Being Good Stewards of God's Gift - The Church

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Once upon a time there was a young boy.  This boy grew up in a pretty ordinary family.  He had several brothers and sisters but he was the oldest.  His parents did all the right things.  They made sure that he was taught about God.  They made sure that he learned how to pray.  They regularly took him to worship.  All of their plans for their son were right on track.  And then one day everything changed.

Does this story sound familiar?  Does at least part of it sound familiar?

It should.  This story is told in much more detail in our Gospels.  It is also told over and over again, generation after generation.

Our Gospels tell us that Jesus’ parents made sure that they brought him to the temple to be taught about God.  They made sure that he went through all of the proper rites of passage.  He was circumcised and had his bar-mitzvah.  If Jesus were a Christian today, his parents would have had him baptized and he would have been confirmed on schedule.  And then everything would change.

When the time was right, Jesus stopped and looked at the world around him.  He looked at his worship life.  He looked at the way that people treated each other.  He looked at the needs of his people.  And with wisdom that had nothing to do with his years on this earth, he saw what changes needed to be made and how to make them happen.

Was it easy for him to make these changes?  (No!)  Was it easy to get people to listen to him?  (No!)  In the end, the only way that he could get enough people to listen was to die for them.  So why did he do it?

Because he loved all of God’s creation.  “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us.”

What do we call this kind of action?

What do we call it when we look at the world around us, try to figure out what isn’t working right, and then do whatever it takes to make it right?

We call it stewardship.

I know we usually talk about stewardship when we talk about money, but that’s not really what stewardship is about.  Stewardship is about taking care of the gifts that God has given us.  I’m not talking about financial stewardship today, or at least not directly.  I’m talking about other gifts that God gives us.

Can anyone name a gift that we have from God?

-         Family

-         The church

-         Friends

-         Money

-         Health

-         Creation

-         Time

And how do we take care of that gift (name it)?  How can we be good stewards?

For a moment, let’s focus on one of God’s gifts.  A gift that brought us all here today.  The Church.  How can we be good stewards of this gift?

“We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us – and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.  How does God’s love abide in anyone who had the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?  Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”

If we are going to be good stewards of this gift we have been given, we need to look carefully at what we are doing.  We need to discern whether we are serving God or serving ourselves.  We need to see what is working and what is not working.  And we need to make it right.  This is stewardship.

But how do we tell what is right and what isn’t?  There isn’t an easy answer.  But there is something that may help.  This past fall, I mentioned something called the “Five Marks of a Healthy Parish.”  I just mentioned this in passing.  I didn’t list what these marks are.  I’m going to list them and talk a bit about them, but don’t worry, you don’t have to remember what they are.  There are copies of them at the back that you can pick up after church.

So here we go:

The first mark is IDENTITY.  Our congregation knows who they are before God.

The assignment on the back of this month’s schedule is about this.  And I’m hoping that we can explore our identity together over the next little while.

The second mark is VISION.  Our congregation knows what it is called to do.

Lately I’ve been talking a lot about what we are called to do.  I can only say what all Christians are called to do.  You have to discern what this parish is called to do.

The third mark is FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP.  Our congregation has the resources and leadership necessary to carry out its calling.

Right now this is a struggle.  Usually, once you have the other marks in place, it is no longer a problem.

The fourth mark is WORSHIP.  People experience the power and energy of the Gospel in their worship and life together.

There are two key words here … power and energy.  I know that it is much more comfortable to have worship that is familiar, worship that doesn’t surprise us or make us work too hard, but where has that brought us?

The fifth mark is OUTREACH.  The activities of the congregation make a discernible difference in individual lives and in the world around us.

For me, this is THE key point in stewardship of the church.  We are called to come together in community to support each other and to work for the common good.  If we forget the second part, we stop being church and become a Christian social group.

Bishop Sue has added a sixth mark: CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION.  Our congregation can transform conflict into positive energy for the Gospel.

“Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”

We come together here because we all have faith.  We believe that God has a purpose for the church here in this community.  “We ought to lay down our lives for one another.”  I pray that we can all open ourselves to God’s call.  I have faith that God will help us figure out what his church is supposed to be doing in this place, and that when we have that figured out, God will make sure that we have the resources to do it.

