Scripture Readings: Genesis 17:1–7, 15–16 | Psalm 22:23–31 | Romans 4:13–25 | Mark 8:31–38

NOTE: This Sunday, St. Luke's are blessed to welcome the Gondola Point Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts.
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We’ve all very glad to welcome our guests from the Gondola Point Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts with us this morning, to mark the birthday of Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement, which took place this past Thursday, on February 22.
 
Does anyone happen to know the year Lord Baden-Powell was born? 1857. That’s 167 years ago! That’s almost as old as St. Luke’s Church… and 10 years before Confederation, and the birth of our Country, Canada. And yet, Lord Baden-Powell’s legacy is still with us, and generations of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, and Ventures, have helped make a positive impact on our world.
 
Now a long time ago, I was in Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts myself, and those groups have blessed me with many great memories with my friends… playing games, exploring nature, helping others in our community, learning new skills. Looking back now, it was all a very good experience for me. I won’t say it was always easy, of course. But even with the challenges, it was all worth it.
 
Challenge is actually the Venture Motto, isn’t it?
I never made it far enough to become a Venture, but I think it’s a great motto for young people… and for all of us. Not to just sit back and take it easy, but to push ourselves and explore what the world around us has in store.
 
Can anyone tell me what the Beavers Motto is? Sharing Sharing Sharing.
And the Cubs Motto? Do Your Best.
And the Scouts Motto? Be Prepared.
 
These are all really good mottos. Good words to help you remember some things that really do matter in life. And its good to remind yourselves of these things over and over again… because sometimes, even the most important things in life can be easy to forget.
 
I want to share a story with you this morning about a time that I forgot the Scout motto… which is? Right: Be Prepared. And I hope this is a good story to help you to remember what not to do.
 
I grew up in Northern Ontario, and many years after I was in Scouts… but still before most of you were born… some friends and I decided to go on a hike in the Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, which is on Lake Superior. Although I had lived near this Park for many years, I had never explored these trails for myself, and so I was relying on one of my friends who had gone this way before.
 
It was Springtime, and the weather was pretty warm (at least in the sun), and so I decided to wear my favourite footwear: my hiking sandals.
 
I thought they would be perfect for this hike… but I was wrong. It turns out, I was not at all prepared for the trails that lay ahead of us.  
 
For the first few hours, everything was great. The trails were clear, the weather was lovely, and the park itself was beautiful. But soon we noticed there was snow starting to cover the path… not much at first… so we kept on going.
 
But the further we went, the deeper the snow got… and the colder and wetter my feet got too.
Soon, I felt really uncomfortable… and more than a little embarrassed by my choice of footwear… but I tried to make the best of it. I put socks on, and then wrapped them in plastic bags to try to keep them dry, which helped a little, but it still wasn’t great. But even then, my friends and I didn’t want to turn back yet, so we just kept going.
 
Soon, we realized that we had taken a wrong turn at some point. We weren’t completely lost, but we weren’t heading in the direction we wanted to go anymore. And still we kept going forward.  
 
And then the snow on the trail really started to get deep… and the path was getting more and more dangerous. And even though some of my friends wanted to keep going, at that point I knew it was time to make the choice to turn around and head back. Even if we all had good hiking shoes, we were not prepared for this surprisingly challenging hike. And so we turned back and went home again… disappointed, embarrassed, but a bit wiser than we were before.
 
There are of course many challenging moments and paths that we will all have to face in life from time to time.
 
Sometimes we will think we know the right way to go, but just end up heading towards trouble.
 
Sometimes we will think we’re well prepared, but find ourselves facing difficulties we did not expect.
 
Sometimes we will even have to tell our friends that it’s time to turn around, and head in another direction… even if they want to keep going on.
 
In times like these, it’s good for us all to remember the things that matter most… the good words that can guide us forward, and the people we can turn to and trust to help us find our way.
 
This is a special time of year for Christians… it’s the season of Lent, when we get ready for Good Friday and Easter, and remember things about the story of Jesus Christ that are sometimes easy to forget: we remember that if we want to trust and follow Jesus, it will be challenging. Living God’s way in the world… learning to love everyone… to receive and share forgiveness… to say no to things that we may want, but are not good for us, or for those around us… these are all challenging things to do.
 
And we remember that Jesus was prepared to face all these challenges… He knew all the trouble ahead of Him… and He was ready to suffer, and even lay down His own life at the cross… all to bring God’s saving love to our hurting world.
 
