Sinners Test Our Love (Proper 24)

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is a stinging criticism of a particular type of religious person. It is aimed at people who think they are better than others and have a right to judge others. This is a very natural human thing. I know I have done this and am probably not alone. Jesus is teaching us that judging others may be evidence of a failure to love. There is a distinction between judging in the sense of being aware of sin and condemning the sinner; and being aware of the sin and reaching out to the sinner with an offer of forgiveness. Many people in our time say they try to avoid judging altogether. This is actually more unloving than making a judgment and then reaching out to the lost person.

1. Notice the audience

We have to read the Bible very carefully. It is easy to skim over key words that can change the meaning of the text. We always have to read the text "in context".

• What is going on?
• Who is speaking? For example in the Gospel Reading it says Jesus told "them" a parable.
• Who is this "them". If we look at the preceding verse (Luke 15.2) we are told the Pharisees were muttering about Jesus eating with sinners. My take on this is that Jesus is not talking to the "crowd" or the "sinners". Jesus is talking to the Pharisees.
• To understand the Parable we need to ask how do the Pharisees relate to going after lost sheep?
• The role of the Pharisees was to model strict religious behaviour in keeping the Law of Moses; and to teach this to the people by example. The goal was to prevent people from breaking the religious Law and become sinners. Being human they tended to think they were more holy or more religious than others. This attitude of judgment was scaring people and separating them from the people.
• There was no love in their judgment. It was preventing them from helping those who had broken the Law to repent and change their behaviour. They were not going out after the lost sheep. They were being their own little holy huddle or elite flock of sheep. Jesus is condemning this as a failure to love.

2. Deep down were are all a little like the Pharisees

How to Discern Your Cross, Gifts and Ministry

Jesus is building a Ministry Team – just as we are at St. Magloire’s. He is warning his followers to count the cost before they commit to discipleship. Jesus is warning them that unless they love Him more than their families, their ministry as disciples may end in failure. My task at St. Magloire’s is to build a similar Ministry Team that can carry on the work of a full-time priest – without having a full-time priest, or even a part-time resident priest. I know you can do this work because you have done this already. The real challenge is to do this better. We can help more people discover their spiritual gifts, in consultation with others. I can work with Parish Council to assign responsibility for leadership in each ministry as we begin implementing the Strategic Plan. But first we have to heed the warning of Jesus to examine our lives for ‘crosses’ that could limit our success in a particular ministry.

 1. What are the crosses that limit our ministry?

A physical cross kills by limiting movement. Jesus teaches us that we must be ready to take up our cross and move. We must overcome our cross or we will not succeed in a ministry. Holy Spirit led ministry is limited by:
·         Feelings of Guilt and shame that poison our Spirit – can’t hear HS
·         Physical and emotional trauma - doorways to spiritual oppression
·         Personal losses, unresolved grief – sucks energy out
·         Un-forgiveness – a spiritual block to effectiveness
·         Anger, jealousy or bitterness can immobilize us spiritually
·         Pride, narcissism and self-centeredness blind us spiritually
·         Fear hardens our heart, narrows our view and limits effectiveness
 
These crosses may limit which ministries we will succeed in. They may indicate we should be a ‘helper’ in a ministry instead of the leader.
 
2. What are my spiritual gifts?

God’s Work In God’s Way – What Is My Ministry? (Proper 21c)

The Call of Jeremiah (1.4-10) reminds me of  Interim Ministry. It is also a teaching on what all Baptized people may be called to do. What is God’s work? What does God want us to do? These are important questions right now at St. Magloire’s as we begin implementing our Strategic Plan. Our task is to develop a model of ministry leadership which is not priest dependent and help each person discover their gifts for ministry and move into a ministry where they can succeed and grow. But we are not to do this in the usual human way of people fighting for power and control. We must begin by surrendering our way to God’s way – the way of self-sacrificial love.

