Living in the Circle of Blessing!

Psalm 34:1-3 (4-11) - read this passage
here »

Visualize this with me this morning. We are not sitting in pews but gathered in a circle. If we look to our left and right, we see everyone who is here. All of us together are participants in this circle worshipping God.

Also visualize that our little human circle today is encompassed by a larger circle. We can’t physically see this circle surrounding us but, by faith, we sense we are enclosed within the grace and love and the justice and compassion of God’s presence. And no matter how large or how small our circle is – even if there are only two or three, Jesus said -- our human circle worshipping God in Jesus’ name is always encompassed within the presence of God.

Then visualize someone in the circle stepping into the middle because she or he has something to say. Our companion worshipper has a witness to share with the rest of us. We hear something similar to what the psalmist wrote in Psalm 34:

I will bless the Lord at all times; Praise to the Lord shall continually be on my lips. My soul shall glory in the Lord; the humble or those who know they are helpless shall hear what I am saying and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us highly honour the Lord’s name together.

The church today lives within God’s circle of blessing when its members – that includes you and me – respond to the invitation to “bless the Lord God” – not only within these walls of OYM on Sundays but, as the psalmist says when we bless God at every opportunity.

The psalmist in Psalm 34 invites us to bless the Lord God with our words. “I will bless the Lord at all times; Praise to the Lord shall continually be in my mouth.” What does it mean for us to bless the Lord God? The Hebrew verb for “bless” here means to express appreciation and gratitude. To bless promotes respect for the one being blessed. To bless God is to praise, to thank (Ps. 35:18), to give glory (Ps. 22:23) and to magnify God or to express God’s greatness (Ps. 69:30). The psalmist invites us to fill our lungs – to feel them expand with praise (as The Message Bible vividly describes) and then exhale with praise to God. It is hard to exhale without some sound, especially if we open our mouths!

A Christian band called Sixpence None the Richer performed on David Letterman’s late night show in early 2001. Leigh Nash, the lead singer of the group, was given the rare opportunity for a music performer to be interviewed by Letterman.

Letterman's first question was why they chose Sixpence None the Richer as the band's name. Nash said the name came from a story by the English writer C. S. Lewis in which a father gave his son a sixpence to buy him – the father -- a present. Nash said:

"When the father received the present, he was none the richer because he originally gave the sixpence to his son. The analogy is to God who gives gifts for us to glorify him. [God] is not richer because of our presentation since [God] originally gave [us] the gift."

Letterman responded:

"That's a beautiful story. If people could stop being so stupid and actually hear that, and live by that sort of thing, then our world would be a better place. God bless you, thank you for playing, and thank you for being here." ["The Industry of Christian Music," Trinity Magazine (Summer 2001)]

I believe Leigh Nash “blessed” God or praised God in telling this story because Nash was keenly aware that he and the band received their gift of music from God and their motivation was to use their gifts to praise God in return.

The psalmist in Psalm 34 also invites us to bless the Lord with our words publicly. And when we do, the psalmist says, those who are really listening and who really hear what we are saying will be those who know they are poor in spirit, who feel weighed down in some way, who are troubled, who feel helpless about their lives and are humbled. And the command to such people is to hear what we are saying about God and be glad or be happy.

I have always had difficulty with singer Bobby Ferrin’s 1988 hit song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” I suppose because it’s hard for me to respond on command to be happy. But that’s what we hear from the psalmist -- a command. Then I read what the translation experts wrote for this Psalm in the United Bible Societies Translator’s Handbook:

In some languages it is not possible to command someone to experience an emotional state such as be glad. Therefore it is often necessary to express this type of indirect command as a wish or request; for example, “I want them to listen and to be glad” or “I ask that the oppressed listen and have cool hearts.” [Bratcher, R. G., & Reyburn, W. D. (1991). A translator's handbook on the book of Psalms. Helps for translators (320). New York: United Bible Societies.]

Now that’s cool! So if we listen to God being praised, being thanked, being honoured, being blessed and in this way, learn what God is like, we are in turn encouraged, strengthened and become more hopeful and even emotionally glad in the process. It’s sort of “catching”! Because we learn how good and giving and kind and compassionate and patient and understanding and just God us.

I don’t know if any of the protestors for the G8/G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto are singing hymns while they protest but, on the islands of Fiji, singing hymns can get people in trouble. Every summer between 20,000 and 50,000 of the one million United Methodist Christians who live in that South Pacific island country gather for a conference. And about 10,000 of them participate in a massive choral contest. All they sing are hymns. But in July last year (2009), the government said: "No choral contest this year.” There was a lot of turmoil in Fiji. The government feared the big crowd might get out of hand. According to news reports, "Church officials said the government fears the conference and singing contest will lead to further political instability." [Kim Cain, "Fiji Bans Massive Methodist Hymn-Sing," Religion News Service (7-31-09)] As someone said, “Nothing like singing Methodists to make a government nervous!”

The intrigue is that Christians worshipping the Lord can be dangerous but not because they are physically violent. Worshipping God in Christ upsets world systems and is regarded as revolutionary and subversive because worshipping God – blessing and praising God -- brings another kingdom into view – God’s Kingdom. Even a Kingdom of peace and justice and compassion and love can be seen as dangerous by repressive and oppressive regimes. Our worship and praise of God calls for our involvement in social justice activities, for instance, because we know God has a special place in His heart for those who are poor and oppressed and homeless and helpless. Our United Church concern for social justice is a theme, I believe, that pleases God, especially when it is grounded in the justice and love of God in Jesus Christ.

