felix hominum

New Prayer Book on the way for Canada?

According to stuff at the bottom of the Faith Worship & Ministry page, it looks like GS 2007 will see a resolution caling for some work toward a new prayer book for the Anglican Church of Canada.   Some notes from the national website:

Prayer Book Revision  The committee decided to bring the following resolution to the General Synod of 2007 (through the Council of General Synod):  “That this General Synod directs the Faith Worship and Ministry Committee to prepare principles and an agenda for prayer book revision.”

Why I am a Renaissance Man

Because I know that the proper pronunciation of the ayn  combined with an initial hamza in Arabic uses exactly the same breathing technique as bending a low note draw on the Marine Band harmonica.

who's afraid of the Da Vinci Code?

Every once in a while I see ads for books by Christian authors purporting to debunk all the "historical" errors in the Da Vinci Code.  A while ago there was an article in the local paper stating that 22% of Albertan believe that the Da Vinci Code is true.   No Comment.   Anyway,  Stephen Andrews asks why we can't just take the thing for what it says it is - entertainment, not a serious challenge to the Christian faith.

Why is it not obvious that  The Da Vinci Code  is meant for entertainment, not education?  It has about as much historical credibility as Monty Python’s  The Life of Brian.  It is rife with errors both ancient and modern.  A francophone colleague of mine tells me that the French translation is actually shorter than the English, because they had to take out all the bits where the geography of Paris was messed up.  The list of other blunders is equally as extensive.  The supposed existence of the Priory of Sion is the result of a 1950s hoax; the Roman Catholic lay movement, Opus Dei, does not have monks; Westminster Abbey does not have spires; the Christian habit of worshipping on Sundays was not a Constantinian accommodation to paganism, but predates Constantine by 200 years; Jesus is not mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls; the Gnostic texts that promote the ‘sacred feminine’ can also be misogynistic; etc.  Can anything with such careless and unintentional mistakes be regarded as a sustained attack on the Christian faith?

read the rest

By the way, if 22% of Albertans think that the Da Vinci Code is true, then I suggest that they were not sudden overnight converts to such ways of thinking.

Anthony Packwood music

Pre-script:  if you're looking the the DVCode discussion, it's actually over here.

Reminder for the locals:  Anthony Packwood & friends are doing some stuff at St Paul's church this Saturday at 7:30.  Drop by to catch some tunes.  Hang out.  Help babysit my kids. 

Anthony is a musician hailing from Calgary who is up here for the weekend.  He is also a blogger. 

Adam Fell: Splinters, Ministry & Same Sex Blessings

an occasional reflection on the family that I love

One of the oft repeated phrases in our church’s discussions around same sex blessings is “there are more important things to focus on.”   On some levels I agree with that statement.  On other levels I disagree with that statement.  There are certainly areas of ministry and mission which I believe should be commanding our attention and resources – material and spiritual and emotional.  If you take even a brief glance at a variety of diocesan websites you will see more resources listed under issues of sexuality than under evangelism, ministries of healing, social justice, outreach to youth, programs for children, and (gasp) college and university ministry.

We are well into the season of spring.  Which means something called yard work.  A few days ago we were outside, attempting to do our part to raise the neighbours’ property values.  Cutting, pruning, picking the first few weeds that always pop up in the same spot every year.  Adam, helpful chap that he is, spent considerable effort dragging around a few small branches pruned from one of our lilac trees.  Much effort, grunting, falling, getting up.

A few minutes later we were back in the house, ready to reward ourselves with sustenance.  Adam started to grab his cup but then stopped.  He wanted to, but somewhere in the course of “helping dad”, he got a splinter.  You know the kind of splinter:  small and strategic.  At just the right angle and depth so that your finger can’t move in the direction you want it to, and so your hand can’t quite hold on as tightly as it should.  Hold your hand this way, and you don’t even notice it.  Hold your hand that way; and it makes itself abundantly clear.

It’s hard to get a toddler to hold still while trying to deal with such a thing. I understand that there are three possible outcomes:  the splinter works its way in or out on its own with no harm done;  the thing becomes infected;  the thing is removed by a delicate process, much fussing, and reassuring words and postures.  I opted for course of action # 3.

Perhaps it is true – there are more important things to focus on.  But I wonder if we, like Adam, are at present prevented from moving our hands in certain directions.

