Author: admin

Collect

God, whose fingers sculpt sun and moon
and curl the baby’s ear;
Spirit, brooding over chaos
before the naming of day;
Saviour, sending us to earth’s ends
with water and words:
startle us with the grace, love, and communion
of your unity in diversity,
that we may live to the praise of your majestic name. Amen.

Readings

Genesis 1:1-2:4a

Psalm 8

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Matthew 28:16-20

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, and talking about the Trinity is always a bit challenging because we are talking about something we cannot truly grasp with our limited human understanding; one God, three persons Creator, Word and Spirit, how do we understand that? There are lots of very dense theological books and papers about it which are very interesting but how does all that philosophical discussion impact our everyday lives? A few quick caveats about the Trinity; God is not suffering from a split personality, the three persons of the Trinity are not just different ways for God to present God’s self to us in different situations.

In the life and death cycle of nature I see God bringing life from death.

The amazing thing for me about the Trinity is the idea that God is in God’s very nature communal. God’s very nature is about relationship about the ebb and flow of energy and idea and love between the persons of the Trinity and even us. We know what that feels like, to brainstorm ideas with others, feeling the energy rise as we bounce ideas off each other and work together to problem solve. We feel that when a child runs up and wraps their arms around us in a hug, that exchange of love is elating. We feel that when we are vulnerable with each other, crying together over our loss at funerals, understanding another’s pain and offering comfort. We experience all those things because they mirror what is happening within God, we are made in God’s likeness, pale and imperfect likenesses but though we see through a mirror dimly, we do get some glimpse. God is Creator, bringing something from nothing, God is Word, acting in our world most notable understood as the Incarnation of God as Jesus Christ and God is Spirit, bringing life, breath, the spark of inspiration, encouraging and equipping.

In the life and death cycle of nature I see God bringing life from death. Over and over and I am reminded that that I was created an eternal being and that one day I will experience death but it will not quench the life that is within me, given by the Creator, molded by the Word and enlivened and encouraged by the Spirit. Amen.

Collect

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings

Acts 2:1-21

Psalm 104:25-35, 37B

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

John 20:19-23

This week while visiting my Grandma, she told me about a recent news story that really touched my heart. A young boy with autism was about to celebrate his birthday, and invited all his classmates to his party. The heartbreaking part of the story is that only one classmate showed up. As a mother- with my own sweet child who has additional needs- this is one of the fears that keeps me up at night.

With Pentecost coming up, our own “birthday party” as a church, I have been reflecting on inclusiveness. It was easy for me to see God’s intent to include people from every nation and walk of life in this story.

There is a beautiful end to this story! The boy’s father, clearly heartbroken himself, learned through the grapevine how frequently this kind of thing occurs to kids who are viewed as “different.” He contacted the local Autism Centre, and together they organized a giant “birthday party” for all the kids who belonged to the programs. They all had a blast playing with each other, devouring their own personal birthday cake, and singing, “Happy Birthday to Everyone!” It was such a success that it is now going to be an annual event.

With Pentecost coming up, our own “birthday party” as a church, I have been reflecting on inclusiveness. It was easy for me to see God’s intent to include people from every nation and walk of life in this story. During the significant time of celebration, God poured His Spirit out in a way that surpassed every cultural expression and language barrier, enabling his followers to understand the different languages of everyone nearby. They were joined together, and brought closer to one another, through the Holy Spirit. And let’s not forget that they were there to begin with because they wanted to be like Jesus himself- the man who believed in loving and including everyone with no exceptions.

Today, we as Christians are working hard to demonstrate both inclusiveness and inclusivity. I see this every day in our church through our outreach to the less-fortunate, our Safe Space signs on the doors, the Territorial Acknowledgement in each service..the list goes on. This fulfilment of our Christian duties is a reflection of that same Spirit that descended on a hodgepodge group of Jesus-followers all those years ago, coming together as one. Amen!

Collect

Precious love,
your ascended Son promised the gift of holy power. Send your Spirit of revelation and wisdom,
that in the blessed freedom of hope,
we may witness to the grace of forgiveness
and sing songs of joy with the peoples of earth
to the One who makes us one body. Amen.