And we remember that Jesus tells everyone who wants to follow Him that if we want to live God’s way, it won’t be easy. That we will also need to be prepared for difficult times ahead… but we can also trust Jesus to help us, to keep us on the right track… and to pick us up again when we fall.
 
In our reading today from the Gospel of Mark, we heard how Jesus tried to help his friends and followers prepare for these challenges… and to let them know that He was going to suffer and die, and rise again from the dead to save the world.

But one of Jesus’ closest friends and followers, a man named Peter, didn’t think Jesus was heading in the right direction. He didn’t want to see his friend Jesus suffer. And Peter was not prepared to go down that path himself either. He had his own ideas about what the best way forward was.
 
But Jesus knew that if He wanted to live God’s way, and to help God fix our broken world, it would mean giving up His own life, and that’s what He was prepared to do.
 
And so, Jesus tells His friend Peter that it was actually Peter who needed to turn around… and to trust Jesus… to be prepared for a difficult, challenging road ahead… but one that would be worth it in the end… helping to share God’s rescuing love with everyone.
 
And so, during Lent, Christians like me remember that living God’s way is wonderful, but it won’t be easy. It’s worth it, but it is also really challenging to do our best to love everyone… to forgive and be forgiven… to say no to things that are not good for us… and to trust Jesus to lead us on the right path.
 
Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus said to his friends, and also to us here today: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves… [say no to themselves] and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, [the Good News, they] will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35).
 
I know that not all of us here today know Jesus Christ, or want to follow Him with our lives. You’re still welcome here at St. Luke’s. But all of us will have to make many choices in life about which paths we are going to take.
 
And there are no paths that are always easy. Every path has its own challenges.
 
So how will we all do our best to be prepared for what lies ahead of us?
 
What are the things that you want to hold onto, and remember to help you find your way?
 
What might you need to let go of? What might be keeping you from getting to the places you want to go?
And what can you do to help those around you? What can you share with them? How can you challenge them to not just do what is easiest, but what is best… for themselves, but also for our communities, and for our world?
 
These are some good questions for all of us to think about today. And I’ll end now with a prayer, written by others, and based on the old Scout Law:
 
“Dear Lord, Bless all those everywhere who contribute to shape the hearts, minds and bodies of young people everywhere. Let us remember what they have taught us and apply it in our daily life.

When facing deceit and dishonesty, let us be Trustworthy.
If we see hypocrisy and faithlessness, let us be Loyal.
Where disregard of others and mere materialism prevail, let us be Helpful.
When we find people in despair, let us be Friendly.
In an atmosphere of ill manner, let us be Courteous.
Where some measure power in brutality and crudeness, let us be Kind.
Though lawbreaking and rule-scoffing are common, let us be Obedient.
While others grumble and grouch, let us be Cheerful.
In an environment blighted by waste and extravagance, let us be Thrifty.
When confronted with danger and temptation, let us be Brave.
As we see filth and pollution everywhere, let us be Clean.
While witnessing impiety, let us remember to be Reverent.”

Amen.

Today marks the Second Sunday of Lent, a sacred season for Christians to prepare in mind, body, and spirit, for the events of Holy Week, and the commemoration of the betrayal, death, and resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Some of the traditional practices of the season of Lent include fasting, study of Scripture, prayerful reflection, and generous almsgiving. 

To help us grow in our faith and engage the Holy Scriptures with greater understanding, each week in Lent we will be sharing a link to a video from the Bible Project, from their series exploring the books of the Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Here is a link to the second video, unpacking Genesis Chapters 12-50.  

​And our Songs this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Genesis 9:8–17 | Psalm 25 | 1 Peter 3:18–22 | Mark 1:9–15

“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18a).
 
Here we are again, at the first Sunday of Lent: the season of solemn preparation for Holy Week… when Christians step back into the story of Jesus Christ our Saviour, and all that He has done for us… choosing the path of the cross, enduring suffering, shame, and death to set the world free.
 
It's a time when Christians remember the Good News that’s at the heart of all that we say and do… and it’s a time for us to reflect on our own lives, and to take steps to have them re-aligned to the ways of God.
 
And for those who are just starting out in their journey of faith, Lent has long been a time of preparation for baptism… a time for new believers to learn the depths of, and respond to, the Good News of Jesus Christ… turning from the old ways of selfishness and sin, and being bound to the life of our Saviour… immersed in Jesus, once and for all.   
 
And so our Scripture readings this morning invites you and I to reflect on the depths of what baptism means for the people of God: whether we were baptized sometime in the distant past, or if that sacred step might still lie before us, today we’re called to contemplate the world-changing reality that baptism invites us to share in.
 
