Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 31:31–34 | Psalm 51:1–12 | Hebrews 5:5–10 | ​John 12:20–33

“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24).
 
Happy St. Patrick’s day!
 
Quick question: How many of us here today have some Irish ancestry?
 
I’ve been able to trace members of my family back to Ireland in the 1800’s, but according to one of those genetic tests that are now available, I’ve only inherited about 1% of Irish genes. The Montgomery clan after all, were Scots who arrived in Northern Ireland, before eventually moving on to settle in Canada. Even so, I appreciate and treasure these small Irish connections… especially this time of year.
 
And I have some good news for everyone else here today who might like to be a bit more Irish than we are: we’re in pretty good company.
 
As some of us may know, St. Patrick himself wasn’t Irish! He was born in Britain, a province of the Roman Empire, on the frontier of their vast European territory, at around the time the Roman armies were retreating from this region, around the turn of the 5th Century.
 
So how then did Patrick become so connected to Ireland, and how did he come to be a seen as a Saint?
 
The earliest source of information we have about St. Patrick comes from his own hand, an autobiographical account of his story called the Confession of St. Patrick. He doesn’t spend much time at all in this account discussing his upbringing, or background, but he begins with a few simple words about himself and his most recent ancestors: “My name is Patrick.” He begins, “I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpornius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest”.[1]

But simply being raised in a family of Christian leaders didn’t seem to endear young Patrick to the faith. He mentions not really knowing the True God in his younger days, which is not the start many might have imagined for one of the most well-known saints of all time. But as we know, hearts and lives can change in all sorts of ways.
 
Which leads us to how Patrick first came into contact with Ireland: as a victim of human trafficking. Along with many others, Patrick was captured by Irish pirates and sold into slavery. He had his old life stolen from him, and was made to serve strangers, in a strange land.
 
According to his account, it was during his time of captivity and slavery that he began to reach out to God, and found as he did so that the Lord was reaching out to him with His divine mercy and grace. This newfound faith didn’t solve all of his troubles… but it did change Patrick’s own heart, and turn around his life in ways that he could never have dreamed possible.
 
After some time passed, Patrick recounts how the Lord eventually led him to freedom… aiding his escape across the wilds, and even providing him with a way off the island… guiding him to sailors who were willing to help this escaped slave return to Britain. All told it’s an amazing story, that we don’t have time to fully explore this morning, but I encourage you to look up St. Patrick’s Confession sometime soon, and give it a read.
 
Keeping things brief: Patrick returned to his old life, a freed man. And that’s where his story could have ended. But something significant had changed in Patrick’s life: his new awareness of God’s grace, God’s rescuing love, which found him when he was completely helpless and hopeless, had turned Patrick’s life around… and placed him on a new path.
 
Soon Patrick left Britain for what is now France, and prepared to become a priest, devoted to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and the Lord’s rescuing love with those in the world who, like his younger self, didn’t yet know the True God.
 
And again, the Lord reached out to Patrick… not this time to bring him freedom, but to work through Patrick to bring God’s freedom to others… specifically, to his old captors.
  
Patrick recounts how he has a vision, in which a man, representing his old Irish oppressors, begs him to return and live among them again. He took this as a call from God to go share the Good News of Jesus with the people of Ireland… asking Patrick to set aside all the plans he had made for his life, in order to share God’s rescuing love with those who he could easily had written off as enemies.
 
And so, choosing to follow the call of His Lord, Patrick goes back, and spends the rest of his days serving in Ireland… convincing their chiefs to give their allegiance to the High King of Heaven, Jesus the Risen Lord, and planting the seeds of faith to set their whole society on the path of the One True God.
 
Patrick would served there as a missionary and bishop, and though he faced opposition at times, he has been embraced by the people of Ireland as their patron saint for centuries… recognized as someone who followed the way of Jesus, and freely gave his life to share God’s saving love with them.
 
Of course, St. Patrick’s life is not just a good story, or a history lesson… it’s an example of the Good News of Jesus at work in our world… a work that is still ongoing, and which we all are invited to share in as well.
 
God’s work of transforming hearts and lives… of turning whole communities towards His holy ways… of drawing close all those who do not yet know His divine forgiveness and grace, and mercy, and rescuing love… of helping us die to ourselves, so that we can share the gift of God’s abundant and unending life in Christ.
 
We see this work unfolding in our first reading from Jeremiah, as God addresses His unfaithful people who had repeatedly broken their covenant with the Lord, and who were now headed for disaster and the horrors of Exile. But even this hopeless situation was not going to be the end of their story, because in mercy and grace the Living God promises to transform the hearts of His stubborn people, pointing forward to a day when they would be truly turned around and find new life in Him.
 
Jeremiah 31:33-34, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”.
 
God promises them a new covenant… a whole new way of life with Him, not written on stone, but on their hearts… that is, transforming their very desires and understanding… realigning them inside and out by God’s own rescuing love, and setting them free by His forgiveness.
 
This is the hope that Israel’s prophets bore witness to… a hope that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and that continues to shape the lives of those who will trust and follow Him.
 
In our Gospel reading this morning, St. John shows us something remarkable: after spending His life bearing witness to the children of Israel, now Greek Gentiles were beginning to seek out Jesus as well. Gentiles, members of the various nations all around Israel, who did not yet know the Living God… who didn’t have a covenant with Him, or follow His holy ways… the nations who had repeatedly oppressed and offended Israel, God’s chosen people… now even they were coming to Jesus, and begging for Him to meet with them.
 