Witness

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Our Gospel today starts with a question of faith.  When Jesus appeared to his disciples that day after the resurrection, were they happy to see him?  No, they were terrified.  They thought that he was a spirit.  That he was there, but without any flesh.  They had to actually touch him before they believed that he was real.  In fact even that was not enough.  To prove that he was a living man, he had to eat in their presence.  Why was it so hard for them to believe that Jesus was really there?  These are the same people who had been travelling with Jesus for as many as three years.  They knew him as well as they knew their own families and yet they needed him to prove to them that it was really him and he was really there.

Why was this so hard for them?

Well, let’s see … they had just seen Jesus die on the cross.  They had watched as he stopped breathing and as the soldiers stabbed him in the side with a spear.  They had seen him being buried in a tomb.  Sure, before he died, he told them that he would return to them.  He told them that he would be back in three days.  He also told them that the meek would inherit the earth and they all knew that those in power would never let that happen.  Besides, who understood even half of what Jesus said?  Certainly not the disciples.  Some of them seemed to understand more, but even the best of them were often confused.

These are the people that Jesus sent out to proclaim the good news.  These are the people who suffered through times of worshiping in secret because open worship meant death.  These are the people who struggled to spread this news in a world where their words were not welcome.  These are the people who would not give up and spread the message of salvation, the message that the poorest of the poor were just as deserving of God’s love as those in power, perhaps even more deserving.

Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

If Jesus were to come into this church and say that to us, would we recognize him?  What proof would we need before we accepted that he was here with us?  What would it take for us to believe that it was Jesus and not some mentally disturbed person in need of some serious help?

For myself, I’m not sure.  I don’t know what Jesus would have to do to make me believe.

 

How about if Jesus were to stand among us in spirit, as the disciples at first believed?  Would we accept that?  Would you?

This is something that we actually talk about fairly regularly.  Every time that we celebrate the Eucharist, each time that we share communion, we talk about Christ being present with us in the bread and the wine.  The blessing that I sing sometimes has the words “See the face of Christ in each person.”  We say that we believe that we can look for and find Christ in those around us.  How often do you try this?  How often, when you are talking with someone, do you try to find something in them that reminds you of the message of the Gospel?  Even more important than that, when you notice something Christlike about someone, how often do you tell them?

 

“Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.”

The second part of our Gospel reading this morning is about what it means to witness.  It wasn’t enough for the disciples to see Jesus and believe that it was him.  Witness means much more than this.  Being a witness carries with it an obligation.  If you witness a crime, it is your obligation to report it and if necessary, to testify in court.  Witnessing Christ is no different.  If you or I witness Christ in someone, it is our obligation to testify.  It is our obligation to tell at least that person, or better yet, tell lots of people that we saw Christ.

This kind of witness is the easy one.  We notice something that reminds us of Christ and speak up.  How do we witness the resurrection?  How do we witness the Last Supper?  How do we witness our baptism?  All of these are central to our Anglican identity.  All of these shape our worship and our lives.  I have no doubt that these have meaning to you, but when is the last time you seriously thought about them?  When is the last time you told someone what you believe; what is important to you?  This is what it means to witness: #1 – see and believe, #2 – think and understand, #3 – tell someone about it.

 

Sometime this week you should get your May schedule in the mail.  On the back of the schedule, there will be an assignment for everyone.  I can’t make anyone do the assignment, but I hope you will.  What I’m going to ask you to do is to write one page about why your Christian faith is important to you.  What it is about Christ and his church that call to you and give your life meaning.  You don’t have to turn these in to me, but I will ask that you share it with someone.  Even if you do give it to me, share it with someone else first.  Also, if you do give it to me, let me know if it is okay to share it.  I would like to share some of them on future schedules (starting with my own) as a way of letting others know how our church still has meaning, what it could mean to them.

On that day long ago Jesus said to his disciples “You are witnesses of these things” and then he sent them out.  We say that we are his disciples too.  We too are being sent out.

I pray that God will help us because we need it.

Blessing (of the Fleet)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Today we are going to bless the fleet.  Why?