The roots of the reality of baptism go way back in God’s story… and our first reading today calls us to turn back to Genesis, and remember a truly ancient account of life being delivered from disaster: the story of the great Flood.
 
Now we don’t have time this morning to read through the whole Flood story as told in the book of Genesis, but I would highly recommend reading it, or reading it again if it’s been a while. For many of us, it’s hard to see how the Flood narrative fits into the story of God’s great rescue mission. We tend not to think too much about it, or what this part of Scripture is trying to say to us… both about ourselves and the dire consequences of our choices, as individuals and as communities… and also what this story is saying about the Living God, and what He is up to in our world.

But to keep things moving this morning, I’ll just make a few points that this story from Genesis wants to drive home. First off, the motivation behind the flood is not God’s anger, but His profound grief… grief at seeing what we humans were doing to His good world, and to each other… heading fast for self-destruction. And so, out of anguish, God chooses to bring an end to the extreme bloodshed and violence that had consumed His creation… drowning our infectious wickedness, as the waters of chaos and death are unleashed…  while carefully preserving life through Noah and his ark.
 
In short, it's not a story of an uncaring God venting misplaced anger on an innocent world. It’s a story of a God full of compassion and mercy… and who as a last resort, takes severe but ultimately life-saving steps to give His world a brand new beginning it could not have given itself. A new beginning based on a promise, which we read this morning in Genesis Chapter 9:9-11,
 
“As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
 
As severe as this act of salvation was, the Living God promises that it will never take place again… not because people had changed, as it turns out… but because of God’s gracious commitment to make peace with His broken but still beloved world. And so the story goes on… through God’s partnerships with Abraham, and the people of Israel Abraham’s descendants… as the LORD keeps graciously working with sinful, self-centered people (like us!), to bring about His great rescue mission… to bring about an ultimate new beginning that will endure, and have no end.
 
Turning now to our reading today from the Gospel of Mark, we hear the story of Jesus of Nazareth as He goes out to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. Now John’s ministry was all about new beginnings for God’s people, who John said had gotten seriously off track, and now desperately needed to turn around.

The act of going under the waters and out again in baptism evoked many stories from Israel’s Scriptures… stories that brought to mind the ways that the Living God had graciously saved His people in the past. Stories like Noah and the Flood. And stories like Moses leading God’s people from slavery to freedom through the Red Sea that God parted for them. Or the story of how Joshua led God’s people out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land, crossing the very same Jordan River, again on dry land, as God provided the way for them.
 
All these stories reminded God’s people that they were called to die to these old ways of life… to wickedness, and slavery to sin… and turn to God who could bring them through the deadly waters and give them a new beginning. John’s practice of baptism was about giving God’s people a tangible way to practice repentance… to turn back to the Living God and His ways wholeheartedly, holding nothing back, and stepping into… being immersed in the stories of God’s saving mercy and love.
 
Does this describe our experience as Christians today? Are we wholeheartedly turning our lives over to God? Or are we, like so many before us in the Scriptures and in our whole human story, more often than not turning our hearts away from the LORD, and retracing the old paths that keep leading us towards selfishness, sin, and destruction?
 
As Christians today we too are called, again and again, to seek to be true to this new beginning we have been given. Whenever we struggle, and fall, and fail to follow God’s ways, we must turn around, repent, and believe…
 
Believe what? Believe we can pick ourselves up? No. Believe that our mistakes are not that big of a deal? No.

Believe what? Believe the Good News... the promise that our new beginning in baptism rests completely upon… We believe in Jesus Christ, our Saviour, and what He has done for us, once and for all.
 
Jesus, the beloved Son of God… the One who is always at one with His Father, in heart, purpose, and action… the One who is completely without the sin and self-centeredness that has plagued humanity since the start.
 
This same Jesus, the Gospel writers tell us, did not seek to keep Himself at a safe distance from our wickedness… but instead, He bound Himself to us while we were still sinners… He joined God’s people, who were all in desperate need of new beginnings, at the Jordan River, and He stepped into the waters with us… immersing Himself in our broken, sin-soaked story… bearing its terrible weight on His shoulders for us… for our salvation.
 
In wholehearted devotion to His Heavenly Father, Jesus reclaims our messed up human story… reliving it faithfully in ways we never could, and step by step, our Saviour took upon Himself all of the consequences of our failures… suffering all the rejection, condemnation, cruelty, and shame that we could muster… letting us nailed Him, the beloved Son of God to the cross… completely immersed in our rejection of God’s ways, and dying our cursed death.
 