Readings

Acts 1:1-11

Psalm 47

Ephesians 1:15-23

Luke 24:44-53

Forty days after Easter, Christians commemorate Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Ascension Day (this past Thursday) is more important in some Christian traditions, and in some countries, than in others. In Germany, for example, it is an official school holiday. In North American culture, despite a much larger percentage of practicing Christians, the day passes relatively unnoticed, especially among many Protestants. Yet the ascension of Jesus is a central element in the Christian tradition. Both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed affirm that Jesus “ascended into heaven.” Commentary by the late Marcus Borg outlines the significance of the Ascension.

Second, because the risen and ascended Jesus is “one with God,” he (like God) can be experienced anywhere and everywhere. Jesus is no longer restricted or confined to time and space, as he was during his historical lifetime. Rather, like the God whom he knew in his own experience, Jesus continues to be known in the experience of his followers.

In the New Testament, the story of Jesus’ ascension is found at the end of the Gospel of Luke and again at the beginning of the Book of Acts, both written by the same author. The classic text is Acts 1:9-11. After the risen Christ had spoken his final words to his followers, we are told: “As they were watching, Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” The text then refers to them “gazing up toward heaven while he was going.” What is this story about? Its meanings are rich and important, even as it is one of the stories in the New Testament that most obviously requires a non-literal reading. For various reasons, it is a symbolic or metaphorical narrative.

The specific claim that the risen Jesus appeared “during 40 days” after the resurrection (the basis for the traditional dating of the ascension) is found only in the first chapter of Acts, verse 3. This is the first clue to the nature of this story: the number 40 often has a non-literal meaning in the Bible. It is a number that means a relatively long period of time, just as “three” is a number that signifies a relatively short period of time.

A second clue that the author of Luke and Acts does not intend this number literally is also suggested by a curious contradiction in this two-volume work. That is, the last chapter of the Gospel of Luke ends with a story of Jesus ascending into heaven (Luke 24:50-51), as we heard this morning. If we follow the chronology of that final chapter carefully, the ascension apparently happened on the night following Easter day. What is going on here? Is the author unaware of the contradiction of “40 days” at the start of the book of Acts? Or is this an indication that the author does not intend this story to be understood literally?

There is a further reason the story cannot be taken literally. We cannot imagine it happening. The issue is not whether “miraculous” events happen. Rather, the issue is the “three-story universe” presupposed by the storyteller. Within this ancient worldview, heaven is “up above,” earth is in the middle, and hell is “down below.” We don’t know how literally the author took this “three-story” language, but the author of Luke-Acts was very sophisticated, and he or she intended some stories to be understood in a non-literal way. What we today know, of course, is that heaven is not literally “up.” In the vastness of the universe we know today, there is only “out.” Therefore, we cannot imagine Jesus literally moving upward into the sky on his way to heaven. Ascension Day is not the celebration of a particular event in a particular place at a specific moment in history. The disciples would not have been able to record the event with their smart phones. Something else must be meant by this story.

There is rich metaphorical, symbolic meanings in the story of Jesus’ ascension. We need to treat it as a parable. Jesus taught by telling parables, and his followers taught by telling parables about Jesus. For Christians in the past and present, the story of the ascension meant and means that Jesus is now with God, indeed, in the language of scripture, sitting “at God’s right hand” and “one with God.” Of course, God doesn’t have hands and Jesus isn’t sitting on a cloud somewhere, but the meaning of the language in its historical and cultural context is clear. These affirmations have two primary meanings. Like the traditions of both ancient Israel and Judaism, they are religious and political, spiritual and social.

First, Ascension Day proclaims the lordship of Christ. To say that the risen and ascended Jesus sits “at God’s right hand,” a position of honour and authority, means “Jesus is Lord.” In the first century, when kings and emperors claimed to be lords, this claim had not only religious but also political meaning. To say “Jesus is Lord” meant, and means, that the Herods and Caesars of this world were not, and are not, lords of this world. They cannot “lord it over us.” In the first century, the choice was between the lordship of God, as known in Jesus, and the lordship of Caesar; the lordship of Caesar refers to “this world,” the humanly constructed world of injustice, oppression and violence, evidence of which we see today all over the globe, reflected on the nightly news. The lordship of Jesus, in contrast, is about God’s dream for the world versus the common human dreams of wealth and power, which too often become nightmares. God’s dream is for a world of peace and justice, of equal sharing of the world’s bounty for all.