Do we bless the fleet because that’s what we’re supposed to do?  Because we do it every year?  Or does it have meaning beyond tradition?  What does it mean when we bless something anyway?  What does it mean when we ask God to bless something?

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3 NRSV)

This reading from Genesis begins to tell us what blessing is about.  On the surface, blessing is the opposite of cursing.  Blessing is as good as cursing is bad.  But blessing is much more than that.  Blessing is about relationship.  It is about being in right relationship with each other.  It is about being in right relationship with God.

How do we know when we are in right relationship with God?  Our Gospel today has some clues to help us.

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (John 20:21-23 NRSV)

We can’t be in right relationship with God if we are not in right relationship with each other.  Jesus tells us that we have the power to retain sins … to keep them from being forgiven.  He also tells us that he gives us peace.  I think these two things cannot truly go together.  If we keep someone’s sins how can we truly be at peace?  Our only true choice, if we want to be in right relationship with God, is to forgive.

Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. (John 20:29 NRSV)

A good relationship with God depends on faith.  We won’t always be able to see God working in our lives.  If we want to be in right relationship with God, we have to trust that God is walking with us.  No matter what happens in our lives, whether it is good or bad, God shares our joy and our pain.

So in a few minutes, when we bless the fleet, we are praying for three things to happen.  First, we are saying that we want to be in right relationship with those who, like Andrew and James, make their livings by fishing in the sea, especially those who fish in our own community.  We promise to support them and pray for them throughout this season.  Second, we pray that they remain in right relationship with God.  That they give thanks for God’s abundance, for whatever catch God provides.  Third, we pray for God to bless them.  We ask God to make his presence known to them as they journey away from these shores.  To help them to know that no matter what happens, they are never alone.

The most important part for us here today is the first part; our part.  We have faith that God will watch over our fleet.  It takes work for us to make sure that we continue to support them, not just today but always.  It takes discipline for us to remember them in our prayers.  Today is just the start.  So if everyone would please take out your leaflet for the blessing of the fleet ….

Easter Vigil - Baptism Revisitted

Eternal God, help us to find the way from darkness into light.  Show us your presence in our lives.  Lead us into the glow of your glory reflected in your creation and in us.  Through Jesus Christ our risen Lord.  Amen.

Tonight we are reborn.  Tonight we surrender to death and are brought into new life.  All through Lent we have been making our way, step by step, in the path of Jesus as he walked his road to Resurrection.  Well, we made it.

Tonight is a happy message.  We are done with the doom and gloom of Golgotha.  Tonight we are renewing our baptismal vows.  Tomorrow morning we will celebrate baptism itself.

But if this is such a joyous event, what is with that reading from Romans.  According to it, we were baptized into Christ’s death.  Tomorrow Jayden will be baptized into Christ’s death.  How is that good.  Aren’t we supposed to be baptized into new life?

 

Well, both are true.  Because Christ died for us and rose again, he defeated the power of death over us.  As Christians we do not live in his crucifixion, we live in his resurrection.  In baptism, we take our part in his death and are raised to new life on the other side.  We are an Easter people.  That is our choice and our calling.

This does not mean that we undertake baptism lightly.  Baptism has serious consequences and the benefits are much less clear.

We don’t need to be baptized to be saved from eternal death.  Christ was quite clear that he died for all, not just for those who follow him.  For the same reason, we don’t have to be baptized to be forgiven our sins, but it helps.

That’s what baptism isn’t.  There are many very different customs and beliefs about what baptism is.  There are a few that most churches agree on.

Baptism is a gift from God.  In baptism the Holy Spirit becomes part of us and is with us for our entire life.

Baptism cleanses us from sin, both past and future.  In baptism we become more aware of the moral implications of what we do.  We become more able to recognize when we need to return to God, when we have strayed.

Baptism is a sign of the Kingdom of God here on earth.  Baptism is part of God’s promise to us of the time when all will acknowledge the One True and Living God.  When justice will reign and the strife will be over.

Baptism is a rite of initiation into the Body of Christ.  When we are baptised we make promises to God and to the other members of the Body of Christ.  These promises are bound to change our lives if we keep them.  None of them are particularly hard to keep but as a whole they define a way of life that takes discipline, practice, and help to maintain.