But the Good News is this was not the end of His story. This was instead the way the Living God brought about His glorious new beginning… for His beloved Son, and for all of creation.

Jesus did not suffer and die in vain, but to undo the power that sin and death held over us… completely sharing in our death, so that we might completely share in His resurrection. This is the Good News that drove the Apostles to turn the world upside down: Jesus died, and rose again to reconcile the world to God, to bring Heaven’s peace to Earth, and turn our whole story around, once and for all.
 
Listen again to the words of St. Peter from our second reading today: “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus not only stepped into the waters of the Jordan River, He allowed the full force of death to wash over Him. And yet, God raised Him again from the dead, the firstborn of God’s New Creation. His baptism of death is the deep reality that makes all our new beginnings possible, and His resurrection is the promise the Church believes and proclaims to the world.
 
When we are baptized in the waters, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we are being completely immersed in Jesus Christ… in the reconciling reality of what He has done for us, once and for all at the cross.
 
We have no promise of new beginnings apart form Him, but we have been promised a new resurrection life bound to Him… wholeheartedly drawn into God’s holy ways, empowered by the Holy Spirit to finally start setting sin aside for good, and to share this life-giving hope with those around us.
 
The purpose of baptism is to connect us to God’s gift of new life offered to us in Jesus Christ the Risen Lord. It’s saving work in our lives, as St. Peter puts it, comes to us “not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.” (1 Peter 3:21-22).
 
The One who immersed Himself completely in our shame-filled story, now immerses us into His glorious one… and as He rose from the dead to reign forever at God’s right hand, we His people will share in the gifts of His Good Kingdom, both in this life, and for all eternity.
 
Thinking again about Lent, and how it calls us to reflect on the core of the Christian faith, we do well to remember that baptism is a way of life: It happens once... but is meant to bind us to Jesus Christ our Saviour for all time.
 
So, when we find ourselves thinking, or speaking, or acting in ways that are out of line with the new life Christ has given us… when we forget whose story we now share in, and the deep reality of the Good News… what will we do?  

May God’s Spirit give us the grace at those times, to repent… and to believe the Good News that God’s own beloved Son has truly turned our stories around, once and for all… and turning to Him, may we find ourselves embraced by the love of our Heavenly Father, and surrounded by our many sisters and brothers who have also been invited into this new beginning without end. Amen.

Today marks the first Sunday of Lent, a sacred season for Christians to prepare in mind, body, and spirit, for the events of Holy Week, and the commemoration of the betrayal, death, and resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Some of the traditional practices of the season of Lent include fasting, study of Scripture, prayerful reflection, and generous almsgiving. 

To help us grow in our faith and engage the Holy Scriptures with greater understanding, each week in Lent we will be sharing a link to a video from the Bible Project, from their series exploring the books of the Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Here is a link to the first video, unpacking Genesis Chapters 1-11.  

​For those who want to explore this theme a bit more in depth, check out their 7 Episode Podcast series discussing questions raised by these videos on the books of the Torah, found here:

Scripture Readings: 2 Kings 2:1–12 | Psalm 50:1–6 | 2 Corinthians 4:3–6 | Mark 9:2–9

“Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’” (Mark 9:7).
 
Who are your heroes? Who are the people you look up to?
 
In recent years, there has been a whole slew of Superhero movies… reflecting a certain fascination we humans have always had with those who have power and abilities far beyond our own, and especially those who use that power for good instead of evil.
 
And setting aside Hollywood, think about those real-life heroes… people of tremendous conviction, ability, and character. Think of those people from the past who made a huge difference in their days… people who inspired positive change and all kinds of good work in the world… people that we might wish were still with us today.
 
In our Gospel reading this morning from Mark chapter 9, we hear that three of Jesus’ disciples were surprised to meet some of their own heroes, Moses and Elijah, in a dramatic epiphany moment on top of a mountain. And yet, as wonderful as that meeting itself may have been, these disciples are then given a glimpse of something far more wonderful and world-changing… and what’s more, they’re called to take part in it too.
 
Our Scripture readings today are not about heroes… but about helping us to see how the Living God is graciously working in our world… through His beloved Son, Jesus our Saviour… and through the lives of those who will listen to Him.
 
Our first reading from the Second Book of Kings, tells the story of the prophet Elijah, and his disciple Elisha, and the passing on of the prophetic baton… so to speak.
 
At this point, Elijah’s part in the story was drawing to a close. He knew the LORD planned to take him from the world, and so he repeatedly sought to bid Elisha goodbye… but to no avail. Again and again, Elisha swears that he will stick by his master’s side to the very end.
 
