A Complicated Grief

Without even considering the scripture reading this morning we can question:
What is grief?  Why is it so complicated?  Complicated for whom? Is grief only felt from our perspective? I saw grief this morning in the face of a friend.  Grief involves loss, pain, regret.  One works through it but never alone even if we feel that way. 

On the other side is acceptance, processing and adjusting.  How do we get there? Sometimes we feel grief before a loss.  Grieving is part of being human. God doesn't tell us how we are to grieve or why we grieve but he offers us all compassion.  With God death does not have the last word.

Jeanie H.
 

All I need is a miracle

Bronze Statue of David by Donatello

Today we continued the readings of Samuel and the epic confrontation between David and Goliath.  For the story tells how the mighty Goliath came as Champion, giant and long skilled warrior to challenge and taunt the army of Israel. No champion would emerge for 40 days and this continued to demoralize the Israeli army.   

Now David arrived and knew not the fear nor terror that came with the sight of Goliath. He had youth, skill and most importantly faith in God. Where others felt trepidation, he felt the need to fight the battles set before him by his God. His king offered armor and support but David needed but the simple miracle of his Gods support. So chose but 5 smooth stones from the stream and his God’s favour to face the enemy.

 “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” - Samuel 1 17:45:27

So it was with the miracle of his faith in the Lord that David overcame the impossible odds and felled the enemy

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. - Samuel 1 17:50

Against the impossible there is always one miracle we can rely upon that faith in God will help us get through the most challenging times we face.

Let us celebrate with the refrain from a song that says it all.

All I need is a miracle, all I need is you (all I need is a miracle)
All I need is a miracle, all I need is you (all I need is a miracle)
All I need is a miracle, all I need is you

Noral R.

Won't You Be My Neighbour

Having just enjoyed the documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" I found it particularly interesting that Rev. Karen's children's story today was about the mustard seed.  She developed her theme of mustard seed moments of faith during her sermon and spoke about her arrival in Canada as a young child.  From small moments such as wondering which of the lights she could see from the airplane was her father when he was coming to meet her mother, her sister and herself on arrival in Canada to the stewardess who returned her dolly to her after dropping it on the floor and being unable to retrieve it for herself grew her larger impression of Canada as her new home.  Small things mean so much to us as children and continue to mean much to us as adults.  And from the very small start Fred Rogers had in television grew a wonderful community of children who knew, as God would have them know, that they matter, that they are entitled to their feelings, begin to know how to deal with those feelings and understand that God loves them just exactly the way they are. It may still require us to use the magnifying glass of faith to see and begin to comprehend the small things from which big things may grow but without that faith and examination, we cannot understand that God's love will never let us go. To quote 1 Samuel 16:7 "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart". So while outward appearance may say to our children you are small and perhaps insignificant, out of these small vessels may grow great hearts and glorious human beings who personify God's best work. So won't you be my neighbour?

Laura M.

Psalm 72

Give the king your justice, O God,
    and your righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness,
    and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
    and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
    give deliverance to the needy,
    and crush the oppressor.

May he live while the sun endures,
    and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
    like showers that water the earth.
In his days may righteousness flourish
    and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

May he have dominion from sea to sea,
    and from the River to the ends of the earth.
May his foes bow down before him,
    and his enemies lick the dust.
May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles
    render him tribute,
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
    bring gifts.
May all kings fall down before him,
    all nations give him service.

For he delivers the needy when they call,
    the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
    and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
    and precious is their blood in his sight.

Long may he live!
    May gold of Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be made for him continually,
    and blessings invoked for him all day long.
May there be abundance of grain in the land;
    may it wave on the tops of the mountains;
    may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
    like the grass of the field.
May his name endure for ever,
    his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;
    may they pronounce him happy.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    who alone does wondrous things.
Blessed be his glorious name for ever;
    may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.

God looks at the heart

Samuel Anointing David, Dura-Europos Synagogue, 3c, National Museum of Damascus, Syria.

I have been thinking a lot lately about contemplative prayer, and the waiting for and finding God within ourselves in silence and stillness.  I especially liked what Karen said this morning about David having the ability to hear God, to compose music, and to write psalms because he lived in the quiet and solitude of the fields as he tended his sheep.  I am reading a book called Christian Meditation: Contemplative Prayer for a New Generation by Paul Harris who used to be director at the Christian Meditation Centre in London, England.  In his book he states "Anthropologists tell us we are cramming twice as much noise and activity into our lives as our ancestors.  Our society is geared to activity, productivity, speed, material success and noise."  And this was written in 1996, long before the advent of the smartphone! I don't know about you, but among all this noise and activity I sometimes have a hard time hearing myself think never mind hearing God.  

As Karen said in her sermon today,  God doesn't look at appearances.  God doesn't judge us by our material wealth or by how many things we can get done in a day.  God looks at the heart.  And the heart needs moments of silence and stillness to know itself and to know God.  Today, listening to the sermon, I found myself wondering if David found it harder to hear God as he gained power and left his quiet fields and his solitude?  Once he'd become king, did he sometimes struggle to find moments of quiet to pray and to speak to God?

We are all vessels for God's grace.  Sometimes in the frenzied hurry of everyday life it's easy to forget that and to lose touch with ourselves and with God.  But in the quiet and the stillness of our hearts we find Him again.

Melanie A.     

We want a King

This was an interesting title for a sermon based on recent political events.  Samuel was called to be God's prophet at a time when people did what they wanted.  They wanted a King.  The scripture reading uses 'take' more frequently than 'serve' in describing the role of a king. Sometimes what we need is not what we want.  We live in perilous and polarizing times.  Some wish to be like others...like other nations...but integrity is to be a follower of God.  Silence is complicity.

Jeanie H.

The Power of Love

The power of love is a curious thing
Make a one man weep, make another man sing
Change a hawk to a little white dove
More than a feeling that's the power of love
Tougher than diamonds, rich like cream
Stronger and harder than a bad girl's dream
Make a bad one good make a wrong one right
Power of love that keeps you home at night

Today we spoke in our lessons about the power of love. The power that emendates not just through thought and prayer but by action

James 1:19-27

19 [a]This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

Love cannot and does not grow from the angry lounge it grows from the loving thought and application of the hands to work and help/

22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his [d]natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, [e]he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but [f]an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in [g]what he does.

Our next reading was and will always be my very favorite.

For the Samaritan was no friend of the Jew and sought no thanks in the here and now nor the hereafter but did what was right because it was right. He was no friend but he was a neighbor.

Luke 10:25-37

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Rev. MacLellan,  then reminded us of some half truths and old tropes offen associated as bible passages.

“God helps those who help themselves”. Ft heard but not truly understood. It is easy to see that we are supportive of those who show a desire to help themselves and it is true that we should always seek to improve our lot and that of others. Yet not all have that ability. Love comes from God and Jesus without qualification nor price. It comes without string nor chit. It comes a the gift from God to save us all.

To oft forgotten is our encouragement to help all that we may.

Mathew 25:34-40

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

It don't take money and it don't take fame
Don't need no credit card to ride this train
Tougher than diamonds and stronger than steel
You won't feel nothin' till you feel
You feel the power, just feel the power of love

Be the Samaritan of Jesus' Love

Noral R.