice but, in the face of Mr. Ferguson, and the words he spoke, there, in front of me was, for all the world, my own Father. When Jim left that meeting I closed my door and wept for some time—I truly knew that God was with me in this task when I was working in the footsteps of a man-of-God as dedicated to the financial workings of his United Church as my own father had been during his whole life.

We all know that God lives in the hearts, minds, and the very space occupied by the ministerial staff here – especially when they are all together in one place. Most of you may never have that opportunity but it is extraordinary. I feel blessed to have seen the face of God in this remarkable group of preachers and teachers, and artists.

I encounter God every Sunday in your faces – in the potent energy that zaps up and down the pews while we share in worship…in smiles of our most senior members and in the faces of these children, in the honest hearts of the old guard and the earnest hopes of the newcomers in this church family – God, in each one of you .

God was in the moment when I decided that even I, a man of a certain age,  could mount a campaign electronically and create an entire month-long stewardship event ON LINE…it is the first time I have ever truly felt that God is, indeed, within the technology that we use… Now I know why smart phones are smart!

GOD is in the progress we have made in stewardship development in the past four years and I know that many newer, regularized givers have come to understand the rewards of sharing their money with the church. There is joy for me in knowing this to be true! (I would be even more joyful if a few more of you joined that roster!)

I have repeatedly encountered God in the Interfaith Work that we are doing… and it was a miraculous gift that we were able to get money from the Government to continue and deepen that work.

I say Hallelujah for that. And can only pray that EmbraceBC will continue to see us as worthy in the year ahead.

I find God in Darryl Nixon and his openness to new and different and sometimes radical musical ideas. I hear God in the voices of our singers, especially Rachel Landrecht who, I believe, sings with the inspiration of the angels.

God is in delicious home-baked cookies,

In the re-creation of the chapel,

In the compassion groups, like the one I am part of,

In warm hand-made socks,

In quiet private chats about the pain of change,

In the warm Hugs and

The Parades and Festival tents … and

My list could go on and on…

Because when one is at the centre of this place called St. Andrew’s-Wesley---

and YES, it is true that it is often bewildering, it can be exceedingly frustrating, the glacial pace and way church works is often irritating, and sometimes church people can be so weird but—

it is ALWAYS, at the core, (as we say) “spirit led, and spirit fed”. And that is God.

I have been guided by the holy spirit as I have attempted to move our church from the old ways and the old days of silence and secrecy regarding money-matters to a place where we can talk more openly about stewardship, money, spending, financial planning, legacy giving and can even celebrate together over dinner with those who have included the church in their Last Wills and Testaments. (Have any new ones joined that roster this year, I wonder??)

True, the work has just begun but I think I have done all I can or want to do in this role. As I step aside, I feel I have been guided by spirit: to make room, create a new space where there will be other structures, other people, and another approach taken ----- building on the progress we have made together over the past 3 or 4 years.

I am not leaving the congregation. I will be here for worship, I will be here as a member of the Property Committee, and… I am likely to be here in more ways that either you OR I can imagine… as the days and months roll on.

Michael… thank you.  And I am so glad that you are not leaving, but will remain as a member of this congregation.  Will you join me in singing….

            Thuma mina, thuma mina

            Thuma mina, somandla.

            Here I am, Lord, here I am Lord,

            Here I am Lord, fill my heart.

            Send me Spirit, send me Spirit,

     Send me Spirit, send me Lord

You know… we have to finish… but there are so many other people who could be up here, talking about how they have encountered God in their partnership ministry… like Lois Keebler, who for the past ten years has led the St. Andrew’s-Wesley Book Club; or Mike Lewis, who has just published his 14^th book, The Resilience Imperative – it’s a challenging read for someone like me who loves poetry, novels and theology;  a lot of economics… the sub-title says it all: Co-operative Transitions to a Steady State Economy; but it’s good… and it’s important; or Olive Swan, who has painted a second icon… in a few weeks St. Andrew, over there on the wall by the prayer candles, will be joined by an icon of Mary.   Called, sent, partnership; empowered, willing to say, “Here I am, Lord.”  And we are grateful; and each one of us is invited to listen carefully, discerning where the call comes for us, how we might partner with this One who needs us, who asks us to go forth, into the whole world, ready to spread good news:

            Thuma mina, thuma mina

            Thuma mina, somandla.