Eventually, Elijah asks his faithful follower what he would like, and Elisha replies: “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” (2 Kings 2:9). Now in the Law given through Moses, the expectation was that when someone died, their firstborn son would receive a double portion of the inheritance. It was a way of setting them apart as the one who would be expected to carry on the family line, and who would be entrusted with honour and responsibility.
 
And so when Elisha asks to inherit this double share of Elijah’s spirit, he’s asking not just for power, but to be considered his master’s successor… not just to share in Elijah’s great legacy, but to carry it forward too… to carry on the work of his master: speaking God’s word to His people, and calling them to listen to, and follow the ways of the Living God.
 
But there was one problem with Elisha’s request. It wasn’t really Elijah’s spirit to give! Even though Elijah was one of the most dynamic characters in the Old Testament… confronting tyrants, and calling down fire from heaven in a dramatic showdown revealing God’s glory to Israel, and exposing the powerlessness of the pagan prophets Baal that the Israelites had been listening to.
 
But as the story of Elijah as a whole makes clear, he himself was nothing special. He was just a man who had heard God’s call on his life, and obeyed. Someone with his own share of struggles, fears, and even moments of despair, when Elijah needed the Living God to turn him around again… and to help this prophet here the voice of His LORD.
 
In the years to come, the Israelites might look to Elijah as a hero of their faith, but in everything Elijah did, it was the LORD, the Living God, who was at work, and He was their true redeemer… the source of all heavenly power, and the One who could truly save them.
 
And so, Elijah tells his devoted disciple, the one who followed him so closely, and refused to leave his side, that if Elisha witnessed Elijah’s heavenly departure, it was a sign that this double-portion gift of the Spirit of God would be given to him… empowering him to carry on the work of his master… which was really to serve the work of God in the world.
 
Back to St. Mark’s Gospel, we hear how three of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, James, and John, follow their Master up a high mountain, where their Rabbi is suddenly transformed… transfigured before their eyes. They receive an epiphany, a revelation of His glory beyond anything they had known before: wrapped in unearthly, dazzling light, they see Jesus in His glory.
 
And right beside Him, they see the two great heroes of their people’s past: Moses and Elijah, present and alive… and talking with their Master. About what? The weather? How the hockey teams in Galilee were doing this season? The messy politics of the Roman Empire? Or the rumours of war rumbling all around?
 
True to his style, St. Mark leaves out the details of this conversation, but as St. Luke recounts the same story, he includes this note: Moses and Elijah “were speaking of his departure…” literally, His Exodus… “which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:31).
 
Moses and Elijah, two heroes from Israel’s past, appear to speak with Jesus about the mission that Jesus had come to do in Jerusalem: a new exodus… not leading God’s people out of literal slavery, like Moses had centuries earlier in Egypt… but leading them out of slavery to sin, and the vicious power of death. An exodus rescue mission to be accomplished through His own suffering and death on the cross… taking on Himself all that separates the world from God, so that we might be redeemed… reconciled to God and to one another, and raised up with Him to share in His New Life.
 
All that Moses and Elijah had done before… all of their contributions to the story of God’s great rescue mission at work in Israel and the world… all of it was leading up to this crucial moment: to what Jesus would soon do in Jerusalem: God’s own beloved Son giving up His life in love to save the world.
 
And as these three discuss the moment when God’s great plan to save the world through Jesus will finally come about, Peter speaks up and blunders into the conversation… not really understanding what was happening… and wonderstruck, presumes to put His Master Jesus alongside the two great heroes of the Hebrew faith: “‘Rabbi,” he says, “it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’  He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.” (Mark 9:5-6).

Peter was afraid, and oblivious, but he knew something great was going on, and he wanted to be a part of it. And what happens next sets him, and all us of disciples straight about how to do just that… how we too can share in God’s great mission to save the world.
 
Suddenly, a cloud covers the mountain top, just like it did all those years ago at Mt. Sinai, when God’s presence visited Israel at the start of their covenant relationship, with Moses going up alone to meet with the LORD on behalf of His people… and just like Elijah experienced God’s presence alone in his moment of despair… hearing His divine voice in the silence that came after a stormcloud had covered the top of the mountain. And from this cloud of God’s glory, Peter, James, and John, hear the voice of God proclaim something beyond anything they had dreamed before, telling them that the Rabbi they had been following across Galilee, was not just another hero to look up to… someone to admire, and be inspired by, like Moses and Elijah on their better days.

No, Jesus was God’s own beloved Son… someone completely beyond compare, and they are to listen to Him!
 
