Being a mother is not quite as exciting as bungee jumping. every day there's the floor to sweep and the table and counters to wipe. Every meal requires its preparation, its thawing and baking, then the dishes and pots and pans to wash afterwards. Every week brings its fresh (if somewhat smelly) loads of laundry to tote to the washer, hang or spin to dry, and arrange for folding, if not ironing. Yet this endless round of tasks often receives no recognition. Small wonder many mothers are left feeling passed by and unappreciated in the larger scheme of things.

Jean Fleming writes in her book A Mother's Heart, "Is life passing you by while you shampoo the peanut butter out of Junior's hair, then lug the diaper pail into the laundry room once more? Does your mothering seem uninteresting, insignificant, even slightly demeaning? Do you feel you are lying dormant - your talents, gifts, and degrees wasted on your present occupation? Do you feel as though you are in a holding pattern, waiting for your children to leave home or start to school, so you can resume real life?"

Many moms can no doubt relate to what Jean says. Our culture does little to recognize the value of mothering in the media. Movies usually feature less obligation-bound heroines, except for the occasional Hallmark special. Last Sunday's TV movie "Waiting to Exhale" focused on four women who seemed unable to land the perfect match; their pursuit of the ideal man ending up seeming pretty pathetic. The role of mothering did not figure prominently in their sense of identity. They were fairly adolescent in their approach to life, a "me first" attitude. (It certainly didn't help that the men were shy on commitment too.) Parallel to what an American president said about duty to country, we might express it, "Ask not what relationships can do for you, but what you can do for your relationships."

Yet for those who catch the vision, mothering offers a fulfillment and satisfaction that no other lifestyle can. Jean Fleming notes that on a missionary's tombstone are these words: "If I had a thousand lives to give, Korea should have them all." This person's life was poured out for others on foreign soil, yet she had no regrets; she only wished she could do it again and again.

Jean comments, "I feel the same way about being a mother. While many women feel the pressure to do something more, I say that if I had another life to give, I'd be a full-time wife and mother again. I enjoy the breadth of the challenge. The task of mothering can be as broad as I make it. Consider the endless variety of jobs a mother may do: teacher, nurse, dietician, psychologist, chauffeur, trainer, disciplinarian, seamstress, baseball coach, interior decorator." Yes, mothering can offer many avenues of fulfillment, many means of investing one's life's energy in rewarding roles. But it takes a vision, a sense of purpose, an appreciation of how your identity is improved through the importance of the daily tasks.

Motherhood is less about finding the perfect man (a la Whitney Houston) than about being a noble woman. It is both potentially supportive and subversive in society. Far from being just a "motherhood" issue, one that is largely assumed, the value of mothering merits intentionally building up and challenging society.

A classic picture of a mother supportive of society is found in Proverbs 31. Cynthia Heald, in a Bible Study for women called Loving Your Husband, notes that one way this woman maintains her integrity is by living her priorities. Cynthia observes that the first half of the verses list her priorities in order. The first comment about her, "A wife of noble character who can find?", refers to her excellence or virtue. This is a good indication that her relationship with God was first in her life.

The next verses refer to her husband: he "has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." Next comes her ministry to her children and her home. "She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls." Mrs.Heald says verse 17 tells of her taking time for herself, but I'm not sure: it reads, "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strongfor her tasks." That doesn't sound to me like she makes time to put her feet up. Verse 22 perhaps refers more to time for self, when it talks about her making coverings for her bed and clothing herself in fine linen and purple. My own mother would often be sewing or darning in the evening while us menfolk were watching TV; I've often felt she would have benefited from relaxing more regularly.

Anyway, Cynthia points out that the next verses describe her ministry to others outside the home. "She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy." So her priorities were: God, husband, children and home, time for self, and ministry to others outside the home. Mrs.Heald concludes, "Understanding our priorities helps us in making right decisions and commitments...To be women of integrity we must keep our commitments, have a keen sense of doing what is right before God, and live our priorities in honour and out of respect for our Lord."

Proverbs 31 debunks Hollywood when it says, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." That is, a woman's real significance or inner importance derive not from cosmetics or charisma, but character- faith and graciousness.

I describe this type of mothering as "supportive" in society because she makes a sizeable, direct contribution to the community's stability and GNP, gross national product. Where does the husband fit in all this? Good question. He at least praises her, "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Other than thathe seems to spend most of his time sitting in the court of the elders and civic officials. Perhaps this refers to things like coaching hockey and baseball and serving on the volunteer fire department. It was quite impressive Tuesday to see all the volunteers from as far afield as Desbarats form an honour guard at Trudy's committal. Obviously, though, there's nothing to stop the husband from getting his hands dirty too in bringing the food from afar and planting the vineyard.

It may not be trendy to acknowledge it, but mothering constitutes an important supportive role in society. Besides cookies and cleaning, there is the irreplaceable commodity of impact on children. Dr.Jack Raskins is psychiatrist at the Children's Orthopedic Hospital and University of Washington in Seattle. He considers the early months most crucial, saying the key "Is the child's close, unbroken attachment in the early months to the people who care for him. Too much disruption of this imbeds in the personality traits that can be disruptive for a lifetime. People are hyped up over adolescent drug abuse, pregnancies, suicide, and the cults children join. But the same roots underlie them all. The roots are depression and emotional deprivation. These are laid down in the personality in the early months of life. They grow out of poor attachments and inadequate affection and contact for the child in the first months. Attachment to the people who love him and whorespond to his needs is nothing less than the foundation of the child's personality."

Dr.Brenda Hunter is a developmental psychologist who recently attended a White House conference advocating the expansion of child day care. She cautions, "Decades of child-development research show that what all young children need to grow up emotionally healthy is a warm, affectionate relationship with their mothers. I am not aware of any research indicating that a "care-giver" is even an adequate long-term substitute for a mother, much less a good one...An important point speakers ignored is that separation from the mother is extremely stressful for a young child and can affect his developing brain...even a 30-minute separation increases the level of cortisol (a stress hormone) in a baby's saliva. Few things can be more stressful for a baby than the repeated, daily separators that day care requires." Dr.Hunter suggests that since abundant survey data show that what most parents want is more time with their children, not less, we should make it easier for mothers to work flex-time or engage in job-sharing. Also we could create a tax structure that lets mothers stay at home with their very young children and be present when the school bus rolls down the street.

So mothers have a very supportive role to play in society, from material goods and services to subtle things like emotionally healthy adults. But the Bible also hints that mothers can play a subversive role when society gets off-base.

Consider the Hebrew midwives Shiprah and Puah when their people were being oppressed by Pharaoh and theEgyptians. The king ordered them to kill the boy babies, but they defied his order because, Scripture says, they feared God, who rewarded them with families of their own. Consider Jochebed, Moses' mother, who went as far as she could in obeying the law - throwing her son into the Nile - but first preparing a basket for him to float in amongst the reeds. Quite a creative approach to coping with unjust laws. Consider Pharaoh's own daughter: along she comes, and feels compassion for the very children her father is out to kill. She arranges for Moses to be nursed and adopted as her own son - the very same Moses who one day would be God's leader and deliverer for his chosen people. All four of these women exercised subversive mothering tactics, Godly guerillas that they were. They honoured God's ways and values more than the bent oppressive human system in which they found themselves. Their mothering was instrumental in God's saving of his people.

We need subversive mothers in North America now just as in Egypt then. Walter Brueggeman is an Old Testament Professor in Georgia. He likens the exile experience of the Jews in Babylon to that of Christians in North America. He says, "Christians and the church are exiles in a secular culture, like the Jews in Babylon who had to practice their faith in an environment that was indifferent, if not hostile. I believe the metaphor of exile is a fair, imaginative description of the crisis in which wefind ourselves." Dr.Brueggeman's analysis is that a crisis in American life has been brought on by the failure of social institutions, resulting in a sense of loss, powerlessness, fear, displacement, and a profound anxiety. He urges Christians to nurture an alternative community that demonstrates the difference between conventional life and "baptismal living".

Mothers have a key role to play in intentionally nurturing the mind of Christ in children, in a society that would brainwash them otherwise. With the Holy Spirit's help. Jean Fleming says of this formative role, "The aspect of mothering that excites me most is knowing I am making a permanent difference in my children's lives. I am a woman of influence. I impart values, stimulate creativity, develop compassion, modify weaknesses, and nurture strengths. I can open life up to another individual. And I can open an individual up to life.

"When I read my child a story I am doing far more than entertaining him. I am expanding his world with language, words, thoughts, and imagination. When I sit beside a child's bed at night to talk and pray, I'm doing far more than cultivating a bedtime ritual. I'm tuning in to what he is thinking, catching up on his day, listening for fears, hopes, and questions. This personal time gives me an opportunity to point him to the Lord Jesus Christ and his relevance to the situations my child faces."

She emphasizes the key teaching role a mother has to play in the development of a child's worldview, saying, "God's command to teach our children is an assignment with enough breadth and depth to occupy the talents of the most able woman. It requires full use of her abilities, energy, and resources. But she will find opportunities to teach in every nook and cranny of life - opportunities far more numerous than we might think. So, let's roll up our sleeves and plunge in. We have so much to learn, so much to teach. May God bless our feeble efforts and accomplish his purposes in our children's lives."

So mothers, don't be discouraged. You have an indispensable role to play in society - both supporting its good aspects and subverting it when it's off-track. The agents you're training to carry out this mission are your children. God wants to bless you and your family by the results of your noble priorities. Where to begin? Would you believe by pulling your apron over your head?

Suzanna Wesley was the mother of 19 children, including John and Charles Wesley. These latter two had a profound impact on English and world society. Suzanna learned the secret of under-cover operations. Once she was asked how she could find a place alone to pray. She said, "Often I just pull my apron over my head and it becomes my prayer closet."

Let's start there. Then perhaps not just your husband and children, but future generations, will rise up and call you blessed. Amen.

"PRIORITY POWER-MORPHING: PUTTING GOD FIRST LETS HIM BEND US INTO SHAPE" - Gen.25:21-34 Phil.3:17-21;4:10-13 - 980517

Let's face it, at some time in our lives we've dreamed of being something other than what we really are. That's what makes fantasies so popular, from Cinderella to more recent versions like the Transformers or Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Something inside us hankers to become more than what we are, we dream of changing our body shape or face angles, or wish we had the IQ of an Einstein or charm of a Cary Grant. We want to be a beautiful stagecoach, but end up plugging along through our days as a plain old pumpkin.

What we're dealing with is the matter of boundaries, limits, the walls of personhood that we bump up against that seem to be beyond our control. One human response when we feel confined by the givens is to rebel, to start pushing and demanding of others what we can't find in ourselves. Some people become overaggressive and start using others in an abusive way, turning them into codependents. Consequently THEY get bent out of shape. If this approach gets results, soon these pushers are playing God, making it even more miserable for those around them.

Rebelling against our limits and intruding across other people's boundaries is a sign that our priorities are getting out of whack. Then we're forgetting the first of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before me." Adam and Eve fell into this trap when the serpent convinced them they didn't really need God; if they ate the forbidden fruit, it hissed, their eyes would be opened and they would be like God, knowing good and evil. True, in one sense their eyes were opened, but they were not like God: they were still feeble, limited humans, now knowing shame and mortality. They had trespassed the limit, violated the one simple rule which God had given them as a means of acknowledging Him.

Esau too decided he didn't really need God's promises in his life. Jay Carty, former forward with the LA Lakers, tells the story this way. "Esau was a man's man. He drove a big-wheeled pickup with mags, hung a rifle in his rear window, wore a baseball cap, and loved to hunt. But he though religion was a crutch and cared little about the things of God.

"The Lord had promised Jacob the birthright, but Esau had been born first so it was legally his...Esau came home from hunting one day. He had forgotten to take his lunch and was famished. Absolutely starved to the bone, he was. Thought he was going to die, he did. Walking through the door he sniffed the air and to his delight smelled his favourite delicacy - red lentil stew. Esau loved it, and nobody but nobody made this crock-pot delight better than Jacob. However, Esau kept his love for natural foods very private in order to preserve his macho image among his friends. Nobody knew it, but Esau actually liked quiche.

Esau bellowed from the back porch, "Jacob, I'm home and I'm starved," as the screen door slammed. "Is that what I think it is? I like what my nose smells. That's red lentil stew. Can I have some? I got skunked hunting today and missed lunch to boot. I can't ever remember being this hungry. What do you say?"

Jacob had already thought this conversation through. He knew what he would say and how he was going to say it. "Sure," he said matter-of-factly, "if you'll give me the birthright." He continued on, "You don't really care about it anyhow. Tell you what. You give me the birthright and I'll give you the whole pot of stew."

To say that Esau was shortsighted would be a gross misunderstatement because in essence Esau demonstrated his disregard for the things of God by trading his birthright for a full stomach. He swapped salvation for stew. He took gas over God. Esau went chasing after wind..." (from Jay Carty's book Counterattack, a chapter entitled "The High Price of Gas: The Cost of Wrong Priorities".)

The birthright was the privilege of the firstborn son to a double portion of the inheritance: he was entitled to twice as much as any other heir. But here Esau's disregard for his inheritance goes even further: he was turning his back on God's promise of the land to Abraham. His priorities were badly out of kilter; he was more concerned with getting his hunger satisfied and morphing into a mighty hunter than with appreciating God's promise of blessing. Hebrews 12 comments, "See that no one is immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son." The word "godless" in the Greek also means profane, crossing a threshold, gaining access, intruding past the limits. To profane means to treat sacred things with irreverence or contempt, kind of like trampling on pearls. Later Esau would realize his mistake and try to recapture the birthright's privilege from Jacob, but it was too late. He had sworn it away for the sake of a Mac Attack.

Paul wrote to the Philippians, "Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. Esau wanted to be a great hunter, but he left God out of the picture and so missed the target altogether.

God is God, infinite and eternal; we are creatures, space- and time-bound. There's no getting around that. And as a consequence of sin being in the environment, by the time most people are pretty knocked-about, chipped, and scarred. Not to mention a whole slough of physical disabilities that seem to come from nowhere. So we rage against our limits. We reach out to any anesthetic, any quick-fix that comes along and proposes to divert our minds from our fallenness. People try alcohol and mind-altering drugs to morph themselves into another state, one that's happier until the hangover hits. Or we buckle down and work harder and harder to afford more things, influence more people, control more in the community. But when we ignore God and take matters into our own hands, letting our stomach or our stocks or our status take God's place, we wind up like Adam and Eve - outside the garden, or like Esau holding an empty pot in his hands.

What is the secret to overcoming our limitations? If only God can increase our boundaries into the neverending blessedness he first planned, how can we let it happen? How can we keep God Priority One so we don't wind up getting bent out of shape by bumping up against the walls?

For Paul, it boiled down to a question of mindset - what his sights were set on. He said of those who were living as enemies of Christ's cross, "Their mind is on earthly things. But OUR citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ - who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body."

Where's it happenin' here? Not on earth, but in heaven - specifically, Jesus is what's happenin'. He's the One with the real power to change our limits. The Greek words are interesting here. He will transform (meta-scheme, change our whole scheme or setup) our lowly bodies to be like (sym-morph: literally morph into a likeness of) his glorious body. And Paul's not just talking about the future. Yes, our bodies will be changed at the Lord's return, but even now that tomb-bustin' power is available to help us cope with the limitations of this present earthly existence. Amazingly, Paul (who is in prison) writes, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances - in need or in plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, in plenty or in want. (What is it?) I can do everything through HIM WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH."

Paul had a power source in his life that was better than a portable CANDU reactor. He was able to tackle hardships head-on because God was number one priority in his life; he rejoiced in the Lord, Paul drew meaning and satisfaction from Christ. That was the key which unlocked Jesus' magic wand (as it were) which turned rats into horses to pull the coach of the gospel. Jay Carty comments, "Contentment ought to be our goal, and that comes trough Christ. Happiness is a by-product, not an end in itself. The apostle Paul said he was content in all his circumstances. He was happy in only some, but he was content in all. It showed up in his reactions to life's situations. "We'll kill you," the Romans threatened. "Great," was Paul's response. "I'll be with the Lord." "Since that's what you want, we won't kill you. Instead we'll beat you up and torture you." the macho men in the leather mini-skirts were getting perplexed.

"Right on!" shouted Paul. "I'll identify with the sufferings of my Lord." "Forget that. Okay then, we'll put you in jail." Paul was beside himself with joy as he said, "Super, every four hours I'll have a different guard chained to me. That's just about how long it takes me to share a "Four Laws" booklet. And in addition to that I can get a lot of writing done." "Since you want it, we don't want to do it, so I guess we'll let you go." Now they were exasperated.

"Terrific! To live is Christ." Paul was exuberant beyond words. What can you do to get to a person like that? Nothing. Anything! It doesn't make any difference. Paul was contented in all situations. He wasn't always happy, but that great apostle was always content in Christ."

What other gods are creeping into our lives? How are we letting our limits skew our priorities and strangle out the transforming strength that should be ours in connection with Christ? Jay says, "You life is like a cone. At the base there's plenty of room for almost everything, but as you come up the side from the base, the circumference diminishes, forcing you to make some choices. Only the important things in your life remain as you approach the top. The big question is, "What's on top of the cone of your life?" If it isn't Jesus, then whatever is there is keeping you from coming to Christ if you don't know him. If you're a believer, it is grieving and quenching God's Holy Spirit in you. And whatever it is represents godlessness (anything more important to you than Christ).

"Figuring out what's on top is like having a fire in your home and only having enough time to take one armload of stuff out with you before everything else gets destroyed. What would you take? Things or memories? The VCR or your pictures? Maybe it depends on your age. If your kids were in the house, getting them out would be crucial, wouldn't it? whatever you took with you would be the most important thing to you. It's that way with life too: WHATEVER YOU THINK ABOUT THE MOST MUST BE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO YOU."

Society might lead us to believe that money should be number one priority. But on a per capita basis, the rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, and suicide are over 3 times higher among the rich than among the poor. Some would say setting goals should be top priority; but it depends what goals you set. Profane goals that cut God out of the picture leave you with the same feeling Carty gets Christmas afternoon each year. He really looks forward to Christmas coming, and doesn't sleep well the night before. Christmas morning he tears down the stairs with total excitement, rips open the packages and tries things on and plays with the gadgets. But the afternoon is always a downer; he calls it "post-package depression syndrome." Excessive goal setting always leaves us down.

Satisfaction will be always just out of reach if we pursue ungodly goals. Jay was riding on the freeway in LA together with his friend Ray, who was driving much too fast. The look on Ray's face was intense and his hands were so tight on the wheel his knuckles were white. Jay asked him, "Why are you driving so fast?" Ray was serious when he yelled back, "There's somebody ahead of me."

Such pointless pursuit of goals, so anxiously pushing and stretching our limits, is what the Bible calls "chasing after the wind." Carty illustrates: "Think of taking a cardboard box outside and scooping up the breeze. Bring the box inside, pull back the flaps, and wait for your hair to blow back. It's a long wait isn't it?"

Hudson Taylor was asked by a poor Irish labourer in a city in England to come to his home because his wife was dying. Taylor had done some preaching in the neighbourhood before. Upon arriving, he noted there was almost no furniture; the sick woman lay on a straw mattress on the floor, with some children huddled close by. Taylor thought of the half-crown in his pocket, the last money he had left in the world. Besides that, he only had two bowls' worth of porridge left back at his own rented room. He started to assure the man that God was a loving heavenly Father who cared for them, but the words stuck in his throat. He knelt to pray over the woman but all he could think about was the half-crown in his pocket. He wished it were in several pieces so he could give most to the family and keep one for himself. A verse from Proverbs 19 came to mind: "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done." Finally he gave in to the urge from above. He gave the money to the husband to buy some food and medicine. Then Hudson was able to pray freely, and with great assurance speak of God's care and provision.

On the way home, Taylor felt surprisingly cheerful. He actually sang, he was so happy. The next morning he was enjoying his last but one bowl of porridge, not at all worried about his meager straits, but still confident it was what God had wanted him to do. The landlady brought him a parcel. There was no return address and the postmark was blurred. Inside Hudson found a pair of kid gloves. As he went to try them on, something fell out - a half-sovereign! He exclaimed, "The Lord DID pay back the loan, and with interest, too! A day later and four times as much - this is the bank for me!"

When we try to get past our limits on our own steam, we'll end up getting bent out of shape. Jesus' resurrection power becomes available to reshape us into his glory when we put him as number one priority in our lives, and set other gods aside. His birthright is much more valuable than any pot of stew this world can dish up - as Hudson Taylor happily discovered. Let us pray.

God, help us to set our sights on the citizenship which is ours in heaven. You know the lesser idols that offer us temporary pleasure and escape: deliver and protect us. Show us how to let you be first in our thoughts and our time. Morph us into the likeness of Jesus, our kind and holy Saviour, Amen.

"Fire or Smoke? the Indwelling Spirit's Existence, Effect, and Exercise" - Pentecost 980531 - Rom.8:9-17 Acts 2:1-21

With all the dry weather, northern Ontario and other parts of Canada have been burning up. Recently Hwy 144 near Timmins was closed due to a large forest fire. An MNR official said that the ground was so hot that even once the fire was out, if a tree fell over onto the ground, it would burst into flame due to the heat of the soil. So firefighters were standing guard with hoses in hand, ready to put out any afterfires that might start up.

Our human psyche is like the soil of the forest immediately following a fire. Underneath the surface of our personalities smoulder unmet needs and hidden desires. Much of what we see and hear in modern society only serves to heat us up, raise the temperature of our passions and wants. Other people, far from perfect, rub us the wrong way and cause friction, leaving us simmering with anger and resentment. Then a tree falls from nearby: an opportunity arises, temptation comes, and our concealed passions erupt into a full-fledged fire. Once started, it's not usually satisfied with just the object at hand, but starts burning out of control, scorching others who get close or get in our way. Left unchecked, we would burn our way into isolation and alienation from others and ultimately into the lake of fire.

But God who designed us knows the strength and waywardness of our passions and desires. He has made it possible not only for us to be forgiven through the gift of His Son Jesus and his death on the cross; God helps us win control over the wants of our human nature that would go on consuming until we were destroyed. How? God fights fire with fire. On the day of Pentecost, 50 days after Passover and Jesus' resurrection, tongues "as of fire" descended on the apostles and set the church afire for Jesus with a flame that has never gone out. Where before inside us there was an aching void, an emptiness that fueled our lack of satisfaction, God has put a little deposit of himself in all his goodness and love, strength and blessing. To fight sin's fire, we can accept the indwelling Spirit's existence, effect, and exercise in our lives.

First there is the question of the Spirit's existence, whether God would in fact dwell in us. The Old Testament talks more about God's Spirit coming "upon" someone than dwelling inside them. This is because to the Hebrew way of thinking, people were solid, impenetrable. The Greeks, by contrast, were used to talking about body and soul as two separable parts. By Jesus' time, people were described as "possessed" by evil spirits: Christ orders unclean spirits to get out of those afflicted. He promised the disciples that the Paraclete or Spirit of Truth would remain with them and be IN them. Given our modern scientific knowledge of atomic structure, realizing that most of apparently "solid" matter is in fact empty space, it's easy to conceive of a spiritual being overlapping andindwelling our own personal boundaries. This is a main reason Jesus went away when he did, so the Holy Spirit could come and inhabit the disciples; Jesus prayed for all believers that he himself might be IN them.

So one of the distinctive features of Christianity is the existence of the indwelling Spirit, God's very being, the same Spirit which empowered his Son, coming into our lives and transforming us. So Paul could speak in the same breath of God's Spirit dwelling in us, Christ living in us, or our being "in the Spirit". The wonderful phenomenon of Pentecost was those tongues of flame separating and infusing each believer: from then on they would be changed from the inside out, having an eternal companion at the core of their being.

Beside the existence of the gift of the Spirit, there is its effect. Peter quoted the prophet Joel, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved;" Peter later urged the crowd, "Be saved from this crooked generation!" A key effect of the Spirit, then, is to save us, to bring us into shalom, God's peace and wholeness and well-being. First the Spirit convicts us of guilt, of the damage our local forest-fire has done, and our need for God. The Spirit honours Jesus, showing us the true meaning of his sacrifice at Golgotha, that he was taking my place, his suffering was on account of my sin. The Spirit helps us pray to God for forgiveness, leading us to place our lives in the hands of Jesus as Lord, receiving his control of our raging passions, his draining away of our heatedresentments. So we are saved from eternal punishment and separation from God. Paul writes, "the Spirit is life for you because you have been put right with God...He who raised Christ from death will also GIVE LIFE to your mortal bodies by the presence of his Spirit in you." The tombstone is no longer a grim end, but a milestone along the way in our new creation.

More than this, Christians throughout the centuries have experienced the Spirit's power to give life to our mortal bodies by healing physical ailments in this life in a wonderful way - to save or "salve" us here and now. In the Spirit's power, Peter healed a man who had been crippled from birth. Our family once visited the shrine in Quebec at St.Anne de Beaupre, and were amazed at the number of crutches that were hung at the door - silent testimony to decades of healing. More recently, Airport Christian Fellowship in Toronto has been the scene of exciting healings. I'd like to show a few scenes from a videotape describing three cases: a boy who is healed of nerve hearing loss (note his mother is a PhD); a woman healed of a large rash on her leg; and an Anglican Priest from Australia who is healed of rheumatoid arthritis. Following that, we'll skip ahead to a New York Supreme Court Judge, one of many people who have received emotional healing.

Think of the effects of the Spirit's healing beyond the realm of the judge's personal or family life. Now he has more empathy in ruling on cases; justice is tempered by mercy and understanding. the Spirit's working may begin on a personal level, but it soon overflows to affect whole communities. After Pentecost, it wasn't long until church members were sharing their resources with the poor in their midst, and organizing relief work for widows and others.

Many people have experienced emotional healing at the Airport. One pastor comments on the tape that we are a fatherless generation; you can hear it in the modern music, people are crying out for fatherly nurturing. So God is providing those who didn't have good fathering backgrounds in their childhood with the "father they never had". He is also, the pastor says, connecting them with a sense of their destiny: for example, he felt God saying to him, "You are an encourager. That's who you are, an encourager."

Paul touches on this effect when he says, "Those led by God's Spirit are God's sons (and daughters)...You received the spirit of sonship, by whom we cry Abba Father; the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." There is this powerful reconnecting, affirming and adopting, a primal cry of our soul, "Yes! You're the one I always really longed to believe was there for me, caring for me, fashioning me - Abba, Papa!"

Paul alludes to the sense of destiny the pastor was talking about in 8:17: "Now if we are children, then we are also heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..." I have a sense of purpose and direction in my life that wasn't there before, hopeof heaven and the treasure of constant companionship in Christ's Spirit on the way there. Like a parent's gift of inheritance, birthright or blessing. In fact the pastor at Toronto calls it not the "Toronto Blessing" but the "Father's blessing" - a blessing many modern people never receive in their families of origin.

Another effect that's very noticeable at Toronto is the mixture of many different ages, races, and nations. People are there literally from all over the world, receiving God's grace, and praying for one another. Prejudices are overcome; voices from every culture join together in worship. As at Pentecost, when people from many nations were gathered in Jerusalem yet heard the disciples praising God in many different languages. This reflects a social dimension of the Kingdom of the Spirit: the promise is to people of all races, there are no barriers due to colour or language.

The gift of the Spirit has existence and effect; it also has to be exercised. Once God heals us, puts us right with Himself and makes us whole, we suddenly wake up to his purpose, the mission toward which the Spirit nudges us. Peter quoted Joel, "I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy." Today's English Version puts it, "They will proclaim my message." And that's precisely what Peter proceeded to do, proclaim the good news that this Jesus they crucified was now Messiah and Lord, offering forgiveness and the Spirit to all who repent andare baptized. The gift of the Spirit is not about a freak show or magic act; the Spirit's chief desire is to bear witness to Jesus and glorify him, not draw attention to particular phenomena like falling on the floor or jerking or laughing. Dr.Mullin says on the video those are merely signs that God is at work; the important thing is that people get up off the floor different, they're permanently changed. So Jesus is honoured, not the pray-er or the recipient.

What are the implications of such a great gift? "We have an obligation," Paul writes, "we are debtors - NOT to live as our human nature wants us to, but by the Spirit to put to death our sinful actions...If we share Christ's suffering, we will also share his glory." The blessing brings an obligation: to yield control of our entire beings to God to use as he will, as members of Christ's body pursuing his mission on earth. We are alive to righteousness now; since we have been blessed, we can pass it on to others.

At London Conference Annual meeting, theme speaker Joan Wyatt told a story from "Les Miserables". Jean was arrested for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's hungry family. He eventually spent 19 years in prison. Upon release, he found food and shelter in the home of an elderly bishop. At night he got up and stole the beautiful silverware they had used at supper. He was caught by the police, who brought him back to face the bishop. The bishop started yelling at him and seemed angry, but he was saying, "Why didn't you take thecandlesticks? I told you to take the candlesticks, too!" whereupon the bishop thrust the silver candlesticks at the thief. The gendarmes didn't know what to make of this so let Jean go. When Jean asks the bishop privately why he let him go, the bishop said, "I am giving you back to God; go live a life worthy of such a gift."

Thanks to Jesus, the Heavenly Father has blessed us with a great gift - His very Spirit, capable of transforming us from thieves to givers like the bishop. This gift exists; it has marvelous effects; it awaits our exercise. With this fire God can burn away our sin and make us pure and good within. May the blessing of his love and power in Christ rest on each one of us. Amen.

"Is Jesus God? Whether Trinity is Worth All the Fuss" - 980607 Trinity Sunday - Jn.16:12-15 Rom.5:1-5

Is Jesus God? Last fall the Ottawa Citizen interviewed United Church Moderator Bill Phipps. He planned to talk about social justice concerns which are close to his heart, but he was grilled also on theology. Headlines shouted, "Jesus is not God" - which stirred up quite a furor in our church nationally, and got people from all denominations discussing what they felt about Jesus' divinity.

Perhaps Rev. Phipps didn't choose his words very carefully. Later, on a Spirit Connection broadcast, he had had some time to rethink what he had said to the Ottawa Citizen. He told Vision TV viewers, "Just to clarify, I believe with all my heart and soul that God was in Jesus reconciling the world to God's self; that as much of God that was possible was revealed in Jesus of Nazareth and therefore we can say with confidence that Jesus was the Son of God, that Jesus is the Word made flesh, that Jesus is God incarnate and I feel that with all of my soul."