            Here I am, Lord, here I am Lord,

            Here I am Lord, fill my heart.

            Send me Spirit, send me Spirit,

     Send me Spirit, send me Lord

The Princess and the Mustard Seed, June 17, 2012

Rev. Kathryn Ransdell

June 17, 2012

The Princess and the Mustard Seed

When Gary was preaching last week on that very familiar story of disciples in a boat with a sleeping Jesus, the storm arises and they wake him and ask him, "Don't you care that we are perishing?", I found myself in a strange place.

I heard the story differently.  It is such a familiar text; I know the rest of it by heart; Jesus stills the storm and we all take a deep breath and trust that when the storms of life will come, our anchor will hold.

I found myself asking two questions:

            1.  These are professional fishermen who have fished this very sea and know its unusual and intense storms that come out of nowhere.  Why are they whining? (Maybe this question comes from a tired mom who deals with a great deal of whining throughout the day.)

            2.   And my second question was to Jesus:  Why did you still the storm? 

2,000-years later, we have taken this very familiar story and have adapted it and made it a story that tells us that the contract between God and me is that God keeps me safe. 

            On second thought, more than just safe, God, I would like to add to the list "comfortable." 

During last Sunday's sermon, I found myself asking forgiveness for my comfortable-ness.

Look around this world and the reality of life for most of the world is anything less-than comfort.  This will seem cliche, but we take this lifestyle for granted, as if we are supposed to have what we want when we want it, and that comfort is a right. 

And the denominational church -- don't get me started on our need to be comfortable.  We have spent a good 60 years perfecting a denomination that patterned itself after the rise of corporations beginning in the 1950s. 

Look at us now.  Oh, we are comfortable.  As individuals, we are so comfortable that loneliness is the greatest medical crisis facing us.  As a church, we are so comfortable that you can probably stretch your arms wide and not touch someone on either side of you. 

In trying to make us comfortable, we have isolated ourselves.  We made Jesus so comfortable that we made him no longer relevant. 

So why did you still that storm, Jesus?  Because I don't think you meant to teach us that you are here to make us comfortable.

The closest we might ever come to hearing Jesus answer that question may be the parables.  The scholarly community regards the parables as the most authentic of authentic voices of Jesus.  They are small, oblique, odd and indirect.  They have no pre-existence in the Old Testament (rabbinic parables came 200 years after Jesus); they are not supernatural stories or fairy tales.  They were realistic stories with shocking endings.

Shocking endings?  There is nothing shocking about Jesus' parables, at least in our reading of them.  They are sweet and nice, about a father who welcomes home his son, a shepherd who goes after the lost sheep, and a woman who searches for lost coins. 

John Dominic Crossan spoke of parables and described the shocker as the parabolic twist.  It's the ending you weren't expecting.

I like this idea.  I like the idea that something could come out of Jesus' mouth that would shock me.  I like the idea that I don't know how the story ends.  And I like the idea that perhaps we have so sanitized the gospel that we have made it more a bedtime story than a whole-life challenge.

I like this idea up until the point when it makes me uncomfortable. 

George MacLeod, founder of the Iona community, offers this great image:  Christ was not crucified on an altar between two candlesticks.  He was crucified in the marketplace: 

"I simply argue that the cross be raised again
at the center of the market place
as well as on the steeple of the church,
I am recovering the claim that
Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral
between two candles:
But on a cross between two thieves;
on a town garbage heap;
At a crossroad of politics so cosmopolitan
that they had to write His title
in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek...
At the kind of place where cynics talk smut,
and thieves curse and soldiers gamble.
Because that is where He died,
and that is what He died about.
And that is where Christ's men ought to be,
and what church people ought to shout."

