Jan 26 ~ Where Will God Send You? And Where IS God Sending You?

A recording of the sermon is available by clicking above

Sermon, by Pastor Joel

January 26, 2025

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Psalm 19

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Luke 4:14-21

The context of this sermon is

100% written by a human

When I read the gospel this week, I felt a sense of joy in the words, the quiet peace of reassurance – as if something great was about to happen.

Jesus is still just getting warmed up, when he returns to Nazareth and goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath, and he reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. These were words certainly most of the scribes would have known very well, but held in Jesus’s hand on that Sabbath Day, they took on a new meaning, a new life.

It was no longer about someone who was coming to do these great things. It wasn’t about a promise that something great might happen someday. It was the realization that someday was today, and that someone was Jesus.

Part of that comes from the gift we have of hindsight – we know who Jesus was, and what he did – in a fuller sense than anyone in the synagogue on that day. But these are powerful words. “The spirit of the Lord is upon me,” Jesus said, holding the ancient scroll. “God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. God sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. To let the oppressed go free. To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

That is a powerful speech. It suggests the expectation of miracles, the hope of humanity. It reassures us that however rough it is – in times of political and economic uncertainty, or natural disasters, or when family problems trouble us – things will get better.

Now, Jesus said those words a long time ago, and sometimes we wonder if they came true. Well, certainly we have made a lot of progress – in better protection for people who fall outside of society’s mainstream, in more social safety nets for the poor, in our belief that wealthier nations should share their offerings with less fortunate ones. Our lives today are infinitely safer and healthier than the ones of generations past – and certainly better than those who lived in the time of Jesus. And yet, while humanity’s overall trajectory may be progressing, we also have this sense of society’s sliding backwards, that we may be living in a dip in progress. Many of us will have felt it this week, especially. A cracking of democracy. A move away from values such as mercy and equality – the very values that Jesus espoused, the ones that shaped our society.

As always, in the words and actions of Jesus, we hear a call. Jesus was a fire starter, but the oxygen that kept that fire going was his followers, then and now. Jesus, in our gospel today, is clearly making a proclamation of what was to come, or what was expected. God has sent me, he says, to free those who are oppressed, to make the blind see. We might then imagine him looking out into the group, into the eyes of each one standing there saying: Where will God send you?

To the mother in the crowd, standing with her children, who would decide what they were taught about how to treat their fellow humans: Where will God send you? To the teacher whose words reach into the hearts of their students and carry them into adulthood? Where will God send you? To the tax collector, who would choose every day whether to resist the temptation of power or set an example of integrity: Where will God send you? Each one in that crowd who heard the words of Jesus, knew it to be true: this was a beginning. A new mission statement to guide the world.

As our second lesson reminds us – all these people – mother, teacher, tax collector – are part of the body that forms the work of the gospel. All are essential. Every part matters.

The second lesson reminds me of a theory a dog trainer suggested recently: in a traditional wolf pack, he suggested there are three kinds of members. There is the leader, who takes charge and goes out in front. There is the middle dog – the social, happy go lucky one, who holds the pack together socially and smooths out conflict. And in the last third there is the watchful dog, a little anxious. This dog warns the others when danger approaches. Now if you are a dog owner, you might want your dog to be the leader, maybe you’d be happier with the sociable, goofy jester. You may be less keen on the back of the pack dog – which is what I have at home. Our dog, Gus, seems to go through life in a constant state of worry. He is always on the lookout for threats. Unfortunately these threats include airplanes in the sky, and plastic bags that appear suddenly on the sidewalk. It’s as if, he thinks, better err on the side of reporting danger, than missing it.

But it seems to me that what’s key is that the pack needs all three. Without a leader, it would be in disarray. Without the chill presence in the middle, conflict might boil over. Without the warning from the back, harm might befall them.

And that’s the same with us: every part matters. And not just as an individual part, but as a collection of parts. In every community, including this one, we need thinkers and builders and teachers. We need people who like to take the stage, and people who quietly share their wisdom in the background. We need sparkle and substance. This is what creates a healthy, productive, resilient pack of followers for Jesus. It’s what creates a balanced body of believers who can fulfill the gospel, even in times that feel more than a little hopeless.

Jesus sets a very high bar. It may be that we work to meet it all our lives but see only small progress. (Although, in my opinion, progress is assessed differently depending on where we look.) But Jesus is right: We need to set a high bar for what we want out of life, and for what we want to see in the world. When we despair, we must lean hard on those among us who are cheerful and resilient. When we are distracted, we should look to those who would remind us of the dangers we are fighting against. And always, we must be guided by the words and actions of Jesus, who was sent by God to walk among us, and who poses this question, to each and every one of us, each and every day: “Where will God send you?”

