a pearl downunder

Saturday, 23 February 2013

the future is in God's hands

There are times when it seems that the future is so far off, that we need not think about it. Abram has been told before that he will have descendants, but Abram can’t see how. He is old, Sarai his wife is old, and has not had any children. In the time of Abram and Sarai, children were the future. If there are no children, there was no future?

More than once Abram tries to take the future into his own hands; he doubts God's promise; he has a child by Hagar.

In this passage God is telling Abraham that there is a future, there will be a future and Abram is part of that future. We think of Abram is the father of faith, but most of what we hear is very, very normal.

The passage we heard this morning also tells of the covenant of the Lord made with Abram, the covenant that his descendants will have this land between the River Nile and the Euphrates.

For someone who does not have children, being told their descendants will be more than the stars seems absurd. But while initially it says Abram believed the Lord, he then asks for proof. Abram does as God tells him and prepares the animals. Then in the darkness of the night something amazing happened. Something mysterious. You see these particular close encounters with God happen rarely, even in the Bible. There are a few such instances reported, this one, the burning bush that Moses stood before, Transfiguration, a few others. But such occasions are rarely recorded in the Scriptures.

I wonder how much we think about the future, not just to our next holiday, birth of the next grandchild, retirement for those of us a little younger. How much, how often, do we think about the future in terms of the life that our grandchildren's grandchildren will lead. Many in our society will see their grandchildren born, some will even see their great grandchildren born, what kind of world will they live in.

It is much easier for us to look to the past, to what we know, what has been. We can know the past, we can learn from the past, but we cannot change the past. We cannot know the future, but we affect the future every day.

[PPT image of hen] [i]

Turning briefly to the gospel reading, and the image of Jesus like a mother hen gathering chicks under his protective wings. The power of the temple, the power of empire, was used to rule and dominate. Jesus also had power, he used his power to heal, to cast out demons. The ruling elite then, just as now, do not want to give up their power. We see people hold on to the power they have, we see greed, oppression, destruction. This is not the way that Jesus showed us to leave. His life show compassion, inclusion, generosity.

Abraham is told to not be afraid, yet fear is a common reaction in our world. We fear people who are different, we fear change, yet in many places in the Bible we are told not to be afraid for God is always with us.

Abram was having a hard time believing that he and Sarai had a future. Without children they were not part of the future. While that is how Abram and Sarai would have understood their world, it is also how many congregations understand their world. How can we imagine a future with so few children around us?

We can respond in different ways to our sense of not having a future. We can think it all revolves around us, and try harder and harder, thinking the only way that we will have the future of God tells us is that we do it ourselves.

Other people try harder and harder to hold on to what is, the familiar, the known; because we are all doomed, because there will be no future.

It is easy to become despondent, without hope, to become cynical and self-centred. It's easy to live for today, and leave tomorrow for future generations.

It's easy to be anxious, to be overwhelmed by the enormity of what is happening in the world, of war and rape, of poverty, environmental destruction. The Bible records for us stories of God's interaction with people over many centuries. The vision that God has is not hopeless, overwhelming or unrealistic.

As I mentioned earlier, we can know the past, but cannot effect it; we cannot know the future but we do effect the future.

The future is not up to us, we are not that powerful; but we are powerful enough to squander that which God gives us. this week I watched a YouTube clip of a 12 year old Severn Suzuki speaking to the UN Earth Summit in Rio, Brazil in 1992. She spoke of no longer being able to fish in the local river, and the pollution in the air, etc. then she said:

“All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the solutions. I’m only a child and I don’t have all the solutions, but I want you to realise, neither do you!
• You don’t know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer.
• You don’t know how to bring salmon back up a dead stream.
• You don’t know how to bring back an animal now extinct.
• And you can’t bring back forests that once grew where there is now desert.
If you don’t know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!” [ii]

[image of no light for Lent] [iii]

I saw this and wondered if this is how we deal with fear, anxiety and lack of hope for the future. We close our eyes to that which we don’t want to see. We don’t trust God with the present or the future, so we close our eyes, we ignore greed, poverty and destruction. We don’t acknowledge the interdependence of all of God’s creation, so we take matters into our own hands, overusing some resources, holding tightly to what we consider ‘ours’ : doesn’t look much like the generosity and compassion that Jesus showed, or the image of Jesus as a mother hen wanting to protect her wayward, rebellious chicks.

