Moment of Clarity With Rev. Lorrie Daly-Price

This week we hear one of Jesus' parables found in the gospel of Luke. In Jesus' parable the owner of the garden observes a barren fig tree. Reasonably, he orders it yanked out. But the gardener suggests that the owner give the fig tree another year. In the meantime he'll break up the hard earth, aerating the ground around it so the roots can breathe and drink and take in nourishment. He'll put manure around it, that golden substance which is the very ground of life and fertility – changing the very soil nurturing the fig tree. So could it be that we are called to be good stewards of the gifts God has given us–our time, our talent, and our resources? That God expects us to be fruitful to the best of our abilities?   Lent offers the time of aerating the soil and adding humble manure. Lent is a time of taking care of things, while being taken care of.

In this week's passage from Luke's gospel, Jesus uses the imagery of a fox and a hen in a surprising way. But the archetypes remain the same, so we know that in the end the fox won't succeed and the hen will save the day.   When Jesus speaks of Jerusalem, we get a rare glimpse of God as mother. He likens himself to a hen who longs to gather her disobedient chicks. This is God as loving and longing to protect even when it isn't wanted or appreciated. The hen who sacrificially covers her children with her wings to endure whatever attack may come, from a fox or whatever would destroy them.

The reading we hear this week from the gospel of Luke describes Jesus' retreat in the wilderness. Following his baptism, Jesus retreats to an isolated place to ground his vocation as God's beloved child and messenger of salvation. No doubt Jesus understands that with great power comes the possibility for great temptation. In solitude, the many inner voices of life often emerge. In this time of retreat, Jesus is visited by temptation. The temptations Jesus experiences involve good things that come between God and ourselves. There is nothing in principle wrong with comfort food, safety, and power for the good. Yet, all of these, when they become the sole focus of our lives, can lead us from our deepest vocation and relationship with God. We are seldom tempted by “bad” things. Rather good things that divert us from better things are the source of the greatest temptations.    

The overarching themes in the readings for this week are relationships and forgiveness. In Genesis we see the relationship breakdown in families. You might think there's nothing new there, over 2,000 years on. On the one hand you have the brothers a bit disheartened that Joseph is alive, as they will have to ‘fess up' to what they actually did, and on the other hand we see Joseph offering forgiveness and acceptance of the wrong done and the hurt caused to him.   In the gospel reading from Luke, Jesus talks too about the importance of loving our enemies. He calls for attitudes and actions that seek the good of the other, which builds up the community. “Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return." How can we love our enemies though when everything we feel inside us about them makes us want to hurt them back as they have hurt us?      Jesus is not telling people to remain victims but to find new ways of dealing with those who hurt us. He is inviting all of us into forgiveness, into a deep, unlimited and radical kind of forgiveness that we can fully appreciate only when we have been on the receiving end of it. 

In the verses just before today's passage, Jesus has been up on a mountain praying all night. When the sun comes up he calls together twelve of his followers and makes them disciples. Then he comes down to a level place and starts to teach. He hasn't even had breakfast yet and people are gathering from all over the place to come hear him.   They are coming from as far away as Jerusalem in the south and Tyre and Sidon on the Mediterranean coast – several days worth of walking have brought Jews and Gentiles alike to listen to Jesus teach.     Those gathered looked forward in hope to the time when God would renew the level places and reveal God's glory and salvation in them. Jesus stands with us in our broken level world and teaches the ways of this renewal through the Kingdom of God. At first, it sounds like the very things that bring us woe – riches, good food, and prestige – are the same things that bring us blessings when they are scarce. But this week we look deeper at these blessings and woes.

One of our readings this week comes from the gospel of Luke. We hear how Joseph's son has grown up. The wee boy that had sat at his father's feet in the carpentry shop hearing the worries of farmers as they waited for their ploughs to be fixed or the stories of husbands getting chairs mended, or the secrets shared as people worried over prices and priorities. That wee boy, whose craftsmanship as a carpenter but also as a listener had helped to sustain life in the village, was now a man in his own right, and when he spoke in the synagogue, Luke writes how well all spoke of him and how amazed they were at the gracious words he spoke. Here was someone who had heard and understood the concerns and complaints, the doubts and despairs of customers, who had smiled at their old jokes and joined in their celebrations and now was able to understand scripture not as a dry text of rules, but as real hope and light in the lives of what we might call ‘ordinary' people.  He was one of their own, welcomed and celebrated and given thanks for. If only Jesus had left it there, if he had been content to promise and celebrate but had he done that, the job would only have been half finished.

