I really wondered, at the onset, where the Lord might be leading me--and presumably, us--with today’s meditation about fear, particularly ‘fear of others’ and was quite surprised, and gratified, when I discovered that His message was that we should fear no one, but Himself, and not be worried about what anyone else thinks or says or does, but only to try to do and say what He wants. That, I must say, comes as something of a relief, for I do find myself intimidated by popular opinion at times.

It is all too easy that God is with us every step of the way, and that He knows what we are going through, and will actually guide us and help us, if only we let Him. Here is where today’s passage is a great encouragement.

I’m not sure whether we, as church people, are fully aware of the barriers that people face both in coming to Christ and in attending church. For instance, one of my next-door neighbours, a drummer in a rock band--when I invited him to church--said ‘oh, God wouldn’t want the likes of me there!’ I assured him that God would be perfectly fine with that, and, in fact, would be thrilled. But then, I had to ask myself, what about God’s people? What would we say--or think--if a punk rocker, an aging hippy, or someone dressed in goth (that’s all in black, if case you don’t know)--would they be quite so welcoming? So, sometimes our perceptions--or what people think our perceptions to be--constitute a barrier.

And, then there are other obstacles that I had never twigged onto until someone pointed them out. For instance, a previous church had numerous potlucks, church suppers and church auction sales and some people felt left out because they could never contribute because of finances. Because of that, seeing as they couldn’t afford to help out with food, even after the church coffee times posed a problem

And then, someone else pointed out that our services favour those who are highly literate, who can read well and follow along quickly, and who can manage to juggle various books and pieces of paper--and can find their way through it.

And, if they have been away for a while, or have never been, there are the questions of how things are done at church, things like kneeling or standing and a myriad of other things. And then, there is simply the matter of the comfort level of being in a new place with a new set of people, doing something quite new and unfamiliar. Many people find this to be quite disconcerting, and so they avoid even trying it out.

Both the Hebrew Scriptures and Jesus Himself talk about the kingdom being for everyone. So, do we help it to be so? It is a question that I often ask myself. One of my previous churches conducted an exercise where they ‘played dumb’--that is, acted as if they didn’t know what door to use, or where the washrooms are located, or where to sit in church, and a myriad of other questions. It was quite a revelation for them. I’m not sure that St. John’s needs to do that, but it does give us something to think about.

It is easy to take God for granted and forget just incredible He is, both in terms of His character and in terms of His performance, all that He has done. Today’s psalm reminds us that it is always appropriate to praise Him--and gives us abundant reasons to do so.

The Holy Scriptures are continually calling me to task, continually challenging me to have more faith, to pray more, and to expect more from God. Far too often, I simply ‘put up with things’ and patiently ‘endure’ them, without going to God in prayer. And far too often, I try to fumble my own way through them, trying to do them on my own, rather than asking for God’s help. Perhaps, you are like me. If so, today’s passage and meditation can be a cattle-prod, an impetus, to have a bit more faith.

It’s all about our ambitions, our ambitions for life. Jesus never criticized His disciples--or us, either--for having ambitions, only for having the wrong ones. James and John wanted the very best for themselves, the positions of glory and honour and power--positions right beside their Lord and Saviour, Jesus--an idea that, in itself, is not altogether bad. It would be great to be forever close to Jesus in that way. But essentially, their ambition was selfish, and altogether worldly. It was ambition as our world and our society. It was to be ‘the top dogs’.

Jesus, however, said that the best ambition is not to be ‘the top dogs’, or, in fact, anywhere in the ‘dog’ hierarchy. It is not to be concerned with position or power or glory or honour, or any such thing. It is, instead, to be like Him and simply be taken up, absorbed, with the task of serving others and helping them in their hour or time of need--just as He did. That, Jesus said, is the best ambition.

However, my suspicion is that we, you and I, are often like those disciples. We like to be able to ‘throw our weight around’, or, at very least, have our opinion and wishes taken seriously and acted upon--whether this is in the church--or in the wider community or society. And we are frustrated when the ‘powers that be’ do not do this. How hard it is for us to simply be the servants and just ‘allow the cards to fall’ where they may. But that

is exactly what Jesus calls us to.

The Scriptures are quite explicit in warning us not to trust in, or prize, anything more firmly than God. The Bible calls these things ‘idols’ and as one of the great Reformed theologians once said, “We humans are idol makers by our very natures”, and isn’t this true? By our very natures, we are prone to put our trust in many things and people more than God, and to prize people and things above God. And so today’s passage and meditation are very helpful reminders and challenges. Thanks be to God.

So easily do we forget at times just who we are in light of what Jesus has done for us. We are brothers and sisters of Christ, part of the family of God, and co-heirs with Christ of all of God’s greatness and glory. We are heirs of all of God’s great and abundant promises. But far too often we live as if we were ‘just ordinary people’, people no different from the rank and file of those around us. Of course, this should not be something that flaunt or boast about; however, it should prompt us to want to live differently, to live according to our calling, or to live in a way that measures up to that calling and honours it. It is quite a challenge, yes, but then it is also quite an identity and privilege that is ours.

Today’s psalm and meditation really give me--and perhaps all of us--some room for self-examination. They raise the question that many of us have when things go disastrously wrong, namely, ‘God, where are you in all this?’

