Sunday, September 13, 2009 (below)        Click for 2008 sermon

Scripture: Psalm 19 & Mark 8: 27-38

Sermon: “Who do you say that I am?”

Does that question remind you of the “knock-knock” jokes? It sure does for me! “Knock, knock – who’s there? Jesus. Jesus who? Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Yeah, right!

But that’s not what really happened, is it? When Jesus asked his disciples this question – they actually kind of knew the answer. They kind of knew the answer because they had been living with Jesus for a couple of years by now, and they had seen him do all kinds of miraculous healings and other wondrous things – in fact we call these events “signs and wonders”. In those days, people looked for confirmation that this person really was a holy man by what he produced in the way of “signs and wonders”.

Now a lot of people these days think God is dead because they haven’t seen any “signs and wonders” lately. And really – when you think about it – if you think about it – how do we know the presence or the existence even, of God? How do we know that God is real?

As Christians we believe that Jesus Christ was “God-with-us” – God in the human flesh – because of the signs and wonders he performed while he was alive. We also believe he was and is the Son of God because after he was executed on the Cross, he rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples, teaching them many things and eating with them, living with them, for forty more days, before ascending into the heavens to be with God before their very eyes. All these signs and wonders are things ordinary human beings like you and I are not yet able to perform. It should be noted that for a time after Jesus went to be with God, his disciples were able to perform many miracles, and he did teach us that “all these things you shall do and more”.

Jesus did some amazing things. He healed lepers and raised people from the dead. He caused the blind to see, and the dumb to speak. He drove demons and evil spirits out of people we would probably call mentally ill today. He fed more than 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fishes. Our gospels tell us he walked on the surface of the sea, and was able to calm a terrible storm. He foretold his own death on a cross – and after that happened – he rose from the tomb where he had been buried to be with his disciples as the risen Christ.

Jesus did all these things to show us the ways of God – the compassion and the justice of God. His life and his death have for 2,000 years been our way, our path to God, to life beyond physical death in the company of the Divine.

Let me tell you who Jesus was not. He was not a mighty military ruler, or a brilliant political leader. He did not live in splendor surrounded by servants in grand palaces.

His life was the life of a simple itinerant preacher. He preached a simple message of God’s unfailing love for lost and broken humanity. He was always found among the poor, the weak, the ill, and the disenfranchised. He has been called “Jesus on the margins” because he associated with the socially unacceptable: tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and women.

The message, as I understand it – is that God’s love, just as it was then, is here with us now – moving among us. The Living God continues to be in relationship with us to this very day.
But most of us haven’t seen Jesus lately. So how are we to recognize the Living God? Listen, as I tell you a couple of stories. Listen for the answer to the question we asked in the beginning: “Who do you say that I am?”

.......................

Today is Terry Fox Day – and the annual run, the Marathon of Hope, is underway as we speak. Terry Fox was 18 years old when he was diagnosed with bone cancer, and his right leg was amputated above the knee.

At 21 years old, cancer free and inspired by the heroic fight of other cancer patients to regain their health, Terry initiated his Marathon of Hope to raise the profile of cancer research, and funds for that research, and to bring hope to cancer patients that they were not forgotten. He did the fund-raising for the project himself, writing letters to Imperial Oil, and Ford Motor Company, and Adidas, and others, to gather support for his mission.

In a letter to the Canadian Cancer Society in 1979 Terry wrote:
The people in cancer clinics all over the world need people who believe in miracles. I am not a dreamer and I’m not saying that this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure for cancer, but I believe in miracles. I have to.

Terry Fox’s miracle began April 12, 1980 in Newfoundland, where he dipped his artificial leg in the water of the Atlantic Ocean. His intention was to dip it into the Pacific Ocean in Victoria, BC at the completion of his run.

His plan was to run 42 km (26.2 miles) per day. Just outside Ottawa, Ontario, and about 3,113 km into his Marathon of Hope, Terry Fox said: Everybody seems to have given up hope of trying. I haven’t. It isn’t easy and it isn’t supposed to be, but I’m accomplishing something. How many people give up a lot to do something good? I’m sure we would have found a cure for cancer 20 years ago if we had really tried.

Terry Fox never completed his run across Canada. But let me tell you what he did do. He ran 143 days – about 23.3 miles per day – through Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. (slowly) He ran a marathon a day for 143 on an artificial leg. (most people have to rest and recuperate for several days or a few weeks after pouring themselves out on one marathon run) Terry was forced to stop September 1, 1980 because his cancer had spread to his lungs, and he could no longer breathe well enough to run.

Eight days later CTV organized a telethon in Terry’s honour that raised $10.5 million in one day. By February 1981, $24.17 million had been raised for cancer research. Terry’s dream of getting $1.00 from every Canadian was realized. Surely a miracle was unfolding.
Terry Fox died in June of 1981. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in his address to the House of Commons said that Terry gave far more to his country that his country was able to give to him. Trudeau also said:

It occurs very rarely in the life of a nation that the courageous spirit of one person unites all people in the celebration of life and in the mourning of his death…We do not think of him as one who was defeated by misfortune but as one who inspired us with the example of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.

