We’ve recently been discussing the 2006 Song of Faith as a part of a Remit on their inclusion in the foundational documents of the United Church of Canada. The Song of Faith expresses much about our Church, our Heritage and our faith. It says in part:
We sing of a church
seeking to continue the story of Jesus
by embodying Christ’s presence in the world.
We are called together by Christ
as a community of broken but hopeful believers,
loving what he loved,
living what he taught,
striving to be faithful servants of God
in our time and place.
Our ancestors in faith
bequeath to us experiences of their faithful living;
upon their lives our lives are built.
Our living of the gospel makes us a part of this communion of saints,
experiencing the fulfillment of God’s reign
even as we actively anticipate a new heaven and a new earth.
The church has not always lived up to its vision.
It requires the Spirit to reorient it,
helping it to live an emerging faith while honouring tradition, challenging it to live by grace rather than entitlement,
for we are called to be a blessing to the earth.
When I was part of a study tour of the Middle East I marvelled at the number of times we stood in one of the sites commemorating a Holy event or a Holy moment only to be told that the various Religious Orders tending the building had had a full on brawl over the cleaning or tending of the site. were told
The one that stood out for me was the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem which stands on the place claiming to be where the stable once stood … the ancient building is surrounded by the modern city of Bethlehem, and that the time the entire region was experiencing the full one effects of the First Intifadah – the Uprising of the Palestinians using rocks and signs against the military occupation of Israel.
Our guide spoke of the preparations for the previous Christmas a few months earlier and laughingly describe the monks and priests from various orders beginning to argue over who was responsible for cleaning and sweeping the floor … they couldn’t agree and soon voices were raised … they each were claiming parts and pieces of the same floor … tempers flared, people got pushed and shoved, then in a flash brooms started swinging … remember these are men in Holy Orders, Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox – men dedicated to lives of prayer and worship of God while living in the place where Jesus is said to have been born.
The end result THAT year was one monk ended up in the hospital with fairly serious injuries while a dozen or so others had various injuries from the full on brawl they had engaged in WITHIN the sanctuary …
This story came back to me this week as I read one of the lectionary resources and found the following quotation:
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in something that it becomes all-consuming. What was once life giving can become life-denying, even one’s greatest passion (parenting, work, ideals, dreams)
What are we fixated on at this moment? Something that once gave vision, hope and life, but now is a burden and no longer life giving?
What do we need to let go of so that we can be mindful of life in its full array?
The other example that comes to mind are the folks now being highlighted in a voyeuristic way on shows like Hoarders … ordinary folks who started off collecting something because it gave them a passion and a cause … I recently saw one programme where a man in England had packed two houses, five garages and his yard full of stuff – the majority of it was newspapers, magazines and other print media – 37 years worth – that he intended to digitalized so that it was more easily accessible …
He had 37 years worth of newspapers, magazines and other print media that he wanted to scan and digitalize into an archive that others could use … the biggest fly in the ointment was that he didn’t have a computer … but the towering piles filled his house to the point that he had only tiny tunnels near the ceiling through his five bedroom home to crawl from room to room – he had one chair to sit on, and access to two burners on his stove to cook his daily meal of boiled eggs …
So committed to his ideal of collecting information, he was buried by it … and over and over, each week programmes on tv show families who are overwhelmed by their interests and passions to the point that they are overwhelmed by the burden and they no longer live, but simply exist within their hoard …
Our Scripture readings today challenge us to be willing to let go and put our trust in God …
Abraham and Sarah are called by God to leave their homes and travel to an unknown land where they will be blessed with a great nation descended from them … Sarah’s response is to laugh … and it’s safe to say that even Abraham had moments of uncertainty and doubt … but despite a variety of set backs and bad choices along the way, ultimately these two followed God, and with courage lived out the promise by embodying, celebrating and living Hope.
Jesus too, in his teachings to his disciples is challenging them to face the transition before them and to put their trust in the living giving work God has called them too – work that is not always embraced nor welcomed in our world where people put A LOT of energy into maintaining the status quo.
We in the Church are worshipping PROCESS,
busily making our lists
and listing our busy-ness,
in danger of sacrificing our souls for our schedules.
Task-forced, agenda bleary, paper logged
we look for God in the boardroom
and salvation in committee.
When the process becomes more important than people,
it’s time to break through
to the poetry of promise.
It’s never too late to return to the Poet
whose sky sings stars
whose earth dances green
whose promise writes love upon our hearts.
(Ann Weems – Searching for Shalom)
Our reading from Mark reminded me of a quotation I’ve cited before that comes from the late American Comedian Bill Hicks, who ended many of his stage shows with the observation:
The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it's very brightly colored, and it's very loud, and it's fun for a while. Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, "Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?" And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, "Hey, don't worry; don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride." And we … kill those people. "Shut him up! I've got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn't matter, because it's just a ride. And we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace
Hicks, well steeped in Evangelical Christianity by his upbringing, hits the nail firmly on the head.
He echoes the wise and respected theologians who note
We all have resistance to the potential cost of being faithful to our relationship with God. Are we ready to respond to God’s call by working for justice and peace among the many suffering peoples of the world? Are we willing to stand with religious leaders who are often the victims of the violence that they are trying to end? Are we ready to be counted as Christians if it means giving up certain privileges and comforts?
For Abraham and Sarah, faithfulness to the covenant meant giving birth to a child called “laughter” in their old age. For Jesus, faithfulness to the covenant meant following a path which he knew would lead ultimately to his death on the cross. In real life, keeping faith is always full of risk! During this Lenten season, we are called to reflect on what such faithfulness means for us at this time in our life and circumstances.
The Lenten Season is when we are called to consider if our priorities and values continue to affirm our faith and our life, or have they become a burden that serves to deny and burden that faith and life …
Living in Covenant means being willing AND ABLE to let go of things that stand in the way of keeping and living our faith …
Anne Weems writes of this:
Here we are, you and I,
called to be God’s Holy People.
You say you’re not the holy type,
but I’m not talking about holier-than-thou.
I’m not talking about religious ritual,
And the LAST thing I mean is self-righteousness!
Jesus chastised the self-righteous,
the ones who spent their days doing religious things,
the ones who spent so much time in religious ritual
that they didn’t have time for tender-heartedness.
I’m NOT talking about them;
I’m talking about us.
I’m talking about paying attention
to the things Jesus taught people,
ordinary people, people like you, people like me …
Look at the disciples: ordinary people
called to follow,
called to be God’s Holy People,
called to live in this world with tender hearts.
Live Holy lives … impossible?
is anything impossible to God?
That old woman Sarah thought it impossible to have a child …
The lepers thought it impossible to be healed …
The disciples thought it impossible
to feed five thousand with two loaves and five fishes …
Mary and Martha thought it impossible
that their brother Lazarus was alive …
The lame thought it impossible to walk …
The blind thought it impossible to see …
Here we are, ordinary people,
called to be the Holy People of God.
If you have eyes to see and ears to hear,
see and hear God’s holiness in your life.
(Ann Weems – Searching for Shalom)
May it be so – thanks be to God … Let us pray …
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