The Psalmist in Psalm 34 also invites us to bless the Lord with our words publicly because of God’s blessing in our lives -- our personal broken lives. If we read a little further in Psalm 34, verses 4 to 11, we hear these words in The Message Bible:

4. GOD met me more than halfway,
   he freed me from my anxious fears.
5. Look at him; give him your warmest smile.
   Never hide your feelings from him.
6. When I was desperate, I called out,
   and GOD got me out of a tight spot.
7. GOD’s angel sets up a circle
   of protection around us while we pray.
8. Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
   how good GOD is.
Blessed are you who run to him.
9. Worship GOD if you want the best;
   worship opens doors to all his goodness.
10. Young lions on the prowl get hungry,
    but GOD-seekers are full of God.
11. Come, children, listen closely;
    I’ll give you a lesson in GOD worship.

Do we understand what the psalmist is saying? If we do not acknowledge before God first and then before others that the truth is we do not have it all together, that more often than not we live under the illusion of being self-sufficient and that there are indeed broken areas in our lives needing healing, then we will neither understand what the psalmist is saying nor will we understand how to bless and praise and thank God wholeheartedly in our worship.

In an interview about his book The Folly of Prayer (IVP, 2009), author and pastor Matt Woodley shared a story about his friend Theresa. Theresa was experiencing what St. John of the Cross called “a dark night of the soul” -- a period of great spiritual loneliness and despair. Listen to how Woodley discovered that where he felt the most helpless in his ministry was actually the most helpful for Theresa:

After marrying the man of her dreams, [Theresa] dropped into the abyss of a deep depression. Everything went dark in her mind and body. She even started writing her obituary. Three years ago I would have had plenty of answers and solutions for her. I would have been so clever and powerful. But now I could only sit with her in her pain. We prayed. I didn't know what to do, didn't have any answers, so I said, "Theresa, I have no idea what to say, so could we just read the Psalms?" Then I read Psalm 77, an agonizing psalm of lament, and I went home. I left feeling utterly powerless, and I sure didn't think that I made her feel better.

The next week another leader of our church visited Theresa. She was still suffering intensely, but when the leader asked if he could pray for her, Theresa said: "Yes, but before you pray, please read Psalm 77. I've been clinging to it all week. It is my lifeline to God." Apparently when we read Psalm 77 in utter powerlessness [together], God showed up in her life with power.

The author then said what I have also discovered is true for me when I am honest about my brokenness before God:

"At times the best, most powerful and most useful way to love someone is to get to the end of myself. I admit that I can't fix or change you. My words and my advice won't heal your brokenness. But I can be with you, and we can go together to God."

[IVP Books, "Are You There, God? An Interview with The Folly of Prayer Author Matt Woodley"]

I am reminded of the Scripture in the Gospel of Luke 4:18 and 19 where Jesus was attending the local synagogue and was invited to read the Scripture of the day from Isaiah 61:1, 2:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus came – and still comes -- to heal those who know they are broken.

One more thought about living in the circle of blessing. When we bless one another, we are intentionally bestowing favour and good on each other. But it is one thing to bless someone you like; it is quite another to bestow your blessing on your enemy. When we do as Jesus said and pray for our enemies and bless and not curse our enemies, I believe we are also blessing God. The following prayer was written by Serbian bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, who spoke out against Nazism in the early 1940s. Because of his protests, he was arrested and taken to the Dachau concentration camp. And there in the camp, he prayed this:

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to Earth; enemies have loosed me from Earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.

Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless and do not curse them.

This past week I posted on my Facebook page a blessing written by a Franciscan from the order of St. Francis of Assisi. This blessing is my prayer for the world leaders from the G20 Summit who are leaving Toronto today to return to their own countries. Each of these world leaders possesses the potential to bless every person -- every child, every woman, every man, every family -- within his or her circle of influence with all that is good rather than all that is self-serving and corrupt. And actually, each of us has the same potential. So I pray:

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers,
half-truths and superficial relationships,
so that we will live deeply in our hearts.

May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression
and exploitation of people and the earth,
so that we will work for justice, equity and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer, so that we will reach out our hands
to comfort them and change their pain to joy.

And may God bless us with the foolishness to think that
we can make a difference in our world,
so that we will do the things that others say cannot be done.

Let us, today – and at all times really – tell of the greatness and goodness of God. “Together let’s get the word out!”

May this be so for you and for me.

Rev. Chris Miller
June 27, 2010
OYM United Church, Toronto - website »

No More Divisions: The Possibility of Unity and Equality

World Refugee Sunday - 20 June 2010
Galatians 3:23-29 (The Message Bible)
Read this text online here »

When human beings are babies and young children, few of us would question their need for both protection and guidance. Parents want their children to be safe when they sleep so they provide cribs with high sides and protective barriers. They do not want their kids to fall out and hurt themselves. If the children’s rooms are on an upper floor in the house, they will put a gate at the top of the stairs so their child will not tumble down. Young babies sit in highchairs to eat their meals until they are old enough to sit on an ordinary chair without falling off. As they grow and enjoy running around and playing in the backyard, it will usually be fenced in. When they go to the local park, their parents will always be there watching out for their safety. And as they continue to grow up but are not yet old enough to be left alone, their parents may hire a sitter to look after them when they go out. If the children like the sitter, they will probably behave; if they don’t, they may well make his or her time with them a challenging experience.