1. What is God’s work?

Christian Marriage is a Sacrament

A sacrament s defined as an outward visible sign of an inner spiritual grace. This is where the physical dimension interacts with the spiritual dimension. Since our culture has lost its sense of the spiritual dimension it is important that we review how this works. The most common sacrament is Baptism, where we use the outward physical sign of washing with water to represent the inner spiritual grace of cleansing through faith in the shed blood of Jesus - and the outward giving of a Christian name to represent the inclusion of the person in the spiritual kingdom of God. The Eucharist or Holy Communion is another sacrament where we renew our membership in the Spiritual kingdom by saying “amen” to the prayers over the bread and wine that represent the body and blood of Jesus.

 In Christian Marriage we use the outward visible signs of promises, exchanging rings and wrapping with a priest’s stole to represent the spiritual union of two people in the Body of Christ. We talk about hearts being joined together but it is actually deeper. Christian Marriage is about souls being joined together for eternity.

1. Tara and Jim are joined together by their love for each other

Jesus Came To Bring Fire (Proper 20)

It is tempting to skip over this passage (Luke 12.49-56) with it’s dark warning about family divisions and check the other Readings for something happier. The problem is the Good News often seems to come out of the bad news. The verses before our Isaiah (5.1-7) Reading mention a “Spirit of judgement” and a “Spirit of fire”. It is important to understand what Jesus means by ‘bringing fire’. Fire brings with it light, destruction and purification.

1. Jesus is often described as the light of the world

Light helps us see what is hidden in darkness. The darkness Jesus talks about is often spiritual darkness.
Jesus quotes the Isaiah mission of opening the eyes of the blind:
·         His ministry included miraculous healings of physical blindness
·         It focussed particularly on spiritual blindness
·         Spiritual blindness has always been our greatest challenge
·         People understand that there is an invisible spiritual dimension  – and that things that happen there affect what happens here
·         Beyond that we have very little understanding – Book of Job, Elijah
·         By shining the light of His teaching and experience on the world, Jesus opened human eyes to the spiritual dimension
·         This light freed humanity form the prison of spiritual ignorance
·         This light freed people deception and  spiritual oppression

2. Jesus fire destroyed the power of evil to deceive us

Life Is A Test Of Faith (Proper 19c)

Many people are unhappy and seem to live lives driven by fear. Fear is not always a bad thing - it can save us from physical and emotional harm. But like everything in excess, it can paralyze us and rob our lives of joy. The Readings (Isaiah 1.1, 10-20; Hebrews 11.1-3, 8-16 and Luke 12.3-40) encourage us to overcome our fears and have joy in our lives by growing stronger in our faith.

1.     Faith is what we put our trust in and hope for

·         Faith is more than what you know in your head – what you believe in your heart about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit
·         Faith includes what we believe about the unseen spiritual dimension
·         Faith is often confused with a religion or a denomination – i.e. Anglican
·         Faith is often confused with knowing a religious doctrines
·         Faith is trust and hope for the future based on head knowledge, experience and heart dependence

2. Faith is what we believe will happen in the future

Love Is A Choice (Teaching for a wedding)

We use the word “love” carelessly. It is a verb, and action word. Love is something we chose to do. The Readings remind us that God is the source of all love. The Joshua Reading teaches us that God’s love – and all love, requires a response. Without a response love can turn into grief, anger and even hatred. St. John gives us the very good news that God loves us with an extravagant, self-sacrificial love. When we really grasp this, our response is to love God’s creation – and especially other people. But God has loved us enough to give us freedom - so we have to make a choice.

1. Joshua called the Hebrew people to choose which god to honour

·         Scene is just after the conquest of Palestine around 1,200 BC
·         People had settled down, prospered and intermarried
·         Some had begun worshiping other gods – idols etc.
·         Like our time when many people worship materialism etc.
·         Joshua called on them to make a real choice – to “come home”
·         Weddings are a time to make a real choice to love one person
·         Weddings are also a time to chose a church community where your life can be enriched by spiritual teaching, experience and fellowship

2. St. John reminds us that we love others if we know God loves us