felix hominum

is church "brand" a dead end road?

Fascinating article from Episcopal Life online, looking at the decline of the mainline "brand"

Not all the churches examined by the Pew survey are declining, of course. Most of us would not wish to belong to, or even visit, the kinds of churches that are growing; we dismiss them as evangelical, conservative, right-wing, even backwards.

But a little humility on our part might make it possible to see that it is possible they are better at answering the needs of seekers who otherwise might dare to enter our doors.

Yes, they spend less time talking about issues of the temporal world, issues of justice and equality – issues important to us. But they devote more time to talking about things we seem to be much less interested in, at least to those thirsty newcomers – sin and forgiveness, how to engage the Bible at a deeper level, how to raise a Christian family, how to find joy (joy!) in Christian faith.

Can any of us seriously wonder why someone just beginning a journey of faith would find that a more welcoming place?

Is the ship sinking? Is it still seaworthy? Here's a more difficult and more pressing question: Is it time to move on from the age of ocean liners? Are we more devoted to our institutions, to our way of being church, than to our gospel?

The gospel is the message. The church is only the medium. There is a deep, eternal truth to that message that will find a way to be communicated. If our medium can't adapt to carry that message, then it will be passed by – no matter how many ships we build.

Talk amongst yourselves...

speakeasy - (minor 7 flat 5)

A few of us who actually enjoy playing jazz are planning to get together on a somewhat regular basis for evenings of semi-freestyle jazz and some readings, images, discussion, and beverages.  I'll get some times and places up when they are confirmed.

Sort of like a speakeasy, with Jesus...

Canadian Prayer Book Society AGM...

will be held at St Timothy's Anglican Church on Saturday, May 9, starting at 2 pm.

The meeting will begin with a talk by yours truly.  The title of my talk is "Thanksgiving After Childbirth:  Choosing Sarah in an Age of Options."  I expect that I will post the talk here at some point after the event.

back in the saddle

Thanks for your prayers. I think I've recovered from whatever was going around, and managed to fulfill my duties in a men's retreat over the weekend as well.   

It was an excellent retreat, I highly recommend such things.  As we say in the business, "our Lord was busy".

your prayers have been answered...

It seems I woke up this morning and by the time we got to morning prayer at the church I had no voice. 

Something is going around, and I have it big time.  Ugghh.  Can hardly whisper, however, I have had the benefit of advice from several parishioners who suggested some home remedies.  Personally, I like the Caribbean one that involves warm dark rum with sugar...

Voices for Habitat for Humanity fundraiser - big thanks

A big thanks to everyone who helped out at the "Voices for Habitat" fundraising concert yesterday evening:  volunteers, donors, musicians, and Tim who did a lot of organizing.  I expect he might have some pics up soon, as I noticed him putting batteries into a camera at one point...

Although all the musicians were excellent, I have to say that the final set by Jeremy Spurgeon and Janet Smith brought the house down, or rather up to its feet, and a tear to this writer's eye at one point.

Over $4000 was raised for local Habitat for Humanity projects.  See you next year, same time, same place.

The Tree Song: Ken Medema

EG's community kids choir (grades 3-7) sang  with Ken Medema not too long ago.  Here's one of the  songs they did during the concert.  Take 5 minutes out of your day & enjoy.  BTW, the whole event was a fundraiser for Rehoboth Ministries, which serves the disabled in our community.

Easter 2, Year B sermon notes: John 20:19-31

This is the week when "doubting Thomas" shows up on the scene, and there is plenty to think about in that whole episode.  From another angle, both the Gospel reading and the other NT reading (1 John 1:  - 2:2) come from John,  and in both readings there is a theme of touching, sensing - becoming convinced through a sort of physical encounter.  To start with the letter of John, here is how it begins:

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it.

