Jumping in

It is often difficult to sustain a lot of energy through to the end of January, but I found today's service energetic and energizing.  The children's choir sang well, and it is always a treat to hear their young voices singing.  I particularly enjoyed the theatrical reading of the exchange between Jesus and Peter, with the contemporary language applied to the notion of making "fishers of men".  The children's story Christine offered was lovely as well.  I too love the game where little children jump into the water and are caught by their parents - thinking about that made me think of summer afternoons when our children were very small, and the joy we used to all find in what we called "crazy jumping", a major past-time of our family's.  It is a charming and comforting analogy to think of the love of God as something as certain and present as a parent waiting to catch a child at a pool, and this is an image I will take with me into the week, and into February...

Rebecca B.

Rethinking the boy next door

The scripture this morning was taken from Luke 4: 14-30 with Jesus reading in the synagogue at Nazareth.

Rev. Dimock began her sermon talking about the two Calvins in her life:  John Calvin and Calvin, the precocious six-year old in the daily comic strip Calvin and Hobbes.  It is interesting that young Calvin was named for the 16th century theologian.

"The world isn't fair, Calvin." 
"I know Dad, but why isn't it ever unfair in my favour?”

Jesus reads in the synagogue and sees that others do not grasp the full weight of his message.  He then tells them “No prophet is accepted in his own town”.  Jesus will not heal himself just to prove to them that he is the Messiah.  When the message of Jesus went from just "preaching" to scolding, the crowd got ugly and decided to throw him from a cliff.  

Perhaps we are like this when the message is strong and directed at us - we get angry
It is difficult to criticize a community to which we being - this is what happened to Jesus in the synagogue.  It was hard for the crowd to accept that God’s favour would go beyond their people.  To them the Lord’s favour shouldn’t look like this!  It is hard to speak the truth in our own community even when we need to hear it.

Life is not that simple and I am sure we all respond like Calvin sometimes.  Why isn’t life fair in our favour?

God’s message is simple as His grace is for other people as well.

What can we do to make sure we do not miss an important message in church?  Are we sometimes like the people of Nazareth, open to the words but closed to the message?

Jeanie H.
 

I Saw the Sign

I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes I saw the sign.

Our lesson today was John 2 1-11. In it Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding.

The changing of water to wine is Jesus’ first public act in John, the inaugural “sign” of God’s presence in the world through him.

The amount of wine that Jesus produces may seem like an exaggeration to us, but this exaggerated amount is precisely why John introduces Jesus’ public acts with this story. God’s presence now fills the world “up to the brim.” As Jesus’ first public act, the changing of water to wine symbolizes the “fullness we have all received” (1:16) through Jesus’ presence in the world.

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. (verse 11)

Karen took the theme further as she talked about the great witness and involvement people have when they attend a wedding.

They are not merely witnessing the vow to each other but the vow to God to believe in each another and to Him. When we witness that vow we reaffirm our faith in God and the strength he gives to us by virtue of his love. This reaffirmation provides us with encouragement and responsibility to maintain our support for our spouse but also to the couple now vested in God.

 Signs through which he revealed his glory.

The premise of a sign from God has been used and misused on many an occasion in print, movies and songs. However it is often used very subtly. We oft think of these songs a from a place that does not respect God unless they come from a gospel singer

We spend our lives looking for these signs but often miss them as we look for some giant mind blowing event rather than the simple signs of his presence.

And the sign said, "Everybody welcome, come in, kneel down and pray"
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all
I didn't have a penny to pay
So, I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said, "Thank you, Lord, for thinkin' 'bout me, I'm alive and doin' fine

The changing of the water to wine seems like a small act to help a wedding run smoothly, where and why should such a miracle occur? The miracle was not the changing of the water but reaffirmation of Jesus’ love for us and the power that flows through him so we may know the power and love of God.

Look not for the parting of the Red Sea but look for the little miracles every day, that show The love of Jesus and God for us as seen through the simple acts of kindness and caring. For the signs need not be in neon to be meaningful. Faith flows where we least expect it but most often is needed.

I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes I saw the sign
Life is demanding without understanding
I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes I saw the sign
No one's gonna drag you up to get into the light where you belong
But where do you belong

 Noral R.

A word about Worship - Part 2

This is the second of four articles, each focussing on one of the four different stages we move through as we worship.

The place of the prayers of thanksgiving and intercession and the sermon: are you wondering about this? In September a change was made to the order of service in both services, moving the prayers of thanksgiving and intercession so that they now occur after the sermon. This has allowed the reading of the scriptures to be followed more closely by the sermon that reflects on them and has moved the prayers themselves to a place in the service where they are now part of our response to God’s Word.

In my article in the September newsletter, I began by noting that in the Presbyterian and Reformed Traditions, worship is often shaped so that it goes through four movements. The first of this, our approach to God, I went into in more detail in that article. It includes the call to worship, hymns, prayers of approach and confession and assurance of forgiveness. Together these guide us into our time of worship, uniting us, preparing us and making us ready to hear the word of God, which is the second movement in our worship.