But questions about Jesus' relationship to God come from other quarters in society. One day some Jehovah's Witnesses came to the door. I didn't care for a copy of the WatchTower, but they had a publication on the Trinity that I thought might be interesting. Called, "Should you believe in the Trinity?" its subtitle asks, "Is Jesus Christ the Almighty God?" This points to a very crucial difference between the Witnesses and Christianity. Understanding the doctrine of the Trinity will help us appreciate more the importance of Jesus, and the treasure of Christian fellowship itself.

The pamphlet is quite right when it says you won't find the word "Trinity" in the Bible. It comes from Theophilus and Tertullian, two church leaders who were active about 200 A.D. It means tri-unity, three in one. The doctrine didn't just roll off the press fully finished: the church kind of stumbled around for a hundred years, trying to find words to describe the mystery of the three agents obviously active and related in Scripture, yet there being only one God. Early explanations tended to subordinate the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. A fellow called Arius championed subordinationist teaching about Christ around the year 319, in Alexandria, northern Africa. Arius held that the Son of God was not eternal, but created by the Father from nothing, as an instrument for the creation of the world; so, he was not God by nature, but a changeable creature. His dignity as Son of God had only been given him by the Father on account of his foreseen righteousness. His line of argument is mirrored today in groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Councils of church leaders at Alexandria and Nicea condemned the teaching by the year 325. Athanasius opposed Arius, holding to the coeternity and coequality of the Father and the Son. So the Nicene Creed describes Jesus as "very God of very God...being of one substance with the Father." They felt the words "of like substance" would be too soft.

The pamphlet argues that the teaching of the Trinity is merely an invention of church politics. What does Scripture teach? If it doesn't even use the word, is there even support to call Jesus God, and make the Holy Spirit part of a threesome?

Think back to the first book of the Bible, the first chapter, Genesis 1. God says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...So God created man in his own image." Starts with "us", a plural, but ends with "his" own image - a singular. As if in God's willing there is already a plurality in unity, a collective decision, though only one God.

Isaiah prophesies of the Messiah, "The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God-with-us)...For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,...and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father..." Sounds pretty much like God to me.

The New Testament has many more overt allusions to the Trinity. John 1:1 "The Word was WITH God, and the Word WAS God." How can you be someone and also be beside them? Already we see Jesus' identity with God, yet also his distinctness: and all this before anything is created. Much later this Word became flesh and "tabernacled" among us: there was a distinct clothing of part of God, the Son, in human form.

John the Baptist preached repentance toward God, and faith in the coming Messiah, who would baptize people with the Holy Spirit. Already the 3-ness is evident. [END OF TRUNCATED TEXT]

"Stingy Little-love meets Lavish Sinner: No Tears, No Treasure" - 980614 - Lk.7:36-8:3 1Kings 21:1-10,15-19

Ah, summer is almost here. The air rings with the shouts and sounds of joyful competition: baseball is back in full swing, soccer season has begun. It is a wonderful outlet for children and older folks to get outdoors and blow off their excess energy in community sports.

It is innate in us to compete, to try and get the better score, to do our best on the exams in hopes of getting top mark in the class. As long as everyone has a sportsmanlike attitude and doesn't take it too seriously, it can be healthy fun. But it points out the fact that we are not all created equal, when it comes to ability.

Sometimes people get carried away and keep a competitive mindset in all of life. Prejudice and harassment are competition turned nasty, putting someone else down for no fault of their own. Recently stories have become public about women being sexually harassed in the Armed Forces. The CF has started training specifically aimed at discouraging harassment and racism, but apparently not soon enough. In Toronto, a corrections officer from a native background put up with derogatory comments for 10 years before complaining to outside authorities. He was called names like "Big Injun", "Chief", and "Wagon-burner". We find it all too easy to categorize, stereotype, and name-call without ever getting to know the person.

Let's admit it, there are other people we would rather not be around. Perhaps they lack what we would call "class" - their yard is too junky, they're carelessly clothed, they use the F-word. In some way they come from a different culture, and we're quick to judge "different" as "inferior"; we look down our nose at them and avoid them.

Your reputation would be on the line if you started being seen in public with women who wear red, scantily. Recently a Sault woman who ran an escort service was charged in a precedent-setting case with profiting from prostitution. The newspaper reported the complaint: "Why did the authorities have to pick Sault Ste.Marie for the test case instead of a bigger centre where escort services also exist, such as Toronto or Vancouver?" There is a sense of corporate shame, and this woman will certainly not be voted Citizen of the Year. We close our selves off and are definitely "cool" towards people "like that".

The food was hot, but atmosphere was icy the day Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to lunch. Things started off politely enough; the guests were seated, the usual crowd of onlookers peeked in at the door. Simon was probably congratulating himself on having the nerve to invite the Rabbi who was in such sharp conflict with the Pharisees as a religious order. But the meal was barely underway when a woman of ill repute pushed through the onlookers andquickly, with averted face, went to just behind where Jesus was lying at table, propped up on the mat on one elbow. The temperature plummeted as Simon recognized her to be a street-walker. Surely the Teacher would send her away at once. But Jesus seemed hardly to notice her, though he glanced at Simon once or twice. The latter's face drained of all colour as increasing horror registered; his social coup was now a shambles. For a prostitute to invade a male gathering was scandalous. Wouldn't Fred Loader have fun with this one!

For her part, the woman was having even less success at containing herself. As she stooped lower with the alabaster jug, her emotions welled up inside her and out through her tear ducts. A flood of tears started spattering upon Jesus' exposed feet. Not having a surplus of material on her, the woman frantically daubed Jesus' feet dry with her long hair, and calming a bit, caressed them with her lips. Not a word was spoken; you could have heard a pin drop. Jesus had now paused from eating and regarded the lady of the night as she poured perfume on his feet, filling the room with its delicate scent.

Simon was fuming. The colour was coming back to his face, but it looked like a steam boiler about to blow. Now he was angry, not just at the woman for crashing his party, but at Jesus for being a fake. Surely the most brainless prophet would haveknown what kind of woman she was, and recoiled even from her touch. But Jesus showed not the slightest sign of displeasure.

Finally, when Simon was just about ready to get up and walk out, the Teacher broke the silence with a story - totally unrelated, as if the intrusion was the most natural thing that could have happened in the world. It was a parable Simon could understand. Not one from the world of the woman - a world of sweat, passion, pain, and dark rooms; but from the world of money - and Pharisees loved money. A world that was official, respectable, regulated, dignified; and impersonal. Not much of a story, really - moneylender cancels debts of 2 people who owe different amounts, one ten times as much as the other. Which one, Jesus asked, would love the moneylender more?

It was too easy, a no-brainer. Simon answered correctly - the one who owed more. Of course he judged rightly; Pharisees prided themselves on orthodoxy and discriminating approaches to the trickiest of questions. But Jesus' affirmation that he'd gotten it right seemed hollow. What, was the Teacher now patronizing him?

Suddenly the prophetic vision Simon guessed was lacking in Jesus tumbled forth in crisp clips of the best rhetoric and pinned Simon to the wall, gently. It was all true. He had given the Master no water for his feet,but this woman washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. Simon had given Jesus no kiss of greeting, yet this woman had not stopped kissing his feet. The host had provided no olive oil for Jesus' hair, yet this woman had poured out her far more costly bottle of perfume. Therefore, Jesus drew a conclusion. She obviously loved lots, so must have been forgiven lots, like the guy in the parable; while Simon... It all made sense now. Yet Jesus had not publicly shamed him or derided him; by means of the parable he had invited Simon to see himself as from outside.

Leaving Simon dangling on the wall a minute, Christ turned his gaze back to the woman at his feet and said softly, "Your sins are forgiven." This scandalized the other table guests even more than the woman's presence; "Who is this," they said to one another, "who even forgives sins?" That would be much more than just a prophet.

Luke's snippet is saying that life is not just a matter of "having it all together" - good home, reputation, RRSP's, and being outwardly discriminating, knowing the respectable crowd with which to hang around. Instead it's about how free and amply one can show love, realize the treasure of forgiveness from God, and express that love in lavish ways. Not smugness like Simon's, blind to one's stinginess and lack of warmth, propping up your ego on standards that look only on the surface.

Gary Smalley talks about the five languages of love: affirming words, acts of service, thoughtfulgifts, quality time, meaningful touch. (or as I remember them, talent talk time tokens touch) The woman hit four out of five in her brief encounter: talent or service washing and anointing Jesus' feet; she took time to be there and even bump the main event of the meal; thoughtful gift or token in the expensive perfume; and touching Jesus' feet with hair and lips nonstop. One could even stretch it a bit and say her tears were a means of talk, affirming words. This woman really knew how to love; from now on she would be channelling it the right way. She went home healed, saved, at peace. Eduard Schweizer comments, "What was given to the woman is something more than an amazing healing of the body; there is also a sickness that suffers from the meaninglessness of life, which leads to self-rejection and an attempt to find meaning in self-pity or obstinate resignation, in alcohol or drugs, in chronic sickness or prostitution." Faith saved her - faith in Christ. She couldn't help but respond as she did.

How much do we want to love? A little, or a lot? Grudgingly or lavishly? Simon was a top-notch Pharisee, but his meal for Jesus turned into a personal roast. No doubt he was left convicted of being cool, stingy, judgmental, and - yes - supercilious (means raised eyebrows; a supercilious person is haughty, contemptuous, disdainful). The secret of loving as the woman did is to meet God's holy love, then let tears wash our eyes to see its true treasure. Simon was blinded by his love of money and appearance's sake; he had climbed to the top of the ladder of legalism and found it was leaning against the wrong wall. The woman found grace in Jesus' acceptance, she didn't put up a front or pretend she was sinless. Contact with Christ freed her to express the richness of emotions that had been bottled up.

It's not a male/female thing either. Consider Jezebel when hubby Ahab was sulking over Naboth's unwillingness to give up his inheritance. "That's no way to act like royalty!" she bellered. "I'll get your vineyard for you..." And so she proceeded to have Naboth and his sons murdered, just so Ahab could get the vineyard. She was acting like the kings of other countries did, Phoenicia and Canaan; despots there threw their weight around in a way Israel's kings were prevented from doing by God's covenant. Jezebel was stingy, she thought she was getting ahead, but ended up "poured out" by being thrown off a high wall, and eaten by dogs.

Luke offers us a contrast with Jezebel in Joanna, the wife of an official in King Herod's court. Joanna, along with many other women, did not grip their possessions tightly but followed and supported Jesus and the 12 on their journeys, out of their own means, using their own resources. Otherwise communities might have been pretty reluctant to see Jesus and his disciples come; "How are we going to feed t hem all?" The women's generosity allowed Jesus to make the good news free of charge.

We need more lavish love in our world today, as the examples of harassment and discrimination show. Jesus didn't wave the woman away because shewas from the wrong side of the tracks, or demean her. In return, she outdid stingy Simon in showing kindness to Christ.

Now to a very practical application. Last month's Observer magazine had a front-page article about how it's getting harder to raise money in the church. Are we getting stingy like Simon? Kennon Callahan observes 5 reasons people make donations: compassion, community, challenge, reasonability, and commitment. The traditional approach to raising money was based on challenging people, urging them to give out of commitment to the institution, a logical recognition of institutional need. But that's a hard sell in an age when institutions are distrusted, especially by younger givers. Older people tend to have a "marathon" attitude - keeping on giving - while the younger set are "sprinters", giving from time to time in response to particular needs. The younger set give to people, not budgets. They give when they are convinced that their money is going to make a difference, and they have to be convinced over and over.

How is the church going to cope with these changing attitudes? One idea is to split "M&S" into its 2 parts: "Mission" and "Service". People will voluntarily give to mission, whereas for service a per-member assessment would remind us of the ongoing costs of belonging to a denomination. But splitting M&S isn't likely; there's a lot of loyalty to the unified budget.

Another possibility, as congregations shrink, sanctuaries age, and roofs continue to need repair, is to shift from giving as a ministry to help others, to a tax to keep the institution going. But that would be self-defeating, and it doesn't sound like Jesus. Stewardship development officer Elizabeth Muir complains, "We've put the institution at the centre of church life, instead of the mission of the church." Can't do that.

There is already a shift from national mission to local mission. Congregations are starting to address mission at their doorsteps - a good thing. As one person says, "The outreach of the congregation IS the outreach of the whole church." This has the advantage of allowing younger givers to see directly what their dollars are doing, and have hands-on involvement.

We're also learning in the current culture that we have to ask, over and over. And the least productive way is to ask for money in support of a budget.

Education about stewardship is an important avenue to deal with the problem. That means growing good stewards. Already some see among young people an intense interest in spiritual formation, including issues of faith and wealth, and a swing away from consumerism toward a simpler life.

In Jesus' parable, the debtors loved because they were forgiven. The woman who had lived a sinful life expressed her love in a material way BECAUSE she experienced the wonderful mystery of God's forgiveness and Christ's total acceptance. One commentary notes that "to love" is the Hebrew phrase "to show gratitude". Gratefulness for all God has done for us, in creation, the cross, and the Spirit's new creation of us over again, is the most basic motivation for sharing our love and material wealth with others.

We've been calling the Pharisee stingy - but quite possibly he tithed. Are WE stingy when the word "tithe" gets mentioned? I have some respect for Ralph Milton, co-founder of Wood Lake Books in BC, because he is one lay United Church member who tithes. In a stewardship sermon he gives on occasion, he tells people, "Live.Stop worrying about money. The tin-god Mammon has got you by the...hair.Get a life.Break free.I propose a simple and very ancient solution.Tithe.Not necessarily 10% to the church, but take the first 10% and give it away. When you do that, you walk right up to that tin god Mammon and spit in his eye."

Ralph Milton discloses that he makes about $45,000 a year before taxes, of which he gives away about $5,000 a year to the church, though not all of it to the congregation. He adds, "Bev and I have tithed for all our 40 years of married life, and it has not been a burden. Even in the worst days when we were just starting up Wood Lake Books, during the years when Bev was ill and there was no disability, we lived on $800 a month, but we continued to tithe andwere grateful for the way it brought our economic woes into perspective."

Thankfully, God is not like Simon the Pharisee. We don't need to compete to get into the Kingdom. Jesus accepts us as we are; he opens up all the tears we have stored inside, and offers a safe place to release them - a Saviour/Friend who understands and forgives us. He transforms us to share God's lavish loving with others - meals, perfume, tithes, and many other ways. Thanks be to God!

"FORGIVING, FAITHFUL FATHERING: ABLE TO GIVE IN, STAND FIRM, AND NAME THE OCCASION" - 980621 Father's Day - Lk.15:1-3,11-32 Gal.3:21-4:7

Would you believe your birth order in the family has a lot to do with your impact on history? Scientists have been taking another look at the leaders of revolutions in history - the French Revolution, American, Darwinian, and other revolutions. They found that leaders of revolutions tend to be those later-born in families. Younger children are the radicals, the rebels, ready to try new ways and innovations; while the firstborn children tend to be conservative, maintaining the status quo. So while revolutions were initiated by later-born siblings, counter-revolutions (restoring the way things were before) were usually led by first-born children.

Whether that happens to hold true in YOUR family, we've all seen two major categories of children: the compliant, more or less co-operative ones, and on the other hand the strong-willed ones (that's the polite way to put it): we might also call them rebels, or even wild. Internally, this has to do with whether we govern our desires (keep a lid on things, so to speak) or entertain them, yielding to urges that more controlled persons would resist. To stereotype it further, we might observe by and large there are 2 types of people: those who appear to be controlled and seek status in the public eye; or those who are easy-going, enjoyers of life who seem to not care too much whether they're making a favourable impression on others. More accurately, we all fall somewhere between these two extremes. One goal of fathering is to allow our children to develop according to their personal strengths WITHOUT winding up at an extreme. Fathers play an important role in helping children discover their "true name", identifying who they really are, and who God is intending them to become. this takes an ability to give in sometimes; to stand firm other times; and to name the occasion, when a child passes a milestone in maturity.

Jesus perceived a division of people who heard him into two basic categories, as well. On one hand there were the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Good, solid, respectable citizens, pillars of the synagogue; perhaps a sociologist would have found a high percentage of firstborns among these conservatives. On the other hand, Jesus was attracting a following amongst the prostitutes and tax collectors - the rebels, fringe people, possibly later-borns. Frankly, the respectable Pharisees and scribes couldn't figure out why Jesus hung around so much with these loose-livers; a Pharisee would have been embarrassed, scandalized to even be seen with such types.

So, Jesus told them a story - a useful technique in fathering. Stories don't come on too strong; they allow a person to see themselves indirectly, and expand one's narrow way of seeing themselves.

This story was about a father with 2 boys who,first of all, was able to give in. One day, out of the blue, the younger son demanded that the old man divide the property in two and fork over his share of the inheritance. This was a highly unusual request: even if the property was divided up, fathers generally got to keep their share of the income until they died. The later-born was being rebellious, insolent, and disrespectful; as if to say, "I can't wait for you to die."

The father thought it over and took a deep breath. Perhaps he could see what would happen if he did give the younger lad his share. The operation could kiss it goodbye. There goes his retirement savings! Despite the loss, however, the father gave in and handed over control to the young buck.

Being able to give in sometimes is not easy, but it is essential. A key thing to remember in parenting is that from the time a child is born, we're preparing them for that day in the future when they will be totally on their own, we'll have no control anyway. We hope and pray they will have developed enough of their own internal controls and governing, with God's help, that they'll be able to make their way in the world. If we have not gradually prepared them be releasing our influence in stages, the transition will be sudden and jarring, likely with hiccups and failures.

Giving in reflects the cost of parenting. In this moment the father saw his resources draining away. So for modern people, parenting can be quite a drain at times too. There are sacrifices to be made, we have to say no to our own plans, that gold game we'd hoped to fit in or time in front of the tube, when Jimmy or Jane suddenly inform us they've got a soccer game to go to. Somehow, against his better judgment, the father in the story gave in to the son's request; maybe figure the son was going to leave anyway, and this was the father's last chance to equip and establish the boy. Somehow, when we have to give in, God helps us fathers do it too. It is a drain, a sacrifice, but God's rich resources are available through the Holy Spirit on account of Jesus' loving death and pouring out of himself for us. If God has given us the child, God will also give us the wherewithal to be able to make the concession, if it's really needed. It may require us to grieve the loss in private, in prayer.

When the father saw the son upon his return - he saw his youngest who'd left with bags of coins returning clothed in rags and penniless - God worked another miracle. Jesus says the father's heart was filled with compassion, with pity. This motivated him to give in again, and welcome the lad home.

But fathering is more than giving in; it's also about standing firm. Remember the elder brother, the responsible one? He refused to come into the house, and instead complained to the father that it wasn'tfair. One lad cries, "justice!" while the other cries, "mercy!" The older boy had been a good kid. He'd done what he was told, and was largely compliant and self-controlled. He certainly hadn't squandered the farm's precious resources in wild parties out on the hill in the back 40. Yet, all the time his younger brother had been away, resentment was building. He's angry about, in his words, "this son of yours" - he can't even call him, "brother". "What have you given me?" he protests, "yet you kill the prize calf for him!" Meat was rare in the Jewish diet, and the fatted calf had been saved a long time in case somebody very special dropped in. Why should it be used up on this good-for-nothing kid brother? He's right, y'know; it wasn't fair.

Just here we see the parallel with the larger setting: the Pharisees and legal experts complaining about Jesus fraternizing with sinners. They felt jilted because Jesus seemed just as happy to spend time with sinners as with those who'd painstakingly, devotedly kept the law. Twasn't fair! But Jesus stood firm, and told the story by way of explanation. And the father didn't back down in face of the elder son's complaint either.

Children can be very stubborn and demanding (I know, I was once one myself!) You long for them to be able to get to the age where you can explain things to them, and then when they do, they start building such good cases that it's hard to refuse them. Yet it's not a wise parent that always gives in and is permissive. Then the children don't experience constraints or learn to cope with limitations, which they are bound to encounter in their own adult lives. Unfortunately we can't do everything we want, and often it's father's unpleasant task (and judgment call) to say no. Later on, when they're independent, we pray the Holy Spirit will be at work in their conscience, highlighting right and wrong, prodding and pulling back, but in younger years the parent has to do the disciplining. Proverbs explains that if we love our children we will discipline them; punishment can even save their soul from death. The best approach is to start with a firm grip when they're young, and loosen as time goes by. And fathers need to avoid a "whining" tone of voice when there's a contest of wills; whining only makes a child despise the parent.

Able to give in; able to stand firm; a final aspect of forgiving, faithful fathering is being able to name the occasion. Recently in our own family we decided it was time to update our aging family photos; Emily's heading off to college, and Keith is no longer shoulder-high. Parents help kids develop self-concept and self-esteem by saying, "Hold on just a minute! Let's step back and take a look at you. How you've changed!" We begin to learn who we are from our father and mother, to appreciate the person God is drawing forth.

How did the father of the prodigal son name the occasion? He decided it was party time! In fact,the old man may have been more like his younger son than the elder one. The prodigal pulled out all the stops when he lived it up; the old man pulled out all the stops in celebrating the son's homecoming. Sometimes it's nice to forget the day-to-day restrictions and budget guidelines and celebrate being alive, by God's grace. After you've enjoyed the big meal is an appropriate time for Dad to settle back in his chair and remark on the character and beauty and preciousness of each son or daughter around the table. In Jewish tradition, the father, actually walks around and places his hand on the head of each child and says a blessing, custom-made for each one. So we emphasize a Kodak moment, we verbally frame it, adding words to give identity and meaning to the occasion and the child.

In Jesus' story, the father provided the best robe and killed the prize calf for the returnee - the calf that they'd been saving up for the visit of someone very special. A valuable ring was placed on his finger, emphasizing that he was still an heir and not just a slave, as he had been prepared to become. To cap it off, the father pronounced fitting words in his role as patriarch: "This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." You can almost hear the profound note of ceremony and affirmation in his voice, marking the significant transformation that has taken place in the prodigal's life - a real about-turn.

The father repeats it for the elder son who refuses to enter. He re-frames elder brother's scornful words "this son of yours", calling him instead, "your brother". He goes on to affirm the elder son's value to him: "My son," he calls him, "you are always here with me; everything I have is yours." Wow! The old man is sharing a blank cheque - should help the elder boy feel less alienated. The father caps it off by declaring, "We HAD to celebrate and be glad": there has been a significant life change in the younger lad. His dramatic return was like that of a sinner baring heart and soul and turning to God, being restored after a wasted life, a fresh start in the Kingdom. Likewise Jesus was just so glad to have the prostitutes and tax collectors coming to believe and trust in God that he couldn't help but celebrate with them the miracle - regardless of what the Pharisees with their too-tiny and square spectacles thought.

The city of Berlin in reunified Germany is rebuilding. At the heart of town, near where the old Berlin wall used to be, a conflict is going on: a conflict about memory culture, what aspects of the city's and country's past will be remembered. Some want to tear down all old buildings that have anything to do with the country's Nazi or communist past. But others are preserving bits of walls or prisons connected to those times of terror, and including them on walking tours for visitors.

A father has a similar role in a family. We do need to know when to give in and when to stand firm, helping children develop internalgovernment that with God's strength will give them victory over wrong desires. But they also look to us to be guardians of memory and meaning, to be able to speak up and point out the significance of our family's story and each actor in it. Each child's heart longs to hear a blessing conferred, to have a mirror of words held up so they can see the beautiful person internally they are becoming.

Through faith in Christ, Paul reminds us, we are no longer slaves, feeding slop to the hogs; we are sons and daughters of the Almighty. So his Spirit bears witness in our hearts, naming him in turn: "Abba - Father, my Father." That is the best blessing of all. Amen.

"SIN : ALL : HIM" 980712 Ps.103:1-22 Rom.8:26-39 Lk.10:1-12,16-20 - Adapted from Christian Ashram talks by Gervis Black

"Jesus is Lord!" That was the rallying cry at the Central Ontario Christian Ashram, which Yvonne and I were privileged to attend July 2-5 by the sandy beach of Jackson's Point at the south end of Lake Simcoe. An "Ashram" is a retreat, a Sanskrit word meaning literally no-work. It was developed since the 1930's by Methodist missionary and Evangelist E.Stanley Jones. The daily routine included time for personal devotions, sharing insights in the group of 50-odd persons, listening to a Bible Teacher, Evangelist, and Lay Witness, time in smaller prayer groups, and most of the afternoon was free for rest and recreation.

One of the speakers was Gervis Black, a retired United Church minister who recently preached to a congregation of 2000 at Metropolitan United in London Ontario, the largest congregation in the United Church of Canada. For his three one-hour sessions Rev.Black chose three three-letter words. These 3 small words are very important: though tiny in length they somehow encompass the whole of the Christian life. So I'd like to share these with you today.

Before I begin, do you know three essential qualities of a minister? The wisdom of Solomon; the patience of Job; and the hide of a rhinoceros!

The first important 3-letter word is SIN. This is a fact of life we can observe even apart from the Bible. Why do people lock their doors? Because of Sin. Why do we need police? Because of Sin. Why is there so much relational hurt and pain in the world? Because of Sin. Most people will readily acknowledge that some things are morally wrong, so they'll concede readily that Sin i s a "given". Love may make the world go round, but it is sin that keeps the phone lines humming and media selling.

Weatherhead said, "Anything is sin if we should feel ashamed of it in the presence of Christ." How would our parents feel if they found out about us doing it? Would we want our son or daughter to do such a thing? Could we look a godly Christian friend straight in the eye if they knew what we'd done? Then there's the test of universality: would the world be a better place if everybody were doing this - or would society be a wreck?

Scripture teaches about sins of omission and commission. "Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." The Greek word for sin is hamartia, missing the mark. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - that falling short is missing the mark, somehow getting sidetracked from the glory and beauty of God's original intention for us. It's been said, "We build bungalow lives on skyscraper foundations" - we run far short of the execution of the plans drawn up by the architect. What is the letter in the middle of sin? "I."Self so often gets in the way of God's good purpose.

Jesus took for granted that we would sin, for the Lord's prayer includes the petition to forgive us our trespasses. Yet that's no excuse for waywardness. God provides us the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin, convince us of the effectiveness of Christ's saving death on the cross, and convert us to the government of his Lordship. He wasn't kidding when he said, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." The apostles echo, "Just as he who called you is holy, be holy in all you do; for it is written, 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" And, "God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life."

So one of the first steps in the Christian walk, like the first in a 12-step program, is to admit that you have a problem - and that problem is the little 3-letter word, sin. We get nowhere in the Christian life without that. It's been said, "We bid people to stand up and work for God before bidding them to stand and see God's work for them." Bruce Larson wrote, "The only thing the church has to offer the world is the possibility of conversion." The world may try to cobble up a substitute, and call it spirituality; someone has defined spirituality as "peace WITHOUT God". But heaven's resources and cure for the sin-problem are only available through the sacrifice of Jesus, God's substitionary self-giving whereby the Messiah bore our sins and conferred his righteousness on us through faith.

Speaking of substitutes: Paul Shaffer, a Methodist minister from Pennsylvania, was filling in at the Ashram for another speaker who cancelled due to health problems. He told the story of a band leader in a parade who discovered there was one band member missing, the trombone player. He had an extra uniform, so grabbed a bystander and implored him to fill in. The bystander protested that he didn't know how to play the trombone. "No problem," said the leader, "just keep in step with the others, swing from side to side, and move the slide up and down in time to the music. You don't have to actually blow the thing."

Well, his urging prevailed and the bystander joined the parade. He found it wasn't that hard and actually began to enjoy himself. Until a little along the parade route he spotted his girlfriend at the side of the road. Afterward she came running up to him and declared, "I thought you were going to stand with me! You never told me you were in a band." "Oh, but I'm not really in that band," he said. "It sure looked like it to me!" she retorted. "You were wearing the uniform, you were marching along, you were tooting the horn..." He protested, "I was doing some of those things but I wasn't tooting the horn - I was substi-tuting!"

Praise God for our Substitute on the cross: Jesus was dealing with our number one problem, Sin.

Gervis Black's second 3-letter word was ALL. A Christian within should radiate a Christ without. That's possible if, when we give our life to Jesus, we give him our ALL: our heart, mind, body, energy, our marriage, our family, our friends, our work - "All to Jesus I surrender, All to him I freely give." Let go of ALL in your life: the things you hold on to are the things that hold you back. Many of us have watched a 3-ring circus where the trapeze artists swing and fly through the air with split-second timing: discipleship is like the trapeze artist, you've got to let go and trust.

Not only do we confess All and empty ourselves of the rubbish; in Christ we receive all, "My grace is all you need."

Many famous hymns reflect this totality of giving and receiving from God's vast resources. "Crown him Lord of all." Fanny Crosby, blind for 90 years, nevertheless boldly sang, "All the way my Saviour leads me...for I know, whate'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well." John Wesley in Jesus Lover of My Soul breathed, "Thou, O Christ, art all I want; more than all in thee I find!" Isaac Watts, "When I survey the wondrous cross...I pour contempt on all my pride...Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."

Joseph Scriven was deeply in love with young Sarah, his fiancee. A perfect day in his mind was a day with Sarah and no other agenda. Then, tragically, 3 days before the wedding, she was diving in a pond with some friends, hit her head on a rock, and died. Joseph was shattered. he refused to eat or do anything. Finally he made his way beneath the old hickory tree where he and Sarah had passed so many joyful hours and poured out his heart to God. When he finished, he wrote something on a piece of paper and kept it with him. Many years later the paper was disclosed to carry the words: "What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear...Can we find a friend so faithful, who will All our sorrows share?"

Scripture is a real treasure chest of God's promised resources to us if we just track this little word, All. Jesus' final promise in the book of Revelation: "Behold, I make All things new." Romans 8:28 God makes all things work together for good. 1Peter 5:7 Cast All your anxieties upon him, for he cares for you. Ps.103 Praise the Lord, O my soul, Forget not All his benefits, who pardons All your iniquities, and heals All your diseases. John12:32 Jesus said I will draw All people unto me. (Our task in witnessing is simply to lift him up; HE will do the drawing, attracting the wounded and grieving by his loving care, goodness, and resurrection power.) 1Cor.10:31 Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it All for the glory of God. Col.1:18 in All things Christ has the pre-eminence. Matt.6:33 Seek first God's Kingdom and righteousness, then All these things (daily needs, food, clothing) shall be added unto you. Finally, 2 real gems from Philippians 4: "I can do All things through Christ who strengthens me...My God shall supply All your needs through his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

God's tremendous resources, All his might and power, are available to us when we align ourselves with his will, what he wants to see happen on earth. Emerson noted that if you hold a single straw parallel to the gulf stream, the Atlantic will flow through it; if you get your life aligned with God, the energy of the universe will flow through it.