You've got to love a new box of crayons. I am much more tempted to sit down and colour when there is a new box to break in. What is it though, about a new box that creates such excitement? Well, first every crayon is nice and sharp, perfect for staying in the lines. Second, all the colours are there. It is a complete and total set. So no matter what you decide to create, from a beautiful butterfly to a rainbow or sunset, every colour is there for the choosing.    Missing colours can wreck a lot of things. In fact, missing colours would change the world. Just think about it, if yellow was missing, would we have the sun? If green were not there, what colour would the grass be? Every colour has a purpose. After all that's the way that God designed the world — with colour.    Variety. Distinctiveness. Diversity. Each one of us is different, yet put together in the same box so that the artwork of God can be created. This is the wonder of the church which is called Christ's body. This week we hear a letter from Paul to the church in Corinth about being part of the body of Christ. God has placed each person in it with uniqueness of personality, strengths, talents, and gifts. Many members, but one body. Many colours, but one box. 

The season of Epiphany began with celebrating the gifts of the magi, it continued with God's gift of grace, affirmed through Jesus' baptism, and focuses this Sunday on God's vocational gifts bestowed on each person for the sake of the community and their own personal fulfillment.This week we hear the story of Jesus' transformation of water into wine from John's gospel, a continuation of the theme of divine giftedness.    We have callings for our lifetime and we also have calls for every situation. God's vision long-term, local and momentary. On that particular day, Jesus' calling was to bring joy to a couple and their family. There was no need that day for preaching, lecturing or even a healing touch; the need was for good wine and plenty of it!    Each of our gifts and vocations emerge and flourish in real time, oriented toward real people, and real situations. Indeed, the miracle of the wedding feast suggests that we have many vocations and callings, each appropriate to our particular setting. This is good news that challenges us to stay awake to God's particular vocational vision for each of us. Rev. Lorrie Daly-Price,

This week we hear the story of Jesus being baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist, from the gospel of Luke. At the beginning of the passage Luke tells us the people were filled with anticipation. They were seeking, searching, longing for the Messiah, their saviour.    John in turn gives them hope in his witness of who is to come and what the Messiah will bring, for John understands his role and God's purpose for him. John intimates through his narrative that this coming Messiah will be judge and Saviour and will demand justice where there is none. Later when Jesus is baptized by John, he receives the Holy Spirit and God's approval, the prophesy is fulfilled and Jesus' ministry begins in earnest.

“Did you know Boxing Day was originally a day to give rather than receive? Before Boxing Day came to be associated with turkey sandwiches, football, and discounts, it was known as a day to serve people in need. Historically, the church visited those most vulnerable on Boxing Day and gave them money and gifts. The day wasn't about giving―it was about giving our best.” (excerpt from united-church.ca)   This will be a special service highlighting how we give including our time, talents and donations to the church. Giving is about more than making a gift. It's about lighting the way for everyone. 

There are many kinds of nights. Some nights embrace us with a holy light, coming from a place within yet beyond the stars. Christmas Eve is among them. We feel a silent night deeper than all nights and filled with tenderness and love. Amid these feeling we are touched by God's listening and empathy, by that side of God which shares in the joys and sufferings of all living beings, everywhere, with a tender care that nothing be lost. May your Christmas this year be filled to the brim with meaning, love and thankfulness ready to be spilled out in the lives of others as we walk in God's footsteps and share in the light. The stars are shining brightly. 

This week we have a number of key scripture readings. It is one of those weeks where it is hard to just concentrate on one of them. In Luke's gospel we have the entrance of John the Baptist who is the hinge to the salvation story. We also hear an Old Testament reading from the book of Malachi which is the end of the old story. In effect we hear Luke saying: “God told you the Messiah would come. You've had enough indications that the news would be announced when it was time. So, why should you now be surprised with this news?”   Luke lays out the world situation and all the players, those with political and religious power. Then to make things abundantly clear he refers back to the Prophet Isaiah. He wasn't telling them anything new. Here is the link to the past and the connection to the future.    John the Baptist was simply the courier, the welcomer, the preparer, the reminder, whose message was, and still is, designed to get the people's attention. His message, the King of Kings is coming! Get yourselves ready. 

