Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock that belongs to you, which lives alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land.
Ephesians 4:11-12
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
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There are lots of callings, all according to the gifts we receive. All given to be shared so that others will have life abundant, knowing God loves them.
So God guides us all.
Let us be guided by the Spirit, this day, too.
For that is who we are, Spirit led saints, God’s voice, feet, and hands in this world.
What’s Coming At Us, From Behind the Trees, On the Road, Through the Woods?
Or
What a Beautiful Sunset
Over the Snow and
Through the Woods!
Isaiah 49:23
Kings shall be your foster-fathers, and their queens your nursing-mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.
Luke 12:11-12
When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.’
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It’s all fine and good to say do not worry, but most of us worry no matter what, sometimes even about things that deserve to be worried about.
Being brought before the authorities to defend oneself for being a Christian, when the punishment for that faith was death for so many … well that certainly seems to deserve more than a little worry. One’s life is on the line.
But then
one’s life is always on the line
if one is faithfully serving Christ
by being a servant to all, and master to none.
Only in a different life will the kings and queens bend so low as to care for us, let alone care about us, other than to wipe us out for showing the truth about their wickedness and God’s goodness.
But that worry, and that other life to come, need not consume more than passing thoughts from us. We have our work cut out for us, sharing God’s blessing and gifts with those most in need of them. Without cost they are given to us, though we certainly have not and cannot earn them. The only ‘string’ attached is that we share them. For these gifts are really only blessings if and when we share them with others in need.
That’s how God’s world works, whether we worry or not.
Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe for ever.
1 Thessalonians 2:2
… though we had already suffered and been shamefully maltreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition.
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There are so many stories one can read or watch, engaging, thrilling, and moving.
Some have something good to say about life. Many are not really worth the time spent taking them in. A few inspire one to embrace the goodness of life that God’s graciously blesses us with.
Paul was not received with grace by everyone wherever he went, spreading the Good News of Jesus. Though he was maltreated at Philippi, it was the congregation to which he wrote with the dearest, most loving and heartfelt joy and thanks. His letter to the Thessalonians comes in a close second.
Whatever challenges come our way, God mercifully loves us and keeps us safe. Often through the most challenging of times God most clearly proves God’s promises of mercy, love and faithfulness can be trusted by us.
Not that we seek out or enjoy the challenges, but all in all we trust that God walks with us, and that God’s faithful people live out that presence with us, as we live it out for others.
Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Hebrews 6:11-12
And we want each one of you to show the same diligence, so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
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So often we journey into the crossroads, and never see the path we choose …
until it’s too late, or maybe never.
Not realizing the Goodness of Life was clearly visible on that other path we did not see, or intentionally did not choose, because the incline was so steep.
And then we stumble and tumble down to the depths of despair at how unfair life is, though we could have … we should have …
It’s all too easy to choose the easiest out, at every crossroads, but the wisdom of the ages is that it’s often the steepest climb up that rewards us with views spectacular, into the horizons of the heart, into the depths of love – God’s for us that never fails us.
So we pray, let us be imitators of the saints who have gone before us. Help us struggle on, on into the day … and the night
For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, peace’, when there is no peace.
Romans 12:9
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
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We’ve all heard again that famous, or infamous, Rant, I am Canadian. With quiet music building to swells of patriotic music Joe states his case:
Hey, I’m not a lumberjack or a fur trader
I don’t live in an igloo or eat blubber or own a dogsled.
and I don’t know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I’m certain that their really, really nice.
Uh
I have a prime minister, not a president.
I speak English and French not American
and I pronounce it about, not aboot.
I can proudly sew my country’s flag on my backpack.
I believe in peacekeeping not in policing.
I believe in diversity, not assimilation.
And I believe the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.
A toque is a hat.
And a chesterfield is a couch.
And it’s pronounced Zed, not Zee, Zed.
Canada is the second largest landmass
The first nation of hockey
and the best part of North America.
My name is Joe
and I am Canadian.
Reality
Given Trump and his threats and actual tariffs that will do great damage to our economy, one can understand the call to be patriotic.
At the core of our problems, though, we do not find economics or politics, but good old fashion love, faith, and hope, expressed as empathy and care for all people, especially the poor.
