Witnessing To the Light of Christ in a Dark World (Proper 33b)

As we approach the end of the Church’s teaching Year B we are being sent out to witness to our own experience of being healed, made holy by God and sharing in the love, joy and peace of His Kingdom in our Christian fellowship. People all around us are starving for meaning and fellowship in their lives. Young Muslims of both sexes are so bored and desperate they travel to the horrific violence and danger of the ideal of establishing a new Islamic State. The end of Christendom has left many people without hope or meaning. They have never seen or experienced the spiritual light of hope for healing, forgiveness and an eternal life of love, joy and peace that Jesus taught and modelled on Earth. They have been deceived by false teachers (Mark 13.5, 22) because nobody forcefully proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ to them.

1. Christians are being “made holy” (Hebrews 10.14)

Holiness is a lost value in our time. Many people are focussed on the hollow values of inclusiveness, materialism and individualism – that do not really satisfy our basic human need for meaning, fellowship and community.

Mission Is To Boldly Proclaim Forgiveness, Healing and Freedom In Jesus Name (St. Luke's Day, Oct. 18)

We are a confused and deceived people living on a demon infested planet surrounded by lies and half truths. As Paul warns Timothy in commissioning him for ministry, false teachers have arisen in the Church to fill itching ears with what they want to hear - as opposed to the truth of our need for forgiveness, healing and freedom from spiritual oppresion. For example the clergy who selected the Timothy Reading for St. Luke’s Day deliberately omitted the first four verses of Chapter 4 – the key warning about false teachers. Many in our churches have failed to “fight the good fight” , “endure hardship” and “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4.5, 7). In contrast, in our Readings Jesus reads the Isaiah (61.1-2) Prophecy and begins by stating that this Prophecy is fulfilled in their hearing. Jesus is claiming His destiny as Saviour and teaching us His Mission or Plan of ministry. All of Jesus ministry was related to healing the separation of individuals from God and others by speaking the truth to the half-truths destroying spiritual life and imprisoning people in false teachings. We all need to get back to Jesus authentic plan of ministry!

1. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor.”

Jesus ministry is anointed and guided by the Holy Spirit. We have in our time many false teachers and self-appointed ministers. These people have no authority or power from God. False teachers are hard to identify as they generally speak in platitudes about love that sound good but are just a little off. They rarely talk about healing as this would involve the supernatural Biblical worldview and spiritual warfare which they generally regard as mythical. Teachers anointed by the Holy Spirit have the truth and proclaim it fearlessly:

The Spiritual Law of Thankfulness and Blessing

The Readings (Deuteronomy 26-1-11; Philippians 4.4-9; John 6.25-35) teach us that when people honor God and keep His Commandments – including the Commandments to give thanks; they will be blessed with a life of love,  joy and peace. This is the Good News we have for the many people we see around us who are obviously unhappy and frustrated in their daily lives. The reason they are unhappy and frustrated is they are focusing on the bad news around them and trying to make it on their own, without any help from the God who created them for a relationship of blessing. Frank Sinatra – as in “I did it my way” probably had no relationship with God, did not really know about forgiveness and had no spiritual life. Thanksgiving Sunday is an opportunity to reflect on how well the Spiritual Law of Thankfulness and Blessing is working in our own lives. The Readings teach us to give thanks.

1. Deuteronomy - thanks-giving is our part of the Baptismal Covenant

Where’s A Good Church?- Canadians Respond from the Pulpit, Podium and Pew (Book review and ministry effectiveness map)

This book was published in Canada in 1993 and the co-author Don Posterski gave a one day Workshop at the Toronto School of Theology in the same year. The other author, Irwin Barker was Senior Research Director at Angus Reid, one of Canada’s most respected public polling companies. They used a combination of 26 focus groups and 761 survey returns asking the most basic questions facing a church that is serious about examining itself and trying to figure out what it has to do to grow and thrive. The first question of course is “are we desperate enough to honestly examine our ministry and consider changing what we do if this will help us grow and thrive?” For some churches the honest answer is sadly no. St. Mark and St. Phillips in Calgary made this choice and are now selling their church. My hope is that the following Canadian research on what people in Canada are looking for in a “good church” - and the ministry mapping exercise will help the leadership in other declining churches find a better approach to ministry and thrive.

 1. What are the characteristics of a good church in Canada?

Spiritual Wisdom Is Loyal, Pure and Self-less (Proper 25)

The Readings teach us the differences between human wisdom and spiritual wisdom. Human wisdom tends to be disloyal, adulterous and selfish. In contrast spiritual wisdom is loyal, pure and self-less. Jesus uses the example of a child. Children were not considered wise or important in that time. But children are closer to this ideal of loyalty, purity and selflessness than many adults. This is the kind of spiritual wisdom we are all to seek.

1. Spiritual wisdom comes from loyalty to God

We live in an adulterous and idol-worshiping culture that has largely abandoned it’s spiritual roots. About 10% of Canadians attend church and many are not even Baptized. I feel enormous failure because in spite of being wonderful men, none of my surviving children or grandchildren still attend a church. I blame irrelevant churches for this more than myself – as it is hard, even for an Anglican priest, to find a good church in our time. The consequence is that many – like me, have to discover spiritual wisdom on their own. My experience has been that we need to be in trouble before we turn to God and cry out for help

“Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Holy Cross Day, Sept 14, 2015)

We are living in a post-Christendom time of “Cross-less Christianity”. Over the years since the Third Century Christian leaders in many places have compromised with political and military leaders to avoid persecution and conflict with popular culture. We have developed a mushy, inoffensive and vague liberal theology of love that denies the power and need for the Cross and personal salvation. False prophets have convinced us that as long as we don’t offend anyone and are a ‘good person’ we are a Christian and assured of eternal spiritual life. The Readings for Holy Cross Sunday remind us that in spite of our good intentions and good behaviour we are still all guilty of rebellion against God in some way – and need a personal Saviour.

1. Hebrew story reminds us of the consequences of rebellion

We All Need To Have Our Eyes and Ears Opened (Proper 23)

The Readings for today focus on the difficulty of coming to faith in Jesus as the miracle worker of the
Bible. Jesus opened the eyes of people who were physically blind and the ears of people who were
physically deaf. These miraculous healings demonstrated His spiritual authority and authenticity as a
teacher, spiritual healer and exorcist. People in our time tend to dismiss these signs and wonders as
superstitions. The truth is that they are essential evidence to opening the eyes and ears of our faith. If we can not believe in the miraculous; then we have a faith that is weak and incomplete. We need to have our spiritual eyes and ears opened as the final step in our conversion to serious Christianity.

1. We have been blinded by our faith in Science as the way to discern truth