Our text this week from the gospel of Luke comes with some troubling words from Jesus. It seems that they are prophetic words about predicting the future and warning of the end times. However, if we only look at this passage thinking that it gives us a means to read the tea leaves and predict the future, then we have missed the point entirely.    It seems that this passage we will hear, has a lot more to do with how we live our lives right now. When we resolve to love our neighbour and seek common good for all. This kind of life has a profound meaning, discernible for the person living it and to the community at large. This is the life of the disciple. Do this and your lives will bear witness that the kingdom of God is a kingdom of love, a kingdom of joy, a kingdom of peace and a kingdom of hope as seen right here and now. 

Today's reading from John's gospel is at its heart the story of two men: one, Pilate a son of Rome; the other, Jesus, the Son of God. The first seeks the truth; the second witnesses to it. Pilate uses the power and authority received from his emperor to impose the rule of an oppressive kingdom on the children of Abraham. Jesus uses the authority received from his heavenly Father to work for the salvation of these children from their earthly bonds.    Jesus seeks to bring about a new, greater kingdom, one built on a heavenly foundation. In this brief passage from John, the journeys of these two sons – one that began at the heart of the Roman Empire, the other beginning in a small working class village in Galilee – intersect in the heart of Jerusalem. Jesus, who only recently was swept along by cheering, adoring crowds from Jericho to Jerusalem in advance of the Passover Feast, now finds himself at the mercy of a jeering, contemptuous crowd anxious to turn him over to the authorities. A man beloved and proclaimed by many as the Messiah just days before now finds himself very much alone.

This week's readings describe answers to prayer as well as future hope and challenges. In many ways we will find them challenging because they are distant from our lived experiences. Yet, when we look more deeply, there is a message that emerges. This message is that despite life's difficulties and threats, God seems to make a way where there seems to be no way.    The reading we hear from Mark's gospel certainly addresses this idea of facing challenges. We are told that the earth will be in chaos. Wars will abound and fear will be great. Yet, it seems that this upheaval is just the prelude to a new creation. “Don't be afraid,” so says Mark. “God will be at work in the future to bring new life.”    So perhaps this is a story about spiritual growth. We may feel unsettled; our world may turn upside down as a result of some new insight. It might just be that God is working for good, but we have to go  through the process and trust that God will bring something beautiful out of the crises we experience. 

On this Remembrance Day Sunday what do we have to offer back for those who sacrificed so much? Where does prayer, or communion or singing fit into desperate conflicts where two sides are reaching for weapons? We have our stories to offer. Stories that reveal a different vision of how things could be, are meant to be. Our story today comes from Mark's gospel about a woman observed by Jesus.    This is the story about a widow and her two small copper coins. What is sacrifice really for her? What is the enemy for this poor widow? Jesus is aware of the decision makers in his day who work against God's dream of a world of dignity for all. Jesus'  allies that are working for this dream, this vision, are unlikely people. The woman we read about today takes two coins and puts them both into the treasury.She then leaves the temple knowing that she has done what she felt called to do and that she has done the best she could.

The readings for this week are an important reminder that God brings people into our lives, inspiring our imaginations and luring us toward unexpected life changing encounters. Our dependence on God inspires us to be generous and open knowing that God will supply what we need.    In the reading from Ruth we meet Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth. Two resident woman who cling together against life's bad breaks. Two people much like us who point the way toward faith. The story is human and mundane, a tale of everyday people and yet they get caught up in God's great purposes.   The passage from the gospel of Mark allows us to explore how we relate to others. Jesus is telling us directly: Love is the total reason for our being… the sole purpose for all creation and our unique place in it. Love defines us. It must be who we are and what we do. If not, we're just taking up space and wasting time.

What would you do if you couldn't fail? What mission would  you attempt or what venture would you risk? All great  questions, because they get us thinking, stretch our vision  and stir our imagination. But as great as they are, maybe  they are not the right questions to ask because we know  there will be failure. There just will.    In light of those questions we turn to our reading this  morning from Mark's gospel. The question here to ask is,  what would you be willing to try if the attempt itself was  worth it regardless of whether or not we succeeded. This  seems to be a big part of what the reading is about. Would  you, like Bartimaeus in today's reading shout out for healing even though the people around you try to shush you into  silence? Could it be that Bartimaeus was so used to failure and disappointment that he saw no reason not to at least try one more time? Or perhaps faithfulness itself is defined by trusting God enough to dare impossible deeds? 

In a sermon delivered many years ago by Martin Luther King Jr. he quoted Jesus' words from the gospel of Mark about servanthood. Then he said, “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. . . . You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” When Jesus' disciples quarrelled about who would get the places of honour in heaven, he told them: “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43- 45).