The hearing and preaching of God’s word is at the heart of our worship in the Presbyterian Tradition. John Calvin called the Word and the Sacraments the marks of the church and taught that where the word is preached and the sacraments administered, there you have church.

At St. Andrew’s the hearing of God’s Word, most often begins with the reading of a responsive psalm, and it is usually led by one of our children. There is a poignancy in this that reminds us that we are called not just to instruct our children but to learn from them as well. The psalms themselves are the prayer book of the church, teaching us the language of lament and praise. They bring the deepest of human emotions and experiences into intimacy with God.

During the 11am service, we follow the reading of the psalm with a children’s hymn and a time with the children up front on the chancel steps. Although it is called children’s time, it is a very important part of the service for all of us. If we are sincere in raising up people of faith, disciples who find home and nurture in the worshipping community, then it begins with welcoming children in our worship and sanctuary today. Just as we need to hear the Good News in worship ourselves, we are called to share it with our children. In collaboration, Christine, Aisling and I have been giving thought and prayer to this particular time in the service, working so that it connects meaningfully with both the Sunday School lessons that follow, as well as the rest of the worship service.

The worship service continues with one or more readings from the Bible. A short prayer for illumination always precedes this reading, asking for the Spirit of God to open us body and mind and soul to the hearing of God’s word. This is a particularly reformed prayer and reflects our belief that the Holy Spirit is both the power by which God’s word is revealed to us and the means by which we understand its application in our own time and place. Whether the readings for the day come from the Hebrew Scriptures (which we also sometimes call the Old Testament), and/or the Gospels and Epistles of the Greek (or New) Testament, all of Scripture testifies and points to Christ.

The sermon is what follows next. Preparing for and preaching the sermon are an important part of my role as teaching elder and pastor of the congregation. In preparing and delivering it I pray that it will be a vessel through which the Word of God and Holy Spirit can work and move. In reading the texts and working with them each week, some of the things I look for are how God’s transformative grace is at work in the text and how that helps reveal what God is doing in the world around us and where we are being called to join with what God is doing.

This then brings us to the completion of the second part of the worship service. The next part, our response to God,  is where the prayers of thanksgiving and intercession, also called the prayers of the people are now found and I will write more about that next time.

Rev. Dr. Karen Dimock

 

 

 

Sunday, January 10

"You are my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased."

Karen started the service today with these words spoken by a voice from heaven at Jesus' baptism. And so they also apply to us - we are God's beloved children, with whom she is well pleased.

I found much comfort in worship today. Karen spoke of how we are often "on the edge", like those waiting to enter the promised land after 40 years in the wilderness, like those waiting to enter the Jordan River with John the Baptist. The path in front of us is hopeful and exciting, but also a little bit scary.

We often face this in life, I think. In the midst of some big decision we had to make, my husband and I developed a word for this feeling - terricitement. Half terrified, half excited. When changing jobs, or moving to a new city, or even just travelling to a new place... there is excitement, but there is also a lot of nervousness.

So it is comforting to know that, as with baptism, Jesus has gone before. He accompanies us as we move forward. We are God's beloved children, with whom she is well pleased. We are not alone. And so we can move forward with the Spirit in faith, hope and excitement, leaving the fear behind.

May it be so as we move toward whatever 2016 has to offer!

Laura S.

Christmas Eve

Grace to you and Peace friends in Christ Jesus. Behold the Christ Child, the Holy One of God, who was laid in a manger, who from humble beginnings was God with us, God who moved into the neighbourhood and came to grow up and inaugurate the Kingdom of God.

Through the Advent Season we have been preparing for tonight, Christmas Eve and lighting the Christ Candle. For the last four weeks we have been waiting, preparing our hearts and minds, and beholding the Scriptures that lead up to the Nativity Story.

I’ve been meditating a lot about Angels this Advent, and about that quintessential Angel greeting “Be not afraid.” I think through time, through art, and in culture we have a certain model for what an angel should look like- a similar figure likely graces the highest bough of your Christmas Tree, a beautiful, winged, glowing figure who delivers good news from God- a being from heaven, a member of the heavenly host, a messenger from God.

I’ve been meditating a lot about the Greek word from where our word “Angel” is derived which when translated it means messenger. I have spent much of this advent reflecting on those moments in my life where I have encountered an Angel of God who told me not to be afraid. Often, these angels did not present themselves with fanfare, they were not beautiful citizens of the heavenly host (though some of them were quite good looking), simply they were people, friends and strangers who, whether they realised it or not brought good news from God. This Christmas be mindful of those who may be angels in your world, heed their words, and remember just as God made flesh in Jesus came in humble beginnings so too God’s Messengers in our lives are found in places we do not expect.

This Christmas look to those places that seem so humble or so forsaken in your world, incline yourself to God, and you might be surprised at what blessings could be found there.

Merry Christmas.
Peace of Christ,

A.H.F.