Amazing as it may seem to us rather ordinary people, we are all meant to be ‘on the road’, busy meeting and interacting with people, and--this is the amazing and surprising part, living out the Good News of Christ by word and example. One of my previous bishops once said--here I think he was right--‘you may be the only Jesus Christ that some people will ever meet.’ In other words, your words and example will largely determine what they know and think about Jesus, and therefore, how they will respond. It’s a pretty scary--and awesome--thought. So, back on the road, all of us, and on with the task.

Here’s a meditation that probably all of us can relate to. The Scriptures suggest that we should imitate the faith of Abraham and Sarah, and, at first glance, this seems pretty unreachable and impossible. But, when we look at their lives in greater detail, their examples seem pretty similar to our own struggles, so, there is something we can imitate there after all.

One of Jesus’ titles is Emmanuel, “God with us”, but scarcely do we ever consider just what that means in actuality. Scripture tells us that not only did He share our life and death, but also experienced all the joy, griefs and sorrows that we do, even to the point that He suffered through all the temptations that we undergo. And yes, there is even more: He even knows how we think, and in that, more than just in a general, non-specific sense. According to today’s psalm He knows how we think individually--and what led up to that, the circumstances and background--and so, can actually take that into consideration in His love and care for us. To me, that is pretty astounding, and gives me all the more reason to love, serve and trust Him.

An ‘active’ thanksgiving: an interesting, and somewhat provocative idea. Just how can we live out, day by day and moment by moment, an attitude of thanksgiving. There are so many things that I take for granted, and in this, I am sure that I am not alone. Just as I sit here at my desk, I can think of so many things, things like my comfortable and secure home, our lawns and gardens, our safe streets and sidewalks, the fresh air, the recent rains, good food and clean water, and so much else. And then, there are all of His spiritual blessings as well. Usually, I don’t even bother to think of all these things, much less give thanks for them--and certainly not that often in any tangible or outward way, like making sure that other people enjoy these things as well. Anyway, here is something to think about.

Today’s reading and meditation have an important lesson for us, not only though, as stated, that we need to persist in prayer, but also, as not stated, to even pray in the first place. I’m afraid that I am far too often ‘in that boat’. What I mean by that, is that I far too often neglect to pray. Sometimes, I figure that my worry or concern is far too small or insignificant to worry God about, things for instance like having a cold or having the aches and pains associated with my time of life. Or sometimes, I don’t go to God in prayer because I somehow think that the problems are too big or insurmountable, as with the problems about leadership in the church or with the deteriorated foundation walls of the church basement. I think that in today’s word, God is simply saying, pray anyway. "Pray whether you think that it’s too big, or too small. Just take it to me and let me take care of it, in whatever way is best.”

We all have regrets over things ‘done or left undone’. I think that it is part of life, part of what makes us fallible, imperfect human beings. But then there is the question of what we do with them. That question forms part of our meditation for today. I hope you find my ‘take’ on this helpful and inspiring.

Something that I have often noticed, in the newspapers at least, that come the Thanksgiving weekend, there are lots of reminders about the need to give thanks, but almost never is the name of God mentioned as to the source of our many blessings, the things that we give thanks for? So, is this just a matter of political correctness, a nod to those who don’t believe in any god? Or, is it merely reflecting the widespread belief or assumption that we did it, that we had it coming, that it was all (or mostly) a result of our hard work and diligence--albeit with a bit of help from the weather, or the markets, or whatever? I do think that God often gets overlooked in all of this. So, maybe today’s lesson is a good reminder to do otherwise, to remember God, and give Him thanks, in everything.

Today’s passage turned out to be quite a challenge and wake-up call, namely, how do we make sure that we remember God and what He has done and what He says in His word, and how do we pass this on to our children and future generations. This latter part is particularly touchy--and difficult--as we often feel that this is a rather sensitive subject and one that we feel ill-prepared to share with others, especially with our kinfolk. Furthermore, we often wonder if we are not intruding upon their private space if we share it.

It isn’t something that I have easy or ready answers to. Rather, it is something that I need to think and pray about--and do the best that I can.