The reading this week comes from the gospel of Mathew. Here Jesus urges the disciples and all of us to look around. Jesus points to the vastness of God's gifts and pushes us to remember that God will take care of it all, so don't worry, be grateful. Nothing is worth worrying about, for it is all in God's hands and God will give us what we need.  So perhaps we need only step outside and gaze at the sky, the still green grass, the now emptying trees, to be reminded of the gift Jesus offers now in pointing to God's tender care for all that is

The reading this week comes from the gospel of Mark. It begins with a dialogue on divorce but then the focus is on the children in Jesus' time. The children were expendable in the first century. To some they were just nuisances and nobodies. In this encounter Jesus' companions want to silence them. Instead though Jesus blesses them. It appears that Jesus was trying to point out that welcoming the children, that is the vulnerable, those at risk and those in need is what matters most in God's kingdom. This whole passage is about community.

Today's reading from Mark's gospel reminds us to expand our circle of healing and inspiration beyond our own communities. The disciples have been quite pleased with themselves for preserving the purity and practices of Jesus' movement by silencing the healing done by an outsider from their group. They are surprised however when Jesus rebukes them for their narrow-mindedness and limited understanding of what his mission was truly about. Anyone who promotes life is on God's side, regardless of their own ancestry. Where can we see God's healing touch?  

The reading we hear this week from Mark's gospel is said to be one of those great moments where the disciples struggle to understand who Jesus is and what following him means. Such a human moment and a reminder to  each of us that even those who walked with him on a daily basis didn't get it right all the time.   Jesus begins by telling the disciples about his fate and how he will be betrayed, killed and rise again but, of course, the disciples have no idea what Jesus is going on about.   The next scene is quite comical. Jesus and the disciples are traveling and it seems that Jesus may have been out in front of the group, not necessarily engaging in their conversations but still attentive enough to hear what they are saying. When he asks them what they are arguing about.   The disciples are like children caught whispering about something in a classroom by the teacher. They fall silent. It is interesting that Mark never says that they actually told Jesus what they were arguing about. They must know in that moment that Jesus heard them arguing about who was the greatest. So, Jesus takes this moment to try and get the disciples to understand his vision of the Kingdom of God.

In the reading we hear today from Mark's gospel, Jesus and the disciples are in the district  around Caesarea Philippi, where Herod the Great had built a temple and renamed the town after the emperor. It is during this time that the disciples' assumptions and hopes about what Jesus would accomplish begin to collapse around them. Jesus' announcement about what would happen to him was the beginning of the end. Up to this point, Jesus seemed unstoppable as a healer, a teacher and a miracle worker. Things seemed to be looking up!    This is the pivotal chapter of the gospel, where there is a shift in the journey now heading toward Jerusalem. Jesus and the disciples are “on the way,” when Jesus asks them (and us, the readers) “Who do you say that I am?”  

Our reading this week from John's gospel comes right after Jesus fed 5000 people and now they are hungry again. Since they were fed by him the day before why not again today? Having enough to eat in Jesus' time was a challenge for many so it would be understandable that they wouldn't want to lose sight of what they have just experienced.    After the feeding Jesus and the disciples got in their boat and crossed the lake and many decided to follow them. When they meet up, the original question is asked again - what signs are you going to give us so that we will believe in you? How about a regular diet of manna raining from heaven like our ancestors enjoyed? Jesus seizes on their opening to explain who he is and why he's here: I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry.   To the disappointment of the idlers, Jesus is not promising an endless buffet of material goodies. He is offering himself as the spiritual food that will fill our deepest needs.

In our reading this week from John's Gospel Jesus is followed by a large crowd. As the day comes to an end and it is growing dark, Jesus asks Philip where they will find food to feed them, but Philip expresses that it would be far too costly to try and feed them all. Then Andrew points out one youth's five loaves and two fish. Jesus blesses the food and has it distributed to the crowd, and everyone is fed.   When the values of God's role are brought into play, we can truly believe in a different way, which often leads to surprising solutions to our problems. Like when a crowd is hungry, faith means that a boy's lunch can be the catalyst that ensures that everyone is fed – most likely through the simple miracle of sharing. Hunger, a natural part of the day, finds itself fed by fragments: fragments from us, fragments of generosity, fragments of goodwill.

It's summertime and we are in one of the warmest months of the year here in Canada. For many  that means vacation time. Time to get away from our usual routines, schedules and to do lists for even just a short break. Our passage this week from Mark's gospel shows us that even Jesus and his friends needed to get away from it all once in a while. It didn't work so well for them though. There is very little rest for the weary in ministry, it seems. There is almost nowhere that Jesus and the guys could go that there were not needy people waiting for them, hoping for a touch from Jesus. 