So we have an image of using the "senses":  a very physical image of what backs up John's 'testimony'.  This, to me, speaks not only of the physical experience which the early disciples had of Christ, but also is a reminder of the place of the physical self in our relationship with God.  John's approach is clearly anti-gnostic on this point, although it is not anti-intellectual.  John merely extends the implications of the Incarnation from the prologue of the gospel:  God, as Jesus, can be seen and touched.  There is also the theme of life in both the letter and the gospel. 

John 20:19-31

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

I've always found Jesus' first message to this group of disciples to be, well, amazing.  Their first need is peace.  I suppose that there are those among us who wish they had asked about what it is like "on the other side", or some other kind of curiosity raised the cat question.  But John is quite plain about telling us of their fear - one of the most disabling of feelings.  On top of that, it appears that Jesus' 'new and improved' body has a few abilities that the old body did not have.  Yet Jesus is entirely recognizable, once he has come to the point of showing the wounds he received on Good Friday.  Perhaps, like him, our own wounds will still be visible, though healed, transformed.  The healed wounds of the risen Christ are a marvel.  I think there is much to meditate on in that image.

20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.  23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

Now we carry on what Jesus did.  Just as the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus sends the disciples.  He breathes on them and gives them the Holy Spirit.  This is not the same as the day of Pentecost.  This is a task given to the apostles to carry on the work that Jesus began.  Remember the first thing that got Jesus in trouble with the religious authorities.  Long ago Jesus told people that he could forgive their sins.  And that got him in trouble.  Now he gives the same authority to the apostles.  Not because of any merit they have, but because Jesus commissions them to do this.  “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.  If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”  Each week during communion we Anglicans (and other denominations) have a general confession, and then the priest pronounces the absolution.  Do you know why?  You do now.  It is because Jesus gave this charge to the apostles.  And when I pronounce the absolution of sin, I am simply obeying Jesus’ command, and actin gas him ambassador.  Your sins are forgiven.  It is as if Jesus himself were saying to you - Your sins are forgiven. 

24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." 

Ah, poor old Thomas - this is the only part of his story we usually remember, but it is not the only part to Thomas’ story.  Thomas is the first one to acknowledge Jesus as “Lord and God”.  That is who Jesus is.  But we are getting ahead of ourselves.  What exactly is doubt?  And what role does it play in the formation of Thomas?  I was going to say "in the formation of Thomas' faith", but that is not really what the issue is.  This distinction is crucial.  What role does doubt play in the formation of Thomas?  Here is a bit of discussion on faith and doubt with Peter Rollins, make of it what you will.

Here is the thing which I find least discussed, but most important once you recognize it:  the "proofs" (let's use that as a working term for now) which Thomas requires, and which Jesus offers (both to Thomas and to the other disciples earlier) have to do with his crucifixion.   It is in the showing of his hands and sides, the showing of his wounds, the marks of the cross, that both the disciples and Thomas come to recognize Jesus.  It is not a generic 'proof' - it is the showing of something very particular:  the wounds of the Cross.

No, I don't have a full explanation why this is the case at this point, only that a careful reader will notice this unmistakable detail and pattern:  the wounds of the cross establish the identity of Christ for the other disciples and for Thomas.  It seems to me that this casts the questions about "doubt" and "faith" in a different light.  This is not a story about merely providing empirical evidence for the status of Jesus.

And it seems to me that the way Thomas comes to believe has to do with identifying, participating somehow if you will, in the wounds of Christ:

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."  27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side.

Do not doubt but believe."

28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.  31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

[ed] - we interrupt this post to go to school to pick up a kid who is feeling sick...  hopefully we can resume later today.

NT Wright on the Resurrection

Nobody, including Jesus's followers, was expecting one person to be bodily raised from the dead in the middle of history. The stories of the Resurrection are certainly not “wish-fulfilments” or the result of what dodgy social science calls “cognitive dissonance”. First-century Jews who followed would-be messiahs knew that if your leader got killed by the authorities, it meant you had backed the wrong man. You then had a choice: give up the revolution or get yourself a new leader. Going around saying that he'd been raised from the dead wasn't an option.

