Amamean Anguish

10:30 am, Sunday, August 6, 2023  

(Gen 32:22-31; Romans 9:1-5; Mtt 14:15-21) FBCA, J G White

Here we are, together for worship of the Living God. We bring ourselves, and put ourselves in this place together, no matter what else is going on in life. We bring our lives before God, together. We start a new week with new hope. For we have our own anguish and anxieties, not only for ourselves, but for those near and dear to us.

Today, we peek again into the New Testament book of Romans, presented to us as a long letter from the apostle Paul. At this point in the letter, Paul is looking back to his Jewish people, with their traditions, their history, their faith, which go back hundreds of years. Paul is in anguish over them, so upset that so few have recognized the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my siblings.” (9:3)

With Paul’s deep feelings, I could just as easily have called this sermon ‘Semitic Sorrow,’ or ‘Hebrew Heartache.’ I called it ‘Aramaic Anguish’ for the sake of alliteration.

It can be important to express anguish over those we want to have faith. We each have different experiences of wanting more for those we love. It can be as simple as longing for someone to ‘see the light’ and get connected to God through Jesus, like we are. The Baptist tradition is rooted, partly, in evangelicalism, with its deep concern for people to be saved by Christ, and be assured they will live for God here in this life, and the next. But our faith also believes so strongly in individual human freedoms, including the freedom to choose to be a follower of Jesus, or not. So we pray, and we find the best ways we can find to show The Way. 

There are many people who had experience in churches, but do not take part in any community of faith now. What is the number of young people who spent time in these hallowed halls, or those of Trinity-St. Stephen’s, and are no longer youths, but are no longer practicing Christians? The deep longing that is akin to what’s in Romans 9 is a genuine concern for people to have a better life. It is not so much about making our Church congregations more successful; it is about the people who could use a faith community.

There is also the anguish over loved ones who are simply going a wrong way in their day-to-day lives, as we see it, and we wish they would find the right path. I think of a young man I met in Amherst this past winter. I had known him back when he was but a child. It was good to get reacquainted. I’m not sure what he has been doing, where he’s been living. His grandmother is a long-time friend of mine. I know she is concerned about him: is he taking care of himself? Is he taking his medication? Is he finding work? Is he keeping in touch with immediate family, or not? 

Sometimes people wish they could do something, even give up something to help someone they care about; a bit like the apostle Paul. He seemed willing to do anything to convince his fellow Jews that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Paul said so. And we confess our anxieties for those dear to us. This also leads us to prayer.

A second thing I pondered this week, from Romans 9, is this simple fact that our religion comes out of Judaism. Remember: our Faith is built from another, older tradition. More pages of our Holy Bible are the Hebrew Bible than the New Testament. Seldom do we notice, or acknowledge, that we took their Holy Book, claimed it as our own, and added to it. Perhaps if we saw it more often in its original Hebrew language and Aramaic language, we’d remember the deep roots of our Faith. 

It is important to remember from whence we come. It is so valuable to have some deep roots to grow from, and not be simply creating and inventing our own spirituality in this century. Looking in to the Hebrew Bible, we see how they valued their history - or, needed often to be reminded of it, for the sake of living well!

For instance, thousands of years ago, when they got into their promised land, they were to worship and make their first offerings of their first harvest by reciting a speech that began with this: 

A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populus. (Deuteronomy 26:5)

With a brand new start, they were to remember their ancestors. The Arameans, by the way, were people from a region of the Middle East, including the ancient Hebrews, the Jews. In some Bible times, the Aramaic language was spoken; words of this common language pop up in the scriptures, and a big part of the Old Testament’s book of Daniel was written down in Aramaic. 

From the wandering Arameans, Abraham and Sarah, to his contemporary Jewish rabbis and leaders, Paul understood and respected the faith, the traditions, the beliefs the Jews had. Their life with God was rich; their stories dramatic and dynamic. From this fertile ground the Messiah arrived, and the new faith in Jesus grew. A thorough study of our book of Romans will teach us the place of Jews in the plan of God on earth.

So this brings me to a final observation from chapter 9. There is so much in Christianity, passed on to us from Judaism. Our spirituality is rich and full. So, remember all the aspects of faith, such as those Paul listed here. I could play with words again, and name them all starting with the letter A. From our Hebrew faith roots we gain

the Adoption

the awesomeness (glory)

the agreements (covenants)

the axioms (laws given)

the adoration (worship)

the assurances (promises)

the ancestors (patriarchs)

and the Anointed One (Messiah/Christ).