So what about this morning's parables make us uncomfortable? 

o        There seems to be nothing shocking in the idea of planting seed and waiting for mother nature to do mother nature's thing and then comes the harvest.

o        And there seems to be nothing shocking in the idea of a mustard seed being planted and it grows up to be the greatest of all shrubs and allows the birds of the air to nest in it.

There is nothing shocking until we see that Jesus is comparing the kingdom of God to these two images.

The first parable assures us that even though we don't know how the kingdom of God will come about, it will happen.

The second parable assures us that when this kingdom of God comes about, it will grow as a wild weed. 

Are you shocked yet?   It gets better...

The kingdom of God is a place where love wins, non-violence rules, and compassion guides.  The kingdom of God is a place where the lion lays down with the lamb, where the meek inherit the earth, where the blind are made to see and the hungry are fed and the debtors have their debts forgiven. 

The kingdom of God is a place where resources are shared, imaginations are sparked, souls speak deeply and healing occurs.

The kingdom of God is where the chains of slavery are broken, the addiction is conquered, the fear is overcome, the loneliness is healed.

And this will happen just like mother nature takes its course.  And this will happen and it will look like weed-bushes growing all around. 

The kingdom of God won't look like the giant cedars of Lebanon.  In the old Testament, Ezekiel flattered pharaoh by comparing his greatness to the tall cedars of Lebanon with fair branches and forest shade.  You are so great that the birds of the air will come to you and want to nest in your branches.

Let's face it: we would tend to think that a tall cedar is better than a weed-bush, right?  In fact, if we were to choose one, we would probably choose the comfort of the forest shade and the fair branches rather than an overgrown bush. 

There it is again -- that comfort thing. 

If anything, the mustard seed that has taken on the mantle of "if you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains," becomes more like a "if you have the faith of a mustard seed, then you will be made uncomfortable."

The story of the Princess and the Pea jumped into my sermon-writing canoe this week.  When we think of this story, we think of a princess who must be a spoiled brat.  20 mattresses.  A pea?  Really. 

Yet, that's not the case at all.  ... Once upon a time, there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess, but she would have to be a real princess. 

Let's adapt the story to us, and our mustard seed:  Once upon a time, there was a person who wanted to be a part of a church, but this church would have to be a real church.

He travelled all over Vancouver to find a church where he could belong but nowhere could he get what he wanted.  There were churches enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones.  There was always something about the church that was not right.  So he came home again and was lonely, for he would very much like to have a real church. 

One evening a terrible storm came; thunder and lighting.  Suddenly a knock was heard at the man's door.  The parent opened the door.

It was a member of a church, but good gracious!  The church member didn't have ironed clothes, or neatly combed hair or bible in hand.  Yet this person said he was a church member. 

Well, the mom of the house said.  We will find out. 

Saying nothing, she put a mustard seed under the bedding and stacked 20 mattresses on top. 

On this, the church member layed on all night.  In the morning, she was asked how she slept.

O very badly.  I could scarcely close my eyes.  My heart broke for those who had no place to sleep last night.  I prayed that God would show me how to serve someone else in this world besides myself.  I ached over children without mums and dads.  I cried tears over the stories of children who were raised in residential schools. 

Now they knew that she was a real church member because she had felt the tiniest of mustard seeds right through her mattresses. 

Nobody but a real church member could be as compassionate as that to this world. 

So the person knew this would be his church, that he had found a real church.  And the mustard seed was not put in a museum, it stayed under the pillow of every church member to remind them to pray that God would make us uncomfortable so that we might be spurred into action. 

Last week, while we are singing the beautiful song, "I Have Called You By Your Name," my attention was drawn to the bottom of the next page.  There was a quote:

"That which is Christ-like within us shall be crucified.  It shall suffer and be broken.  And that which is Christ-like within us shall rise up.  It shall love and create."  -- Michael Leunig, A  Common Prayer.