The disciples don’t quite seem to know what to do. This wasn’t really a part of their plans. But by His response, we know that Jesus knows what it will take for the whole world, Jews and Gentiles alike, to meet with Him:
 
John 12:23–28, Jesus says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
 
“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”
 
In order to bring to fulfillment His mission to rescue and reconcile the whole world to God, Jesus knew it would cost Him everything. He would have to die. To give up His life, like a seed buried in the ground, so that through His death we all might come to taste and be transformed by God’s New Life. So that our hearts might be changed for good. So that our own desires and understandings might be shaped, not by selfishness, but by God’s self-giving love… so that
we too might be set free from our own slavery to sin and shame, and instead to find true forgiveness and peace… not just with God, but with one another… as Christ gave His body to be broken at the cross to put our whole human family back together again… reconciling estranged communities, and even enemies, through His blood shed for all.
 
What Jesus accomplished at the cross, once and for all, has changed and will continue to change the world… and He’s calling you and me to take part in this… to truly be His people, now set apart to share in this new covenant, this new way of life made possible by His blood, shed not just for some, but for all the families of the earth.
 
And as our Lord said, if we are to serve Him, we must actually follow Him… not just to our ultimate destination, sharing in the joys of His everlasting Kingdom… but also following Him to the cross… sharing in His suffering here in this life… dying to ourselves, in all sorts of ways… through transformed behaviours, through faithful choices, through selfless sacrifice… and for some, even literal suffering for the sake of Jesus… all so that God’s Holy Spirit can bear His good fruit in and through us, to bring God’s rescuing love to our world.
 
St. Patrick’s story is one of God’s grace and mercy at work in surprising ways, bringing forgiveness, freedom, and new life to the people of Ireland centuries ago… all possible because God’s love had truly changed Patrick’s life, and God’s holy ways were now written on Patrick’s heart… and so he could follow his Master, die to his old life, and bear the fruit of faithfulness.
 
What about our story? Each of us here have our own journey… our own path where God’s love has reached out to us, and now calls to us to take up our part in making this rescuing love known to, and in, our world.
​
And together as a Parish family, we have a shared path to take… and important choices to make, about how to answer the call of God to share the Good News of Jesus with those in our community. We may feel ill equipped at times… or too small, too simple, too insignificant to make much of a difference. But as St. Patrick’s story reminds us, God loves to work with those who seem hopeless and helpless, to make His surprising grace, and mercy, and forgiveness known to all who will trust in Jesus… transforming even our hearts and lives to share His love with everyone.
 
So like Patrick, may we entrust our hearts and lives to the Good News of Jesus Christ our Saviour. May we be willing to follow Him wherever He might lead us. May we be open to sharing His forgiveness and love, even with those who have hurt or wronged us. And may we die to all that keeps us from bearing the fruit that will last for God’s eternal Kingdom. Amen.   


[1] Confession of St. Patrick. Quote cited from the website St. Patrick’s Confessio: https://www.confessio.ie/etexts/confessio_english#

And our Songs this week can be found here:

​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:

​And our Songs this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Exodus 20:1–17 | Psalm 19 | 1 Corinthians 1:18–25 | ​John 2:13–22

“Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’” (John 2:19).
 
Love knows when to say no.
 
Our first reading today dives right into the heart of God’s Covenant partnership with Israel, formalized at Mt. Sinai. After centuries of slavery in Egypt, with bodies, minds, and hearts shaped by unending hours of hard labour, and the cruelty of their oppressors, we meet Israel gathered in the wilderness, and on the cusp of a brand new way of life: graciously chosen by the Creator of All to be a set-apart people, dedicated to His divine ways, Israel was about to learn what it means for them to become God’s people together… to learn how they are to reflect His goodness, His character… His image in their lives, in all they say and do, so that all the earth might come to know the life-giving love of the Lord as well.
 
And the Ten Commandments, which we read this morning, form a key component in this covenant partnership…  laying down clear expectations of what it means to join God in this unique relationship.

Note that these commandments don’t just fall out of the sky. They are given within the context of a story. Not the story so many of us buy into… the story of: “if you prove that you’re good enough, then I’ll accept you.”
 
No, the Ten Commandments are a part of the story of God’s rescuing love already at work in the world… setting free the captives, lifting up the heads of the hopeless, and bringing new life into being. Long before they arrived at Mt. Sinai, God had already rescued Israel from Egypt. The Lord had already shown Himself to be their gracious Saviour, and revealed His compassion, faithfulness, and power, again and again.
 
No, the Commandments were never about winning God’s favour. They were a gift to His beloved children. An invitation to share in God’s own life in a whole new way… a gift that the people eagerly said yes too… at least initially. These Laws were a way for God to say: “This is the way you are to live as my already rescued people in this world… this is the way you are to treat one another.” This is the way the Lord was teaching His children how to love.
 
But why did they need to be taught how to love? Doesn’t love just come naturally?
 
Of course, people everywhere understand affection.  We experience longing for others, and some sense of loyalty to those closest to us. But even so, this doesn’t seem to stop us from setting our devotions aside to do whatever seems right to us in the moment.
 
