May 18, 2025
READINGS & MESSAGE
ACTS 11:1-18
So, our first reading for today from the Book of Acts…have you ever been to a church meeting when you could feel the tension in the air?...and these meetings often centre around who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’…there’s this narrow circle of inclusion and there’s others who want to expand the circle until all God’s children had a place at the table…so the question which is brought forward in this passage from Acts deals with whether the Gentiles were in or out…and this was hanging at the balance with the integrity and expansion of the early church…and yup, these things still happen.
REVELATION 21:1-6
This passage from the Book of Revelation you’ve probably heard at one time or another…I am accustomed to reading or hearing this passage at funerals and have had many occasions to do so over the years…but I’ve often wondered if limiting the use of this passage in dealing with disaster or the end of life or a time of death, might actually limit our visions of God dwelling in our midst…in the present…something to think about in that John provides us with a stunning picture of the living God dwelling among us through the Spirit’s power…
JOHN 13:31-35
These five verses basically bring us to the very centre of Jesus’ ministry…love one another…and it’s difficult to overestimate the importance of this passage in all of our Christian lives…Christian ethics is commonly described as a love ethic, I believe in large part to this passage…and we also see this passage as pivotal to the structure and theology of the Gospel…this was Jesus’ last opportunity to get his point across to the disciples…no more parables, just a simple commandment, “Little children, love each other”…
LOVE ONE ANOTHER----NO IFS----BUTS—OR MAYBES
In this world of uncertainties, there is always a ray of sunshine when we are chosen—it’s an honour to be chosen—to walk across the stage and receive a small or maybe a large token of recognition for something which we have been involved in or involved with—it’s a fundamental need of all people—just to be wanted—to be valued—to be noticed—to be loved—
Or maybe some of us are chosen to work on committees or to be the skip on a curling team—either way, we are chosen because we must exemplify some sort of gift – there must be something in us that others can see and so we are held up in reverence and given an opportunity to fulfill our dreams and our aspirations…
In John’s passage, Jesus alludes to his disciples that you didn’t choose me — I chose you — and I’m sending you out to love one another…and Jesus not only chose them, but appointed them… appointed them with one commandment— Love one another… with no ifs – buts – or maybes —
This is can be a difficult place for most of us to go…in fact it really comes to mind this weekend when that this is the Victoria Day weekend in Canada and then on July the 1st we have Canada Day and in the states, Memorial Day, and of all of the flag-waving that will be happening....for in our countries, in most of the churches on these special days, there will be prayers for each country and I become a little uneasy with this as prayers for each country may be a good thing, but there should be prayers and thoughts for all countries in this world – Iraq – Afghanistan – Cuba – Palestine – Israel – North Korea the Ukraine, to name a few–is there any way where we could wave the flag of God and not the flag of a certain country?...
If I could dare to go out onto a limb this morning—for so many of us, the flag of a certain country is their God’s flag— So how do we help people see that the American flag or the Canadian flag – or any flag for that matter—is not God’s flag?...we’ve somehow shifted far away from the core of Jesus’ ministry and we’ve followed a different stream of ideology...of philosophy—of theology--- instead of power with, we’ve subscribed to power over and power from below—the balance that Jesus speaks so much about has disappeared and the two opposing sides have tipped the scales so that our lives are in a constant place of uncertainty—and what has caused all of this is the lack of love for each other—in families—in communities—with those who ascribe to a different sexual orientation than the one that we think is proper—lack of love and respect between countries when everything seems to hinge on economics and not life-giving and empowering initiatives— and I’m not trying to paint all of us with this brush but sometimes this paint splatters on us too—
So how do we get people to open the doors of their minds?...
How do we get folks to open their hearts to true peace and love?...
How does this one simple commandment which Jesus shares with us become a true reality?....
Maybe by letting people know that love is possible!...
People are what they have been taught to be...you could ask, what would it mean for God to abide with me — to have God abiding with us and us abiding with God?...
I looked up the word ‘abide’ and it means to stay – to stick with — to remain – to sojourn with — I like ‘stick with God’...abiding to me is the First Nations concept that our whole day – everything we do – is prayer – it removes the notion that we’re only with God for an hour on Sunday morning…
If God is love for that hour on Sunday morning, then, we would only love for one hour a week — on Sunday morning…wouldn’t that be a problem!!!---
Showing the world the love of God is what Jesus Christ asks us to do as a church. He sends us into the world, to tell the world about the love of God, as he has shared it with us...He sends us out to be a sign of the kingdom of God in which God’s unconditional love rules...It is our primary task as a church not to give testimony to judgement and hate — but to give testimony to that divine love....
This is especially important these days...because malicious practices have gotten a hold of parts of the church—causing parts of the church to do exactly that which Christ called us not to do… to proclaim an uncommitted god rather than a God of grace and love — the God of the cross…
Now for those of you who do not know our United Church of Canada tradition–let me tell you how we come to understand what is true about God—we take the Bible very seriously—we do not take it literally—we are not surprised to find things in scripture that offend us as well as things that uplift us — there are profound truths in this book — and there is stuff in it that human beings — being who we are — have used as weapons to hurt those whom we fail to love — this is holy, sacred scripture. To use it for hate is to abuse it...anyone who uses this book to beat you up emotionally has no authority from God — for God does not ordain bullies — we seek the scriptures seriously — and seek to understand them in the context of love —
And who are we as a church?....I like Barbara Shires Blaisdell’s description of who we are — “The church is the one place where the only requirement for admittance is the acknowledgment that we don’t meet the requirements for admittance.”...
We’re not perfect — in fact we are far from it — and this is one of the reasons why Jesus shares these words with us —
“Love one another!”----
And Jesus keeps insisting that we, too, break bread with dangerous people —
One’s that are difficult to love — this is the gospel claim to grace!...
So why bother?...If we cannot ensure that the church will always be loving, if we are not always safe even here, why bother?... Well—you and I are not here because of each other—ultimately, we are not here because of the saints and the sinners past and present who make up the church — in the end, you and I are in this ministry because Jesus has come and stood beneath us — and called us by name — and said gently — come in and dine with me..
Come in and break bread with me —
For I love you and we must love each other....
Let us pray----
God of love----live within us–be our breath, our being, our days and our nights. May we be continually wakeful at sunrise to begin a new day for you—may we be cheerful at sunset for having done our work for you—may we be thankful at moonrise and under starshine for the beauty of your universe—and may we add what little may be in us to add to your great world...Amen