The holy glory of God is shown in the story of the Hebrews. The covenants between God and people grow and blossom thru history. The giving of the law - as a gift to people - is celebrated. The worship of almighty God develops and evolves in Judaism, and keeps growing in Christianity. The promises of God are there in the past, and fulfilled in bright new ways by Christ. The ancestors, the patriarchs, have their stories still told: like that today of Jacob wrestling and getting a new name, Israel. And from Judaism comes their Messiah and ours, Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, our Saviour, Teacher, Master and Friend.

And there are so many other facets of the diamond we call Christian Faith! No wonder we have a sermon every week. Speaking of this, in the next Sundays, I am going to move ahead to Romans chapter 12, and stretch it out over four weeks. It is a rich chapter that can influence our community building.

Until then, we express our own anguish - to one another and to our God - and find that a sorrow shared is halved, while a joy shared is doubled. May it be so; in the name of God the Parent, the Sibling, and the Spirit. AMEN.

SERMON: Kindred Spirits?

10:30 am, Sun, June 25, 2023 - JGWhite/FBCA

(Gen 21:8-21; Ps 86; Rom 6:1b-11) 

Stories from Genesis are carrying us into the summer. Next Sunday, and on into August – when we are back in these pews – we will still be reading the saga of the patriarchs and matriarchs. Today, this dramatic story about Abraham, Sarah, and their son Isaac, AND  their household servant or slave, Hagar, with Ishmael, the son she had with Abraham. Talk about drama.

Looking at this familiar scene in Genesis 21 got me thinking immediately about some religions of the world. The three Abrahamic religions, as they are called: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They all look back to Abraham and Sara. The Arabs of the world, and the Muslim faith, look to Father Abraham. Islam actually claims Abraham as the first true Muslim. Of course, he was a primordial Jew. And then, in our New Testament, we have the authors of Romans and of Hebrews (and other scripture texts) speaking of Abraham’s faith, consistent with Christian faith. In Romans 4, for instance, the Christian writer speaks of those who share the faith of Abraham (who is the father of all of us…)

But let’s take a couple minutes to reflect on this child, Ishmael, who with his mother is rejected by the Abraham-Sarah family. He and his mother survive, by the grace of God, and with a promise to be the ancestor of many people. Ishmael goes on to have twelve sons; his tribes are considered to be at the roots of the Arabs, & many Moslems.

We Christians, would we say we are kinfolk of the Muslims? With them and the Jews we are monotheistic, declaring there is actually only One God in the universe. Are we kindred spiritualities, despite what seem to be our many differences? Is it to the same God they and we pray and devote our lives? Whatever our attitude is about this, it is important how we relate to this other faith group in the world, as well as all the others. Today we saw young Isaac and Ishmael as half-brother playmates. Sarah decides this other child and his mother have to go, have to leave the household. Abraham is reluctant about this, but YHWH God assures Abe that this child will be well, in fact, will be blessed. Today, we might bless Muslims or we might curse them.

What I truly want to get to in this sermon is some dialogue about what the core things are about being Christian. Getting to know another faith can help us clarify who we are, and how we relate to God.

Islam is a world religion that is complicated, like Christianity is, but we can simplify what it means to be Muslim. They are known for their five pillars, five main things they do.

There is Bearing Witness, which in essence is that they declare the following: I bear witness that there is no god except God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God. To declare this with words is confirmed, of course, by declaring it in the rest of life.

The second pillar is Prayer. At the heart of this, for Muslims, are the prayers said five times a day, at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and after dark. Other prayer and devotion are in addition to this.

Another core practice of Islam is Almsgiving, sharing with the poor and needy. Not only are those in need helped by this, but the giver is understood to be purified from greed and attachment to material possessions.

The fourth pillar is Fasting during Ramadan, a special month in their lunar calendar, so it moves, starting about eleven days earlier each year. Other special things are done in this time also.

And the fifth pillar of Islam is the Pilgrimage to Makkah. Not everyone manages to do this of course; it involves a journey to a sacred site in Saudi Arabia, with a structure Muslims believe was set up by Abrahm and his son Ishmael!

We are not here to study this religion today; I simply mention these Pillars to reflect on what we know we might share in common with these millions of folks, and then how to be clear about what we say we Christians are. We don’t say we have five pillars, or an eightfold path (like Buddhism), but what do we say are our main things, Christians? Here is where we get to dialogue, and build our sermon together. What things we do because of our lives of Faith? What binds us together, so we are kindred spirits, in the name of Jesus?

Let me start the conversation right here, with Jesus. To take our angle on the first pillar I just stated, I’d say we are bearing witness that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour. And there is a lot more we experience with Christ that we explain in a lot of other ways. So much of it rooted in our scriptures. We heard today a bit from Romans 6, and a bunch of language about sin and forgiveness, dying and being resurrected with Jesus.