Sin has been conquered by Jesus; All of God's love and power are made ours in HIM -- our last little 3-letter word, but the most important of all. Him. The one through whom and for whom the universe was made, the one who saves and commands us - all God's promises are "Yes" in Him, Christ Jesus. Rev.Black told of singing in the 3000-voice choir at the Billy Graham Crusade in Ottawa at the end of June, just so he could get a seat inside the 18,000 capacity stadium. As Billy Graham made his way to the platform, Gervis could see his white hair streaked with blond, and could tell Mr.Graham was placing his steps very slowly and deliberately, affected as he is by Parkinson's disease. A mountie was at his elbow, ready to steady him in case he should lose his balance. When Billy at last climbed the steps and reached the top of the platform, the whole stadium of people rose and burst into applause in a standing ovation that went on for 5 minutes. It was a teary moment; God was being glorified in his servant, who had preached to millions over the years with unquestionable integrity.

Scarcely had Mr.Graham finished preaching hisshort and simple message, when people began streaming out of the seats and down onto the empty ice floor. There were so many they would hardly fit, Billy had to keep asking them to squeeze over and make room. Gervis said if he had preached the same message, hardly anyone would have responded: the man Billy Graham has become the medium. His mere presence preaches.

Similarly, Jesus Himself is the Message. The Gospel is not an "it" but a "Him"; Jesus IS our peace, he didn't simply tell us ABOUT peace. Here's another definition, this time about faith, F-A-I-T-H: "Forsaking All I Trust HIM."

Walter Massey, a famous Canadian actor, was once asked what the smallest audience was for which he had ever performed. He said, "One." There was a time when the only person who came to see his performance with another actress was Nathan Cohen, a renowned theatre critic who wore a noticeable cape. So they went through the whole 3-act play with just Mr.Cohen sitting in the audience, for they knew his published review could either make or break them.

Shakespeare spoke of all the world being a stage, and we the actors on it. Suppose Jesus is the only one sitting in the audience. Imagine playing your life for Him only - not for the neighbours, others in the congregation, or onlookers: play it for Him only. After all, who is the Judge of the living and the dead but HIM?

Scripture affirms this emphasis. "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the person who takes refuge in Him." God is our dwelling, our fortress, the river whose streams make glad the city of God's people. John 1: "In Him was life...To all who received Him, who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 3:16 "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in (who?) Him shall not perish but have eternal life." 1Jn.4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. 3:2 "We know that when he appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is.Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as he is pure." Finally, a verse from the beginning of time: Colossians relates, "Everything holds together through Him."

When our life is over, will there be anything left that is remarkable to those who come after us? Of these 3 words, may Sin not be written on our tombstone, but instead "All" and "Him". Our society is hooked on whatever is new and novel, rather than asking what will last. We want the newest model of car, the newest version of Windows, the newest fad in high heels. By contrast, CS Lewis reminds us, "Anything that is not eternal, is out of date." These three little words are not new, but they have eternal significance: Jesus is Lord of Sin, having overcome it, and Lord of All. We will only truly ever be satisfied and complete in Him. Let us pray.

Piercing and truthful God, root out the sin in my life. Let Jesus be seated on the throne of my heart, for he belongs there, he is Lord of all. Keep me walking day by day with Him. And to you be the glory. Amen.

"THE PROACTIVE CHRISTIAN: FREE, RESPONSIBLE, CONSCIENCE-CONTROLLED" - Esther 3:12-14;4:12-16;8:3-6,11-13; Jn.18:1-11- 980719

Do you feel at times as if more things are happening TO you than through you? Are you feeling ineffective in your life's work? In this great big world, are you at a loss to know just how or where you can start to have some impact, to "let your light shine" for Christ in a way that will affect others' lives?

Stephen Covey was a professor of business management and organizational behaviour for 20 years before becoming a consultant and author in the field of leadership development. His book "the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic" has become an international bestseller. Many big companies like GM, AT&T, IBM, and Bell Canada have held seminars for their employees using Covey's ideas. Being a Mormon from Utah, Covey uses principles and examples from the Bible as well as other sources. As our church retools for ministry in the changing environment of the 21st century, consideration of Covey's 7 habits in the light of Scripture's teaching may spur on our own effectiveness.

The habit covey lists first is, "Be Proactive." One ability that makes us unique as humans among God's creatures is self-awareness: to not only see and consider our environment, but to be conscious of that thought process; to be able to step back in our minds and be aware of what we are doing. "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (a soul, a consciousness)." One aspect of God's image that we bear is being self-aware, unlike the animals. We can reflect on what's around us and on ourselves, we can be objective, and look at our situation from a different perspective.

Sometimes we forget that we can do that. A big emphasis in science has been determinism, cause and effect. It's been argued we're just products of our environment. Parts of us are determined genetically by our ancestors; our parents affected us through our upbringing; and our environment affects us, whether our boss is a grouch or not. We've been taught about Pavlov's dogs, which were conditioned to respond in a particular way to a particular stimulus. If we're not careful, it's easy to start blaming our problems on exterior stimuli, becoming reactive. Such people are down if the weather is gloomy. They're despondent if the "social weather" is bad, if people are critical or have a poor opinion of them. Reactive language sounds like: "That's just the way I am.He makes me so mad.If only my wife were more patient.I have to do it." Meaning: I'm determined, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not responsible, my emotional life is governed by something outside my control. Someone else's behaviour is limiting my effectiveness. Circumstances or other people are forcing me todo what I do. Haven't we all felt some of those things from time to time? Yet such sayings become self-fulfilling prophecy.

Proactive people say that's balderdash. Proactivity is more than initiative; it says we're responsible for our own lives. Our behaviour is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. Unlike the reactive person, who is driven by feelings, circumstances, conditions, and the environment, the proactive person is aware they have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen.

Covey tells the story of Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and Jew who was imprisoned in the death camps of Nazi Germany and suffered horrible things. One day, naked and alone in a small room, Frankl began to become aware of what he later called "the last of the human freedoms", a freedom his captors couldn't take away. They could control his entire environment, they could do what they wanted to his body, but Frankl himself was a self-aware being who could look as an observer at his very involvement; his basic identity was intact. He could decide within himself how all of this was going to affect him. Between what happened to him, the stimulus, and his response to it, was his freedom or power to choose that response. In his mind he would project himself into the classroom after release, and give his students the lessons he was learning during his very torture. Using his memory and imagination, he exercisedhis freedom until it grew larger, and he had more freedom than his Nazi captors. They had more liberty, more options to choose from in their environment; but he had more freedom, more internal power to exercise his options. Frankl became an inspiration to those around him, even to some of the guards.

The essence of the proactive person is the ability to subordinate an impulse to a value. You don't just make a knee-jerk reaction to what someone does to you, but choose your response using your imagination, conscience, and independent will. Consider the arrest of Jesus. He was aware the crowd armed with clubs and spears was coming. He didn't say to the disciples, "Let's get outta here," but, "Get up! Here comes my betrayer!" He went out to meet them and asked who they wanted. When they told him he replied, "I am he" with such force and directness that they drew back and fell to the ground. There is an echo of Yahweh's divine name, "I am who I am", the power of being. When they recover, he tells them again, asking that they let the disciples go. Even in his arrest, Jesus was not preoccupied with his own safety but with that of his followers. He chose his response to this threat. Peter reacted by taking a sword and cutting off the High Priest's servant's ear, but Jesus stopped that, saying, "Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" He was listening to the Spirit inside, which told him this was God'sredemptive will. So he co-operated, yet on his terms.

Frankl's courage and insight may also remind us of Paul and Silas in the prison at Philippi. They were wounded and chained in the dungeon, yet midnight found them praying and singing hymns to God. Their faith was helping them choose to be grateful rather than despondent due to circumstances.

Taking initiative does not mean being pushy, obnoxious, or aggressive, but recognizing our responsibility to make things happen. Covey observes that in today's society, many wait for something to happen or someone to take care of them. However, the people who end up with the good jobs are the proactive ones who are solutions to problems, not problems themselves.

When it comes to relationships, the proactive person knows love is a verb, not a feeling. Romans 5:8 God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us - love is an action, a verb. Covey says, reactive people make it a feeling; Hollywood has generally scripted us to believe that we are not responsible, that we are a product of our feelings. But love is something you do, the sacrifices you make, the giving of self.

A man came up to him at a seminar and explained he was worried because he and his wife didn't have the same feelings for each other they used to have. Quote: "I guess I just don't love her anymore and she doesn't love me. What can I do?" "The feeling isn't there anymore?" I asked. "That's right, and we have 3 children we're really concerned about. What do you suggest?" "Love her," I replied. "I told you, the feeling just isn't there anymore." "Love her." "You don't understand. The feeling of love just isn't there." "Then love her. If the feeling isn't there, that's a good reason to love her." "But how do you love when you don't love?" "My friend, love is a verb.Love - the feeling - is a fruit of the verb.So love her.Serve her.Sacrifice.Listen to her.Empathize.Appreciate.Affirm her.Are you willing to do that?"

Endquote; I think he got the message. Proactive people subordinate feelings to values; love, the feeling, can be recaptured where the verb is enacted.

We each have a "Circle of Concern" which is quite broad and includes much which we can't control - our health, our children, problems at work, the national debt, nuclear war. Inside that large circle is a smaller one Covey terms our "Circle of Influence", the things we can do something about. Ineffective reactive people waste much energy focusing on things outside their circle of influence; they react to news about the latest unemployment rating, or value of the Canadiandollar, the weakness of other people. This results in blaming, accusing, and victimization. Proactive people, meanwhile, focus positive energy on what's inside their circle of influence: matters over which they have direct control (such as their own behaviour) or indirect control (such as others' behaviour). Like the Serenity Prayer of AA: "Lord, grant me the courage to change the things which can and ought to be changed, the serenity to accept the things which cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference."

At one point in Gandhi's life, his accusers were in the legislature of India, criticizing him because he wouldn't join in their Circle of Concern Rhetoric condemning the British Empire for its subjugation of the Indian people. Meanwhile, Gandhi was out in the rice paddies, quietly, slowly expanding his Circle of Influence with the field labourers. A ground swell of support, of trust, of confidence followed him through the countryside. Though he held no office or political position, through compassion, courage, fasting, and moral persuasion he eventually brought England to its knees. The problem is thinking the problem is "out there"; we empower what's "out there" to control us. As Gandhi said, "They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them."

For a Biblical example, think of Queen Esther. She had a very limited role in the palace, just one among many in the royal harem, a pretty face serving as a figurehead. When Mordecai approached her with news of Haman's plot against the Jews, the king hadn't even asked to see Esther for a whole month. Haman, by contrast, was the most important official in the empire, and had promised 340,000 kg of silver for the royal treasury if his plans were accepted. But Esther had initiative and took responsibility. She didn't just lie down and let Haman's evil steamroller over her. King Xerxes was within her tiny Circle of Influence, and she determined to approach him for help even if it cost her her life. She was proactive, not bemoaning the inevitable or waiting for disaster to strike.

We can distinguish which circle our concern is in by whether we talk about the HAVES or the BE'S. Reactive people say, "I'll be happy when I have my house paid off...If only I had a more patient husband...If I could just have more time to myself." Proactive people operating in their circle of influence say, "I can be more patient, be wise, be loving." The proactive approach is to change from the inside-out: to BE different, and by being different, to effect positive change in what's out there - I can be more resourceful, more diligent, more co-operative - a focus on character. Christ is in the business of changing lives, saving us to be good and holy like him. "If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Paul in his letters describes how we were dead in our transgressions and sins, following the world's ways, gratifying the cravings of our sinfulnature. We were simply reacting to external stimulus, scripted to respond to fleeting feelings. But, Paul says, "God may us alive with Christ." God strengthens us with power through his Spirit in our inner being so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. Now we can BE completely humble and gentle, BE patient, bearing with one another in love. "You were taught...to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit, including faithfulness and self-control, keys to responsibility. We've crucified the flesh with its passions and desires; now living by the Spirit, we can keep in step with the Spirit, subordinating our impulses to God's eternal values.

Covey holds up the example of Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt. He had every right to be bitter after his brothers ganged up on him. He had more right to be angry after Potiphar's wife framed him and falsely accused him, sending him to prison unjustly. But each time Joseph just quietly kept on BEing responsible; he didn't HAVE a thing, except that Yahweh was with him. He worked on the inner circle, being not having, and soon he was running the entire prison then the whole country, second only to Pharaoh.

Covey, who has several children, states, "If I have a problem in my marriage, what do I really gain by continually confessing my wife's sins? Bysaying I'm not responsible, I make myself a powerless victim; I immobilize myself in a negative situation. I also diminish my ability to influence her - my nagging, accusing, critical attitude only makes her feel validated in her own weakness. My criticism is worse than the conduct I want to correct. My ability to positively impact the situation withers and dies.

If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control - myself. I can stop trying to shape up my wife and work on my own weaknesses. I can focus on being a great marriage partner, a source of unconditional love and support. Hopefully, my wife will feel the power of proactive example and respond in kind. But whether she does or doesn't, the most positive way I can influence my situation is to work on MYSELF, on my BEING."

At the heart of our circle of influence is our ability to make and to keep promises and commitments; also, to set goals and work to achieve them. Making promises sounds a lot like faithfulness in Biblical language; working at goals reflects obedience. "As we make and keep commitments...we being to establish an inner integrity that gives us the awareness of self-control and the courage and strength to accept more of the responsibility for our own lives.By making and keeping promises to ourselves and others, little by little, our honour becomes greater than our moods."

A danger perhaps in Covey's approach is that of wandering into New Age thinking, "I can do anything; I am God." Scripture reminds us by the grace of God we are what we are; we can do anything through Christ's strength, not independent of him. In a world that sometimes seems pretty sick through sin, faith is God's gift that gives us special eyes to focus, not on our circumstances (the "stimulus"), but invisible factors - God's overarching love and ultimate purpose for his people, coupled with the resources of his Spirit indwelling us. Jesus' cross gives power to override our natural instincts or reactions, subject them to eternal evaluation and judgment, then begin to draw on Christ's engagement with this hurting world in a responsible, obedient, self-giving way. A way that shows love is a proactive, present-tense verb.

Samuel Johnson related that it is futile to seek happiness by changing anything but one's own disposition, because as he put it, "the fountain of content must spring up in the mind." May God help us be discover happiness in being proactive, showing initiative in freedom and responsibility in our circles of influence. Thus we will bring honour to Christ. Amen.

"Effective Habits in Christ #2: Mission begins with Prayer, and the End in Mind" 980726 Lk.11:1-13 Col.2:6-15

Let's suppose it's three years from today, and you're attending a funeral. As you walk in, you see the family members gathered up by the casket; there are big sprays of flowers tastefully arranged. Music is playing softly in the background, and those who have come to pay their respects are talking in hushed tones. As you arrive at the coffin, you look in and lo and behold, you come face to face with yourself! Shortly thereafter, the funeral service begins. One at a time, four people are invited up to contribute their part of the eulogy. There's someone from your immediate family; one of your friends; a colleague from work; and finally a fellow church member. As each in turn takes their place at the podium, what is it you are hoping to hear them say? What kind of person will they describe as they talk about you?

With that exercise in imagination, Stephen Covey begins his discussion of the second habit of highly effective people, a habit he calls "Begin with the end in mind". Although the thought of attending your own funeral is rather unsettling, it's a good way to get you to look at your life overall and ask tough questions about who you are becoming, whether you intend to be that kind of spouse or mother or friend, or not. Such a sobering exercise puts the day-to-day things we get caught up in, in perspective.

Thinking about how we want to be remembered helps us to examine each part of our life in the context of the whole. We need to be aware whether each day contributes something to the total impact. Covey states that all things are created twice: once visually, using ideas in your mind, then in actuality when you get it sketched out on the blueprints and actually built. His opinion is that in our lives, the first creation defaults to other people and circumstances, unless we pro-actively use our initiative and take responsibility to design it first. (Remember last week?) Other people are only too happy to write a script for us, telling or prompting us what to do; but we can write our own script. "You are the creator," he says; but Christians need to undertake this planning activity prayerfully, heeding the guidance of God's spirit. Covey declares, "I can change. I can live out of my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to my limitless potential instead of my limiting past. I can become my own first creator." Danger! Danger! Let's not usurp the role of God, or deny our need of God's help in order to free us from old habits and guide us into Christ's purposes for us.

In order to move our life in the direction of what we want to be heard at our funeral, we first need to determine what is at our centre, our core. Covey insists that whatever is at the centre of our life will be the source of our security,guidance, wisdom, and power - four essentials for living. In Christian terminology, we might ask, Who is on the throne of your life? In street language, "Who's driving your bus?" Is it God, or what the Bible calls idols?

Covey does a good job of examining the various alternative centres and pointing out the weakness of each. Each idol has its drawbacks. Some people are spouse-centred. This carries the danger of strong emotional dependence. When stress mounts, husband and wife revert to the scripts they were given as they grew up. Covey says, "When we are dependent on the person with whom we are in conflict, both need and conflict are compounded. Love-hate over-reactions, fight-or-flight tendencies, withdrawal, aggressiveness, bitterness, resentment, and cold competition are some of the usual results. When these occur, we tend to fall even further back on background tendencises and habits in an effort to justify and defend our own behaviour and we attack our spouse's."

Some people are family-centred. These don't have the emotional freedom to raise their children with their ultimate welfare truly in mind. Improper behaviour threatens the parent's security; they overreact in punishment; and tend to love only conditionally.

Many people are money-centred. In the hierarchy of needs, physical survivaland financial security come first. But all it takes to show the limitations of a money centre is a crisis in one's life or the life of a loved one. In the Lord's Prayer, "Give us each day our daily bread" acknowledges our need of creature necessities, but its order comes after the real priorities of God's honour and Kingdom. "Seek first God's Kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Some people are work-centred; their identity and self-worth are wrapped up in their employment. We call them "workaholics". But their security is vulnerable to anything that prevents them from continuing in their work. Any wisdom or power they have come in limited areas or their work, rendering them ineffective in other areas. By contrast, Covey tells of one father who was leaving with his children for a promised trip to the circus when a phone call came for him to come to work instead. He declined. When his wife suggested that perhaps he should have gone to work, he responded, "The work will come again, but childhood won't." Good man.

Some people are possessions-centred. But if your security lies in the things you have, your life will be in a constant state of threat and jeopardy that these possessions may be lost or stolen or devalued.

Today's culture prompts many to become pleasure-centred. In that case you're soon bored and dissatisfied with the last treat; the next new pleasure has tobe bigger and better, more exciting. Such people are narcissistic. "Too many vacations that last too long, too many movies, too much TV, too much video game playing - too much undisciplined leasure time in which a person continually takes the course of least resistance, gradually wastes a life."

Malcom Muggeridge writes, "When I look back on my life nowadays, ...what strikes me most forcibly about it is that what seemed at the time most significant and seductive, seems now most futile and absurd. For instance, success in all of its various guises; being known and being praised; ostensible pleasures, like acquiring money or seducing women, or traveling, going to and fro in the world and up and down in it like Satan, explaining and experiencing whatever Vanity Fair has to offer. In retrospect, all these exercises in self-gratification seem pure fantasy, what Pascal called, 'licking the earth'."

Some people are friend-centred or enemy-centred. But this creates emotional dependence, an escalating need /conflict spiral similar to marriage. It is especially easy for divorced people to become enemy-centred, to be consumed with anger, bitterness, self-justification. Psychologically they are still married to their "ex" in that each needs the weaknesses of the former partner to justify their accusations. Friend- or enemy-centred people have no intrinsic security, no power, somebody else is pulling their strings. In the Lord's Prayer, we find, "Forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone who isindebted to us." Jesus knew that act of forgiveness is essential to break the hold over us others have, those who've hurt us in the past. Forgiveness is a necessary step in the path to healing.

Last, Covey mentions those who are self-centred. This is perhaps the most common centre today; Covey himself observes that many of the popular approaches to growth and self-fulfilment are selfish. Like the Dead Sea in Israel, the self-centred person accepts but never gives, so becomes stagnant. In the Lord's Prayer, before Jesus mentions any kind of petition on behalf of oneself, he prays, "Hallowed be YOUR name, YOUR kingdom come." That's intended to put God and His agenda front and centre, not ours.

Instead of all these other possible centres - spouse family money work possessions pleasure friend/enemy or self, these other "gods" or idols - Covey recommends what he calls a Principle Centre. He says, "Principles don't react to anything. They don't get mad and treat us differently. They won't divorce us or run away with our best friend. They aren't out to get us. They can't pave our way with shortcuts and quick fixes. They don't depend on the behaviour of others, the environment, or the current fad for their validity. Principles don't die. They aren't here one day and gone the next. They can't be destroyed by fire, earthquake ortheft. Principles are deep, fundamental truths, classic truths,...tightly interwoven threads running with exactness, consistency, beauty, and strength through the fabric of life." Sounds good; so should we just put principles at the centre of our lives?

The Jews already tried that; that's what the Old Testament is all about. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, extols the statutes ordinances and precepts of God's law much as Covey has just done. But the verdict was that people failed to keep God's law. That's why Jesus came, principles on their own weren't enough.

Paul warns the Colossians, "See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." In Romans 7 Paul agonizes over his fallen human condition, pinned to the ground by the law; he acknowledges the law is good, but finds himself incapable of carrying it out on his own steam. "Wretched man that I am!" To the Galatians he explains that the law held people prisoner, like a schoolmaster, until Christ came. "For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But the scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe."

At the centre of our lives we need to put, not principles, but a PERSON: Jesus Christ. In him all great principles find power to become active in our lives. Paul states, "For in him the whole fulness of Deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fulness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and authority...And you...God MADE ALIVE together with him." Programming ourselves with the best laws and principles in the world won't cut it without God's resurrection power made ours by receiving the person of Jesus Christ.

Once we have determined what or WHO is going to be our centre, Covey recommends we visualize the picture of what we want to do and be. Dr.Charles Garfield has done extensive research on peak performers in athletics and business. His research showed that almost all of the world-class athletes and other peak performers are visualizers. They see it; they feel it; they experience it before they actually do it. They begin with the end in mind.

Surely this is one of the main roles of prayer in the Christian life. Not just a milk list of requests. "God bless me and my wife; my son John and his wife; us four, no more, Amen." Think of the visualizing potential in the Lord's Prayer: "Your name be hallowed...Your kingdom come...We forgive those who trespass against us...Deliver us from evil." God has given us imagination and creativity to help us visualize in our prayer time just how this day God will be honoured by our behaviour, how his Kingdom will get a firmer grip on the planet by our actions...We can picture ourselvesfacing our enemy and forgiving them, we can visualize turning aside from temptation to follow the prompting of the Spirit and our conscience. Prayer centres us on God's will, so alternative centres can't get their claws on us. In prayer we can bring our datebook and month and year before the Lord, asking him to steer them in a way that will make our funeral most positive. God's honour and agenda are the anchors that can make our lives truly effective and worthwhile.

The final step in beginning with the end in mind is to prayerfully create your own personal Mission Statement. For example, one executive wrote: "My mission is to live with integrity and to make a difference in the lives of others. To fulfill this mission: I have charity: I seek out and love the one - each one - regardless of his situation. I sacrifice: I devote my time, talents, and resources to my mission. I inspire: I teach by example that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and that every Goliath can be overcome. I am impactful: what I do makes a difference in the lives of others. These roles take priority in achieving my mission: Husband - my partner is the most important person in my life.Together we contribute the fruits of harmony, industry, charity, and thrift. Father - I help my children experience progressively greater joy in their lives. Son/brother - I am frequently "there" for support and love. Christian - God can count on me to keep my covenants and to serve his other children. Neighbour - the love of Christ is visible through my actions toward others.Change agent - I am a catalyst for developing high performance in large organizations. Scholar - I learn important new things every day.

Covey recommends having everyone in the family join together in developing a family mission statement. He says, "The mission statement becomes the framework for thinking, for governing the family. When the problems and crises come, the constitution is there to remind family members of the things that matter most and to provide direction for problem solving and decision making based on correct principles. In our home, we put our mission statement up on a wall in the family room so that we can look at it and monitor ourselves daily. When we read the phrases about the sounds of love in our home, order, responsible independence, cooperation, helpfulness, meeting needs, developing talents, showing interest in each other's talents, and giving service to others, it gives us some criteria to know how we're doing in the things that matter most to us as a family." They review it frequently and rework goals and jobs twice a year in September and June.

The value of a mission statement can be seen in a real-life incident that Stephen Covey witnessed while staying in a hotel. He had been impressed with the personalized service staff had shown him; that was key in their mission statement. One day he observed an employee high up on a ladder cleaning windows in the lobby. From his vantage point he saw a woman having a little difficulty in the garden with a walker. She hadn't really fallen, and she was withother people. But he climbed down that ladder, went outside, helped the woman in the lobby and saw that she was properly taken care of. Then he went back and finished cleaning the windows. And there was no supervisor looking on. Covey was amazed; he discovered that everyone in that hotel, right down to the desk clerks, had been involved in developing the mission statement, "Uncompromising personalized service." It was not just a statement on a wall, but a key value they had internalized.

For Christians, prayer is a key way we keep in touch with our mission, and the one who is our Centre. As we boldly approach our heavenly Father and ask, "Your Kingdom come," it will - it is already happening in us. God's honour and agenda will spread out from us as we stay connected to Jesus, who more than any principle, is the source of our life and fulness. Thanks be to God!

"Effective Habits in Christ #3: Stewardship of Time - Put First Things First" - 980802 Lk.12:13-21 Col.3:1-11;4:2-6

America was all abuzz the middle of this past week. It wasn't due to the GM settlement, or even the latest revelation in the Bill & Monica saga. People were excited about the $250 million jackpot in Loto-Ball. Biggest in history, they say. Not so long ago a million dollars seemed an unimaginable amount of moolah. Just think what it'd be like to have $250 million! So what if it's hard to get your stretch limo around the curves in the Goulais roads - you'd just widen the roads! Of course, the sizeable donation you'd want to make to the church would be fraught with ethical hang-ups, because the United Church frowns on lotteries, and rightly so. Oh well, it's fun to dream.

Better still is to waken to the treasure we as Christians already have: Jesus within us by the Holy Spirit, God's promises and instruction in Scripture and prayer, and his provision for daily living by the time and talents he has entrusted to us. Realizing our stewardship of time and becoming disciplined in putting first things first bears rewards that are far more fulfilling than the fluke something-for-nothing win of a jackpot.

There was no loto-ball in Jesus' day, and times were tough, so people were eager for gain whatever way they could get it. One day a man caught Jesus' eye and asked himto make his brother divide the inheritance with him. This was not an unheard-of request. Under Mosaic law an elder brother was supposed to get double the amount of a younger one; disputes over such matters were normally settled by rabbis. Note Jesus' pro-active response; he refuses to be drawn into the grimy details. It's not part of his personal mission statement; we can imagine him going through in his mind, "Let's see, heal the sick, cure the lame, preach to the poor...Nope, nothing about arbitrating estates." Out loud he responded, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" Jesus said NO on occasion.

Though he didn't help the man with his immediate request, he did glimpse another issue that WAS in his ballpark. The issue of greed, personal desires gone haywire. So he seized the occasion as a teaching opportunity, saying to the crowd, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;" (and here's a principle) "A person's life does not consist in the abundance of their possessions." Who you are is not what you own. Last week we talked about walking in to your own funeral and listening to what people would have to say about you in the eulogy. If all you meant to them was wrapped up in the toys you struggled and saved for, not many tears would be shed at your departure.

To flesh out the principle, Christ related a story about a rich man who had a storage problem. Being rather narrow in perspective, ourthriving landowner purposed to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. It didn't even cross his mind to start up a food bank or give the surplus to the local Levite to distribute amongst the poor. Much less could he have transported it to Korea or Sudan if he'd even wanted to. He was going to keep it all to himself, patting himself verbally on the back by saying, "Self, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years.Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry."

At this point God interjected with a very strong word, "Fool!" Literally, without-mind; we talk about a problem being a "no-brainer", that's what God thought of this man's investment strategy: like the plan, he was a no-brainer. God went on to explain, "This very night your life will be demanded of you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" Instead of the barns being torn down, the man's physical being in a few hours will be disintegrating. What help would his stores be to him then?

Then before the man who wanted to divide the inheritance is quite out of earshot, Jesus caps off the episode with this punch line: "So it is with those who store up things for themselves but are not RICH TOWARD GOD." Put that in your Growth Fund and chew on it. What does he mean, "rich toward God?"

Life is a trust, a matter of stewardship. We can choose to direct it toward ourself, fulfilling our creaturely desires, OR with the Spirit's help we can direct our lives toward some higher centre.

Paul reminds the church at Colosse they have been raised with Christ by their faith, now to set their hearts and minds on things above, where Christ is. Their outlook and values are no longer held captive by earthly forces. For the last couple of weeks we've been drawing from Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". Habit 1 was Be Proactive; it involved developing personal vision, drawing on self-awareness, initiative, and responsibility in order to become the creator of one's own script instead of letting other people write it for you. Personal vision for the Christian, Paul is saying, begins with focusing on Jesus, setting our sights on what he wants, being renewed in coming to know what he's like, praying "Your kingdom come" as in the Lord's Prayer. An emphasis on being rather than having.

Habit 2 was "Begin with the end in mind". Covey insisted we need to determine what's going to be the centre of our life, a centre that is capable of providing security, wisdom, guidance, and power. Alternative centres such as spouse, family, money, work, possessions, pleasure, friend/enemy, and self just won't come through. For Christians, Jesus is our centre who gives power to live out the principles Covey says are so necessary to orient our life around. Jesus is our centre. Paul writes, "Your life is now hidden with Christ in God...Christ is your life...You have put on your new self." Any self-improvement scheme which doesn't aim at building the Christlycharacteristics God has birthed within us will be puffing up the wrong areas.

