Salvogesis

Reading from Luke 13:1-5: 13  Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.   2  Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?   3  I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.   4  Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?   5  I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Were the people who suffered worse sinners than other people who did not suffer? Do bad things happen to good people or only to bad people? Were these Galileans worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? Were those 18 who died when the tower fell on them worse sinners than all others because they suffered this way? Were those who died on 9/11 when the twin towers fell on them wo

As I was working away the other evening trying to type out a sermon on the transfiguration, my computer interrupted what I was listening to, to pay tribute to Jerome Iginla. Jerome Iginla’s friends and colleagues were paying tribute to him in a ceremony where the Calgary Flames were retiring his number 12. He was certainly one of the greatest Calgary Flames players and they were talking about who he was, on and off the Ice. Our Scripture today pays tribute to Jesus. The Salvation Army doctrines give us a glimpse of who is Jesus. Doctrine 4 of The Salvation Army says, ‘We believe   that in the person of Jesus Christ the Divine and human natures are united, so that He is truly and properly God and truly and properly man.’ Luke 9:18 asks directly the question, who is Jesus? And Jesus is paid tribute here by God, Moses and Elijah in front of his closest friends and colleagues. Reading again from Luke 9:27-31: 27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste dea

My daughter tells this story. It was anti-bullying day at her school one day. Everyone was told that they could wear pink for the anti-bullying day. They invited everyone to the gym to participate in an event. The people not wearing pink, however, were asked NOT to participate. They were singled out and excluded. In essence they were bullied. I have actually heard more than one story like this over the years of people being bullied by proponents of the cause de jour because they did not conform in the acceptable way. I have never been the biggest fan of the anti-bullying campaign, for one example. Being anti-anything is a scary place to be emotionally. It causes division and tears people apart. I have seen this: because it is the thing to do, Fred declares himself as anti-bullying; he thus decides he is not a bully (therefore nothing he does is bullying). Bullying does exist –otherwise why would he be anti-bullying- so everyone who is not recognizably on his side (by wearing pink

Today we are talking about divisions; so I have a little quiz for you to take with a group of friends: Who is the best football team? Who is the best hockey team? What is the best province in Canada? What is the second greatest province in Canada? Coke or Pepsi? Here’s an even more divisive one. Don’t answer this one: Conservative, NDP, Green, or Liberal? My father often sums up any difficulties he may have had with his sister growing up as their weekly rivalry: Hockey Night in Canada or Lassie .     Divisions can cause serious problems and there are some divisions showing up in the Christian church at Corinth as Paul writes them this letter. Paul eases gently into this topic with the small church. He begins by telling them how much he appreciates them: he thanks God for the grace that has been given them through Jesus. He tells them how he has noticed that Jesus has enriched them in knowledge and in speech, in sharing the testimony of Christ, and in every spiritual g

When my eldest two daughters were six and five sometimes I would go to the park with them like I do with my youngest now. In the winter we'd take our sled but in the summer we'd often ride our bikes there. My six year-old had been riding her bike for a couple of years and grown quite confident. She was quite proud that she didn’t even need training wheels anymore. She raced everywhere – zooming past her sister and I. At six, she was an excellent bike rider. She took some risks; sometimes she crashed but she was a great bike rider and she knew it. Her sister, at five, was still learning to ride her bike. She told us that she is also really fast. She hadn’t been riding as long as her sister and still needed training wheels. She headed out in faith but sometimes – after a crash or getting stuck too often – she just wanted to quit. She hadn’t yet developed the perseverance that comes from faith that she can ride her bike ‘really fast.’ My six year old daughter, on the other han

9:1-3 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"             Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. Corporately through tradition, the scriptures and experience we have seen future generations of societies suffer significant consequences related to previous generations' actions. [1]  Christian debates around war, the environment and immigration relate to this – if we don’t have a large enough population, we can’t provide income for our retirees and disabled and if we don’t have an environment, it doesn’t matter because we’re all dead anyway. Those with Jesus here seem to have been trying to either stretch or reduce this concept to a one-to-one correspondence. [2]  If you do good, good will happen to you; if you do bad, bad will happen to you. [3]  Jesus tells them this is w

Matthew 5:43-48: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. I saw this quote on Facebook: “I went by the house I grew up in the other day. I asked if I could come in and look around. They said ‘no’ and slammed the door in my face… My parents can be so rude.” Sarah-Grace then shared this quote with me from Lemony Snicket: “Anyone who thinks the pen is mightier than the sword has not been stabbed with both.” [1] When I was reading a bedtime story to Heather