As children become youth and develop more independence, parents still set guidelines – or rules when necessary! – to protect teens from the dangers they do not yet perceive. But, hopefully, there will come a time when youth develop into mature young women and men; then, of course, a sitter is no longer necessary. When that happens, their relationship with their parents will be different -- a direct relationship with them, even as with peers.

One of the reasons the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Galatia was to help both the new Gentile (or non-Jewish) believers and the new Jewish believers understand the relationship of spiritual life before Christ to their new spiritual life after the death and resurrection of Jesus. For the Jewish believers, the Law -- with all of its commands and teachings -- governed their life in the past. But in the present, they had come to faith and trust in Jesus Christ. There was now something fundamentally different about their life with God. It was a mature faith -- a faith that loves and trusts God. It was not a relationship dependent upon commands and protection as from a baby sitter but a relationship that stemmed from a direct loving relationship with God – through faith in Christ.

In their former spiritual life, the Jewish believers had been like young children who needed a sitter or a nanny. In Paul’s world, this person was a slave whose role was to look after the children day by day -- taking them to school, making sure they were safe and keeping them out of trouble. Many cultures have such people. In our York Mills neighbourhood, I often see women (usually) pushing baby carriages and strollers as they walk together. In western culture, we call such people nannies or au pairs.

In their former spiritual life, the Jewish believers – in fact, all of Israel – lived by the Law. We know this Law as the teachings and commands given by God through Moses especially. Paul said that Law was for their protection and guidance – like a babysitter because they were spiritual children and needed looking after until they reached spiritual maturity. So the Law, with all its significant moral and ethical commands and teachings, was fundamentally meant to keep Israel in check -- doing the right thing for the good of each person, the community and the nation. It was also meant to show the Jewish people something else more significant – that God had standards of what is right and just and compassionate and that they were out of a right relationship with God. All too often, in their attitudes and actions, they did not live God’s way. So it was futile to think they could have any real spiritual life with God by obeying the Law. It just wasn’t going to happen because, primarily, they went in their own direction too often instead of God’s and fell short and missed God’s mark of what is good and right and just and holy. That’s part of the intent of what Paul was saying in Galatians 3 as a whole. The Good News Bible makes it clear in verses 21 and 22:

“For if human beings had received a law that could bring life, then everyone could be put right with God by obeying it. But the scripture says that the whole world is under the power of sin; and so the gift which is promised on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ is given to those who believe.”

The Message Bible challenges us to think about it this way: “If any kind of rule-keeping had power to create life in us, we would certainly have gotten it by this time.”

That’s the point of it all actually. When Paul became a believer in Jesus, he began to think differently about what life with God meant. Before, Paul only thought about keeping the rules – and he often broke both the rules and the spirit of the rules. Now, as Paul listened to the Holy Spirit, he understood that his present life was meant to be centred on faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, faith in God had always been the real issue. It was Abraham’s faith and love -- not his keeping the Law -- that God wanted and delighted in. And it was Abraham’s faith and blessing that was intended from the very beginning in Genesis not only for the Jewish people but also for non-Jewish people – the Gentiles – in every tribe and nation.

Paul came to understand that everyone in the entire world, whether Jew or non-Jew, could find their maturity of faith in Jesus the Messiah – the Christ. The Message Bible helps us understand this meaning in verses 25 through 27:

“But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe -- Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.”

The problem was that the Gentile Galatians were being told by the new Jewish believers in their midst that faith in God through Jesus was not quite enough. There were some specific and important commands they should also keep. And Paul said no – nothing more was needed. Only faith in Jesus Christ. The sign that the babysitter – the Law -- was no longer needed was the coming of Jesus the Messiah to die on the cross for the sin of all humanity. He is the One who was supremely faithful and trustworthy. Jesus the Christ was the fulfilment of God’s original promise to Israel and for the entire world.

Most, if not all of us here this morning, are not Jewish believers in Jesus Christ. We are Gentiles – non-Jewish peoples – from various backgrounds and cultures. I think Paul wanted the Gentile and Jewish believers to understand clearly the implications of what their faith in Jesus and their baptism really meant – and what being clothed in a new life with Christ really meant. So Paul stated the implications this way:

“In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ.”

My friends, here is what maturity of faith in Jesus Christ looks like. There might be more but there is certainly nothing less than this: those who are “in Christ’s family” are those who believe in him. And those who believe in him come from all walks of life, from every nation, both men and women.

Some Jewish men in Paul’s day would pray: “Blessed be God that he did not make me a Gentile; blessed be God that he did not make me ignorant [or a slave]; blessed be God that he did not make me a woman” [Tosefta Berakoth 7:18]. But Jesus would never have prayed that – we can tell by the way he treated women, outcasts and people of other cultures. And Paul would not accept such a demeaning classification of human beings.

Those who were in Christ’s family then and people who are in Christ’s family today – who believe in Jesus -- come from every culture, every nation and every walk of life. Cultural divisions are to have no part in the church of Jesus Christ. All human beings must be treated in the light of God’s love in Christ for all peoples, not in the light of their cultural past. The early Christians had difficulty with this understanding. That is why Paul had to write this letter to the church in Galatia. It would take them time to come to grips with this cultural mandate.