I commit our church to  prayer.

sol cafe at the Stollery Kids' Hospital

A reminder from the sol cafe web guy:

On Sunday, April 30, the sol cafe will be "field tripping" to the Stollery Children's Hospital for a night of art and service.

We'll be meeting at 5 pm in the lobby at the bottom of the escalators (east side main doors, across the street from the Tim Horton's), then heading into the McMullen Gallery to check out "...a thousand words", an exhibition of photographs by medical photographers Pat Marston and Stephen Wreakes in celebration of the University of Alberta Hospital's 100th anniversary and the Stollery Children's Hospital's 5th birthday.

After that we'll be heading up into the Stollery Children's Hospital to help clean up one of their toy rooms, a chance to do a little something to help the young patients there as well as the remarkable staff who work with them. Our first service trip there a few months ago was much appreciated, so we're heading back to help out a little more.

We'll have the usual standby team at Cafe Dabar to pick up stragglers, but if you can let us know if you think you'll need a lift over, we'll know to watch for you!

Happy Birthday

To me.

Today.

There will be no prize for correctly guessing my age.

Frederica Mathewes Greene on Living Tradition

Was tidying up the office a bit and came across a copy of something I am sure was dropped off by the Orthodox Christian Fellowship.

I have spent a lot of time in Protestant circles, and one thing they’re touchiest about is what they call “dead tradition.” They will quote the line from St. Paul, “See that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men.” (Col 2:8).

From that perspective, most of what we do looks like “empty tradition.” The Divine Liturgy we had this morning would be horrifying to them. All that pomp and circumstance, and surely it’s meaningless, right? We’re just going through the motions, hoping to buy God’s favor by repeating the correct formulas.

Our friends would also presume that this kind of worship has nothing to do with the early church. Before I became Orthodox, I imagined that the first century Christians sat around on the floor, probably in blue jeans, playing guitar and talking about how Jesus had touched their hearts that week.

read the rest.

sketches on Romans 1:18

Just another bit of private study which started out here a little while ago.  It was part of an ongoing assessment of the question of natural theology in Romans...

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth.

What does this mean?  What is a NT understanding of God's "wrath"?  How is it "revealed", and what does that mean?  The pdf is over here .  It's about a 150kb file.   And there are really only about 3 people on the face of the earth with an interest in this sort of thing.   The whole project has some shape from related stuff I did a while ago. 

Every now and then I think that clergy (or at least this one) should engage in a bit of scholarly dabbling...  Makes you look smart at Anglican cocktail parties & the like.

looking for glory in all the wrong places

Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.

A prophet, a righteous person, and a little one - sounds like the beginning of a joke.  I have sometimes wondered about this passage from Matthew's Gospel.  Is this a descending order?  Do these actions and people start at the top, as it were, and then work their way down?   Or are they on equal footing?   Or is this an inversion; building up to the point where you can see the glory in giving a cup of cold water to one the little ones as actually the highest point?

I think one of the inversions of the Kingdom of God is that the greatest glory is found in unexpected places.  You can perhaps easily recognize a prophet or a righteous person as someone whom God 'favours' (don't take that the wrong way).   But when do we stop to see the eternal value in offering the cup of water to the "little ones"?   We naturally seek the "great and the glorious" - because there is something in us that pulls us toward glory.   Trouble is, our perception has been skewed.

We have become colour blind to true glory - we cannot see where it is.   It is hidden in there, but available for all who wish to pursue it.  We chase after large shadows, and forget the blessedness of the meek.

My Lord & My God

So said Thomas in today's reading - what is the difference between the two words?  "My Lord and my God."

I think they represent a wholeness of response.  A Lord is to be obeyed.  A God is to be worshipped.  Thomas gets it.

stray thoughts on christian unity

15,000 attend Holy Saturday service in Jerusalem...


According to Dep.-Cmdr. Asher Ben- Atrzi, head of the Israel Police Interpol and Foreign Liaison Section, almost every year a dispute erupts between the Armenians and the Greeks over who enters the cave where Jesus is believed to be buried first. The different denominations also argue over prayer times. 'The police really need to be hands on at the churches,' he explained, 'to prevent them from arguing and fighting.'

from the Jerusalem Post.