When I look at what Terry Fox did I am awestruck. First of all, where does a young man of 18, faced with his own cancer and the amputation of his leg – where does he get the idea to do such a huge, impossible thing for other people? What inspired him? There was nothing in it for him – in fact, he had been warned by his doctors that the stress of the event would likely cause the cancer to return.

Sitting in those cancer clinics, seeing the wan faces and bald heads of other cancer patients – sensing their fear, their despair, their loss of hope, he saw something it isn’t given to many of us to see – he saw a vision of how he could help. The wonder is that Terry Fox accepted the challenge. His answer to the vision that he saw was a spirited and unconditional - YES! And he lived into his mission from that day forward. His accomplishment of 143 consequtive marathons was superhuman to say the least. I ask myself, where did he get the courage, the tenacity, the heart, the sheer physical endurance to get the job done every day – day after grueling day – no matter the weather – no matter the pain. Terry Fox poured himself out for something bigger than himself. He literally gave himself till there was nothing left to give.

We celebrate Terry Fox now as a National Hero. Few people inspire us with this kind of self-giving. Something special is at work here – something a bit beyond our ability to understand – something ordinary Canadians know they would be hard-pressed to duplicate. And yet – in our hearts we respond. There is love – Terry Fox did what he did out of love for others.
................
 

Who do you say that I am?

And now our second story – the reason we are all gathered here today. We’re here to celebrate The Battle of Britain. This battle was an important part of World War II, and it happened over the spring and summer of 1940. We celebrate because the future of our world might have been very different if the British Air Force, the RAF, had not successfully repelled the German Air Force of Adolf Hitler. The German air force was larger, stronger, and had more experienced fighter pilots than the British – but nevertheless, Britain prevailed. Let me tell you a little bit of the history. You can Google much more detail if you are interested.

After the Battle of France, Britain was weak and battle weary. There were many in positions of influence, and some public opinion, who felt she should negotiate a truce, a peace, a surrender to Hitler’s powerful and growing German Empire. But the evil that was Adolf Hitler was by now well known, and his ambitions to invade and conquer the UK were no secret.

England had a new Prime Minister, newly sworn in, and his name was Winston Churchill. This man took the temperature of the times, and made it very clear, without hesitation, that he was not prepared to sign a deal with the devil – with the darkness that was blanketing Europe, smothering freedom and social justice. Using skillful rhetoric, powerful oratory, and exhibiting vast amounts of personal courage and charisma, Winston Churchill rallied the British to resist and to endure what he knew might be a long and painful conflict.
His inspired and inspiring leadership brought out the strength and perseverance and ingenuity of the British people. His charisma was felt beyond Britain’s borders, and desperately needed fighter pilots from other countries were attracted to Britain’s cause. They came from all over the world, 595 in all, and 112 were from Canada.
There were a lot of casualties. The Battle of Britain Chapel in Westminster Abbey lists in a Roll of Honour 718 Bomber Command Crew members, and 280 from Coastal Command. Winston Churchill said after the war regarding these heroes: Never has so much been owed to so few by so many.

According to Wikipedia: The end of the battle allowed the UK to rebuild its military forces and establish itself as an Allied stronghold. Britain later served as a base from which the Liberation of Western Europe was launched.

I spent three years in England in the 1970’s, in the Dover area on the south coast. There is evidence all around the countryside and in the white cliffs of the defenses built to protect that country. But even then, some 30 years after the end of a war I personally never experienced, I was greeted warmly and respectfully as a Canadian visitor. Our military personnel were and are highly regarded in England, and are remembered well. We did our part. Our military men and women served a cause that was bigger than themselves.
God works through and with human beings. One thinks of Joan of Arc, of Mother Teresa, of Nelson Mandela. This morning we remembered Terry Fox, and Winston Churchill, and the unnamed pilots from all over the world who answered the call to help defeat evil during the Battle of Britain.

Who do you say that I am? “I am” is the Living God – working by the Holy Spirit to help us to co-operate with God to realize God’s kingdom in this holiest of places – this beautiful planet we call Earth.
Peace and justice for all are the hallmarks of the Divine Plan being executed by the Living God. We are all called to serve. Who do you say that I am?

-----------------------------------------------------

----------------back to top---------------------

September 14, 2008 ---------  (Karen May, DLM)

Scripture:  Exodus 14:  19-31
                 Romans 14:  1-12

          This morning we gather to reflect on an event that for most of you young people happened long ago – the Battle of Britain – which occurred roughly between July 10 and October 31 of the year 1940. 

