Salvogesis

Today  is Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is when we commemorate the Sunday before Jesus’ death. Jerusalem was occupied then, like it is now; now it is occupied by the Israelis, then it was occupied by the Romans. The Judeans in the first century didn’t like being occupied then any more than the Palestinians like it today. The Romans were harsh, not nearly as brutal as modern Israel, but harsh enough that the first century had their version of … (Remember the suicide bombers of the ‘70s and ‘80s?) …suicide bombers: the Sicarii (zealots), Judean terrorists / revolutionaries would walk into crowds with daggers looking for Romans to kill –. One of Jesus’ followers, Simon, was arguably a Sicarii or zealot.   Passover is the commemoration of ancient Israel’s birth as a nation. The Angel of Death passed over Egypt and the nations of Isreal and Judah were created through the Exodus. Passover, in the Roman period, was a time when many people of Judean descent descended upon Jerusalem. I ...

December 2025 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.    While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: Yo...

Among other roles I fill, I am a Christian pastor. We are entering the Christmas season. We know how the first Christmas went… What happened?   There is this couple – Mary and Joseph – they aren’t married. They want to be. Mary anyway is probably a teenager. She’s pregnant- very pregnant – and they have to go pay their taxes or something similar. In order to do this, they need to leave their town and travel to the capital city (or a suburb thereof). It was about the same distance as between here and Cobble Hill or Duncan. They didn’t have a car. They had to walk. It would be at least a two day walk.   They get there and, of course, it is time for Mary to have the baby. The water breaks or contractions start or something. They have to find a place to stay – but they don’t have a hotel room and there is no shelter. There is no hostel. Hospitals as we know them don’t exist and Mary is about to give birth. A business owner lets them use his barn and their baby is born.   Now,...

  Last year here I spoke about Human Trafficking and the workers at San Group. They said they paid between $20 000.00 and $30 000.00 to come here to work for a wage in excess of $30/hr. They said they never received that wage. They said they were subject to unsafe working conditions: working with toxic chemicals without proper protective gear, working long hours, many days in a row. They were afraid for themselves, and they were afraid for the safe transportation of their family. They showed us where they lived. They explained to us how they lived. They asked us to help them flee.   fifteen of the 16 workers were taken out of town to a secure Salvation Army facility in Victoria where they could have their physical, emotional and spiritual care needs met and where they could get the legal and other counsel that they needed.   The years prior I spoke here about our Emergency Disaster Services work and pointing people to salvation from natural disasters. This was really on m...

 Forgiveness and Mercy I believe are central to all of Christianity and without it there is no future. To experience the joys of the Kingdom of God we need to live in a world of forgiveness. Jesus says, Luke 6:27-30: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back;” Luke 6:35-37: “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do no judge and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.” ...

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me (and for the gospel) will save it Mark 8:35    I’ve got a test for us today: Famous Quotes. Let’s see who can name the speaker of each of the following quotes:[1]  1) “Hi Ho Silver, Away…”  2) “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto”  3) “I am not a crook”  4) “While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight; while children go hungry, as they do now I'll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I'll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight, I'll fight to the very end!”  5) “Up, up, and away!”  6) “I’m strong to the finish ‘cause I eat my spinach; I’m _________ the sailor man.”  7) “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but for whoever loses his life for me (and for the gospel) will save it.”     T...