Jesus' life has been a continuous flurry of activity as he moves from one event to the next. All are amazed at his miracles and the wisdom of his preaching. Jesus has selected his team of disciples and the ministry is making great headway. That is until the reading we hear this week from Mark's gospel. Jesus has gone home to Nazareth where he is met with a combination of amazement, resentment and open hostility.   This was obviously not a social visit where Jesus came to see friends and family. He came as a teacher and a rabbi, with his disciples in tow. Those who heard him became critical of his wisdom and power. They took offence at.   So, Jesus packs up his campaign and for the first time he empowers the twelve disciples and sends them off to other lands to share the good news.

The famous opening words of the Bible in the Old Testament, set the scene for all that is to come: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. All that was, all that is, all that will be, all this comes from God. The opening chapter goes on to describe the scale, the diversity,  the goodness of God's creation. Basil of Caesarea, a Bishop in the fourth century compared God the creator to a potter who, after painstakingly crafting a series of beautiful pots, ‘has not exhausted either his art or his talent'. The creation of the world was not a one time burst of energy that left God exhausted, rather it was a pouring out of something deep within God—a desire to create, to bring about beauty and order and all that is good. God created because God is creative and God's creativity does not run dry.    This creative heart has left its fingerprints throughout the creation: in the wild evolution of nature, in the instinctive desire of our earliest ancestors to make art on the walls of their caves, in the stories that we tell to our children. The world is filled with creativity because it was created by a creative God whose art and talent are inexhaustible. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth—and that was only the beginning!   This week we reflect on some of the amazing parts of God's creation!

   Our gospel reading this week is a story of two women who are healed. Both are anonymous, one named by a condition and the other by a relationship. There is a bleeding woman who is cut off from her community because of her condition and has been impoverished by physicians whose skills have failed her. She would have been invisible to those who did not know her and those who did would have shrunk back for fear of contact contamination. In her desperation she doesn't care. “If I but touch the hem of his robe…” Her faith in this moment has everything to do with the one in whom she places it. After being made well, free to walk away, steps forward and admits to touching a man in public while she is bleeding and that Jesus did what no one else had been able to.    Then we will hear about the 12 year old daughter of Jairus. Her father shows the same sort of courage born of desperation that the woman did. No doubt members of the synagogue have heard of this Galilean preacher and wonder if their leader has lost his mind, but Jairus believes that Jesus is his daughter's hope.  What gives you hope? What gives you reason to get up in the morning?

The readings this morning have a thing or two to say about family. Who do we consider to be family? Who do we turn to when we need help? In ancient times family had a different meaning than it does today. Many of us see our families consisting of ourselves, parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, special aunts and uncles or cousins. In biblical times families consisted of many, many people that also included great aunts and uncles, all first cousins and second cousins were all considered a central part of the family. Family get togethers could almost be seen as an  encampment as there were so many people gathered together in one place.    In today's Gospel reading Jesus looks around him, he takes in everyone seated and says, “Right here right in front of you - my mother and my brothers.” This idea of family greatly impacted the beginning of the church because it was inclusive of all people. All are part of God's family.

This week we hear a reading from the gospel of John about a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was one of Israel's teachers and leaders. People respected and admired him. In our  reading we find him going to see Jesus under the cover of darkness.   But Nicodemus had no idea whom he was dealing with. Nicodemus may have come to Jesus intending to push him on his theology, but he found himself being pushed instead. Jesus told Nicodemus that, given his status as a teacher of Israel, he really should be able to handle Jesus' statements better than he did. But to be fair, they were (and are) difficult statements. We kid ourselves if we claim to understand them fully.

This week get ready for an adventure! Put on your helmet, strap on your seat belt and get ready for mighty wind or a persistent calling! This is the day that we celebrate the lively Spirit of God, blowing freely and wherever God wills. This is a gentle and sometimes wild presence that  transforms lives and communities, breaks down barriers and gives life to weary and uncertain persons and communities.    This week we celebrate Pentecost, the third great festival of the Christian year. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church and so much more. Scripture tells us that 3000 people came to believe in God's Spirit on that first day. It was the beginning of a movement of a new way calling us to be open to the possibility that God is calling us to do something specific and wonderful things for the sake of the Kingdom of God right now.