         As in any war, that battle happened between two opposing forces:  Great Britain and Nazi Germany, in about the middle of World War II.  Under Adolph Hitler, Germany’s star appeared to be rising.  Having conquered Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and now France, the German army was poised to cross the Channel to take England.  But the British Air Force, the RAF, was a formidable defense, and the Germans wanted to destroy it first.  Hitler needed air supremacy over Britain – he needed to destroy the RAF before he dared to invade England.  The Battle of Britain was joined. 

         But there’s a third party involved here – some would say a third nation:  the Jews of Europe.  Hitler was leading his country in a program of persecution and eradication of Jewish people in Germany and then in all the countries Germany conquered.  Hitler’s personal path, his mission in life, led straight into the deepest expressions of evil to be found in the human mind.  It must be said that he found many collaborators.  Hitler was a powerful leader of men – and he led many of them astray. 

         Our Bible readings this morning also deal with the paths of leaders, and of the people they lead.  In the Exodus reading we visit the Jews in a much earlier period of their history.  Initially immigrants to Egypt, they later became a subjugated people, oppressed and abused by a tyrannical Pharoah.  Our reading is the story of how God led the Jews out of Egypt, under the human leadership of Moses and Aaron.  The story says that God parted the Red Sea to let the Israelites pass over – and then collapsed the walls of water on the Egyptian army, drowning them all.  The story is about how God leads us out of bondage, out of servitude, out of persecution, and even out of situations born of our own mistakes and poor choices.  You notice how God uses human messengers, human leaders:  Moses and Aaron.  Sometimes you’re just the right person in the right place with the right qualifications at just the right time!  Sometimes you just know – this is my job to do.  A friend explained it to me this way:  if someone falls down way down the street in front of a bunch of other people – it’s their job to take care of that person.  If someone falls down in front of me – then it’s my job to take care of that person.  We’re not all responsible for everything – but we are all called to do something!  That’s called your life path.   

         In our reading from Romans, we hear the apostle Paul telling the followers of Jesus in Rome not to judge each other.  He tells them that we do not know the path of another, and that each will stand before their Lord, or fall, for that matter.  But it is not up to us to judge.  Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah (49:18) when he says,

“we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.  For it is written,
         As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.
So then, each of us will be accountable to God.”

          Again, we see Paul, a man, a leader, inspired by God, called by Jesus, to help to form the Christian church.  The people he is speaking to are not usually Jews – Paul’s message was mostly to the Gentiles – the non-Jewish followers of Jesus.  He had a calling, a path – and they had a calling and a path.  In those days, they were often referred to as  “the people of The Way”, the way being the path to God through following the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

          But lets go back to our reason for being here together today:  the story of the Battle of Britain.  It was early in 1940.  Germany had just conquered France, and flush with victory, Hitler was mobilizing to take Britain.  There were many in England who favoured a negotiated peace with Germany – they were afraid.  But the newly elected Prime Minister, Winston Churchill would have none of it.  He was a powerful speaker, a man steeped in British parliamentary democracy with its emphasis on personal freedom, and the worth and dignity of each individual – a man raised as a Christian, in a largely Christian country at that time.  Winston Churchill was outraged by the abuses of Hitler and his comrades.  He saw a different path.  He refused to consider an armistice with Germany, even though that almost certainly meant a long and difficult war.  A bit like Moses, Churchill led the British people out of the bondage of fear, and apathy, and defeatism – out of the real possibility of German occupation and oppression – into the freedom of victory – with their allies including Canada – over the evil that was clearly embodied in Hitler’s empire.  Germany was brought to defeat in 1945 by the Allied Forces.  Adolph Hitler was not captured.  He killed himself. 

..............

         No matter how bad it gets, no matter how many mistakes we make, as Christians we know that God will lead us out of the mire – out of bondage, out of servitude, out of fear and despair – and God will usually use a human messenger or leader or teacher to remind us of God’s law of love:  love the Lord your God, and love your neighbour as yourself.  When we do these things we are helping to create a better world for all humanity – when we don’t do these things – we will suffer the consequences of our actions.  Hitler was defeated and lost everything.  Pharoah was defeated and lost a huge army.  The Roman Empire, with a history of persecuting Jews and Christians, eventually collapsed.  We will all eventually have to stand before our God.

          So what about your path in life?  How will you know which way to go?  It’s actually quite simple!  Follow God’s law of love in every case, in every situation.  With a little practice you will find it’s not difficult – and it will change your life.  You will have chosen the path of transformation and you will find a very full and rewarding life.  Like the 86 Canadian Airmen who volunteered to help the RAF to valiantly fight off the German Luftwaffe – when you meet your God let it be said that you fought the good fight – you did the right thing – you were a good and faithful servant of God and of the human family – right to the end. 

 God bless you all as you step forward in courage and in faith to be the leaders and teachers and achievers of tomorrow.

 Let us pray:

----------------back to top---------------------