New uses for "The Patch"

Nicotine patches should be banned in Alberta's jails because inmates are smoking them, prison guards say...

read the rest

yeah, yeah, the gospel of judas

Nobody abandons God in an instant.  It is much easier to fall away gradually, step by step, than to declare atheism or open rebellion all at once.  We only remember Judas’ betrayal.  We forget that he too was a disciple along with the others. 

And probably for the longest time the other disciples were convinced that he was in their fellowship.  It’s sometimes rather easy to fool others about our lives if we are clever and cunning;  and the longer we practice deception, the more talented we become at it.  Perhaps Judas himself even believed that he was doing the right thing, right up to the end.

And yet even in the upper room, Jesus still washed Judas’ feet along with the other disciples.  Jesus shared the cup and the bread with Judas too.  Jesus never abandons Judas, rather it is the other way around.  The same is true for us – Jesus will never abandon us;  if it happens, it will always be the other way around.

To tell you the truth, I have little interest in the "Gospel of Judas".  I have enough trouble keeping up with the 4 that I already have.

Ministry in Michener Park

I was chatting with someone last night about Michener Park;  about the possibility of doing some kind of ministry there over the summer.  Michener is a "family residence" complex here at the U of A which houses a great number of international students, often with their spouses and young children.

I'm not the sort of person who sees many unusual promptings from God.  However, part way through morning prayer (after the first reading - Isaiah 25:1-9), I started thinking about the phrases from verse 7 - how God will "destroy that shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations."  I started thinking about all the international students we have here.

I found myself getting up and wandering to the north entrance to our building, which faces the International Center here at the U of A.  Along comes a fellow I know from South Africa, who proceeds to ask me about possibly doing some sort of ministry at Michener Park.

I'm just sayin' that's all.

I'm not a very smart man, but I think I might try to connect the dots on this one.

Chaplain's Annual Dinner

For the locals:

Yes, it's that time of year again.  Here's the announcement as I saw it posted in the diocesan news:

Annual Fundraising Dinner and Silent Auction in support of the Anglican Chaplaincy will be held at the U of A Faculty Club on Thursday, May 4, 2006.  Rev. Joseph Walker will be sharing a range of experiences in a talk entitled: “From Generation to Generation”.  For tickets, to donate an item for the Silent Auction, or to make a tax deductible financial donation directly to the Chaplaincy, please contact Rev. Joseph Walker at 492-4620, or by e-mail at walkerjj[at]ualberta.ca.  Please make this event known in your parish.

There you have it.  Do us a favour and announce this in your parish, or cut & paste & force it on your church secretary.  And if you can, let me know (just send an email) in which parishes you've advertised it.

Here's a small downloadable poster .

I'll buy you a beer.

Is Jesus Risen?

"Is Jesus Risen?"  asks the Washington Post.  With the subplot being that the "literal" view is "gaining ground" against the more "symbolic" or suggestive view that Jesus' so called resurrection was a myth, or a projection of some kind, or a bit of wishful thinking on the part of the early church.

What difference does it make if Jesus did not physically rise from the dead?  Well, first off, my hopes for a new and improved body have just been dashed.   Secondly, it raises doubts about this whole Incarnation project - you know, the Jesus is God made flesh at Christmas-time project that looked so promising at its outset. 

God started out strong - becoming one of us.  Showing the value he places on us as incarnate creatures;  beings comprised of spirit and body.  But in the end, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, if it was merely some idea about resurrection in some vague sense, then the whole project comes crashing down.  Becoming human was a waste of God's time.

The physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead shows again how God values us as incarnate creatures, it is the fulfillment of the promise made at Christmas.   We are not disembodied spirits or physical matter:  we are not angels, neither are we bricks.

We are, as Peter reminds us,  "living stones", being built into a house of God.

brothers in arms

Adam holding Justin.  Am I my brother's keeper?

tell me where you have laid him

"They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not  know where they have laid him."

"Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking  for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have  carried him away, tell me where you have laid him...

So I ask the same question.  Where is He?  And this is the answer I get:

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and might and honour and glory and blessing.”

Just in case you haven't been to church since Christmas, let me tell you that a few things have happened in Jesus' life since he was a kid.  Christmas is bigger than Easter, at least in the Hallmark section.  It's easy to see why.  We can envision the baby Jesus, the Christ child, because we've all seen that sort of thing somewhere, at least the baby part.  We can identify with, perhaps even exercise a bit of control over, this image of the newborn King.  Babies are something we've run across before.