And what’s more, there’s also the danger of letting our sense of devotion to those closest to us distort our responsibilities to everyone else… leading to what’s known as tribalism… the whole “us vs. them” way of seeing the world… and all the deep divisions we see at work all around us today.
 
This was all just as true back in Israel’s early days, but the LORD had other plans in mind, for them and for the world… longing to put His Good creation back on track. And so at Sinai, Israel would learn that to live God’s way it would required a commitment, not just to our own interests, or to our family and friends… but first of all, to the One Creator and Saviour of All, the Living God… and also a commitment to the wellbeing of the wider society: In other words, they were called to love God, and to love their neighbours too.
 
What does that look like? As a place to start, we have these Ten Commandments… Laws outlining the broad vision of what life looks like when we live it God’s way.
 
And interestingly, in order to make clear what it means to live and love God’s way, we’re basically told what we’re not to do…
 
You shall have no other gods before Yahweh, the LORD.
You shall not make idols, or bow down to worship them.
You shall not misuse the name of the LORD.
You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it holy by not doing any work on it.
You shall not murder.
You shall not steal.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not give false testimony.
You shall not covet anything belonging to your neighbour.

For something as supremely good as God’s holy laws to teach His people how to love and live together… the shape of life that He intends for His people and His world… that’s a whole lot of No’s. The only commandment in the list without a ‘No’ or ‘Not’ in it is number five: Honour your Father and Mother.
 
But as any good Father or Mother knows… a big part of learning to love, and teaching someone else to love, means knowing when to say no… clarifying the boundaries between what is good and life-giving on the one hand, and what is destructive on the other.
 
God’s love for Israel led Him to say No to them in very clear and intentional ways… not because He didn’t want them to enjoy life in all its fullness. Exactly the opposite! God knows that to fully enjoy the fullness of life means living in certain ways… and setting other ways aside… as individuals and as a wider community, it means being shaped first of all by His love.
 
A love that knows how to say no to envy and self-centredness… and that preserves integrity… a love that does not seize what belongs to others… that honours the bonds of marriage… and knows how to restrain violence… a love that lifts up those who have come before us, and have raised us up… a love that sets aside sacred time for everyone, regardless of wealth or status, to rest and be restored in body, mind, and heart… a love that seeks to rightly honour the reputation of the Holy One… that refuses to give our hearts and devotion to empty objects, but only to the Source of all that is good… a love that remembers the compassion, and faithfulness, and saving power of the Living God, and that prioritizes this relationship above all else, so that all else finds its proper place.
 
The Ten Commandments taught Israel, and teach us all, about the boundaries of love… what not to do, so that love  can flourish as it’s supposed to… so that we, both as individuals and as a part of a wider community, can put God’s love into practice, and have our lives transformed as a result.
 
Sadly, the story of Scriptures tells us that, even when given these good boundaries… these life-giving Laws of God… Israel kept on refusing to stay inside the lines. Over and over again, they broke the commandments, and stopped letting God’s love lead the way.
 
This leads us to our Gospel reading this morning, where we witness Jesus saying No to God’s people in a clear and dramatic way. Arriving at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem during the time of the Passover, the sacred commemoration of God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt long ago, St. John tells us that Jesus of Nazareth, who we know to be God’s Son, does something quite shocking and unexpected: He makes a whip and begins driving away those who were doing business… selling animals to be sacrificed within the sacred Temple courts.
 
Why does He do this? Why was Jesus so passionate and angry about people buying and selling animals in the Temple?  
 
Well, the Temple in Jerusalem was the one place in all the earth set aside for humans to approach the holy presence of the Living God. It was the one place where devotion to the LORD was most clearly expressed, where forgiveness of sins and reconciliation was pronounced over those who drew near. The place for all God’s people together to practice loving the LORD God with all their heart, and soul, and mind, and strength… to remember His holy ways, and reaffirm their commitment to the whole Covenant relationship…
 
And they had turned it into a market. A place more devoted to profits and convenience than to the Creator and gracious Saviour of all… commercializing the sacred covenant God had invited His people to share in… turning that sacred place meant to help Israel experience God’s saving love in their lives… and to make this love known to the nations… into a business... revealing where their devotion truly rested: in merely their own interests.
 
Has the Church gone down the same route? Sadly yes. Many times, and in many ways, we Christians have also forgotten what it means to love the LORD before all else… setting aside the things that lead us to life, and instead getting caught up in all sorts of self-centred priorities that keep us and those around us from drawing near to the Living God. Following the example of Israel before us, we too forget the good limits that God has placed on the lives of those who are devoted to Him.
 
Where do we need to hear God tell us No again today?
 
Back in John’s Gospel, we see Jesus is passionate, zealous for God’s ways to be embraced… for people, back then and today, to experience the truly life-giving love that God created us to share in, and share with our neighbours. And so, in the Temple, we see Him willing to stand up and say no to all that keeps us from this saving love.
 
And much more than that… we’ll soon see that He’s willing to lay down His life to offer this love to us, and to all.
 
In response to Jesus’ passionate display, those present in the Temple demand that Jesus give good reason for His disruption… they ask for a sign to prove that He has the authority to completely mess with their way of doing things. Essentially they say to Him: ‘What gives you the right???’
 
John 2:19-22, “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”
 
The sign of Jesus’ right to say No to the self-centeredness and sin of His people… the grounds for claiming the right to reorganize their whole community’s patterns of devotion, and their lives… is the sign of the cross… the destruction of the Temple of Jesus’ body, where Heaven and Earth are truly united as One in the flesh of God’s Son… a union which cannot be overcome, even by death… rising again on the third day.
 
