The called and the chosen

As I sit here at my desk, wondering what to write this week, I find myself reflecting on my ordinations and ministry of the past 23 years. It is indeed no doubt because of the upcoming ordination of a friend and colleague to the sacred priesthood this weekend. There is a large collage that hangs beside my desk that has pictures of the night I was ordained. There are pictures of me before the bishop during the examination. There are pictures of me standing proudly with my fellow clergy after the deed was done. But as I consider the collage, the most powerful ones are those of me being encircled by the Bishop and the clergy and the hands being laid on me as the sentence of consecration is spoken over me.

I wish that I could properly convey to you what that moment was like. There had been the craziness of a clergy having his keys locked in his van. There was a moment of incredible, even powerful silence as the Bishop and I were alone in the vestry, each to his own thoughts and prayers as we prepared for the service ahead. I remember and recall the power answer of “Yes, it is” from the congregation when the bishop asked if it was their will to see me ordained a priest.  Yet it still comes back to that moment of the hands. I felt the heat, both natural and spiritual of the hands as they came down and stretch out to me. The weight of all those hands on me, made me vitally aware of the responsibility being placed on me as a presbyter. And yet at the same time a feeling of community and connectedness with my bishop and fellow clergy that seemed to deal with the burden of responsibility and the load that leadership in the community brings.

Speaking of community I can remember a situation, just before my ordination to the priesthood where I was visiting a grieving family. We had gathered in the family home to plan the funeral service for the deceased man in the community. It often happens that in the midst of grief, there are lighter moments. In one such moment, midst the tears, a family member told a story and out the deceased that was quite funny to help me k now and understand who their loved one was. And the story being funny, everyone laughed including me.  This I think shocked another member of the family because she asked me if it was okay for me to laugh at jokes and tales. In reply with a big smile told her, “Don’t worry. I am only a deacon yet. The bishop will remove my sense of humour when he ordains me priest.” The laughter helped to ease the pain and the tears for a few moments and it actually help to form deeper relationships with the family and drew them back into the church community so that they could heal and be supported by the community.

What does this have to do with the Gospel? Everything. We are part of a worldwide community of people who believe, follow and proclaim the Lord Jesus. There are many who are called by God to come and enter into his kingdom and there are a few of us who are to lead the community under the authority of God preciously because they have been called and chosen. The clergy have been called by divine grace and that call has been recognized by the Church and those called are chosen to lead and serve in and beyond the Church. Just as the Church is called by God and through divine grace signs and proclaims the kingdom, midst both the laughter and the tears of this life and into the next.

When you get a chance this week, ask an ordained person about how they heard the call of God on their life so that you can see and hear the call of God upon you. Then together seek, seek and serve Christ where you together find him in the least, the last and the lost.

Jason+

Don't let the sun go down on your anger

There is a phrase from Scripture that has been with me this week and I think the Gospel (Matthew 5.21 -37) drew it out. The phrase? “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.”  Such a thought got me thinking about what exactly is it that I am holding on to at the end of the day? Scripture so often counsels us not to worry, not to fret because God is in control. There are things that I cannot control or change. I can pray, encourage, counsel others but I have to at some point, let it go and let go into the care of others and most especially the care of God.

This should remind us that God cares not only about us as people, he cares about us as a community. He works on the relationships between us and they too matter to him. The Gospel calls on us to work at our training in righteousness so that we can be effective Christians. We are to deal with conflict in a righteous manner and be mindful of the state of our heart and mind.  Why? Because we are before God! God calls on us as his ministers to live as his children. That means we are to live in integrity. We are to be faithful to the promises we make and honour our commitments, especially those of us who are married to a spouse. We are to live in such a way that vows and oaths are all but unnecessary. We are to live such a life that we will not allow each other to be alone or abandoned. We are with each other through thick and thin; plenty and famine. And our life together in community should show the life in the kingdom to those around so that they too, will want to join in.  

God genuinely cares about us and the relationships we have. This is why we are called upon to leave the offering we have brought to God before the altar (before we ask that it be offered) and go and find the brother or sister that we have been struggling with and work to make things right. We can trust God to look after the gift until we return to the altar and then we can with pure hearts, quiet minds and clean hands offer the gift we have rightly.