Maybe there are two things here. One is the idea of Christian witnessing: we have a role to let the world know this. We show and tell this. The second thing is how God helps us with all the problems of life: evil, sin, suffering, unfairness, and death. How does God help us? With Jesus, His life and everything Christ is and does. The whole story. We call this the Gospel.

OK, what are other main things that make Christians Christian? How would some alien visiting from another galaxy know you are a Christian, or not one? How do we act differently?

Prayer and worship (Ps praising)             Contemplative

     (Abraham, Hagar w God)                   Evangelical

                                                                 Holiness

Service/serving                                        Social Justice

                                                                 Charismatic

                                                                 Sacramental

Discipleship to Jesus: following              Mtt 10:24, 25a

4 “A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher and the slave like the master. We are kindred spirits, in a fresh way, when we are disciples of the Master.

SERMON: Dad Jokes

10:30 am, (Fathers' Day) Sunday, June 18, 2023  

(Gen 18:1-15; Mtt 8:18-21) FBCA, J G White

One more reading, today, from Olde Charlie Farquharson’s Testament (Don Harron, 1978, pp.18, 20) in Jennysez 18.

God never fergot about the I-sick projek. One day He come before Abie-ham sittin in front of his tent flaps in the heat. It was so wavy hot God looked like three people at once. Abie-ham sed, “Come in, wash yer feet, rest yerself. I’ll git you bread and milk before you pass on.” Abie-ham run back into the tent, sold Sairy to kneed some meel and whip up a cake. He got a servant to pick a calf and prepair it, with curds and milk along the wey. Abie-ham stood by them wile the three of them (who was still reely God) et. 

They (God) ast after the wearabouts of his wife Sairy. “In the back of yer tense,” sez Abie-ham. 

Then the three Lords sed, “Be back next spring to have a look at her brannew, bouncin baby boy I-sick.” 

Sairy, as was her want, was listening behind the tent door in a flap. Sairy thot fer sure she was past all that. She started to laff at the thot of it starting all over again. God herd her, wunderd what she was laffin’ at. Becuz nothin is too hard fer the Lord. Sairy got scairt, clamed she never laffed. God sed, “Oh yes you did, but if you think we’re kidding now, wait till next spring.”

Humour and fun and laughter have a role in life, and in our faith. Today, I wanted us to know that, celebrate that, have fun with that. In a few minutes, before our Prayers of the People we’ll have ‘Jokes of the People.’ Some of you can take turns telling a good joke to us. 

Can joke telling be worship, Divine Worship? 

Well, preachers get away with it.

‘How many Baptists does it take to change a lightbulb?’

‘Change!?’

I am relieved. Years ago, such lame laughs in Church would be called ‘preacher jokes.’ Now they get called ‘dad jokes,’ and we ministers are not all to blame for such silly stuff. 

Looking back, thousands of years, it can be hard for us to see all the humour in the Bible. But it is there, It is just from a different culture, and different languages. Does not always translate great into English today. When God showed prophet Amos a summer fruit basket, the word for that was qayits, to which Yahweh said, “The end has come upon my people,” the Hebrew for ‘end’ bing qets. Qayits and qets, a pun. Same with other prophets, like Jeremiah. 

He was asked, “What do you see?” 

“A rod of almond,” in Hebrew, shaqed. 

The Lord said, “I am watching over my word to perform it.” Hebrew for ‘watching’ is shoqed. Shaqed and shoqed. A pun with punch, we might say. 

Today’s big text was with Abraham and Sarah. Famously, Sara laughed. But follow the whole story, and you find Abraham laughed - falling on his face, in fact - in chapter 17, then Sarah laughs outside the tent flap in 18, then their son finally is born in chapter 21, named ‘Isaac,’ which apparently means ‘he laughs.’ 

Parenthood was no laughing matter, in ancient cultures, of course, and being childless carried a lot of stigma, not to mention some family and economic hardship, at times. Today, raising children, and not having children, can have serious challenges. 

This week I am seeing that face-to-face. A funeral home recruited me for a service in honour of a 44 year old mother who suddenly died, leaving her fiancée, a 14 year old daughter, and a one month old daughter! Oh, this is terrible.

It could be a long while before there is much laughter and joy for this family. Have mercy, O God - let there be joy and happiness in their future. Let it be. Let the words of this hymn come true:

Even in sorrow and hours of grief, 

laughter with tears brings most healing relief.

God, give us laughter, and God, give us peace,

joys of your promise among us increase.