Do we have trouble today with cultural distinctions? Sometimes, but the barriers are still being broken down!

Every three years, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship – part of a worldwide student movement -- sponsors the Urbana Conference, a gathering that challenges university students to become involved in world evangelization. Both Marg and I have attended conferences in the past. About 16,000 students from around the world attended the 2009 conference. After the main session each evening, students would meet in smaller groups for prayer and reflection. In one of the banquet halls, there was one small group of Chinese students, another group of Taiwanese students and still another group of students from Hong Kong. Large dividers stood between the three. Because, historically, these three peoples have “harboured bitterness and animosity toward one another,” they felt it best to pray and worship each with their own people.

But as the Chinese students were praying one night, they told their leader they wanted to invite the other countries to join them. When the Taiwanese students received the invitation, they prayed and sang a little while and then opened up the wall divider. It wasn't much longer before the students from Hong Kong pulled back their divider too -- and some 80 students mingled together.

“In Christ, we are all one family,” said one leader. “And [Christ] breaks down political boundaries. In Christ, we have the desire to make the first steps to connect.”

The Taiwanese students asked the students from China and Hong Kong to lead them in worship. The next night, they invited the Korean and Japanese groups to join them too -- nations that had also experienced fierce animosity. The leader told them: “We are living out what we have learned this week in John’s [Gospel] -- this is ‘God with us.’” A woman from China said: “It was a really moving time. This kind of thing would not happen in another situation.” [Corrie McKee, “Asian Students Tear Down Walls,” Urbana Today (12-31-09), p. 6]

For those who are in Christ’s family, social status is also irrelevant. There are clear social distinctions in society even today – we know that. There are company CEOs and there are company janitors. There are those who are well-educated and there are those who are illiterate. In Paul’s time, there were those who were free and those who were slaves. And Paul said that, in Christ’s family, there was to be no such distinction in our attitudes and actions to one another.

Slavery was widespread in the ancient world among both Gentiles and Jews – as much as 33 per cent of the population in some places. And most slaves were not treated fairly or kindly. Many might wish that Paul was clearer about the abolition of slavery as an institution. But I think Paul helped create an atmosphere and an attitude that would eventually lead to the abolition of slavery throughout the world. While progress was slow, much slower than it should have been in the Church, slavery was eventually officially abolished in 1807 through the efforts of William Wilberforce, a member of Christ’s family, and others. We can only pray for courage like theirs in our day to live our lives in a way that is consistent with the equality and protection of all people in Christ. Sadly there are still slaves and cruel taskmasters, as we know, in the trafficking of children, youth and women around the world today – even in Canada. So social classes of whatever description ought to have no bearing on the Church’s work – except to galvanize us into action on behalf of those who remain excluded or as outcasts or even as slaves today.

Let me put this social distinction in another way: a person’s social status is irrelevant for acceptance by God and for life in the church. There is a little book in the New Testament titled Philemon. Philemon was a prominent believer in the church at Colossae. He was the owner of a slave named Onesimus who ran away from him and happened to meet Paul, probably in prison. Onesimus then became a Christian. Paul knew Philemon and wrote him a letter. Paul asked him to accept Onesimus back -- and as a brother in Christ. “In Christ,” Paul said, the slave becomes our “brother” (Philemon 16). Both those who are free and those who are slaves have the Holy Spirit and are members in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 7:21–24). Think about this: it is indeed likely that, in the Early Church, slaves were leaders and their owners submitted to them in the life of the church! In Christ’s family, social class must be irrelevant.

Those who are in Christ’s family ought to observe no division between male and female. In Paul’s time, there was a widespread conviction that women were inferior to men. And so girls were not educated formally as boys were. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote, for example: “The woman, says the law, is in all things inferior to the man” (Against Apion, 2.201). However, in Christ’s family, no one is inferior to another, especially female to male. And when we read the Gospels, we can certainly notice this in Jesus’ attitude and response to women. In the same way that there were to be no cultural or racial distinctions and no social status prejudices, there was to be no gender prejudice. For those who are in Christ’s family, all antagonisms, abuse, criticisms, snide remarks, restrictions, overt prejudices and power trips based on gender must end for, in Jesus Christ, male and female are one. But as is the case with slavery, so with women, though Paul helped to create an atmosphere and an attitude that would raise the status of women, it would take years – even centuries -- for the Church and society to implement equality of men and women honorably before God – and more progress is still needed today.

There is one more thing about those who are in Christ’s family. All are in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. All are equal in Jesus Christ.

It has been a while since I watched the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It is a romantic comedy about culture, family and acceptance. Toula Portokalos is the awkward middle child of a proud Greek family. Her father, Gus, often embarrasses her because he always lectures people on Greek history. “Give me a word,” he says, “any word, and I'll show you how the root of that word is Greek.” Toula has ambitions to go to college and find a good job. Her father just wants her to marry a nice Greek boy and give him Greek grandchildren.

When Toula meets Ian Miller, a long-haired English teacher who comes from a reserved and proper-mannered family, they fall in love and begin a complicated and secret courtship. Her family eventually finds out, and her father is unhappy she is dating a non-Greek man. When the couple decides to marry, the two families must come together, making for a number of misunderstandings and uncomfortable moments.