I believe that we are called to be broken for this world, that our hearts so ache for this world that what rises up in us is love and the ability to create. 

The mustard seeds of the kingdom of God should dis-comfort us, so that we are kept up late at night, hardly getting any rest, and rising early to create for the kingdom. 

Being Christian means we generate ideas and we plant the seeds, and who knows, maybe they take off like a weed and maybe they don't.  Maybe it will plant something that will live for generations, and maybe it won't.  What matters is that while we have the gift of this time, we are so sensitive and compassionate to the needs of this world that those around us can see not the royal identity that is in each one of us -- that we are all children of God. 

Happy Birthday? June 10, 2012

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ???

Mark 4:31-45

St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church

Rev. Gary Paterson

June 10, 2012

So… I was at a political gig last night, being the dutiful spouse of a City Councillor, ready to do my bit at the pre-summer fund-raiser.  While there, I was approached by a friend, no… an acquaintance, who stretched out his hand, with a smile and a special greeting – Happy Birthday!”  “It’s not my birthday,” I replied, with a return smile, “don’t make me older than I already am.”  “But,” he said, “I’m a keen observer of your Church Sign on Burrard Street, and you have it printed loud and bold, ‘Rev. Gary Paterson,’ and right  underneath, ‘Happy Birthday,’ and you even have a couple of question marks after the greeting,  which made me think it was one of those special birthdays.  “Ahhh,” said I, thinking, yet another lesson about the challenges of communicating, yet another metaphor proving that signs are ambiguous, and can be interpreted in many different ways… “No, no… it’s not my birthday.  It’s the Church’s birthday, the United Church;  it’s 87 years old tomorrow!”  And I was off and running; and Ed got more than he bargained for; that sometimes happens when you take preachers to political gatherings. J  Anyway, Ed heard all about June 10, 1925… the Congregationalist, the Methodists and.. well … 70 % of the Presbyterians, joining together as one, brand new denomination.  First time that had ever happened in church history, that different (and usually competing and squabbling denominations had gotten together); got a lot of international attention – a story about unity, rather than the more customary acrimonious splits.  Mind you, it took an Act of Parliament to make it all official -- isn’t that so Canadian?  And then the inaugural worship service… huge… filled the Mutual Street Arena in Toronto.  With a 38 page worship bulletin; who knows how many hours they were a-worshipping; makes our hour and a half seem short… right?  Right? 

So, eighty seven years old; not a “significant” birthday, ending with a zero  – hey, special birthday greetings to you Patricia, and to you Margaret. And nowhere near as old as our venerable sister denominations, the Orthodox or the Catholic.  But still… eighty-seven years deserves some recognition.  Because it’s been quite a ride, eh?  Some great moments; others that need a lot of repentance.  We’re small… even at our biggest we were just over a million members; and now, just half a million in a Christian family that numbers some 2 billion.  On the other hand, we’ve contributed a lot; as some new friends from my time in Israel remarked, “You punch well about your weight.”  Sometimes I think we’re “the little church that can….”

Eighty seven- years… to be celebrated, no question.  But we’re also feeling our age; a lot of aches and pains; the body ain’t what it used to be.  You’ve heard the statistics, the stories; numbers decreasing, membership aging, finances declining, buildings falling apart.  A lot of worry in the land, wondering whether we need hip and knee replacements;  heart and lung transplants?  The kindest diagnosis may be that we are suffering from “arthritis of the spirit”? (A Barbara Brown Taylor phrase).  What’s happening to the United Church?  Will we make it to our 100^th birthday? 

Now…  hold that thought for a moment… and come with me to take a look at the gospel story we just heard and Timothy and Michael present.  Weren’t they great?  What with all those wind and storm noises, nobody was tempted to turn off, tune out; we “got” the story, both the energy and fear, and even, perhaps, the humour -- how in heaven’s name did Jesus manage to sleep through a storm like that?  I mean, nobody here slept through even the telling of the story; imagine being in the boat!?!.