But this resurrection business, this Jesus, is beyond our experience.

I know that my redeemer lives.

In the meantime, if you want a variety of Easter-time reading, you might try this assortment of links.

I'll be busy celebrating.

ps - sol cafe meets at 5 pm on easter sunday @dabar

PrayerWorks Hall

Is there a pause between Good Friday and Easter Sunday? 

I am going to suggest that in this pause there is still a bit of stuff to be done.  In particular, I want to remind the members of our diocese about the last little bit of fundraising left for the PrayerWorks Hall in the inner city.  Over 10,000 meals a year are served there; there are all sorts of good things - spiritual and physical - which God does through that ministry.

In between Good Friday and Easter Sunday there is still something for us to do...

There is less than 15K left to raise for this project, and there is now a challenge out to get 100 Anglicans from across out diocese to chip in $150 each for this ministry.  You can make a secure online donation  here.  Or you can make out a cheque to the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton & send it to:

Synod of the Diocese of Edmonton
10035 - 103 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5J 0X5

cheque memo:  PrayerWorks Hall

I'm going to send something in and issue the felix challenge.

good friday, kidron valley

Jewish tombs in the Kidron Valley

"he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley"  (John 18:1)

Jesus went across the Kidron
so shall you & I

thoughts for maundy thursday II

[2] After supper , Joseph got up from the table and removed his outer robe, and  changed out of his khaki pants and freshly laundered shirt.  And girding himself with a towel and  'burping cloth', proceeded toward Justin Patrick. 

[3]  Justin wept.

[4]  Joseph said "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand"

[5]  Justin burped.  Justin gurgled.  Justin spewed.

[6]  Joseph said "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me"

[7]  Justin replied (in signs if not in words) "Then wash not only my face, but my neck, and my arms, and my feet, and my torso, and any other part of me that can possibly get dirty, because, lo, I am soiled from head to toe"

[8]  Joseph said:  "In addition to this wash, the hour is now come for The Change.   And yet what shall I say?   Save me from this?   For verily I know, that in the course of The Change, the foulness with which you have sullied yourself will be found on me.   And it must be so."

[9]  And at that hour The Change took place.  Now some of the women who were there came to Joseph and said  "Here, take this to wipe him".   And in the process  of making Justin clean, did Joseph find upon his own hands the soiledness of man.

[10]  And after The Change was Justin brought again into the land of the living room, clothed in white.   Joseph looked and said "Woman, here is your son."

[11]  Behold the man!

thoughts for maundy thursday

personal sketches on foot washing from John's Gospel

13:1 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.  The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.

What we need to know about Jesus is told to us in the first few lines of this gospel reading.  “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.”  Jesus is about loving us, and loving us to the end.  What does it mean to love someone to the end?  Maybe it will help us to think about Judas. Judas is already planning to betray Jesus.  And yet Jesus invites even Judas to share in this last supper with him.  Jesus even loves Judas while he is betraying him.  Jesus  even loves Judas to the end.  Jesus loves Judas enough to give Judas the freedom to betray him.  Jesus does not stop him from doing this.  Neither will he stop you.  He gives you the freedom of choice to accept or reject, just as he gave that choice to Judas.  Jesus will love you to the end.  Even when we betray him, he loves us.  God never leaves us, we leave him.  Tomorrow on Good Friday we will see just how much we turn our backs on God.

And during supper, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God,  got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.  Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

How do you picture Jesus?  We all have images in our minds of people that we know.  The way we imagine them when we think about them.  What is Jesus doing in your picture of him?  We have seen many pictures of him in our lives  - from Sunday School to Christmas cards.  There He was – in a manger, while Angel choirs sang around him, and wise men from the east offered him gold and frankincense and myhhr.  During Epiphany we saw him doing miracles – healing, feeding,  changing water into wine – amazing the crowds and the disciples with his feats of power.   He came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday with shouts of joy.  He has performed every miracle there is  - he made the blind see and the lame to walk - he showed his power in walking on the water in the midst of the storm.  He is the Son of David – the Messiah – the King of Israel – the very Word of God who created the universe and everything in it –  He was with God the Father and the Holy Spirit from before time existed – from all eternity. He will come again as the Judge of the World.  How does HE want us to picture Him?

