What deserves our attention and amazement?

This week’s Gospel lesson (Mark 1.21-28) is where the message of the kingdom, get is momentum. It is the Sabbath and Jesus is in the local Synagogue teaching. It is not what Jesus is teaching that is surprising people, it is how he is teaching it. He does not refer to other people. He does not have specific prayers, tricks or incantations. What Jesus has, is a simple and direct command to a demon. No bargaining, no pleading. Just the simple command “Stop talking and come out of him.”

Jesus’ teaching is declarative not just deliberative. His teaching declares the nearness of the presence of God and the kingdom and how things are in the presence of God rather than asking the people simply to believe that God cares. Jesus’ teaching doesn’t just talk about peace and healing – it becomes a reality the sight of the nation. Jesus preaching is the kind of teaching that breaks the boundaries of the old system which has benefited another kind of rule and allowed evil to thrive. The presence of God and the preaching of Jesus come to make God’s blessings flow “far as the curse (of sin and death) is found”.  God has come in the person of Jesus, to break down all that entangles and ensures us and the rest of creation so that we can grow and flourish as we are created to.

This season of Epiphany is a time for us to look at this very thing so that we are ready to enter into Lent and participate in Christ as he walks, suffers and dies and then rise again with him at Easter time. And because of this, we need to decide whether we can accept the way that life is around us, and live the status quo or if we are going to take the risk and believe in and follow Jesus to the cross; the same Jesus who is commissioned by God to bring the life of the kingdom to the people of God who are in need of it. We are challenged by the message to discover if there is something more beyond what we have become familiar and satisfied with: to figure out what deserves our attention and amazement.  

One way to help us do that is to be in worship on a regular basis. We need worship, eucharistic worship to help us to deal with what is going on inside. Worship and prayer are the foundation of how God reorders our lives so that we can be free. The four fold action of the Eucharist (Take, bless, break and give) teaches us the order in which we are to live our lives. We receive and take for ourselves, what God has given – because the Father gives good gifts to his children. We bless what we have received because what is given, life and all it holds is sacred. We break it to savour all that the gift holds for us. Then we share it, because it is a matter of life and death for each and for all of us.  

We must learn to live in this fourfold way precisely because when people come to the Church looking hoping for a miracle, leaving frustrated because they think God isn’t listen or does not care. We are his hands, his feet, his eyes and his voice. It is okay to be afraid. It is okay to not have it all down. It is okay to not have all the answers. We are not called to be God. You and I are being drawn in to be witnesses of the power of God’s Message in us and through us, that others might be set free physically and spiritually.

Will you come and follow him?

Jason+

Can anything come from up North? Come and See!

The question that is asked in this week’s Gospel is a ponderous one, after just having had a week off: “Can anything good come from up north?” It is the question that gets asked by Nathaniel of Phillip (John 1.43-51) when Jesus calls Phillip to journey north towards home and Nazareth with him. Phillip goes and extends the invitation to Nathaniel. This means to me that the import of this portion of Gospel is the call to come and see so that we might go and participate in the life and ministry of Jesus. And what the Gospel is telling us is that faith is caught not taught.

When Philip gave the reply “come and see” he could have chosen to lecture Nathaniel about being pessimistic about what God can do. Phillip didn't plead with his friend to be serious and to take him seriously. Philip extended an invitation and left the choice with Nathaniel. And I think it was the exuberance of the reply that got Nathaniel’s curiosity up and he wanted to check out this Jesus guy from up north to see what the hullabaloo was all about.

If there is one thing that I have learned in the years that I have been as pastor, teacher of the faith, and as an evangelist, it is that faith is caught, not taught. I have the opportunity from time to time to speak with people I knew when I was younger and we often talk about the “good old days” and why they were so good. One of the things that I remember is how we used to talk about Jesus and our faith far more openly. We would invite people to come with us and we tried as much as we could to take as many people with us as we could to wherever it was we were going and to whatever it was that we were going to do.