Amen.

Jan 19 ~ No One Gift is Above Another

A recording of the sermon is available by clicking above.

Sermon, by Pastor Joel

January 19, 2025

Isaiah 62:1-5  

Psalm 36:5-10  

1 Corinthians 12:1-11  

John 2:1-11   

The context of this sermon is

100% written by a human

Which is more valuable to you: freedom or equality? Depending on how people answer this question, they often find themselves on different sides of the political spectrum. Conservatives will say that for people to be free some inequality must exist. On the far left, ensuring equality justifies a certain level of restriction on freedom. Freedom and equality are two ideals of a just society. To feel both free and equal are marks of a happy human life. And yet they are often pitched against each other. Or societies try to find the right balance, with mixed results. Too much freedom in the market place, and the gap between rich and poor grows. Alexandria Ruble wrote “Entangled Emancipation”: a book about East Germany exploring how during the socialism of the cold war, women, in many ways, enjoyed more equality – at home, at university, and at work – than their western counterparts. And yet they had to worry about a police state, about keeping silent in the public square, about shortages in essential supplies. So, force control upon people, even if it increases equality, and freedom suffers painfully. But must they always be in conflict?

My first-year university son Samson introduced me to an American philosopher named Elizabeth Anderson, who says “No.” A society can aim for both freedom and equality by thinking about that goal in a different way – and thus bring together increasingly polarized political views. First, she says, look at the roots of a tolerant society.  It began, she argues, with the peaceful settling of religious differences. As a result, space was made in the public sphere for different approaches to faith. This progressive notion of equality before God then led to freedom for individuals who could express different identities in different parts of their lives: work, home, church. “Is that not what it means to be free?” Anderson asked? Not to be caught by a single identity in every step you take, but to have the ability to adopt identities that work to the best of your ability. For women, we see what this has meant – the freedom to be both a talented engineer, a nurturing mother, an empowered romantic partner. But we also see how without efforts by society to strive for equality – without good childcare for one example, and true access to traditional male professions for another --  that freedom is hindered. A society that seeks to be both free and equal, Elizabeth Anderson argues, creates systems and policies that provide equal opportunity for the exercise of one’s talents.

This is the point that Elizabeth Anderson is making – and it is the point that our second lesson makes this morning, as clear an argument for both equality and freedom as we might find in Sacred Text.  We are told there is a variety of gifts, which we might in our modern time, translate to skills or abilities or talents. Some might have the gift of wisdom, or the ability to impart knowledge. Others might have faith, the ability to communicate with people, the ability to heal. What else is the gospel describing then but teachers, and lawyers and philosophers and caregivers and mediators, and tradespeople, and nurturers. And the second lesson goes on to make clear that all of these are activated by the one and the same Holy Spirit.  There are varieties of gifts by one Spirit. And varieties of services, but one God. No one gift is above the other.  To each is given, for the common good.

What, then, does this mean for us, as individuals and as a society, if we truly accept this idea in scripture – that all talents are created equal? First, we must reject the inherent status, imposed by free market societies, that some jobs are higher status, and these are usually the ones – in finance, law, entertainment, and politics – that are most rewarded.

It is nonsensical from a community point of view – for what would we do, how long would our communities function, without teachers, and paramedics, and garbage collectors, and nurses – jobs less rewarded financially? We must rightly ask ourselves about this system. Some countries already have – which is why in Norway, for instance, early childhood educators receive much higher salaries and much more status than they do here.  The question that Anderson asks – the point raised in our Second Lesson – may lead us there. If indeed all talents are equal before God, is it not our responsibility to ensure that we remove barriers to people engaging those talents to their fullest? This is where Anderson brings her point home – the idea is not to hand out money paternalistically, to see the ‘haves’ of society so charitably tossing coins at the ‘have-nots’. This may make things more equal but not necessarily free. (For are not ‘have-nots’ still subject to the generosity of the ‘haves’?) But perhaps to ask deeper questions, such as, “What structurally must happen in society to maintain freedom by equalizing opportunity?” Public health care surely falls into this argument.  One example is making buildings wheelchair-accessible – by allowing everyone the freedom to enter, they are given equal access to the space.

So, we have a Second Lesson this morning that begins by reminding us that God has found the balance between equality and freedom. With the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we are made equal. Through the love and acceptance of God, we are granted freedom. But this lesson also raises significantly more substantive questions about what we want society to look like.  For example, “What is our calling to extend these two ideals into our public places and institutions?”