In baptism we participate in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We become part of the story of salvation.  We give up our former life.  We surrender to God through Christ and promise to follow his example as we make our journey in the light of our own resurrection.

In just a moment we are going to renew our baptismal vows.  As we make our way through these vows, think carefully about what they mean to you today.  Try to remember what they meant to you in the past and how you have grown in your faith.  As we affirm our own faith in the baptismal covenant, think carefully about what you are promising.  These are promises made to God.

  

We know that God is faithful and will keep his promises to us.  Let’s see if we can help each other keep our promises to God.

Amen.

From Darkeness to Light

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Our journey through Lent is almost over for another year.  For the past five weeks, we have been talking about the ministry of the baptized and baptismal living.  We have been talking about what it means to be called by God; what our responsibilities are and how God will help us.

In each our services, we have emphasized penitence.  We did this because, during Lent, we remember that we are broken.  We are human.  We are flawed and we make mistakes.  Through God’s grace and the sacrifice of Jesus, we are called back into the love of God.  When we acknowledge our brokenness, our sins, and turn away from them and back to God, our sins are forgiven.  When we share that forgiveness with others, we share God’s grace and live God’s call.  We live into our baptism.

The forty days of Lent culminate with the final days before Easter. During this last week of Lent, “Holy Week,” we walk with Jesus’ disciples as they live out Jesus’ final days before his death. We parade with them, eat with them, flee with them, watch with them, mourn with them. After all this, we celebrate with them on Easter when our Lord is resurrected from the dead. And this celebration on Easter is that much sweeter because we have walked through the darkness that, in the end, does not overcome the light.  (From Palm Sunday to Easter, The Rev. Adam Thomas 2011)

Today we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  Jesus went into Jerusalem knowing full well what was in store for him.  He knew that the meal he shared with his disciples that night would be the last one they shared before he died.  That last meal is what we celebrate every time we share the Eucharist together.  This meal, maybe even more than baptism, is the centre of our faith.  In the Eucharist, or Communion, we share in Jesus’ promise to his disciples:

“While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take: this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.  He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.  Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’”  (Mark 14:22-25 NRSV)

There are many things that Jesus sent the disciples out to do, but the one thing he told them to do together was to share that meal; to share the promise of salvation through his sacrifice for us; to share the in his pain and in his death.

This week, we journey with Christ into the darkness of death upon the cross.  This week, we are called to share that dark road.  We are called to lay ourselves bare.  We are called to find that brokenness within ourselves and share it with God.

Only by opening ourselves to God in this way can we emerge into the light next week.  Only by stripping ourselves bare, as we strip the church bare this week, can we share in the amazing grace that God shows us on Easter Day.  Only by giving ourselves fully to God, can we share in the eternal hope of Jesus’ resurrection.

Pray for me and for each other this week as I pray for you.  Pray that we may all find that light within ourselves and in those around us.  Pray that the grace of God may be revealed to us in the life, death, and resurrection of His son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Living I BELIEVE

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable to You, O God, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.  They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” (John 12:20-21)

It seems so easy, but when the strangers came to Philip and asked to see Jesus, what were they really asking?  In the Gospel of John seeing is never easy.  John is all about light and darkness, seeing and being blind.  Many people who were right there in Jesus’ presence could not “see” him.  The Greeks who came to Philip were asking for much more than the chance to lay eyes on Jesus.  They were asking what Jesus was all about.

For John, the world was mostly in darkness and only a select few were in the light.  Even those who were closest to Jesus had trouble seeing.

Why is it so hard to see Jesus?

“Now my soul is troubled, And what should I say – ‘Father, save me from this hour’?  No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name.”  (John 12:27-28a)

It is so easy to stay in the darkness.  If we stay in the darkness, we don’t have to look too carefully at ourselves.  Seeing Christ means much more than saying “I believe.”  It means living I BELIEVE.

But what does it mean to live I BELIEVE?  That is something that each person has to work out for themselves.  There are many right answers.  If you would take out your insert, I am going to play a song by Take 6.  I believe this song is a good spot to start.