So ours is not a rant but a chant backed by any number of great pieces of music, for example “Canticle of the Turning” (ELW 723) by Rory Cooney, to the lively Irish folk tune used as a rugby match song:
Hey, I am not a crusading knight, nor a desert ascetic.
I don’t hold exorcisms, live in Corinth or Bethlehem or Nazareth.
I have a pastor and a bishop, not a coach or a guru.
I speak many native languages, but not Latin or Sanskritic.
I proudly were a cross on a fine chain around my neck.
I believe in peace not in war or violence.
I believe in respecting and welcoming diversity, not excluding strangers or foreigners.
I believe the fish is a wonderful symbol of faith, as is the boat.
I’m not concerned with how people pronounce words, but that we share the radical Word of God.
God’s favour is not won by what we do or say or believe, but is God’s free gift given to us.
We can refuse it and we do, sinners that we are. But God keeps saving us over and over again, making us saints able to do miraculous things for others, especially the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the outcasts, refugees, strangers, and especially children.
Christianity may be worldwide and messed up in many places, sometimes even here at home, but it is the gift of life,
the gift of life abundant for all people.
We may be getting fewer in number, but being a follower of Jesus is the best part of life.
My name is not important because God knows it and everything about me and still loves me. I’m not ashamed of my name, yet it’s not what I’m proud of.
I’m proud that I bear Jesus’ cross and Jesus’ name,
Then we left the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem; the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes along the way.
2 Timothy 3:11
… my persecutions, and my suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
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What memories I have, of trials, of lies, of abuse, of un-earned prison, of false judgments, of concerted efforts to destroy our reputations, of rejections, of false accusations, of being told to leave, of being forced to leave town …
of surviving, by God’s grace alone, when all else had failed,
yet being loved profoundly,
of experiencing God’s walking along with me,
of trust rebuilt from the foundations of life,
of many helping in small ways and huge ways,
of being dependent yet free,
of living the dream (hard as it turns out to be).
I’m sure you have your memories of life’s challenges as well.
Hopefully you have known and remember that God has walked with you through them, not removing them or resolving them, but equipping you to endure them to whichever end, theirs or yours, and knowing you are blessed to know life in it’s fullest and most truthful blessedness.
With the memories of God’s blessing in the past comes a hard-won trust in God’s promises for our futures.
Moving into today … all will be well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well.
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
Jude 1:25
… to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen.
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During a flood, we showed up after church to help people living along the water to sandbag, in an effort to save the community’s properties. Our sons asked why we had to go. We lived 10 miles away.
We answered that it was us paying rent for the air we breathe.
So we breathe, still today.
And rightfully so we are asked to give thanks in so many ways, to ‘pay rent for the air we breathe’ in so many ways.
Thanksgiving.
A harvest festival of thanks.
A life pattern condensed into one day’s holiday and celebration.
Every day is a day to give thanks.
This holiday is a time to take stock again: Do we give thanks everyday, even for the things we think we do not owe thanks for?
Do we give thanks, by contributing even in ways, we may think we do not need to contribute or even give thanks?
When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, houses filled with all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you have eaten your fill, take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
John 6:32
Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
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Poverty is a wonderful lesson in humility,
or so they say,
Those who are not poor.
Thankfully the food bank is a steady and good supply of most basic foods and some others,
actually some very odd food that I’d never try or eat if I didn’t get them there.
Take Cookies and Cream Oatmeal.
A treat in a breakfast food.
Well I suppose they’ve made and sold lots of sugar cereals for decades, so why not this, too?
With
all
this
food
I easily forget
how hard it was
before
the food bank.
Not that I forget (life is too hard) how much God provides.
Every morning I thank God for everything that keeps me alive, and it’s more than just enough.
Lately there’s been so much meaningful labour
it’s hard to keep up
as winter is coming
and autumn is not that long
And there’s still wood to start collecting.
But,
little by little
a thing here and a thing there gets done
and
I start to think
I may even be ready, for winter,
‘God willing and the creek nor rising’.
So today
first the thanks,
then the celebration,
then the meal
then
flat out work
if the rain is not too much or
the smoke too thick.
And how is your day shaped? With thanks, remembering who supplies all that keeps you alive, celebration, meal, and work?
Or is it something else.
Whatever, may it be blessed,
and may you remember who blesses it,
even if you live in the land ‘flowing with milk and honey.’