We will have an election this year – a chance, whatever your politics, to debate and consider what we value. We have all around us countries being torn apart, or frenzied into controversy, by this very discussion – should freedom reign supreme above equality, or should equality come at the expense of freedom? We have, in our faith, the example of this balance – perfected in our relationship with God. It is not so easily turned into practice on earth, but surely, we must try -- for our society, ourselves, and our children.  Surely that is what God, who sets the example, calls us all to do. Thankfully, as those verses from Corinthians remind us, we are blessed – each one of us, in our own way – with the gifts meant to be used toward that ideal goal - that time when freedom and equality are not traded off but exist in harmony.

Amen.

Jan. 12 ~ Humility is an Awareness of Something Greater Than Self

A recording of the sermon is available by clicking above.

Sermon, by Pastor Joel

January 12, 2025

Isaiah 43:1-7

Psalm 29

Acts 8:14-17

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22  

The context of this sermon is

100% written by a human

Every time John the Baptist shows up in our gospel, he is compelling. For me, he is perhaps one of the most human characters in our gospel story – and also one of our best role models. John the Baptist doesn’t care what other people think – as his bombastic language suggests. He doesn’t worry about small stuff – as his style of dress suggests. He is clear about his purpose and won’t be deterred from his values. His human flaws of being rude and brash only bring him more to life. Of all the people we meet in the gospel narrative, he never wavers – from God, his purpose, and, of course, from Jesus.

And no more so than this morning, when he scoffs at the people who think that he might be the Messiah. The one who is coming, he says, is far greater than I. “I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” And there is John, baptizing people in the River Jordan, when Jesus approaches and asks John to do the same for him. Our gospel this morning doesn’t go into details. But in Matthew, we hear that John protested because he didn’t feel it was appropriate. And Jesus said to him, “In this way we will do all that God requires.” And so John baptized Jesus.

Why is John such a powerful character? I would argue it is because he is the quintessential humble servant. He is someone who could have seized power – he had his throng of adoring fans. He could easily have stepped into the limelight. He could have been swept up in his own acclaim. And yet, he held fast. He showed humility, perhaps his greatest power, and certainly provided a good lesson for us all.

Is humility a quality we admire? In other people, absolutely. We enjoy the company of the humble person who doesn’t feel the need to brag, who shows an openness to other people, who seems comfortable with themselves and what they don’t know. People who score high on humility, research suggests, are more other-centred than focused on themselves. That alone makes them pleasant company.

And yet, parents don’t exactly look at their kids and say, I really hope he or she is humble when they grow up. In fact, society tells us that the successful path is to do the opposite of John – to seize power, to attract the limelight, to bask in acclaim. To be humble is to be weak, a wall flower, and less than. When we talk about someone’s humble clothes, we don’t mean elegantly simple. When we say someone has a humble manner, or a humble house, the sense of that description is less than. Do we see humility as central to success, as evidence of a security of self that is enviable? For what is a humble person - and who was John – but that? Certain and sure-footed, released from the chase of external validation, and true to what was inside himself. That was John – the humble servant.

What does humility achieve in the world? Humility in CEOs has been linked, in studies, to a willingness to listen, to admit mistakes, to consider other perspectives, and to remain open to other solutions to a problem – all skills that come in handy in complex situations. The humble CEO empowers more employees – that is, they bring out the best in people.

Other work suggests a link between humility and happiness. Being humble appears to improve well-being and increase life satisfaction. Perhaps that is because humble people have a closer and warmer social circle; perhaps it is because their outlook on life is less self-critical or judgemental. I expect it is both.

How can we practice humility if it doesn’t come naturally to us, as we might assume it did for John the Baptist? (And who knows? Maybe he had to work at it too, for a time.) I suppose our first steps would be to listen more carefully to others, to avoid even the humble brag, to remain open to what we don’t yet have figured out, and to worry less about personal accomplishment and more about contribution.

In a 2014 research paper, a team of business researchers referred to Humility as the disposition of a person that reflects “a self-view that something greater than the self exists.”

“A self-view that something greater than the self exists:” Could even John the Baptist have put it better? In that River Jordan, John finally saw for himself the power of that greater thing, in the divinity of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit appeared above him as a dove, and the voice of God named him. And he would know that man – as we do – to be the humble servant he had been. Not a king, even though a kingdom was his for the seizing. Not a dictator, even when his followers might have wanted him to take control. Not a braggart, immune even to the Devil’s tempting him in the desert. And indifferent to those who would push him off his path of purpose, even when those people were his closest friends - like Peter - and meant well.

Let us look to the model of John the Baptist, whose humility was never weakness, but only strength. His willingness to humble himself brought him closer to God. Humility is also a gift: an awareness that something greater than self exists, and that we are not alone.

Amen.