I’m sure that all of us have had a ‘oh, me?’ experience, a time when we have unexpectedly been chosen or singled out for something, sometimes something good, and sometimes not so. That is the experience of the psalmist in today’s passage, except that he asks that question not of himself in particular, but of the whole human race. Quite frankly, given the intricacies and wonder of the universe, the psalmist wonders at the fact that God has time for us. He is surprised that God takes notice of us and cares for us. However, we, as Christians know that it goes way farther than that. We know that God cared so very much that He choose, in the person of Jesus Christ, to take human nature upon Himself, and live as one of us--experiencing everything that we will ever experience, including death--and then to rise again to defeat sin and death, the very worst things that could ever happen to us, once and for all. That is how much we, you and I, are loved by God. Wow.

Well can I identify with what the apostle Paul says in Romans 8, namely that the entire world, all of creation, is now in turmoil. It certainly seems like that at times, a turmoil that is reflected quite aptly by my own aches and pains. Often I think that it would be just great if we could have a new world, and new bodies, that are free from all of this ‘stuff’. Now, it is great to know that this will ‘come’, both of these desires, but not for a while--it is unknown, not revealed, just how long. Until then, we just hold on, wait in faith, keep on trusting and keep on doing as God requires.

One of the enemy’s chief and most powerful lies is that only certain people, people with a certain history or gifts, are of use in the Kingdom of God. The majority of people, he would claim, are of little value, if at all. And certainly not people who are weak or fallible or prone to error, ‘crack pots’, like most of us. But all of this is false. God values each and every one of us, and can use us no matter who we are, or what we ‘bring to the table.’ In fact, it is the varied gifts and experiences that we bring to the table that make us particularly useful. So, let me encourage you to believe that God has a unique and important place and role for you--even if you are scarcely aware of it right now. Just believe, and be open to His leading, and eventually you will know. And then--this is the hard part--let Him lead you.

It has often been said that the church is only one generation away from extinction, and probably at few times in history has this been truer than today. I say that because there are fewer residual, society wide remembrances of God’s action in our world, meaning that far too often the younger generations simply don’t know much about God and what He does and has done. And so the telling of our stories, personally and corporately, of God’s goodness is absolutely essential. But then, if someone, perhaps a parent or grandparent, or perhaps a pastor or priest or Sunday school teacher, or perhaps a friend or camp counsellor, had not told us their story, would we, you and I, ever come to adopt the Christian faith for our own and decide to follow Christ? This mere fact simply underlines just how important the telling of our stories is.

But then, the crunch comes: just how do we do this? Most of us are singularly shy and ill-equipped to do so. It seems so personal and sensitive, and we do not want to barge in willy-nilly where not wanted or welcome. So, let us pray for opportunities or openings. We do not have to be overly articulate, but if the questions arise, we can indeed share what we believe and have experienced. And so my prayer is this: “Lord, help us all as we try to do this. Amen.”

Today we celebrate Pentecost, what has often been referred to as the birthday of the church. And, indeed, it is very much like the earthly, human birthday celebrations that we are accustomed to, in that there were gifts distributed. The gift (or gifts) was the Holy Spirit, and what was so spectacular about it was that how it manifested or expressed itself was totally individualized. In other words, each person received a manifestation of that Spirit that was unique to that person and that enabled that person to carry out a ministry that was unique to him or her. So, no one was given all the gifts. In fact, the entire idea was that by many individuals contributing their unique and individual gifts the church would be built up and the world blessed. That is why each of us is so important to God’s overall enterprise. So, let us each do our part: we are needed!

There seems to be no end of questions or controversies that wrack the Christian church but two interrelated ones that never seem to go away are the questions, ‘what is the church? and ‘how (and, of course, where) should a person worship God?’

After we lost our intimacy with God in the Garden of Eden, God has been yearning for ways to be with us. First off, He made it known that He was ‘a portable God’, that is, He was not glued, fixed, to just one place or time. He was knowable anywhere, which was a great and surprising change from the territorial gods that most nations and peoples had. Furthermore, He revealed Himself to be a personal God, one that could be known and related to, and not just those of a certain calling or character. One didn’t have to be a priest or sage or prophet or holy man (or woman) to know and relate to God. Ordinary people could apply. And neither did you have to be of exemplary character or holiness. That meant that sinners could also apply. And, then through the prophets and above all, through Jesus, we learned that a relationship with God was available to all cultures and peoples, and not just the Jews! Wow.