We have a tradition in our Church of “passing the Peace” and that is what the “Peace” is all about. It is not about greeting and saying good morning to friends and neighbours. It is about intentionally seeking out that one person with whom we have “a thing” and sorting it out before we present ourselves at the altar to offer, to receive, be bless and go give. It is not enough just to apologise though that is important. It is about making things whole and asking God to do that – because there is no health in us! How can we give fittingly to God when we refuse to forgive someone else. Such things dislocate the heart and muddle the mind which in turn, thwarts worship and disrupt life.

So this week, take the time to seek out those whom you need to make amends with – without worry about who was right and wrong – and seek to move that relationship forward so that when it comes time to move towards the table, we come with joy and in righteousness, both with God and with neighbour. Chances are you will sleep better too!

Jason+

Of Salt and Light - let go the moron!

There is a phrase in the Gospel for this Sunday (Matthew 5.13-20) that I have been thinking about. “You are salt for the earth.” It could be translated another way... “give up the morons.” That means, we need to let go of the things in our lives and in our faith that make us ineffective or worse causes our walk to be diluted or defective.  

Salt is always by its very nature, salt. It never stops being salt. Moreover, salt is meant to do and to be a number of things. It is meant to prevent decay as a preservative. It is mean to protect the purity of what is inhabited. It is there to add flavour to whatever is there so that it is tasty.  But here is the thing: we are talking about faith and the Church; all those who call and claim to be Christians. Jesus is calling each and all of us to live out the life of the kingdom in this present age. That is why we are “blessed”. We are to sign the life that is to come in the time of the kingdom of heaven. We are in other words, enabled through God’s blessing and grace, to show what life with God is like and will be like in the kingdom and do so in the here and now. We are called to live a life that is totally transforming by first living it and then over time sharing it.

But in all this, salt and the Church can become diluted and insipid. It can become less than it is. It does not cease to be what it is but it can become less. Diluted and insipid faith in the Church is not the way – there is no light or half version. Jesus calls us to live in the grace and the power that is afforded to us as children of God. We are called to let go of those things that weaken and inhibit our and live with everything that God gives you.

And we are in this moment also light. Light is always light. Lights shine out in the darkness. So who lights a candle and then puts it under a basket. Who lights a lamp and then promptly hides it away? No one I know. Certainly no one who was without power during and after a storm – so why are Christians running and hidding the light within them in our society? There are too many within the Church who seem to have come to believe that being a Christian is a bad thing and that the faith is all that is wrong with the world. That makes us sound like the late Christopher Hitchens, an atheist.

We have come to think in this “enlightened” age that we are the light or at least because we can flip a switch, push a button or turn a dial that we can control light. All we need do is open the fridge door and the darkness retreats from the light. Problem is, the light within a Christian is not his or her own. It is Christ who lives within and it is God’s glory that shines out. Where will you take it, what will you bring to light, both about God and about the people around you?

We need to learn to live a better Christian life than worry about living by the rules and being obedient to what’s been taught. We are called love – as Christ has loved us- those we find around us. We need to live in such a way that we fulfill the law and learn to accept the grace and forgiveness when we fall short. Then we show the full extent of who God in Christ is for the world. Then the good news of God in Christ is made manifest for people to reach out for and to hold on to.

We are tasty and we are lit up. So remember the last beatitudes, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet still believe.” Come live the life and do so in Jesus name!

Jason+

Live your life!

There is something positive to be said for the traditional understand of marriage and of faith. It was part and parcel of Jesus’ upbringing and formed the foundation of his ministry. The Gospel this week (Luke 2.22-40) highlights the faithfulness and that Joseph and Mary have to God and all that has been revealed and asked of each of them. The surprise of the Annunciation, the thoughts of quiet divorce, time with Elizabeth, seeing and hearing angels in dreams have all come together, not just because they needed to get to Bethlehem to do what needed to be done and to have the baby; important though that was. They were concerned about being faithful to God.