It’s a great story, Jesus and his companions out in the boat, the storm coming, the disciples terrified, Jesus sound asleep… and then … well, Jesus wakes up, calms the storm, asks a few questions and leaves the disciples astonished.  It’s a story that feels closer to my heart since my time in Israel.  Last March I was out in one of those little boats, as a tourist, natch, not a fisherman; out of the Sea of Galilee on what to be had one of the worst days weather-wise that we’d had since I’d arrived in Israel.  And that’s saying something!  Cold, rainy, gray clouds everywhere, with a wild wind whipping up the waves. It was not fun; some of our group had been tempted to skip the entire adventure, but there are always some keeners.  Until we got out on the water.  Did I say it was cold, raining, and windy… very windy?  Not fun; after ten minutes, and a couple of pictures, we asked our captain to drop sails, turn on the motor… and take us back to shore -- grateful for modern ways… safety, hot coffee and a warm shower.  

The calming of the storm… it’s a powerful story… one that I need to hear often; maybe we all do.  Because we all know about storms… maybe not finding ourselves literally out in a boat, feeling swamped, scared of going under; but storms are part of what it means to be human -- when the stem cell transplant doesn’t work; when the marriage is on the rocks; when you wake up at 3 am, just two breaths short of an all-out anxiety, panic attack.  You know what I’m talking about… the struggle  to keep on keeping on, hoping to get to the other side, wherever that may be; the craft, the old body, feeling pretty frail, and you’re not sure you’re going to survive the journey.  Wind and waves and more bad news, and you feel like you’re going under; like the disciples, you cry out to God, to Life, to someone… “Do you not care that we are perishing, that I am perishing?”  Have you ever felt that way?

Given that we’re celebrating a church birthday today, let me stretch the metaphor… storms come to all of us, yes; and they also come to communities of faith, to churches.  Indeed, one of the traditional symbols for the church is the ship.  Most of you here today are sitting in the nave of the church… nave, a word coming from the Latin for ship… navis.   The ship of faith… a great symbol until you consider the inevitability of storms.  Which, at eighty seven years of age, the United Church finds itself in the midst of… once again.  Only feeling a bit more tired, and perhaps more worried than in previous times, when there seemed to be more energy to deal with the winds. 

I don’t need to go on about storms.  We all know about storms.  What we need, however, is the good news at the heart of this gospel story -- which is that Jesus calmed the storm.  The gospel story makes the astounding claim that with Christ in our hearts, in the nave, in our midst, we will weather the storm; that the wind and waves, and any manner of fearsome thing… these are never the final word.  When the wind is stilled, when the waves are calmed, Jesus then turns to his disciples, to us, and asks a couple of pointed questions __ “Why are you afraid?” and then, “Do you still have no faith?”  Almost as if these were opposing choices…. are we people of fear, or of faith?  Do we go through life with burdens of worry, or we do live out of a deep trust in the goodness of life, of God?  Fear or faith… our choice, Jesus seems to be suggesting.

Now, let me take a step back, just for a moment.  Judaism and Christianity are desert religions, founded and formed in the wilderness, worried about sand and drought.  Thus, it’s understandable that the sea became a symbol of chaos; the realm of demons, monsters -- who knows what might be hiding in the dark depths of the ocean?  It was thus in the first moments of creation, in the opening verses of Genesis, when the Spirit of God moves over the formless deep, the waters that existed before the “beginning;” this Genesis story is not about creation out of nothing (creation ex nihilo), but the giving of shape to chaos.  God speaks and there is structure  – unrestrained water is death-dealing;  ordered water is life-giving.  Indeed, God provides what I would call, “structures of meaning.” 

What is happening in our gospel story, however, is that the order of life is cracking, chaos is resurfacing, and things are falling apart. Note how this storm story is preceded and immediately followed by stories about demons, the internal, human symbol for chaos breaking out in the centre of a person’s life.  And note how Jesus uses exactly the same language to reassert control over the demons as he does with the storm.  Jesus “rebukes” demons and the winds; and orders them to “be still”.  