Habit 2 involves using our imagination, creativity, and conscience to sort through our deepest values and come up with a personal mission statement. This mission statement needs to reflect our roles in life as spouse, parent, worker, church member, community volunteer, and so forth.

Paul goes on to urge believers to translate this heavenly nature into day-to-day living. "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature...whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus...Conduct yourself with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the time." The rubber meets the road when Sunday's over, Monday comes and we start out to meet the day with our to-do list tucked in our pocket. Covey's Habit 3 deals with discipline in the stewardship of our time, drawing on our willpower to actually carry out the values, mission statement, and roles we identified in the first 2 habits. Making the most of the time, Paul calls it. Literally, buy it up, capitalize on each opportunity; go to market when things are in season. Don't be caught off guard like the rich fool, imagining he's going to be lounging on easy street, when really that very night his number was up. He had squandered his time pursuing the wrong goals. If he'd been rich toward God, he'd have valued what God valued, instead of having the tallestHarvestore silo on the landscape, the biggest Winnebago, the fattest RRSP. His evaluation of how to use his time and how much time he'd have left was all wrong.

Making the most of the time involves discipline, putting first things first. E.M.Gray spent his life searching for the one common denominator that all successful people share. He found it wasn't hard work, good luck, or astute human relations, but putting first things first. Gray wrote, "The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don't like to do.They don't like doing them either necessarily.But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose." Covey comments, "that subordination requires a purpose, a mission, a Habit 2 clear sense of direction and value, a burning 'yes!' inside that makes it possible to say 'no' to other things." Ah- there's the key: saying no because of a greater yes. Jesus is the Divine Yes; 2Cor.1:20 As many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are Yes. He can help us say No to the things that would sidetrack us from using our unique gifts to bring glory to God.

It's hard to say no, but some people do it well. Covey's wife reluctantly agreed to serve as chairman of a committee in a community endeavour. She called one of her friends to ask if she would serve on her committee. The friend listened for a long time and then said, "Sandra, that sounds like a wonderful project, a really worthy undertaking. I appreciate so much your inviting me to be apart of it. I feel honoured by it. For a number of reasons, I won't be participating myself, but I want you to know how much I appreciate your invitation." Covey's wife said later, "I wish I'd said that." Wasn't that a pleasant way to say no? The friend had a more burning "yes" inside for other matters.

Covey runs briefly over the 4 generations of time management. The first generation involved the making of notes and checklists. Second generation used calendars and appointment books; we were starting to look ahead, to schedule events and activities in the future. Third generation, currently called time management, added the idea of prioritization, clarifying values, and setting short- mid- and long-term goals. This also emphasized daily planning, scheduling x number of available hours each day in the most efficient way possible.

Lately people have been realizing that detailed efficient scheduling of time can be counterproductive. Human needs and development of relationships can't always be planned ahead of time, so people have become turned off by time management programs that are too restrictive.

Covey slots our time in 4 boxes, depending whether a given activity is important or not, and urgent or not. The "urgent and important" box includes crises, pressing problems, deadline-driven projects. The "important but not urgent" box includesprevention, improving capacity, relationship building, recognizing new opportunities, planning, and recreation. The "urgent but not important" box includes interruptions, some calls, some mail, some reports, some meetings (we've all been at those), and popular activities. Fourth, the "not urgent, not important" box includes trivia, busy work, some mail, some phone calls, time wasters, and (sorry to say) pleasant activities.

If we're not proactive, we may only deal with the "urgent and important" box, reacting to pressing problems, the demands of the moment. This results in stress, burnout, always putting out fires. Irresponsible people major in the "not important" boxes, urgent or otherwise.They get fired. Covey maintains that the key to effective personal management is dealing with the "important but not urgent" box. Such a person makes time to ask questions like, "What one thing could I do in my personal or professional life that, if I did it on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in my life?" That's a leadership, visionary question. Answering it by givng time on my agenda is effective management.

Making the most of the time Covey-style boils down to a tool that can easily be adapted to a planner you're already using. It's based on a week at a time, which Covey feels has implicit cultural recognition; most people think in terms of weeks, rather than days,when planning. On a slip of paper write down the various roles you're involved in: Individual or personal development (I'd add "spiritual" here), spouse, parent, salesperson, community service, church member, etc. Then for each role write down one or two important results you feel you should accomplish during the next 7 days. Finally, look at the week ahead with your goals in mind and schedule time to achieve them. Block it in. Much heartache in this world would be averted if busy professional people scheduled in time for their personal relationships with the same determination they use for blocking in, say, an appointment with their boss. Who's more likely to be at your funeral - your family or your boss?

(Show pp.166-7) Here's what a week in a planner looks like using Covey's 4th-generation personal management tool...

Covey also goes into the difference between gofer delegation and stewardship delegation. Gofer delegation is over-your-shoulder, step-by-step supervision. In stewardship delegation, you outline the results you want, clearly and measurably, and let the person work out the method they want to use to achieve those results. For example, when his 7 year old son was willing to take over care of the yard, Covey gave him 2 words for the desired results: Green and Clean. The son himself became the judge and evaluator, the boss; Covey Sr.was freed to actually offer tohelp his son if he needed it. Over the summer his son did a much better job of managing the yard than Stephen could have done, being away so much. The boy even reprimanded his brothers and sisters if they left so much as a gum wrapper on the lawn.

Covey comments, "Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people. But it takes time and patience, and it doesn't preclude the necessity to train and develop people so that their competency can rise to the level of that trust." Paul spoke of being stewards of the mystery of Christ; God has delegated to us, entrusted to us, the message and demonstration of His Son. As we put Kingdom things first in our lives, we will find we have time for developing relationships with other people - the loving and good-newsing that Christ left as our marching orders, his Commandment and Commission.

Mysteries unfold before us when we take time for people. In the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest is sitting on a bench at a bus stop rambling on about his life story. People come and go. One lady though is so touched by his tale that she finds herself crying, and when her bus comes she doesn't get on, saying, "There'll be another one." A guy sitting the other side of Forrest listens until he tells about becoming a millionaire. The man gets up and walks away laughing, scoffing at the thought that this unsophisticatedfellow Gump could possibly be rich. Right after he leaves, though, Forrest pulls out a copy of Fortune magazine to show the lady: it has his picture on the front cover! She came to believe the mystery, the amazing story of this millionaire who'd crossed the States 3 times, received the Congressional Medal of Honour, and been to the White House twice, all because she took the time to stop and appreciate this person's life and struggles.

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders," Paul urges. "Make the most of the time, buy up the opportunity; let your words always be gracious, seasoned with salt." So by our actions and our words may we unfold the amazing facts about Jesus. He has become our internal treasure, helping us manage our time so we're rich toward God. Even better than sitting beside a millionaire! Let us pray.

"More Effective Habits: Thankful to God, Understanding Others" - 980809 Dan.6:1-11,16,20-23 Col.3:12-17

Today we wrap up our look at the 7 habits of highly effective people. In this last session I've chosen three ideas of Stephen Covey's that tie in with scriptural principles: the Daily Private Victory, an Abundance Mentality, and habit 5 which he calls "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

The Daily Private Victory is the practise of setting aside an hour a day to renew oneself physically, spiritually, and mentally. It's called the private victory because it's a habit you do off by yourself that must precede any public victories. As a Christian, my daily Quiet Time helps me to centre on God and pull myself together before I go out to rub up against anybody else. My worst days, the ones when everything seems to go wrong and plans flop, have tended to be the ones where I tried to skimp on time with God in private.

Remember David Peterson, former liberal premier of Ontario? For a while he was called the "teflon premier", because his opponents couldn't seem to get any criticisms or scandal to "stick". A more famous teflon politician is Daniel, a Jewish government official in the time of the Persian Empire. Try as they might, Daniel's political rivals couldn't find anything to pin on him. He was trustworthy, being neither corrupt (doing bad things) nor negligent (failing to do good things). He had integrity: he kept his commitments. Finally his foes gave up trying to find any professional incompetence and decided to make things difficult for Daniel from a religious angle. They knew that 3 times a day Daniel prayed. He had an upstairs room with a window that faced Jerusalem, and there he would regularly offer his devotions to God. This was the key to his integrity. Any public temptations he might encounter, he worked through with the Lord in private. As he explains to the king why he was saved from the lions, "They have not hurt me, because I was innocent in [God's] sight.Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."

When Jesus was on earth, he made a regular practice of time alone with his Heavenly Father. Mark talks of Jesus getting up while it was still dark and going out to pray. Luke comments that Jesus would often withdraw to lonely places to pray. Mountainsides seemed to be a favourite place of retreat: Jesus prayed there before the big events of choosing the disciples, walking on water, and the transfiguration. It was his power-up time, his place for renewal.

Paul urges the Colossians, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." It takes time to learn Christ's teaching and uplifting music.

Covey's 7th habit, "Sharpen the Saw", deals with the need for ongoing personal renewal. He advocates an hour a day set aside for physical, spiritual, and mental renewal. Physical renewal comes through exercises for endurance, flexibility, and strength. For me personally, outdoor activities such as handling firewood provide physical exercise. Most mornings I do the army regulation 33 pushups and 30 situps, along with some stretching; these aren't much of a workout but they do get me awake.

In the spiritual area, Covey says, "I find renewal in daily prayerful meditation on the scriptures because they represent my value system. As I read and meditate, I feel renewed, strengthened, centred and recommitted to serve." For mental renewal, he cautions against watching too much TV; their family has agreed on 7 hours a week. Covey says, "There's no better way to inform and expand your mind on a regular basis than to get into the habit of reading good literature...You can get into the best minds that are now or that have ever been in the world."

This habit of the Daily Personal Victory has been recognized as vital by many leaders. Martin Luther said, "I have so much to do today, I'll need to spend another hour on my knees." Religious leader David McKay taught, "The greatest battles of life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul." It is indispensable as a day-in, day-out habit. Phillips Brooks wrote "O Little Town of Bethlehem." He also said, "Some day, in the years to come, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now...NOW it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long continued process." So sharpening the saw in the physical, spiritual, and mental dimensions takes the form of the Daily Private Victory; Covey commends to you one hour a day for the rest of your life.

Another attitude that helps people be effective in life is what Covey calls the Abundance Mentality. Recall Daniel's response when he heard about the decree that forbade people pray to anyone but the king. He went home to his upstairs room, got down on his knees, and then what - complained? whined? whimpered that he was doomed? None of these! Scripture says "he prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had before." He gave thanks! No defeatism or gloom here. by faith Daniel felt God was in control, and able to handle the present circumstance. God would look after him no matter what decree the king might issue, no matter who was out to get him. Daniel had an Abundance Mentality.

Paul addresses the Colossians as "God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved." What an affirming thought! What security and esteem to hear you're chosen by God and very dear to Him! We come to appreciate our position in Christ by focusing our hearts on things above. Then Paul writes, "THEREFORE clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, etc." It is BECAUSE we are so affirmed and treasured by God that we canlet his goodness overflow in turn to those around us. Repeatedly he mentions "Be thankful...with gratitude in your hearts...giving thanks to God the Father"; thankfulness toward God is the energy pump by which we, like Daniel, can exhibit Christ's characteristics when times are tough. Again, an Abundance Mentality, meaning in Covey's words, there is plenty out there for everybody.

Most people are deeply scripted in what Covey calls the Scarcity Mentality: they see life as having only so much, as if there were only one pie out there. And if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everybody else. People with a Scarcity Mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit; they have a hard time being genuinely happy for the successes of other people. Their sense of worth comes from being compared, and someone else's success, to some degree, means their failure.

With two parents who grew up in the Depression, I can sense some of what he's getting at. Children of the Depression may be cautious, worried, anxious that there's some ominous loss just around the bend. Daniel however reminds us to pray and give thanks instead of worry and get ulcers.

Covey says, "The Abundance Mentality, on the other hand, flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making. It opens possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity. The Abundance Mentality takes the personal joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment of habits 1,2,and 3 and turns it outward, appreciating the uniqueness, the inner direction, the proactive nature of others."

One of the qualities Paul mentions we can clothe ourselves with is meekness. It's hard to find an English equivalent for the Greek word. It's an inwrought grace of the soul, unlike gentleness which refers to actions. Meekness is a condition of the mind and heart, and is the fruit of power. Humanly speaking, we've heard a man called meek because he can't help himself; but the Lord was 'meek' because he had the infinite resources of God at his command - an abundance. Meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at all. So an appreciation of God's abundance makes true meekness possible.

Covey's Habit 5 is "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." Many of the characteristics Paul urges us to reflect as Christians have to do with getting in tune with the other person, laying our own agenda aside while we try to see things from their angle. He writes, "Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience; bear with each other...put on love..." Compassion inthe Greek is literally "bowels of mercy", feeling pity deep down inside for the ills of others. The English term compassion means "to suffer together". Kindness refers to someone who is good, gracious, benevolent. Humility means lowliness of mind, modest, unpretentious - not puffing yourself up above the other person. Patience in the Greek means long-suffering, long-tempered, a long fuse; the English word like compassion comes from the Latin root to "suffer". A patient person endures pain, trouble, insults without complaining. "Bear with each other" means enduring something, holding back punishment or a sharp response. And love, that binds all these together in unity, summarizes unselfish giving, putting the other person's interests first.

So each of these clothing items is really something that focuses us on the other person, helps us tune in to where they're at. Compassion, kindness, humility, love all motivate us to behold the other person, listen to them, notice them, feel for them and understand them.

Covey illustrates: "Suppose you've been having trouble with your eyes and you decide to go to an optometrist for help. After briefly listening to your complaint, he takes off his glasses and hands them to you. "Put these on," he says."I've worn this pair of glasses for ten years now and they've really helped me.I have an extra pair at home; you can wear these."

So you put them on, but it only makes the problem worse."This is terrible!" you exclaim."I can't see a thing!"

"Well, what's wrong?" he asks."They work great for me. Try harder."

"I am trying," you insist."Everything is a blur!"

..."Boy, are you ungrateful!" he chides. "And after all I've done to help you!"

We wouldn't go to that optometrist again, would we? Yet that's how we often communicate. We don't really listen or try to understand the other person, see things from their angle, but barge ahead with our advice, fix things up with the solutions that have worked for us. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; we listen with the intent to reply. We're either speaking or preparing to speak. We filter everything through our own habitual viewing patterns, reading our autobiography into other people's lives. We may be ignoring the other person, pretending, or even selectively listening. We evaluate, either agreeing or disagreeing; we probe - asking questions from our own frame of reference; we advise - giving counsel based on our own experience; or we interpret - we try to figure people out, explain their motives and behaviour, based on our own.

Covey recommends empathic listening, or listening with empathy. Listening with intent to understand, to getinside another person's frame of reference. You look out through it, yo see the word the way they see the world, you understand their paradigm, you understand how they feel.

How does it work? First stage is to mimic content. Son: "Boy, Dad, I've had it! School is for the birds!" Father: "You've had it. You think school is for the birds." Easy, huh? You haven't done much except repeat; but at least you haven't evaluated or probed or advised or interpreted.

Stage two: rephrase the content. Son: "Boy, Dad, I've had it! School is for the birds." Father: "You don't want to go to school anymore." Now you've processed what he said, mostly with the left or logical side of the brain.

Stage three: reflect feeling. Son: "Boy, Dad, I've had it! School is for the birds." Father: "You're feeling really frustrated."

Fourth stage: rephrase the content AND reflect the feeling. Son: "Boy, Dad, I've had it! School is for the birds!" Father: "You're really frustrated about school." Frustration is the feeling; school is the content. You're using both sides of your brain to understand both sides of his communication. And so on. As he grows in his confidence of your sincere desire to really listen and understand, the barrier between what's going on inside him and what's actually being communicated to you disappears. It opens a soul to soul flow.

A young monastic student was working to understand the writings of Aristotle about the natural world and the heavens in light of his direct observations. Looking through a lens at the sun one day, he saw something he had not recalled reading in Aristotle's writings. Excitedly, in the joy of new discovery, he raced to his teacher to say, "I've found something.I've discovered some spots on the sun that are not mentioned in Aristotle's works." But he was quickly deflated when his teacher calmly said, "If the spots are not mentioned in Aristotle, then they are either on your lens or in your eye." And he would not look. So when we listen only autobiographically, filtering what the other person says past just what we already know, we miss so much.

The habit of the Daily Private Victory renews us spiritually, physically, mentally, as it was Daniel's mainstay even when his life was threatened. The Abundance Mentality gives us a surplus, an overflow out of which we can be truly meek, thanking God for all he's provided, ready to share with others knowing we are dearly loved. Seeking first to understand, then to be understood, is made possible by the compassion, humility, patience, and love that are our clothing when we receive Christ. He came down to our level and suffered our pains and testings so he could understand fully and redeem us from the very worst. As Hebrews 4 puts it, "We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been temptedin every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." He truly understands - thanks be to God!

"Guess Who OUGHT to be Coming to Dinner?" - Heaven's Hospitality for the Helpless - 980830 Lk.14:1,7-14 Heb.13:1-8,15-16

Summertime - barbecue time - reunion time - holiday time - visiting time. Seems we're either going somewhere to drop in on someone, or we're having company over to drop in on us. The "days off" we've been looking forward to all year have a way of filling up with people commitments, until the hours are taken up hosting friends and relatives and cleaning up after them, or being hosted ourselves and letting some other unfortunate soul worry about meal prep and cleanup.

From the church's very start, hospitality has been an important ministry. Two lessons emerge from today's scriptures on this subject: hospitality requires a giving-up of place; and, hospitality's risk on behalf of the stranger results in blessing, for God is our ultimate sponsor.

One Sabbath, Jesus was invited for lunch by a leading Pharisee. This important official took somewhat of a risk by inviting a radical itinerant preacher, and backwoods disciples, into his comfortable home. But the leader's generosity was not much appreciated by the other guests who came. As soon as they arrived, they started jostling for position, slyly positioning themselves so they would wind up in the places of honour. In those days, if a table were set for three, the middle position would be the place of honour. Following the Greek fashion, several tablesmight be set up in s U shape, leaving room for the servants to access the tables by the gap in the middle. Each of these tables, then, had their position of honour: the spot in the middle, followed by the place on the right.

When Jesus noticed the jockeying for position that was going on, he advised everyone that, when they're invited for a fancy do, they should take the lowest place not the highest. That avoids the embarrassment of the host having to bump you should a more important guest show up. Perhaps the host will even call you to move up higher to a better spot, and so you would be honoured in front of the other guests. One of Jesus' favourite sayings was, "Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be exalted." He went on to prove it by his own shameful crucifixion and stupendous resurrection. God, not you or I, is number one; Satan's oldest ploy is to try to usurp that primacy. By contrast, God's desire is to lift up the lowly and share his resources freely, without us trying to grab them.

Our fallen egos often attempt to push others away from the host who has extended hospitality. At the military exercise Wolf Bastion at Petawawa earlier this month, the major in my Service Battalion held daily administrative briefings which representatives from the different units, from as far away as Ottawa and Cornwall, would attend. There was one captain there who seemed to have a need to feel important. He sometimes arrived late, though you're always supposed to be there early for a briefing. When he spoke, his movements were dramatic and exaggerated, posturing for effect. When the major asked people for input, they would usually remain in their seat and speak from where they were. But whenever this captain spoke, he always took time to come to the front. Once in particular, he began talking while he turned to face the group, and continued backing up to the front until he backed the major right off of centre stage. This captain wanted to be important, but his actions caused him to be scorned by most people there. "Those who exalt themselves shall be humbled..."

Summertime hospitality offers us an opportunity to exercise our humility, to let others have the sturdiest lawn chair or least-burnt piece of chicken when we're invited to a barbecue. Don't be so greedy for honour, so desperate to come across as the life of the party, that you wind up embarrassing yourself.

There is also a way we can yield honour when we're hosting a function; it has to do with who we invite. Another thing Jesus noticed at the Pharisee's feast, besides the tussle over who was going to get the best spot, was the overall clientele. The leader had invited a very select group: the mucky-mucks, a veritable "Who's Who" of upper crust society had assembled. The Pharisee was being hospitable, but he had not invited a single soul who wouldn't be able toreturn the favour, apart from Jesus and the disciples. So the Master told the host, "When you give a feast, send for the poor, crippled, lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, for they won't be able to repay you. Later, you will get your reward at the resurrection of the righteous."

In this beautiful country of Canada, God has provided so richly for us that we can share with everybody with no fear of running short. So why do we find it so hard to be open to strangers and needy people who won't be able to scratch our back in return for scratching theirs? God assures us that He will be our source of security and safety; because he is with us and behind us, we can share with the less fortunate even when there is no immediate payback.

Last Sunday night we arrived home from a pleasant supper at a friend's house; so pleasant that we were late getting home, gone 10 pm. A message on the answering machine identified the caller as one Eugene Peterson; he was stranded in Echo Bay at John's Gas Bar. Excuses immediately presented themselves to my mind. It was late; we were tired; we lived 5 miles out of town; hitchhikers are untrustworthy; we had two teens sleeping downstairs. Could he not find shelter somewhere else? I phoned him back. Mr.Peterson was adamant that he needed shelter; he had already been caught in the storm earlier that evening in the Sault. Another clergyman had promised to come pick himup immediately, but that was an hour ago. Incidentally, the word "please" simply did not seem to be part of this man's vocabulary. What irked me more than anything was his lack of humility, his demand or expectation that I would help him out.

I stalled for time and did some phoning. No, the Baptist church didn't allow transients to sleep insider overnight. Neither did the local United Church. I wondered if there might be an overhang he could get under somewhere at the Post Office or Co-op. Pity that the churches and community didn't have any form of temporary shelter. A local minister reported even the police don't offer housing unless the person has committed a crime. Perhaps that could be arranged. A previous time Yvonne and I had harboured a hitchhiker at the manse in Richards Landing, the variety store had been broken into after our guest left unexpectedly. Our misgivings about security were not groundless.

So it came to pass that Mr.Peterson spent the night in a sleeping bag on a mattress in our insulated garage. About 2:30 in the morning I was awakened by a severe thunderstorm. I must have remained awake a whole 30 seconds, comforting myself by the thought that I hadn't condemned the man to another night outside exposed to the elements. (You can see I was already being repaid.) Next morning I dropped him down to 17 highway, leavinghim grumbling that the change I had given him wasn't enough to do him much good. I thought no more about it until someone told me Monday night that a tornado had torn up a shed at the back of the Co-op, and lifted the roof off of Maple Leaf Lumber. I was doubly thankful that I had not suggested the guy try finding shelter under an eave at the Co-op!

I am not saying we should always in every instance put up hitchhikers. I am sharing the angst of heart in making any such decision, the self-protectiveness we feel, weighing the responsibility toward our family, being hesitant to give place or go out on a limb for those who have absolutely nothing to offer us. I prefer the food-for-work approach given hobos in the 30's, but I really did not want to put an axe in this man's hand.

"Do not forget to entertain strangers," Hebrews says, "for by so doing some have entertained angels without knowing it." Abraham, Gideon, and Manoah all received a blessing when they offered food to angels in disguise. In the days of the early church, Christians were more often on the road and helpless as a result of persecution, so hospitality was part of the church's survival plan. In these ebbing years of the 20th century, as social welfare systems are strained by cutbacks, perhaps the church can show some leadership in promoting hospitality. Our former invention, the YMCA, caters more now to the middle class than to transients.

Such sacrifice on behalf of strangers is hard. It requires a giving up of claim on what we call our own. Scripture says, "Be free from the love of money...for God himself has said, I will never fail you nor forsake you; so that we say with a good heart, The Lord is my helper, I will have no fear - what can man do to me?"

Jesus is not laying a heavy on us when he commands us to spread a feast for the poor, crippled, lame, and blind. The One giving the order has already poured out himself as a banquet for our brokenness, our innermost hungers. He'll pick up the tab, eventually, and repay us at the resurrection of the upright. We can go on doing good and giving to others, precisely and only because we're assured that God is well-pleased with such offerings; he's our sponsor, our guarantor.

As Canadian society continues to change, and people move around, we come into contact with more of what this year's mission stu dy calls "Uprooted People". Christ calls us not to avoid these people as strangers or foreigners, but welcome them to a feast, in worship and the world. Marpole United Church is located in south Vancouver. Over the past 10 years, many Asian immigrants have moved into the area. Some have come from Hong Kong, fearing China's takeover. 92% of the students at the local secondary school are of Asian heritage.

The church members responded to these changes by asking themselves, "How can we be Marpole United Church in an area ethnically and racially diverse? How can we be faithful to Jesus Christ in a changed neighbourhood?" Today the congregation offers a multicultural bible study, led by multilingual lay person Guo Ding. Each Sunday, Ding also makes a point of welcoming newcomers by greeting them and speaking with them in their own language. On Friday afternoons volunteer teachers from the congregation teach conversational English to all who come, and a Chinese language school meets in the church each Sunday. Wedding and funeral services are available for non-members. There is a work party of retired men who do odd jobs, everything from replacing light bulbs to fixing the church sign. Worship services are advertised in local Chinese newspapers. Pastor Rick Taylor admits there has been conflict which has to do with power and sharing power. "What caucasian people need to learn is how to share power and give up some of our assumptions (about people from other cultures)." By such yielding place, giving up power, Marpole United is inviting strangers to the feast of life in Christ.

Our family has been on the receiving end of hospitality, too. Once camping in southern Manitoba our tents were flooded out on a Saturday night. The next day some French-speaking folks at a Pentecostal church fed us and dried out our gear. We noticed that several families in this church were also foster homes for native children. In concrete ways they were sharing the feast of God's goodness.

Who OUGHT to be coming to dinner? Needy people, even ones like Mr.Peterson who was never taught to be polite, await our invitation. Christian hospitality requires us to yield the best spot, to be humble, even voluntarily downwardly mobile. Yet we'll discover that risking on behalf of the stranger results in blessing - at the end of time, if not now, for such sacrifices please God. Jesus who was born in a stable, rode a borrowed donkey, feasted in someone else's upper room, and was laid in a borrowed tomb, will help us hold life's goods lightly.

"God's Truth or Consequences: You Become What You Worship (and your neighbour may not like it)" – 980913 Jer.7:1-12,16-20 10:12-16 9:1-9

Truth is a precious commodity. Normally we rely on the information that comes to us from our senses in order to construct a true mental picture of our world. Beyond our senses, we have to rely on what others tell us, we depend on their truthfulness. I believe the moon is NOT made of cheese, based on what the media has conveyed to me through what it purports to be the voice of Neil Armstrong (and others).

On a more mundane level, we can take a practical joke like being told your fly is down ONCE, but if somebody repeatedly and habitually deceives us, we take a dim view of them.

President Clinton is discovering just how precious the truth is. 36 boxes of evidence were locked up in a vault under armed guard with motion sensors this past week, awaiting review by a Congressional judiciary committee. It is not the original sexual misconduct that people feel may be grounds for impeaching the president; instead the issues are perjury (lying under oath), witness tampering, and abuse of power. From the seeds of physical pleasure, what a mess has grown! Apparently an initial power trip and inappropriate behaviour mushroomed into untruthfulness, and the question of his integrity and reliability in office.

In Jeremiah's day, not just one man but a wholenation had been untrue, and many people were about to suffer dire consequences for their infidelity. When Manasseh was king of Judah, he was a practical politician, and adopted many customs of the conquering power of the day, Assyria. Suddenly idolatry was "in" in Judah. People worshipped the sun, moon, and stars; if they'd had newspapers back then, they would have all been reading their daily horoscope. Right on top of the Temple in Jerusalem, there were altars to the host of heaven. Baal-worship was kosher, complete with statues of the mother-goddess Ishtar and sacred prostitution. The fertility religion of the Canaanites that Samuel, Elijah, and others had resisted for centuries suddenly received royal approval. If it's the religion of the Assyrian overlord and his empire, who can argue with success? Manasseh also revived the cult of the dead, using mediums and spiritists to hold seances with the deceased. Sorcery was encouraged. (It's making a comeback today, too: at Petawawa I met 2 Wiccans who were on the exercise.) Most unthinkable of all, Manasseh introduced human sacrifice, burning his own son as an attempt to please the gods. Somehow, these sex-based religions were popular with the masses. After all, it's fashionable if the royals are doing it! Only a few lone prophetic voices complained, and Manasseh's police state quashed the protestors.

King Josiah instituted reforms to the Temple and cleaned up the countryside for a while, but the reforms didn't go deep. For the next king, Jehoiakim, went right back into Manasseh's footsteps. And the people followed along. They became great pretenders, hypocrites, committing indecent acts one minute then sliding over into the Temple just in time for worship, as if it were some kind of good luck charm. God asked them through Jeremiah the prophet, "Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, perjury, offer incense to Baal, and follow other gods then come and stand before me in this house which bears My Name and say, We are safe?" "Don't trust in deceptive words and say, 'This is the temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh'" - like a magical chant. When not at worship they were oppressing the alien, the fatherless, and the widow. They were acting, trying to trick God, cheating on him. Jeremiah asks, "Has this house become a den of robbers to you?" Centuries later, Jesus put his life on the line when he cleared Herod's temple of the buyers and sellers, and he recalled Jeremiah's words, making the Temple out to be a hideaway for a den of robbers. The chief priests and scribes began looking for a way to kill Jesus because of that act. Religion must be true, inside out, or it's an abomination. Worship in Jeremiah's time was superficial, skin-deep.

Twisted rituals begot twisted character. From pretending at the temple, they started pretending in all of life. Lying and deceit became a habit for them. To Jeremiah it seemed all were adulterers and unfaithful. Their tongues were bows shooting lies, they spoke with deceit, their tongue was a deadly arrow. "Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth...Each speaks cordially to his neighbour, but in his heart he sets a trap for him." In short, their deceit became so much a habit, that it was impossible for them to be upfront and honest even with their friends. Their soul had a big thick callous on it; Jeremiah says, "Even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart." Religion had become a matter of externals: the Ark, the rite of circumcision, the Law, sacrifice, the Temple itself; people were putting their trust in institutions. But rust was working away underneath the thin paint job of Josiah's reforms. Sin's desires and deceit were corrupting people from within. Jeremiah moans, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure, desperately corrupt.Who can understand it?"