With Heavenly authority, Jesus came to put God’s compassion, faithfulness, and power to work again to rescue us from ourselves… to break the power selfishness and sin held over us, and set us free to live another way… God’s way… for good.
 
With passion for God’s house… for the sacred ways we fragile humans were invited to draw near to our Creator and Savior, Jesus knows that sometimes love means saying no… and He knows that we humans can’t seem to stop saying no to God’s ways… turning away again and again to pursue our own self-centred desires.
 
And so Jesus, the true Son of God, who lived in complete devotion to the Father, wholeheartedly sharing His love, as the very embodiment of God’s holy Law in the flesh… He took up our place on the cross… bearing the full weight of the guilt and shame of the whole world on His shoulders…  receiving our just condemnation… and dying in agony to set us free.
 
The cross is the result of our rejection of God and God’s good ways… it’s our ultimate No to our Creator and Saviour, nailing His Son to the tree once and for all.
 
At the same time, the cross is God’s ultimate No to all of the ways that we refuse to live by His holy love… it’s God’s utter determination not to allow our self-destructive impulses to have the last say, and instead, to end them. Not by rejecting us in return, which is what we deserve. Not by seeking to crush us, or cow us with threats, or with reminders of our unworthiness.
 
But in self-giving love… a love that is able to say no to itself for the sake of others… Jesus offered up His life at the cross, once and for all… so that we all can receive true forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace through through His precious blood shed for us… and begin to say Yes to the New Life of God through His Spirit at work in us.
 
In many ways, the season of Lent invites us to place our trust in Jesus, and learn to say No to ourselves… which can be a struggle. But we do so for a good reason: to learn together to live God’s way. To love God’s way. The way that Jesus our Saviour does, who laid down His life to rescue us while we were still sinners… dying to liberates us when we were still slaves to our sin and fears and self-centeredness… offering His body to be broken on our behalf… letting His blood be spilled to atone for all our failures… and rising again from the dead to share His new life with us and with our world.
 
If we are to follow Jesus to the cross, and receive there from Him the new life that God has in store for us… what might you and I need to say No to today?
 
Not to earn God’s favour, or to ruin our fun, but to put into practice the freedom to flourish that Jesus Christ has already won for us?
 
These things might be easy for some of us to identify. God’s Spirit might already be prompting us to let go of some things that are keeping us from fully sharing in the freedom of God’s holy love.
 
But if we’re not sure, a good place to spend some time in prayerful reflection might be the Ten Commandments… and also look at how Jesus Himself sheds light on their true meaning in the Sermon on the Mount, found in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 5-7.
 
As Holy Week draws closer, and we reflect on all that Jesus our Saviour has accomplished for us at the cross, let us remember that God’s limits are a gift to us… helping us learn when to say No to ourselves, so that we can say Yes to the life and love of God, and share it with everyone.
 
I’ll end now with these words from our Psalm today:

The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent.
The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean and endures for ever;
the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, more than much fine gold,
sweeter far than honey, than honey in the comb.
By them also is your servant enlightened,
and in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can tell how often he offends?
cleanse me from my secret faults.
Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;
let them not get dominion over me;
then shall I be whole and sound, and innocent of a great offense.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
Amen.

​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:

​And our Songs this week can be found here:

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.
_________________________

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 Reading: Ezekiel 37:1–14 | Psalm 130 | Romans 8:6–11 | ​John 11:1–45

“Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’” (John 11:14-15)
 
Where is God to be found when our world has fallen apart?
 
When we come face to face with tragedy… with bitter and unanswerable questions… when our prayers ascend, not with praise, but with accusations… and even anger?
 
Have you ever been angry with God?
Are you angry with Him right now?
 
I remember one evening, while I was in seminary, riding the subway home in Toronto. That night, I was very angry with God. Not because of something that had happened to me… but to things that had just happened to some fellow Christians I knew… good, honest, God-loving families, who were suddenly going through heartbreaking tragedies.
 
One family, after years of longing for a child, had gone through the long and arduous process of adoption. After much prayer, and hope, and joy, they had finally been able to bring a new baby home… but then the birth-mother suddenly changed her mind, and they had to give the beloved child back. All of the hopes and joys of this wonderful couple fell crashing to the floor. From where I stood, it seemed so wrong… so cruel a twist of circumstances for those who had longed only to share love. It just seemed so unfair.
 
The second family faced an even more devastating tragedy. A classmate of mine was driving on a trip with his wife and new baby, but their car ended up in a fatal crash. Thankfully the mother and child survived, but the father was killed on the scene. So suddenly, one life was taken, and two others would never be the same. Again, it all seemed so unfair. Why would God allow this kind of thing to happen to people who truly loved Him, and longed to help others share in His love? It made no sense!
 
On that subway ride home, I felt quite overwhelmed by what seemed like the unfairness… maybe even the uncaringness of God, and all the theology… all the answers I thought I knew just seemed to fall flat, offering no comfort at all.

I was angry. Angry with God. Angry that God had not done something to protect these people who loved Him from having their worlds fall apart.
 
Where was God? And why didn’t He do something?
 