And during supper, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God,  got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.  Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

What would I do if God had put all things into my hands,  what would I use all that power for?  Would I use it for the sake of others, or would I use it for myself?

The gospel tells us that Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, that he had come from God and was going to return to God.  Jesus knew where he came from and where he was heading – he knew who he was.  It was not a threat to him to get down on his hands and knees and get dirty.  He wasn’t embarrassed, or ashamed, or self conscious.  He didn’t care what he looked like, or what other people thought of him. He wasn’t afraid of doing the right thing, even if it made him look  - well -  look stupid.  He was free from other peoples’ opinions of him.  If you know you are from God and you are going to God – you will live freely. 

Jesus knew where he came from and where he was going – do we?  Jesus knew who he was;  it wasn’t a threat to him to serve others.  How could he show them one last time what his message was, what God was like, how we should live?  By serving in a very humble way.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"  Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet."  Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me."

Why does Peter want to refuse Jesus’ request?  Why would any of us refuse this request from Jesus?

A    Peter is perhaps embarrassed.   After all, if someone tells you that you need a wash, it’s not usually taken as a compliment.  And it’s even worse if it is in front of your friends.  We don’t like to have attention drawn to those parts of us that need to be washed.  We don’t like attention drawn to those parts of our hearts and lives that need to be washed by Jesus.  We don’t like to have God say to us “You’re dirty there” – especially if we are afraid that someone else is watching.    We prefer to keep those things secret.  Our private sins – our angers, or jealousies, our private lusts and desires,  our pettiness, our selfishness, our greed. 

Jesus says “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.”   We tend to forget two things – number one:  Jesus only points out our dirtiness so that he can clean us;  and number two:  everyone else is dirty too.  Peter was not the only disciple at that table who needed to have his feet washed;  and neither are you.  It’s actually freeing to admit that we are all on equal ground here – we all need Jesus to wash us.  Nor is it any good pretending.  It’s better to admit that we are all sinners and get on with the job of letting Jesus make us into saints.

B    Perhaps Peter thinks that this is somehow “beneath” Jesus.  After all, washing feet is a slave’s job.  Jesus is supposed to be doing something big and spectacular, not something ordinary and lowly.  Peter doesn’t understand what Jesus is doing.  Of course he doesn’t, and neither do we most of the time.  Peter objects to what Jesus is doing.  “Wait a minute Jesus, you are supposed to be God’s Son, this stuff is for other people.  This is not important work, this is menial labour for slaves to do.  Let one of the servants do this kind of thing.”  I want you, Jesus, to do something big and impressive. 

Too often we say to God, “don’t do that, do something else, do something magnificent and glorious, do something wonderful that will make us all oohh and ahhh.  Don’t do something so lowly and paltry and foolish.  Do something big!!! “ 

    How often we want God to do something big and glorious in our lives, or in the lives of others, and instead he disappoints us with the lowly and mean and ordinary.  Before Sarah Joy was born – we wanted a miracle – something big and impressive from God.  Instead we got more of the ordinary -  more nights spent in the hospital with countless other ordinary people – parents, husbands, wives -  who did not receive a miracle.  It is God’s gift to us to give us someone who requires more of the ordinary everyday care than usual.  Someone who needs more help with ordinary things like sitting in a high chair learning to use a spoon,  more help with ordinary chores like putting on a simple piece of clothing.  More chances for us practice what Jesus was trying to teach his disciples about love.   – about becoming like him in the day to day.

    We want Jesus to show up in a big way, and do something glorious and amazing.  We forget that what God thinks is glorious and amazing is performing simple acts of love for one another in our day to day lives.   

C    Perhaps Peter had a bit too much pride to accept this act of service from someone else.  Most of us don’t know how to accept a compliment, let alone someone like Jesus getting down and washing our feet.

We live in a “self-help” culture.  Be self sufficient, don’t rely on anyone or anything else – all you need is within you.  Jesus tells us that we need to learn to accept his help.  And we need to learn to accept help from one another.  God has designed his church so that we grow by learning to accept the gifts and help that we can bring to each other.  Each of us is here to give, but before that,  each of us is here to receive.