God had something better for people. God's remedy is for us to turn to his real substance to replace our superficiality. Christian faith originates in history, from a specific time and place: Jesus was born, he died for our sins, he arose again and was seen. It's not make-believe or "let's pretend". As John says, "That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.We proclaim to you what wehave seen and heard..." The Good News about Jesus is real news, substantial, otherwise the early church martyrs wouldn't have died for it. Otherwise we wouldn't receive the Holy Spirit within us to change us for good, empower us to turn over a new leaf.

Jeremiah pokes fun at the gods of other nations, idols cut from a tree or hewn from stone. They're like scarecrows in a melon patch, pretend, fakes, not real at all. They can't speak or walk, and they need to be nailed down lest they topple over. God says of idolaters, "They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves." You become what you worship. What you value takes hold of you and shapes you. Worship an empty scarecrow, and you become empty and useless yourself, worthless.

By contrast, Yahweh is the God who is there (to use Francis Schaeffer's expression): he created the world and the heavens, commands the wind and storm, and enters into judgment with his creation. What's more, Yahweh chose Israel, made them his special people, his inheritance. Not only were they his people, he was their God, the Portion of Jacob.

People seek many things to be their portion, to give them substance. Some seek power and fame, only to find like President Clinton it can evaporate overnight. What does Yahweh say? "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that heunderstands and knows me, that I am Yahweh, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord. THAT is how we can break out of superficiality, THAT is how we can find true substance. Lasting Realness comes from knowing God through Christ, so you come to delight in what is kind, just, and right. Then there's no need to hide anything or cover it up, no need for deceit, no need to keep track of what story you told who. Putting God first instead of self frees us to become solid, loving, and true. Make the Lord your priority, your portion. Psalm 73 says: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my PORTION forever."

People in Jeremiah's time found that infidelity in worship leads to unfaithfulness of character. Worship what is worthless, and you soon wind up there yourself. But when we let God circumcise our heart, he'll not only save us from the pain and hurt the lying and cheating cause; knowing the Lord gives us reality and substance in place of being empty and superficial.

This week in Nova Scotia there was a memorial service for those who perished in SwissAir flight 111. One of the most moving moments occurred when a group of schoolchildren stood to sing, "Lean on me, when you're not strong, I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on." If you're true, someone can trust you, lean on you when they need you. They can have faith in you because you're reliable and dependable, not a fake or phony.

The Swiss President attended, along with Prime Minister Chretien. The President was touched, he said, by two qualities of the service and people: "simplicity" and "sincerity". It was not fancy or pompous, there was no pretending, just people being true and genuine. We can be that in Christ. Amen.

"God's Sovereignty vs. Our Stubbornness: Imperfect Pride Frustrates Divine Purpose" - 980920 Jer.18:1-11;13:1-11

Sometimes we get great plans in our heads. We have a mental picture of a beautiful finished product, a craft or some other project around the home. But then we get into it and discover the materials we have to work with are less ideal than the plan. Perhaps you discover the leftover drywall compound you're trying to plaster with has developed a case of the lumps. Or you were sure you'd have the room finished in time for company coming, but you cut corners in purchasing, the paint is like water, and you're going to have to do several coats. Maybe the material you've got for sewing that special gift is beautiful, but the sewing machine keeps acting up, dropping stitches. Or you begin to load the children's favourite computer game onto the computer once again, only to find one of the floppy disks you used for backup has bad sectors and you can't get it all. Then there are the times we've worked and fertilized and planted the garden soil with care, only to come back three weeks later and find only a quarter of the corn seed germinated. The plan was flawless; the product is frustration, because in some way the materials we had to work with were inferior. No matter how carefully you did your part, the flawed ingredient ruined the whole endeavour, your effort proved useless.

In a similar way, God has wonderful plans for people to intimately share his glory. But he has blessed us with free will, within the overall envelope of his divine sovereignty and purpose. Like the lumpy plaster or infertile seed, we decide to do our own thing and not what was expected. Through prophets like Jeremiah, God passionately and patiently urges us to quit following our own stubborn wills, tune in to the much greater plans he has for us, and learn to co-operate.

God has plans for us to intimately share his glory. On one occasion the Lord told Jeremiah to buy a new belt, literally a loincloth, like a short kilt. A parallel today might be sharp-looking fitted shorts, that really hug the hip and cry out that they've got a designer label. People were probably just as proud of their new clothes back then as they are now, and any man would have been proud to show off the new linen loincloth Jeremiah was sporting. God told Jeremiah to take care of his new duds and not let them get wet and mildewy.

Later God told Jeremiah to do a strange thing: go and stick his prize shorts in a crack in the rock, at a place whose name sounded like that of the river Euphrates. Much later Jeremiah came back and dug up his clothes: they were black and mouldy, and fell apart in his hands - completely useless.

All this must have seemed puzzling to Jeremiah, until God explained: "That loincloth really made you stand out when it was new, didn't it? Just so,I bound Israel and Judah to me, intimately as hip-huggers. I wanted them to be my people for my renown, praise, and honour. I wanted to take pride in them like the latest thing from Levi's. But they're ruined, they refuse to listen to me, and instead follow the stubbornness of their hearts and serve other gods. Just as your fine belt is now useless, so I'm about to ruin all of which Judah has been so proud."

There's nothing closer to you, more intimate to you than your undergarments. God wants to get closer to us than even that. He wants to be able to take pride in us and show us off for his glory. Too often we don't want to hang around him, we go off and hide in a crack of the rock, but soon we're ruined apart from his preservation.

Another powerful image God showed his prophet was a potter making a jar. But as the potter worked, something in the clay wasn't quite right and the jar wouldn't hold its shape. Fortunately bowls were also in big demand so the potter formed one of those instead.

"Can I not do with you as this potter does?" asked God. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand." Nobody was about to argue that the nation of Judah owed its existence to God; without his help, they'd never have made it out of Egypt. He had shared with them through Moses his dreamof a just and holy nation, set apart to reflect his lovingkindness and just laws through a model society. But the clay was marred. King after wicked king had introduced idol worship, oppressed the poor, and filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. The fine jar God had been fashioning was crumbling in his hands, refusing to be shaped into the plan in his mind. So Plan B, namely disaster, was where they were headed unless they made a conscious effort to re-form.

God is sovereign. He has every right to do with us just as he wants, we exist for his pleasure. Paul elaborates on this in Romans 9, defending God's right to choose Jacob over Esau for no other reason than his divine choice; to harden Pharaoh's heart in order to better display his greatness in delivering the Israelites. But God's revelation to Jeremiah is not just one-sided. Within this overarching divine sovereignty, God has left room for us to have free will. He drives this home with a series of 4 "ifs" in chapter 18 that make it clear God's actions depend on human responses. "IF at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted...and IF that nation I warned repents of its evil THEN I will relent and not inflict on it the evil I had planned. And IF at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and IF it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, THEN I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it." Amazingly, the Almighty God, Lord ofthe universe, conditions his actions on the responses of us mere mortals. God is sovereign, but limits that sovereignty to allow us a measure of freedom. What worth and dignity this vests in humans! We could have been just puppets on a string, programmed involuntarily like some big computer simulation game; but God chose to grant us free will so love might be genuine, not forced. God doesn't drive us to himself, but draws us. God takes pains to warn us if we're rushing down the road away from life and into destruction. If with the help of his Holy Spirit we acknowledge our wrongs and repent, God changes his mind (to use a human expression) and blesses us instead of bringing punishment. Similarly, if we grow complacent and presume on God's continued benevolence despite our carelessness, God will arrange circumstances to shake us up before we grow too cold.

The degree to which God responded in mercy to human repentance was upsetting for the prophet Jonah. You may recall God told him to go preach against Nineveh, currently Enemy No.1 on the Israeli scene (this was in the days before Yasser and Sadam). It was the last place on earth Jonah wanted to go to; when he finally arrived and gave a simple message of impending doom, the response was dramatic. Officials clothed themselves in sackcloth and proclaimed a fast. Jonah went and waited outside the city, only too eager to see God rain down fire and sulphur. When God changed the plan and had mercy on Nineveh, Jonah sulked. He was jealous and indignant that God would show mercy on others than his Chosen People. But the Ninevites said the magic word, "Sorry", and chose to turn toward God. That's the key thing he desired, to be intimate with them again.

With his own people the Jews, it was a different story. God wanted Jeremiah to warn them one last time. But even then he knew they wouldn't listen. God predicted to Jeremiah, "They will reply, 'It's no use.We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of our evil heart.'"

This brings up the distinction between foreknowledge and determinism. God KNOWS everything we're going to do in life, from the beginning to the end, because He's outside time. It's like he can pick up the book of our life and hop in wherever he likes, he's already ready the last chapter. But that doesn't mean he's scripted it all out; often he puts the pen in our own hands, we're not determined by a controlling outside force (not God's, anyway; the Holy Spirit is a gentleman, a lady with etiquette that doesn't push you around). If it were all determined, why would prophets be sent to warn people? Why would missionaries be needed to evangelize? But God commands both in order to persuade the free wills of people, WITHIN the bounds of his overarching sovereignty and choice.

What the two parables of the belt and the potter boil down to is this. God has wonderful plans for the life of each one of us. Something to be proud of - a fine kilt, a delicate vase. The glitch is our unwillingness to co-operate. Our stubbornness frustrates God's intentions, the evil in our heart will bring evil tribulations unless we turn, reform, and get with his program. A big part of the problem has to do with our selfishness. We can't stand seeing somebody else receiving more renown, praise, and glory than ourselves. Adam and Eve just couldn't accept the possibility of God being able to know good and evil, and not them too. We're jealous. Why should God get it so good? We're not content to piggyback around on his hips and just bring him honour - even though to jump off is to separate ourselves from ever being intimate with a truly good God.

What's the application here? When God warns, listen up. Don't keep ploughing ahead with your own plans, disregarding that still small voice. Press pause and make sure what you're planning is really part of the Father's Overall Plan. Otherwise your best efforts will only wind up as filthy rags, or broken crockery.

It may be, at times, God's will for us is not easy street but, as in Jeremiah's case, years of weeping. So be it: we are sharing God's tears for his people. The pain we feel is the pain that jabs God's heart too. A distinguished Jewish philosopher has said, "the fundamental experience of the prophets is a fellowship with the feelings of God, a sympathy with the divine pathos." Another scholar comments, "In a profound sense Jeremiah's suffering was a participation in God's suffering, so much so that God's concern became his concern and God's pathos, whether anger or love, flowed through his whole life and thought." After all, isn't that the goal of religion, to be close to God, hugging his hips like a short kilt, not just be out for a spiritual anesthetic that makes us feel good?

One of the wet days earlier this week, I opened our back porch door only to find a frog or toad hopping in across the sill. A scuffle ensued. Three times I thought I had the invader in my hands, but he hopped out. Finally I had him safely trapped and put him back outside where he belonged. No doubt God's sovereignty is often like that. We're the toad, thinking we're getting in out of the rain, while God is trying to guide us into his hands for transport to where we're supposed to be. We wriggle and jump and complain, thinking he's King Kong, about to eat us or worse. But really God's plan turns out for good in the long run. We just don't know what's on his mind. He sees the big picture; he knows if the toad's left inside soon it will be more miserable. But how we squirm in his grip, thinking we know best! So when hardship overtakes you, don't just automatically start struggling, but pray first; then your energy can be exercised in harmony with God's agenda.

Another aspect of deferring to God's sovereignty comes up in those areas of life in which, thanks to our advanced technology, we have the potential to "play God". It's probable that some 200 abortions are performed every year at the Plummer hospital. This results in health risks; it is akin to murder; and meanwhile infertile couples have to turn to other continents to find infants to adopt. Life Chain, coming up soon, is a peaceful p rayerful witness to God's sovereignty and providence, his prior claim on life. Yes, there is a place for birth control, but that does not include ending a life already begun.

This week, an elderly friend of ours from St.Joe, who has worshipped in this church, suffered a stroke and fell to her kitchen floor. By the time her husband discovered her and the ambulance got to her, the brain had been without oxygen for over 25 minutes. Through CPR and emergency measures at the hospital, they got her alive again, but only in a coma due to the brain damage. She has been weaned off the respirator and kept comfortable. I was relieved when the doctor said from the outset it would be unethical to give her a lethal injection to stop her heart. Acknowledging God's sovereignty means leaving her clay body in God's hands, for a few more days while her husband holds her hand and friends take shifts before the end comes. If pneumonia stops her, no heroic measures will be taken; she will pass on naturally, as she would have wished. So in the boundaries we set for resuscitation we acknowledge God's control, while in the care we give the living we respect the worth and dignity of human life.

The night the Titanic sank, the Captain was pushing her through the iceberg-laden waters at 42 km/hr, trying to set a record. Granted, we now know another factor was the inferior metal in the hull, which became brittle and stressed in the chill North Atlantic waters. But it was human stubbornness that was pushing the speed to be so dangerously high. Ironically, less than 20 miles away the passenger liner Californian sat idle, her captain having wisely decided to stop and wait for daylight due to the icebergs. The Californian was empty and could have reached the Titanic within an hour, and still had an hour and a half and enough room to take on her passengers. They saw the eight distress flares shot from the Titanic, but the Captain misinterpreted and ignored them. So the problem was not the icebergs but human error - barging full speed ahead, and being preoccupied with one's own agenda, ignoring the warning signals.

God's desire for us is not ruin, but salvation, knowing him intimately, heeding his voice, yielding to the potter's sensitive hand. Then he'll be truly proud of us, like the latest fashion. He wants us to be recognizably HIS people, for his praise and honour. If we obey, he'll work out the flaws in his sovereign time! Let us pray.

"Hope When There's No Tomorrow: God's Lifetime Guarantee of Security and Relationship" - Jer.32:1-2,6-15;31:7-14,31-34 980927

Where do you get hope when it looks like there's going to be no tomorrow? Who can you turn to for assurance when it seems certain your world is falling apart? For some people, doom looms on the horizon in the form of a hurricane. For others, it comes in the form of a pink slip. Or a call from the doctor asking you to come in for more tests. Or a "Dear John" note from the one you thought you'd someday marry. Whenever our existence is threatened severely, we want to run for cover, we need someone to turn to that will comfort us and assure us this is NOT the end of the world, though it sure seems like it.

God's good news for us in both old and new testaments is that he guarantees never-ending love and support to those who trust in him. Even when it seems like there's no tomorrow, God's mercy and faithfulness are available to those who will call on his name. Though dark times may be ahead, God will get us through it and provide a light at the end of the tunnel.

The prophet Jeremiah had this brought home to him through an unexpected real estate offer at a crisis when real estate was the last thing on his mind. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had begun a siege of Jerusalem in January, 588 BC. That summer an Egyptian Pharaoh marched out hisarmy and the Babylonians were distracted for a while, but soon they returned and the siege got worse and worse. Jerusalem was cut off from outside help until it fell in 586, over 2 years after the siege began. Passages in the book of Lamentations record just how horrific the situation became. The elders of the city sat on the ground in silence, dust sprinkled on their heads and sackcloth on their bodies. The residents groaned as they searched for bread, bartering their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. Children and infants fainted in the streets; their lives ebbed away in their mothers' arms. The skin even of princes shriveled on their bones. Worst of all, the eyewitness writes, "With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed."

Several times during the siege, King Zedekiah called the prophet Jeremiah privately to seek out his advice. It was always the same: surrender to the Babylonians. But the king refused and held on stubbornly to the bitter end.

Throughout the siege, Jeremiah was in prison, under close guard because his message advocating desertion was considered bad for morale. His cousin came and asked him to buy his field at their hometown of Anathoth, because Jeremiah was the nearest relative and it was his right and duty to keep it in the family name. Must have seemed like an offer of some swamp land in Florida: "The enemy is pounding away at the walls, the city's going to be destroyed, I haven't eaten in weeks, and you want me to buy a lousy field that I'm never going to set foot in?" But God had shown Jeremiah this would be happening, so he carried through with the full business transaction, including parchmentwork in duplicate. Then Jeremiah asked his trusty secretary to put the sealed copy and the working copy in a clay jar where they would last a long time.

Well, by now you can imagine the bystanders and onlookers shaking their heads in disbelief. What kind of a cuckoo would pay good silver for useless title deeds when the price of food has gone through the roof? Soon they would no longer even be in the country; Babylon routinely exiled anybody who was a somebody. But for Jeremiah it was another acted-out parable, a sign from God. He explained, "For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land."

Although Jeremiah has been called the "Weeping Prophet" because there is so much doom and destruction in his writings due to the nation's unbelief, Chapters 30-33 have been called his "Little Book of Comfort". He had prophesied already that the people would go into exile 70 years. As the end of their freedom drew near and their uprooting became imminent, he began to emphasize God's promises of hope and restoration. This entailed, first, physical deliverance and location: God would not only save them from theirenemies, but provide them a part of their homeland in which they could be secure. Jeremiah prophesied, "Do not be dismayed, O Israel; I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile.Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid." He foretold the city would be rebuilt, along with the palace, the number of people would increase, and there would be songs and honour once again. God would bring back the people from the north - blind, lame, expectant mothers, women in labour - he would lead them beside streams on a level path where they would not stumble. Yahweh declared, "I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty.There is hope for your future: your children will return to their own land."

But God's lifetime guarantee for his people went much further than just acreage and material prosperity. Religion in Jeremiah's time had been reduced to a farce: people went through the motions, there was the temple and sacrifices and all that rigamarole, but the reforms under King Josiah had only been superficial. There was no depth to their faith, no heartfelt commitment that inclined people to WANT to obey God. Old testament prophecy rises to an apex, a pinnacle of inspiration from which one can see centuries ahead, with Jeremiah's prediction of the NEW covenant God was about to offer. Religion was about to take on a whole new style, not based on rules but RELATIONSHIP. The ark which housed the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments would not be remembered, missed,or another one like it made. The new deal God offered wouldn't be like the old one which those coming out of Egypt broke again and again. This new covenant would be personal; internal; effective, regarding sin; and also corporate.

Let's check out the various aspects of this new offer, much as Jeremiah would have loved to get out to the village of Anathoth to look at the new property he was now owner of. The new covenant will be personal, on an individual basis. God says, "No longer will a man teach his neighbour...saying Know Yahweh, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest." Under former covenants, Abraham or Moses had dealt with God face to face, but not the bulk of the people. God communicated with them through their representatives. By contrast, Jesus makes it possible for each one of us to come to God directly, no mediators needed but the Son on the cross. Christians enjoy direct access to God, personally, each one of us can approach the throne of grace with confidence. Each one of us receives the Holy Spirit when we ask, after Christ has cleared the way; we don't have to rely on Moses or Samuel or even the Pastor to approach God on our behalf. The new covenant is personal.

It is also INTERNAL. Worship under Moses was a lot of "out there": cattle and sheep being slaughtered, rituals for cleansing, pilgrimage three times a year to the Temple in Jerusalem, and so on. At the centre of it was the ark of the covenant, holding the community's Rules carved in stone. But these external rituals had been powerless to govern people's internal motivations. God says, "I will put my laws in their minds and write it on their hearts." An inside job. We don't abide by something as long as it's somebody else making us do it; it only becomes automatic when we interiorize it. Christians have the Holy Spirit inside to guide us, especially when we've memorized scripture and meditated on it, owning it as God's love-letter to us. Real religion is not a matter of formality, but what's going on inside a person.

The new covenant would also be EFFECTIVE with regard to sin. God promises, "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." The offerings in the Old Testament were symbolic, pointing ahead to the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. Because he who died in our place is our advocate, our mediator, sins have been truly dealt with, God accepts us and views us as holy in Jesus' name. Nothing shoved under the rug, there's no sin too big for the cross to handle. Plus the Holy Spirit gets in and convicts us of sinful intents, nipping them in the bud, giving us alternatives that are much better. Christianity is effective with regard to sin and forgiveness.

And the new covenant, while personal, internal, and effective, is also CORPORATE. It's not just a private matter. God said, "I will be their God, and they will be my people." We are his people, a group, a collective body, not just a bunch of spread-out individuals. There is a kinship, a community with other Christians, a common bond whether you're speaking to an older white Canadian or a younger black African. "We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord," as the song goes.

This new covenant, based on a relationship with God, offers lasting security that even a piece of real estate can't match. It was good news for Jeremiah with the enemy pounding at the door; it is good news for us personally; it is good news in our church, and in the world.

Sometimes we fall into a negative mindset in the church as we head into the 20th century. Especially this time of the year when not everyone's back after vacation, the budget is lagging, and it seems an uphill battle to muster enthusiasm for the fall's activities. Then we hear that 3-4,000 churches are closing their doors in the US every year. Or that weekly church attendance in Canada has fallen off from 27% in 1990 to just 21% in 1996. Drawing on a popular analogy, pollster George Barna compares the church to the Titanic. He said, "It is large, elegant, and sinking fast." Hearing things like these, we're tempted to fear there's no tomorrow and drown in despair.

But here again, God's lifetime guarantee of security and relationship in the New Covenantoffer hope. 86% of Canadians still profess belief in God; they are looking for some way to express that. Christianity is ideally suited: it is personal. We live in an individualistic society, with all different levels of education, temperament, and are probably the most psychologically aware culture there has been. A personal religion offers great appeal over a cookie-cutter one.

It is internal. Living in the media era, we are extra discerning of actors and conscious of those who are "faking it". We don't want religion to be putting on a show, but genuine, coming from the heart. That's what Jeremiah foresaw.

It is effective with regard to sin. People today want some corner of their life to address issues of right and wrong, to reinforce their gut conviction that there really are absolutes. The person on the street knows deep down that evil is evil, and somewhere along the line to some degree they have "blown it". We've heard about legitimate and false guilt and long for an unhindered relationship with the divine. There is a real spiritual thirst out there, folks dabbling in eastern meditation and New Age and horoscopes. Jesus' crucifixion has the gripping power to give assurance of dealing with sin, backed up by the Holy Spirit's conviction and joy.

And the new covenant's corporateness is alsoattractive. The rise of the mega-church shows people get a boost from coming together to worship. Also encounter groups, weight-watchers and 12 step groups convince people there is real benefit in gathering together. Worship is just not the same at home in front of the tube. Jesus said when 2 or 3 gather in his name, he's in their midst. Our individualistic, family-shattered society needs the church as much as ever to provide a sense of spiritual family, being God's people, praying together, picking up garbage together, sharing personal crises together.

God's new deal reaches out through his people to save and assure others who thought there was no hope. A couple in Brantford were ready to call it quits in their marriage. They had 3 children, ages 1,2,and 4. But an aunt and uncle up here in Goulais thought that would be too bad. Over the course of the summer, they hosted the troubled husband, and the uncle had some good man-to-man talks encouraging the young fellow to hang in there. Meanwhile, the aunt spent hundreds of dollars on long distance phone calls counselling the young mom, listening to her woes, helping her find solutions, and the commitment to give it another try. Thanks to God, whose love and mercy were felt by this couple at a crisis in their marriage through the intervention of this older experienced caring aunt and uncle, the marriage was saved. When it looked like there was no tomorrow, Christ's new covenant resources came through.

Halima is a widow from Somalia. Before the war in 1991, she had worked as a lab technician. In 1983 she had spent her life savings on a small farm, hoping to turn it into a source of retirement income. She says, "If you have a farm, you don't get old as easily."

In the civil war, though, the house was looted, the machinery stolen or destroyed. She lost her husband and two daughters in the war. Another daughter was out of the country on business when fighting broke out. Halima fled to a refugee camp in Kenya. There were shortages of food and water, a lack of privacy, parasite-infested mud everywhere, infectious diseases. She says simply, "People die in the camps." Escaping the camp, halima stayed in hiding in Nairobi, living in constant fear of deportation.

Her daughter had made her way to Canada and applied for refugee status. She was able to bring her 3 children here, but immigration officials said she didn't earn enough to sponsor her mother. It seemed like there was no tomorrow for Halima. But Trinity United Church in Ottawa chose to serve as a guarantor, and sent faxes to Kenya in support of Halima and so overcoming red tape. When she arrived finally in February 1997 it was cold, but Halima observes, "Compared to the life I was living in hiding in Nairobi it wasn't so bad. Coming here gave me the first peace of mind I'd had in seven years."

Halima prepares meals, keeps the grandchildren organized, and provides emotional support for her daughter who is upgrading to qualify in her former profession of registered nurse. At one point Halima had virtually given up on ever seeing her daughter and grandchildren again, and is thankful now that at least the family is together. She hasn't given up completely on the farm. The land is still there, and she still has the piece of paper that gives her title. She says, "It's too late now for me, but maybe for my grandchildren.Maybe, when there is peace."

God's love and faithfulness still guarantee security and relationship for those who believe, even when it seems like there's no tomorrow...A couple despairing in Brantford...Churches barely surviving...Jeremiah stashing his deed for his field in a clay jar...Halima holding on to her deed for a farm in Somalia. God is still sovereign, and can provide land and much more: intimate knowledge of Himself. Christ gives hope for tomorrow. Thanks be to God!

"TRUST IN TRYING TIMES: FELLOWSHIP & FAITH FOIL FEELINGS OF FAILURE" - 2Tim.1:1-14 Worldwide Communion 981004

With each clunk of the prison door, Paul felt the curtain drop on his earthly life. His could have been a thoroughly depressing situation. It was dark and cold in the dungeon at Rome. Chains chafed at his ankles, his body grew weaker by the day on account of the scanty rations, the moans, cries, and curses of his fellow-prisoners kept him awake through the night.

Even more discouraging to the apostle was the falling away of disciples, and his loneliness. He wrote, "Everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me," mentioning two former followers by name. A third, Demas, deserted Paul and went to Thessalonica when the appeal of the world got the better of him. At Paul's first defence, no one came to his support, but everyone deserted him. In addition, a certain metalworker named Alexander strongly opposed the apostle. Paul must have felt lonely and abandoned.

Prospects of getting justice were slim, as well. Emperor Nero was on a rampage against this new religious sect who called themselves Christians. Just a couple of years earlier in 64 AD much of Rome had been destroyed by fire. To divert the suspicion that he had started it for his own entertainment, Nero accused another party: forcing a conviction for arson against certain Christians he conducted mass arrests, and among other tortures burnt his victims alive inpublic. Paul was not expecting to be released this time, as he had been five years earlier. He sensed his life was nearly over, saying, "I am already being poured out like a drink offering; the time has come for my departure."

Nevertheless, despite such depressing circumstances, Paul wrote a heartfelt and encouraging letter to his personal aide Timothy, then looking after some follow-up work with the church in Ephesus, 800 miles east. Paul refused to let feelings of failure get him down. Instead, fellowship with others and faith in his living Lord kept him going, to the point where he offers encouragement to us today when we too are in discouraging situations.

Paul was not the last Christian worker to acknowledge disappointment with his situation in Christian service. In the August edition of the Focus on the Family newsletter, Dr.James Dobson reminds the church at large that October is Clergy Appreciation Month. He emphasizes the need for it with some sobering statistics. Dobson says, "Thousands of spiritual leaders are barely hanging on from day to day. Our surveys indicated that 80% of pastors and 84% of their spouses are discouraged or are dealing with depression. More than 40% of pastors and 47% of their spouses report that they are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules and unrealistic expectations. We estimate that approximately 1500 pastorsleave their assignments each month, due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention within their local congregations."

Dobson cites findings by the Fuller Institute of Church Growth that in 1991 80% of the clergy felt their families had been negatively impacted by the church, and 33% considered the ministry to be an outright hazard to their families. Financial burdens were common as well.

So the apostle Paul was not alone in struggling with a seeming lack of results. And I'm sure that those of you in other professions have your bad days and years too; burnout and conflict are not the exclusive preserve of spiritual vocations. Our mobile, media-soaked culture does not help foster relationships between families or friends; often isolation comes from people moving away, if not due to other breakups. Yet Paul's example shows us that fellowship and faith can still pull us through the slump - even our finale.

Paul's letter indicates several sources of refreshing friendship that still nurture his soul. Chief is Timothy, to whom the letter is addressed. Paul calls him "my dear son," "my true son in the faith," perhaps having led him to Christ during his first visit to Lystra, a town in what is now modern Turkey. Paul mentions that night and day he contantly remembers Timothy in his prayers. He recalls the tears he saw in the young man's eyes when he left him on assignment at Ephesus. Paul writes, "I long to see you, so that I maybe filled with joy...Do your best to come to me quickly...Do your best to get here before winter." You can sense the closeness, the fondness these two have for each other. Paul was quite proud of this disciple he'd trained; to the church in Philippi he says, "I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare...Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel."

Besides Timothy, Paul commends Onesiphorus, a native of Ephesus who went to great lengths to find Paul in the dungeon in Rome. He was not ashamed to be seen with this chained prisoner. Paul says Onesiphorus often refreshed him, and helped him in many ways when they were still back at Ephesus.

Apparently only Luke was currently with Paul. Luke, the dear physician. Paul also asks Timothy to bring Mark with him, "because he is helpful to me in my ministry". This is a surprise because John Mark is the one who deserted Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey; Paul later had a flaming row with Barnabas about him, adamant they shouldn't take Mark again. But apparently over the years Mark proved his sincerity and value to Paul, and was another of the small effective band of co-workers with the apostle. Paul also sends greetings to Priscilla and Aquila via the letter to Timothy. This was the couple who hosted Paul in Corinth, after his fruitless sermon at Athens. They were tentmakers like him, and quietlynursed him back to effective ministry. They retooled the burned-out apostle. Later they would do something similar with Apollos, drawing him aside to their home and explaining the way of Jesus more adequately to him. Even though Priscilla and Aquila couldn't be there with Paul in the dungeon, no doubt he knew they'd be praying for him from afar and with him in spirit. From the friendship of these fellow Christians, especially Timothy, Paul drew encouragement when it seemed his world was falling apart. The assurance of their fellowship changed his prayers in prison from lament into gratitude.

But the key thing that kept Paul from getting down in the dumps was his faith, the treasure of trusting God. First, he had God's internal resources boosting him despite his outer weakness and lack of effect. God has not given us a spirit of timidity, he reminds Timothy, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. Think of those three aspects a minute: power, gumption to keep functioning; love, a greatness of heart that allowed Paul even to share the gospel with his jailor and the guards to whom he was chained; self-discipline - Mr.Clinton & Monica demonstrate that power without self-control results in abuse and shame. Paul reminded Timothy to guard himself "with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." We have God's very Spirit inside, helping us out. As he urged Timothy to do, Paul had fanned into flame the gift of God that was within him.