This week we hear about the Ascension of Jesus. Can you imagine what a spectacular sight it was? Exactly as promised, Jesus ascended into heaven. The scriptures were fulfilled.    In Luke’s account of the Ascension, Jesus chooses to leave from Bethany. It would have been a  beloved place of memory for Jesus. It was here that he found hospitality in the home of his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It was also here he raised Lazarus from the dead and where here he received the gift of a woman’s anointing shortly before his death. Bethany had been a place of blessing for Jesus. And so, from this place of blessing, Jesus leaves, offering a blessing as he goes. While he was blessing them, Luke tells us, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.   As Jan Richardson, author of the Painted Prayerbook puts it, “Joyful, sorrowful, bittersweet; planned or unexpected; welcomed or resisted or grieved: no matter how a leave-taking happens, it always brings an invitation, and it makes a space for the Spirit to come.”    As we each navigate the leave-takings in our own lives, how do we keep our eyes open for the invitations they hold? What blessings could they offer us, and what blessings might they invite?

     This week’s reading comes from the Gospel of John. A reading that if you take the time to count the word love or loved you will find it nine times in these verses. The love, friendship and joy of these verses is what we all hope lies at the heart of our experience of Christian community. Our love for one another inspires faithful action and generous giving. The joy that we participate in and experience through various outreach projects doesn’t lead us away from suffering and struggle but towards it. When we choose to look pain in the eye, in the stories of drought, shortage and yes this year long pandemic, there we find possibilities for overcoming and transformation. Jesus goes on to explain to the disciples that even pain will turn to joy and that joy is one which no one can remove. 

Last week we reflected on the image of Jesus as the good shepherd and us as the wandering, stubborn sheep. This week the image used draws us even closer to Jesus with the image of the vine. We are extended from the vine as the branches. We are rooted in and draw strength and life from Jesus. We are intimately connected to Jesus. If we were cut off from Jesus, we would perish like a branch chopped off from Jesus, we would perish like a branch chopped off from its vine. How might we extend to others this life-giving, loving connection with Jesus?    (paraphrased from Gathering, Lent/Easter 2021, page 23.)

A mother was once asked by a census taker how many children she had. She replied, “Well  there’s Nathan, Daniel and Elisha and…” Never mind the names,’ the man interrupted, “Just give me the numbers.” The mother angrily replied, “They don’t have numbers, they all have names!”    This might be a funny story, but don’t you find that there is some truth to it in our modern world. We are often reduced to statistics and numbers, especially by the government. Here in Canada, our governments know us by our Social Insurance Numbers, and that identity is included in almost all of our lifetime records and transactions. Even our opinions are reflected in numbers in survey results, as is seen by the surveys conducted during a federal election campaign.    Thankfully, as we hear this morning in our gospel reading from John, Jesus is not like that. He knows each and every one of us by our names, just like a shepherd knows each and everyone of his sheep. After all, he is the Good Shepherd.

This week we hear about Cleopas and Simon who are heading to Emmaus from the gospel of Luke. Jesus walks along with them, his identity unbeknownst to them. At first the two fail to recognize him, even as Jesus interprets the scriptures for them.    We then move with Cleopas and his companion where they have just begun telling the eleven disciples about their encounter with Jesus on the road. The text tells us that “While they were talking about this,” Jesus himself appeared among them.” Yet despite having heard the women’s story of the tomb and Cleopas’ story of the road to Emmaus, the eleven cannot grasp that it is the resurrected Jesus who stands before them. Terrified, they think they are seeing a ghost. They cannot believe that the power of life has overcome the dark shadow of death.     Curiously, Jesus does not begin by explaining the scriptures to them, as he had done with the disciples on the road to Emmaus and as the angels had done with the women at the tomb. Instead, he begins by showing them his hands and feet. Yet, as we will hear, they still struggle to believe that this could actually be their beloved Jesus. 

Shalom aleichem. The days following Jesus persecution, death and resurrection were tumultuous. Jesus’ friends and devout followers must have been devastated and grieving. In our Gospel reading this week from John 20:19-31, we hear of the disciples locked in a room because they were afraid of the Temple authorities—so the local troubles continue. Suddenly appearing before them is Jesus in the room, and saying, “Peace be with you.” But Thomas doubts that Jesus has risen from the dead, because he was not with the disciples when Jesus first appeared. Jesus appears to the disciples again, and Thomas is present and now believes because he can see, and feel the wounds in Jesus’ hand, feet and side. These twelve short verses talk about doubt and faith, peace and blessings of shalom, as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit—a wondrous gift given to us, even to this day.  