Toula’s father is devastated that she's marrying outside of her heritage. He is against the wedding from the beginning. He simply does not understand the Millers’ way of life. Eventually, however, he begins to realize how important Ian is to his daughter and how in love they are. Seeking a way to reconcile their differences, he turns to the Greek language. At the wedding reception, he gives the following speech in broken English:

“Welcome to the Portokalos family, and welcome to the Miller family. I was thinking last night, the night before my daughter is going to marry Ian Miller, that—you know—the root of the word Miller is a Greek word. Miller comes from the Greek word milo, which means ‘apple.’ So there you go. As many of you know, our name, Portokalos, comes from the Greek word portokali, which mean ‘orange.’ So, here tonight, we have apples and oranges. We are all different. But, in the end, we are all fruit.”

In Christ’s family – the Church – we are all different. Today, there are members from every culture and nation in the world. There are members from every possible class distinction. There are obviously members of both sexes. But, in the end, there are no divisions. In Christ’s family, we are all connected because we are in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Someone has truly said, the ground is even at the foot of the cross of Christ.

May each of us find ourselves there at the foot of the Cross -- loved by the One who gave his life that each of us would learn to know and trust the God who is utterly trustworthy and faithful.

May this be so for you and for me.

Rev. Chris Miller
June 20, 2010
OYM Oriole-York Mills United Church, Toronto - website »

Much Love – Much Forgiveness

Luke 7:36-50 - read this text online here »

A Pharisee, a woman with a shady reputation and Jesus. Put these three in the same story and we can be sure there will be intrigue, tension and conflict of some kind. Luke’s story in today’s Scripture does not disappoint.

Everything started off well enough. The Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner with a few other guests – no doubt other Pharisees. And Jesus accepted the invitation. Throughout the story we discover a few things. We learn that Simon had some prior history with Jesus. This doesn’t appear to be the first time Simon interacted with Jesus. For instance:

• Simon knew enough about Jesus to invite him to dinner. He knew enough about Jesus to believe he would accept his invitation. Here is the intrigue: perhaps Simon would be able to determine more about who Jesus was and what he was about during their dinner conversation. Was Jesus really the prophet the people thought he was? Maybe Simon had other motives. Maybe he would be able to trip Jesus up into saying or doing something self-incriminating. As we learn later in the story, this was not the warmest of dinner invitations.
• And Jesus himself knew enough about Simon to accept the dinner invitation.

But it didn’t take long before the dinner party got interesting – with some tension and potential conflict. In through the open door of Simon’s house came a woman “who was a sinner,” the Scripture says. Clearly a woman with a “reputation.” In Jesus’ day, few doors in local houses were locked as they are today. And passers-by could see what was happening in the house, especially if people were in the courtyard. They could then drop in to the event.

So a woman slipped into the house and stood behind Jesus at his feet while the group was having dinner. When we have our lunch later, we will sit on chairs with our feet underneath a table. The custom in Jesus’ time was to recline on a cushion facing the table so their feet turned away from the table. We learn this woman also had a history with Jesus as Simon did. (We don’t know her name but she was not Mary Magdalene as some think.)

• The woman learned Jesus was in town, even where he was having a meal, and went to find him. She seemed to know Jesus would receive her – he would not shame her or turn her away.
• She was grateful – emotionally grateful (embarrassingly so for most of us) -- to see Jesus. We discover she had been forgiven by him at some earlier time and now she poured out her gratitude to him in tears, kisses and perfume.

Some more intrigue: I wonder how the woman knew Jesus was in town and exactly where he would be. Do you think Simon and his guests – Pharisees as well -- might have let it be known “on the streets” that Jesus was coming to dinner at Simon’s place? Who knew who might then drop in? Who knew what might happen at dinner? How fortunate for them that this street woman appeared and acted the way she did with Jesus! “IF this man really were a prophet,” Simon said to himself, “he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!” We can almost hear them quietly chortling and watching Jesus closely, thinking: “He should, of course, call her behaviour into question and turn her away – just as any good Pharisee would.”

But then Jesus turned the tables on Simon and set him up. “Simon, I have something to tell you.” Simon was all ears as Jesus continued.

“Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker cancelled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?”

And Simon fell into the trap. “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”

“That’s right,” said Jesus.

Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, Jesus said: “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.” [The Message Bible]

Simon and the other Pharisees had a view of righteousness that caused them to distance themselves in disdain from the presence of sinful people – in this case, a sinful woman. On the other hand, Jesus understood righteousness to mean he should move toward such a person with compassion and forgiveness and a blessing of peace.

But something else was happening in this encounter with Jesus. From the beginning, Simon responded radically different to Jesus than the woman did. Remember, Simon did not invite Jesus to dinner with the intention of becoming friends. How ironic was this picture Jesus showed to Simon. Even though Jesus was a guest in Simon’s home, it was a sinner, not the so-called good person, who actually extended hospitality to him. In fact, Simon offered none of the normal cultural hospitality to Jesus. The woman’s hospitality that Jesus described went far beyond anything Simon and the other Pharisees understood. But “hospitality” didn’t really name the woman’s response to Jesus. Her spontaneous tears and drying his feet with her hair, her kisses on his feet and soothing them with perfume, could only be called extravagant love and overwhelming gratitude.