[play Gold Mine by Take 6]

I believe.  Every once in a while the clouds part and I hope I walk in the light and SEE Jesus.

Thanks be to God.

Ministry of the Baptised - part 2

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Last week I read an article for you about the ministry of the baptized.  Today I am going to focus on two of her main points.  First we are going to look at her ideas about church organization.  Does anyone remember the word they used where we would use “diocese?” – It doesn’t really matter, but the word was “judicatory.”

The authors say that church structure needs to change so that it can respond to the new reality facing ever smaller churches.  The old model where those at the top say how it is to be done and all the churches follow those instructions no longer working.  More and more, every church is finding that it needs to be different than other churches, even churches of the same denomination.

Some dioceses within the Anglican Church of Canada are not responding to this reality very well.  Since I know it well, I will use the Diocese of New Westminster as an example.  In that diocese, there is a list of criteria that a church must meet to be deemed “sustainable.”  If you don’t meet those criteria, the diocese will provide some limited support to try and get there.  One criterion has to do with average attendance.  Can anyone guess what the minimum is?  -- 70.  And I was told at VST that a more realistic minimum was 100.  How many churches in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have an average attendance of 100?  Or even 70?  Not many.  They are also very reluctant to have priests serve more than one church.  A church should be able to support at least one full-time priest.

Our own diocese is leading the way in responding to the changes facing our church.  In the past, our structure was set up so that the individual churches supported the ministry of the diocese.  At our last synod, we made big changes to our structure so that we could turn this around.  It is now the work of the diocese to support ministry in the parishes.  The changes that were made make it possible for the diocese to respond much more quickly when new needs come up throughout the diocese.  Instead of needing to wait until the next synod, diocesan council can set up new programs and working groups as the needs arise.  One of the major sources of funding in the diocese, which was reserved exclusively for new buildings, now has funds available for supporting new ministries in existing parishes.  Some of this money could easily be available to us for the repairs and upgrades that need to be done on our parish buildings as long as we focus on the ministry that we could be doing from them instead of merely trying to keep them standing for another generation.

So is our diocese changing as the authors of last week’s article say it needs to?  I think it is.  As with any change, it is a slow process and it has its problems.  But the change is happening.

The second point in the article that I wanted to talk about has to do with how we look at life and change.  I’m going to read again the quote from Jim Kelsey.  Jim Kelsey was the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan.

"This is something I have found to be true without exception: that when we, any of us, focus on things in our lives that are passing away, we get scared, we get anxious, we get depressed, we lose hope; and when we focus on things that are being birthed and are coming newly into creation, we get excited, we get imaginative, we get optimistic, we feel drawn closer to one another, we feel as if we have meaning and purpose in this life, and we have joy. . . . we are given change as an ingredient in life. We can be frightened and anxious and resistant to it or we can embrace it as a tool to transform us." —Jim Kelsey (1952–2007)

 

We are facing a time of change here in this parish.  It is not something that is sudden or unexpected.  It is not something that is unique to us here in this parish.  For many years attendance at our churches has been steadily declining.  At the same time, expenses have been going up and the money available to provide ministry here has been going down.  Many other churches in this diocese are facing the same realities that we are.

There are essentially two ways we can face our current situation.  We can respond with fear.  We can get depressed because we can see that what we are doing is not working.  We can lose hope about being able to pass our faith and our church on to future generations. 

If we go down this path, I can assure you that it will come true.

Our other option is to look for new meaning.  We can look at our own needs and the needs of our community and bring them together to give us new purpose.  Our faith teaches us that our purpose is to minister to those around us.  As we address the needs we have in this parish, this is where we need to spend most of our attention.  It is from our ministry that we will find new birth.  Our buildings do not define our ministry.  It is our ministry that should define our buildings.

 

Remember: “when we focus on things that are being birthed and are coming newly into creation, we get excited, we get imaginative, we get optimistic, we feel drawn closer to one another, we feel as if we have meaning and purpose in this life, and we have joy. . . . we are given change as an ingredient in life. We can be frightened and anxious and resistant to it or we can embrace it as a tool to transform us.”

 

Thanks be to God.