Is this how we actually think of Jesus our Lord? As the incomparable Son of God, the One we must not just admire… but obey?
 
In our culture today, “heroes” are often held up as great examples, or maybe sources of great wisdom and insight… but not Masters… not those with actual authority to tell us what to do, and what not to do. As those who get to reshape our lives, not as we want, but as He wants.
 
And so for us Christians, we need to remember that Jesus is not a hero… He is our Lord… the Beloved of God, who gave His life at the cross to break the power of sin, and the hold the fear of death wields over our lives… and the One who was raised from the dead to share God’s New Life with His beloved and still very broken world… the world we still see around us today.
 
He did not just come to be looked up to as a great example of what we humans are capable of. Or to impart some new insight, or deeper wisdom to help us get through our days a little bit easier.
 
No, He came to save us. To rescue us by God’s own merciful grace, and to actually lead us into a new kind of life… to live now as His people… as those who share in His Good Kingdom… a community here on earth where forgiveness, freedom, holiness, compassion, peace, joy, faith, hope, and love really call the shots.
 
And this calling is not just for the so-called heroes… for the exceptional examples of faithfulness we might be eager to look up to from a safe distance. This calling is the way of life for all of God’s people… even for you and me.
 
And this calling to actually listen to and obey Jesus our Lord as He leads us into life, is possible, not because there’s something extra special in us that’s somehow better than anybody. It’s possible because of God’s grace… His gift… His own presence and power among us in the Holy Spirit, who is now at work in us because of Jesus, and all that He has done, once and for all.
 
Elisha was given a share of the same Spirit that his master Elijah had himself received, and God would work through Elisha to do things he had never imagined possible.
 
Peter, James, and John, and all the rest of the Apostles were give this same Spirit at Pentecost, empowering them to share the Good News of Jesus through their words and wonderful deeds, infused with heavenly wisdom and authority.
 
But this power from on high was not the point of it all. God’s Spirit was not given to them to make His people into heroes to be idolized, but to help transform them into God’s own hands and feet in the world, carrying His divine work forward, bringing to light the Good News of Jesus, and His Good Kingdom through their whole lives.
 
St. Paul says it well, in our second reading today. Speaking for the Apostles, he says “we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:5-6).
 
The glory of God… His goodness, His justice, and mercy and love… shine for all to see in the face of Jesus. And that same life-giving light is meant to shine on the hearts and in the lives of all who listen to, and follow Him… no matter how dim our own lives may be by themselves.
 
The Good News for us today is that the Living God gives the gift of His Holy Spirit not just to the heroes of the faith… but to all who will put their trust in Jesus, God’s Beloved Son, and listen to Him… and that includes us.
 
The same Spirit that filled Elijah and Elisha with prophetic power… the same Spirit that Christ Jesus the Risen Lord poured out on the Church at Pentecost, empowering His Apostles to carry on His Kingdom work in the world… the same Spirit of God that has been at work in all the centuries since… and working through people from every kind of background, and class, and ability… and broken history… all to bring God’s New Creation to life…

This same Spirit is working through us… Christ’s disciples gathering here in Gondola Point… even when we, like Peter on the mountain top, are terrified, and don’t really know what to say or do. Or when, like Elisha, we’re filled with grief, when those we love are taken away, and we are left to carry on.
 
God’s life-giving Spirit is His gracious gift for all of His children, given through Jesus, the Eternal and Beloved Son of the Father, and Firstborn from the dead… who shares His Spirit with us so that we can actually share in His New Life... His Good Kingdom… and share it with His world today. With those who are weak and weary. With those who are without resources, or hope. With those who are about as far from "heroes" as we can imagine. That’s who this Good News is for too.
 
So today, as we celebrate the Transfiguration of Jesus… remembering that it is only through the Holy Spirit’s work in us that we can do all that is required of His disciples: Will we listen to and obey all the words of our Risen Lord Jesus, God’s Beloved Son, our merciful Master and the Saviour of our world? Amen.

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 40:21–31 | Psalm 147 | 1 Corinthians 9:16–23 | ​Mark 1:29–39

“Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” (Mark 1:38)
 
What comes first?
 
Whether we’re preparing to take a trip someplace new… or following a recipe… drafting a budget… writing a poem… planning a project… or basically anything we humans do… its always wise to take the time needed to figure out what comes first. What’s the most important part of the task before us… the part that we can’t do without… even if there might end up being lots of good things that have to be set to the side?
 