The couple were aware of what the Law demanded of them. They took Jesus to be circumcised on the eight day, and gave him the name that the angel had spoken to them. Then they waited in the area until the time came to go to the temple to offer thanksgiving and a sacrifice for cleansing of Mary after childbirth. Jesus was also presented as a firstborn son, who was meant to be a possession of God set aside for God, not just of the family. And so went the 40 days were over, they went to the temple to offer their sacrifice to God – two pigeons.

This is the frame around the two people we meet in the Gospel this week: Simeon and Anna. Simeon we are told is right in all his relationships and devout in his worship and prayers. And in addition to this, there is something unique about Simeon. The Holy Spirit rested upon him. This is important to know because it did not regularly or normally happen before Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit upon the Church. The Spirit was with and in Simeon for a purpose: to see and to know the Lord’s anointed when he saw him. Simeon was given the presence of the Spirit to identify for the world, the Saviour whom God has sent.

What a moment that must have been for Simeon to have Jesus in his arms, and to look into the face of his Saviour and know that things were going to be alright. In response to this happening, the Spirit enabled Simeon to give thanks and to bold declare that God is in this world actively working out the world’s salvation in full and clear view of all the nations. People in the temple heard this and came to see what was going on, and they too rejoiced.

One of them was more than like Anna, daughter of Phanuel, a prophetess. She had lived a short time a married life and then came to the Temple to live in an apartment within the Temple so that she could pray, prophesy and worship God - having done so for about 55-60 years. Having seen and heard what was going on, she spoke to all who were in the temple and would listen that she had seen the child King and that salvation and the redemption of the nation was at hand.

So where does this leave us? When did you last see Jesus? When did you last tell somebody else about him? When did you last act faithfully for God? Are you actively looking for him now? What God is looking for is not success or even glory for you – he is watching and waiting for each and for all of us to be faithful and do those things he has set for us to do. That means that the things you do, that you give thanks for the people you bless, matter to God because in the things you do, the words you speak, the things you take on, you bring the Spirit, you live the life of his Son and you convey the Father’s love, kindness and faithfulness for all people. So let us live our liturgy! Let us live the lives that God calls us to in Christ and let us be blessed and give thanks in Jesus’ name.

Jason+

On being righteous fisher folks

I remember the very first time that I went fishing with my dad. I couldn't have been more than about six years old. My family had gone to visit my Aunt and her family in McGregor, BC. I remember the trip in there because of having to be still and quiet as we crossed the bridge to get to the other side of the river. I discovered much later that dad was actually driving on a train trestle and he was holding the car and trailer on the rails as we crossed that bridge.

We went back to that same railway bridge a couple of days later with a fishing rod, a hook, some bait and one of those floating red and white floaters to see if we could catch a fish or two. The whole adventure reminded me of the old saying,”Give a man a fish he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” This is the place and the time where I caught my first fish. I remember that I was excited, gleeful as I trying vigourously to winch up my catch in so it did not get away on me. It was mine and I was going to enjoy this moment. It had never occurred to me that it would need to be eaten.

In what I thought (for the longest time) was a poor fate both for me and for the fish was the moment when he was nearly to Dad and I and the net bounced against the pole and the poor fish fell back down into the fast moving water and he floated down stream as I stood and watched with great disappointment. I learn much later that my father had the same concern but a different feeling as this trout rose from the water. He was worried that I was going to finish catching this fish and then it was going to be on him to clean the fish and he was not at all certain that he wanted to so... ever so gently he bumped the rod and splash! The trout back into the river.

We are not told much about what kind of fishermen the disciples were when Jesus called them. But examination of the situation in the Gospel (Matthew 4.12-23) does tell us a few things about them, who they were and why Jesus calls them. For example, fishermen are simple and straightforward people. They have a great respect for creation and a massive love for family, home and community. I find that this is a universal truth, living in Prince Rupert and having lived in Newfoundland and Labrador. Fisherman are good at finding the fish, making the catch and bringing a “tuck” of fish home with them. Such folk make excellent witnesses and workers for whatever they put their hand too. Everything is tied up, screwed down, triple nailed and most of all anchored deep in faith and in the realities of life.