Furthermore, through Jesus, we learned that God could dwell in each of us, and through the Holy Spirit, this indeed became possible. It was like the branches of a tree, Jesus said, ‘we are engrafted into the trunk and become part of, and nourished, by that trunk.’

But, as we came to realize, this was more than just an individual thing, but also a corporate thing. All of us together as Christians, as the Church, was the body of Christ. And so, we were enjoined to come together as the various parts of that body, build up each other, support each other, contribute our various gifts to that body, and worship together. Indeed, as one of the New Testament writers said, ‘we ought not to neglect the assembling together.’

But, there’s the rub--and the controversy: how and where do we do this? And, central to this question is whether a designated location, a place of worship, is really necessary? Yes, indeed, we can (and do) worship God just about anywhere, but is there a place (and a time) for a particular focus to that worship, that assembling together? In spite of the fact that each of us can individually know and relate to God, God seemed to think that getting together was important, even vital. That’s why He ordained a particular day of the week for worship and why He set aside festivals as ways of remembering and celebrating past events in salvation history. And why, He designated an earthly Temple to be His earthly dwelling place and place of engagement, place of encounter.

So, there we have something of a paradox: while we certainly can (and should) encounter and fellowship with God on our own, we also need to do it together. God knows that we need it, and so ordained it. So, let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

I have often thought that people would be well advised to borrow a page from AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and similar groups. One of their fundamental principles is that we humans are powerless to help ourselves, that all of us, if only we would admit it, need help from outside ourselves, most fundamentally from God (or, ‘their higher power’ as some chose to say).

I know that we humans are strongly disposed not to ever admit that we can’t do it all, that we can’t do it by ourselves with our own strength and wisdom--even a brief glance at the world scene would give evidence of that--but the reality is that we fail miserably when we try to do so. Humans, be they family or friends or neighbours, or governmental leaders, or world-class experts, simply can’t do what only God can do. So, it is best to let Him do just that.

Rather routinely, as part of our Sunday worship, we recite the Summary of the Law, ‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself. In these hang all the Law and the prophets’, but do we often pause to think what this means.

The first part is about loving God with all your being, and the second is about loving, caring for, respecting, working for the best of one’s neighbour, just as you would for your very own self. Whether we succeed in loving God with our entire beings is up for discussion, as I suspect that we all fail on that count. So, what about loving our neighbour? That is the issue that Jesus deals with in today’s passage, and it is one that I must admit that I have trouble with.

No, I have no problem with my literal neighbours, those wonderful people who live in my neighbourhood. They are, without exception, a great bunch of people. However, with some others that I ‘rub shoulders with’, I do have some issues--with those, over the years, who came to the church with a sense of entitlement, thinking that I was ‘obligated’ to give them whatever they wanted, no questions asked, simply because I was a pastor and this was a church. Or with those, whether in church circles or in public debates, refused to listen to anyone else and who called down abuse and nasty labels on anyone who disagreed with them. I have to admit that I am not so inclined to be very neighbourly to this kind of folk. And so, I guess that I have some work to do--as probably do all of us.

I’m thinking that pride impacts all of us, even if quite unconsciously. For instance, we pride ourselves in our opinions and thoughts, thinking that they are quite obviously ‘superior’ to what others might hold. Or we might pride ourselves for our talents or our ethnic or national background or for our life skills or experience. And, we might pride ourselves in our choice of church or denomination. All of this is only natural. I mean, why would a person not be proud of these things if they are near and dear to us and have proved to be of value to us.

Unfortunately, sadly, however, such an attitude can put up barriers between us and others, and, as was the case in Ezekiel, lead us into thinking that we are somehow better or more privileged in God’s eyes, than others. And, certainly such an attitude can stop us from taking other people seriously and listening to them and learning for them. It is something, I suspect, that we all need to work on.