After Jesus told Simon and his other guests why the woman was so grateful and loving toward him, he said reassuring and life-giving words to the woman: “Your sins are forgiven.”

If Jesus was in difficulty with Simon and the other Pharisees because he accepted the woman’s way of expressing her gratitude and love for him, his saying to her “Your sins are forgiven” really got Jesus into trouble. For they knew Jesus was saying, “I forgive your sins.” They understood “only God can forgive sins” as they said on another occasion. They looked at each other: “Who does he think he is -- forgiving sins!”

That was a driving question for them then as it is for us today. Who does Jesus think he is? Who do we think he is -- this one “who even forgives sins?”

I read an article this week titled “Why Jesus Died.” It intrigued me. The author, Dr. David Lose, a professor of preaching, said this story about Jesus, Simon and the woman offered an answer to why Jesus died that was not immediately theological -- such as “to take away sin” or “to redeem humankind” (both of which are true). But Prof. Lose asked the question this way: “What made people so mad they would kill Jesus over it?” I have often wondered that myself. When we read the Bible, it seems Jesus went from place to place basically talking about God’s kingdom by teaching about loving God and loving neighbours, by healing people of their diseases and illnesses, by feeding people and by forgiving wrongdoing or sin. And we might ask, what was so bad about those activities?

We have been talking about Pharisees. Let’s remind ourselves the Pharisees were actually the good people in first-century Judaism. They were the ones who cared deeply about their religion -- who took responsibility for their religion flourishing. They were the elders, church council members, the Sabbath school superintendents of their day. We saw how Jesus compared Simon’s lack of basic hospitality with the woman’s extravagant expression of love and gratitude. Jesus let everyone there know that the woman had recognized and repented of her sin and so had received his forgiveness -- and she was pouring out her enormous gratitude. On the other hand, Jesus implied, Simon did not act out of gratitude because he did not believe he needed forgiveness – at least not very much.

And that is what got Jesus killed. On this occasion, it was not the preaching, teaching, healing or feeding. It was the forgiving! Why? Because who was Jesus to forgive sins? And because forgiveness implies need, guilt and brokenness, which Jesus indicated Simon and the others did not recognize in themselves. Let me put it another way: If I know I need forgiveness, there is nothing better than being offered forgiveness. However, if I don’t believe I need to be forgiven, there is nothing worse than being offered forgiveness.

Most of us here are old enough to remember when United States President Richard Nixon resigned his office in August 1974 because he faced near-certain conviction of his involvement in the Watergate scandal. His successor, Gerald Ford, issued a pardon to Nixon after his resignation. Pat Nixon called Gerald Ford’s pardon of her husband “the saddest day of my life.” Why? Because she believed (until the day she died) that her husband had done nothing wrong.

Few people have difficulty believing that someone such as the woman in today’s story needed forgiveness. She was an obvious sinner who had broken the moral law and commandments of God. While we are not told the details of her life, we sense from the way she responded to Jesus and the way Jesus compared her extravagance to Simon’s miserliness, that she had been deeply broken personally and knew her need of forgiveness. On the other hand, there are many people today -- not merely a few people -- who believe they have no such need of forgiveness. They have no guilt about anything as deeply felt as the woman’s. So if someone like Jesus implies they do need forgiveness, they get upset or defensive and are not sure what to do with Jesus or his implication.

Why might that be the case? Because to admit I need to be forgiven, to admit I am guilty of wrongdoing of some kind, to admit any sense of brokenness -- that admission destroys any illusion I may have about being self-sufficient and that I can make it through this life on my own. It destroys the illusion I may have that I am better than I really am. Humanity’s folly is to believe we can live life on our own terms – especially without needing God.

We don’t know what Simon said or did about Jesus immediately after he left. We don’t know what Simon or his Pharisee friends thought about who Jesus was when Jesus said to the woman at the end of today’s story, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” We don’t know how they answered their own question “Who does this man think he is, going around forgiving sins?”

But we do know what the woman thought about Jesus. Because she was forgiven by God of her many, many sins as Jesus indicated, she was extravagant in her love and gratitude to Jesus who forgave her. And this story in Luke shows the remarkable bonding of love between Jesus, the forgiver, and the forgiven woman.

Presbyterian Pastor Lee Eclov illustrates this bonding with the following story he told in one of his sermons. He had to purchase an airline ticket for his wife to visit her sister. He said he would do it online, using his computer. He assured her:

“I’ve done it before, and it’s a snap.” I picked the time, checked “one passenger,” “one-way,” the airline, even the seat assignment. Then I checked that I understood this was non-refundable and non-transferable, and that my credit card would be charged. I clicked on “Yes, I’m sure. This will complete my transaction.”

Then he noticed the ticket was for him and not for his wife. He panicked. He wasn’t the one flying and he did not want to pay an extra $152! He called American Airlines.

“Sorry,” the guy said after conferring with his supervisor. “There’s nothing we can do.” I was sick. “Try calling Travelocity,” the airline agent said.

I did, and a voice said: “Due to the large volume of calls you may have to wait.” Aaargh! Ten minutes of elevator music.

Then Jacob came on the line. “Jacob,” I said, “I made a terrible mistake, and I’m hoping you can help me.” I explained what had happened.

“No problem,” Jacob said, “I’ll delete your transaction here, and you can go online and redo your reservation.”

“Really, Jacob?” I said, “Just like that? No penalty or anything?”

“No problem,” Jacob said.

“Jacob, you are a gift from God! You made my day,” I gushed. If he had been there, I surely would have hugged him.

Pastor Lee concluded his comments this way: “If your debt is great enough, having it erased by someone is a bonding experience! When you’re forgiven much, you love much. Face your sin, and you will fall in love with Jesus.”

Eugene Peterson, who wrote The Message Bible, said the following about what he called “gospel work”:

“Muckraking [you know, going after and then publicizing misconduct by prominent people] is not gospel work. Witch-hunting is not gospel work. Shaming the outcast is not gospel work. Forgiving sin is gospel work.”

My friends, we need God’s forgiveness of our sins. We all need the forgiveness that cost Jesus his suffering and death on the cross for us. We need it because we have all missed the mark – none of us measures up to the goodness of Jesus, the goodness of God. And yet the goodness of God longs to forgive us – to forgive all humanity. And Jesus was willing to pay the cost with his life.

We also need to see others through the eyes of compassion and forgiveness like Jesus. Simon and the other Pharisees did not really see the heart of the woman who walked into Simon’s house. They did not see her love and gratitude for Jesus because of their own lack of compassion, forgiveness and gratitude in their lives – and their unawareness of their own sin. Whom do we leave out of our sight? We dare not leave anyone on the outside because Jesus’ compassion is for everyone and his forgiveness is offered to all.

May this be so for you and for me.

Rev. Chris Miller
June 13, 2010
Donway Place
Oriole-York Mills United Church, Toronto website »

Christians Are Sent People

Luke 10:1-12 - read this text online here »
John 17:1, 2, 6, 17-23 - read this text online here »

I have some observations about the story of Jesus and his disciples in today’s Scripture in the Gospel of Luke.

The first is that Jesus believes there are many many people waiting to hear about God’s kingdom of love and justice. He calls these people his “harvest.” It is like a huge field of people – a huge sports stadium with every seat filled with people waiting -- waiting to be told and shown how much they are loved by the One who created them. However, the harvest isn’t a mere Western Canadian wheat field or North American football stadium or South African soccer stadium full of people. The harvest Jesus talked about includes the entire world of humanity.

The Book of Acts tells the story of the birth of the church and the Holy Spirit’s vision for the worldwide expansion of God’s mission. And the same holds true for the church today. In the very first chapter of Acts, Jesus told his disciples they would be witnesses to his resurrection and to his risen life in them beginning right in Jerusalem where they staying and would continue to live, then all around the region of Judea, then farther away throughout the region of Samaria and eventually their witness to Jesus would spread throughout the whole world.

I did not grow up in the United Church but was adopted by it. And I also adopted the United Church as the church where I wanted to serve with the gifts God had given me. Here is some of what I learned about and saw in the United Church that drew me within its circle. I saw a church of people who literally lived out their witness across Canada. They put the Holy Spirit’s Acts 1:8 vision into practice by telling people – witnessing -- about the risen Jesus, about loving God and about actively loving their family members and their neighbours next-door and down the street and in their community and even throughout the entire country. Back then in the 1960s and ’70s, you could still find United Church people in just about every nook and cranny in Canada geographically.

I was also impressed by the spread of God’s people of the United Church within the culture of Canada. You could find people who called the United Church their spiritual home involved in politics, in medicine, in the arts, in education (Edgerton Ryerson, for example), in agriculture, in financial sectors, in the media, in magazine publications, in social and justice activities – again, virtually everywhere.

As I studied this church denomination, I discovered some remarkable witnesses to God’s care for people (no matter who they were). United Church people could be found helping those who were poverty stricken in the Dirty Thirties. During the Second World War (just before my time!), many United Church halls became dance halls and canteens for a generation of young men and women off to fight a war on another continent. After that war, United Church people were there for those who were homeless, especially men, many of whom were veterans battling their own inner wars. The United Church in British Columbia along with other denominations also protested the displacement of Japanese families. The church tried to help Japanese men and women find employment and also helped to educate their children. The United Church even took to the water and launched boats such as The Thomas Crosby to go up and down the coast of British Columbia assisting isolated communities with medical and other supplies not otherwise readily available. I learned about the church’s sense of justice when Nellie McLung – a church activist -- worked with other women to win the case in 1929 that women are persons. Remarkable! I discovered how the United Church was the first Canadian denomination to ordain women to ministry in Canada. Lydia Gruchy was ordained in 1936 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. It would be decades before other denominations would follow.

And so I wanted to be part of a church that had a vision and mission that was universal in its scope, whose people were enthusiastic about spreading the good news of God’s love and justice and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not only through the actions of its people but also in what they said. They spoke freely about Jesus who motivated them and about God who loved them and about the Holy Spirit who lived in them.

My second observation about the story of Jesus sending out his disciples in Luke’s Gospel is that Jesus said there were relatively few harvest hands or witnesses of God’s good news for this huge group of people. So Jesus gave his disciples two commands. First, pray to the God of harvest – who loves this world full of people – to send many many harvest hands, that is, many many witnesses or story-tellers, into their own part of the world and throughout the whole world. And, second, Jesus told his disciples to go themselves as God’s harvest hands and witnesses wherever he sent them. In other words, they were to be part of the answer to their own prayers!

Three years ago this month, we started the Oriole-York Mills Prayer Supporters. This small prayer group prays specifically for the concerns of the members and adherents of our congregation and for other family, friends and acquaintances you tell us you are concerned about. Many of you have told us how significant this prayer support has been for you. The members of the group pray for those who are grieving over the loss of loved ones, for those with serious illnesses and concerns, for those who are homebound and wish they could be physically present with us this morning and for those with all sorts of other concerns.

But I do not believe the group has ever been asked to pray what Jesus commanded his disciples to pray for in today’s story in Luke’s Gospel: to pray that the God of the harvest – God the Creator – would send out into the community “harvest hands” or witnesses to God’s love and justice in their lives, witnesses to the resurrected Jesus and witnesses to the life of the risen Jesus in their lives. We talk about wanting people to come to us and we work toward that end. But Jesus also said to pray for witnesses -- for people who would go outside these four walls not only to act in compassionate ways and with love but also to speak graciously about their personal stories of God’s life and love in them and active in their lives. So I have asked OYM’s Prayer Supporters to pray that God will send out more of our people to share with others through their loving concern and actions certainly but also with their words about how people might connect with Jesus Christ. This is what we say we want to do in our bulletin and on our website in our logo. And this prayer will also be part of my personal daily prayer conversation with God as well. If you are unable physically to be active, you can pray! Prayer is an important ministry you can have in and for our church. You can pray that God will send witnesses to talk about their faith in Jesus as well as acting out their faith in the community and wherever they find themselves.

Jesus commanded his followers – us -- to pray that God would send out those who will be witnesses to the life of the risen Jesus. He also commanded us to go and be part of that witnessing group ourselves!

The task force for OYM Growth has been meeting regularly. Someone suggested we create a script – let’s call it “OYM 101” – to help us talk about our church’s vision and mission and even about our personal faith with our family and friends. For instance, in the vision of our church, we say we are “inspired by Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.” Being inspired is wonderful, isn’t it? My hunch, though, is that in the sanctuary this morning there are a variety of interpretations about what being “inspired by Jesus” means. If we were to discuss this together, some meanings might be similar; others might be quite different. And in our church’s mission, for instance, we talk about “bringing to life the teachings of Jesus Christ.” Again, there will be different meanings on the table for discussion.

Frankly, variety is good. God loves variety. Not one of us is the same. And God acts in people’s lives in different ways – in ways that are personal for each person. But I do wonder, if we took the time together to share our meanings and understandings, we might well discover a common language grounded in Scripture to help us share our faith with family and friends. I think we could learn from each other by listening to each other and how we each speak about our faith. And we might discover some wording or thinking we could use personally. In the coming year, I would be very interested in helping us discover new ways to talk about and share our faith in God. So in the fall season, I am suggesting we have several Lunch & Learn gatherings where we take the opportunity to talk together about the meanings of our faith. We would begin with our vision and mission statements and how we might share that faith with one another first and then with others in our families and among our friends. This summer I would ask you to ponder and pray about this series. Then let me know what you are discerning.

When Jesus sent out his disciples in the story in Luke’s Gospel, he sent them with his authority and gave them his power to support them in their mission. He knew they could not talk about their faith or heal those who were sick as he commanded without his power in them. If we had read the beginning of Luke 9, we would have seen how Jesus clearly gave the disciples his power and authority. So when we are commissioned by Jesus to witness by action and by our words, we go in the power of the Holy Spirit and under the authority of Jesus Christ. Our Creed says as much when it begins: “We are not alone.”

When Jesus sent out his disciples, he also told them to “travel light” as The Message Bible puts it. No extra luggage. No extra shoes. No cooler full of food. Essentially, Jesus was telling his disciples (and by the same token telling us) to trust God – to depend on God and not on our own devices for courage and strength and wisdom. To be “sent” by Jesus and to “go” is to trust and act on the assumption that what we require to achieve his desired purposes he will give us. Again, our Creed states clearly: “We trust in God.”

Our denomination used to talk about what is called “The Great Commission” found at the end of the Gospel of Matthew -- Chapter 28:18-20. From The Message Bible, here is the charge Jesus gave to his disciples:

“God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

Today we are celebrating 85 years of ministry and loving service through The United Church of Canada. We all wonder what the next five to 10 years will be like, let alone 15 to 20 years or another 85 years for our denomination. There is no question the United Church is changing as the Canadian landscape of different peoples and cultures changes as well. To be sure, individual congregations throughout the country will come and go as they always have. But I believe, if The United Church of Canada remains faithful to God’s Word and witnesses to the resurrected Jesus, it will continue to play a part in God’s kingdom for many more years. May the focus of The United Church of Canada in general and Oriole-York Mills in particular remain centred on life-transforming encounters with God through Jesus Christ and may the church continue to instruct people in the way and teachings of Jesus. Jesus Christ connects us and all of humanity with the One who is our Creator, the One who inspires us and the One who brings us to life.

May we be open to all God has for us. May this be so for you and for me. Amen.

Rev. Chris Miller
June 6, 2010 • 85th Anniversary of The United Church of Canada
OYM •  Oriole-York Mills United Church, Toronto [ website » ]