We are not told whether they were “successful” in their profession. With a fisherman, you eat or you don’t eat. That is the measure of success in the world’s terms. Simon and Andrew were out of the boat and at the end of a long night’s work and they were possibly trying to make a little more money or to catch breakfast for the family buy casting nets from shore. Or maybe the night’s work was unsuccessful. They had only a “waterhaul” and caught nothing and they are trying to make up the difference. Whatever the state when Jesus came to them and called on them to follow him, there was a choice. And that choice could cause a change in profession on many.

They left what they had behind. They put everything away in storage and they walk away from all that was familiar and secure to spend time with this Rabbi who, secretly for the moment, they thought was the Messiah. They went on down the shore and listened as Jesus called James and John from their boats, from their fishing, from their birthright and their father with his wealth. James and John walked through the rigging, hopped down on the beach, and left their father with the servants in the boat to go and catch people.

Please keep in mind, that though these men were leaving things and people behind, that does not mean that they forgot what they were or who they were. They were moving not to get away from family nor going to find themselves. They were moving towards the fulfillment of the kingdom of God on earth. They were moving to a greater feast and greater supper than has ever been imagined. They wanted that – they anticipated the smells and the tasting. They wanted the sitting and the eating. And the wanted it for their own too.

Lastly, remember when it comes to ministry and proclaim the kingdom, it is not about you and what you can do and have done. If you want to see the kingdom come in this city, then pray “God’s will be done” and then learn to see and get out of the way. Success and glory belong to God. Thanks dad for the lesson!

Jason+

Can we come with you?

When my wife Nova and I were first married and getting ready to come to the North, I crossed paths with Dr. Isabel Greenwood. I quickly discovered that our encounter was not chance meeting. Dr. Greenwood had sought me out because she heard where we were going and she wanted to help “clue” me in to life in the North. I came to discover that she too had been in the North. Her husband, like me, had been a Church Army officer and was subsequently ordained deacon and priest. He also was then subsequently consecrated a Bishop of Yukon.  The Greenwoods had spent many years ministering to the people of Yukon and Northern British Columbia. Dr. Greenwood had things that she wanted me to see and to know so that I would understand what I was getting myself into when I arrived there. Most of all she wanted me to see correctly.

There was a lot of advice that afternoon about how to minister to the North. But perhaps the most important piece of advice what about home. In particular Dr.Greenwood counselled me never to let my house become a fortress of solitude. We needed to invite people in and have people over for meals and special times. When I look back now, I can see that she was right. The most powerful moments of ministry were at the house, around the kitchen table and in the living room as we sat, talked and shared many things: much of them joyful and some of them hard and difficult for one reason or another.

The Gospel this week (John1:29-42) takes a similar approach. John boldly proclaims “Here is the Lamb of God.” And because John announces Jesus as the one whom God has sent to the nation, they are in a word “curious”. So they start to follow him. They whisper questions and observations back and forth about what they are seeing. They try to pretend like they are not following when they are. They try to look like they are not paying attention but they are.

Finally Jesus turns and confronts these two men and asks them a simple question: “What do you want?” Please note that they now have the complete and undivided attention of the one who is supposed to redeem Israel and make everything right as rain. They could have asked him anything... literally anything. They could have asked him about things to do with the redemption of the nation and how things were going to work out. Yet they simply ask to see where he lives... they ask if they can come with him and check out his life. “Come with me and you will see,” Jesus says to them. They went with him to where he was residing at 4pm in the afternoon and they spent the rest of the day with Jesus.

Andrew then went and found his brother Simon, told Simon about Jesus and then they left their nets and went to see Jesus and where he lived. In that moment, Jesus looked intently at Simon and tells him, “Someday, they will call you ‘The Rock’.” The Change for these, men, for the nation and for you and me has already started – that someday is still ahead. The question is, when you see Jesus, what you are going to do about it? Will you walk home with him or just stand in awe of him as he walks away, leaving you on the side of the road? You decide.