Jesus Christ is risen today! The tomb where he lay is empty. On that first Easter morning Mary comes to the tomb while it is still dark. She sees that the stone has been rolled away and she draws the conclusion that Jesus has been taken. Running to Peter and that beloved disciple, she shares her concern.    Upon her return to the tomb Jesus appears to Mary as a gardener and will later appear to the disciples. She does not yet believe who she is standing with.    Things go no more smoothly for the others either. The risen Christ appearance is no simple thing. As we will hear this morning, the gospel story judges none of these people. For in their own time each will come to faith and believe in the risen Christ.

Palm Sunday Jesus resolves to ride into Jerusalem and expose himself publicly, even though he realizes the dangers he will face since the Jewish leaders have been clamouring for his arrest. From the Roman Governor’s view, this was a dangerous time to keep peace and order with the impending Jewish Passover festival and the last thing the Roman authorities wanted was a riot  stirred by religious intolerance. So when Jesus enters Jerusalem the atmosphere is tense.    As Jesus set out from the Mount of Olives for the final descent into the holy city many people had gathered on the roadside to welcome him. Many of these had no doubt witnessed his healing, and listened to his preaching, but some perhaps were there to have a  glimpse of this man who had been causing a stir by his radical teaching. As crowds go this would not have been much different from any other crowd then and ever since. The majority found themselves going along with the general consensus, which was to acknowledge joyfully Jesus as king. Yet we know, that within five days this consensus would drastically change.    On this wonderful day of waving palm branches and processing into Jerusalem it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of it all and get carried along by the moving parade. Our test however, comes the next day. Are we prepared to stay with Jesus as the atmosphere changes? Do we dare to stand as he faces constant conflict? Are we there for all the encounters that he will face this week? 

During the Jewish feast of Passover, some Greeks arrive in town and approach Philip. They come with a request that the disciples must have fielded many times during Jesus's ministry. Had they traveled all the way to Jerusalem just to ask their question?            "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Philip shares their request with Andrew, and together they tell Jesus. But their query fizzles out and the story then takes a new turn. We never learn if they actually get to see Jesus, the one have heard so much about. Were these Greeks genuine seekers or mere gawkers? What did they hope to see or want to hear from Jesus?

The passage from John‘s gospel that we hear this week begins in the midst of Jesus’ nighttime conversation with Nicodemus. Nicodemus has gone to Jesus because of a deep yearning. What do I need to do to be closer to God? To be right with God? How can I have more meaning in my  life?    Though he was a religious leader, something was lacking. He was educated, well connected and respected. He is unlike some of the Pharisees that Jesus has criticized for their hypocrisy, the ones who thought they had nothing left to learn, that there was no room for growth, that they never made a mistake and that God was on their side. Nicodemus is far less certain. He wanted something more.    And so, Jesus gives him a long answer with many moving parts that have to do with loving what God loves and as God loves. What are our expressions of loving as God loves?

This morning we hear a story from John’s gospel that takes place in a courtyard the size of a football field. This is part of a complex of temple buildings that are beautifully crafted of the finest materials. It is in outer courtyard that we hear about the merchants selling animals for sacrifice. There are also the moneychangers who are changing money into authorized temple currency. This currency was called shekels or temple coins and was needed to purchase a sacrifice or pay annual dues. The problem that we hear about though, is that an unfair exchange rate is being charged and puts an additional burden on the people who were already struggling. The noise in this place would have been incredible. Thousands were gathered because of the Passover and they would be talking and laughing together. For some, they may not have seen each other since the year before. There were birds cooing and squawking, cows mooing, sheep bleating and goats doing whatever goats do. It was in the midst of all this that Jesus took action. If he had tried to protest verbally no one would have heard him. It was a dramatic moment in his history, perhaps the most dramatic. Here, Jesus arrives and upsets the moneychangers and then drives them out of the temple.

In this week’s Gospel reading from Mark, Jesus predicts his death for the first time. “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering,” Jesus tells his disciples quite plainly. He must “be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Standing on this side of resurrection history, we too easily miss the bombshell effect these words must have had on Jesus’s disciples. Their great hope, cultivated over the three years they had followed Jesus, was that he would lead them in a military revolution and overthrow their Roman oppressors. After all, they had seen his miracles, and witnessed firsthand his charismatic ability to draw huge crowds. They had heard him proclaim loud and clear the arrival of a new kingdom. He was their longed-for future. Their cherished dream. So what could be more disorienting, more ludicrous, than the news that their would-be champion was determined to walk straight into a death trap? To surrender without a fight to a common criminal’s death? Peter scolds Jesus for his horrifying prediction. And Jesus, in what might be the sharpest and most surprising rebuke in all of Scripture, puts Peter in his place.