We know, of course, there are lots of stories like this… where people have come face to face with sudden tragedy, and outright evil, and where we can do little but raise our cries of anguish to God.
 
But thankfully, the Living God can handle our honest, angry prayers.
 
We know this because the Bible does not shy away from these kinds of stories. Quite the opposite! The Holy Scriptures invite us, again and again, into truly heartbreaking narratives… not to crush our spirits, but to help us trust God in the midst of tragedy. To believe, not that everything will work out in ways that seem fair to us… but to believe that He is the one who brings true life, even out of the darkness of death.
 
Our reading today from John’s Gospel dives straight into this mess… inviting us to see both where God is amid the deeply personal suffering of our world, and what He is doing about it... pointing us directly to the face of Jesus.
 
This story is one of the most well known miracles of Jesus: raising his friend Lazarus from the grave, after being dead for four days. It is an amazing display of Jesus’ life-giving power… revealing His unique connection to God the Father, the Source of all life.
 
But as John takes pains to point out, Jesus is absent at the time of Lazarus’ death. In fact, instead of rushing to the village of Bethany to prevent His friend from dying, Jesus delays coming… He chooses to be absent. To not stop the tragedy ahead of time… but to face it head-on.
 
This is the big question the story raises for us… the tension that makes it all so poignant: Jesus invites us all to ask Him ‘where were You? Why did You let all this happen?’ Not only in this story, but in all our tragedies, and times of darkness as well.
 
And the answer He gives us is not a rational argument… or a theological treatise… His answer is His action. What He does in this story is His response.
 
So, what does Jesus do?
 
First of all, Jesus shows us He knows. He is not oblivious to what is happening, or too the greater tragedy ahead. When word reaches Him that Lazarus His friend is sick, He knows how the whole story will play out.  
 
Likewise, Jesus knows all about our tragedies too. He sees our struggles, and understands all that we have had to face. There’s some comfort to be found in the fact that our Lord takes notice of us. But that is not all that He does.
 
This story shows us that Jesus knows… and that He cares.

That He cares enough to meet us right there in our pain, and confusion, and anger… to let us be real with Him, which is essential if we’re ever going to believe in Him.
 
John 11:20-22, “When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’”
 
Martha brings her pain and frustration to Jesus, and though she doesn’t yet understand, she still clings to her faith in Him… and Jesus responds to her faith by offering hope:
 
John 11:23-27, “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.’”
 
Jesus doesn’t just leave Martha in the dark. He knows all about her grief. He cares for her, and offers her hope through faith in Him, even if she doesn’t really understand. And likewise, Jesus invites us all to come to Him and cling to Him in faith, even when we don’t understand.  

​But that’s not the only way we know He cares.
 
John 11:32-37, “When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’”
 
Disturbed. Deeply moved. Weeping. This is how John describes the Son of God. Not stoically standing by, unaffected by the grief that surrounded Him, but sharing in it. Taking it to heart. Taking it up into His own life.
 
Jesus weeps with Mary. And He weeps with us. God weeps with us! He knows, He cares… and He shares in all our human suffering.
 
The Church Father, Cyril of Alexandria, says this about the tears that Christ shed that day: “The Jews thought that Jesus wept on account of the death of Lazarus, but in fact he wept out of compassion for all humanity, not mourning Lazarus alone, but all of humanity which is subject to death, having justly fallen under so great a penalty.”[1]
 
It's not as though Jesus was only moved to tears by the death of a close friend… or the grief of those close to Him. His compassion encompasses us all. Jesus weeps with us too.
 
But we know He does more than share in our suffering. Jesus has come to save. To offer us life… usually in ways that go far beyond our expectations… bringing life even out of death, and hope where there had been no hope at all.
 
John 11:38-45, “Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’ Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.”
 
Far beyond what anyone else expected that day, Jesus brought Lazarus back to life. A sign of His life-giving power, at work even today in surprising ways. Reminding us that nothing is impossible for our Saviour.
 
But as reassuring as this miracle itself can be for us, John didn’t include this story only to offer us comfort in the midst of our pain and tragedy… but to show us the depths of the Good News of God’s saving love… and just how far Jesus goes to come to our rescue… to put His whole beloved world back together again.
 
The story keeps going beyond our reading today, to reveal that though many believed in Him because of this miracle, the road ahead for Jesus was to be one of fierce resistance.
 
John 11:45-48, “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.”
 
To be fair, they had good reason to be afraid. This was a very real threat! The Romans did not put up with disturbances of the peace, and were prone to put down perceived threats to their power viciously. The chief priests and Pharisees were legitimately afraid that they would lose everything… that if Jesus kept on doing all these miracles, Rome would destroy their whole world. Who cares if one man was raised from the dead, if the whole nation will soon be wiped out!

Their solution? John 11:49-53, “But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.’  He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to put him to death.”
 
With their minds blinded by fear, they saw the only way forward for their people would be to kill Jesus. But in the depths of love that none of us can really wrap our heads around, the Living God had known all along that the only way forward for His whole world would be to face death for us Himself. To take on our fragile human life… to face our rejection… and betrayal. To experience injustice… agony… and humiliation at our hand… to taste death for us. Alongside us. Instead of us at the cross.
 
And this is what God does for us. This is what Jesus’ life was all about: not giving us easy answers, or arguments to make sense of all the evil and suffering in our world, or in our lives… but to take all of it on Himself, and to break it’s power over us, once and for all.
 