We are being called for supper with the Lamb. It’s time to get around the table with the others. Are you coming or are you staying here and not getting fed?

Jason+

What a baptised person says and does

There is a great story told about an old scallywag who one day decided that he need to turn his life around. So he went to a local church and marched into the clergy’s office and plopped himself down. He boldly declared to the clergy that he was done with his old life and its ways and wanted to know how he could make a fresh start. So after some time, the pastor suggested that the way to start a new was for the two of them to go to a nearby lake and for the rascal to be baptized. So that is what they did. They walked down to the lake, walked in the water and the pastor grabbed the scoundrel by the scruff of the next and pushed the man down into the water and held him under for 10 seconds.

When he came up, gasping for air, the pastor asked the man, “do you see Jesus?”  The man replied, with a rather surprised “No!”

So the Pastor repeated the process a second time, holding the man under for 20 seconds. Again the man came up gasping and sputtering and was asked, “Do you see Jesus?” The reply was the same. “No.”

So for a third time and for thirty seconds, the man was held under the water. When he came up again, the pastor asked, “Do you see Jesus?”

“NO!” replied the man, “Are you sure this is where he fell in?”

This week, we recount the baptism of Jesus as Matthew reports it. It might be helpful to know that as long as there has been baptism in the Church there has been controversy over it. There are scholars who believe the Matthew was trying to help the Church understand why Jesus was baptised. Mark’s Gospel had raised the question about why the Messiah needed to be baptised when he did not know sin. That is why Matthew recounts the discussion in Matthew 3.13-17, between John and Jesus. Jesus tells John that it is okay to do this because it is the righteous thing to do.

For Jesus, Baptism was and remains about relationships – with God, yes. Baptism is also about our relationships with each other. Baptism provides for the community and for the individual necessary identity. Relationships and identities must been maintained if they are going to be worth anything. It is why when John was baptizing and preaching he warned the religious people about coming, being baptized, because they think it is the religious or spiritual thing to do. After all, one needs to cover all the bases, right? That is why John warns them off and tells them not to approach unless they mean it and he calls them a bunch of snakes.

Baptism is a great leveler. Archbishop Tom Morgan, who is a retired Canadian Bishop, once said to a group of clergy of which I was part, that, “No one is greater than they are at the moment of their baptism.” We are all equal at the edge of the lake, the foot of the cross and at the Lord’s Table. We get wet to take on his death and new life. We also need to come to the Table to be fed that we might truly live that new life that we have been given. Baptism tells us who we are, and who we belong to – God in Christ and to each other. We are not born as Anglicans nor are we made Christians. We choose these things just as God chose to send his Son, his Beloved, to us that we might know him and live. Jesus’ coming to us is a deliberate act of God and such acts can be accepted and received or rejected and discounted. God and his salvific acts cannot and will not be ignored.

Where does this leave us? Well there are a lot of things that could be said. But for me there are two important things that need to be said. The first thing is that the message that John, that Jesus and that the early Church preached is still needed today. The message? “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Good News.” It is as true today as it was then. God has come near us in the person of Jesus Christ. We need to make people aware that there is another way to live this life and God is providing it. People need to be drawn to it.

Therefore we need to major in the ministry to the minors: the unworthy, the unnoticed, the unimpressive, the unknown, the unlovely, the unhealthy and the unwanted. The Master will show us who we truly are if we look for him in others – to seek and to serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbours as ourselves. It is important to do this because the other side of the coin has its consequences to. Who wants to face the Master at the end of it all and have him say to us, “When you did not do this to the least of these, you didn’t do it to me?” We have a choice to live out this life with Christ in the lead or to go our own ways which will leave us without Christ and real, abundant life that grows into eternity.

The second thing we need to recognize is that we are the broken pieces of bread made holy for the communion of this city. When you are invited to the table, you take in that which is holy. It works to consecrate you through the work of the Spirit and divine grace. Then you are sent out into the city – broken up to fed and care for the ones whom God has set in your path. We are those who will draw those who see the need to make changes in their life to the water’s edge. They will see Jesus in us as we seek to see and to serve Jesus in them.

Jason+