What the story is proclaiming is the good news that despite the inevitable storms we encounter, there is a stronger force at work in the world, in our lives – God; the God who restores order, who reshapes our structures of meaning.  God is the energy that holds it all together, who stands in the midst when de-structuring occurs; who is the love that recreates and brings life together in new and harmonious patters of being.  God is the power at work in the universe that counters the natural entropy of being, where things do fall apart… including our bodies, our lives.  Storms happen… and we will be swamped, and we will finally die.  Of course we are afraid.  And yet, faith claims that God is in the midst of it all, and what we are afraid of, while real, is never the last word.  The gospels begin and end in hope… “Be not afraid,” the angel says to Mary at the moment of conception; “Be not afraid” to the shepherds at the moment of birth; “be not afraid,” to the women at the empty Easter tomb.  Faith…  call it what you will, the Spirit of God moving over the waters, resurrection, Pentecost, rebirth, new life… God is the power, the One, who will calm our hearts, calm the storm… and send us onward.

During my time on sabbatical, I heard a phrase that has stayed with me…

“It’s not what happens to us in our lives that really matters; it’s what we remember about what happened, and how we remember it.”  Think about that… ultimately, the meaning of our lives depends on how we choose to interpret it, what structures and ordering shape our story; we choose our narrative.  We look back upon our lives from every present moment, and make choices of memory and meaning, purpose and direction, and out of that created story, we step into our future.

At last weekend’s Conference, our theme speaker, Alana Mitchell, talked about what is happening to our world, to the environment.  She began with tales of the wonder of the world, then segued into all that’s bad -- the carbon pollution, the poisoning of the oceans, the extinction of species; and then, she finished with a call to action.  She shared with us that she is often asked, “Should we hope?” – a question that arises from the fear that it is too late, we have passed the tipping point; or that believes that even if there is time, we humans will refuse to make the necessary changes.  But Alana claims that the real question is not “Should we hope?” but rather, “Will we choose hope?”  As gospel people, that’s precisely what we are called to do… to choose hope.  Why are you afraid?  Have you not faith?   For God is at work in the world, forever creating and recreating – challenging the power of demons, of chaos, of entropy, of death…. speaking a word of new life; inviting us to be people of faith not fear. 

Listen to these words from Leonard Cohen, verses from Psalms 46, 47 and 50, from The Book of Mercy; sometimes it takes poetry to help us understand the movement from fear to faith:

                        Blessed are you who speaks from the darkness,

                                    who gives form to desolation.

                        You draw back the heart that is spilled in the world,

                                    you establish the borders of pain….

                        … your healing is discovered beneath the lifted cry….

                        You have written your name on chaos…

.…

                        You lift me out of destruction

                                    and you win me my soul.

                        You gather it out of the unreal by the power of your Name.

                        Blessed is the Name that unifies demand,

                        and changes the seeking into praise.

                        Out of the panic, out of the useless plan

                                    I awaken to your name….

                        …and through the inaccessible intention

                                    all things fall gracefully….

                                                .…..

                        I lost my way.  I forgot to call your name.

                        The raw heart beat against the world,

                        and the tears were for my lost victory.

                        But you are here.  You have always been here.

                        The world is all-forgetting and the heart is a rage of directions,

                        but your Name unifies the heart

                        and the world is lifted into its place.

                        Blessed is the one who waits in the traveler’s chair for his turning.

The only way I can think of to say it better, comes from another poet, 

a Jewish poet named Isaiah, (Isaiah 43)

                        Thus says the Lord,

he who created you, O Jacob,

                        he who formed you, O Israel.

                        Do not fear for I have redeemed you,

                        I have called you by name and you are mine.

                        When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,

                        and the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.

                        When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,

                        and the flame shall not consume you.

                        For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour…

                        … you are precious in my sight, and honoured,

                        and I love you.

So…  be not afraid; the storm will pass; God is with us.

So… Happy Birthday, United Church.    Amen.