Second, along with these internal resources,Paul treasured what he had received from God by faith in the form of an objective, life-changing truth called the GOSPEL. Paul was writing from a dungeon, a keep. Today keeps are rarer, but one we know is the Tower of London where the crown jewels are kept under guard. Paul taps into such imagery when he urges, "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you" - likening the sound teaching he had passed on to Timothy to something as valuable as crown jewels. In a word, that deposit of teaching Paul calls the gospel, meaning the "Good News", the "message" or "grand announcement". Paul's whole life was wrapped up with this message; he considered it worth dying for. "Join with me," he urges, "in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." Verses 9 and 10, written in the form of a song or poem, summarize in a nutshell the gospel: "God saved us and called us with a holy calling, NOT on account of our own works, but because of his own purpose and grace - grace given us in Christ Jesus before time began, now revealed through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus. He abolished death, and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel."

An amazing message. "Christ abolished death" - literally, reduced it to inactivity, rendered it inoperative. Though we may die, that's not the end, we're not left in the grave to rot. This phrase "Christ rendered death inoperative" reminds me of the movie, Sound of Music. Near the end, the Family Von Trapp are trying to escape the Nazis by crossing the border from Austria into Switzerland. They hide at first in the convent from which Maria started out. When they are discovered, they make a run for it, but the Nazis jump in their cars and prepare to give chase. However the pursuers' car engine turns over but won't start. Off to one side we see 2 nuns confessing to Mother Superior they have sinned: in their hands are the spark plug wires and coil off the bad guys' engine! Maria and the Von Trapps are saved by the vehicle being made inoperative.

So Christ has reduced death to ineffectiveness. The gospel declares God has been pleased to make available to us life instead, through faith in His Son. The cup and loaf we consume today proclaim his saving death until he comes - a death that means life for us.

Not only do we have God's internal resources of power, love, and self-control, through the Spirit, we're also kept going by this objective life-changing truth called the gospel. Imagine the excitement it caused when Banting and Best announced the discovery of insulin - an end to imminent death for diabetics. Today still we often hear exciting news about research that has discovered some wonderful drug that promises to alleviate disease. The "good news" or gospel about Jesus is just as objective, true, life-changing, and full of promise. Moreso, because it doesn't just involve THIS life!

Internal resources...the treasured deposit ofthe gospel...The third thing we read that keeps Paul going in this passage is his own personal guard. No, I'm not talking about the jailor that shoved Paul's tin plate of scraps under the door each day. Nor do I mean the Roman soldiers to which he would be handcuffed for transport to and from the courtroom. As Paul wrote, he pictured a bigger, invisible Guard that really had everything in control - Jesus himself. He admits, "I am suffering, yet I am not ashamed, (why?) because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day" (the day of judgment). At the root of it all, it was Paul's personal lived relationship with Jesus Christ that kept him going. The Lord was just as real to Paul, perhaps more real, than the soldier outside the door. It may have SEEMED the Roman was guarding him, but Paul turns his situation around to speak of Jesus being his personal bodyguard, shielding him from enemy attacks. Of his first defence, when other human supporters deserted him, Paul says, "But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength."

Paul was thoroughly convinced that, though he might die soon, God would not let him down at Judgment Day but make it all worthwhile. He was betting his life on it. Paul had entrusted much to the Lord. I expect he could have had a splendid military career, as his father may have been a retired Roman officer. He would have made an excellent lawyer. He would have definitely been a leading Pharisee, having been schooled by Gamaliel, the leading rabbi in the first century. But Paul gives no hint that he was plagued by the thought of all his "might -have -beens". He was leaving all that in God's hands. "I have fought the good fight," he maintains; "I have finished the race, I have kept the faith...now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day." Paul had deposited his whole life's future and possibilities with this trustworthy heavenly Guard.

He concludes by telling us and Timothy, using the same terms and imagery: "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you - guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us." God has made an investment in you. The symbol of the price He paid is the bread we break, the cup we take. You are Jesus' banker: he's entrusted to you a good deposit - his Spirit's resources, the good news of his costly victory over death, the treasure of a personal relationship. Are you guarding his deposit well? Are you squandering it? Unlike P aul, are you ignoring it, embarrassed by it, deserting the plan of the great announcement to go off like Demas who loved the world more?

Embezzlement is a fine word for corrupt activity. The word even sounds sleazy. Embezzlement occurs when a corporate official uses for personal gain the funds that wereentrusted to them. We've heard of corrupt company or trustco managers making off with thousands or millions of dollars, to the loss of everybody else. In Russia, the communists are pushing for nationalization of the banks. One of their arguments is that under free enterprise, banking officials have been corrupt, so nationalization would bring needed governmental control and honesty. Sadly, officials have not been guarding the good deposit entrusted to them. That's embezzlement. Have we been embezzling the crown jewels of the gospel entrusted to us? Have we any dividends to show?

Last month's Reader's Digest told the story of Christopher Reeve, a famous actor who broke his neck while riding a horse. At first he could not breathe on his own, but depended on a ventilator. He is now paralyzed from the neck down and confined to a wheelchair.

Those first few days, he questioned whether it was worth going on, or if it would be better to end it all. When he mouthed the question to his wife, she assured him that she would love him to the end. She said emphatically, "You're still YOU." Her love and commitment encouraged him to keep trying and eventually get off the ventilator.

Friends helped him out too. One day a doctor came in speaking in a Russian accent, announcing he was Reeve's proctologist and demanding to examine him immediately. It was Robin Williams in disguise. That was the first time Christopher laughed since the accident.

His youngest son has been an encouragement to him as well. "Dad can't move his arms. He can't use his legs," he observed one day. "But Dad can still smile!" His son chose to focus, not on what had been taken away, but on the gift that his father could still fan into flame. With the support of his family, who treasured the deposit of his inner person, Christopher Reeve turned the corner on what could have been a most depressing situation.

In the fellowship of other believers, and faith in his Death-disabling Lord, Paul found courage to face a painful future. He knew Jesus was guarding him, fulfilling the good news within him, helping him through the Holy Spirit right inside. Our communion today at his worldwide table reminds us those same resources are ours by faith in Jesus. God's not an embezzler; he is nurturing His nature birthed within us by grace, and will pull us through. Let us pray.

"OFFERINGS OF SOIL, SOUL, & SONSHIP: BLESSED, TO BE A BLESSING" - Deut.26:1-9 Ps.100 Lk.6:32-38,43-45 - Thanksgiving 981011

(Pass out 3 corn seeds each) Here are three kernels of corn. As we enjoy our Thanksgiving feast this weekend, these simple seeds can help remind us to be truly thankful, and for just how much we can be grateful. It's an old custom, from the time the Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving after their first harvest in the New World. Beside each plate they placed a couple of kernels of corn, as a reminder that just the previous winter their rations had dwindled to just this much each day. Quit a contrast to the way we usually heap our plates this weekend!

Also these 3 kernels beside your plate can help you remember the 3 points of today's sermon. Our Bible passages today suggest 3 types of fruit that God looks for in our lives as an offering of thankfulness to Him: the Fruit of the Soil, Fruit of the Soul, and Fruit of Sonship/Daughterhood.

Fruit of the Soil is pretty obvious. Thanksgiving is, after all, a harvest festival.

There is something innately natural about presenting a token of the earth's produce back to the Creator who gives us sun and rain and warmth of growing season. This year we've had tomatoes in abundance, so many cucumbers we put some in the compost, and we actually had two green peppers - a first for our garden here in the north.

Moses gave the Hebrews a simple liturgical ceremony to mark the firstfruits of their fields when they had their first harvest in the land of Canaan. After presenting a basket of the produce to the priest, the person would begin to declare, "My Father was a wandering Aramean..." and so recount the story of going down to Egypt, suffering as slaves, being delivered by Yahweh with a mighty hand and miraculous signs, and brought into the land of Palestine as their very own. The recitation concluded, "He...gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O Yahweh, have given me." Plunk. There it is, proof of God's provision, watching over his word to see it through to concrete fulfilment. The ceremony concludes, "And you and the Levites and the aliens among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household." That's what we look forward to doing at this feast, stuffing ourselves like a turkey and slipping into a comfortable doze, happy and content that God has provided for our larder, leaving the dishes for a more convenient time when we can again negotiate the floor without a waddle. In our day we don't usually bring the actual food to the place of worship, but money as tithe and offering, representing God's provision in a less agricultural world than that of Moses. But the same basic idea of offering the fruit of the soil is still there.

That's the first kernel - fruit of the soil. And Thanksgiving wouldn't be the same without it. But there are still 2 other kernels. There is much more to be thankful for than just food, essential as that is. The second kernel is Fruit of Soul. As we present our offering, is it with a "harrumph!" or a "hallelujah!"? The outward basket is symbolic of something much dearer to God, our soul's worship and gratitude.

God doesn't want our offering if our heart's not in it. The Creator of the universe does not require our paltry returns in order to exist. As a young boy I remember descending the hill from Staffa to Cromarty and seeing Alex Gardiner's pasture-fields with many beef cattle grazing. Painted on the large red barn in vivid white letters were the words, "The Lord owns the cattle on a thousand hills". (Ps.50:10) God does not require our offering to subsist on, he just requests it. More than offerings and sacrifices, God yearns for our appreciation and co-operation in the carrying out of his will. It has to do with attitude. Paul writes: "each one should give what they have decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a CHEERFUL giver." Harrumph or hallelujah, grudgingly or gratefully?

When Moses gives the Hebrews guidelines for setting aside their tithe, he emphasizes the obedience or voluntarily willingness of the giver to do God's will. "I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you have commanded me," is translated more literally in the KJV, "I have hearkened tothe voice of the Lord my God." To hearken means to hear, to pay attention, to listen to with the intention of carrying it out. In the military, when a Platoon Warrant comes along with an order from an officer and wants to get the troops working on it, they will begin by calling, "Listen up!" (Hebrew - "Shema", "Hear, O Israel...") More than our crops or coins, God desires the offering of our concentration on his plan.

The Thanksgiving celebration, like the presentation of our weekly offering, involves much more than just a physical giving and receiving. These visible gifts are symbols of our invisible devotion to the Lord, and his spiritual empowering of us if we are receptive. If we are willing to be trustworthy with what God's given us, he's waiting to bless us much more. Psalm 100 affirms, "God is Good" - not a grinch. "We are HIS." Moses says, "The Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession..." Like a special jewel that you lock up and keep close to yourself. If there's a grateful heart attitude on our part, God more than reciprocates by seeking to bless us. Moses continues, "He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame, and honour high above all the nations..." God is not a greedy, jealous old guy in the sky, a black hole when it comes to blessing. He is merciful, eager to protect and shower blessings on those who are his.

Fruit of soil, the physical level; fruit of soul, the spiritual level. The third kernel stands for fruit of Sonship/Daughterhood. As God's children through faith in Jesus, the Father yearns for us to reach out to help other souls, for us to be his agents, re-presenting him to the needy. Moses commands, "When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied." Judeao-Christian faith is not just a mystical one-on-one with God. Much as God is eager for us to enjoy his presence, he does have a few billion other people on his agenda too, and blesses us partly in order to share that blessing with others. Hearkening to his voice, the firstfruit of our soul, tunes us in to God's desire to bless others whose circumstances maybe haven't been so rosy. Abraham listened to God's order to sacrifice his dear son Isaac. He was ready to give up what was most special and treasured to him, but God intervened and provided a ram to make a burnt offering instead. Then God vowed, "Through Abraham's seed all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed (lit., hearkened unto) me." God seeks to bless all kind of people; hearkening is what connects us to become his offspring, his son-and-daughter agents to enact that blessing in the world.

Jesus ordered his followers to love their enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. "Then," he promised, "your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because heis kind to the ungrateful and wicked." Sons of the Most High! Daughters of the Mighty God!

Now just hold on here a minute, Jesus - you're asking me to love my enemy? Don't you know how hard it is just to love those who are close to me when they disappoint me? We feel we can't love our enemies, it's not humanly possible. Dig as deep as we try, we just can't find it within us to lend when we know we're not going to get anything back.

Precisely. We can't do it on our own. Jesus' high ethical commands shine a light of contrast on the darkness of our hearts. They lead us to admit our sin and shortcoming, to receive him as Saviour and the Holy Spirit's transforming power in our lives. Then having God's holiness birthed within us, we find ourselves connected to his resources of love and caring that motivate us to love even our enemies. "You will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." People will spot the family resemblance. Internally, our needs satisfied in Christ, we will find it easier to give to others with abandon, trusting God to provide in the matters to which he guides. "Give, and it will be given to you," Jesus urges. "A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap." So we'll have even more for which to be thankful.

The third kernel - fruit of sonship/daughterhood: proving the Father's care to strangers, the fatherless, the widowed.

A couple of weeks ago, Meredith and I were walking along the boardwalk between Station Mall and the generating plant. Fish were jumping out of the water, leaving ripples that spread in ever-larger concentric circles. The effect of God's goodness is like those ripples. There are the physical blessings we celebrate at thanksgiving, like the fish in the middle. Then there is the ripple of our soul, the spiritual dimension. And then other people are affected by our actions, catching the Father's vision for those in need: the social dimension. We become God's sons and daughters by receiving Jesus as Lord then do his will for the stranger, the orphan, the grieiving, "hearkening" to his call.

On the radio this week it was reported that some 1-2,000 homeless people sleep outside each night in the city of Toronto. Cutbacks to social programs, and reluctance of the government to build more low-income housing, are both factors. Personnel who work with the homeless were asking federal leaders to declare homelessness a national emergency, before this next cold winter sets in. One reporter interviewed a woman in her 30's, who had been divorced and then alcoholic, finally homeless. She would approach cars stopped at a stoplight and try to sell her ring for $15 so she could get a cheap room for the night. No one was buying. So she picked a spot in a nearby field amongstsome boxes and garbage, within yelling distance of passersby in case she was attacked. Such things should not be happening in a booming province.

At the annual meeting of Montreal and Ottawa Conference this spring, a handful of men from a shelter for the homeless in downtown Montreal sang their hearts out for the church delegates. The regulars declared exuberantly in song that life is beautiful. They brought the audience to its feet, clapping, dancing, singing along,then pouring onto the stage for a hymn-sing.

Less than 2 weeks later a noon-hour natural-gas explosion destroyed the soup kitchen run by the Grey Nuns. Three people were killed and several others injured, though non were members of the Chorale; lovely summer weather meant most of the homeless had finished lunch and were already outdoors. Within a few days, Montreal Presbytery and Seaway Valley Presbytery had each donated $1,000 to help the 121-year-old mission continue. "Do good...lend...without expecting to get anything back."

But perhaps we need a story from even further afield to make us truly thankful this season. Mama Ngalya is a worker with the Church of Christ in Bukavu Congo, near the Rwandan border. Two years ago she visited United Churches in Toronto and Montreal. After she returned, war broke out between Mobutu's forces and revolutionaries. From Monday to Thursday the Ngalya family was locked in their house, without electricity, water,or food. They could see cars being shelled, and hear soldiers and other people falling dead. When they got out after the revolutionary force captured the city, seeing so many bodies they decided to head for the interior.

They covered 250 km in 10 days, with nothing to eat. Mama Ngalya recalls, "Every time I looked at my children, who were breathless, in despair, hungry, I was crying." Upon arrival they were welcomed, because she had helped in a project to make soap through the women's network and the people in the region were familiar to her. After one week the Mobutu forces passed through on retreat, raping women and girls and stealing livestock. The Ngalyas went into the forest and built a little house form thatch and palm leaves. They ate cassava tubers and leaves. People from the villages who knew them brought some meat and bananas. After a while, Mama Ngalya planted a little garden with beans, peanuts, and corn. Finally after 3 months they were able to return home and found it had not been badly damaged.

Mama Ngalya concludes, "Even in those difficult time, I felt the hand of God, and I understood that somewhere, someone was praying for us. I was able to reflect on the great power of God and God's glory. God kept us safe and I thank God through this message I convey to all the United Church of Canada members who took the time to pray for my family and I, and for all of our country. If it was not for prayer, we would not be ableto exist here in Congo. So, thank you very much."

What faith! Without home or possessions, and with little food, yet she was reflecting on God's great power and glory, and taking comfort in the thought someone was praying for her. Praise God for sisters like Mama Ngalya, who may not have anything to share with us materially, but encourage our spirits. As she planted her corn, may our 3 kernels plant in us gratitude for God's fruit in soil, soul, and sonship. Blessed be Jesus, in whom we have life to the full! Amen.

"Pillars of a Persistent Church: Believing, Giving, Serving, Waiting" - 981025 Church Anniversary - Lk.12:32-40 Heb.11:1-13

Today we celebrate the 49th Anniversary of our church building. Actually our history goes back much further: the first Presbyterian church in 1903, shifting to the log schoolhouse after union in 1925, then the Orange Hall after 1937. But our main residence this century has been the building in which we now find ourselves. Even it has seen progression and growth: built first on cedar posts, it was raised and set on a concrete block foundation for many years. Then in 1975 it was moved back onto the present solid concrete foundation. In short, the decades have found the church seeking pillars or a foundation that are ever more permanent, hopefully giving some guarantee of persistence.

Our scripture texts suggest four pillars that provide the surest foundation for a lasting church - more rock-steady than cedar posts, or concrete blocks, or even poured cement. Picture in your mind the church resting on these four pillars: believing, giving, serving, and waiting. Build on these, and we can be confident God will bless our collective ministry in Goulais and help it last well into the next century.

First, the pillar of believing. This is where it all starts. Without believing or faith, to change our metaphor a bit, we will never get off the groundas far as following Christ is concerned. To believe, as Hebrews defines it, is to be sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see. Being convinced of what we don't have in hand right here and now; certain of invisible spiritual realities. Faith is a spiritual sixth-sense, a gift of the Spirit, enabling us to have an accurate awareness of God through Jesus. Many people in today's scientific, technological society are from Missouri: they say, "Show me, then I'll believe you." But intrinsic to faith is its unprovable-ness. Christianity is reasonable, given the written and historical evidence, but we can't snap our fingers and make Jesus appear in order to convince a sceptic. Hebrews says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must BELIEVE that he exists..." Faith is our God-given capacity to perceive and know God as he really is, the essence of his nature captured in Jesus Christ the Son.

In our readings, 3 aspects of God's being come through clearly as we read with faith: God's giving, serving, and coming. God is a giving God. Jesus said, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." God knows our needs like the birds and wildflowers, and is ready to provide food and clothing when we seek his kingdom first of all.

Hebrews adds, "Anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists AND THAT HE REWARDS those who earnestly seek him." God is not indifferent towhether we believe or not: it matters to him, he rewards those who put their faith in Jesus. Too often we conceive of God in a pagan way, as some jealous deity who demands our offerings to appease his wrath, a grumpy Grinch. By contrast, Jesus insists it pleases God to share his kingdom with us. He's waiting for us to believe so that he can reward us with the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit.

God was so pleased with Abraham's trust that he took him out under the stars on night and said, "See? though you're old and childless now, that's how many descendants you'll have - as many as the sand on the seashore." And God pulled it off, God is a giving, blessing being.

God's blessings sometimes come in surprising packages. Friday some contruction equipment pulled into our church yard. Upon investigation, I was told by the foreman that they were repairing the bank by the culverts. He said, "I didn't think you would mind if we spill a little bit on that hole in the middle of the parking lot." Consequently the big puddle where some clay was is no longer there; it's all gravelled and smoothed over nicely. Not only that, but our entrance is repaired, and there are even two bright markers now to keep us from going off into the ditch in the winter! God is good. His generosity is waiting to splash over into our lives, if we are receptive.

As I drove through Angus this past week on my way home from Camp Borden, I saw a roadside signthat made a commercial and theological statement.

It said: "God is like Hallmark Cards - He cares enough to give the very best." The part about him caring enough to give is certainly true, as it relates to Jesus. "He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things?" God is giving.

God is also serving. Jesus said the master returning from the marriage feast and finding his servants waiting and ready for him would be so pleased that he would dress himself to serve, have them recline at table and come and wait on them himself. Quite a turn of the tables: God waiting on us, serving us. Jesus did it himself in John 13 when he washed the disciples' feet. In Mark 10 he insisted the Son of Man did not come to BE served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Astonishing - a God who serves us, not just the other way around.

Faith also helps us see that God is coming. "You also must be ready," Jesus said, "because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." 2000 years later, this elicits a yawn from sceptics, who figure the universe is just going to keep on going the way it always has. Their god, if they have one, is the God of deism, supposedly winding up the universe like a clock then going away and just leaving it run. But Jesus promised he'd return, and the signs of prophecy are coming to fulfilment with such things as the new European Union. God is coming, and like the servants waiting fortheir master, we need to be ready for him so we can immediately open the door.

Believing, which is the first pillar, enables us to know God as giving, serving, and coming. The other 3 pillars for a persistent church correspond to these aspects of God's nature: giving, serving, and waiting.

Because God is giving, we can be giving. What does Jesus say right after affirming God's generosity? "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted...For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." As Christians, we are called by Jesus as his followers to give sacrificially, to part with what is passing and treasure instead what is of eternal value.

Think about the early settlers, just before the turn of the LAST century. They didn't have microwaves, TVs, cars, or washing machines. No electricity, no telephone. They had to come to the wilderness, put up a house and clear five acres, then they obtained rights to the timber on the rest of their lot. The historical booklet details the catastrophes that befell Goulais residents in 1913: people dying suddenly, children with diphtheria, people injured by kicking horses, barn raisings, falls from ladders and scaffolds, a hand mangled from a circular saw, horses dropping dead in the harness and by drowning, houses burning. They couldn't call a First Response Team or buy medicine the way we can now. Their resources were scarce. In 1884 the Andrew McAuleys came across Lake Huron and almost lost all their belongings when a big storm swept most of the cargo overboard. Yet what was one of the first buildings they got together to contruct? A church. An historical poem recalls, With houses log but homey and a wee bit of money Their thoughts to a school and a church were turned, For their pioneer hearts for better things yearned. (remember Jesus' words - where your treasure is, there your heart will be also) The poem continues: The Anglican Church, and the Presbyterian too, Ere many years had passed, had come into view. The fine stone foundation the latter attained To Mr.McSorrley, stone mason, was acclaimed. (not only were they building on stone: they were using the pillars of believing and giving)

The pioneer "Hero of Faith" in Hebrews 11 is Abel, who offered God a better sacrifice than Cain. God spoke well of his offerings, and commended him as righteous, for giving. Abraham is praised for living in tents, looking forward to the city which will last forever, with foundations built by God. These people were like strangers in a foreign count ry, aliens on earth. And you always thought aliens were weird creatures from outer space! No, scripture says WE'RE to be aliens: not so caught up in this world, not so "at home" here, that we're not longing for the promised one of heaven to arrive.

Use the things of this world but don't beengrossed in them, don't be longing for them so much that you find it hard to disentangle yourself when Jesus calls you elsewhere. Our heart may be fond of Goulais, but it should be longing even more for our eternal inheritance which God is keeping for us. So in this life we can hold things loosely, prepared to GIVE where needed, as the pioneers did so sacrificially.

The third pillar is SERVING. God's remarkable nature is that of a master who does a turnabout and serves his faithful servants. Such a Lord graces us with the ability to serve in turn - to serve both God and community. "Be dressed ready for service," Jesus commands; literally, gird your loins, be clothed for action - get on your coveralls or apron. Any church that becomes a fashion show has lost the attitude of humble, willing servanthood. Sears is not our name, service is our game. We don't come here to look good, but to help in God's project of healing the hurting, which may mean getting our hands dirty.

What are the ways we serve? What we're doing right now is called a worship "service" - we minister to God by praising and heeding him. Sunday School, Young People's, Guides - these are important ways we serve the community by providing Christian Education for youth. So it is vitally important for us to have enough Sunday School teachers (and Nursery helpers) for the children that come. Parents of torn, tempted families in the community look to the church for assistance in raising conscientious, responsible youth, and we have a solemn obligation to work with children andhelp them meet the Saviour in this mixed-up generation. Traditionally, the church has served the community as well with observing milestones in life's journey: births, marriages, deaths (or hatch match and dispatch). We serve environmentally through the litter cleanup, and our Love Fund is there for neighbours in desperate need. Although we don't go wearing a church hat, many members also serve on committees in the community, from Senior Citizens' to Home and School or the volunteer Fire Dept.

Andrew McCauley served as mail carrier in Goulais and made a Canadian record for uninterrupted time on the job. For 28 years he never missed his weekly trip to the Sault for mail. With horse and wagon, sleigh and dog teams, he traveled through all kinds of weather. At one time, he struggled through a blinding snow storm for 16 hours without entering a shelter. Over the years, his mail route covered 80,000 miles. Such ruggedness and courage are a model of servanthood and commitment.

Earlier generations of Goulaigans also served through the ministry of hospitality. In the early days, a trip to the Sault from Batchewana took 2 days with an overnight stop being made at Frank Tier's, Andy McCauley's or William Young's. This accomodation was used by residents, fur buyers and lumbermen. In the fall, natives from Batchewana would comeby sailboat to Haviland Bay and hire Ollie or Frank Tier to take them by team to the Sault for their supplies.

As Christ's witnesses, we can still offer hospitality as an important service: be it to tourists or "summer people" here seasonally, or even to people who move here for a few years then move on again. Casserole ministry is vital in the church: inviting someone home after the service, especially newcomers or those going through family stress. Society is getting so fragmented, so depersonalized, community itself is threatened as we each hurry home to the seclusion of our electronic hearth. Community and church were born together in this area because people made a practice of being neighbourly. Christians especially can keep alive this vanishing art, knowing that Christ has promised someday he will host us at table.

Believing, giving, serving...the final pillar is waiting. This corresponds to God's coming. Jesus likened his disciples to servants waiting for their master to return, ready to open for him, even if he came back late in the night. "Blessed are those servants whose master finds them ready..." He wants us to be waiting expectantly. A church that loses this sense of end-time urgency grows lukewarm and apathetic. Abraham kept looking forward to a better country. Noah longed for judgment to end the wickednessof his day, then waited patiently for the flood to run its course. But neither saw the day of Jesus' coming, they just welcomed it from afar. So we too await the completion of Jesus' coming, the better world he'll bring, our true treasure which moth and rust cannot take away.

While we wait, Jesus tells us to keep our lamps burning. It's easy to give up and grow impatient, starting to wonder if God's ever going to work out our problems and resolve the heartache and injustice we see. To keep our lamps burning we can take a hint from Enoch. Genesis records, "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." I'm convinced Jesus wants us to keep our lamps burning by our daily devotional walk with God, meditating on scripture, praying conversationally. Walking with God like Enoch, consulting with and confiding in our Heavenly Father regularly. That pleases God and speeds the waiting.

So four pillars will help our church last another 49 years: believing in Christ, giving to the poor, serving, and waiting expectantly. It all starts with having faith, and perceiving God's own nature as he really is. You may have been impressed, as I have, with the work of Samaritan's Purse, particularly "Operation Christmas Child". Last year over 1.6 million shoe boxes were collected, and distributed in 40 countries. Nearly a quarter-million boxes came from Canada. It is heart-wrenching to hear of some of the conditions in which the recipients live: survivorsof war, children with AIDS, or suffering from cancer. How heart-warming, however, to see the joy with which they receive these concrete tokens of love. How did such a big project get started? In October 1990, David and Jill Cooke of North Wales were watching a broadcast about Romania and the horrors of the orphanage system there. They had a vision of how they could help the children. Together with friends, they filled a convoy of nine trucks with medical supplies, food, clothing, and Christmas gifts for children, and headed into Romania to distribute the items. That's how Operation Christmas Child got started - just one couple believing a vision from God, giving themselves sacrificially, serving the hurting in orphanages. As we wait for the Lord's return, may the church continue to be alive and active based on these pillars - as our pioneer forebears were. Amen.

"The Saint's Usefulness: Having Nothing but Jesus" - Lk.14:25-35 Philemon 1-21 981101

"You cannot be my disciple," Jesus said, "unless you give up everything you have."

Suppose this morning I stopped you at the door of the sanctuary with an offering plate in my hand. "Before you come in, hand over your wallet, your watch, and your earrings." Puzzled, you gasp a bit, then put them on the plate, thinking this must be a gag. Then you start to find a place to sit, but I stop you again. "No, wait: first you must give me the keys to your car and house. I need also your GICs and RRSP, plus the deed to the cottage. While you're at it, hand over your wedding ring and marriage certificate; you won't need them any more." By now you're flabbergasted. What's going on? But before you can utter a word, I continue, "We're also taking away your driver's licence and Social Insurance Number. From now on you're officially 'disappeared', you have no status on the system. Your life insurance policy is void. You are totally ours now. We're sending you on a top-secret mission to rescue some hostages from an evil empire. They'll make it, but you're likely going to be shot on sight. Your hours are numbered."

Suddenly you're very uncomfortable. It's like you've been stripped of every piece of property, identity, and security this worldoffers. Your life itself is in the balance. Scary, isn't it? "You cannot be my disciple unless you renounce everything you have."

You've just had a taste of what it means to be a saint. On All Saints Day, liturgical churches celebrate the feast of heroes of the faith who were not major enough to fit in the rest of the calendar of the church year. In that sense, a saint is someone canonized or officially recognized by the church as having had an extraordinary impact in their day, supernaturally used by God as evidenced by works and miracles. But in the New Testament sense, a saint is any believer "set apart" to God through faith in Christ. All who follow Jesus are in this category. Yet before you protest that this waters down the meaning of the word saint, note that the Gospel places extreme claims on our lives.

Large crowds were following Jesus. They had all come out to see this new wonder-worker who might be the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus didn't want to be popular due to his miracles, however; he wanted a different class of disciples than those who are fascinated by a freak show. Exaggerating for the sake of emphasis, he declared, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate their father and mother, their wife and children, their brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - they cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross andfollow me cannot be my disciple...any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Youch! that's hard to swallow!

Christ was not saying we should start literally hating our kin; rather, that our family commitments should pale beside our love for him and devotion to him. Crucifixions were a frequent form of capital punishment for crime and rebellion in that day. Perhaps passing one within a few metres of the road where they were prominently placed to discourage other offenses, Jesus seized the cross as a vivid symbol of the self-denial and renunciation required of those who would accompany him. He was not interested in half-hearted obedience; he had a foreboding of where his ministry of love and justice would eventually take him, and warned his followers that similar fates awaited any who tried to proclaim God's kingdom in a selfish, warped world. The stakes are high. The sacrificial lifestyle that is true Christianity demands a total abandonment, total surrender to Christ's ways no matter what the outcome for us in terms of relationships or real property.