On this first Sunday of Lent our reading from Mark’s gospel is about a long and treacherous stint  in the wilderness. Unlike his counterparts, Matthew and Luke, Mark offers his readers no colourful details about Jesus’s experience in the wilderness.  We don’t learn what the specific temptations were, or how Jesus responded to them. Mark doesn’t even assure us that Jesus “passed” his desert test.  All he gives us are two abrupt sentences: “And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.” I don’t know about you, but this terse version of events leaves me buzzing with questions. How exactly did Jesus spend his time?  Was he tempted 24/7?  Did he walk for miles each day, or camp out in one spot?  Where did he sleep?  What was the silence like, hour after hour after hour?  Did he break it up by humming, laughing, or shouting?  Did he star gaze?  Play with birds?  Chase lizards?  As the days stretched on and on, did he fear for his life?  Question his sanity?  Wish to die?    Mark, given, as ever, to conciseness, leaves all of these questions unanswered.  But the few details he does include in his account are telling, and they give us much to cling to as we face deserts in our own lives. 

It has been said that Science teachers never tire of that moment when a student first looks into a microscope. What had seemed like nothing more than a speck of dirt, suddenly becomes something full of colour, patterns and interest. That student will never look at things the same way again; in that moment everything now has the potential to be more than it was.     This same thing happens elsewhere too. Telescopes have the ability to transform. Just think of the night sky when you look through it, it has the ability to turn it into a world of awe.    This morning we hear the story of Jesus’ transfiguration in Mark’s gospel. If you were to take those quite common experiences and move them up a few notches on the scale, this would certainly top the list. The transfiguration of Jesus describes an event in which the deepest significance of everyday reality and overwhelming confronted his disciples Peter, James and John.

In our reading from Mark’s gospel we find Jesus after a long day of preaching in the synagogue, healing a man who had been possessed by an unclean spirit and who knows what else. As the day comes to a close Jesus, with the disciples, head over to Simon Peter’s house for a warm meal and some time of rest. When they arrive Jesus is quickly directed to Simon’s mother-in-law who is deathly ill with a fever. We read that Jesus, “came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her and she began to serve.”  He lifted her up. Who do we lift up? Or to look at it another way, when do we need lifting up?

In our reading from Mark’s gospel Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit. In ancient times, mental health issues were often identified with spiritual possession. Something was  believed to “take over” a person’s psyche, imprisoning them by forces greater than themselves. While we cannot rule out spirit possession, we know that we are possessed by many things that need to be cast out. Virtually all of us have behaviors that we struggle with that are large and small.  We know often what’s best for us, but often also succumb to temptation. Like the man in the story, we need assistance from an energy and wisdom greater than our own. In today’s reading, the unclean spirit is more perceptive than the synagogue audience or Jesus’ first followers. The unclean spirit clearly knows who Jesus is, and the nature of Jesus’ power. Was the unclean spirit recognizing Jesus as a threat or was there something in the spirit’s make up that was seeking healing and wholeness?

This week we hear the call of the first four disciples from Mark’s gospel. After forty days in the wilderness, Jesus begins his ministry proclaiming the good news of God.  Jesus goes to Simon and Andrew and then James and John and says, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately, they went and followed Jesus.  There wasn’t a well let me think about it or a let me get permission from this person or that person, or will you pay better than what I’m getting right now. They just immediately follow Jesus. 

The scriptures chosen for this week focus on listening for the voice of God and God’s movements within our lives. God is constantly speaking in our lives through insights, encounters, hunches, dreams, bursts of energy, and inspirational thoughts. Our calling is to listen to the many voices of God, often hidden in everyday experience, and then follow God’s guidance, shaping our encounters with God in our own unique ways. In our reading today from John‘s gospel Jesus’ ministry begins with calling disciples – and significantly, disciples who will immediately go off and call others, saying, “Come and see! We’ve found him!” So Andrew calls his brother, Simon, and in today’s passage, Philip goes off to find Nathaniel. John’s point about the story of Nathaniel’s call is that Jesus knows Nathaniel; Nathaniel is called to come and get to know Jesus. Look at Nathaniel’s question: “Where did you get to know me?” In other words, he says, “We’re not acquainted, are we?” This becomes an epiphany for Nathaniel who makes the connection that John intends us to make: only God could know these things. Only God has such intimate knowledge of us.