Before Covid hit, we at St. John’s had all sorts of glorious plans: the 100th anniversary of the building of our present church building was rolling around , so we were planning a float in the parade, an anniversary service and picnic at the church and a great Homecoming weekend. In fact, we had an activity planned for pretty well every month of the year. But all that had to come to a screeching halt. In addition, we were in the midst of a confirmation class, and it was hoped that a visit by our Bishop during that anniversary year would just be like ‘the icing on the cake.’ But none of that happened.

Furthermore, with the online/ remote and Zoom services, there was a whole pile of extra work, which fell to an already small and heavily involved group of volunteers, resulting in feelings of disillusionment, burnout and snarly tempers all round. It is easy to wonder where God is in all of this.

However, what today’s psalm and meditation is that God is indeed there, and is working things out--albeit in His own time and in His own way. And, so it is a call to trust Him, to trust Him anyway, no matter what comes our way.

No one, especially Jesus, ever said that being a Christian was going to be easy. And no one ever said that we wouldn’t flub it, not once or twice, but frequently. The good news is that God loves us anyway, values us, accepts us as His friends and followers, forgives us when we fail Him, and forgive us nonetheless. What wonderful love that we have in Jesus! Thanks be to God.

Here we have recurrent rain, but whether it is raining or not where you are, I hope you have a great day.

I’m afraid that far too many of us are like St. Peter: we waver in our devotion to God and lack consistency and integrity, and we listen to the wrong voices at times, and, as a result, we get it wrong. The Good News is that God takes all of this into account, as He did with Peter after his denial of Jesus. He forgives us, restores us and brings us back into His glorious service. And so, like Peter, we can always come back, even after we have ‘blown it’ mightily.

Jesus lambasts the Pharisees and supporters of Herod Antipas for pretending to be interested, when in actuality they were not. It was hypocrisy and a bold faced lie, and because of that dishonesty and lack of openness, they were simply unable--but just unwilling, but unable aw well--to hear Jesus out.

Sometimes we too fail to hear Jesus out, but more often it is because we don’t think that we will like what we think Jesus will say to us--or is saying to us. It all comes down to a question of control, who will be in control of our lives, God or someone else. Or, put another way, who is it that we will trust. Far too often, we want to be ‘boss’ and be in control, which means, almost invariably, that we won’t hear very well and won’t hear what God is trying to say to us.

There are times in all of our lives when we need a little bit of a ‘boost’, a recharging of our spiritual batteries. For the apostle Peter one of these times was his experience with Jesus on the Mount of the Transfiguration. In fact, he alludes to it in one of his letters--in 2 Peter 16-18. This was something that he certainly harkened back to and which solidified his faith in Jesus and in the truth of the gospel.

In like manner, so too, in like manner, can our ‘special’ experiences empower and sustain us. On occasion I have asked people what their ‘otherworldly’ experiences have been like, and their answers might surprise you. One person described it has holding their first child or first grandchild. Another, as the sense of peace and calm of standing at the grave of a loved one. And several people mentioned some place in nature, a waterfall or mountain lake or seaside vista--or perhaps a heavenly phenomena, like the Northern Lights. Anyway, whatever it might be, hold on to it, remember it and let it be a reminder of God’s presence and incredibly sustaining love.

As mentioned in the Forward Day by Day meditation, we pledge, in our baptismal covenant, to proclaim by word and example the Good News of of God in Christ, and yet, how often are we slow to do so, and rather tongue-tied in our attempts? Here the example of Paul in Athens can serve us in good stead, as he seeks to find a bridge with his audience, a way to get through to them. But, then, that meant waiting, spending time with them and listening to them--and, of course, being open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I am convinced that there are indeed God-ordained ways of ‘getting through’, if only we will listen for them.

Once again, we have two telling reminders of the powers of faith and of prayer, and yet, how easy it is to forget this. However, for me, this day in history, my personal history at least, will always be reminders of this fact. I was to start a new job on this date back in 1970 and needed a car for work. However, my circumstances were such that I did not have the time or opportunity to look for one. So, I prayed what has to be a very audacious prayer, “Lord, you know that I need a car for work, so if you want me to have one by then, you will have to take care of it.” Well, wouldn’t you know it: entirely ‘out of the blue’ someone phoned me the night before I was to start work with an offer of a car--and at a price that I could well afford! But, how easily I forget, and how slow I am to go to God in prayer. I suspect that many of us are like that.

The disciples in today’s story had a problem with their faith, their trust, in the Lord Jesus. It was because they failed to heed, to understand, to remember, things that had happened to them in the past--in their case, the very recent past, with the feeding of the 5,000.

The same thing can happen to us, which is why it is so crucial that we remember our own pasts, especially our own encounters with the Lord, for these can fuel our faith and give us all the more reason to trust God in the here and now. Now, I’m not suggesting that we live in the past, but that we are informed, and encouraged, by the past. And so, my conversion to an active faith in Jesus Christ back in 1970 or my infilling by the Holy Spirit that same year, or my call to ministry in 1973, will always be great reminders of how God has worked, and can work, in my life--and by extension, in all of our lives. But then, I have to remember.