This is where we find God in the face of suffering: we find Him in the face of Jesus on the cross.
 
This is where we see that He knows… that He cares… that He refuses to shy away even from the horror of death.
 
And this is where we see Him bring the new life of God to us and our world. In His death, and in His resurrection, as the firstborn from the grave… offering us all a share in His eternal life through His Holy Spirit:
 
As St. Paul says in Romans 8:11, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.”
 
Lazarus was raised back to his old life for a time, but one day he would have to face death again.
 
But Jesus, the Risen One, has passed through death never to die again. The start of a brand New Creation. A new beginning, one that will never come to an end. Not just for Himself, but for all who place their faith in Him. All who receive His gift of life. For as Jesus was raised by the power of God, we too will be raised by His Spirit alive in us, so that Jesus’ eternal life and victory over death will be ours.
 
N.T. Wight puts it this way: “what God did for Jesus he will do for all creation, liberating it from its present slavery to corruption. Those whose bodies are heading for death, but who are indwelt by God’s Spirit, are assured that what God did for Jesus as an individual he will do for all the Messiah’s people.”[2]
 
We don’t know ahead of time all of the details of what this will look like, for us or for our world, but we do know that as we face evil… and injustice, and suffering… and whatever comes our way… we can look to Jesus and find God’s resurrection life at work. We know that He knows… we know that He cares… and we know that He will lead us into life.

That night in Toronto, riding the subway with all of my questions, frustrations, and anger… I found myself praying: “God, hold onto me. I don’t understand… this is so unfair… I am so angry… but please don’t let me go. Hold onto me.” And He did. That’s what He did for me in that moment: He held me in His arms, as confused, and upset, and angry with Him as I was, He did not let me go. And He has never let me go… despite all the ups and downs I have faced since… despite all my struggles and doubts, He keeps on inviting me, again and again, to trust Him to bring His New Life, even when it seems impossible.
 
In time, that first family was actually able to adopt the same child they had first welcomed into their lives, and have been able to share God’s love with them each day.
 
In time, the young widow and child became part of a new and loving family… not erasing the past, but given a new chance to share in God’s grace, and peace together.
 
We know that no two stories are the same. And I’m not saying that every tragedy will turn to joy in this life. What I am saying, and what the Gospel says to us is that even in the midst of the worst moments imaginable, God is with us and will not let us go. In Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord, we can turn to God and truly trust Him… trust Him with all our anguish… with all our questions… with our anger… and know that He is still with us.
 
To know that He knows… that He cares… that He shares in all of our struggles and sorrows… and that He is not nearly done bringing about God’s new and everlasting life. Amen.


[1] Cyril of Alexandria: Commentary on the Gospel of St. John 7.1. in Thomas C. Oden and Cindy Crosby, eds., Ancient Christian Devotional: A Year of Weekly Readings: Lectionary Cycle A (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2007), 94.

[2] N. T. Wright, Twelve Months of Sundays: Reflections on Bible Readings, Year A (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2001), 48.

​Our service of Morning Prayer, Bulletin, and Sermon this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1–13 | Psalm 23 | Ephesians 5:8–14 | John 9:1–41

“for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).
 
What a gift it is to see clearly.

I don’t just mean with our eyes… though that’s certainly a gift too easily taken for granted. No, I mean seeing clearly with the heart and mind: perceiving the truth… and not being led astray by deceptions, and lies, and appearances… the ability to live in line with what is real, even if no one else around us sees it the same way.
 
What a gift it is to see clearly. A challenging gift, but a gift nonetheless.
 
In our Scripture readings today we are invited to contemplate what it means to see things God’s way… to have our eyes and hearts and minds opened to the reality He longs to reveal.
 
Our reading today from first Samuel tells the story of David’s anointing: the shepherd boy, completely overlooked by others, but chosen by God to serve Him as King.

This story starts off a bit further back: The twelve tribes of Israel had been in the Promised Land for a while now… having been rescued by the LORD from slavery in Egypt, and set apart as God’s chosen people, to live His way in the world so that everyone could come to know the Living God through their faithful lives.
 
But now Israel wanted to be just like every other nation… and rather than looking to the Living God to guide them and protect them, they wanted to have a king… a human ruler who would take the lead… who they could look up to, and place their confidence in. They saw kingship as just the thing they would need to move forward in an uncertain world.
 
The prophet Samuel warned them, just like Moses had warned them centuries earlier, that the kind of king they were wanting would only end up leading them astray… away from God’s ways, and would oppress rather than protect them, but they refused to listen. They wanted to serve someone they could see with their own eyes, instead of placing their trust in the Living God… the One who had rescued them, and led them, again and again, into life.

Eventually, God tells Samuel to give the people what they wanted, and so he anointed their first king Saul, who seemed perfect for the job. Saul was tall, strong, impressive… but he ended up repeatedly failing to follow God’s instructions… doing what was right in his own eyes, instead of obeying the word of the LORD.
 
And so, in our first reading, we heard how God sent the prophet Samuel to choose another king for God’s people… this time anointing someone completely overlooked, and deemed unsuitable for such an honour: Jesse’s youngest son, David… someone the LORD alone could see would be the one to guide His people… not perfectly, by any means, but as far as human kings go, pretty faithfully… filled with the power of God’s own Spirit to lead His people into life.
 