The challenge for this week of Lent is to think beyond our own generation, to think beyond our children and their children. The challenge is to live trusting God with today and tomorrow.

[i]http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/11th-hour-preacher-party-gathered.html#comment-form

[ii] http://ssjothiratnam.com/?p=747

[iii] https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2QRSMvNpuYKKB5UpsdooXOvE9F-SxrRWU1M2Ah-ysuqo-ASVv2IrVo_DQojODX2UTCAZErHFjBg2d3BxOGK19wdqOImiA-tJT5Il52sJBUPz0v9p5x1pGyFst3Rpp64SBtt4viudf8aP/s1600/Liberal+Lent.jpg

Saturday, 16 February 2013

Lent 1 an acceptable fast

Today is the first Sunday in Lent, a period of six weeks leading up to Easter. Traditionally this time has been a time of introspection, of reducing our human footprint. For many this is a time of ‘giving something up for Lent’, for others a time to add in new spiritual disciplines. Some of what I have read over the past few days on lent has encouraged me to think in a different way about Lent this year, one of those things has been the title of the Old Testament study: An acceptable fast.

The title comes from Isaiah 58, the people of Israel are complaining that they fast yet God does not respond to their pleas;

‘Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’

The response:

“Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day,
and oppress all your workers.
⁴ Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.
⁵ Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?” [Isaiah 58]

Fasting, giving something up for Lent is not about losing weight or being the one to deny ourselves the greatest amount, it is not to put on a show of piety. The passage from Isaiah continues:

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” [Isaiah 58]

An acceptable fast. It seems that an acceptable fast is one that isn't about giving something up, or adding another spiritual discipline into our life; an acceptable fast is one that is life changing, not only for us, but for the oppressed, those suffering from injustice, the hungry, the poor.

This Lent I am planning on looking mainly at the old testament reading set for each week, that reading today is Deuteronomy. This chapter of Deuteronomy occurs before the people of Israel arrive in Canaan the promised land. Moses has led the people through the wilderness, and this is part of his final instructions to the people as they prepare to go into the land that God has promised them.

Moses is reminding the people that they should remember who they are and where they came from. It can be easy when things are going well to ignore what has happened in the past. If I asked someone here, or someone on the street, today to tell me their story I'm guessing most people would start off with I was born, I have lived, I went to school, I work etc. Moses is telling the people that when they arrive in the promised land they should bring the first of their harvest to the priest. And then they tell the story, the story of being a wandering Aramean, of the time in Egypt, of the exodus, and the promised land. Each harvest people would really tell the story, the with bringing the first of the harvest, present it to the priest, then the community including the Levite and the foreigners would share the food together.

The people who would be saying this had not wandered with Jacob through the Genesis story; most of them would not be able to remember Egypt; yet this was their story. A story based on faith in God, being in community, offering thanks and sharing food together.

Reminds me a little of what we do in our communion services. We here again the story of faith, of creation and prophets, exile and exodus, crucifixion and resurrection; we hear the story of faith. But I wonder for how many of us is this the dominant story of our lives. There are a number of factors that influence our behaviour and thinking, I wonder where that God story comes into that in your life, and in the life of this congregation.

I wonder what the dominant story of our lives is, when we think about the environment, minimum wages, refugees, prisoners, health, education, and a whole range of other issues. Now I know many of these issues are considered political, and therefore should not be discussed in church.

Remember the words of Isaiah from chapter 58 about an acceptable fast, one in which the poorer feed the oppressed are given liberty those suffering under injustice are free.