Unless he had been. Jesus of Nazareth was certainly dead by the Friday evening; Roman soldiers were professional killers and wouldn't have allowed a not-quite-dead rebel leader to stay that way for long. When the first Christians told the story of what happened next, they were not saying: “I think he's still with us in a spiritual sense” or “I think he's gone to heaven”. All these have been suggested by people who have lost their historical and theological nerve.

The historian must explain why Christianity got going in the first place, why it hailed Jesus as Messiah despite His execution (He hadn't defeated the pagans, or rebuilt the Temple, or brought justice and peace to the world, all of which a Messiah should have done), and why the early Christian movement took the shape that it did. The only explanation that will fit the evidence is the one the early Christians insisted upon - He really had been raised from the dead. His body was not just reanimated. It was transformed, so that it was no longer subject to sickness and death.

Let's be clear: the stories are not about someone coming back into the present mode of life. They are about someone going on into a new sort of existence, still emphatically bodily, if anything, more so.

Full text here.
NT Wright is Bishop of Durham

God writes his story in fire - memories of Holy Saturday

photo Joe Walker 2008

One of the most wonderful images which runs through God's story is that of fire.  It is there in Genesis, and there again in Revelation.  On Holy Saturday we began our celebration with the "kindling of the new fire".  I must confess that the Vigil of Holy Saturday is my favourite time of the year.  And not just because men like to poke fire with a stick (although we all do).  The evening begins with a visible reminder of one of the great images from God's story:  fire.

Twenty seven centuries ago the prophet Jeremiah wrote a simple line, which has within it the key to all that we do here tonight.  “Is not my word like fire?, says the Lord”   Tonight we began with fire, and mark this well,  we shall end with fire also.  The story of God’s people is written in fire. 

For the three days preceding Easter we heard again the story of redemption, from the story of Adam to the story of Christ.  We heard the story of bread and wine and transformation, we heard the story of suffering and sacrifice and death on a cross.  But on Holy Saturday we heard the story of fire. And as the invitation was given on Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, so the invitation is given tonight:  if you wish to understand the story of God, you must yourselves accept the invitation to become a living part of it. 

“Is not my word like fire, says the Lord”

The Lord God placed an angel at the entrance of the garden of Eden, the paradise, and the angel held a flaming sword, which prevented Adam & Eve from returning.  None could return there, to that place of innocence.  "Paradise was lost".  Lost, it seemed, forever.

What became of that flaming sword, which guarded the entrance to Paradise?  Do you not remember how Christ was pierced with that sword too? And he has this time, wholly swallowed it up in his side. And out of that side, the soldier saw, flowed blood and water:  the blood of the new covenant and the waters of baptism and new life. And then Christ declared: This day you will be with me in paradise! 

Is not my word like fire, says the Lord?

Remember the old fire which Abraham carried to the offering of his son:  "Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"  And Abraham replied:  The lord himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering”

"The fire and the wood are here."  Did you not hear of the fire and wood when he was crucified?  When the burnt offering of the lamb was fashioned upon the wood of the cross, and he was held there not by the cold steel of the nails, but by the hot fire of love? 

Is not my word like fire, says the Lord?

What is this?, Moses said.  The bush is burning, but it is not consumed?  Remember the fire of Mt Sinai, Mt Horeb, when God appeared to us in the burning bush.  For then we could not approach.  He commanded us to stand far off, it was not permitted us to walk on holy ground.  And when the Lord God led them out of slavery into redemption, he went before them with fire:

The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.

Is not my word like fire, says the Lord?

And John the Baptist, the last of the old prophets and the herald of the new Messiah, said to them:  "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”   The one more powerful has come, and he is Jesus, the Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and he brings Fire with him.  Not the old fire, from which we kept our distance, lest we be consumed by it, but the new fire, which the prophet Malachi saw from old:  the fire which shall refine my people, and purify them as silver and gold – the fire of God’s cleansing found in the new baptism.