Now this ancient anointing ceremony may seem a long way from our daily lives here in Gondola Point, but a key phrase from this reading stands out for us all to hear:

“the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature… … for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7). 
 
How often are we too just living by what seems right in our own eyes, instead of looking to God?
 
How are we searching for things that seem impressive, strong, stable… hoping that they will give us some security in our increasingly uncertain world?
 
Or how are we wanting to be just like our neighbours… to set aside God’s ways, so we can be just like them… or at least, so that we aren’t seen as strangers and outsiders… afraid of feeling cut off and alone?
 
Are we seeing clearly today? If not, our Gospel reading, as usual, has Good News for us all.
 
John chapter 9 starts off simply enough with a scene that would not have seemed all that unusual: Jesus and His disciples pass by a beggar who had been blind from birth.

From the start, the disciples saw the man and failed to see beyond their own concerns. Like many in their days, and in our own, they saw someone suffering… blind from birth… and assumed it was somebody’s fault. “Rabbi,” they said, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2).
 
The assumption behind this question is that suffering of any kind must be a punishment… proof that someone did something to deserve their misery.
 
It can be easy for us to feel responsible or guilty when we or those we love are suffering… when they face challenges and struggles beyond our ability to solve. It can seem right to us to search for an explanation… a cause… for someone to blame… but Jesus rejects this way of seeing suffering, and what He does next aims to open the eyes of His followers, and shine light on the truth.
 
“Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.” (John 9:3-7).
 
Note that Jesus did not say that God caused the man’s blindness, but that his blindness will be the cause of God’s work being revealed in him. This isn’t an explanation for who’s responsible for his suffering. It’s an explanation of who will be responsible for his healing… and salvation.
 
Jesus then spits on the ground, makes mud, wipes it on the man’s eyes, and sends him away to wash. And suddenly, he could see! His eyes were opened for the first time in his life!
 
Imagine how excited he must have been! In an instant, so many possibilities that had been completely closed off, had been freely given to him: The beauty of the world around him. Colours, shapes, things only imagined before, all now clearly able to be perceived.
 
Imagine seeing the faces of his friends and family for the first time!
Imagine looking into the eyes of someone who loves you! What a gift!
 
But even so, it was a challenging gift… and one which would change everything. Freely given, but not without cost, as the Gospel of John goes on to explain.
 
The controversy starts with the man’s neighbours, who were deeply confused when they saw the man who they had only known as a blind beggar, suddenly now able to see. They don’t know what to do with him, or what to believe. So they send him to the experts: the Pharisees, those who, due to their knowledge of the Law, and the traditions of God’s people, were supposed to see these kinds of things clearly.
 
And the first thing that catches their eye is not the miracle, God’s healing hand at work, but the fact that Jesus appears to have broken the Law of God… healing on the Sabbath day of rest, and on top of that, daring to make mud.
 
Back in Exodus, before they had tasted God’s freedom and salvation which the Sabbath Day was intended to be a perpetual reminder of, the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, and were forced to make bricks out of mud. Now any form of work was deemed to be forbidden on the Sabbath, but to the Pharisees, making mud, which brings to mind those mud bricks of oppression, would be like spitting upon the memory of God’s saving work in their people’s past.
 
In their eyes, if Jesus was so careless with what was so clearly sacred, He could be nothing but a sinner, seeking to lead God’s people astray into unfaithfulness. But even so, they could not deny that something unusual had happened here.
 
John 9:16, “Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided.”
 
But instead of simply choosing to believe the man’s story, or to look for Jesus Himself to discover the truth, they search for the parents of the man who was blind, expecting to find some deception or misunderstanding at work that will fully explain everything.
 
Then the man’s parents, afraid of the pushback they will receive if they support Jesus publicly, refuse to back up their son. They confirm his identity, but then leave him all alone to face these interrogators by himself.
 
The Pharisees press him even harder: “they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’” (John 9:24-25).
 
All through this story, the Gospel writer is highlighting for us the tension and contrast at work between those who see the truth, and those who do not:
 
The disciples of Jesus look at the appearance of someone’s suffering, and they search for someone to blame, instead of seeing a person in need of their compassion.
 
The neighbours look at the man they knew from before, but can’t see how he could have been changed so much.
The Pharisees look at a miraculous work of God in someone’s life, and only see a threat to all they hold most dear.
 
And here we have someone completely overlooked and unexpected… a man who’s never seen anything before… slowly coming to recognize the truth: that Jesus was even more than a wandering healer, or a prophet… Jesus is the One through whom the Living God is at work doing what no one else can do. 
 
As the Pharisees continue their questioning, he offers this testimony: “The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’” (John 9:30-33).
 
Following his example, this Gospel passage invites you and I to see that Jesus is the One who is the truth… who alone can open our eyes to the true reality of the world… to finally see things clearly so that we can begin to live in line with what is right. To experience the beauty, and abundance, and freedom of life with the Living God, even when we are suffering… misunderstood by our neighbours, abandoned by our families and friends, and treated unjustly by those with power.
 
Jesus has come to open us up to a new kind of life… one not based on our old ways of seeing the world, and our place in it… but one which is open to God’s saving love, which no one else can take away from us. A way of life which is not afraid to speak openly of the hope that has been shared with us. One which is open to being led by God’s Holy Spirit, instead of our own understanding, trusting that Jesus has come to bring us into God’s life and light… which will challenge and can change us all.