Second, because the risen and ascended Jesus is “one with God,” he (like God) can be experienced anywhere and everywhere. Jesus is no longer restricted or confined to time and space, as he was during his historical lifetime. Rather, like the God whom he knew in his own experience, Jesus continues to be known in the experience of his followers. To use language from Isaiah and Matthew, for Christians the risen and ascended Christ is Immanuel, “God with us.” Like the Easter stories, the Ascension affirms that Jesus is not simply a figure of the past, but is present today as well. Jesus is an abiding presence in the experience and convictions and lives of his followers. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” (Matt 18:20) Or as the first letter of John reminds us, in the love of the members of the Christian community for one another, and for their neighbours in need, the divine presence and compassion can be known and made known. “The Word becomes flesh and dwells among us.” Ultimately, the Ascension story is about our own spiritual transformation: we are to be lifted up, “born from above.”

In Luke’s symbolic use of time, the Ascension prepares the way for the story of Pentecost 10 days later. The ascension stories mean that Jesus is no longer here, but with God, but the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, is about to descend and be with the followers of Jesus. Ascension and Pentecost go together, sort of like part A & B. Not only is Jesus “clothed with power from on high,” but also his disciples, you and me, all of us, find our lives transformed “from on high” by his spirit. To celebrate Pentecost next Sunday, wear brightly coloured clothes to symbolize the fiery presence of the Spirit, active in our lives together and in the world around us, moving us all toward peace and goodwill.

Collect

Living and gracious God,
through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
you have brought us out to a spacious place
where we are called to live as those redeemed. Empower us by your spirit to keep your commandments, that we may show forth your love
with gentle word and reverent deed
to all your people. Amen.

Readings

Acts 17:22-31

Psalm 66:7-18

1 Peter 3:13-22

John 14:15-21

Lately I have been reading about Celtic Christian Spirituality, a rich tradition which arose in the first millennium as a fusion between Christianity (think St Patrick of Ireland fame) and a creation centred belief in the countries that spoke various versions of Celtic languages (think Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, Brittany, and the Isle of man).

We need to re-think the image of God as a super-being high in the sky and try to relate to God as Holy Mystery, and as even more that we can ask or imagine. Our human languages cannot begin to define such a mystery.

Over time, Celtic Christian Spirituality developed a distinct view of God, God’s purpose, creation and the place of humankind in creation—views that are part of the history of the church, but isolated geographically from Western theology.

For example, the Celtic tradition rejects Augustine’s 4th century notion of original sin which declared that babies who died without baptism would not enter heaven.. and that God became human in Jesus so that he would die to atone for, pay for, the sins of humanity (past, present, and future).

The Celts believe that God became human in Jesus to show us what being truly human would look like.

There is much more depth to the Celtic tradition particularly rooted in creation and humankind as part of nature. The world is of God, and the world is of Christ and God is both the origin and destination.

And these ideas tie closely to our reading today from Acts chapter 17 which quotes Paul saying: ‘In God we live and move and have our being…for we are God’s offspring’. To put this another way is to say that God lives in us as we live in God.

I think if we embrace the idea of God within, that each part of creation bears a divine spark, there can be significant implications for our spiritual life and the life of all creation.

However, the traditional Christian image of God is as a being ‘above us’ as in God above, man below. This historical image permeates our worship, song, and prayers and has done so for some 2,000 years. The concept of a three-tiered universe (such as is present in much of the Old Testament) is there in the ancient creeds we often recite. It is there in the hierarchical structures of order and authority in the church. It is there in the architectural design of churches new and old.

I think we are poorer for not having embraced a deeper image of the Holy based on that thought that we live and move and have our being in God because God lives in us and all of creation.

For example, a common translation of an important part of Genesis says that man will have dominion over the earth. This would infer that humanity is separate from nature rather than part of nature as affirmed by modern science; that humanity is lord over all creatures, and the water, earth and sky. For over 300 years, good folks of the churches in England and Europe justified slavery and prospered based on the premiss that the people of Africa were sub-human, animals, not equal in any way to those who would enslave them. A better translation of Genesis would call humankind to be the stewards/caretakers of all of God’s creation.

This re-thinking of the image of God was left to the mystics who were often cast aside by the church. Here, I think of Julian of Norwich, Hildegard of Bingen, and Meister Eckhart as well as people of this day such as Matthew Fox, Thomas Merton, and Marcus Borg.

We need to re-think the image of God as a super-being high in the sky and try to relate to God as Holy Mystery, and as even more that we can ask or imagine. Our human languages cannot begin to define such a mystery.