We have to learn how to accept help from others, we have to learn how to accept God helping us, we have to learn how to accept Jesus getting down and washing our feet.  Too often we would rather say, “No thanks, I can do it by myself.”  I can fix my own problems.  I don’t need your advice, I don’t need your prayers, I don’t need your pity.   I don’t want you to know that I have my weak spots.  Pride.

If you don’t know how to accept help, chances are you really don’t know how to offer it.  That is part of the lesson that Jesus is teaching his disciples.   Learn to accept help from God – he wants to serve you. 

last day of classes

In case you haven't noticed, there is a giant inflatable Kokanne can in the quad.  Along with several large pavilion tents and something that promises to be a BBQ.

I'll be, ummm, 'busy' for the rest of the afternoon.

confirmation & old jokes

One of the oldest and most varied denominational jokes goes something like this:

3 clergy are discussing how they got  rid of mice in their churches.  The Pentecostal minister says "We prayed against their presence, and then they all left."  The Baptist minister says "We preached against their presence, and then they all left".   And the Anglican minister says "We confirm them all, and we haven't seen them in church since."

For those not in the know, it is a practice in the Anglican denomination to baptism infants.  "Confirmation" is basically a time when we profess and take ownership of the promises made at baptism.  There's lots more, but let that suffice for now.

I had a coffee with a guy who was confirmed in the Anglican church:  told me about the church he used to go to, who the minister was, a few details about the people he met there.  He hasn't been in a church in 8 years since.  Doesn't care to, either.   There are a couple of ways to go with this scenario:  one is to ask what the church did or didn't do to help him remain a member, or grow in his discipleship.   Another way is to ask about commitment - what it means and what it looks like, and that whole business of what it means to be a member of the body of Christ - with all its joys and responsibilities.

I've heard the caveats:  maybe he was growing as a disciple outside the formal structures of the church;  maybe he went to another church;  maybe God wanted this;  maybe this is just showing how big grace is - he is still a member of God's family...

There are a lot of reasons why people "leave church", just as there are many reasons why people "go to church".  In the story of the rich young man, Jesus did not chase after the fellow who decided not to follow.  Jesus let him go.  There is no forcing, either by guilt or manipulation, into the kingdom.  At least in that story.

will finish this up after the next coffee

how to discover a love in the flesh

"I need to discover a love that reveals itself in the flesh - in the flesh of Jesus and in my own flesh, indeed."

from the article "Carnal Love"

warning:  there's all kinds of stuff in Canon Tim's article that people will find objectionable;  there's all that stuff about the "potty talk" in Canon Tim's article - you know, "What Would Jesus Doo-Doo?"

But he raises a vallid point at the end.  Here's how I would begin an answer to those who ask the same kind of question - discovering a love in the flesh.

Several years ago Jean Vanier came to the University of Alberta to lead a retreat.  During one of his sessions he told us the story of a 'core member' of one of the L'arche communities.   This particular individual lives with a number of physical and mental disabilities.  For over 4 decades, he has been unpredictably incontinent.  And for many of those years, the hands of his L'arche home have tried to time his visits to the bathroom, without any success.

"One day", Jean said, "he was incontinent on the toilet.  That evening, we had champagne!"

To those who might wish, like Canon Tim, to discover a "love that reveals itself in the flesh", I would suggest L'arche as a possible starting point of enquiry.   I've been involved with our local L'arche community for several years, and have especially benefitted from our times of prayer and corporate worship.  That retreat with Jean Vanier & L'arche prepared me for something, or rather someone else.   Our second daughter, Sarah Joy, has Down Syndrome, a combination of intellectual and physical conditions.  And yes, we have ice cream and a family celebration when she has a bit of success in that, err, area. 

[ aside: The people of L'arche remind me of a fundamental truth - "nature" as we experience it now is not the same thing as "creation" as God intended it.  To say wholesale "God made me this way" is a rather uncomfortable blanket statement to lay under sometimes.]

Something else Canon Tim reminds me of is this:  I can easily pretend to "love God";  I cannot so easily pretend to love my neighbour as myself.  For that second commandment requires that I do indeed discover a love in the flesh; not only of Jesus and myself, but of my neighbour.  In between the love in the flesh of Jesus and the love "in my own flesh, indeed" is the love in the flesh of my neighbour.  Not as a means of serving myself, but in the sacrifice of service to others.

whoever give a cup of cold water to one of these little ones...