Now the new fire of Holy Spirit bids us draw near with faith; and he who calls us says you are no longer merely servants, but friends of the living God.

“As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.”  Elisha watched as Elijah, the greatest of the old prophets, was swept up by the chariot of fire – the fire which rose up to heaven.  But God’s word is like a fire, and fire came down again.  This time the fire would descend and stay with us.

The Apostles were gathered together on the day of Pentecost; locked in the upper room for fear, and “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.”  The Fire is not just in heaven, it has come down to earth, and God pours out his spirit upon all flesh.

Is not my word like fire, says the Lord?

The prophet Daniel - He replied, ‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a son of god.’  Who is this who walks in the middle of the fire, and has the appearance of the son of god?

Is not my word like fire, says the Lord?

"Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive for ever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this."

The Word became flesh, and that Word is like fire.

Christ is Risen!  Kindle the new fire!

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire...

"Voices for Habitat" fundraiser

Voices for Habitat 2009 will take place at
St. Timothy's Anglican Church (corner of 145 St. and 84th Avenue in Edmonton)
on Sunday April 19th.
Doors will open at 6.00 p.m. for a Silent Auction along with a Café and Wine Bar.
The concert will begin at 7.00 p.m.
Tix $10
available at the door, or in advance:  Tix on the Square, Myhre's Music, Acoustic Music Shop

Tim Chesterton has a full list of details for the event at his blog

Easter day, inside the church of the Holy Sepulchre

photo: Joe Walker

Good Friday in Jerusalem...

photo Joe Walker, 2005
courtyard of the church of the Holy Sepulcher,
just after a small incident, which I might relate when I have the time...

my annual Passover favourite: who let the Jews out?

a terribly uncomfortable solution to Anglican lawsuits

From time to time, as part of my Lenten discipline, I will look in on the rest of the Anglican family and see how things are going.  If you look through the curtains, you will see any number of lawsuits going on:  diocese of Niagara, British Columbia, New Westminster.  I'm sure I have missed a few, or at least there will be more by the time you read this.

Perhaps because it is Holy Week, I am going to suggest a very simple but uncomfortable solution.  It is merely based on a parable in Luke's Gospel.  You all know it, it starts out like this:

Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

You see, I propose that the Dioceses act like the Father in the parable.

I know it needs work, but I'll keep at it and add more details when they come to me...

Writers needed: "Ministry Matters"

From the Anglican Church of Canada facebook group page. 

Writers needed!
Today at 3:22pm
Hello all,

MinistryMatters is a magazine that publishes articles, resources, and information to inspire and support Canadian Anglican leaders in their ministry. This award-winning publication is now moving online, and we’re looking for a few good columnists.

WHAT WE NEED:
-Online columnists would write one 500- to 750-word article each month for a six-month stint. Articles could address a range of topics interesting to Canadian Anglican leaders.

-If readers post comments in response to an article, columnists are expected to keep up with the discussion and throw their two cents in.

WHO WE NEED:
-Canadian Anglicans (especially, but not necessarily, in ordained ministry) who think interesting thoughts and write dazzling prose.

WHAT TO DO NEXT:
-Email a short statement of introduction, three column ideas, and two writing samples to Ali Symons at asymons[at]national.anglican.ca by May 1, 2009.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Editor, MinistryMatters

I know of at least a few local Anglican bloggers (lay & clergy) whose prose is sparkling, so I'm putting this out as a public service announcement.

I would try to submit a sample of my own stuff, but I are not a riter.

As promised (sort of), I'll begin by suggesting a few writers whose work would enhance our national Anglican publications.  First up, I'd like to see a regular column by the Crimson Rambler, whose command of English prose is rivalled by few.  You can actually take pleasure in reading the Rambler's stuff.  It's just that well written.

on preparing the bread & wine for Maundy Thursday

We have seen bread before.  Almost 40 days ago we heard the words of the tempter:  “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.”  Jesus will not turn stones into bread.  Instead, in his hands bread becomes something greater.  He has answered Satan once again.  For who else but the Son of God can take this bread and make it something greater? 