In the face of death itself, there will be laughter. Jesus laughs at evil and mortality. In many ways, our Saviour used humour. That little Gospel reading today, it sees Jesus’ intense use of humour. The saying about the ‘dead undertakers.’ Ever notice the ‘dead undertakers?’ I’ll have to point this out to Mischa and Weston and the rest. “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” In the Jewish culture and faith, family funeral responsibilities were huge. Jesus’ saying packed a punch! Our sense of fun often is more joyful.

A minute ago, I quoted a song we will have to learn, as ‘hymn of the month,’ sometime. Give to Us Laughter,  by Canadian hymn writer Walter Farquharson (he’s a real Farquharson!).

Give to us laughter, O Source of our life.

Laughter can banish so much of our strife. 

Laughter and love give us wholeness and health.

Laughter and love are the coin of true wealth.

Laughter is good medicine: for society, for self and soul and body. Some people have a real gift for humour - it is such an asset to them, and those around them. 

I think of lots of people, one being dear Donna Childs, God love her. Lately, she has been in and out of hospital, had tests, and surgery, and pills, pills, pills. So many pills only the VON can keep track of them! But I so enjoy getting to talk with Donna, she is always laughing and telling stories, and having fun in the chatting, in fellowshipping. She perks me up! “Might as well laugh as cry’ could be her motto, and there’s a lot of truth to that. 

God’s grace is so BIG, we can laugh in the face of trouble. Remember, in his big sermon, Jesus proclaimed: 11“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Mtt 5)

Humour puts our life into perspective. It is a good ingredient for keeping us humble! Jesus called the proud religious Scribes and Pharisees whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of uncleanness. He called king Herod, that Fox. He said those who would not follow His practical teaching were like the person who built a house upon the sand, a laughable construction project.

So, joy and fun have power, real power in this world. We must let people know they need not underestimate the importance of humour. At the beginning of his brilliant book, The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis quotes the protestant church reformer, Martin Luther, and the Catholic saint, Sir Thomas More. 

The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn.

The devil… the prowde spirite… cannot endure to be mocked. 

There is a serious, spiritual sarcasm that tears down evil, and breaks up bad plans. Political cartoonists have always known this. So have stand-up comedians. I learn a lot about national events by listening to ‘Because News’ on CBC radio. World events are so discouraging; we need to rejoice in how ridiculous evil activities truly are. All the great humourists know the power of telling the truth by making people smirk. The greatest preachers have known this too.

So I can end my funny thoughts today, quoting the apostle Paul, from his great resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, as he mocks and makes fun of death itself. 

54…the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?

    Where, O death, is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s last laugh is on evil and death. They don’t win. This is the best ‘Dad joke’ of all. 

SERMON: Tending the Fire

SERMON: Tending the Fire (Earth Days 6/6) - Jeff G. White

10:30 am, Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 2023  (Acts 2:1-21; 1 Cor 12:3b-13) FBCA, J G White

To tend a campfire you have to know how fire works: how it burns, and what puts it out. Most of us learned about this as children. Sharon White is preaching today at Parrsboro Baptist, but if she were here I’d ask her to explain the fire triangle. What are the three things needed for fire to burn? Fuel. Oxygen. Heat. Take away one and the fire goes out. 

‘Fire’ can be for us a symbol of all the energy we use in our lives. Even our metabolism, our bodies, use fuel with oxygen to give us energy and heat. All our electronics, at home and in cars and all, use electricity, not to mention the combustion of fuels, or direct solar energy to get things done. In our personal lives, we talk of the emotional energy it takes to live life, the creative energy we have to make beautiful stuff, the physical energy to move and be active, or the spiritual energy to be who we are meant to be. 

So fire, in ancient days, was a power and a symbol of so much energy. In scripture it burns away what is bad. It lights the way in the darkness. It prepares food. It energizes humans from within. Today we glimpse those little flames of the Holy Spirit of God, seen above each disciple of Jesus on that festive day in Jerusalem, long ago. The wind of the Spirit, and the fire, came upon the people; Christianity was born, communication was opened up wide, and the Jesus people were energized as never before.

As a lovely campfire so often is, our glowing inner light and life is a community thing, shared by a group. We all help. We did not invent fire, and similarly, God the Spirit is so creative in our midst. But how do we do our part to tend the fire kindled in our souls? What helpful activities do we say we offer the world around us? 

We would do well to mention just four things, among many. I pick three things from Richard Foster’s classic book, Celebration of Discipline (1988). And  the three ‘spiritual disciplines’ or practices I choose he said were ‘corporate,’ for the fellowship, for people to do together: Confession, Worship, and Celebration.