To underscore the importance of counting the cost, Jesus gave a couple of examples from everyday life. Many vineyards in those days had watchtowers to help guard the produce and workers from raiders. Anyone laying a sturdy foundation without having the resources to complete the building of the tower would be mocked and scorned by the neighbours. Or, in the case of a king being attacked, he would take counsel whether his 10,000 troops might be able to fend off the attacking 20,000; if not, he'd be sending a group of ambassadors mighty quick to try to get a peace deal. Unlike the vineyard-owner who can simply decided not to start building, the king has no choice, he HAS to respond before the attacker arrives. The lives of his people depend on his judgment.

Count the cost - don't jump in prematurely. Am I willing to part with all that Christ demands? do I really want him to be Lord of all of my life, or are their areas that I wish could be opted out of his sovereignty?

Jesus wants those who bear his name to have quality and integrity. Back in those days the salt that was used was not pure salt, but a mixture. Sometimes the salt content was so low that it wasn't worth using, so it was chucked. Jesus implies that our degree of dedication is like the saltiness of salt. If we're not totally dedicated, if there are corners of our lives where we've got one foot in the Kingdom but one foot in the world, our "salting" or preserving effect is going to be diluted. A disciple who is not really a disciple is more useless than someone who has never set out to follow Jesus.

This is addressed not just to those "becoming" Jesus' disciples, but also those "being" his followers. "You cannot BE my disciples unless" rather than "You cannot BECOME my disciples" etc. Even those who've been coming to church for years and years need to stop and evaluate whether cares have been creeping in that dilute their saltiness, their set-apartness or sanctification (a big word for being saints). Are we radical enough in view of these radical demands? Are some of our acquisitions or attitudes interfering with our ability to "travel light" in God's Kingdom, and bring his healing grace and truth? Are we more interested in being comfortable or useful? One commentator notes, it is "sure that there is no such thing as a totally middle-class discipleship where there is only preservation of one's heritage and radical renunciation can never flower."

Saints are useful because they're set apart, they've renounced clutter, they have nothing but Jesus: he alone preoccupies them. Paul's letter to Philemon provides a glowing example of Christian discipleship in action. Here was Onesimus, a slave who had run away from his master's home in Colosse, likely stealing some funds to help him on his way. He meets the apostle Paul, is converted, and makes himself useful as a helper to Paul in prison. When the truth of his past comes out, Paul feels obliged to send him back to his master Philemon, who had also become a Christian earlier on under Paul's ministry. Sacrifice one: Paul does the ethical thing, even though it means he's going to lose his private helper.

In those days, under Roman law, Onesimus' crime was punishable by death. Paul goes out on a limb by promising Philemonhe'd personally cough up the replacement funds for anything Onesimus had stolen. Sacrifice two: an IOU for a thief. Paul bore the cross, the penalty, for Onesimus, in order to get him off the hook.

Of course, this presents Philemon with a dilemma (or opportunity for discipleship) when his runaway slave shows up on his doorstep. To free or not to free? He'd lost a slave, but gained a brother in the Lord. In view of Paul's powerful appeal on the runaway's behalf, I suspect Philemon would grant the slave freedom and possibly even send him back to Paul. If Onesimus chose to stay around, there would be a whole new level of rapport: a basis of mutuality and respect, not oppression. Another sacrifice.

Paul absorbs the blow for Onesimus: Paul's willingness to pay the financial compensation opens the way for a whole new order of community, a sunbeam of the Kingdom breaking in to a world where slavery, the buying and selling of people's bodies and futures, was the order of the day. A system of established oppression that really didn't pass away until the discovery of steam power and the industrial revolution.

Notice Paul did not subvert the system by refusing to send Onesimus back; neither did he try to overthrow the system in revolution by calling for the abolition of slaves. Instead, his personal sacrifice saved Onesimus' skin and by the ethical high road sowed the seeds which promoted respect for all, and undermined slavery as a total system centuries later. The dynamite principle being that the helpless person who comes to us as a victim of circumstance is not an object to be used, but another sinner like me in need of God's grace and worthy of my respect: an equal.

Jesus calls his disciples to hold him alone as truly precious, to renounce any attraction of this world that reduces our freedom for the Kingdom, imagining we can own something or someone that might lasting happiness apart from God's will. Sometimes in our quest for power or pleasure today we subject other people to slavery of some kind, demeaning them to objects to be used rather than souls equally worthy of God's grace and our sacrifice. Lately a female of our congregation was innocently checking out a directory on the Internet labelled "entertainment", when without warning a picture of a nude woman started filling the screen. Pornography is one way in which women are enslaved as objects, demeaned and stripped of respect.

Jesus warns us not to allow family attachments to become more dear than our love for him; yet when our love tanks are filled first by God, we have more to share with those in our family. We are freed from leaning on them exclusively to fill our yawning holes of affection. Once a young woman explained that her father had been a violent man, on alcohol and drugs, beating up her mother while she watched. Small wonder this same young woman complained of low self esteem. The father who should have been praising and encouraging his daughter was instead mistreating her mother, using her as an object, a slave.

This past week a radical Palestinian Muslim drove a car packed with explosives close to a bus loaded with Israeli schoolchildren and settlers. However at the last moment an Israeli soldier drove a jeep between the car and the bus. The suicide bomber detonated the explosives, killing the soldier and injuring others. Christ calls us to a total dedication like that of the soldier who intervened and saved so many lives. Had he thought of his own life; his family's lives; the vacation he wanted to take at a sunny resort; he might have chickened out and not intervened. Just so, Christ wants us to love him and the Gospel so much that we don't shrink back from sacrifices wherever he leads. True forgiveness often means we'll take the "hit" on someone else's behalf. That's the cross-shaped life.

Luther said, "Even as Christ did for us with God the Father, thus Paul also does for Onesimus with Philemon." Jesus paid the price for our reconciliation when we were runaway slaves to evil. He "sanctified" himself for us, proved his saintliness by what he renounced. Keeping our priorities straight, downscaling the claim "things" and even some people have on us relative to God's claim, frees us to be useful and available for real discipleship. Who knows, we may even get to take back some of the things on the offering plate: but then as well those items will have anew usefulness and be sanctified, too.

(Song: Two Sets of Joneses)

"Stewardship of Suffering: Owning God's Kingdom by our Endurance and Emptying" - 981115 Day of Prayer for Persecuted Church - Lk.6:20-31 2Tim.2:1-13

Stewardship has to do with handling faithfully what God has entrusted to us. The usual thing that comes to mind when we mention stewardship is money. Yet there is much more that God is counting on us to "steward" or manage: food, property, our time, and our relationships. But today I suggest to you that the Lord wants us to be stewards even of suffering. God allows trials to come into our lives from time to time; we can be stewards of suffering by the way we respond.

A woman once contracted a particularly painful and difficult disease. She asked her pastor to pray for her. Now you'd think the obvious thing she'd want prayer for would be healing and relief. But that's not what she asked for. She said, "Pray that I won't waste all this." Rather than seeing the illness as an annoyance to be gotten rid of as quickly as possible, she saw it as an opportunity to grow in endurance, faith, and character. Stewardship of suffering.

The basis for such a wise and gracious attitude to life's difficulties can be found in Jesus' teaching and worldview. This is capsulized in his Sermon on the Plain in Luke, a variation on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. In these terse blessings and woes, Jesus pullsback the curtain on the fundamental contrast between the world's kingdoms and God's Kingdom. What the world values highly lacks durability, permanence, and lasting realness compared to God's spiritual gifts.

"Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." Contrast this with the destiny of the world's desirables: "Woe to you rich, you have already received your comfort. Woe to those well fed now, you will go hungry. Woe to those who laugh now, you will mourn and weep." Money, material comforts, emotional complacence - what the advertisers picture as the "Good Life" - all these are exhaustibles, they will pass away. For those in Palestine hearing Jesus' words, they passed away by the time Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans in AD 70. For all of us in life, at some point there comes a time we have to leave what the world calls "durables" behind.

Jesus' short, forceful statements contrast the "now" of this present age with the "then" of God's imminent judgment. The kingdoms clash, and over time what God values will be what lasts. Even reputation is not something to strive for at all costs. Jesus says, "Blessed are you when people hate, exclude, insult, and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man; great is your reward in heaven...But woe to you when all people speak wellof you: for so their ancestors treated the false prophets." What this age looks up to, God despises as proud, short-sighted, self-seeking. The goal is not making a name for myself, but becoming one with Jesus to the extent that his name overshadows mine.

Jesus goes on to give us something more positive to shoot for than just being poor, hungry, weeping, and hated. It's quite possible to get like that for the wrong cause! To combat the selfishness of sin, Jesus proposes the kindness of the Kingdom of God. His next commands juxtapose the unthinkable. "Love - your enemies. Do good - to those who hate you! Bless - those who curse you! Pray for - those who abuse you!" Most shocking is Jesus' call for non-resistance. "If someone strikes you on the cheek - turn to them the other also. Don't stop the person who takes your cloak from taking your tunic too. Give to everyone who asks of you; if anyone takes what belongs to you, don't demand it back." The mind boggles at the thought of walking down a main street in downtown Toronto with its sea of panhandlers, or opening our mailbox with its sea of direct-mail fundraising pleas, and taking literally Jesus' command to give to everyone who asks. The kindness of the Kingdom would soon empty us of that we prize. Exactly: now Jesus has our attention, and may be able to pry our grubbly little fingers open enough to at least BEGIN to share some of what we hoard defended by our rationalizations. To be daring and adventurous in our giving.

Luke notes just before this a large crowd from all over surrounded Jesus; people were touching him and being healed of many diseases. Power was coming from him and healing them all. By giving freely, Jesus apparently didn't run out but had become a conduit of God's power directly from the source. We won't know it until we try.

"Do to others as you would have them do to you," Jesus says in the Golden Rule. This is found in other religions in the negative form, "Don't do to others what you wouldn't want them doing to you." But this is much easier than what Jesus said; it is restrictive, limiting only what would be harmful to do. The Golden Rule is more potent, creative, beckoning us to take initiative in inventing good actions not just limiting bad ones. Christ throws the door wide open, inviting us to create a new order under his direction, selflessly getting the ball of kindness rolling even to those we fear.

The world's way is NOT to love your enemies, turn the other cheek, or give to anyone who asks. The world's way is to defend yourself, be ready to take revenge, not risk extending yourself in love. Jesus' teachings grate our fallen nerves so we try to interpret or explain them away; they run counter to our inborn selfishness, they're against the grain. On Remembrance Day I was privileged to march in the parade between the colours of the Service Battalion. While we were waiting to begin marching, one of the senior non-commissioned officers was makingcomments with racist overtones. Then he said, "My motto has always been, 'Do to others what they're going to do to you - but do it to them first.'" Quite a warping of the Golden Rule!

The world system crucified Jesus because it was envious of him; it couldn't stand his righteousness and ethics; his power threatened the system, especially his effort to reform Temple worship when it cut into the priestly income from the buyers and sellers. So they treated the prophets; so we will be treated if we truly live in Christ and seek the Kingdom's values in this fallen society. All over the world today, Christians are being hated and rejected because of the Son of Man. It was already happening to Paul when he wrote to Timothy. "Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus," he urged. "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descended from David -- the gospel for which I am suffering, wearing chains like a criminal." The apostle endured much suffering for the sake of the elect, putting up with shipwrecks, beatings, and imprisonments so God's unchained word could bring salvation and eternal glory to many. Paul clung to this faithful saying: "If we endure, we shall also reign with him." The Kingdom is ours by our poverty resulting from a total commitment to Christ, emptying ourselves like Him on others' behalf, enduring scorn even for doing good as Jesus' servants.

Millions of persecuted Christians around the world are soldiering against Satan's selfishness, enduring abuse in a stewardship of suffering. Some experts estimate that more than 160,000 Christians were killed for their faith last year. That's more than 400 a day. Here are some actual examples; sit tight for some unpleasant listening.

In Nigeria, a Christian man named Gideon was arrested on false charges. A mob dragged him into the street. They beheaded him, put his head on a spike, and paraded through the streets, looting Christians' homes and shops.

In Sudan, Christians report enduring electric shocks, burnings with cigarettes, pulling out of fingernails, rapes, mock executions, and other cruel and degrading forms of torture. In Turkey, a 16-year-old boy and his father were arrested. Police tortured them by melting plastic crosses onto their chests.

In Indonesia, a mob in the city of Situbondo torched 7 churches, 2 Christian schools, and an orphanage before moving on to neighbouring towns. By the time police were able to restore order, 25 churches had been destroyed. 4 people in a pastor's family and a staff member were burned to death when they were trapped inside their burning church.

In Lebanon, in the seaport of Sidon, the church was destroyed by Muslim militia years ago. With support from Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham's pastor friend rebuilt it. About 7 Muslims attend a Bible study there, and 2 recently came to faith in Christ. When the 2 tried to witness to their families, one was badly beaten and the other was shot in the stomach. Both survived and escaped to Beirut.

One story comes from no less an august publication than the Wall Street Journal. There it was reported, "Officials in the Muslim-controlled Oromo region of southern Ethiopia raided the area's largest evangelical church and arrested most of its congregants. Many churchgoers died in jail and, denied proper burial, were left to be scavenged by nearby wildlife. Saving special treatment for the church's minister, the authorities permitted him to live as an ironically visible symbol - but only after torturing him and plucking out his eyes."

"Blessed are you when people hate and exclude you because of the Son of Man," Jesus said; "great is your reward in heaven." This is stewardship that really costs, but has a payback that is even more lasting. "Endure hardship with us as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." Who's saying that - Paul or our present-day kin in Christ?

Some positive things are happening. In China, church leaders are often arrested, detained, and in some places, placed in "re-education through labour" camps. But the resolve of the church there has only been strengthened to serve God. In partnership with Chinese believers, Samaritan's Purse provided funds to purchase a building that functions as a factory by day; at night it is transformed into a Bible school, and the factory workers become students and teachers. The school trains dozens of Chinese Christians each year who venture out to preach and teach God's word in remote parts of the country.

In closed Muslim countries, the underground church has an acute shortage of Bibles in the national language. In one case, Samaritan's Purse provided a vehicle with special modifications, hidden compartments that could transport Bibles and Christian literature. Expatriate Christian professionals quietly evangelize and disciple. Although open preaching and church planting is forbidden, they work, watch, wait, and pray for relationships to develop. One worker observed, "Loving the people is so important. You show you care, go out of your way to do good things for them. Most of all, you reach out to them with God's love." For security reasons, a new Christian only has contact with 2 or 3 other believers. This way, if one is arrested and tortured by the religious police, the identities of all but a few members of the underground church would remain a secret.

As formal Christendom continues to collapse here in the West, the time is coming when it will be more costly for us to stand up and be counted as followers of Jesus. In London Ontario, the mayor refused to proclaim "Gay Pride Day" because of her Christian morals. The gay/lesbian community filed a complaint and she was brought before the Ontario Human Rights Commission. A tribunal convicted Mayor Haskitt and the city of discrimination against gays and lesbians. They were fined $10,000 and ordered to proclaim a Gay Pride Day.

Nurses in more than one Canadian community who refused to assist in abortions were asked to leave their specialties. These nurses are exercising their right to refuse to participate in an act that compromises their religious belief that life is sacred and created by God. Their right to freedom of conscience has not been respected. And when they appealed to government authorities, those entrusted by our society to defend their rights have been slow to respond. Yes, even in our beloved Canada, Christian values are becoming cause for criticism.

Do you really want to know true blessing? Let go of your riches, your full cupboards, your laugh-a-lot sitcoms. Take ownership of God's Kingdom by giving all you have to Jesus, seeking to please him as your commanding officer. Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and you will discover blessing in a power that overcomes the hardships. Dare to stand up and be counted for the Son of Man; you will have a lasting reward later, and joy in sharing with thousands of his followers around the world. After all, we are called not to be successful, but to be faithful. "If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him." Let us pray.

"Right-sized into Right Management: How to Take Hold of the Real Goods" - 981122 Christ the King - Lk.16:1-13 1Tim.6:6-19

We all have a deep-seated need for security, we long for something we can hold on to. Having concrete goods helps us feel prepared for any crisis that may threaten us.

On the radio recently there was a discussion about the ongoing preparations for the year 2000.

It was reported that the government is printing extra cash, expecting there to be a run on the banks. People worry about what might happen at New Year's 2000, if computer systems start going haywire; so they're likely going to want to have extra cash-in-hand.

Jesus and the apostles remind us that a crisis will come in which even extra money can't help us out. When death comes, or Christ returns as King, all the riches in the world won't be any use to us. We need to choose now to pursue God's idea of wealth, not fleeting riches.

The fickleness of what's viewed as property in this life can be seen in the gyrations of world stock markets in recent months. Just a few years ago, Japan was viewed as the coming financial superpower. But what investors call the "Asian Flu" severely affected Far Eastern stock markets. Lately the Japanese government tried an emergency tactic to get the economy moving again: they're printing coupons so people will go out andstart buying. Things must be pretty drastic for the government to intervene so directly.

A level head is especially valuable in a cash crisis. Jesus told the story of a steward (we'll call him 'Jake the Snake') who got notice he was about to be "right-sized". Actually the boss was onto his trail, there was evidence Jake as manager had been squandering the outfit's profits, he'd been "cooking the books". Faced with the option of hard menial labour or begging for a living (Jake's resume was unimpressive and he could hardly cite the boss as a reference), the Snake became creative. For some reason the boss had made the mistake of allowing Jake to continue to have access to the accounts, rather than suspending him immediately.

Jake saw a way by which he could make friends out of the boss's debtors, and get his foot in the door with some potential future employers. (something like what we call today networking)

One by one, Jake called in those who owed his master oil, grain, or other commodities. He had them mark down the amount they actually owed, effectively "buying" their support with his crafty bargains. (It may be he was just removing the surcharge normally taken to circumvent the Torah's prohibition on charging interest, but given the charges already facing Jake, quite possibly it was an outright mark-down at the owner's expense.) Eventually the master found out, but it was too late. Jake now had some open doors to head to when he punched the time-clock for the last time, thanksto the favours he'd dished out courtesy his unwitting boss. In fact the master praised his departing manager for having the wits to exploit the resources available to him to his purely selfish advantage.

The point of all this, Jesus hastens to add, is not that we're allowed to misappropriate the company funds, but as he says, "Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal habitations." Someday money and goods and property are not going to solve our problem. Jesus is telling us to be shrewd in how we use what this world values, so that we can then receive what will really last, what we can call ours for eternity. "If you haven't been faithful in unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true wealth? If you haven't been faithful with what is another's (God's), who will give you what is your own?" And that's what we REALLY want eventually - the TRUE goods, what's "our own" eternally. But this calls for a level head in the current crisis, right management of our temporary treasure.

When Jake got his pink slip, notice of a coming cut-back, he made shrewd and sensible use of what he still had control over. Currently in Ontario hospital staff including nursing aides and janitorial workers are upset over their contract going to arbitration. They've had no increases in many years, and there's the possibility of more contracting out to the private sector. On the management side, hospital officials may also feel "under the gun" due to provincial cutbacks; a nickname for our Premier is "Mike the Knife". Someday all of us will be "right sized" or cut-back out of our current stewardship positions. Yet the cutter will not be Mike the Knife, but the Grim Reaper. At that point, some would exchange millions for minutes. From the perspective of eternity, what we have now is what Jesus calls "unrighteous mammon" - at the time of the Final Judgment it will fail us. It's unrighteous in the sense of being untrue, not lasting, no good for the afterlife. Like Canadian Tire money or Monopoly money - only worth something in a certain context. And like it or not, some day this store (this current world-system) is a-closin'. All we possess is another's, entrusted to us for a limited time, not something we can cling to and call our "own".

Paul says to Timothy, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant or to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God...to do good, be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous, laying up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of life that is truly life." You can sense the contrast between the present world and the coming one: this is passing, slipping through our fingers; only in eternity may we clamp onto true, actual, REAL life. "Take hold of the ETERNAL life to which you were called..."

How do we do that? This is the whole point Jesus is driving at in his parable. How will we demonstrate our shrewdness in adapting to our cash crisis and preparing for the inescapable? If stocks and bonds and real estate is not what lasts, what's worth shooting for?

"Take hold of eternal life, life that's really life..." Elsewhere the apostles tell us eternal life is a free gift, to be received by simply trusting in Jesus and his work at the cross. "To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become God's children..." "So that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." Jesus demands we choose between God and Mammon, we can't serve two masters. Actually the word "mammon" doesn't just mean money or riches, but originally it meant "that in which one trusts". There's only one throne in your heart, one driver's seat, and whatever would try to unseat Jesus there is mammon. Devote yourself to anything else and you'll end up despising the cross, the most precious thing in the universe as far as the Father is concerned.

Once we make the decision to receive Jesus, he and the apostles offer more specifics as to qualities we can pursue that will outlast our coffin. Paul urges Timothy, "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness." Six golden qualities; not a bad place to begin a personal or family mission statement. Righteousness, godliness, faith - spiritual character and devotion to God; love, endurance, gentleness - beautiful traits to exercise on the human level, where the rubber meets the road.

Earlier Paul emphasizes one in particular, saying, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." There's his definition of true wealth right there, godliness with contentment. What's godliness? (Make a good Jeopardy question sometime; the word has mostly disappeared from our 20th Century vocabulary.) The Greek word eusebias doesn't refer to God directly, but the fitting respect due to people or god(s). Literally it's a combination of a prefix meaning "well" and a root word "to revere, to have sacred awe, stressing the felling of awe or devotion." An early church father named Eusebius (note the name - should be an expert on the word) defines it: "looking up to the one and only...God, and life in accord with him." Both vertical and horizontal; prayerfully conscious of God, and living it out. An English theologian defines it, "Operative piety". For example, consider the centurion Cornelius in Acts 10, described as having "godliness": he cared for his household, gave alms liberally, was prayerful, and responsive to God's instructions. Who do you know in your life that best describes the word "godliness"?

There is great gain in godliness with contentment. The godly, devoted person is not consumed by anxiety or overcome by worries because they know God, they're conscious of the Lord's supporting arms underneath them, whatever may come in this life. And it's all by grace. So Paul would have us set our hopes not on ephemeral riches but on God, who, he says, "richly provides" us with everything to enjoy. Out of that devotion, that personal attachment to a loving God, springs love and gentleness and compassion toward other people. Great gain, all 'round.

Monday's Daily Bread featured a New Jersey businessman who over the past 15 years has anonymously given away more than $600 million to universities, medical centres, and other beneficiaries. He only became public because a legal complication forced him to reveal his identity. A friend describes him as a man who doesn't own a house or a car, flies economy class, wears a $15 watch, and "didn't want his money to crush him." The donor himself explains his generosity by saying, "Nobody can wear 2 pairs of shoes at one time. I simply decided I had enough money."

That "simply deciding" is the shrewdness, the smartness of Jake the Snake that Jesus commended.

How can we make friends for ourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they'll receive us into eternal dwellings?

Perhaps we'll do business differently - though not like dishonest Jake. 10,000 Villages is the name of a chain of stores run by the Mennonite Central Committee. It began in 1946 with Edna Ruth Byler, a Mennonite woman from Pennsylvania. Today there are more than 40 across Canada. When Keith and I helped with Flood Relief in Winnipeg, there was a 10,000 Villages store at the headquarters. How it works is this. MCC travels throughout the world purchasing goods from village co-operatives. They pay fair prices for the handicrafts and up to a 50% advance when a craft order is placed. this provides operating capital for artisans to purchase materials and to pay workers.

For example, making baskets and bags is the only source of income for a women's group of 63 members in a village in Cameroon. Their remote location makes marketing difficult. An order from 10,000 Villages is their lifeline to purchase food and other essentials. The arrangement gives people jobs and dignity; the money they earn goes toward their health care and education, as well as food. On average, $1600 in retail sales provides full-time work for one Third World artisan for one year. In 1995, sales from North American stores generated 11,500 jobs.

In western Montreal, two United Churches and a Presbyterian church wanted to do something practical to help people in poverty in Third World countries. They formed a non-profit corporation and appealed for donations from corporate and private sponsors to get a 10,000 Villages store under way. There are only 2 paid staff; 60 or so volunteers find they become interested in Third World issues of poverty and injustice, and now enthusiastically offer their time and gifts to support the store, as well as educating shoppers.

So, overall, 10,000 Villages not only makes friends with our mammon of folk overseas who'd otherwise suffer; it increases the mission-mindedness, might we say love and righteousness, of those who participate.

A final example from the Operation Christmas Child (shoebox) project. Veronica Pomeroy is 11 and lives in California.

She suffers from cystic fibrosis, an incurable disease that progressively destroys the lungs. (She especially must be aware of the brevity of this current age.) But still she decided to share the joy of Christmas with children worse off than she was. In 1996, Veronica and 2 classmates collected nearly 300 gift-filled shoeboxes; in 1997, 435. She heartily accepted Franklin Graham's invitation to accompany a Samaritan's Purse team to Mexico City and help distribute boxes. Though the thin air and heavy pollution made her struggle to breathe and cough frequently, Virgina pressed on.

At a slum in a garbage dump on the city's outskirts, amongst mountains of trash, Veronica sat down with 7-year-old Angelita on a piece of cardboard as she unpacked her box. Angelita smiled and nodded as Veronica explained each gift. Angelita's mother has little money for clothes and food, and none for presents. She was moved as she watched the two girls play together. She said, "We appreciate it; not only the gifts, but the love with which they are given."

Little things mean a lot. If we are faithful with the small things God entrusts to us, one day he will entrust us with much more - riches that can't be taken away. First we need to learn right management,pursuing not unjust profit but godliness and contentment. Jesus invites us to adapt ourselves to the eternal view, to let go of pretend money and take hold of life that is truly life. Praise God for his work, right-sizing our hearts! Let us pray.

"CHRIST IS COMING, SIN IS SNEAKING: BE ON GUARD OR SWEPT AWAY" - 981129 Advent I Mt.24:36-44 Rom.13:10-14

We live in a society that is preoccupied with security, so when Jesus talks about not letting a burglar break in, we prick up our ears. A few years ago when my oldest brother was living in Grimsby, one night when they were away a truck backed up to their garage. Thieves broke in and made off with lots valuable items. Most of us probably know someone who has had their house or cottage broken into, or had something suspiciously go missing. So we now lock up our homes (we often didn't back in the sixties). We lock our cars. Going further, some cars are now armed with alarms that go off if you even touch them without the key to disarm them. We take care to make sure things are locked up and secure. I was at a pastors' seminar this past week where the door prize was given away to the person who had the most keys in their pocket. The winner had twelve keys altogether! At high school we had to have locks on our lockers, and woe to us if we forgot our combination! People today are very much "on guard" lest their property be stolen.

But sin is sneaky. We who are so very careful to lock our doors and cars may be very casual about inviting bad influences into our lives, nonetheless. A person may lock, bolt, and chain their door, then turn around, crash on the sofa, and turn onthe TV. Advertisements cry out to us to beg, borrow or steal in order to get the latest gadget. News reports tell how leaders have "gotten away" with corruption (a la Lewinsky or the North West Territories premier found in conflict of interest). Scandal rocks the soaps, murder crosses the screen often. As has been said, "Through TV we invite into our living room people we wouldn't have in our house." Upstairs your teen is watching a video with a hero that drinks, smokes, swears, drives too fast, and doesn't care a whit about anyone's life but their own. Over in the corner, little Johnny has just downloaded off the internet the latest interactive cosmic shoot-em-up, complete with satanic symbols (not that Johnny's aware of them just yet). In the next room, your spouse is humming along to some golden oldies on the radio with lyrics like "I did it my way" and "One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you." Yes, you've locked up the house, but sin is still breaking in. You've locked it inside with you as a captive audience!

Jesus is coming again. He was very definite with his disciples about that fact. The very meal we celebrate today is as Paul puts, "proclaiming his death until he comes." It is a foretaste of the great reunion banquet all believers will some day share with their Lord as the host. Jesus warned his followers not to get lax, lest his coming break in upon them like a thief. He said, "Keep watch...understand this: if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

It's so easy to get engrossed in everyday activities and pleasures, and forget the sudden intrusion Christ's Kingdom will someday may into our reality. We're to be on guard, sounding the alarm. Jesus likened it to Noah's day. Every day for months the sound of Noah's hammer and saw published an alarm to the people of his generation, but they paid no attention. Wickedness was so wonderfully winsome. They all had places to go, people to see, tickets to buy, casinos to build, parties to attend, chemicals to dump. But finally one day Noah and family and furry friends were all aboard, and the door slammed shut. The flood came and swept them away; the flood of God's judgment, following the oozing of sin that had been seeping through their plans and priorities.

Christ is coming. Astounding as that is, the more shocking aspect is what it represents: God is making a choice. Two will be in a field, or working at a mill: two at the start, but only one will be left. God has the audacity to be politically incorrect, to discriminate, to reach into history and actually CHOOSE who he wants to spend eternity with. All the referenda and legislation and commissions and inquiries in the world won't change God's definition of righteousness and wickedness. God allowed his definition of righteousness to be laid in the straw of a manger, to bruise its feet on the rocks of Galilee, to feel hunger in the pit of its stomach, to be nailed in blood to the rough wood of a cross, to be scoffed at and insulted by human powers as it heaved its last gasp. Yes, we know what righteousness is, and we chose to snuff it out. We threw its corpse in a grave and locked it in tight with a huge stone and a governor's unbreakable seal; locked it away from our world of eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.

Christ's coming is God's choice to save something of what would otherwise be swept by sin into eternal gloom. Faith through the good news of Christ's resurrection makes it possible for us to make a corresponding fundamental choice: to choose for God rather than sin. Paul likens it to waking up from the night and preparing for day. "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime..." Put on the armour, really guard your life, turn the key of Christ's righteousness. Paul goes on to list what we might call "wild sins" and "civilized sins" to avoid. "Wild sins" include orgies, drunkenness, sexual immorality, and debauchery - you know, party-style excess. "Civilized sins" include things more likely to act respectable and sit in the pew Sunday morning, clucking tongues over the outrages of the neighbours; "dissension and jealousy" are civilized sins to avoid. Taken together, wild and civilized sins are the flood of unrighteousness that's always washing up against our door, seeping in through the sills and jams and phone and hydro lines. So many people just let themselves get swept along by these desires, without thinking where they'll end up.