Mount Nebo, Jordan

And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

sometimes it's simpler than we think...

Passover: "who let the Jews out?"

Just in time for Pesach, and the release of Sam Apple's new book  "Schlepping Through the Alps", comes an animated Passover Greeting:  Who Let the Jews Out?.  Animation by Dan Meth.  Turn your volume up.

It was going to be a serious blogging day about the nature of Communion, but, eh...

"next year, in Jerusalem"

ps, I know it's an oldie, so I'll try to find some fresh passover schtick...

nothin' up my sleeve...

Wondering what to get your friends this Easter?  Forget the chocolate rabbit stuff, get them a deck of Cathletic Playing Cards. 

The face cards, as well as the 4 suits are tailored to reflect the Holy Family and the Trinity.

Trinity is the Ace, Jesus is the King, and you don't have to ask who the Queen of Heaven is!!

via the Sheepcat

ps -  I don't see who is listed as the Joker cards, but then again I'm afraid to ask!!

turning palms into crosses

sermon thoughts for palm sunday, or, I have a newborn and now a four year old with a broken collar bone and you expect me to come up with something original to post today?

Every year we try our best to take these long strips of palm branch and by some feat of engineering, we turn them into crosses.  We sometimes don’t fully understand what exactly we are doing.  We take these things which are supposed to be instruments of joyfulness and praise for Jesus, and we turn them into crosses, forgetting that this is the very thing on which Jesus was crucified.  We usually never consider that strange custom that has evolved in the church over the years.  The very same things that are supposed to praise God, are turned against Jesus.  How does this palm branch turn into a cross? 

It is easy to forget, as we wave a little cross, that it is an instrument of death.  We see that palm branch, we turn it into an empty cross, and we conveniently pass over the suffering and death in between.  The cross was not always empty. 

This is the beginning of Holy Week. Today we started with shouts of Hosanna.  Next Sunday is Easter - the day of resurrection and shouts of Alleluia.  But we are not there yet.  Between the shouts of Hosanna and the shouts of Alleluia there is another shout:  “Crucify him, Crucify him.”  "’Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him.’ But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed.”

We have had two sets of readings this morning, each set painting a picture before us.  We started off the morning with a parade and shouts of joy.  The first picture is the “Palm Sunday” picture.  It is all about the crowds welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem with shouts of Hosanna.  The second picture we have today is the “Good Friday” picture.  It is about the same crowds shouting “Crucify Him” and about how Jesus endures the suffering of the Cross.

What do we learn when we see these two pictures side by side?  We learn about love.  In the first picture we learn about how the crowds, and we, love Jesus.  Let’s call that “Palm Sunday” love.  In the second picture we learn about how Jesus loves the crowds – and us.  Let’s call that “Good Friday” love.  These two kinds of love – Palm Sunday love and Good Friday love, show us the difference between how we love, and how God loves. 

Palm Sunday Love:

First there is the love which the crowds show to Jesus on Palm Sunday.  It is exciting, it is loud and it is a big show.  They welcome Him into Jerusalem with palm branches and songs and shouts of joy:  “Hosanna to the Son of David”.  They are welcoming Jesus as their King into the throne of David.  But within a few days that same crowd turns on Jesus.  When Pilate asks them what they want to do with this Jesus, this King of the Jews, they reply – “Crucify Him”.  What is wrong with this picture?

It is not lack of enthusiasm.  They were enthusiastic when they shouted “Hosanna to the son of David”.   Yet they were just as enthusiastic when they shouted “Crucify Him”.  If we think love is about putting on a big show, or just being enthusiastic, we need to think again.   The crowd was pretty enthusiastic when things were going well for Jesus.  Palm Sunday love is like that.  It loves when there is a good time to be had, and it stops loving when there are bad times to be had.  This way of loving changes with the weather, or with the circumstances. Status, appearance, health, reputation – all these things matter to Palm Sunday love.  Loving a person – any person, including Jesus, means you love them regardless of their circumstances.   You can love the person, or you can love the things around the person.   The crowds didn’t love the person of Jesus.  They loved the show, the power, the miracles, the idea that this man would be their king. 