The man began that day like any other: blind, and begging for help. Jesus freely gave him sight, but this new life cost him dearly. He was suddenly a complete stranger to his neighbours. His parents refused to stand up for him. He was harassed and excommunicated from both his social and spiritual relationships.

What would we do in his place, I wonder?
His story shows us what we are all called to do:
 
“Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him.” (John 9:35-39).
 
Believe in Him… believe in the One who from the very beginning saw the man in his blindness, not as others did… as someone less worthy of attention, acceptance, and the fullness of life… but as a beloved child of the Living God in need of compassion, whose story would become a glorious gift to all of us in our times of suffering, isolation, abandonment, and outright rejection… in our seasons of darkness when it seems that no one really sees what we are going through.
 
But Jesus sees us… clearly… completely… and He understands all our troubles. And He looks at us as beloved children of His Heavenly Father with divine eyes full of compassion.
 
And His great love growing inside us can help us to truly see each other as well. To see each other, and all those around us… especially those we so easily overlook, as equally beloved by God, whom Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, came to seek, and save, and set free… by giving up His own life for us all at the cross. And who rose again from the grave to open us up to share God’s eternal life through Him, being filled with His holy Spirit to share this message of hope with everyone.
 
If we can start to see each other, and everyone else in this light… the light of the Good News of Jesus and what He has done for us all… just imagine what God will do through us! Imagine what kinds of good works He can accomplish in our midst. What healing and hope He longs to share.
​
So may we, like the man who received his sight, place our faith in Jesus our Saviour, no matter the cost. And as we do so, may God’s Spirit open our eyes and lead us into His life and light. Amen.

​And our Songs this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Exodus 17:1–7 | Psalm 95 | Romans 5:1–11 | John 4:5–42

[Note: Bottled water with John 3:16 verse on it given to each person upon arrival. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”]

"The woman said to Him, 'Sir, give me this water'" (John 4: 15).

O God, light of the minds that know you, life of the souls that love you, and strength of the hearts
that seek you - bless the words of our lips and the meditations of our hearts. We ask this in Jesus'
name and mercy Amen.

[Water is poured into the font] 

We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of water. Over water the Holy Spirit moved in the
beginning of creation. Through water you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in
Egypt into the land of promise. In water your Son Jesus received the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us through his death and
resurrection, from the bondage of sin into everlasting life.
We thank you, Father, for the water of baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death.
By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.[1]

Last week within our Gospel reading we heard about the confused Nicodemus. He puzzled about how one could be born a second time - born of water and the Spirit? As Nicodemus worked out his thoughts out loud, Jesus invited him to accept who God is and shared more about the cost of God making eternal life available to humankind.

As natural birth begins our life on this earth, so spiritual birth brings us into the spiritual life and makes us God’s “born ones.” Rev. Rob put it this way in his sermon last week, “We come to Jesus with all of our questions, and concerns, and hopes, and fears, and find him waiting to give us His life…inviting us to turn to Him and trust Him with everything.…Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Son of God, alone can save us. Jesus alone can give us God’s new life, now and forever.”

Now we come to today’s long Gospel reading which follows shortly after Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus. As Jesus is traveling through Samaria he engages in conversation with a woman at a well. He speaks with her about the “water” He can provide that will quench her deepest thirst.

And, the woman says to Him, “Sir, give me this water…” (John 4:15a).
Like Nicodemus, the woman thirsts for something more and seeks to be filled by coming to the well day after day. Unlike Nicodemus she does not come to Jesus by night although she might have thought of doing so. Drawing water from the town well in biblical times was an important social event for women. The fact that the Samaritan woman came alone suggests, as did Jesus’ reference to five “husbands,” that she was rejected by the other women.

Notice though that Jesus does not reject her. The woman came to the well seeking water and leaves with something very different, she is different. We are told that she leaves her water jar by the well when she goes back to the city. She came all the way out to the well and leaves empty handed but with her heart full. After experiencing Jesus’s love and acceptance, His holding truth in grace, she leaves full of the living water, the divine mercy, God’s grace. A new life in Christ!

In our thirst in our lives, what do we try to fill our buckets with? Maybe it is material wealth, acceptance, power, disordered relationships, various kinds of pleasures … Jesus says that everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. I imagine that at certain times in our lives, maybe even right now, we have experienced this kind of thirst.

Our thirst is real, our sin is real, our need for God is real. What is also real is that God is always and already looking for us! God wants to share our life. Nicodemus sought out Jesus and He was there. The woman went to the well and Jesus was there. Be assured that Jesus is already here in our lives as we too seek and say, “give me this water”. This is divine grace.

We can stop filling our buckets with that which leads to pain, rejection, fear, grief, and anguish and rather allow ourselves to be found. God is seeking worshippers, not looking for new ways to judge us.

This season of Lent if a gift of the time to prepare our hearts to receive. A time to put down our buckets, clear the clutter of our hearts and remove whatever obstacles there may be the flow of the living water.

The living water never runs out, the fountain never runs dry, this is the divine life. This is what Jesus offered the women at the well. What he offered Nicodemus. What is offered in baptism.

This is the well we can drink from.

May we then, receiving this living water, leave our buckets and go like the woman to others,
those of our family, friends and neighbours; calling them to see this Jesus, the Messiah and be filled!


[1] BAS, pg. 157-158, Thanksgiving over the Water