Yet the message of advent, of Jesus' coming both at Bethlehem and in glory, is not a message of doom but of HOPE. When we trust in Jesus as our Saviour, he gives us the Holy Spirit to help us guard ourselves against sin's sneakiness. The Good Shepherd is not about to let a rustler break in and steal his sheep. Jesus said, "My Father, who has given to me, is greater than all; no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand." God Himself helps us stand guard against evil's insidiousness.

There is hope because Jesus helps us keep watching. Paul says the armour of light is available for us to put on. How? First, by clothing ourselves with Christ. This has to do with the personal dimension: cultivating a walk with God each day. The Lord has blessed us with so many promises in Scripture, the treasure of his guidance and assurance; hope awaits when we turn to God in prayer and devotions. When we worship Jesus as he truly is, the desires of the flesh are more easily kept in their place. Clothing ourselves includes bowing humbly in submission to God's will in our lives, not just doing whatever we please. With the Spirit's help we can discover a mystical dimension to religion, the unseen spiritual reality behind the routines and motions.

Remember in your quiet time you are clothing yourself in Jesus, not just plodding through readings mechanically. John Duckworth is an editor who left a convention of Christian bookstore dealers dismayed at all the gimmicks and hype. He writes: "I left the convention wanting to apologize to God. Not until I got home, sitting in an empty house in the middle of the afternoon, did I feel I could do it properly. I sat on the couch and bowed my head. But for some reason I couldn't pray. My position was wrong, I thought. I'd been thinking of myself more highly than I should, and now I needed to be lower. I kneeled. I couldn't recall the last time I'd done that, but I tried it now. It didn't feel right either. I needed to be lower still.

The only other posture I could think of was bowing down like Muslims did when they facedMecca. Too strange, I thought. I never prayed that way. I couldn't. Yet a moment later I found myself on the floor, down on my face, my forehead to the carpet. Finally it felt right. I started to pray silently, but stopped. It didn't seem to be a time to talk, but to listen. I waited for a long time, and a verse I'd known for years whispered in my memory: 'Be still, and know that I am God.'

It was so simple, that verse. If only knowing god could be that uncomplicated. If only it weren't a matter of devotions, of a stern system of readings and prayers, a long march of ancient laws and sleepy inner monologues to slog through, rain or shine. Bowed down to the floor that afternoon, I suddenly wanted to know the God who would invite me to do such a thing. I longed to meet the One who could be satisfied with silence, the One whose yoke was easier than reading Leviticus at 4 a.m. I just wanted to be still and know God.

I wanted it so much that the next morning I got up half an hour early and bowed down on the floor again. And the next morning and the next. I didn't even bring a Bible with me at first. I just cleared my mind and thought about that verse. Soon I found myself wanting to worship this God who was so high above me. I would talk to Him a little or think about ahymn. But mostly I was still. Then I brought a Bible and read about this God who told the psalmist and Job and Peter and so many others to be quiet, after which I would be quiet too.

A month of mornings became two, then 3. 6 months passed and a year. But it was not achievement. It was eating because I was hungry. It was forgetting the rules and making is up as I went along. It was one of the easiest things I'd ever done."

Duckworth concludes, "My morning schedule has changed since then. I've shifted hours and postures, and yes, I've gone for long periods without those times of quiet and worship and reflection. But the gaps don't make me give up anymore. They make me tired.And hungry. But now I know a great place to rest and have a bite to eat."

So the first step in being on guard is clothing ourselves with Christ, savouring the Saviour. As we make time with him a priority, he'll become more real to us, and temptations later in the day will be easier to resist. Henri Nouwen writes that solitude "moulds self-righteous people into gentle, caring, forgiving persons who are so deeply convinced of their own great sinfulness and so fully aware of God's even greater mercy that their life itself becomes a ministry."

Christ also talks about not letting your housebe broken into. To me, this implies guarding your spouse and children, praying for them, giving them time and attention. Make memorable non-tech moments with them. Go for a daily walk together. Take advantage of opportunities like the Holy Walk at Bruce Mines. Have a suppertime routine like one family which read a Bible passage, then starting with the youngest, each child asked the next older a question related to it. Guard your house.

Finally, hope is given a chance and sin resisted when we love our neighbour. That's what Paul was talking about just before he says, "And do this, understanding the present time" (the lateness of the hour). The "do this" refers to loving one another, loving our neighbour as ourself. If we loved more, we'd need locks less, for love doesn't steal or do any wrong to one's neighbour. So spreading beyond our personal walk with God, beyond the circle of our household, putting on the armour of light includes loving those at large in the community.

As your pastor, I'm also the United Church minister appointed by Presbytery to be in touch with the Sault Ste Marie jail. Recently the administration there held a training session for volunteers on security. One of the volunteers was a husky young man named Greg, about 6 foot 3, with bulging muscles -intimidating but quiet and friendly. He's studying criminal justice and volunteering for the John Howard Society. His last name was the same as that of a large local construction company; he told me his uncle was in fact the owner, and Greg had worked driving equipment. I was impressed that this young man who was probably a shoo-in for a steady job in this company was choosing instead to apply himself to volunteering in the corrections system. Loving our neighbours is often unpaid. And in this case, maybe Greg's efforts will keep some offender away from breaking in to someone's house!

Christ is coming - a fact we celebrate with this meal before us. The conviction that Jesus is re-entering history physically gives us nerve to get beyond our personal appetites, and arm ourselves with true security: being clothed with Him. There is hope indeed.

"MESSIAH'S PEACE: ITS ROOT AND FRUIT" - 981206 Advent II Is.11:1-10 Mt.3:1-12 Rom.15:4-13

When the holy people of times past looked forward to the coming of God's Deliverer, they foresaw a new order the Messiah would begin characterized by peace and righteousness. Isaiah prophesied that the Christ would be a shoot springing up from Jesse's root, that is, the royal line of King David. Isaiah shares an idyllic picture of what the world would be like after the Saviour put everything in order. The wolf would live with the lamb, the cow would feed with the bear (somehow that's not as surprising following our recent bear season!), an infant will play near the cobra's hole and a young child put his hand into a viper's nest. Reminds me of the time growing up on the farm when we had a nest of garter snakes in the peonie bushes near the house. We three boys had fun letting the baby garters slither harmlessly onto sticks we'd hold near. It was fascinating to be so close and playfully involved with something so sinister as a snake. Yet it's that same sense of fascination, co-operation, safety and mutual respect that Isaiah conveys in these images of Messiah's reign of peace.

For years now we've had at least one dog and a cat. Occasionally when they were younger we'd notice that they were both curled up together: the cat between the dog's legs, or some other mutually cozy arrangement. It's such an endearing sight that we want to go get the camera to capture this image of peace. That same quality of "Aw, how sweet" resonates through Isaiah's scenes of Messiah's peace.

What a contrast that is from most of our conflicting, contested everyday experience. A Thursday night recently I was headed home quite peacefully. I stopped at the Husky to pick up two hitchhikers who were going to Garden River. (Yes, I hear you questioning why I'm taking the risk of picking up hitchhikers at night. It may not be wise, but til now I've had no threat of bodily harm.) My front seat was taken up with my briefcase and other stuff, so I dumped some of what was on the back seat on the front to make room for them. However I left 3 new blank videotapes I'd bought on the back seat. (Now, you may be saying, why'd you leave them there? Naive and trusting, I guess.) After I dropped them off, there was only one videotape left. I checked for the others in case they'd slid under the seat, but they were gone; and by the time I tried to follow the hitchhikers, they were gone too. Well, my peace was shattered. Here I'd done a good turn for someone and they'd ripped me off. Welcome to fallen Planet Earth.

Worst part was - the videotapes each came with coupons for $1 off if you send in the bar code. Now here I was with my Scottish blood and no way to redeem even these two $1 coupons! Hmph!

For the remainder of the drive home, I was not at all peaceful, but fuming. In the big scheme of things, it's not a major issue; maybe I should be glad nothing worse happened. But it's hard to forgive, to let go when you've been wronged, to release the oppressor and find peace again. I wanted to teach them a lesson.

That's just a very minor, petty example of how peace can be disrupted. It's more difficult to recapture peace when the hurt is greater, the relationship is closer and the breach of trust deeper. This week I travelled to Cornwall with another chaplain from some distance away who is happily married with 3 children. At the conference he was talking with another chaplain and discovered that his ex-wife is a member of that chaplain's congregation. Even though it's been 17 years since she left him, and no children were involved, my friend still finds the wound hurtful. Just finding out a point of contact stirred up fresh mixed feelings inside him. When people close to us hurt us badly, it's difficult to restore peace in that area of our lives for a long time.

Our scripture readings today suggest that Messiah's Peace has both root and fruit. How can we discover peace? Its root comes from turning to God who forgives us, so we can share that same peace with others who've wronged us.

Let's return for a moment to Isaiah's idyllic vision, where the calf and the lion are lying down together, and a little child leading them. How can they coexist? Isaiah says, "They willneither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh as the waters cover the sea." Their connection to God, knowing him, is the root of peace. The Messiah governs wisely because the Spirit of Yahweh rests on him, the Spirit of fear of Yahweh. Isaiah says the Prince of Peace actually "will delight in the fear of the Lord." Revering and respecting God, holding in awe his mercy expressed to us in Christ's sacrifice, paves the way for forgiveness of and peaceful co-existence with others.

Coming to the New Testament, what is John the Baptist's prescription for peace? One unmistakable word - "Repent!" That was the whole focus of John's ministry as he prepared people for the coming of the Messiah, urging them to turn to God, be sorry for their sins, confess them, and wash them away symbolically in water baptism. The root of peace is repentance toward God.

Paul sums it up best in Romans 15 when he says, "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you." (repeat) Peace toward others must be preceded by awareness of the peace Christ offers us for our own times when we've blown it. As Christ's people, redeemed by his utterly complete giving of himself to the point of death, we have no right to hold a grudge forever against someone, no matter what they've done. The richness of his mercy is what paves the way for true peace. It may not seem just; but the cross, in fact God's whole movement toward us, is based on grace rather than justice.

The root of peace is turning to God. Paul adds, "May God...give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus... May God...fill you with all joy and PEACE as you trust in him." Unity and peace come from following and trusting in the Messiah.

Besides a root, the Lord's brand of peace also has FRUIT. Isaiah predicts that from Jesse's roots a Branch will bear fruit; more precisely, with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. There is more to peace than just cute pictures of little children with lambs and lions; the Messiah's peace will involve good government that takes into account the needs of those lowest in the social spectrum.

Besides calling people to repentance, John the Baptist was quick to remind people of the need for fruit in keeping with repentance. The axe is lying at the root of the trees, ready to chop down those that don't produce good fruit.

The Coming One would have a winnowing fork in his hand, separating the valuable wheat from the fruitless chaff. John particularly targeted the Pharisees and Sadducees as "snake's offspring" needing to show fruit as proof before he'd be convinced they'd repented. Jesus accused the religious leaders of devouring widows' houses, and putting heavy loads on people's shoulders but not being willing to lift a finger to move them. So if our faith is to have integrity, once we discover the root of peace by receiving Christ as the remedy for our sins, we need to keep asking ourselves, "What is the FRUIT God is seeking in my life?" - the fruit of the Messiah's peace that resembles his own concern for what is right and just, support of the poor and needy. Otherwise it's questionable if God has really broken through our selfishness, in which case any peace is only artificial.

In April 1996, an arsonist threw a firebomb through a window and set the sanctuary of Effingham Baptist Church in South Carolina ablaze. The roof was lost, along with the walnut pews and most of the interior. Built 114 years earlier, it was home to a congregation of 50 African Americans. It was the latest victim of hate crimes sweeping like brushfire across the states.

Dave Canter is a white man who attends a neighbouring church. Feeling any attack on a Christian brother or sister is an attack on one's own family, he contacted the pastor of Effingham Baptist and said, "If God is our Father, then you are my brother." Canter mobilized a 3-month renovation project to restore the burned-out brick building.

Eventually several hundred people were involved. At first the congregation was wary of the attention and the fuss. They had their fears and misgivings as racism had left a deep wound. But eventually they felt the love and tender hearts of the volunteers, and the healing power of the Holy Spirit.

Canter recalls, "Sylvester McKever was one of the deacons whose confidence we needed to gain. A 65 year old black man, he apparently had been through a lot growing up in South Carolina. He proved to be very reluctant to open up to this bunch of predominantly white, so-called Christian men. We were not going to changed Sylvester's mind just by making promises of help and support. He would watch us closely during the weeks that followed.

"Every chance I got, I told him of my love for him and his congregation, but his response was slow in changing from his reserved self. At no time did I sense any hatred or animosity, just a reluctance to drop his guard. After months of working, sweating, eating, and praying together, he asked me one day if I liked onions...I knew what he was thinking. He had a garden, and he was offering me the work of his hands. It was a way he could give something back in return for my friendship and work.

"When I went to pick up the onions, he welcomed me into his home and introduced me to his wife and granddaughter. When the child saw me, she ran in my direction, stretching out her arms to be picked up. Of course, I scooped her up and hugged her. [Another] day I went to his house. During my stay, he looked me in the eye and said, 'I love you, Dave, and appreciate all you've done.' I wept as I drove away from his home. This man had grown up in a racist South that would not let him drink from the same water fountain as whites or eat at the same restaurants or use the same bathrooms. For him to allow me to be his friend was no small accomplishment. I do not take this relationship for granted. It's been the work of God."

The renovated wooden structure of Effingham Baptist was just one fruit of Messiah's peace. Just as significant is a black child being scooped up in a white man's arms - a scene that belongs with Isaiah's vision of a leopard lying down with a goat. Connecting with God brings a peace that tears down the walls of bigotry, intolerance, and resentment in our lives. Christ's peace will help me overcome the temptation to project the theft of the videotapes onto all natives, and bad-mouth or withdraw from them. His peace is also our motivation for other practical fruit to the poor and needy such as Christmas Cheer and Mission & Service Fund projects.

Repenting is the hard part; that's where it all begins. Connecting with God is the root of Messiah's peace. After that comes the outflow, the fruit of His Spirit's love and counsel in our lives. May Jesus cause us to find the wolf and the lamb lying down in our own personal experience this Advent season - a new dimension of peace. Amen.

"Joy for Jehovah's Journeyers: Christ Chases our Fears and Changes our Fate" - 981213 Advent III - Mt.11:2-11 Is.35:1-10

Joy seems a long way off when you're trapped in the dungeon of despair. When circumstances get us down, it's easy to have doubts about the difference Jesus can make in both our situation and our mental state.

Lately, with the unseasonably mild weather, the germs of disease have been attacking many and laying them low health-wise. In the last couple of weeks, it seemed 4 out of 5 people I talked to have been sick with either the cold or flu. And this busy season is a time of the year we can least afford to be ill!

Yet being down for a day or three is not bad compared to others worse afflicted who have little hope of a cure. For some, life's wear and tear leave them suffering from chronic arthritis, a bad back, or injuries from accidents that stubbornly won't heal. Then there are the heavyweights in the world of disease: multiple sclerosis, hepatitis, AIDS, some forms of cancer - people debilitated by these illnesses understandably find it hard to be optimistic. Humanity also suffers from other entrapments not related to health: many today are caught in one form or another of addiction, a ceaseless drive for some product or activity that has them ensnared in its clutches. Or they have to live with someone who is anaddict. Such homes become dungeons of despair, focused on concealing the shameful secret.

A radio feature began with the sound of cards being shuffled and dealt in a men's shelter in downtown Toronto. A card game is ironic here because many of the occupants are penniless due to their addiction to gambling. It was reported that proceeds from gambling have doubled in the past five years, yet governments are reluctant to acknowledge the problem. Though about 1% of the population are problem gamblers, researchers found that 43% of these live with another adult who is also a problem gambler.

The odds are stacked against such folk, who gamble away $800 a month on average. It's hard to have joy when you're living on the street due to such a deceptive attraction.

This season can also be joyless for those who've come face to face in their own lives, an emptiness inside that questions their motive for living. Fellowship magazine tells the story of Allan Connor, a United Church member who some decades back went to India as an agricultural missionary.

Soon after arriving in the country, a simple question from a fellow passenger on a train threw his life into spiritual chaos. The educated Hindu gentleman had asked, "Why have you come to this country?" Allan was dissatisfied with his own answer of helping the village people and somehow being of service. It bothered him that he had nothing else to offer, no Inner Light to share with the multitudes that would cross his path.

A veteran missionary one day at language school emphasized to Allan and the others that they were Christ's ambassadors, and that an ambassador should know the person they represent. This left Allan feeling like he was standing at the edge of a dark abyss, for he had to admit to himself that he didn't know the Person he was representing. Emptiness invaded his heart; language study became a chore. One day on a grassy knoll beside a mountain trail for 2 hours Allan searched the Scriptures and cried for help. But the God he sought didn't answer.

That evening, sharp pains jabbed his back. Next morning he landed in the community hospital. A doctor did a spinal tap and diagnosed polio. There he lay, empty in spirit, afflicted in body, doubting his whole reason for being there. Like being trapped in a dungeon of despair.

John the Baptist must have felt paralyzed and had questions much like Allan Connor. Herod had arrested John and thrown him in prison for criticizing the king's love life (maybe Herod feared impeachment proceedings!). There John was chained for months on end, in a hellishly hot, godforsaken fortress called Machaerus just east of the Dead Sea. John was starting to have his doubts about Jesus of Nazareth, whom he'd pronounced to be the coming Messiah. He sent some of his loyal disciples to ask Jesus whether he was in fact the one who was to come.

In Galilee, some 80 miles north of John'sprison, his messengers caught up with Jesus who was busy teaching and healing. He told them to report back to the Baptist what they heard and saw: the blind seeing again, the lame walking, lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead being raised, and the poor having good news preached to them. This eyewitness evidence would reassure John, particularly because these were actions of the Messiah predicted by Isaiah 700 years before. In the scrolls it was predicted: "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert."

John must have listened to the messengers' report with eagerness and excitement. Yes, this did sound in fact like the Messiah, the long-awaited Christ anointed to save God's people. But his joy would be tempered by a significant omission. Isaiah had prophesied the Messiah would also free captives from prison and release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. Jesus had mentioned nothing about that. Still, even if worst came to worst (and it did, for John was eventually beheaded), Jesus had included a phrase about the dead being raised. That would be enough for John to hold on to.

Joy is still possible for us today, in whatever dungeons of despair we may find ourselves. Often we are blessed to see Christ's miraculous healing power released in our situations to bring about concrete change for the better. Thank God for healing both natural and supernatural; for programs that get people in from the c old off the streets, and for spiritual conversions through evangelism, the Holy Spirit, and 12-step movements. Joy and gladness are spontaneous when Christ intervenes wonderfully and turns our situations around. Yet even when the entrapment of ill health or death's inevitability remains, joy is still possible on another basis. God can raise the dead; Jesus is proof of that.

Ultimately, no matter how bad our situation becomes, we cannot be cut off from God's love and concern toward us in Christ. In Isaiah's words: "Say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.'"

However parched our spirits, however desolate our wilderness may be, the Messiah's coming will bring refreshment, flowers blooming and streams gushing. Someday God's going to take us home - a home that no fear or disease or threat can spoil. Isaiah speaks of a highway leading there. The road God plows for us will be protected and safe from wicked fools or ferocious beasts. It is written: "Only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return.They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away." There is indeed joy for those who journey with Yahweh: Christ can chase away our fears, and may intervene to actually change our fate, whatever is dragging us down.

A certain fellow named Bill had been a mean drunk. He would abuse his family, use the rent money for alcohol, and get into brawls. But it came to pass that he received Christ, and was born anew. He was literally changed. He began to go to church with his family and love them, as they deserved. He stopped fighting and started working. When the men in the mine where he worked discovered he was a Christian, they gave him a hard time. He never responded; he'd just smile. One day they wouldn't let up. They were getting worse and he felt he needed to respond in some way.

They'd say, "How can you believe that stuff in the bible? Do you really believe that Jesus turned water into wine?" Bill turned to them and said, "I don't know anything about Jesus turning water into wine. But I know He turned beer into bread and rum into rent money. And He turned whiskey into life worth living." They never bothered him again after that, because they knew he had been talking about himself. The transformation was real. And they understood what the Bible means when it says, "If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old is passed away, behold, the new has come."

Remember the dungeon of despair Allan Connor was in - disillusioned in India, flattened by polio? He recalls: "The sudden attack catapulted me out of a busy life into a place of enforced rest that provided ample time to review past events and ponder present needs. Then the quiet miracle happened. A friend wrote me a letter setting out the biblical basis of salvation. I read the passages carefully; the fact of human sin, sin's consequences, and God's gracious provision of a suffering Saviour. I came to Isaiah 53:5, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." I knew the prophet had written that verse for me. I had long realized that Christ was the Saviour of the world. Now my heart confirmed that Jesus died on the cross in MY place. God had forgiven me for Christ's sake. A light clicked on. The dark abyss vanished. A clear certainty of belief gripped me.

The sun blinked out later that morning, bathing a drenched mountainside with warm humid light. On the plans below, the frenzied cultivation and seed-sowing that accompanied early showers had given way to watching and waiting as crops sprouted, covering the bare earth with a soft green mantle. A moisture-laden monsoon had turned parched land into a Garden of Eden."

Allan Connor concludes, "Just as dramatically, the Holy Spirit had poured living water into my dry, dead soul producing a new creation. And I knew he would also help me to serve those village farmers confidently as a 'true' ambassador."

Let us pray. Lord Jesus, whatever our situation, whatever is entrapping us, you know all about it. You are God's Messiah, coming again, ready to take us home to a better place shot through with God's glory. Heal our lives, we pray; replace our doubts with the joy of confidence in you. We believe you can change our physical circumstances, but most of all we praise you for your victory over death. Make us yours wholeheartedly, no matter what happens in this life. And transform us, we ask, into your agents of healing and helping for others. Amen.

"THE GIFT OF JESUS: LOVE WRAPPED UP" - 981220 Is.9:2-7 Mt.1:18-25 Advent IV

Gerry was thrilled when he opened the Christmas present from his wealthy uncle and aunt. Few things could delight a 9-year-old boy's heart more than laser fighters, duelling plastic soldiers with real laser weapons that made each other's head pop off when a direct hit was scored. When Gerry unwrapped the gift from his elderly grandmother who'd just moved into a nursing home due to her arthritis, it wasn't nearly as flashy or expensive. It was simply a pair of woolen mittens, knit painstakingly by his dear grandma in his favourite colours. She had thoughtfully tied them together with a long piece of yarn so they would stay with his coat and not get lost; and she had made sure they would fit his chubby hands just right. Not expensive, but rich with love, as Gerry could sense as he slid them on to try them out and thought of his kind old grandma who gave him candy whenever he came for a visit. And if we were to stop in a couple of months later, we'd find Gerry's hands still keeping cozy on the way to school in those mitts, long after the laser fighters have been tucked away in a closet and forgotten.

Isn't that the sort of thing we really want for Christmas? Or anytime, for that matter? We long for love wrapped up, a gift that shows thoughtfulness and care for our special needs, that someone has taken pains to package genuine affection and practical caring just for us. Actually, Jesus whose birth we celebrate is God's special gift to us, pure LOVE wrapped up andput in a box of a manger. The four letters of the word LOVE can help us appreciate just why this baby was such a precious gift.

L is for Lord. "Jesus is Lord" is the primal birth-cry by which the Holy Spirit witnesses in our lives that we have become God's children through faith. For the early Christians, this was quite radical because "Lord" was the polite way Jews referred to God's name in the Old Testament. Christians were saying this fragile infant was also Almighty God in nature and being, God-with-us in power - as demonstrated by the Lordship over evil forces Jesus demonstrated in his adult years. It was also radical in the roman world, where people were forced to offer sacrifices to Caesar and acclaim him as Lord, upon pain of death. Lordship meant a lot.

To own Jesus as Lord is also to acknowledge Him as boss in my life, to submit to his leadership as one who will govern my life in the right paths. We need such a Lord: someone strong enough to master our runaway desires, but caring enough that we can entrust ourselves to him with peace of mind.

The aspect of Lordship comes out in Isaiah's prophecy 700 years earlier. The virgin's son is described as "our ruler", the government will be on his shoulders; he is "Wonderful Counsellor, Prince of Peace" - advising, guiding royalty. There is no end to the increase of his government; he will reign on King David's throneand over his Kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness. He is worthy to be Lord because he is good and innocent.

One commentator expressed the opinion this past week that President Clinton is finished as leader of the nation, whether impeachment proceeds or not. He has lost respect, and no longer has a majority of the government behind him, due to his lack of discretion and self-discipline. By contrast, our Lord remains fit to govern, he upholds the Kingdom with justice and righteousness, because he has done no wrong, indulged in no hanky-panky; he just never sinned.

L is for Lord; as we continue to unwrap God's gift, O is for Offering. Ever since the time of writing of 2 Peter, Jesus has been traditionally recognized in the church as "Lord AND Saviour". The angel told Joseph to name the baby Jesus because he would SAVE his people from their sins; the name Jesus comes from Joshua meaning "Yahweh is Salvation". How would Jesus save his people? At the last supper he presented the cup saying, "This is my blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." The offering of the Passover Lamb symbolizing deliverance from death and slavery was changed by Jesus in this meal to the offering of himself in our place, a new exodus from the tyranny of sin and death. (1 John 2) He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world. This offering turns aside God's wrath and takes away our sins.

God tested Abraham by telling him to take his dearly-loved son Isaac and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. On the way, Isaac noted they had fire and wood, so asked, "But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham replied, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering." As it turns out, when God saw Abraham's sincerity, he provided a ram in place of Isaac. Similarly, God provides Jesus as an offering in our place. As humans we have nothing to offer God that could ever balance out our sins; Yahweh gracious provides his own dear Son to take away our sins. The baby in the manger is a perfect offering. As the song says, "We were the reason that he gave his life, we were the reason that he suffered and died; to a world that was lost he gave all he could give, he gave us a reason to live."

L-O-V is for Victor. Christ brings victory, overcoming all that threatened us. The situation in Isaiah 9 was a very real danger: Syria and Israel were ganging up on the southern kingdom of Judah, trying to force Judah to join them in forming an alliance against the world-class power Assyria. The hearts of King Ahaz and his people were shaken, like tree leaves fluttering in the wind. By his prophecies of the victorious Messiah, Isaiah sought to reassure King Ahaz that God would lay waste their enemies. He said God "had shattered the yoke that burdens them, the rod of their oppressor...Every warrior's boot used in battle will be destined for burning."

We long for a victor to establish peace. That's the basic reason for the bombing of Iraq: the rest of the civilized world doesn't feel safe in the presence of an erratic, double-talking power-monger hoarding stocks of biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. Yet there are larger enemies even than Saddam over which we need a victor, namely enemies such as sin and death. Perhaps we criticize Hussein yet we are quick to pull rank on our kids, falling back on "because I say so" when we're unwilling to explain fully, or to listen to the child's reservations. Perhaps we feel it's wrong for Iraq's factories to manufacture deadly chemical weapons, but when we go to invest in RRSP mutual funds we just look at the rate of return and don't stop to investigate if that fund is heavily weighted in tobacco companies or distilleries that also make poisonous compounds. Perhaps we condemn the way Saddam's policies make women and children there suffer due to the embargo, yet when Boxing Day comes we want to wall ourselves off from the world and selfishly have our family leave us alone so we can play with our new computer game or watch a show or lose oneself in a new book.

God's love provides a victor. Jesus died for our sins, rose victorious over death, and grants the Holy Spirit in our lives to help us overcome the sinful tendencies that make us into mini-Saddams or Clintons; victory over impulses that cause others to hurt and us to be ashamed.

L-O-V- God wraps it up with E, for Eternity. Mary wrapped Eternity in swaddling bands andlaid it in a manger. Isaiah wrote of the infant, "He will be called Mighty God, Everlasting Father...There will be no end of the increase of his government and peace." Joseph was aware, thanks to the angel, that what was conceived in Mary was from the Holy Spirit, supernatural, from another realm. This was Immanuel, God-with-us, the essence of God's infinite being unbounded by time and space, somehow condensed into 8 lbs.4oz.or whatever. Receiving this child, signing for this package, is the way we gain access to eternity. In Jesus' final prayer with the disciples in John 17 he observes with the Father, "You granted your Son authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent..." Coming to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour brings a whole new order into our lives, we have crossed over from death into life - eternal life.

Many presents we give are relatively short-lived. The box of chocolates might not make it through the day. The toy with batteries might last 2 days. In our house, I think the record belongs to a Lloyd's cassette tape recorder, given to me 30 years ago, and still used occasionally, though the rubber band slips a bit. In this age, it's remarkable we're still using the same media, i.e. cassettes, though even they now are gradually going the way of the Brontosaurus. But sooner or later, no matter what quality, all our gifts eventually wear out or have to be leftbehind. They can't be beamed up into eternity.

Yet God's gift of Jesus is different, having a quality that is everlasting. The Father offers us a relationship with himself that will last into the next dimension, when the medium of our bodies will be discarded like 8-track tapes or 78 RPM records. In the words of songwriter Michael Card, "Eternity stepped into time so we would understand."

When it comes to Christmas gifts, one of my favourite stories is "The Gift of the Magi" by O.Henry. The young couple is still breathlessly in love.

They are very poor, having only two treasures: the long shimmering tresses of her hair, and the valuable gold watch he inherited from his father.

Christmas approaches and they want to get a thoughtful, costly gift for each other that speaks the depth of their attachment. Unbeknownst to each other until the day comes, he pawns his watch in order to buy a beautiful burette for her hair; she sells her hair to buy a gold chain for his watch. Is it a tragedy or a comedy? There they sit, two of the most useless gifts on the face of the earth, yet also priceless symbols of the best gift of all. Present is something more beautiful than her hair, more valuable than his watch: the most REAL treasure they have is the deep, sacrificial love for each other that is willing to yield up what's most precious for the sake of the beloved.

That's what God has done for us, in this specialbaby lying in a manger: Love in a box, as only God could wrap it - Lord, Offering, Victor, Eternity.

All in Jesus. May we take and appreciate this Gift always. Amen.