It is a test of our love for any person – including God – whether we love them just for who they are, or we love them because of the stuff around them.  Not many people were left loving Jesus when he was being crucified, when everything glamorous and exciting was gone from him.  Jesus died alone.

Is love about being “happy”, whatever we think that word means?  The Palm Sunday crowd is very happy to have Jesus around.  But they are also just as happy to have Him crucified.  This is the more difficult part of the problem.  Love is not about the crowds being happy.  And love is not about me being happy.  Too often we think that it is.  We think that love is supposed to be there for my sole benefit – that love is there to make me happy.  Palm Sunday love is self-serving.  It says “I don’t care what happens to you, as long as I am happy – that is what matters.”  It says “I will love you as long as I get something out of it.”  My happiness is the supreme goal of life.  And this kind of love says – “I will love you for as long as it is convenient for me, for as long as I am getting something out of it, as long as you make me happy – I will love you.”

It is a test of our love for God and for each other.  Do we still love when we are not “getting something out of it?”  Do I love only when it makes me happy?  Am I more concerned about my own happiness than the happiness of the person I am supposed to be loving?  Love is not self-centered or self-serving.

Good Friday Love.

Now let us think about the Good Friday picture.  What do we think we are seeing when we get a picture of the crucifixion of Jesus?  Do we think we are seeing a man suffering?  Yes, but more than that.  Do we think we are seeing the fulfillment of prophecy?  Yes, and more than that?  We are seeing a picture of love.  On Palm Sunday we see a picture of our love for God, on Good Friday we see a picture of God’s love for us.

How is Jesus’ love for us, different from our love for Him?

Commitment

Six centuries before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote some words describing the Messiah that God was going to send.  Here are the words Isaiah wrote about the Messiah who would come, and what that Messiah would be like:

I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.  The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint.

“I have set my face like flint”.   

What does that tell us about Jesus’ character? About his love?  It tells us about his determination.  He has a strength of willpower that says – I will do what I need to do.  Jesus shows us that the foundation of love is commitment.  He set his face like flint – against everything that will come his way. 
We get enthusiastic – but Jesus gets determined.  Good Friday love means commitment.  It means commitment regardless of the  circumstances.  Jesus is committed to us when the circumstances change.  He loves us when we are shouting “Hosanna” and he loves us when we are shouting “Away with this man.”  Jesus loves us when that love is not returned.  He loves us regardless of how we treat him.  He simply loves us.  He is not merely enthusiastic about loving us when things are great; he is committed to loving us when things are darkest, for us and for him.  He loves us when we shout “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.”   That is not only the darkest moment for Jesus.  It is also the darkest moment for us – when we cry out in rebellion against God.

How does Jesus react to our treatment of him?  How did he react then?  “I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.”   How does God react to our treatment of Him?  He puts up with it; he endures it – remember Jesus prayed while he was being led away for crucifixion – “Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing”.  What happens when love faces a challenge?  That is when love is tested.  That is when we see what love is really made of  - is it Palm Sunday love, or is it Good Friday love?   That is when Jesus is tested.  Jesus prays forgiveness. 

Self sacrifice, rather than self service,

Whose happiness is Jesus concerned about as he is being crucified?  His own, or someone else’s?   Jesus is willing to endure suffering, and insults, and even death, for the sake of someone else’s happiness – yours and mine.  He did not turn back from suffering because he loved us.  Good Friday love is willing to endure the wrongs of others, to put its own happiness second place, for the sake of someone else.  We have nothing that we can give to God.  God is not in this for what “He can get out of it”.  He is “in it” because He loves us. 

Jesus’ attitude and his actions are not changed by other people’s reactions to him.  Our love is often changed by other people’s attitudes and reactions.  It is part of the “what do I get out of it” syndrome.  Jesus’ love for us does not depend on how well we treat him.  Look at what happens to him.  And look how he reacts.

How do we get this new kind of love?  At best, most of us are caught between the two kinds of love – we perhaps admire the Good Friday love, but more often than not we practice the Palm Sunday love.  Good Friday love is great to see – in other people.   How do we grow in our love and move from one to the other?   Not by struggling to be better, or by making new resolutions to be a better person, or through he myriads of self help books that line the shelves of secular and sacred book shops.  It is a gift, as everything from God is.  It is the highest and best gift of all the gifts of the Spirit – and it is the only gift which will last. For that gift, let us pray.