Here we are doing one now: worshipping God, together. We know the deep human need to get together, to be together, to share our spirituality. At its best that’s what ‘religion’ is, a way to share our spiritual lives, the inner life. We help one another keep the inner flame kindled. We each are lights in the darkness: together we shine.

The ways we happen to gather is based on patterns and traditions that are quite old. It happens to be on a Sunday morning. It happens to be in a special building we have built for this purpose. The things we do, and who among us does them, is based on ways of the past. In every age, in every year, it is worth reviewing - with the Spirit - how this is working for us, and what else we might do. Perhaps, when our Music Committee meets tomorrow, we will wonder about how our music is working for us here. 

Worshipping together is one action that makes Christians Christians, and puts us in one place where the Spirit can bless us. Another spiritual practice of the fellowship is actually Celebration! This also kindles the fire of the Spirit within people. 

Maybe you don’t think of celebration as a ‘spiritual discipline,’ but the great teachers on Christian spirituality declare that it is. As Baptist preacher and teacher, Tony Campolo, said, “The Kingdom of God Is a Party.” Just think of how many times we read in scripture of Jesus at feasts and festivities. From the wedding in a village called Cana, to the Revelation vision of the marriage feast of the Lamb (Jesus) and his bride (the Church), God parties with God’s people. 

I know that you, dear Church, know how to party. You know how to eat, and eat well. You can decorate. You can put together speeches and skits and songs. Perhaps we can bank on this strength - is it a spiritual gift? - and grow our celebrating skills, share them, include more people in the parties. Parties for God. Parties of welcome. Parties of purpose. 

A third Christian spiritual practice we have that is a real blessing to offer the world is Confession. Confession and forgiveness. I think this happens in subtle ways among us, is more hidden, and that we have more to learn here than in other arenas. We do well to start this as Richard Foster started his chapter on the subject, with a warning, a reminder. 

The usual notion of what Jesus did on the cross runs something like this: people were so bad and mean and God was so angry with them that he could not forgive them unless somebody big enough took the rap for the whole lot of them. 

Nothing could be farther from the truth, wrote Foster. Love, not anger, brought Jesus to the cross. Golgotha came as a result of God’s great desire to forgive, not his reluctance. Jesus knew that by his vicarious suffering he could actually absorb all the evil of humanity and so heal it, forgive it, redeem it. (p. 143)

Confessing and seeking forgiveness is so often a personal, private thing. But these inspiring experts put it with the spiritual practices we do together, not alone. Why? Because so much can happen when what’s wrong and what hurts is heard by others, and we receive their blessing in Jesus’ name, when we give forgiveness from Christ to others. We tend the fire of our faith when we share ourselves, warts and all, and find welcoming love from the people around us. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer so beautifully taught about confession in the fellowship in his little book, ‘Life Together.’ One who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother knows that he is no longer alone with himself; he experiences the presence of God in the reality of the other person. Bonhoeffer had earlier written of the ‘pious fellowship’ not daring to allow a ‘sinner’ in! But there is no true, deep fellowship when everyone pretends to be only a saint, and the deepest needs for God are never shared. 

Early in his pastoral ministry, Richard Foster went to a trusted friend in his congregation for confession and forgiveness. Richard had taken three moments on three days to write down on paper things from his life that might need forgiveness or healing. When he finally met with his confessor, he slowly, sometimes painfully, read his lists to him. As he started to put the papers back in his briefcase, the friend took them. Without a word, he tore each paper into tiny, tiny bits, and dropped them into a wastepaper basket. With the laying on of hands, the man prayed a prayer of healing for all the sorrows and hurts of Richard’s past. The power of that prayer lives on with him to today. 

We, dear congregation, are a healing place, when we develop and practice the habits of confessing and forgiving. There may be more skills and training we could undergo, and learn from the Master to do this all the better. We can be apprentices in forgiveness. What a ministry to our community, to be a people of real forgiveness! How powerful. How healing. How purifying, with that fire of the Holy Spirit to consume the evil and hurt in each of us.

Can we believe what is written in 2 Corinthians 5? 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Pentecost Sunday is the birthday of the Christian Church. Born to do such good in the world. Needed more than ever today. Together, whether worshipping, celebrating, confessing and forgiving, or doing other miracles, we are tending the fire of the human spirit. 

Thursday, December 29

Psalm 148:13-14  Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
    praise for all his faithful,
    for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

Friday, December 30

Hebrews 2:11-12  For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.  For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12 saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters;  in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.”

Saturday, December 31

Matthew 2:13-15  Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”