We have seen wine before.  At the wedding feast of Cana in Galillee, Jesus took water and changed it into wine.  Recall his words at that time:  my hour has not yet come.  Tonight his hour has come:  But what does Jesus do?  He takes the cup of wine and makes it into something better.  This is the cup of the new covenant in His blood. 

And still the words of the steward of the feast echo in our ears: 

“You have saved the best wine until now.”

Maundy Thursday sermon notes, Year B

Like the other services of Holy Week, Maundy Thursday is so rich with imagery that one could (and some do) take a thousand directions.  I'm thinking of going through the passover route, but I also find that one little line in the Gospel of John is a wonderful starting point for discovering Jesus

 “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?

Maybe 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.

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.  

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.

related:  thoughts on Maundy Thursday

quote of the day: St Basil the Great

The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commit.

St. Basil the Great (4th century)

I really like Holy Week

The whole week is an extended re-telling of the story of redemption.  I feel for those folks who only show up for "church" at Christmas and Easter.  It's like they read the first and last page, and miss the whole story in between.  I suppose part of it is impatience to get to the end of the journey, without actually taking on the journey.  After all, though a journey can be enjoyable, it is also, well, work.

photo: Joe Walker (en route from Petra, Jordan to the Allenby crossing

Here's what we are doing at St Tim's (8420 145 St)

April 9:  Maundy Thursday service @ 7 pm
April 10:  Good Friday service @ 10 am
April 11:  Holy Saturday Great Vigil @ 7 pm
April 12:  Easter Services @ 8:30 & 10 am

On the limits of metaphors

It seems to me that the further back in religious history one goes, the more acceptable it is to apply the "metaphor" principle to an event.  Or rather, perhaps I should say in all fairness, a supposed event.  Take, for example, the idea that the resurrection of Jesus was only a "metaphorical" event.  A teaching kind of story, like the fable or fairy tale with a moral, a lesson to be learned.  Now there are certainly good stories with good lessons, even inspiring stories with inspiring lessons.  Perhaps this is one of them.  Would it matter?

I think that it is of course much safer to apply the metaphor principle to events distant in time.  However, I see no compelling reason why, for example, I shouldn't tell you that Mother Teresa never cared for the poor.  After all, the stories you have heard about Mother Teresa are really just that - inspiring stories with a moral, designed to teach you and inspire you.  Actually, she never lifted a finger to do the things which you think she did.  She simply read an inspiring story (which never happened in physical reality), and decided that the proper response was to create a new inspiring story (which never happened in reality)...

To be continued...  Really. 

BTW, what do you think of this video (h/t Pete Rollins)

And if you are looking for more, you might want to check out this event here in Edmonton, which I think will provide lots of food for thought & discussion:

Borg-Crossan Seminar: On October 30th and 31st, 2009, distinguished biblical scholars, Drs. Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, will present a seminar, entitled “Jesus and the Call to Discipleship”, as part of Christ Church’s Centennial Celebrations. Borg and Crossan have written and lectured extensively on Jesus and the challenges of taking His message into our world. Registration for the seminar is $100, and must be received by June 30th, 2009. A limited number of tickets for a seminar and private dinner with the presenters on October 31st, at the Faculty Club, are also available for $275/person.

Voices for Habitat for Humanity

Concert in support of Habitat for Humanity, featuring:

Martin Kerr
Jeremy Spurgeon
Jay Anthony Willis
Erin Faught & Adam Buttram
The Piatta Forma Choir
& much more

April 19
Cafe/wine bar & Silent Auction at 6
Concert at 7 pm
St Timothy's Anglican Church: 8420 145 St

Tix $10 from
Tix on the Square
Acoustic Music Shop
Myhre's Music
at the door

Proceeds in support of Habitat for Humanity Edmonton