If there is something that is missing from the life of the churches these days it is the Spirit of God. A bold statement to be sure but it is something that I don’t talk about much lately and need to do more of it. I will talk about following Jesus and other important things from Scripture but I have had an epiphany this week while I have been off resting up, and that is we as a church, I as a priest, don’t talk a whole lot about the life and things of God the Holy Spirit. It is not an intention omission to be sure, but I have come to realize that I need to be more intentional about talking about it and preaching on it because it matters.

God uses people to draw other people to himself and to work on them to bring them to be the people that they are meant to be in him. Being and moving with God in the Spirit, is a lot like ballroom dancing. God takes the lead and we are to follow the motions he sets out and indicates for us – showing us where to step and controlling the speed and which we, the Church, move.

But the Christian life is more than that. it is also about capturing the vision and learning to improvise within the steps and motions. It is about learning to see what it is that God sees in us and in the life of others. The Church needs to learn to be creative in what we do (in displaying and communicating the Gospel) so that we can capture not just the motions but also the imaginations of people. If you want to know what good can come from up north, come and see. If you want to see how God is working to rescue and redeem people, come and see, if you want to know what God is really like, come and see. It is God’s idea, God’s epiphany to show you all this and more – he is showing us the way! He is leading us and sustain us by his Spirit.

Jason+ 

Jesus is in the building

This past week, there are many in the music world who observed the 80^th birthday of Elvis Aaron Presley, the late king of Rock and Roll. I can remember when he used to do concerts. To control the crowds, they would announce, “Elvis is in the building”. No doubt, the announcement used to whip the multitude into a frenzy for the concert. And conversely, they would announce that, “Elvis has left the building.” This was done in an effort to dismiss the throngs and to keep control of the situation. Over the years there have been many famous announcers who have had catch phrases. You might not know the name of Michael Buffer, but you will certainly know the catchphrase he coined: “Let’s get ready to rumble!” if you are not familiar with this please click on this hyperlink, to learn about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44XNBpl7u2k.

The Gospel this week (Mark 1:4-11) has some similar connotations. There is an announcement that “The Son is in the building. Thank you. Thank you very much. And with him I am well pleased!” But have you considered the importance of who made the announcement?

I hope that you understand that the voice that declares Jesus’ presence notes for us that there is a God. A Father. The voice tells us that there is a mission that needs to be accomplished – to reach human souls and draw them home - and that is why the Son has been sent. And because there is a God and God has a mission, God has a church.

The experience of hearing the voice brought about different reactions from different people. But just in case it was missed, this was not a small, quiet voice. It was not an indoor voice in a frilly, lacy moment. It was a booming, shake you out of your socks roar that announced that Jesus was here among us and that God’s favour and grace rested upon him. But why all the fanfare and gusto about this one baptism when so many are being baptized?

Something important that sustained Jesus in his ministry happen in that moment – he saw the heavens open and the Spirit descending to him as he comes up out of the water.  He gained insight into his relationship with his Father. His Father is watching him and is please and celebrating everything that Jesus was doing and blessing with everything that he had to offer him. What was it that Jesus doing? He was following His Father’s will. The Father was rejoicing over the fact that the Son was doing what was asked of him.

And this brings us to the bath time - John baptised Jesus in the River Jordan. The purpose of Mark – and therefore of Peter and Jesus – in sharing this story is for those who follow in this way so that they can capture a vision of what is means to be in Christ, in his death and his resurrection. It is the start of the change from what the world is to what the world is becoming in God’s grace and timing. It is also good news to those who believe because they are told that nothing can overcome God and his kingdom: not by the powers and evil nor by worldly oppressors and systemic persecutions.  That is good news for a community that needs reassurance that things are going to work out, in spite of what might be the current circumstance.

This also means that we are free, not only to proclaim, but also to be handed over to suffering and death. Without being handled over to suffering, pain, disease and death there is no resurrection and new life. Therefore we must be prepared and ready for whatever it is that God calls us to and to follow wherever he is going and doing whatever it is that he is doing. After all, there is a God. And God has a mission. And because God has a mission God has the Church. What do you bring to the mission that you can offer? Jesus is in the building, what will you do next?

Jason+

A Huge thank you

A big thank you to all of the readers! We just past 10,000 reads on the blog! Thanks for your interest and I look forward to writing more!

Jason+

The Far Side of Christmas

I have heard over Advent a lot of people decrying yet again about “how commercial Christmas is”. There is no doubt in my mind that there is two celebrations where Christmas is concerned in North American Society. The first is the secular “I need, I want, and I’m going to get” kind of Christmas celebration where people are bribed to go and spend money on what they think they want or what they need to possess in order to be happy. News shows and papers are constantly talking about how much people will spend and how good or poorly the economy will be doing based on how we respond to the demand of our culture and society that we buy everything to keep at least some of us happy and in money.

Then there is the other side of Christmas or as I think of it these days, the Far Side of Christmas. As far back as I can remember, Christmas has not been Christmas without being at Church. Whether it was in my first parish with a 1,000 other people (literally) or I was with the little congregation in Northern BC where I first came to faith more than three decades ago with thirty people maximum and the place was packed, it wasn’t Christmas for us until we had been to the Midnight Mass, we came home and we had some hot chocolate and opened one present before bed. Mom got to determine what present we opened. 

Like many others, I like the getting the presents and even going to get presents for my family that they think they are going to like. It is probably because as I get older, I have noticed how much more the far side of Christmas has come to mean to me. I have actually grown fatigued of all the Christmas shows that require someone or something saving the “Fat Man” because he cannot deliver the glitzier side of Christmas. Jolly old St. Nicholas needs the reality of Christmas just like the rest of us – but he is no saint and he is no threat to the way in which we live... unless we don’t get our stuff.

Even the traditional image of Jesus with his parents, the shepherds, the angels and the animals is no threat to us. In fact, I would say to you that the image is so familiar to us almost, that we bring it to the point of contempt. After all babies are a joy; they are a wonder and they are weak so how could they possibly a threat?

The King we await is a threat. He will come again to judge both the living and the dead (physically and spiritually). Jesus life and the new kingdom are a threat, if for no other reason than there will be no Santa to depend on. There will be a huge shift in the way that the world will live and only those who are deemed worthy will be a part of it. Remember the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. We will not be a part of the new life and the new world unless we are ready in this moment under the ways that God calls us to be.

God in Christ is here. And we are called to stand with him. Christ is Christmas. And if we find him absent who has excluded whom? Is it not us? Is not time to listen again to the voice of the angels as they sing; to the laughter of the Shepherds as they march to the Manger, to consider the quiet and the clam of the stable? Is it not time to make room of the little life that lays in the manger and know that he is going to grow and strengthen and call you to the barren tree of Easter? Isn’t that moment too on the far side of Christmas? And what does that mean for our stuff?

Jason+ 

The deep breath before the plunge

The Book that got me reading has finally been made into a feature film. In fact, the book is a trilogy of films. The Hobbit: An unexpected Adventure, the Desolation of Smaug and the most recent and concluding film, “The Hobbit: the Battle of the Five Armies”. I was and remain a lover of the literature of JJR Tolkien that created revealing the life of Middle Earth – the setting for the both the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series. One of the things I like about the books of this series is the theology and the working out of life and its hardships through a Christian mindset. Please watch the video above so that you can understand a little deeper, what I share with you about what this week’s Gospel says about the Annunciation of the Lord Jesus to Mary (Luke 1:26-38).

The announcement to Mary that God was showing favour to her and that she was to give birth to a son. She took a moment, a deep breath and then acknowledged that she had indeed heard and received the message and was willing to allow God to work within her to work his miracle and bring about our salvation through her child. God would save his people through her son – and she must call him Jesus (The Lord saves).

Now let us be careful about some things. Mary did not just simply give up and give over – she pondered what all this might mean... after all what does it mean to be favoured by God? When one considers the examples of whomever else God favours, the Old Testament shows that that when you are on God’s side, you are in danger or are about to be in dangers of various kinds.  Mary was legally bound to her husband Joseph and then being discovered to be with child but Joseph not being the father could cost her everything: family, friends, reputation, marriage, not to mention her life and that of her unborn son.  

Mary was willing to accept whatever it was that God had for her to do – even if she did not understand it completely or thought it silly. There is a second story that goes with the Annunciation, the birth of John the Baptist. Zechariah the old priest and his wife Elizabeth had been childless most of their lives... people who had wanted them but had never been blessed with them. Zechariah doubted that God could make it happen in their old age and laughed derisively at the notion that it would now. As a result, he spent the entire pregnancy mute, and only when he followed the direction to name the boy “John” was he able to speak again.

Mary chose to believe not matter how silly or impossible it sounded. And there is something that this should make us aware of the presence of God in a person’s life – God is faithful to his people and he is a true keeper of his own promises and is trustworthy to his word.

Accepting God at his word does not make us crazy or foolish. It means that we are willing to trust and rely on Him and his word – even when the world thinks we are out to lunch. Allowing God to work in us and through us is what Christmas is all about. We might not always understand what we have been told; We may not realize what the consequences are of saying “yes” or “no” are. What we can trust is that God through his Son has our best interests at heart and is working out our salvation through Him.

This is the deep breath before the plunge into all that Christmas is: will you be like Mary and allow it be to you has God has spoken? Will you accept the thing that God has for you to do and allow God to begin to work in your life as he sees fit? Does it sound crazy or wild? Take a deep breath and then answer.

Jason+

Doing the ministry, proclaiming Christ

John the Baptist had an important, growing, even thriving ministry among the people of Israel. He was in a place away from the major cities and from the popular holy places where people practiced their religion. He was “in the wilderness” preaching and exhorting the nation as a whole to come back to God and to repent of the lives they had been living away from him. The main goal of his ministry was to point to the Messiah when he saw him. John’s ministry was one of proclamation – to tell the people that there is One who is coming who will be more powerful than he is and will baptize not with water but with the Spirit. He believed that the world around him needed to know that Jesus is amongst us.

Many asked John if he was the one the nation had been waiting for. John consistently pointed to the One who was coming after him because he ranks ahead of him; that the Messiah’s ministry must increase and that his own ministry, his proclamation and witness must decrease (John 3.30). It is not me, he is the One we have been waiting for... behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John came as a witness to what was to happen in the life of Jesus and to point people to him. if you wish to think of it this way, John the Baptist consistently told people “I am not the One” whereas Jesus consistently says throughout the Gospel of John that “I am”.

And this statement, that that Jesus is the “I am” is incredibly important. John the Baptist and John the Gospel writer are human witnesses of a cosmic, eternal and divine event. God has moved into this world in an unprecedented way in and through Christ. They are signing his presence by actively witnessing to it through their own lives.  To not witness what God is doing is to proclaim divine absence and our disbelief in God’s ability to come and reach us where we are. If we are to act in this way then we are sinning and thus separated from God. It means that we are broken, hurt and dying people. And that is why Jesus came and is coming again – that we might have life and have it more abundantly. And if you worry that you have done something that is simply unforgivable, that God simply would not let you off the hook for, that too was covered by Christmas. There is nothing original about your sin and God has come in Christ to do something about it. There is nothing that God cannot overcome in your life, once the Light has been put upon it. For certain there are going to be moments of struggle and pain but the greatest thing about Christmas and the coming of the King is that when everything is made new again, all of it will be behind us. We will truly be free and the work of Christmas will have only just begun.

So where does this leave us? We need to seek out Christ, because we need the Light to see. Our eyes will never adjust to the darkness. We need the light – even if it is only by a single, little, flickering flame. We need the Light and to follow it, not just so that we can help Jesus rescue those who are sitting in darkness, but so that we can find our way home too. Our eyes need to the Light so that we can get to “see” level and then with John the Baptist and so many other people over the last two millennia, actively show people the King in his true light. Then we will been seen for who we truly are, faithful reflections of his light and that he really is the One we have been waiting for. We must continue the ministry. 

Maranatha! (Come Lord Jesus, come quickly)

Jason+