Among other things, these weeks after Epiphany remind us of the priorities of God’s Kingdom. There are lots of good things for God’s people to do in the world… lots of ways to make a truly positive impact… and sometimes it can be hard for us to know what we are supposed to prioritize. Thankfully, Epiphany reminds us to step back and seek to know… to remember what God has revealed is most important… not just to us, but to Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord, and Saviour of the World.
Our Gospel reading today from Mark Chapter 1 brings this question before our eyes, helping us understand right from the start of Christ’s ministry, what He has come here to do.
 
Our reading today is the continuation of what happened last week: when he entered the synagogue one Sabbath to teach, and all were amazed at His authority… which proved to be backed up by heavenly power as He cast out a demon, a rebellious spiritual being at odds with the Living God, from somebody in there midst.
 
And straight away, we hear today that Jesus continues to do good and powerful things in Capernaum: first, before the Sabbath day was done, Jesus cured Simon Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. And then, once sunset fell, everyone in the city gathered around where He was staying, bringing to Him those who were sick, or who were oppressed by demons, and His healing, rescuing power worked wonders in their lives, to the amazement of all.
 
But when morning came, Jesus was nowhere to be found. “[W]hile it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35). Jesus made prayer a priority… the first thing that He did was to take the time to step back and reconnect with His Father in Heaven. Before all else, this relationship was what mattered most.
 
And this key relationship with God the Father helped all else in Jesus’ life find it’s proper place as well… keeping Him from getting off track, and from forgetting what His mission was all about.
 
I mean, He could have done a lot of great things in Capernaum if He has just stuck around, right? He could have made it a booming place of peace and prosperity… a city free from disease, and all demonic influence… a new centre for godly devotion. Think of all the people who would just love to live next door to someone with His kind of power.
 
But instead of seizing the opportunity to build up a solid base for Himself… or even to make sure that all of Capernaum’s needs were met… Jesus knew it was time to move on… to share the Good News of God’s Kingdom… the Good News of what He Himself was up to in the world… to take this news to others… to those who have not yet come to experience it.
 
Mark 1:36-39, “Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.”
 
All throughout the last 20 Centuries, the Church of Jesus Christ has faced that same temptation to stay put… to build up our own little corners of the world… to make sure that all of our own needs get met… and make our own kingdoms safe and secure… instead of following Christ’s example and keeping our ears open to Heaven, and our eyes on the horizon.
 
Sometimes we have made the choice to stay true to Christ’s mission to share His Good News with all the world. Sometimes we have let our own priorities distract us from what means the most to Him. One reason that I know myself, and many others given into this temptation to stay put is because of fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of not having our own needs met. Fear of what may happen if we let go of control.
 
That’s why we need this season after Epiphany, and its reminders that Jesus came to be, not simply our personal Saviour… but the Saviour of the World. And as this is what He came to do, we who are His people have a key part to play in making His Good News known as best we can.
 
In other words, as much as Jesus loves Capernaum and its people… and as much as He loves Gondola Point and all of us… we are not actually at the centre of the story of what God is up to in Jesus Christ.
 
The top priority of Christ’s Kingdom is not to make you and I feel better, but to share God’s forgiveness, His freedom, and His New Life with us, and with all! We Christians, who have placed our faith in Jesus, are embraced, and invited now to be a part of how He shares this New Life of the Kingdom with everyone. We’re all part of this story: God’s love for our whole world.
What does it look like to take this calling seriously? To have our priorities fall in line with what we know of our Saviour’s mission and heart?
 
In our second reading today, we catch sight of one clear example of a life realigned to serve Christ’s Kingdom.
In his letter to the Christians in Corinth, St. Paul spells out his new priorities, which he holds out as an example to follow. As an Apostle, and founder of Christian Church communities across the Roman Empire, St. Paul could have chosen to play it safe. He could have sought out more established positions of influence, and found ways to prioritize his own status, and security, and build for himself his own home base… his own little kingdom.
 
But instead, again and again, St. Paul follows the example of Jesus Himself, whose priority was not His own comfort or security, but the sharing of God’s holy love and the Good News of His Kingdom with everyone.
So, St. Paul refused to cling to his own personal interests and preferences… holding only lightly onto all that was not essential, in order to put first the Kingdom of God… helping as many people as possible, from every background and status, and community, to come into contact with the Good News of Jesus, and what Jesus has done to save us all.
 