I suspect that people who are worshipping here this morning will have something to eat at lunchtime, have safe accommodation and money in the bank. It's easy to think that everyone lives this way, but that is not the case. And to a large extent it's about when and where we were born.

None of us bought ourselves into being, none of us can make food appear out of nothing; we all rely on God for life, food, physical and spiritual growth. We also need other people, we don't grow cotton and weave it into our own clothes, we don't have our own animals and kill them for meat, most of us don't grow enough fruit and vegetables to feed ourselves, and we rely on manufacturing and building industries for our homes and cars and household goods.

This chapter of the study gratitude, it isn't always easy to be thankful for what is happening in our lives. Moses told the people who had been in the wilderness, the people who are about to go over to the promised land, that each harvest they were to go and give thanks to God. They did that with the story of who they are and where they came from, but they also said “the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, .. and he bought us into this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey so now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you the Lord had given me."

There is a sense in this passage of how much the people relied on God, in the liturgy the telling again each harvest is part of remembering that story and passing that story on to future generations. Thereof rituals in our lives as well, some are to do with church, some are to do with other parts of life. There are stories that get cold over dinner tables about great-grandparents who came from another country, who started farming, who built a house around the corner, the stories that get told over and over again.

This is the beginning of lent, a time when we move towards the story of Easter, the great three days in the Christian calendar. We are on a journey that takes us to a cross, and a tomb; for Jesus the cross and the tomb were transforming; and because Jesus was transformed we to can be transformed. Lent is a time for us to look at our lives, at our priorities, and our identity, it is a time when we are encouraged to stop and think a little more deeply about what the influences on our lives are, about what cherished thoughts we need to let go of.

A prayer reflection:

Lent makes me so uncomfortable.

I prefer to remain in my 'zone,'
lounging in my chair;
glued to my plasma screen;
relaxing after a long day;
but you would lead me
into the wilderness

into those uncomfortable places
of tempting,
of power,
of testing.

I would like to hear words
about success,
and praise,
and feel pats on my back,
but you talk about
self-denial;
you mention the cost
of following God;
you invite me (!)
to shoulder
a cross.

couldn't you have sent
a more comfortable
Saviour,

O God?

What will you do with this Lent?

What fast will you observe?

Saturday, 26 January 2013

Stories

I love stories, well I love good stories, stories can be a powerful way of helping us to see truth and beauty, love and grace.

Something about stories I should mention; just because they are called stories doesn’t mean they are made up. Also, because we see and experience life differently, sometimes our stories will be different; that is OK as well, each of us will bring something different to the conversation.

We are people of story. while the Bible has lots of stories, there is also an overarching story. There are stories that tell us of something of God's interaction with the world, and how people have interpreted the world around them. There are stories from prehistory of creation and ark; there are stories of war, famine, exile, return; there are poems, speeches, letters and a travelogue or two.

There is also an overarching story, a story of a God who is involved with all of creation, a God who loves so much, that God will become human to show us how much we are loved.

Through this story, we are connected to people through many generations and around the world, people who have heard and told and retold and lived these stories. Stories transcend time and space, yet we read them in our particular time and place.

Yesterday it was Australia Day, and there are stories that go with that celebration. Stories of mateship, living on the land, holidays by the beach, lamingtons and meat pies, sunburn and surfing. Yet we don’t all experience Australia that way. Each of us will have our own story of what it means to live in Australia. Stories of migration, stories of land that has been in a family for generations, stories of inclusion and exclusion. There are many stories of what it means to live in Australia, of what it means to be Australian.

We each have a story, stories that tell about our birth, our family, our culture, our faith. This congregation also has its own story, probably more than one story; stories that tell of how this congregation came into being, of how different people have joined this congregation; of how and why people have left this congregation; of the various ministries of the congregation, past and present.

This congregation is part of the Uniting Church. The Uniting Church also has a stories of its beginning, of conversations that begin in the early 1900s; of people asking what kind of church is God calling us to be; stories of justice, of standing with indigenous people, of struggling with what it means to be an inclusive church; of multicultural congregations and worship in many languages.

In the reading from Nehemiah this morning we hear of a nation which had been in exile, of people returning from exile and rebuilding cities and towns. And we hear of Nehemiah and Ezra leaders, who called people together to worship, to hear the word of God. After returning from exile, the people wanted to hear again the scripture read. It wasn’t in a synagogue, but in a public place so that all people, children and women as well as men were present, could hear. And the people were moved by hearing the scripture being read.

I wonder how often you are moved to tears, or joy, when you hear the scripture being read?

Earlier I told you one of my favourite stories: Gordon Wilfred MacDonald Partridge. To me this story reminds me of the importance of community. Because communities help us to remember the important stories in our lives.

Part of what we do each time we gather together as a community of faith, when we come together to worship, and in other ways, part of what we do is to remember who we are in God's eyes. We again hear the stories of our faith, the stories written in the Bible, and also stories of our life together, stories of how God is still speaking to people today, of how God is still interacting in our lives today.

And when we gather in a church, there symbols and signs that remind us of who we are:

- the baptismal font reminds us that we are people who are welcomed, cleansed, and named as God’s precious child.

- the communion table reminds us that we are fed and nurtured, the table is reminder of the meals that Jesus ate with his disciples and with others – tax collectors and women; and we remember the last supper, and the words we hear each time we celebrate the Holy meal together.

- The cross reminds us of the death of Jesus. It is a sign and symbol that unifies Christians around the world. What was, and is, an instrument of torture, has become for us a sign of grace and love, love so strong and so deep that even death cannot deny it.

- There are other symbols in the church that remind us of our story, some churches have stained-glass windows,

- And there are actions that are signs and symbols; such as the blessing and the passing of the peace.

- Another aspect of our life together that can be faith affirming is each other, the fact that we gather together to worship God, that we gather to hear God's Word read and proclaimed, that we sing of our faith, and we pray for others and ourselves. As a worshipping community we can also live and speak into the community around us, being bearers of hope and peace.

The passage that we heard read from Luke’s gospel this morning occurs in the synagogue, Jesus was reading from the book of Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim
release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour."

The ministry of Jesus, the life of Jesus, is part of God’s ongoing story of love and grace, liberation and transformation.

If you were to write, in a few lines, what the essence of your life is, would it be centred on God? Or country? [i]

In what ways does your life speak good news, good news of the love and grace of God, good news of liberation and transformation?

We take a few minutes to reflect on what God is saying to us today.

[i] working preacher Luke 4:14-21Commentary on Gospel by Karoline Lewis ..

Saturday, 5 January 2013

Anna and Simeon

this is short today, we will also look at a DVD of part the Christmas story.
........

This year the main Gospel we are reading through is the Gospel of Luke. We have moved through Chapter 1 during Advent, where we heard of Zechariah’s experience in the Temple, and Elizabeth’s pregnancy; the birth of John and Zechariah’s song; the angel and Mary having a conversation; and finally Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and Mary’s song.

Luke 1: 1-14, 24-25 intro/Zechariah/Eliza pregnant

Luke 1: 57-80 birth of John B/ Zechariah song

Luke 1: 26-38 angel and Mary/ Mary says Yes

Luke 1:39-45, (46-55) Mary and Elizabeth /Mary’s song

Christmas morning we heard the beginning of Luke chapter 2 with the journey to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, the angels appearing to the shepherds and the shepherds visiting Jesus.

There are ? things I want us to look at with this passage – I did tell Ian I could probably preach for a whole month on this passage, that is 4 Sundays, not 30 days J, but you may get bored with it if I did that, so here is a number of things to think about.

The passage we heard read this morning is a reminder that Mary and Joseph were devout Jews. Just as we have rituals around birth, so did people in Israel:

· At 8 days, Jesus was circumcised and named- this would have happened at home with lots of relatives in attendance.

· As a first born male, at 31 days Jesus would be presented at the Temple,

· Then at 40 days, Mary would be taken to the Temple for the rite of purification – if she had given birth to a girl, this would have been after 80 days.

“According to the Jewish law, Mary was to come to the synagogue on the fortieth day. The law told her to offer a sacrifice of a lamb or if she could not afford a lamb, she was to offer two turtle doves or two pigeons. She sacrifices two turtle doves or two pigeons and this indicates that Jesus was raised in a poor family.” [http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_simeon_and_anna.htm]

Sometimes something unexpected happens and our rituals take on a different meaning for us. For Mary and Joseph, arriving at the temple ready for the rite of purification for Mary with the appropriate sacrifice, a man takes the child from their arms – now I can’t imagine too many parents being relaxed about a someone taking their month old child from them as they enter the Temple. But that is what Luke records, Simeon took the baby in his arms and said something like: OK God, I am ready to die now, just as you said, I have seen the salvation of Israel and all people. ‘Simeon is ready to die. Not from a sense of resignation or failure but because in this child he has been reminded of God’s indefatigable commitment to be with us and for us forever.’ [David Lose In the Meantime]

Simeon says he is ready to die, that is what is meant by depart – are you able to say that of your own life, that you are ready to die, that you would be at peace about dying? What else would need to happen for you to be at peace with death?

Some of you will have seen or heard about the movie ‘the Bucket list’ what is on your bucket list, not the frivolous buying a sports car list;

These words of Simeon’s are part of the resources for prayers at the time of dying in our prayer book – would needs to happen for you to be able to say them about your life?

Anna’s words are not recorded, but she praised God and spoke to all in Jerusalem who were waiting for the redemption of Israel. This doesn’t mean handing out tracts on street corners. Anna praised God, she lived a devout life, and now she praised God and told others what she knew, that she had seen Jesus, the promised one. Does our living praise God, do our words tell the good news of life transformed?

…

Manger box – each week during advent we added our prayers, our thoughts and our actions, do we see a box for a baby, or the coming, the fulfilment of hopes and dreams, of waiting and watching for the promised one.

Both Anna and Simeon recognised Jesus as the one that God had promised, the one that all of Israel was waiting for. I wonder how often do we notice the presence of God in our lives?

Monday, 24 December 2012

Christmas Day

Throughout advent we have paused to consider in what ways we contribute, or share: hope, peace, joy and love. Today we come together to remember the birth of Jesus. We hear the Bible story, we sing the carols; Christmas is a time when tradition, and family traditions, come to the fore.

But each year there are people for whom Christmas does not follow the familiar rhythm and pattern. As people move house, and relocate for work, some families no longer get together for Christmas. Children grow and marry, there are two family traditions to try and attend to. People die. Marriages end in separation or divorce. I know 2 families this year, who are with a parent about to die.

Traditions change, and that is fine; life is continually changing, but one thing the Christmas story does, is to anchor us into something we find hard to put into words.

Luke records the story of the birth of Jesus, to a young woman, away from home. This story still amazes me.

The Christmas story includes angels in a few places, and they always seem to say “Do not be afraid”, so maybe angels aren’t cute and sweet looking?

An angel appears to the shepherds, and says:

"Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."

‘Good news of great joy for all the people’. What is the good news of Christmas? Presents, food, family, parties, holidays?

‘Good news of great joy for all the people’. “all people” I wonder what good news there is for ‘all people’ this Christmas, not only the ones who received gifts they like, not only the people with enough food and a place to holiday. ‘all people’ . the angel is recorded as saying “all people” ; ‘Good news of great joy for all the people’ – so that means the families who are mourning a death, it means people with no one to call family, it means people who live in fear.

Christmas is amazing, because the birth of Jesus happened amidst the ordinary world of ordinary people. Mary was faithful to God, but Mary was not a princess, she wasn’t a spiritual seeker off on a pilgrimage, all we are told about her suggests she was a teenage girl engaged to Joseph. And Joseph, he was a carpenter; not a priest or a king. Two people, like many other couples of their time.

And then after the birth, the shepherds come to visit. Now in the play at carols 2 nights ago, the shepherds were clean and well mannered; but shepherds at that time in history were people who could not get any other work.

That is part of the joy of the Christmas story, that God chooses the outsiders, the rejected, the homeless.

What does this story of a baby born to a young mother and laid in a feeding trough, of shepherds coming in from the hills, of no room for travellers, of Roman imperialism, what does this story have for us today?

At the beginning of the service today we watched a video clip of people singing in a shopping mall, I believe it is called a flash mob. In the midst of people’s activity, Christmas broke in.

That is ‘the good news of great joy for all people’; that God broke into our existence, not to emperors and bishops, but to ordinary people in out of the way places.

The good news for each of us today is that God breaks into our lives, offering hope, peace, joy and love.

Saturday, 22 December 2012

Loud Love

a shorter sermon again this week, we will also be watching a video message from the President of the UCA.

My mother grew up in the country, one of 11 children. Some of Mum’s sisters have very loud voices, and Mum would say they had forgotten they weren't down the paddock anymore. I know some families talk about outside voices and inside voices. Luke records that Elizabeth “cried out in a loud voice,” This phrase in Greek means to shout as though one is using a mega-phone.^{^[i]}

In the Magnificat, or Mary’s song, the opening words are translated in the NRSV as “My soul magnifies the Lord ...” , which in the Greek means Mary's soul will "make mega" the Lord. [ii]

And what does Mary speak of?

“Mary sings of God’s mercy, promising that God lifts up the lonely, the downtrodden, and the oppressed, not just of her day, but of our own as well. ….. According to Luke, when Mary sang, she didn't just name those promises but also entered into them.”[iii]

I wonder, how loudly do our words and our actions speak of God?

Over the past few weeks we have thought about hope, peace, joy, and today we will think about love.

Advent 1: you received a piece of paper, and wrote one thing you will do this year that will grow hope in the world, in your life, or in another’s life.

Advent 2: stars were handed out, and you wrote down in which way you are a prophet for peace or one way that you would like your life to show the peace of Christ.

Advent 3: we talked about joy, “experience joy that is experienced when we are aware that in a given moment we are doing exactly what God wants us to be doing.” You were each given a small bell, and were asked to think of a place or way in which you live out your joy, your discipleship.

All 3 symbols have been placed in the manger.

Today we think about love, not mushy romantic kind of love, that we see in movies and TV ads. Strong, brave love, love that steps in front of bullets, love that brings out our best, love that offers hope and peace. Love that we celebrate in the birth of Jesus, but also love of people shown in many ways .

The teachers at Newtown, in the US, who were killed trying to protect their students, reminded me of the verse “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” [John 15:13] which in the Message becomes “This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.”

Love, then, becomes what we give our life to.

Love is what we give our life to.

This week you will each receive a heart shaped sticky note, on it I want you to write what you give your life to.

Hearts to manger

Group singing ‘Nothing is lost on the breath of God’

….

Advent is a time when we think about hope, peace, joy and love as we wait for the coming of Jesus. the waiting is an active waiting, not sitting around being bored, but waiting with intent, waiting while working toward the goal. Waiting for Jesus to come, is about waiting for the birth, and the celebration of the birth of Jesus that we call Christmas. We also wait for the coming again of Jesus, the time of the fulfilment of God’s kingdom. And we also wait and watch for signs of that kingdom in our midst.

The box we use for a manger was originally a munitions box, remember Isaiah and “ turning swords into ploughs” well we have a box for holding ammunition turned into a cradle. But it only becomes a cradle, when it is filled with our hopes, when we speak out about peace, when we live the joy of being known by God and when we give our life in love for what matters to God. An ammunition box becomes a manger when we live out the gospel values of hope, peace, joy and love.