1 Corinthians 9:19-23, “For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.”
 
Now when he says he has become “all things to all people”, St. Paul was not simply playing to the crowd… taking on false personas to ingratiate himself with whoever was around… twisting himself in knots to get others to accept and support him. Not at all. It was because St. Paul was certain of what stood at the centre of his life… what must come first above all other priorities, namely the Good News of Jesus Christ the Risen Lord, and all that He has done for the world… because St. Paul had this Gospel as his key priority, he could let go of all that stood between himself, and sharing this Good News with everyone around him.
 
So when he spoke to his fellow Jews about Jesus, he didn’t need to pick a fight about this or that matter of the Law, or rub the freedom he had found in their face, but could instead focus on all the ways the Risen Lord was reaching out in love to rescue His covenant people.
 
And when he spoke to Gentiles, people from outside the Jewish faith, from all the nations that had not yet come to know the Living God, St. Paul would then try to meet them where they were at, and introduce them to the story of the Saviour of the whole world.     
 
And so, on it goes. Because St. Paul knew what comes first… what matters most: the Good News of Jesus, the Risen Lord… he found he could be extremely flexible about other things, all while staying true to his mission to share God’s holy love with the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
This faithful flexibility freed St. Paul to do remarkable things for the Kingdom of God, spreading the Good News to corners of the world where it had not been known before. But it also meant leaving a lot of things behind… a lot of good things… and facing lots of uncertainty, and hardships… sacrificing much of what we take for granted for the sake of Christ’s Kingdom.
 
And St. Paul holds up this example for other disciples of Jesus… back then and today… for you and I to learn from and follow. Inviting us to learn to truly put first things first, even when it hurts. To follow him, as he himself follows Jesus in letting God’s saving love for the world lead the way.
 
But does this mean that God doesn’t care if we suffer loss? That our own needs, and hopes, and fears as God’s children mean nothing to our Father in Heaven? Doesn’t He care about us too, here in Gondola Point? How can you and I be sure that we won’t be forgotten if we let go and follow Jesus into the unknown?
 
Once again, it all comes down to faith. To our connection… our trust in the Living God, whose heart of merciful love we’ve come to know in the Scriptures, and most of all in Jesus Christ.
And in our first reading today, the prophet Isaiah’s words remind us of what kind of the God we believe in… the God who has far more than enough to go around, and who sees all the needs of all His children.
 
Isaiah 40:27-31, Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
 
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
 
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
 
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
 
God sees and knows everything that we need. He has no intention of neglecting any of His beloved children, nor is His ability to provide limited, as if there is only so much of His blessings to go around. But to know and trust in Him means to learn to let go of our impulse to hoard Him and His love for ourselves. To trust that He will provide what we need as we follow Him, and choose to make His priorities our own.
 
The Lord gives strength to the faint-hearted, and power to the weak who look to Him for help in time of need. Our loving Creator knows all about our circumstances, our hopes and fears, and calls us to trust Him with it all. But if we just want Him to stay by our side and meet our needs, while we forget about all of the other people all around us who don’t yet know His saving love… we’ve lost sight of what our Saviour has come to do, and the work that He has called us to take part in.
 
Christ came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. He sought, not His own will, but the will of His Father in Heaven. Jesus completely surrendered His own life into the hands of the Living God… He gave up everything at the cross to defeat the powers of darkness once and for all, and to bring the Good News of God’s Kingdom, His New Creation to life… in the lives of those who trust and follow Him.
 
Jesus came to be the Saviour of the world, but this meant choosing the way of sacrifice. It meant choosing to surrender His rights, and to instead entrust Himself completely to God’s saving love… dying to self-centeredness, and rising again to share God’s New Life with us all.
 
We might not be like St. Paul, personally called to travel to new lands and plant new Church communities among the nations. But we are called like him to trust the Living God to give you and I the strength, and to provide everything that we need to take up our own part in service of Christ’s everlasting Kingdom.
 
We too are called to prioritize, not our own comfort, or status, or preferences, but the sharing of the Good News with God’s world… with our neighbours, our families, all those that God places in our paths… through the words that we speak, and the choices we make day by day. Not to nail Him down to stay where we want Him to be, but to trust and follow Him wherever He leads us.
 
We are those whom the Living God has entrusted the Good News of Jesus Christ to in this generation. We are the ones who have the calling to make it known today, in any way that we can.
 
As this season after Epiphany nears an end, and the season of Lent draws closer, preparing us to walk with Jesus Christ our Lord to the cross, and find there His saving love and sustaining grace… may we truly make it our priority to know the core of our faith, and live it out ourselves. May we make it our priority to nurture God’s holy love in all we do. And may we make it our priority to share this Good News of hope with those who have not yet heard it… trusting God to give us everything we need along the way. Amen.

​And our Songs this week can be found here: