A Moment with the Minister

A moment with the minister

Sunday 14^th June 2026

St. Matthew 9:35 – 38          New Living Translation

The Need for Workers

³⁵ Jesus travelled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. ³⁸ So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Do you remember when you were first given permission to drive the car without your parent in it with you? I do. My father had taught us kids how to drive, then sent us to the driver’s ed program that he set up. Up until learning how to drive, I never paid attention to the route we took to go places. Why should I, Dad or Mom always seemed to know how to get there. There is a big difference between being a passenger and being a driver!

Then came the day I got to take the car out by myself, and I remember asking Dad how will I know the way to go? He simply told me to not be silly as we have driven it lots of times. Sure enough, I knew how to get where I was going. And over the years I have taken a bit of pride in being able to look at a map and see two or three or more routes to get to a place.

In the section of Matthew’s gospel at the end of chapter 9, Jesus tells the disciples exactly what to pray for in light of how many lost people there are and how few workers there are for the ripe fields. Up until this moment, Jesus’ disciples have been passengers in the car, and He’s been doing the driving. They have been astonished at what they’ve seen: He’s made all the decisions, handled all the tricky moments, steered them through the towns and villages, taken the criticisms, and come out in front. Now Jesus not only tells them to pray asking God the Father to provide more sheep harvesters, He then in the very next section, chapter 10, tells the disciples that they are going to be the workers. He is telling them to go off and do it themselves. Now the disciples are supposed to drive the car and not simply be passengers. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how they would feel. You want us to do it? By ourselves? Are You crazy? Are we even ready for this?

Wait a minute Jesus…what do you mean we are to go out and do what You’ve been doing? What will people think? There are already enough people against You, why would we want that for ourselves?

Do you remember an old Clairol shampoo commercial from the 1980’s about discovering how good Clairol is for your hair, so you told two friends about it, and they told two friends and they each told two friends…?

We all, everyone who says yes to following Jesus, have been discovering how absolutely good Jesus is for our whole being. What Jesus is telling us to do is go out and tell two people about Jesus. But, isn’t that what we pay a pastor for, to do the telling for us? Nope! Does the love of Jesus spread more and better if the pastor shares Jesus with two people, or if a whole congregation of 80 or 800 people each shares Jesus with two people?

As the Christian author Mark Batterson once said, “You may be the only Bible some people ever read. So, the question is: are you a good translation?”

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 07^th June 2026

Romans 8:15-17         NLT

¹⁵ So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Romans 8:15-17          The Message

^15-17 This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!

One of the beautiful things about adoption is that you are chosen to become part of a family! I know a few people who were adopted, my younger sister included. When we become part of God’s family through our adoption in Christ, God’s Holy Spirit joins with our own spirit to assure us that we belong to Him, that we are beloved forever.

The Spirit does not make us more afraid but actually sets us free in Jesus to live following the way of Jesus. That freedom, that being set free from slavery to sin, and set free from the dreadful weight of guilt and shame, makes us want to celebrate. In one of our scripture passages this weekend, from Matthew 9 when Jesus calls Matthew to leave everything and follow Him, one of the first things Matthew did was throw a dinner party and celebrate.

One of the other things the Spirit of God does for us as we follow Jesus is to remind us to celebrate, and He invites us to join God’s dance of life, in which how we live shows our joy in Jesus that no circumstance can destroy.

Emmie and I took several ballroom dancing lessons years ago. She is a natural dancer, with great rhythm. I, on the other hand, couldn’t dance to save my life. The dance that the Holy Spirit invites us to join is not necessarily the Cha Cha or the Jive or the Waltz, but it is a daily dance where we move through life in the joy and delight of Jesus, as we seek to live knowing that as God’s adopted beloved children, we are always part of His family no matter what!

As Snoopy says and does, “Dance, dance, dance”!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Trinity Sunday 31^st May 2026

St. Matthew 28:16-20           NLT

The Great Commission

 ^“16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!

¹⁸ Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

St. Matthew 28:16-20           The Message

^“16-17 Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.

^18-20 Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

Justo L. Gonzalez, director of the Hispanic Theological Initiative at Emory University, says that some people approach the Trinity like it is a crossword puzzle. Then he said, “Trinity is a mystery, not a puzzle. Love is a mystery; a crossword is a puzzle. You try to solve the puzzle; you stand in awe before a mystery.”

As you know, one of my favourite authors is C. S. Lewis, who wrote the Narnia Chronicles, among many other books. Now I couldn’t imagine if I had been alive when he was still writing (he died in 1963) and he would call me up one day to say that he was working on a new book and wanted my collaboration with him! I would undoubtedly think, ‘Oh my goodness, the great CS Lewis wants me to write with him, what a huge commission!!’

Actually, there have been many persons given exciting commissions in their lifetimes. There was Michelangelo’s commission to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel; Sir Christopher Wren’s commission to build St. Paul’s Cathedral in London; Walter Reed’s assignment to stop yellow fever at the “Big Ditch” in Panama; Mary-Ann Liu from British Columbia who was commissioned by Canada to design and create the bronze sculpture on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa; and many other commissions.

But in my life and yours, there is an even greater commission. It is found here in Matthew 28:18-20 where Jesus Christ turns to His disciples and says, “Go! Go therefore and make disciples of all nations….” Think of it! Almighty God, not CS Lewis nor the Pope nor the Queen, nor Canada, but God Himself, turns and looks you and me full in the face, and commissions us to work with Him on His latest creative project. I tell you, this comes as quite a jolt! I know of no other statement in the Bible that can give a person more of a sense of esteem, joy, and purpose than being commissioned by God to carry on Christ’s work here on earth and empowered and inspired to do so by His Holy Spirit!!!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Pentecost Sunday 17^th May 2026

St. John 7:37-39          NLT

Jesus Promises Living Water

³⁷ On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! ³⁸ Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” ³⁹ (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

Acts 2:1-21                 NLT

The Holy Spirit Comes

2 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. ² Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. ³ Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. ⁴ And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

Continued from last week, about “broken English” and serving:

Do we as Christians believe that Pentecost is simply an event that happened 2,000 years ago, or do we also believe that the same Holy Spirit of God continues to fuel, ignite, and inspire followers of Jesus in every era including our own period of time today?!!

So, why is the Church growing in other parts of the world today, and not so much here in North America and Europe? Partly because where the body of Christ is growing, the people aren’t trying to do church. They’re living, loving, and serving in the same Spirit of Pentecost. Maybe it’s time for us as a church to stop relying on our own powers and programs, our blueprints and boilerplates, and start doing what those early disciples did: trust the Spirit and do Pentecost.

When we do church, we’re concerned about our protection and position in the church.
When we live in the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, we’re concerned about being out there in the world “clothed with the power of God.”

When we do church, we’re concerned about decency and good order.
When we live in the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, we’re concerned about being His witnesses in all we do and say.

When we do church, we want God to leave us alone;
When we live in the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, we want God to completely guide us for His glory.

When we do church, we wear out our lives maintaining an institution.
When we live in the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, we are set on fire by the Spirit, to spend our lives for His coming Kingdom.

When we do church, we worry over human dreams, schemes and appointings;
When we live in the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, we delight over divine anointings.

When we do church, it’s all about human functions;
When we live in the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, it’s all about Jesus living in and through us to reach the world.

When we do church, we’re organizing;
When we live in the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, we’re agonizing . . . over a world God loved so much Jesus came to die for it.

It’s Pentecost Sunday. Let’s live in the Holy Spirit of Pentecost. It’s time the world heard some different sounds . . . the sounds of eternal significance.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Ascension Sunday 17^th May 2026

The Ascension of Jesus

⁶ So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

⁷ He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹ After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. ¹⁰ As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”                 Acts 1:6-11         NLT

Have you ever heard of “broken English?” Did you know “broken English” is an actual language? North Carolina Judge Jesse Caldwell tells the story of a Vietnamese woman who was waiting her turn to be examined in a crowded hospital emergency room. She gradually became aware of a frustrating “non-conversation” being attempted a few seats down. A nurse was trying to ask a new patient for some details on her illness. The patient spoke Spanish. The nurse did not.

The Vietnamese woman listened for a minute then realized that while she didn’t speak Spanish, she did understand the broken-English bits and phrases the Spanish speaking patient offered as answers. Because of her own experience of learning to communicate in “broken English,” the Vietnamese woman could hear the heart and gist of what this other woman was trying to say. The Vietnamese woman offered to “translate” the broken English of the Spanish speaker into something the nurse could understand. She was so successful at bridging the brokenness of their languages that eventually the Vietnamese woman was hired by the hospital as a kind of generic translator. Brokenness was the common language spoken by all hospital patients.

The Holy Spirit speaks through broken people to a broken world, using language every broken heart can hear and understand.

Because we know what it is like to be broken by hatred, we can speak of the healing love of Christ’s sacrifice.

Because we know what it is like to be broken by despair, we can speak of the healing hope of Christ’s forgiveness.

Because we know what it is like to be broken by doubt, we can speak of the healing faith in Christ’s promises.

Because we know what it is like to be broken by illness, we can speak of the healing wholeness of Christ’s resurrection.

Because we know what it is like to break down doing church — program church, purpose-driven church, seeker-sensitive church, organic church, missional church, NCD church, simple church, we can stop doing church and start doing Pentecost.

The church of Jesus Christ is alive and well. In fact, Christianity is still the fastest growing religion in the world. But it’s growing not in the North and West, but in the South and East. Why the difference? Why is Christianity surging in the South and East and not in North America and Europe?

To be continued next week…

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 10^th May 2026

Christian Family Sunday, and Mother’s Day

A Mother’s Version of 1 Corinthians 13

I can read bedtime stories till the cow jumps over the moon and sing “Ten Little Monkeys” until I want to call the doctor — but if I don’t have love, I’m as annoying as a ringing phone.

I can chase a naked toddler through the house while cooking dinner and listening to voice mail. I can fix the best cookies and Kool-Aid in the neighbourhood, and I can tell a sick child’s temperature with one touch of my finger, but if I don’t have love, I am nothing.

Love is patient while watching and praying by the front window when it’s 30 minutes past curfew.

Love is kind when my teen says, “I hate you!”

Love doesn’t envy the neighbours’ swimming pool or their brand-new car, but love trusts the Lord to provide every need.

Love doesn’t brag when other parents share their disappointments and insecurities, and love rejoices when other families succeed.

It doesn’t boast, even when I’ve multitasked all day long and my husband can’t do more than one thing at a time.

Love is not rude when my spouse innocently asks, “What have you done today?”

Love doesn’t immediately seek after glory when we see talent in our children, but love encourages them to get training and make wise choices.

Love is not easily angered, even when my 15-year-old acts like the world revolves around him. Love doesn’t delight in evil (is not self-righteous) when I remind my 17-year-old that he’s going 83 in a 50-kmph zone, but love rejoices in the truth.

Love doesn’t give up hope.

Love always protects our children’s self-esteem and spirit, even while doling out discipline.

Love always trusts God to protect our children when we cannot. Love always perseveres, through blue/black nail polish, burps and other bodily functions, rolled eyes and crossed arms, messy rooms and sleepovers.  Love never fails.

But where there are memories of thousands of diaper changes and painful labour(s), they will fade away.

Where there is talking back, it will (eventually) cease. (Please, Lord?)

Where there’s a teenager who thinks he knows everything, there will one day be an adult who knows you did your best.

For we know we fail our children, and we pray they don’t end up in therapy, but when we get to heaven, our imperfect parenting will disappear. (Thank you, God!)

When we were children, we needed a parent to love and protect us.

Now that we’re parents to our own kids and even like parents to all sorts of other children, we have a heavenly Father who adores us, shelters us, and holds us when we need to cry.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Thank God for every mom, and for every person who loves us, and for every church family, who reflect God’s love to us and into the world!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

03rd May 2026

This Sunday, 03^rd May 2026, Kitchener East Presbyterian Church celebrates our 39^thanniversary.  Typically, we can think of, reflect upon, and list all the ways that God has blessed us as a people of faith, which He has! God birthed our congregation into being through the quiet and gentle faith of a small group of His beloved people, and He provided a firm foundation for us in Jesus Christ!

Since the start, God has blessed KEPC with a multitude of people who care, and who delight in worshipping God!

Since the start, God has blessed KEPC with a multitude of people who have been growing in their love for God, and for neighbours!

Since the start, God has blessed KEPC with a multitude of people who with hearts and hands have gotten involved in the everydayness of being His church, from teaching, singing, playing, cleaning, counting, planting, feeding others, praying, and so much more!

Since the start, God has blessed us with elders to lead us, to pray for us, to serve among us!

Since the start, God has blessed us with people, programs, provisions, passion, peace, and His Presence of hope, and Love!

And here’s another day-by-day list of blessings from Jesus Himself, in Matthew’s gospel chapter 5, from the Message translation:

You’re Blessed

“¹When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down ²and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

³“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

⁴“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

⁵“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

⁶“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

⁷“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full’, you find yourselves cared for.

⁸“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

⁹“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

¹⁰“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

¹¹“Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. ¹²You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.”

Happy 39^th Anniversary KEPC and Praise the Lord!!!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister:

26^th April 2026

 St. John 10:1-13, 27, 28                The Message

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

“10 ^1-5 “Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he’s up to no good—a sheep rustler! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.”

^6-10 Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep rustlers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

¹¹ “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him.

^{27, 28} My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand.”

 Isn’t it amazing how sometimes we get all tangled up with the words we speak and end up not being clear about what we’re trying to say? For years I have used a little saying with couples as we talk about their preparations for marriage: “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”

Are you ever misunderstood? It happens everywhere including church. Every so often, Abigail Van Buren in her newspaper column, Dear Abby, would include a list of church bulletin misprints and church sign bloopers that prove that we in the church sometimes have problems saying what we mean. Here are some examples:

“The bulletin of one church announced: The Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Please use the back door.”

“Another church’s bulletin carried this announcement: Due to the Pastor’s illness, Wednesday’s healing services will be discontinued until further notice.”

“Another church newsletter had this: At the evening service tonight, the topic will be “What is Hell?” Come early and hear our choir practice.”

“Another announcement in one church read: Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.”

In today’s Scripture we find that even Jesus experienced the reality of people not understanding what He was saying. Did you notice this in verse 6? Jesus is trying to make a point using everyday figures of speech that were very familiar to His listeners, but they just didn’t get it. The images He uses of sheepfolds, thieves, gates and gatekeepers were very familiar.

Thankfully Jesus then explained what He was getting at, so that even we who live 2,000 years later and in a very different cultural context, can still understand. Jesus loves God’s beloved people so completely that He is both Shepherd to lead and protect them, as well as the Lamb of God who laid down His life in place of them, so that we could have eternal life in and through Him!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister:

19^th April 2026

 St. Luke 24:13-34                NLT

¹³ That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, eleven kilometres from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. ¹⁶ But God kept them from recognizing him.

¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. ¹⁸ Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”

¹⁹ “What things?” Jesus asked.

“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. ²⁰ But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. ²¹ We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel…

²⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. ²⁶ Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” ²⁷ Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. ³⁰ As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! ³² They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” 

Jesus, unrecognized at that moment, invites these two followers to share with Him their depth of sadness. The story Cleopas tells is simple, profound and poignant. They had regarded Jesus as a prophet, even more than a prophet. God’s power had been present with Him in His miracles and His teaching, and they couldn’t doubt that this was the man of God’s choice. He was the one who would redeem Israel. Clearly, for them, this referred (as Luke has been saying all along) to the new Exodus: just as Israel had been ‘redeemed’ from slavery in Egypt at the first Passover, so they had hoped that now with this new Passover celebration Jesus shared with them the night of His betrayal, Israel would be ‘redeemed’, that God would purchase her freedom. They hoped that all God’s people would be liberated once and for all from pagan domination, free to serve God in peace and holiness.

That’s why the crucifixion was so devastating. It wasn’t just that Jesus had been the bearer of their hopes and He was now dead and gone. It was sharper than that: if Jesus had been the one to redeem Israel, He should have been defeating the pagans, not dying at their hands! Cleopas’s puzzled statement only needs the slightest twist to turn it into a joyful statement of early Christian faith: ‘They crucified Him—but we had hoped He would redeem Israel’, would shortly become, ‘They crucified Him—and that was how He did redeem Israel and the world.’ And it was, of course, the resurrection that made the difference.

But before they could begin to understand what had just happened, they had to be prepared. They, like everybody else in Israel, had been reading the Bible through the wrong end of the telescope. They had been seeing it as the long story of how God would redeem His people from suffering, but it was instead the story of how God would redeem them through suffering; in particular, through the suffering which would be taken on Himself by their representative, the Messiah.

Why is it that so often when we face hardships, challenges, situations that break our hearts, we can so easily fail to see that Jesus has not abandoned us but rather is in fact decidedly with us in the midst of whatever it is. He has redeemed everything of our lives through His suffering, death, and as Resurrected Saviour, He is always with us!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister:

12^th April 2026 

St. John 20:19-31                NLT

Jesus Appears to Thomas

²⁴ One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. ²⁵ They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

²⁶ Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

²⁸ “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

 A little boy, growing up in a community where his father served as a Lutheran minister was outside playing. He was doing all of the things that a little boy does. He was climbing trees. He was swinging on the swing set and jumping out. He was rolling and playing with his dog. His mother called him for dinner and all of the family gathered at the table. His mother looked at him and said, “Young man, let me see your hands.”

There was some rubbing of his hands on his blue jeans before he held his hands up. His mother looked at them and asked, “How many times do I have to tell you that you must wash your hands before you eat? When your hands are dirty, they have germs all over them and you could get sick. After we say the blessing, I want you to march back to the bathroom and wash your hands.”

Everyone at the table bowed their heads and the father said the blessing. Then, the little boy got up and headed out of the kitchen. He stopped, then turned and looked at his mother and said, “Germs and Jesus! Germs and Jesus! That’s all I ever hear around here, and I haven’t seen a one of them.”

Thomas wasn’t with the rest of the disciples when Jesus first appeared raised from the dead to them. He told them that if he didn’t see this alive Jesus with his own eyes and feel the wounds in the hands and side of Jesus, he would refuse to believe in the resurrection.

The next week, the disciples are together again, along with Thomas, when Jesus suddenly appeared and specifically spoke to Thomas about seeing, touching, and believing. Thomas did, and he uttered the clearest statement of belief of any of them: My Lord and my God.

But what Jesus said next is such a gift to us today because it is Him speaking to everyone who would come later into the family of faith in the resurrected Jesus: “Then Jesus told Thomas, ‘You believe because you have seen Me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing Me.’”

How are you and I living so that we might be a true picture of the living Jesus, for people to believe in Him?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 18^th January 2026

Isaiah 1:18         (ESV)¹⁸  

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

Ephesians 1:7    The Message

^7-10 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!

When the books of a certain Scottish doctor were examined after his death, it was found that a number of accounts were crossed through with a note: “Forgiven, too poor to pay.” But the physician’s widow later decided that these accounts must be paid in full and she proceeded to sue for the money. When the case came to court the judge asked but one question. “Is this your husband’s handwriting?” When she replied that it was, he responded: “There is no court in the land that can obtain a debt once the word forgiven has been written over it.”

And that is the good news that the Jesus offers us this morning. God’s attitude is not “I’ll forgive but I won’t forget”, but rather, “Forgiven, Forgotten Forever.”

Across our debt of sins has been written the words, “Forgiven, paid in full by Jesus.” Once a debt has been cancelled there is no one who can collect on it. God has wiped it out completely. Oh, if we could only do that. If we could forgive others like that; If we could forgive ourselves like that.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 11^th January 2026

I know that this might be a very familiar passage of Scripture for some, and at the same time, it is a challenging one. So I thought I would share it with you through the voice of The Message translation, a translation that was written with great and prayerful scholarship of a world recognized Old Testament authority, Eugene Peterson, who also happened to be a Presbyterian pastor.

St. Matthew 18:21-35   The Message

A Story About Forgiveness

²¹ At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?”

²² Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.

^23-25 “The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred million dollars. He couldn’t pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.

^26-27 “The poor wretch threw himself at the king’s feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.

²⁸ “The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a thousand dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’

^29-31 “The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ But he wouldn’t do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.

^32-35 “The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn’t you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?’ The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that’s exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn’t forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy.”

Presbyterian Professor of preaching and worship, Dr. Tom Long tells of the time he was at the checkout table at the library at Princeton Seminary when a friend of his, a pastoral counsellor, approached, staggering under the weight of a stack of books. Tom teased him a little, asking what a pastoral counsellor was doing with all those books. And the fellow replied he was doing some research on forgiveness. Tom says he was surprised and puzzled. “Research on forgiveness? What are you trying to find out?”

The counsellor thought for a moment and replied, “I guess I’m trying to find out if forgiveness really exists or not. You know, I see so little evidence of it in my line of work as a counsellor.”

In the mid 1990’s, the world-renowned Templeton Foundation in the USA, initially funded 20 scientific research projects looking at forgiveness. By 1997 that had grown to 58 research studies, and by 2005 there had been over 1,100 papers written on the subject of forgiveness. In the last 20 years, the research on forgiveness has sky-rocketed, in large part because forgiveness is so challenging and yet so vital to human health.

Do you see and experience evidence of forgiveness in other people’s lives? Do people see evidence of it in your life, and mine?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 04th January 2026

 St. Matthew 6:12 NLT

12 and forgive us our sins,
    as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

Someone once said that the scariest, most sobering word in the entire New Testament is that tiny little word “as.” “Forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” That vital connection between God’s abiding forgiveness of us, and of our in turn forgiving others tells us that we must be a forgiving people.

Sometimes we see in this very small yet enormous verse that God somehow withholds forgiveness from us like a negative mathematical equation: when we don’t forgive someone, God won’t forgive us. Wow, that is hard isn’t it!?? That actually is a more human trait, and it doesn’t at all fit with the rest of Scripture’s descriptions of God. Is the efficacy of Jesus’ death and resurrection nullified or restrained by my/our sinfulness when we don’t forgive someone? Not at all !!!

This little verse is not some weird demand on God’s part, however. This is not some hoop we must jump through to earn our salvation, as if that were ever possible, or to perform like some trained dog just because God enjoys watching us do tricks.

No, the reason for the connection between God forgiving us and our forgiving others is because of the sheer, powerful beauty of God’s forgiveness. It is so great that it simply must and will change us. The reason God expects us to forgive as a result of our being forgiven is the same reason you can expect to be wet after diving into a pool: water is wet and when you immerse yourself in it, you get wet.

So it is with the forgiving grace of God: grace is magnetic and beautiful. When God immerses you in His grace and saves your life eternally by it in and through Jesus, you will be dripping with His grace yourself. You will be full of His gracious love and truth and so joyfully and willingly spread it to others.

The closer to Jesus we become in our daily life, the more everyone in our lives will see the resemblance to the forgiving love of Jesus in us!

But when, and how, and to whom?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 28th December 2025

 St. Luke 2:8-20   NLT

    “⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 

¹¹ The Saviour—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

   “¹⁵ When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.

¹⁷ After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. ¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,

¹⁹ but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.²⁰ The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”

Christmas! Around the world Christians celebrate the actual, physical birth of Jesus our Saviour! What an incredible truth!

As I reflect on what this means, I can’t help but wonder what some biblical characters would have been thinking about had they been at the manger.

Would Abraham have thought of God’s promise to him fulfilled (Genesis 22:18)?

Would Moses have thought of the One from the burning bush (Exodus 3:2)?

Would Joshua have thought of the Commander of the Armies of the Lord (Joshua 5:14)?

Would David have thought of his Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)?

Would Isaiah have thought of the One to be born of the virgin (Isaiah 7:14)?

Would Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have thought of the fourth Man with them in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:25)?

Would Jonah have thought of the One who would explain why he spent three nights in a whale (Matthew 12:40)?

I am sure that no matter who would have been at the manger, each one would have seen a bigger picture of the heart of God.

Why?

Because God had just put on flesh and came to dwell among His people (John 1:14).

As we gather with loved ones this Christmas season, take a moment to remember that we also gather with “a great cloud of witnesses” around the manger (Hebrews 12:1 NIV) who, too, have reason to celebrate with us, because we all see the same One—our Saviour, Messiah, and Lord.

Jesus, all we can say is thank You for coming. Amen and amen!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 21^st December 2025

St. Matthew 1:18-25             NIV

^“18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

There was a Director of Christian Education at a church who organized a Children’s Christmas pageant. She let the children decide what gifts they’d give the baby Jesus in the pageant. Some wanted to give him stuffed animals. Others wanted to give him toys. One little girl named Sally had several conversations with the Director before she admitted what she wanted to give the baby Jesus. Finally, the Director asked, “Sally, what do you want to give Jesus?”

“Oh, I’m too embarrassed,” said Sally. “I shouldn’t tell you.”

“That’s O. K. What is it?”

“A kiss,” she said. And the night of the pageant, that is what she gave him. All the other angels brought their gifts of toys and animals. But Sally bent over the manger and gave the little baby a kiss.

A loving sigh went up from the congregation as they watched. Sally knew the secret of giving. And she gave the baby Jesus exactly what God was giving us when God gave us Jesus in the Cradle, something that matters, something that summed up God’s Hopes and Dreams, something from the heart.

That’s what God gave, something from the heart. God gave us Himself, when He gave us His Son.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 14^th December 2025

 St. Matthew 11:1-11             The Message Translation

John the Baptizer

11 When Jesus finished placing this charge before his twelve disciples, he went on to teach and preach in their villages.

^2-3 John, meanwhile, had been locked up in prison. When he got wind of what Jesus was doing, he sent his own disciples to ask, “Are you the One we’ve been expecting, or are we still waiting?”

^4-6 Jesus told them, “Go back and tell John what’s going on:

The blind see,
The lame walk,
Lepers are cleansed,
The deaf hear,
The dead are raised,
The wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side.

“Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves most blessed!”

^7-10 When John’s disciples left to report, Jesus started talking to the crowd about John. “What did you expect when you went out to see him in the wild? A weekend camper? Hardly. What then? A sheik in silk pajamas? Not in the wilderness, not by a long shot. What then? A prophet? That’s right, a prophet! Probably the best prophet you’ll ever hear. He is the prophet that Malachi announced when he wrote, ‘I’m sending my prophet ahead of you, to make the road smooth for you.’

^11-14 “Let me tell you what’s going on here: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer; but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him.

John the Baptist had a tremendous ministry of calling God’s people back into good relationship with God. People responded to him, and he was the one spoken of in Scripture, the one who would point people to the Messiah. But then, John finds himself in prison, and before he is beheaded by King Herod, John sent word to ask Jesus, ‘You are really the One, right, the Messiah?’

I don’t know precisely where life may be defeating you this Advent. I don’t know how Jesus may be disappointing you this Advent. But I would suggest to you this Advent that any disillusionment you feel may not necessarily be a bad thing. For what is disillusionment if not, literally, the loss of an illusion? And, in the long run, it is never a bad thing to lose the lies we have mistaken for the truth.

Did Jesus fail to come when you rubbed the lantern?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a genie.

Did Jesus fail to punish your enemies?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a cop.

Did Jesus fail to make everything run smoothly?
Then perhaps Jesus is not a mechanic.

Over and over again, our disappointments draw us deeper and deeper into who Jesus really is … and what Jesus really does. As Jesus Himself said in the above passage, as the Messiah, Jesus is the One through Whom people are healed in their relationship with God.

The people were looking for a Messiah who would defeat their enemies and make their lives all great. Jesus the Messiah came, to defeat the worst enemies the people didn’t realize needed defeating, Satan, sin, and death, and to restore people into right relationship with the God Whose love never ends.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 19^th October 2025

 St. Luke 18:1-8           The Message Translation

The Story of the Persistent Widow

18 ^1-3 Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’

^4-5 “He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.’”

^6-8 Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?” 

The story is told of a boy who watched a holy man praying at a riverbank. Once the man had finished his prayer, the boy approached him and asked, “Will you teach me to pray?” The holy man studied the boy’s face and agreed to his request. He took him into the river. The holy man instructed him to lean over, so his face was close to the water. The lad did as he was told.

Then the holy man pushed his whole head under the water. Soon the boy struggled to free himself in order to breathe. Once he got his breath back, he gasped, “What did you do that for?” The holy man said, “I gave you your first lesson.” “What do you mean?” asked the astonished lad. He answered, “When you long to pray as much as you long to breathe, then I will be able to teach you how to pray.”

Here’s a critical issue for living. The final outcome is never in doubt! Life is not like an ALCS baseball game where victory hangs in the balance until the last second and the crowd sits on the edge of their seats waiting to see who will prevail.

In God’s universe, good will triumph! The right will prevail! Justice is certain! Jesus has guaranteed it! However, it is only with the eyes of faith that we can see the outcome. The letter to the Hebrews says, “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1)

From the beginning of scripture to the end, there are good times and bad times for God’s people — there are utterly joyous times and bone crushing horrid times. The long-haul outcome, however, is never in doubt to the eyes of faith.

Didn’t the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray? Indeed they did, but Jesus knew that the time was soon coming when their trust in God would be shaken. Would they be able to truly have the sort of faith in God’s nature, in Who God is, and in God’s promises, that they would be like this persistent widow and their faith/trust would persevere because of Who God is? This is another one of those parables from Jesus about, “if this can be true then how much more so with God!” God is nothing like the judge in this parable, but that is part of the point.

As we persevere in prayer, it is not that we change God by pestering Him with prayers, but that He changes us as we persevere to engage with Him daily, trusting Him more and more, knowing that the final outcome is secured.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A Moment with the Minister

Sunday 05^th October 2025

Romans 5:6-11   NLT

⁶ When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. ⁷ Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. ⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ⁹ And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. ¹⁰ For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. ¹¹ So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

I have heard it said—one can hear all sorts of intriguing things in church—that the New Testament is all about the love of God, but the Old Testament is all about the judgement and wrath of God. I have also heard it said that in the New Testament, John’s gospel is all about the love of God, but Paul’s letters are all about law, justice and hard, sharp things like that. Well, this passage challenges such ideas head on. In fact, of course, so does John’s gospel too: John’s vision of God’s love is tempered like steel in the furnace of the bitter hostility expressed against Jesus, and the incomprehension of everyone from the disciples to the crowds to the chief priests to Pilate. But Paul’s vision of God’s love is something to be dazzled by!

God’s love has done everything we could need, everything we shall need. As Paul continues to explore the meaning of the reconciliation that has taken place between God and human beings in and through Jesus, he delves down into the depths of what God had to do to bring it about. But there is something strange and powerful in this passage which Paul has not made explicit before, but which creeps up on us almost unawares. It is this: when we look at Jesus, the Messiah, we are looking at the one who embodies God’s own love, God’s love-in-action.

Look at verse 8 and verse 10. What Paul says here makes no sense unless Jesus, in His life and death, was the very incarnation, the ‘enfleshment’ (that’s what ‘incarnation’ means) of the living, loving God. After all, it doesn’t make sense if I say to you, ‘I see you’re in a real mess! Now, I love you so much that I’m going to … to send someone else to help you out of it.’

If the death of the Messiah demonstrates how much God loves us, that can only be because the Messiah is the fully human being (how much more human can you get than being crucified?) in whom the living God is fully present. And in our faith, we firmly stand in the truth that this crucified Christ is also the Resurrected Saviour Who welcomes us with open arms and unfailing grace-filled love.

On this world communion Sunday, we remember and celebrate all this!!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A Moment with the Minister

Sunday 28th September 2025

Parable of Lazarus & the rich man       St. Luke 16:19-31         NIV

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Whenever we generalize people — the poor, the rich, the elderly, teenagers, any profession, any race, we dehumanize them.

A pastor was visiting a large church when he heard one of the members say that he didn’t like the idea of women pastors. This surprised the visiting pastor, who then asked him, “What about Sally?” Sally was one of the three clergy at the church. “Oh, Sally…she’s different!” was the reply. The female pastor had a name — and with that, a relationship with this member. That, I think, was the difference.

We may be tempted to generalize the rich — since so few people belong to that category. And we hear statistics such as: the top 100 wealthiest people in the world own the same amount of wealth as half of the world’s population; and five billionaires now have more combined money than the combined economies of fifty countries.

So, it is easy to generalize this rich man as he is not named, but he is also not condemned for being rich. But he seems to be condemned for his clear love of his wealth to the exclusion of any love for God or love for neighbour, as well, therefore, as his indifference and uncaring attitude towards languishing Lazarus right outside his door. Remember that Abraham was extremely wealthy, and he isn’t in the place of torment.

Let me ask you a question: Are there people in your world that you don’t even see? Needy people, hurting people, people who feel invisible? Who could God be seeking to touch with His caring love through you this week?

The world’s philosophy is a four-letter word: More. The church’s theology is also a four-letter word, but it usually means the opposite: Love. Will the church, will you and I, be a force and a forum for God’s type of love?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 21^st September 2025

Parable of the Prodigal Son          St. Luke 15:11-32         NLT

15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. ² This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

³ So Jesus told them this story: (lost sheep, and the lost coin)…

¹¹ To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. ¹² The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons…

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, ²⁶ and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

²⁸ “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, ²⁹ but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. ³⁰ Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

³¹ “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. ³² We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Who was Jesus directing the three parables in Luke 15 towards? Look at verse 1-3.

Whenever you have heard or read this parable, what have you typically thought it was all about?

The wayward child, the son that spit in his family’s face and launched out with defiance to chart his own path by doing all the wrong things, breaking every rule, except the rule of ‘do what you want’.

Or maybe you thought it is all about the father, so unbelievably caring, compassionate that he broke with all expected norms, and gave in to his son’s demands. And then this same father had the nerve to shame himself by picking up his long robe so that he, a grown man, could run out to welcome home with arms wide open and clearly heart wide open, this disaster of a son. And to top it all off, he invites the whole community to a BBQ celebration.

Or maybe you think about the elder brother. The poor elder brother who did everything right, lived completely by the rules, and look at where that got him.

Who was Jesus telling this story to?

So just what is Jesus getting at here with this parable?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 14^th September 2025

15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. ² This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

³ So Jesus told them this story: ⁴ “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. ⁶ When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?⁹ And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”            St. Luke 15:1-10 NLT

In Luke chapter 15 there are four views of our broken humanity, and how God seeks to connect with each one. A coin lost through no choice of its own; a sheep that strays because it hasn’t the sense to know better; a boy who chooses to get lost but learns the hard way what real love means; and his elder brother who rejects pure love and chooses hatred and self-righteousness when he could have known pure joy.

This chapter is what many theologians call; “the Gospel within the Gospel,” and others have simply called it “the best short story ever written.” Here is a concept that rocked the theological world and bears the true heart of God: a God who searches for the lost and is wounded when we stray. Here is a dramatic clash between the judgmental religious leaders who believed that God longed to obliterate the sinner, and God’s Son Jesus who came to die for us while we were yet sinners.

Which one of the 4 have I been? Which one might I be right now? Which God do I offer to others?

In 1988, the poet Carol Wimmer, became concerned about the self-righteous, judgmental spirit she was seeing in some Christians, because she felt strongly that being judgmental is a perversion of the Christian faith.

So, she wrote a poem about this. It’s called “When I say I am a Christian” and it reads like this:

“When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not shouting, ‘I’ve been saved!’
I’m whispering, ‘I get lost!’ That’s why I chose this way.

When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I don’t speak with human pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble – needing God to be my guide.

When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing that I’m weak and pray for strength to carry on.

When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting that I’ve failed and cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I don’t think I know it all.
I submit to my confusion asking humbly to be taught.

When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I’m not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I’m worth it.

When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartache which is why I seek His name.

When I say, ‘I am a Christian,’ I do not wish to judge.
I have no authority – I only know I’m loved.”

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

*******

A moment with the minister

Sunday 07^th September 2025

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

³¹ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³ In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

St. Luke 14:25-33         NLT

Imagine a politician standing on a soap-box addressing a crowd. ‘If you’re going to vote for me,’ he says, ‘you’re voting to lose your homes and families; you’re asking for higher taxes and lower wages; you’re deciding in favour of losing all you love best! So come on—who’s on my side?’ The crowd wouldn’t even bother heckling him or throwing rotten tomatoes at him. They would just be puzzled. Why on earth would anyone try to advertise himself in that way?

But isn’t that what Jesus seems to be doing in this astonishing passage? ‘Want to be my disciple, do you? Well, in that case you have to learn to hate your family, give up your possessions, and get ready for a nasty death!’ Hardly the way, as we say, to win friends and influence people.

But wait a minute. Supposing, instead of a politician, we think of the leader of a great expedition, forging a way through a high and dangerous mountain pass to bring urgent medical aid to villagers cut off from the rest of the world. ‘If you want to come any further,’ the leader says, ‘you’ll have to leave your packs behind. From here on the path is too steep to carry all that stuff. You probably won’t find it again. And you’d better send your last postcards home; this is a dangerous route and it’s very likely that several of us won’t make it back.’ We can understand that. We may not like the sound of it, but we can see why it would make sense.

And we can see, therefore, that Jesus is more like the second person than the first. Since Christianity has often, quite rightly, been associated with what are called ‘family values’, it comes as a shock to be told to ‘hate’ your parents, wife and children, and siblings; but when the instruction goes one step further, that one must hate one’s own self, and be prepared for shameful death (‘take up your cross’ wasn’t simply a figure of speech in Jesus’ world!), then we begin to see what’s going on. Jesus is not denying the importance of close family, and the propriety of living in supportive harmony with them. But when there is an urgent task to be done, as there now is, then everything else, including one’s own life, must be put at risk for the sake of God’s kingdom.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

*******

A moment with the minister

Sunday 24^th August 2025

 14 One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. ² There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. ³ Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?” ⁴ When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. ⁵ Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” ⁶ Again they could not answer.

⁷ When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honour near the head of the table, he gave them this advice:⁸ “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honour. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? ⁹ The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!

¹⁰ “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honoured in front of all the other guests. ¹¹ For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

¹² Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbours. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. ¹³ Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴ Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

St. Luke 13:10-17         NLT

40 odd years ago Fred Craddock, who was a phenomenal professor of preaching, was invited to lead a preaching mission weekend in Winnipeg (Friday night … Saturday morning … Saturday evening … twice on Sunday … you know the drill). When he finished Friday night, he noticed that it was spitting snow. His host told him not to worry, given that it was only mid-October. “Good,” said Fred, “because all I brought from Atlanta was this little, thin jacket.”

Fred went to bed. But when he got up the next morning, he couldn’t open the door for all the white stuff that was piled against it. Snow driving. Wind howling. Temperature falling. Phone ringing. It was the host calling Fred’s hotel room.

I hate to tell you this, but we’re going to have to cancel this morning’s session. Can’t tell about the evening. But things look pretty bad. Nobody saw this coming. City’s not ready. Plows, not ready. Crews, not ready. Nothing’s ready. Worse yet, nothing’s open. In fact, I’m stuck in my driveway, meaning that I can’t come down to fetch you. So, I don’t know what you are going to do about breakfast. But I do have an idea. If you can make it out of your room, walk down to the corner … turn right … go one block … turn right again … and you should be standing within shouting distance of the bus station. There’s a little café in there. And if any place is gonna be open, it’s gonna be open.

Fred curses his luck, zips up his jacket, busts out his door, and goes in search of the little café. Two rights. Bus station. There it is. Wonder of wonders, it’s open. But it’s also crowded. It seems as if every stranded soul in the universe is crammed inside.

There is no place to sit. But some guy slides down the bench and makes room for Fred to squeeze in. Waiter comes over … big burly guy … non-shaven … wearing half the kitchen on his apron. “Whatcha want?” he snarls. “Can I see a menu?” Fred asks. “Don’t need no menu,” the waiter answers. “Didn’t get no deliveries this morning. All we got is soup.” “Well then,” says Fred, “soup it is. I like a little breakfast soup from time to time.”

So the soup comes in a rather tallish mug. Looks awful. Shade of mousey gray. Fred half-wonders if that’s what it could be … cream of mouse. So he doesn’t eat it. But he does use the mug as a stove … cupping his fingers around it … warming them on it.

Which is when the door opens once more. Wind howls. Cold surges. “Shut the blankety-blank door,” someone shouts. Lady enters. Thin coat. No hat. Ice crystals in her hair and eyebrows. Maybe 40. Painfully skinny. Men slide over to make room for her at another table.

“Whatcha want?” shouts the guy with the greasy apron. “I’ll just have a glass of water,” she answers. “Look lady,” he says. “We’re crowded in here. We don’t give no glasses of water. Either you order something or you leave.”

Well, it quickly becomes apparent that she isn’t able to buy something. So she rebuttons her coat and commences to leave. Whereupon a funny thing happens. One by one, everybody at her table gets up to leave, too. Followed by others … at other tables. Even Fred (who still hasn’t touched his soup) gets up to leave.

“All right … all right,” says the soup master. “She can stay.” And he brings her a bowl of soup. With order restored, Fred turns to his table mate and says: “Who is she? She must be somebody important.” To which the guy says: “Never saw her before in my life. But I kinda figure if she’s not welcome, ain’t nobody welcome.”

Which pretty much settled the matter, to the point where all you could hear (for the next few minutes) were soup spoons clinking against the sides of the mugs. Even Fred broke down and ate his soup. Which wasn’t half bad, really. Some might even call it tasty.

Later on, he still couldn’t make out the taste … but he felt as if he’d had it before. But what was it? He couldn’t remember. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember. Then it hit him. Strangest thing, really. That cream of mouse soup tasted, for all the world, like bread and wine. That was it … for all the world like bread and wine.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

*******

A moment with the minister

Sunday 24^th August 2025

 Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

¹⁰ One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, ¹¹ he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” ¹³ Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!

¹⁴ But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵ But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? ¹⁶ This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?”

¹⁷ This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.

 St. Luke 13:10-17         NLT

Let’s, for a change, imagine that you are on the edge of the crowd that has followed Jesus so far. You haven’t heard everything and haven’t understood all you’ve heard, but you think you’ve got the general drift of it all and find it both compelling and alarming.

In you go with Jesus to the synagogue on this Sabbath. What do you see, and what sense does it make to you?

You see—everybody sees—this poor woman. She was probably a well-known local character. In a village where everyone’s life was public, people would know who she was and how long she’d been like this. Luke says she had ‘a spirit of weakness’, which probably means simply that nobody could explain medically why she had become bent double.

In the synagogue, though, you can see an unspoken power struggle going on. There is a synagogue president in charge of the worship meeting, but all eyes are on Jesus—which puts both of them in an awkward spot in terms of protocol. Jesus, however, doesn’t wait. A word, a touch, and the woman is healed. The synagogue president, thoroughly upstaged, lets his anger take refuge in an official public rebuke, rather as if a policeman tried to arrest someone because their football team had just beaten his football team.

You, as the observer, understand all this. It’s bound to be difficult for the local village hierarchy when someone like Jesus comes into town, and when he does extraordinary things in the synagogue it will inevitably cause a fuss. But listen to Jesus’ answer. Think about what you’ve heard on the journey up to this point: the devastating analysis of what was wrong with Israel as a whole, the warnings of what lay ahead. Now hear what Jesus has to say, and ponder what it might mean.

‘Double standards, you hypocrites!’ Jesus declares. ‘You do one thing yourself and yet want to stop me doing something which is no different, and even more appropriate. This is just play-acting. You are quite happy to untie an animal that needs water; how much more should I untie this woman—Abraham’s daughter, bound by the evil one? And what better day than the sabbath?’

You get the point about untying the animal and untying the woman. But what is he saying about her? First, she’s a daughter of Abraham; second, she has been tied up for 18 years by the evil one, the one who has Israel as a whole in his grip, the one against whom Jesus has won an initial victory! Suddenly new light dawns. What Jesus is doing for this poor woman is what He is longing to do for Israel as a whole. The enemy, the accuser, has had Israel in his power these many years, and Jesus’ kingdom-message is the one thing that can free her. But Israel’s insistence on tight boundaries, including the rigid application of the sabbath law, is preventing it happening. Unless the kingdom-message heals her, there is no hope.

Maybe, you think, Jesus is still hoping that there is time; that Israel, bent double and unable to stand upright, will be untied from her bondage in a great sabbath celebration, a great act of liberation. Maybe, you think, Jesus intends that by going to Jerusalem this will all come to pass …

And then there are the little sayings, which Luke at least regards as explanations of what has just happened. The kingdom is like a tiny seed producing a huge tree—which can then accommodate all the birds in the sky. One action in one synagogue on one sabbath; what can this achieve? But when Jesus sows the seed of the kingdom, nobody knows what will result. Or the kingdom as a small helping of leaven, hidden apparently in the flour. It seems insignificant and ineffectual; but before long the whole mixture is leavened. One healing of one woman—but every time you break the satanic chains that have tied people up, another victory is won which will go on having repercussions.

Ponder what you have seen and heard. Would you go up to Jerusalem following this man? It might be risky. It might be unpredictable. But where else would you go?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

*******

A moment with the minister

Sunday 17^th August 2025

 ⁴⁹ “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! ⁵⁰ I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. ⁵¹ Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! ⁵² From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.

⁵³ ‘Father will be divided against son
    and son against father;
mother against daughter
    and daughter against mother;
and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
    and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’”

⁵⁴ Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right. ⁵⁵ When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is. ⁵⁶ You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.

St. Luke 12:49-56         NLT

The crisis is coming, as we have seen through the last 2 chapters of Luke’s gospel. It poses a challenge to absolute loyalty. But now even what we might have thought the gospel was all about is being stood on its head. Prince of Peace, eh? Jesus seems to be saying. No: Prince of Division, more likely! Once this message gets into households there’ll be no peace: families will split up over it, just as the prophets had foretold. The warnings about fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and so on includes a quotation from Micah 7:6, a passage in which the prophet warns of imminent crisis and urges that the only way forward is complete trust in God.

Jesus, then, sees the crisis coming, a crisis of which His own death will be the central feature (the ‘baptism of suffering’ which He must still undergo); and He is astonished and dismayed that so few of His contemporaries can see it at all. They are good at local weather-forecasts: clouds rolling in from the Mediterranean mean rain, and a wind from the hot and dusty Negev means sultry weather. So why can’t they look at what’s going on all around them, from the Roman occupation to the oppressive regime of Herod, from the wealthy and arrogant high priests in Jerusalem to the false agendas of the Pharisees—and, in the middle of it all, a young prophet announcing God’s kingdom and healing the sick? Why can’t they put two and two together, and realize that this is the moment all Israel’s history has been waiting for? Why can’t they see that the crisis is coming?

Jesus’ warnings throughout the chapter reach something of a crescendo, and the chapter which follows continues the same theme. But, it might well be asked today, what relevance have these warnings for people who live nearly two thousand years after they all came true?

The church has from early on read this chapter as a warning that each generation must read the signs of the times, the great movements of people, governments, nations and policies, and must respond accordingly. If the kingdom of God is to come on earth as it is in heaven, part of the prophetic role of the church is to understand the events of earth and to seek to address them with the message of Jesus. And if, like Jesus, we find that we seem to be bringing division, and that we ourselves become caught up in the crisis, so be it. What else would we expect?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

*******

A moment with the minister

Sunday 10^th August 2025

³⁵ Be ready and keep your lamps burning ³⁶ just like those servants who wait up for their master to return from a wedding feast. As soon as he comes and knocks, they open the door for him. ³⁷ Servants are fortunate if their master finds them awake and ready when he comes! I promise you he will get ready and let his servants sit down so he can serve them. ³⁸ Those servants are really fortunate if their master finds them ready, even though he comes late at night or early in the morning. ³⁹ You would surely not let a thief break into your home, if you knew when the thief was coming. ⁴⁰ So always be ready! You don’t know when the Son of Man will come.

⁴¹ Peter asked Jesus, “Did you say this just for us or for everyone?”

⁴² The Lord answered:

Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? ⁴³ Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job. ⁴⁴ A servant who is always faithful will surely be put in charge of everything the master owns.

⁴⁵ But suppose one of the servants thinks that the master won’t return until late. Suppose that servant starts beating all the other servants and eats and drinks and gets drunk. ⁴⁶ If that happens, the master will come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him. That servant will then be punished and thrown out with the servants who cannot be trusted.

⁴⁷ If servants are not ready or willing to do what their master wants them to do, they will be beaten hard. ⁴⁸ But servants who don’t know what their master wants them to do will not be beaten so hard for doing wrong. If God has been generous with you, he will expect you to serve him well. But if he has been more than generous, he will expect you to serve him even better.

St. Luke 12:35-48        CEV

One time early in our marriage, Emmie and I booked a week of camping for our holiday. We packed up the car and started driving west, into the mountains. About an hour or two into our drive, Emmie asked me if I had packed the tent. I said, no I thought she had. We turned around, went home and got the tent and started out again.

Have you ever been taking a trip and you are on a plane going 400 mph at 38,000 feet, when you suddenly realized that you forgot something you really wanted on this trip? There is a good reason to prepare well for a trip and maybe include a list of everything you need and want to bring!

Jesus had just been speaking with the crowds of people, including His disciples, in the first half of chapter 12, about the challenges of focusing on money and things in this life rather than focusing on God. Then He launches into a challenging dialogue about being prepared for God’s return. Be ready, be prepared, be watchful, be vigilant, Jesus says to them. Be like the servants whose master left for a wedding celebration (which could run for a few days easily) and because they didn’t know when the master would return they remained vigilant at all times and were therefore well prepared for when he would finally return home.

And here again Jesus uses that profound question-like analogy: can you imagine?! Can you imagine the blessings for those faithful servants whom the master finds ready and vigilant, for the master will do something so extraordinarily unthinkable. He will himself have the servants recline at table and serve them himself.

Or who of you can imagine a homeowner leaving home on the night that he knows his home will be robbed?! Ridiculous right? So Peter asks a logical question: are you speaking to just us disciples Lord, or is what you are saying for everyone? It is for both! Living life the way God intends us to live is so much more important than focusing on wealth and everything else that turns our hearts away from God.

Not only is Jesus trying to get across to His disciples that He is engaged in the greatest battle of all, Light versus darkness, Life verses death, and that He is heading to that battle’s culmination at the cross, but now He is also saying that all followers of Jesus must live a life of God’s Kingdom which means a complete reordering of our priorities.

When Jesus ushers in God’s Kingdom forever, will we be vigilantly prepared and ready? Where is our focus here and now?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

*******

A moment with the minister

Sunday 27^th July 2025

 ⁵ Then Jesus went on to say:

Suppose one of you goes to a friend in the middle of the night and says, “Let me borrow three loaves of bread. ⁶ A friend of mine has dropped in, and I don’t have a thing for him to eat.” ⁷ And suppose your friend answers, “Don’t bother me! The door is bolted, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up to give you something.”

⁸ He may not get up and give you the bread, just because you are his friend. But he will get up and give you as much as you need, simply because you are not ashamed to keep on asking.

⁹ So I tell you to ask, and you will receive, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you. ¹⁰ Everyone who asks will receive, everyone who searches will find, and the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. ¹¹ Which one of you fathers would give your hungry child a snake if the child asked for a fish? ¹² Which one of you would give your child a scorpion if the child asked for an egg? ¹³ As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks.

St. Luke 11:5-13 CEV

In the early 1960’s when Leonard Griffith was pastor of the famous City Temple Church in London, England, he wrote a fascinating book entitled Barriers to Christian Belief. In that book he dealt with some problems that over the years have been real obstacles and stumbling blocks for people in their faith pilgrimage… specific problems that hinder people, that burden people, that disturb people… and keep them away from the Christian faith. One of the barriers he listed was unanswered prayer. It does seem to be a fact of our experience that many people do get discouraged and they do give up and drop out on the faith because they feel a sense of failure in their prayer life.

This leads us to ask then, “How do you pray?” “Why pray at all?” “When do you pray?” “Is there a special formula or a sacred language that should be used?” One thing is clear. There are many questions and there is some misunderstanding about how you pray and why. In an old cartoon a brother and sister are kneeling beside their beds for prayer. Suddenly he stops and says to his sister, “I think I’ve made a new discovery, a real breakthrough. If you hold your hands upside down, you get the opposite of what you pray for.”

Prayer must be more than an emergency magical lamp rubbed in a crisis. The truth is that many people give up on prayer because they never understand what prayer is.

Some years ago there was an article in Sports Illustrated about a major league baseball pitcher who prays that God will help him “get ‘em out”… and a player on an opposing team who says he prays that God will help him “get a hit.” With tongue firmly in cheek, the sportswriter said, “How confusing this must be to God when they face each other!”

Leslie Weatherhead, who was the pastor at City Temple from 1936 to 1960, told a beautiful story about an elderly Scottish man who was quite ill. The minister came to see the dying man and noticed an empty chair in the opposite side of the bed… The chair was pulled up especially close to the bed. The older man said, “Let me tell you about this chair. Many years ago, I found it quite difficult to pray, so one day I shared this problem with my pastor. He told me not to worry about kneeling or about placing myself in some pious position or about speaking in high-sounding words. Instead, he said, ‘Just sit down, put a chair in front of you, and imagine Jesus sitting there in that chair… and then just talk to Him as you would talk to a friend.’” The older man said, “I’ve been doing that ever since.”

Some days later, the daughter of the older man called the minister to tell him that her father had died peacefully. And then she said this: “For some reason, his hand was on that empty chair on the other side of the bed. Isn’t that strange?” “O no, it’s not strange at all. I understand perfectly. He was reaching out to his ‘Best Friend.’”

That’s what prayer is. It’s reaching out to God. It’s reaching out to our best friend. And, as Jesus references here for us, prayer is reaching out to our loving heavenly Father.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 27^th July 2025

Teaching about Prayer

11 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

² Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:

“Father, may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
³ Give us each day the food we need,
⁴ and forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation.”

⁵ Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ⁶ ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ ⁷ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ ⁸ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

⁹ “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

¹¹ “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? ¹² Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! ¹³ So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”     St. Luke 10:38-42         NLT

On a subway platform there was a large, printed sign that said, “God Answers Prayer.” Some understanding person had scrawled across the bottom underneath the printed letters these words: “Sometimes the answer is NO!” This is part of what we must deal with in any discussion of prayer.

Someone says, “I felt the need of God, so I prayed for something to happen, and it didn’t. Prayer failed.”

I would seek to graciously say, not true. I suggest that you did not want God – you wanted God to do something, and that’s different.

How often do we miss the purpose of prayer: to be in harmony with God, to have a sense of God’s presence; to feel the assurance that God is in, around, and greater than any circumstance; that, come what may, we belong to Him and underneath are the everlasting arms of God. Prayer is not a trading post, but a line of communication.

To desire to be so in harmony with God that, as this Prayer of our Lord says, may we seek to keep God’s name holy, that our way of living, eating, confessing, forgiving, and resisting temptation would show forth God’s Kingdom.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 13^th July 2025

 Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

³⁸ As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹ Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

⁴¹ But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! ⁴² There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

St. Luke 10:38-42         NLT

Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola in their book Jesus Manifesto write, “The major disease of today’s church is JDD: Jesus Deficit Disorder.” We have lost Jesus in the flurry of all our activities. Jesus is in the periphery.

In the book of John chapter 21, after 3 years of walking side-by-side with Peter, Jesus asked His disciple a question. It was NOT:

• “What future do you envision for yourself?”
• “What are the key steps involved in living victoriously?”
• “What have you learned about leadership?”
• “How many people have you witnessed to?”
• “Have you spoken in tongues?”
• “Who is your accountability partner?”
• “Do you spend time regularly in prayer?”
• Will you convene church committees for Me?

The question Jesus asked Peter was: “Do you love me?” This is the summation of all Christianity—loving Jesus.

This is the heart of the narrative about Jesus visiting in the home of Mary and Martha.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 13^th July 2025 

The Most Important Commandment

²⁵ One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

²⁷ The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”

²⁸ “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

²⁹ The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”

Parable of the Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

³¹ “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. ³² A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

³³ “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. ³⁴ Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

³⁶ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

³⁷ The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

St. Luke 10:25-37         NLT

The best-known stories are sometimes the hardest to understand. ‘The good Samaritan’ has passed into folklore, and has succeeded in changing the meaning of the word ‘Samaritan’ itself in modern English. There is now a well-known organization in Britain called ‘The Samaritans’, whose task is to give help to people in dire need. But that certainly wasn’t what people would have meant by the word in Jesus’ day.

Often this parable is simply taken in a general moral sense: if you see someone in the ditch, go and help them. Sometimes, where people remember that in Jesus’ day the Samaritans and the Jews hated each other like poison, this is expanded into a further moral lesson about the wickedness of racial and religious prejudice. But if we are to have any chance of understanding what Jesus himself meant—and what was at stake in the wider conversation with the lawyer—we need to go deeper.

Fortunately, this isn’t difficult. The hatred between Jews and Samaritans had gone on for hundreds of years—and is still reflected, tragically, in the ongoing tension and conflict between Israel and Palestine today. Both sides claimed to be the true inheritors of the promises to Abraham and Moses; both sides, in consequence, regarded themselves as the rightful possessors of the land. Few Israelis today will travel from Galilee to Jerusalem by the direct route, because it will take them through the West Bank and risk violence. In exactly the same way, most first-century pilgrims making the same journey preferred to travel down the Jordan valley to Jericho and then turn west up the hill to Jerusalem. It was much ‘safer’.

But still not completely safe. The desert road from Jericho to Jerusalem had many turns and twists, and brigands could lurk out of sight in the nearby hills and valleys, ready to strike. A lonely traveller was an easy target. And, when he was left half-dead, those who went by couldn’t tell whether he was dead or alive … so, since as Temple officials it was important for the two (the priest & the Levite) in the story not to contract impurity by touching a corpse, it was better that they remain aloof, preserving their purity at the cost of their obedience to God’s law of love.

The lawyer’s question and Jesus’ answer don’t quite match up, and that’s part of the point. The lawyer wants to know who counts as ‘neighbour’. He wants to know the limits of liability. For him, God is the God of Israel, and neighbours are only Jewish neighbours. For Jesus (and for Luke, who highlights this theme), Israel’s God is the God of grace for the whole world, and a neighbour is anybody in need.

Jesus’ telling question at the end isn’t asking who the Samaritan regarded as his neighbour. Instead, Jesus asked the lawyer, ‘who turned out to be the neighbour’ of the half-dead Jew lying in the road. Underneath the apparently straightforward moral lesson (‘go and do the same’), we find a much sterner challenge, exactly fitting in with the emphasis of Luke’s story so far.

Can you recognize the hated Samaritan as your neighbour?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 06^th July 2025

 10 The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. ² These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. ³ Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. ⁴ Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.

⁵ “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ ⁶ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. ⁷ Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

⁸ “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you.⁹ Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ ¹⁰ But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’ 

¹⁶ Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”

¹⁷ When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

¹⁸ “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! ¹⁹ Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. ²⁰ But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

St. Luke 10:1-11, 16-20         NLT

The main message these 72 workers are to share as they journey into the villages ahead of Jesus is a two-fold simple declaration, “May God’s peace be upon you, and, the kingdom of God is near.”

A deeply faithful Christian author of many books on the beauty and challenge of following Jesus, Dallas Willard, once said that when he was a young boy (in the 1930’s), rural electrification was taking place throughout the United States. For the first time ever, tall poles popped up across the landscape of the countryside with huge electric wires strung from pole to pole to pole. But initially at least, not everyone trusted electricity and so many rural families opted (for a time) to not hook up.

They heard the messages of the electric company of how much easier life would be with electric washing machines replacing hand-cranked wringers and electric vacuum cleaners bringing an end to the old practice of hauling heavy carpets outside to have the dirt beaten out of them. They heard these promises but did not trust or believe them.

Willard wrote, in a sense you could have said to those folks, “My friends, electricity is at hand!” But if they opted to not tap into that power that was running right over their heads, then the nearness of the power would do them no good.

Maybe the message of the kingdom’s nearness was like that. With Jesus in the world, the Kingdom of God was near, at hand. All the goodness and glory and power of that Kingdom was right there, but if they kept it at arm’s length, it would do them no good. Their lack of participation did not weaken the power of the kingdom. But it did land them in an unhappy (and unnecessary) spiritual situation of staying in the dark when the light of the world was passing through on His way to Jerusalem.

Into this sort of environment, Jesus sent out 72 followers to the towns along the road to Jerusalem, to bless and to warn them. Jesus still seeks for His followers to continue telling people, “The Peace of God be upon you, and the Kingdom of God is near you!”

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 29^th June 2025

 ⁵¹ As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ⁵² He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. ⁵³ But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” ⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ So they went on to another village.

⁵⁷ As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

⁶¹ Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”

⁶² But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”     St. Luke 9:51-62  NLT

In 1536 Reformer William Farel recruited John Calvin to come to Geneva, Switzerland to pastor St. Peter’s Church. Calvin, a sickly man all his life, was on his way to Strasbourg to be a quiet scholar, but he relented under this need, this request, to become a pastor.

Two years later, the city fathers publicly banished Calvin from Geneva. Actually, Calvin felt relieved. The moral chaos of the city was terrible. He went to Strasbourg. Three years later in 1541, the same city fathers who had tried to humiliate him begged Calvin to return and help restore order.

He didn’t want to go this second time, either, “yet,” he wrote, “because I know that I am not my own master, I offer my heart as a true sacrifice to the Lord.”

This became the motto of Calvin’s life. His emblem would include a hand holding out a heart to God with the inscription, prompte et sincere (“promptly and sincerely”). Promptly and sincerely, Calvin answered a call to very difficult task.

Jesus had moved from obscurity to prominence in a matter of months. News of His miraculous healings had spread throughout the region. Crowds flocked to benefit from His powerful presence. His disciples followed Him with enthusiasm. The long-awaited Kingdom of God was at hand.

But His fortunes soon began to change. Opposition developed. The crowds got smaller. The zeal of the disciples began to wane. Caesar’s reign became more self-evident than God’s dawning reign. It was to this background, Luke tells us, that Jesus resolutely “set His face to go to Jerusalem.” Why should He spoil success by going to the capital? His strength was in the countryside. But there was no changing His mind. To announce God’s reign, He would have to go to the center of the Hebrew faith. And He needed to keep teaching in the little time left; teaching His followers how to be focused on the goal of sharing God’s love and Kingdom truth with everyone.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 22^nd June 2025

 ²⁶ So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷ As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in the tombs outside the town.

²⁸ As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!” ²⁹ For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power.

³⁰ Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, for he was filled with many demons. ³¹ The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit.

³² There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs.

So Jesus gave them permission. ³³ Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. ³⁵ People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.³⁶ Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. ³⁷ And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them.

So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. ³⁸ The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying, ³⁹ “No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him. St. Luke 8:26-39  NLT

I know that to some people over the years this sort of narrative seems far-fetched. Like something out of a Stephen King novel or some Hollywood horror movie. Demon possession, and exorcism and all that.

Fresh off the boat after a night of a terrifying storm on the Sea of Galilee, in the section we are considering today, this same caring, compassionate Jesus calmly deals with the human storm before Him. Climbing out of the boat on the other side of the Sea, that is now in non-Jewish territory, a demon possessed man accosts Jesus. How many times did the disciples really get who Jesus was/is, or the religious leaders of His day? Rarely if ever, until after His resurrection. But here, the demon possessed man recognized Jesus immediately, and demanded to know why Jesus, the Son of the Most High God, was already interfering with him. And the legion of demons begged Jesus to not banish them to the bottomless pit.

This man literally had no life, couldn’t be restrained even with chains, yet he lived in the tombs outside of his town, meaning that he lived in the caves the townspeople used to bury their dead. From there he rushes to meet Jesus the Author and Restorer of life.

Jesus displayed His power even over the forces of evil by casting out a legion of demons from that man, restoring him to life, to a new life in which he wanted to stay with Jesus wherever Jesus went. The townspeople who were so accustomed to this demon possessed man, were now suddenly very afraid, because of the power and authority of this stranger named Jesus. Jesus took His healing love to a foreign people who wanted nothing to do with God.

Instead of Jesus telling the man, ‘Come follow Me’ Jesus told the man to go home and tell his people everything that God has done for him. Long before the Apostle Paul was on the scene taking the Good News of Jesus into all the world, here we have this man being the first evangelist in a non-Jewish land, proving to the people that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God. And, therefore proving that he too was now a part of Jesus’ family. This man had received the Word with joy and was now flourishing in his life in Christ.

This is the best thing we all can do: tell our families and friends and neighbours and enemies all that Jesus has done for us. Show the world Jesus even when the world says, ‘Why are You interfering with me Jesus?’

We just never know who the Spirit of God will touch with new life through our example.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 15^th June 2025

3 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. ² After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

³ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

⁴ “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

⁵ Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. ⁷ So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

⁹ “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰ Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? ¹¹ I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. ¹² But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven.¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

 St. John 3:1-17   NLT

I came across this several years ago, and I think it is a great analogy or partial description of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity of God:

 THE Harbor Master:

When a large ship enters a harbor, it takes on board what is called a harbor master. This is a person who knows that harbor; who knows the length of it, who knows the depth of it. The Harbour Master knows where the hazards are, knows where the tides and currents are; what direction they flow in and how strong they are. When that harbor master comes on board, he takes control of that ship and gives order to the captain who steers the ship. The Harbour Master is an outside expert who is brought in to make sure that ship docks safely.

As we sail through the sea of life, we have been given THE Harbor Master. He is the Holy Spirit. He knows the currents, the tides, the hazards, and the flow. If you will let Him guide the ship of your life, He will guide you safely through the hazards of earth, right into the harbor of heaven. He is the expert guide that God provides.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 08^th June 2025

 2 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. ² Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.³ Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. ⁴ And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

⁵ At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. ⁶ When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

²¹ But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
    will be saved.’

Acts 2:1-6, 21      NLT

A little girl was visiting her grandmother one beautiful spring morning. They walked out into grandmother’s flower garden. As grandmother was inspecting the progress of her flowers the little girl decided to try to open a rosebud with her own two hands. But no luck! As she would pull the petals open, they would tear or bruise or wilt or break off completely. Finally, in frustration, she said, “Gramma, I just don’t understand it at all. When God opens a flower, it looks so beautiful but when I try, it just comes apart.” “Well, honey,” Grandmother answered, “There’s a good reason for that. God is able to do it because He works from the inside out!”

God works from the inside out. That is the great message of Pentecost Sunday, isn’t it? This is what the disciples finally came to understand at Pentecost. Jesus had ascended into heaven. And He had told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit.

Here is where the story of Pentecost picks up. The 120 believers were all gathered together in Jerusalem, when they heard a sound. The breath of God began to blow on that place like the rush of a mighty wind. Flames of fire danced upon each of them. Suddenly, all their fear was gone, replaced by peace and confidence, courage and strength and unity and they began to speak and communicate the word of God boldly. Amazingly people from all different backgrounds from the known world heard God’s truth in their own languages and they responded. 3,000 people’s hearts & lives were changed that day as they began to follow the way of Jesus.

It’s interesting to note that the three classic symbols for the Holy Spirit in the Bible remind us of how God works through us and how God works from the inside out. The three traditional symbols of the Holy Spirit in the Bible: Breath: the symbol of Life. Fire: the symbol of Power. The descending dove: the symbol of Peace.

Which does our world need now? All three symbols, of the one Spirit!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 01^st June 2025

 ⁴⁶ And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. ⁴⁷ It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of all these things.

⁴⁹ “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

St. Luke 24:46-49         NLT

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8      NLT

How familiar might we be with the two above passages, written by Luke, as he recounts the last few moments and message to His disciples before Jesus ascended to His Father in heaven?

I/we have heard lots and maybe for decades about the disciples, those first followers of Jesus the Son of God. They went everywhere with Jesus, and then somehow after the Resurrection, we started calling them the Apostles.

During the three years they hung out with Jesus, He rightly called them disciples, which literally means pupils, or apprentices. The term is correctly used to describe all who would seek to learn Jesus’ way of living. And then the term Apostle was applied to them in the very specific way of ‘one who was sent,’ like an ambassador. But the term was only applied to those who had personally been with Jesus and seen Him in His resurrected form.

But there is another, perhaps more significant title change that Jesus gave His followers, from ‘disciples’ to ‘witnesses’, in the Gospels and in the book of Acts.

So, as I wonder out loud: can you be a disciple without being a witness to the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus? If a disciple is a follower, can we be disciples without really following Jesus?

Can we be a witness to Jesus without being a disciple? If we can, what are we witnessing to or for?

What is the only way disciples are changed into witnesses? By the gift of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit of God. A real relationship with Jesus, must lead us into being His witnesses.

And God knows how much our world today needs witnesses to the love and hope of Jesus!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 18^th May 2025

 ²⁷ “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.²⁸ Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again.

St. John 14:27, 28        NLT

The late advice columnist Ann Landers use to receive 10,000 letters a month. When asked what seemed to be the most common topic, she answered that most people seem to be afraid of something. They are afraid of losing their health, their job, or their family. They are afraid of upsetting their neighbour, alienating a friend, or committing a social faux pas. Many are even afraid when there is no reason to be afraid. Ours is a world of fearful people.

The evening that Jesus shared the last supper with His disciples was a heavy evening. The conversation was challenging…one of the disciples was going to betray Jesus. Peter is told that he will deny that he has any connection with Jesus and deny Jesus three times.

Jesus tells them to not let their hearts be troubled; don’t be afraid in other words. Jesus promised them that He is going away, to the Father, and that He goes to prepare a place for them, for all followers of Jesus. But then Jesus assures them He will be back for them, and that each one will be gifted with the promised Holy Spirit of God.

He knows what is about to happen, as He looks ahead to His crucifixion, death, and Resurrection. So, He tells them not to worry, not to be afraid, and promises them His unique and lasting peace. He knows they are going to need it over the next few days, and then especially as they carry His love into all the world.

So, what are you afraid of right now? How can Jesus’ promise of peace help transform your fears into a peace-filled heart?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 18^th May 2025 

³¹ As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. ³² And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. ³³ Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. ³⁴ So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. ³⁵ Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

³⁶ Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”

And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”

³⁷ “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”

³⁸ Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.

St. John 13:31-38 NLT

Here in this second half of John’s Gospel, we see that Jesus has something vital to offer His followers: the simplest, clearest and hardest command of all: Love one another.

Jesus describes it as a ‘new commandment’. Love, of course, is central in many parts of the Old Testament. The book of Leviticus (19:18) commanded the Israelites to love their neighbours as themselves. But the newness isn’t so much a matter of never having heard words like this before. It’s a matter of the mode of this love, the depth and type of this love: love one another in the same way that I have loved you.

It has been hard for the disciples up to this point even to appreciate what Jesus has been doing on their behalf; now He’s telling them to copy Him! As with the foot-washing, they are to look back at His whole life, His whole way and manner of life, and to find in it a pattern, a shape, an example, a power. To wash someone else’s feet, you have to think of yourself as only a slave. That can feed all the wrong kind of thinking: it can produce a sort of inverted pride, a pride at one’s own humility. But with love, there’s no danger of that. Love is all about the other person. It overflows into service, not in order to show off how hard-working it is, but because service is its natural form.

This is to be the badge that the Christian community wears before the watching world. Unfortunately, as we read verse 35, we are bound to cringe with shame at the way in which professing Christians have treated each other down the years. We have turned the gospel into a weapon of our own various cultures. We have hit each other over the head with it, burnt each other at the stake with it. We have defined the ‘one another’ so tightly that it means only ‘love the people who reinforce your own sense of who you are’.

As usual, what is some of the greater context? We cannot forget the beautiful but challenging Parable of the Good Samaritan, in which an expert in the laws of God wanted Jesus to tell him exactly who he should consider a neighbour, but the way Jesus laid out the parable, it is all about the verb, about doing, about being the good neighbour to anyone who needs one.

The watching world will know we are really followers of Jesus by how we love, agape, one another.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 11^th May 2025

 In Deuteronomy 32:18 we have the image of God as both father and mother.

In Psalm 131:2 we have the image of God as a nursing mother weaning her children.

In Isaiah 42:14 we have the image of God as a mother in labour.

In Isaiah 49:15 we have the image of God as a nursing mother who will never forget her children.

In Isaiah 66:13 we have the image of God as a comforting mother.

In Hosea 11:3, 4 we have the image of God teaching her toddler how to walk.

In Luke 15:8-10 we have the image of God as a woman searching for the lost.

In Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 we have the image of God as a protective mother hen.

A mother of eight children was once asked if she had any favourites. “Favourites?” she replied. “Yes, I have favourites. I love the one who is sick until he is well again. I love the one who is in trouble until he is safe again. And I love the one who is farthest away until he comes home.”

This is what God is like. And this is what the Church, the family of God in our world is to be like. God is like a Divine Parent whose love never stops, a Parent whose love will never give up. You may stop loving God, but God will never stop loving you. You may run away from God, but you will soon find that your legs are too short. You can’t get away from God. And that is not a threat, but a promise!

Have a blessed Christian Family Sunday!

Have a blessed Mother’s Day!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 04^th May 2025

  ¹² “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. ¹³ You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴ Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!¹⁵ “If you love me, obey my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. ¹⁷ He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” St. John 14:15, 16, 17                   The New Living Translation

This statement here from Jesus, verse 15, “If you love Me, obey My commandments” has been a bit of a perplexing saying. The Reformers in the 16^th Century understood obedience as a certain inevitable consequence of our love for Jesus. This is why they believed that while justification is not based on our good works, true justification always generates a response of obedience. Sanctification, (meaning that throughout our life of faith we grow more and more like Jesus in how we live our lives), always flows automatically and necessarily out of our being justified before God because of Jesus. If we love Him, we will obey Him. If we do not obey Him, that’s proof positive that no matter what we say, there must be no love for Christ in our hearts.

Our genuine love for Jesus reveals itself in our obedience to His commandments. In other words, the ones who loves Jesus subordinate our own wills to that of the Lord. That kind of love rules out treating Jesus as a celestial vending machine who exists to meet our wants and desires. We seek to live in such a way that, led by the Holy Spirit of God, we would bring honour and praise to the Lord.

And then Jesus says something remarkable, as He continues to prepare the disciples for His death, resurrection, and departure back to the Father in heaven. He says that He would send another Advocate who will never leave His followers (verse 16).

First of all, Jesus is the first Advocate for us before God the Father. Secondly, while Jesus must leave in order for this second Advocate to come (see the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2), this second Advocate, the Holy Spirit of God, will NEVER leave God’s people!

An advocate is someone who speaks in a person’s defense and who counsels or advises the person. This other Advocate, the Spirit, then is providing a continuation of the work of Jesus that He did while among His disciples, but now it is to all His followers in all the world in all times since the Ascension of Jesus.

Soon enough, in several weeks’ time for those first disciples, the promise of the Advocate will become reality and the world would never be the same as the truth of God’s love and purposes spread all over through ordinary people, just like through you and I.

Just like how God’s love and truth have been spreading through our congregation for the last 38 years, to the glory and praise of God!!

Happy Anniversary KEPC, always and only for the praise of the Living Lord!!!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Sunday 27^th April 2025

 St. John 20:11-18                The New Living Translation

“¹¹ Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. ¹² She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. ¹³ “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

¹⁴ She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. ¹⁵ “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

¹⁶ “Mary!” Jesus said.

She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

¹⁷ “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.”

Did you know that the Church calendar designates up to 50 days to celebrate the joy of Easter? That’s a lot more “Easter” than just one Sunday.

Easter reminds us that Jesus gently calls us by name, as He called Mary by name that first Easter Sunday. He calls us by name not with fanfare or fireworks, but with exquisite love. Personal, quiet, and steady. Love.

Resurrection isn’t just something to celebrate once a year, it’s something we live into, slowly, and often without realizing it.

Easter doesn’t shout, it whispers. Easter doesn’t demand perfection, it invites trust. It’s not about having it all figured out, but about letting ourselves be found, and hearing Jesus calling us by name.

There is so much in the world, and in us too, that feels uncertain, and tired. But Easter doesn’t erase our pain; Easter boldly declares that pain doesn’t get the final word. The tomb is empty, absolutely, but Jesus still carries His scars – that is one proof the disciples were given by Jesus that it was truly Him, alive. It is challenging and intriguing that His scars are part of the beauty of His Resurrection.

Whether you are full of joy, or running on empty, or somewhere in between, Easter assures us that God is with you, with us fully! Resurrection is real, Love is alive, and even if you don’t feel like that’s really true for you, that’s okay. Easter doesn’t ask you to feel that everything is alright. It just asks you to stay open, and listening, and hope, for you are not forgotten!

Easter says, you are deeply, wholly loved! Whether it is whispered in the garden, or in the depths of your own heart, Christ’s voice is always calling us by name, to find our home in Him. Easter is about new beginnings, about God’s grace showing up when we least expect it! Easter is about Love, Risen, faithful, and forever Love, no matter what!!!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Easter Sunday

 St. Luke 24:1-9          The New Living Translation

“24 But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. ³ So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

⁵ The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? ⁶ He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”

⁸ Then they remembered that he had said this. ⁹ So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened.”

How Does the Resurrection Affect Your Life?

Father Basil Pennington, a Roman Catholic monk, tells of an encounter he once had with a teacher of Zen. Pennington was at a retreat. As part of the retreat, each person met privately with this Zen teacher. Pennington says that at his meeting the Zen teacher sat there before him smiling from ear to ear and rocking gleefully back and forth. Finally, the Zen teacher said: “I like Christianity. But I would not like Christianity without the resurrection. I want to see your resurrection!”

Pennington notes that, “With his directness, the teacher was saying what everyone else implicitly says to Christians: You are a Christian. You are risen with Christ. Show me (what this means for you in your life) and I will believe.” That is how people will know if the resurrection is true or not. Does it affect how we live?

The amazing thing is that every one of Jesus’ disciples passed this test. Their lives were dramatically turned upside down, or actually right-side up, by their encounter with the risen Christ. How would you ever make something like this up and stick to it when stones were piercing your flesh as did Stephen, the first Christian martyr? Or as you were being crucified upside down like Simon Peter? It is hard to dispute the testimony of someone who is so convinced of what they have experienced that they are willing to suffer and die to tell the story of Jesus.

You see, people aren’t really interested in an intellectual proof for the resurrection of Jesus. What really speaks to most people is the proof from a changed life. It is not points that convinces anybody, but rather the best proof is a person, your relationship with the Risen Jesus!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

Palm/Passion Sunday

 St. Luke 19:28-40        The Message translation

^28-31 After saying these things, Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem. When he got near Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: “Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you’ll find a colt tethered, one that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says anything, asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say, ‘His Master needs him.’”

^32-33 The two left and found it just as he said. As they were untying the colt, its owners said, “What are you doing untying the colt?”

³⁴ They said, “His Master needs him.”

^35-36 They brought the colt to Jesus. Then, throwing their coats on its back, they helped Jesus get on. As he rode, the people gave him a grand welcome, throwing their coats on the street.

^37-38 Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:

Blessed is he who comes,
    the king in God’s name!
All’s well in heaven!
    Glory in the high places!

³⁹ Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, get your disciples under control!”

⁴⁰ But he said, “If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”

Jesus and His disciples left the city of Jericho and were walking up the mountain on their way to Jerusalem. That was the way the pilgrims came, with Jesus going on ahead, as He had planned all along. This was to be the climax of His story, of His public career, of His vocation. He knew well enough what lay ahead, and had set His face to go and meet it head on. He couldn’t stop announcing the kingdom of God, but that announcement would only come true as He now embodied in Himself the completion of the things He’d been talking about. The living God was at work to heal and save, and the forces of evil and death were massed to oppose Him, sort of like Pharaoh and the armies of Egypt trying to prevent the Israelites from leaving. But this was to be the moment of God’s new Exodus, God’s great Passover, and nothing could stop Jesus going ahead to celebrate it.

The walk from Jericho to the top of the Mount of Olives, where you reach the summit can be intense. They left behind the barren, dusty desert for lush green growth, particularly at Passover time, at the height of spring. There before them, glistening in the sun, is the holy city, Jerusalem itself, on its own slightly smaller hill across a narrow but deep valley. The small towns of Bethany and Bethphage nestle on the Jericho side of the Mount of Olives. Once they passed them, Jerusalem comes into view almost at once. The end of the journey; the pilgrimage to end all pilgrimages; Passover-time in the city of God.

For Jesus it’s a royal occasion, to be carefully planned and completed so as to make exactly the right point. The animal He chose was a young foal, almost certainly a donkey’s colt. He knew Zechariah 9:9, the prophecy of the Messiah riding on a young donkey. The disciples pick up the theme, and in a kind of instant royal celebration they spread cloaks along the road for him. Down they go, down the steep path to the Kidron valley, and the crowd starts to sing part of the great psalm of praise (Psalm 118) that pilgrims always sang on the way to Jerusalem: a song of victory, a hymn of praise to the God who defeats all His foes and establishes His kingdom. Jesus comes as the fulfilment of the nation’s hopes, answering their longings for a king who would bring peace to earth from heaven itself.

And yet … the grumblers are still there; some Pharisees, going along with the crowd, suddenly become anxious about what will happen if the authorities in Jerusalem think for a minute that there’s a messianic demonstration going on. Jesus knows, and Luke knows, and we as his readers know, what awaits the Master when He gets to the city. From Jesus’ point of view, this is why there is such a celebration in the first place: it is appropriate precisely because He is coming to bring God’s salvation, God’s great Exodus, through His own Passover action on the cross.

This beginning of Holy Week, Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, as we arrive at Jerusalem with Jesus, the question presses upon us. Are we going along for the trip in the hope that Jesus will fulfil some of our hopes and desires? Are we ready to sing a psalm of praise, but only as long as Jesus seems to be doing what we want? The long and dusty pilgrim way of our lives gives most of us plenty of time to sort out our motives for following Jesus in the first place. Are we ready not only to spread our cloaks on the road in front of Him, to do the showy and flamboyant thing, but also now to follow Him into trouble, controversy, trial and death? Because we can’t have the resurrection without His death.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The Fifth Sunday in Lent

 St. John 12:1-11         The Message translation

Anointing His Feet

“12 ^1-3 Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently raised from the dead, was living. Lazarus and his sisters invited Jesus to dinner at their home. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those sitting at the table with them. Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus’ feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house.

^4-6 Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, even then getting ready to betray him, said, “Why wasn’t this oil sold and the money given to the poor? It would have easily brought three hundred silver pieces.” He said this not because he cared two cents about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of their common funds, but also embezzled them.

^7-8 Jesus said, “Let her alone. She’s anticipating and honoring the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you. You don’t always have me.”

^9-11 Word got out among the Jews that he was back in town. The people came to take a look, not only at Jesus but also at Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead. So the high priests plotted to kill Lazarus because so many of the Jews were going over and believing in Jesus on account of him.”

Have you ever been to a shared meal table with family and friends when it suddenly went from being a time of support and friendship, to nasty and mean?

Part of the tragedy of this little scene is that Jesus badly needs and wants His followers to be united at this moment. The rest of the world is plotting against Him; His friends might at least have the decency, you might suppose, to stick together and back Him! But no. We can feel the tension in the air.

There is the obvious confrontation between Judas, Jesus, and Mary. But even before that, consider the simple words: ‘Martha served … then Mary took a jar of expensive perfume …’

We have met these sisters before—in the previous chapter when their brother Lazarus had died and Jesus raised him back to life, and at the end of Luke 10. We feel we know them. Martha, as in Luke, has made a great dinner for Jesus and His followers. Mary seems to steal centre stage, not this time simply by sitting at Jesus’ feet, but by her apparently outrageous and extravagant gesture of anointing Jesus’ feet and wiping them with her hair.

She would need to let it down for that purpose; that’s roughly the equivalent, at a modern polite dinner party, of a woman hitching up a long skirt to the top of her thighs. You can imagine the onlookers’ reaction. Had she no shame? What was she trying to say—to Jesus, to the onlookers? All sorts of disturbing thoughts must have been flying round the room. There is a peculiar tension in the air, after all the things that Jesus has said and done, not to mention the warnings of violence being plotted against Jesus.

We can imagine how Martha felt. She may well have thought that Mary had gone over the top this time; but it was Judas who came out and said it. The other disciples looked on, quite likely equally embarrassed by Mary’s extravagance, by Judas’ outburst, and by Jesus’ strange comment. John is quite clear where the blame lies. Judas, he says, had in any case been helping himself out of the common purse, so his reaction wasn’t sincere.

But there is no escaping the challenge posed by the stand-off between Mary and Judas. It is one of those scenes which positively shouts at the reader, ‘Where are you in this picture?’

Are we with the shameless Mary, worshipping Jesus with everything she’s got, risking the wrath of her sister who’s doing all the hard work, the anger of the men who perhaps don’t quite trust their own feelings when a woman lets her hair down in public, and the sneer of the person (Judas) who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing?

Or are we with the cautious, prudent, reliable Judas (as he must have seemed to most of them), looking after the meagre resources of a group without steady or settled income, anxious to provide for their needs and still have something left to give to the poor? (This last was a regular preoccupation. When Judas went out at the Last Supper (13:29), the others guessed he might have been going to give something to the poor, even at that solemn moment.) Put aside our natural inclination to distance ourselves from Judas. After all, even at that last moment none of the other disciples had suspected him of treachery. Can we see just a glimpse of him as we look in the mirror?

Or are we back in the kitchen with Martha? If so, how do we feel about both Mary and Judas? And how do we feel about Jesus, and what He said?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The Fourth Sunday in Lent 

St. Luke 15:1-32      The Message translation

The Story of the Lost Sheep

^1-3 By this time a lot of men and women of questionable reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religious scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story.

^4-7 “Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

The Story of the Lost Coin

^8-10 “Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”

How much is one human being worth? In terms of a financial profile, the prodigal son was worth, at his lowest point some would say, zero? How much are you worth? Chemically: if we could somehow break down the chemical composition of your body, I could tell you your worth. You have within your body enough iron for a nail; enough sugar to fill a sugar bowl; enough fat for seven bars of soap; enough lime to whitewash a chicken coop, enough phosphorous for 2,200 match heads, enough magnesium for a dose of magnesium; enough potassium to shoot a toy cannon, all mixed in with a little sulphur, so that in today’s market you are valued at around $20.

What about the prodigal son? He had a father who loved him dearly. That alone is a priceless value! There are around 52,000 runaways every year in Canada, and that does not cause us to blink an eye. But if I hear that my child is one of them, there is nothing that I will not do to see that they are found. You are more valuable than a diamond mine or an oil field. Why? Because you belong to our loving Heavenly Father. In the parable of the lost coin, we read where a woman turns her house upside down in search for a missing coin. When she found it, she threw a party. In the parable of the lost sheep the shepherd left 99 sheep and searched until he found the lost one, then threw a party. In the parable of the lost sons, we see the father throwing a party when one son returned home. Has God not literally turned the world upside down, as His Son Jesus came to welcome us home?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The Third Sunday in Lent

St. Luke 13:1-9 NLT

A Call to Repentance

13 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. ² “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? ³ Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. ⁴ And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶ Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. ⁷ Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’

⁸ “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. ⁹ If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’”

This parable of the fruitless fig tree comes after a discussion on the connection between oppression, suffering, death, and repentant living. Jesus again dismantles the idea that those who suffer are more sinful than anyone else but then tells His listeners that unless they change their hearts and lives (metanoia in Greek = repentance), they will die just like those unfortunate ones who were slaughtered by Pilate or were killed when a tower fell. On one level Jesus didn’t offer the people a very comforting message in light of the horrible news of the Roman Governor Pilate murdering some Galileans while they were worshipping in the Temple. Roman and Jewish historians tell us how brutal and cruel Pilate was. But Jesus’ response seems to be telling people to shift their focus from judging other people and onto re-evaluating their own lives. He also reorients the discussion away from the mistakes of the past and onto the opportunity for repentance (changing one’s mind and life) available in the present. Jesus is inviting people to change their lives in order to move forward in a life with God.

With that conversation as a backdrop, Jesus tells the story of a fruitless fig tree. Remember where we are in Luke’s narrative: Jesus has now resolutely set His life to go to Jerusalem, to die. And He will end up going there leading a procession of Galileans into the city and go to the Temple. This is actually a very challenging parable, that like so many of His parables, Jesus seems to leave open ended, with more questions than answers.

God had been looking for the fruit of repentance from His people (for centuries) and Jesus the Son of God, the Saviour, almost confirms over the course of His three-year ministry that hardly anyone has shown the fruit of repentance. But, as the gardener, Jesus will dig around the barren fig tree, spread out manure, seeking to infuse the seemingly dead tree with new life. And here the parable seems to just stop, leaving us wondering…

How are you and I doing in bearing the fruit of repentance and following the way of Jesus? How are we doing in daily changing the focus of our living from judging others and to living life for Jesus?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The Second Sunday in Lent

 Please read St. Luke 13:31-35. This is an account of Jesus being warned of King Herod’s intentions to hunt Him down; and Jesus’ lament over His people.

During the summer of 2024 we saw some of the worst wildfires ever in our world, and especially in North America. Fire is as terrifying to trapped animals as to people, if not more so. When a farmyard catches fire, the animals try to escape; but, if they cannot, some species have developed ways of protecting their young. The picture here is of a hen, gathering her chicks under her wings to protect them. There are stories of exactly this: after a farmyard fire, those cleaning up have found a dead hen, scorched and blackened—with live chicks sheltering under her wings. She has quite literally given her life to save them.

It is a vivid and violent image of what Jesus declared He longed to do for Jerusalem, for all Israel, and for the whole world. But, at that moment, all He could see was chicks scurrying off in the opposite direction, taking no notice of the smoke and flames indicating the approach of danger, nor of the urgent warnings of the One who alone could give them safety.

This picture of the hen and the chickens is the strongest statement so far in Luke of what Jesus thinks His death would be all about. But this passage also expresses another great danger alongside fire: the predator fox. And that’s the image Jesus uses for Herod.

For most of the story, Herod has cast a dark shadow across the page, but he has not until now posed an explicit threat to Jesus. Jesus clearly indicates His contempt for Herod.

What matters is that Jesus has a destiny to fulfil, as He has already stated (9:22, 44; 12:50). It consists, in picture-language, of two days’ work and one day’s completion. Two days to cast out demons and cure illnesses; ‘and I shall be finished on the third day’. No careful reader of Luke’s gospel could miss the echoes, backwards and forwards: to the boy Jesus, found on the third day in the Temple (2:46); to the risen Jesus, alive again on the third day (24:21).

Jesus’ destiny, then, is to go to Jerusalem and die, risking the threats of the fox, and adopting the role of the mother hen to the chicks faced with sudden danger. But will Jerusalem benefit from His offer? Jerusalem has a long history of rebelling against God, refusing the way of peace (that statement seems to be as true in the modern day as in the ancient world).

We can see, with devastating clarity, what Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem is going to mean. Israel’s greatest crisis is coming upon her, and Jesus is offering an urgent summons to repent, to come His kingdom-way, His way of peace. This is the only way of avoiding the disaster which will otherwise follow her persistent rebellion. Jesus’ intention now, in obedience to His purpose, is to go to Jerusalem and, like the hen with the chickens, to take upon Himself the full force of that disaster which He was predicting for the nation and the Temple. The one will give Himself on behalf of the many.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The First Sunday in Lent

Please read St. Luke 4:1-13. This is an account of the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness.

Luke has just reminded us of Jesus’ membership in the family of Adam, the human family. If there had been any doubt about His being truly human, Luke underlines His sharing of our flesh and blood in this vivid scene of temptation. If Jesus is the descendant of Adam, He must now face not only what Adam faced but the powers that had been unleashed through human rebellion and sin.

What was Jesus to do?

The three temptations can be read as possible answers to this question. This string of natural ideas that the devil gives voice to are plausible, attractive, and make, as we would say, a lot of sense. God surely doesn’t want His beloved Son to be famished with hunger, can He? If God wants Jesus to become sovereign over the world (that, after all, is what Gabriel had told Mary), then why not go for it in one easy stride? If Jesus is Israel’s Messiah, why not prove it by spectacular displays of power?

If there are in this narrative, echoes of Adam and Eve in the garden, with the serpent whispering plausible lies about God, His purposes and His commands, there are also echoes of Israel in the wilderness. Israel came out of Egypt through the Red Sea, with God declaring that Israel was His son, His firstborn. There then followed the 40-year wandering in the wilderness, where Israel grumbled for bread, flirted disastrously with idolatry, and put God continually to the test.

Now Jesus, coming through the waters of baptism as God’s unique Son, the One through whom Israel’s destiny was to be fulfilled, faces the question: how is Jesus to be Israel’s representative, her rightful King? How can He deliver Israel, and thereby the world, from the grip of the enemy: Satan, sin, and death? How can Jesus bring about the real liberation, not from Rome and other political foes, but from the arch-enemy, the devil himself?

The answer is that Jesus must begin by defeating him at the most personal and intimate level. If Jesus could not win the victory there in the wilderness, there was little point carrying on.

Jesus responds to the devil, not by attempting to argue (arguing with temptation is often a way of playing with the idea until it becomes too attractive to resist), but by quoting scripture. The passages Jesus draws on come from the story of Israel in the wilderness: Jesus is going to succeed where Israel failed.

Temptation #1: Physical needs and wants are important, but loyalty to God is more important still.

Temptation #2: Jesus is indeed to become the world’s true lord, but the path to that status, and the mode of it when it arrives, is humble service, not a devilish seeking after status and power.

Temptation #3: Trust in God doesn’t mean acting stupidly to force God into doing a spectacular rescue. The power that Jesus already has, which He will shortly display in healings in particular, is to be used for restoring others to life and strength, not for cheap stunts. His status as God’s Son commits Him, not to showy prestige, but to the strange path of humility, service and finally death.

The enemy will return to test this resolve again. For the moment, an initial victory is won, and Jesus can begin his public career knowing that though struggles lie ahead, the foe has been beaten on the first field that really matters.

We are unlikely to be tempted in exactly the same way as Jesus was, but every Christian will be tested at the points which matter most in her or his life and vocation. It is a central part of Christian vocation to learn to recognize the voices that whisper attractive lies, to distinguish them from the voice of God, and to use the simple but direct weapons provided in scripture to rebut the lies with truth.

At the heart of our resistance to temptation is love and loyalty to the God who has already called us His beloved children in Christ, and who holds out before us the calling to follow Jesus in the path which leads to the true glory. In that glory lies the true happiness, the true fulfilment, true life!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A Moment with the Minister

 March 2, 2025

Please read St. Luke 9:28-36. This is an account of the Transfiguration of Jesus.

What’s it like up there, on the mountain tops of life?

1. It is cloudy on the summits

“A cloud … overshadowed them” (Luke 9:34). It is cloudy on mountain summits. True, on a clear day you can see forever. But most days, mountaintops are not clear. Most days on mountain-tops, one rubs shoulders less with the sky than with soupy clouds. From the cloudy mountaintops, it is hard to see where one is, where one has been or where one is going. One needs an interrupting voice to speak from the overshadowing clouds. After the Transfiguration, Peter does not know what response to make (Luke 9:33). So, he babbles. Peter always has to say something, even when vision is obstructed, when silence is what is called for and when experience eludes understanding until one is off the mountain.

2. There is little growth on the mountaintops.

Air gets thinner, trees get shorter, foliage gets scarcer, the higher one climbs. On the top of the mountain itself, there is only the stark beauty of rock and dirt. For growth, one has to go into the valleys, where an abundance of water produces lushness of greenery and richness of colour. The greatest growth in Jesus’ life took place in a garden, not on the mountain, in the Garden of Gethsemane, not on the Mount of Transfiguration.

3. There is nothing to cast a shadow on the mountaintops.

We must not build booths on the summits or remain in mountaintop tent-temples. We visit the mountain tops. We inhabit the valleys. Because of Jesus, God is no longer on the top of a mountain but walking on earth in human flesh and blood.

4. Building plans: Monuments to the moment

Peter, James and John were so startled and awed by their experience on the mountaintop that their first response to the divine in their lives was to build something: a monument to the moment. It never happened.

The disciples preferred building over being. Being in prayer or being in an attitude of expectancy is very difficult. When Peter, James and John were asked to simply be, they usually fell asleep, as they did here (verse 32 and also see Matthew 26:36-46). They believed that the best way to preserve a memory, a belief or an experience was to build a temple, a monument, rather than a testament of the heart.

When we come down the mountain, God expects no monuments, but loves to see in us attitudes of behaviour like:

• Trust & Obedience
• A listening heart
• Kindness and mercy
• Peace
• Gentleness
• Love, for God, and for neighbour, friends and enemies

When God touches us with God’s transfiguring glory, it is best not to build, but to be, and let Him build those attitudes within us!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

Love for Enemies

²⁷ “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. ²⁸ Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. ³⁰ Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.³¹ Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

³² “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! ³³ And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!³⁴ And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

³⁵ “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. ³⁶ You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

St. Luke 6:27-36         The New Living Translation

The Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed and lived was all about a glorious, uproarious, absurd generosity. Think of the best thing you can do for the worst person, and go ahead and do it. Think of what you’d really like someone to do for you, and do it for them. Think of the people to whom you are tempted to be nasty, and lavish generosity on them instead. These instructions have a fresh, springlike quality. They are all about new life bursting out energetically, like flowers growing through concrete and startling everyone with their colour and vigour.

But are they possible? Well, yes and no. Jesus’ point was not to provide His followers with a new rule-book, a list of do’s and don’ts that you could tick off one by one, and sit back satisfied at the end of a successful moral day. The point was to continuously instill, and illustrate, an attitude of heart, a lightness of spirit in the face of all that the world can throw at you. And at the centre of it is the thing that motivates and gives colour to the whole: you are to be like this because that’s what God is like. God is generous to all people, generous (in the eyes of the stingy) to a fault: He provides good things for all to enjoy, the undeserving as well as the deserving. He is astonishingly merciful (anyone who knows their own heart truly, and still goes on experiencing God’s grace and love, will agree with this); how can we, His forgiven, beloved children, be any less? Only when people discover that this is the sort of God they are dealing with will they have any chance of making this way of life their own.

This God is different. If you lived in a society where everyone believed in this God, there wouldn’t be any violence. There wouldn’t be any revenge. There wouldn’t be any divisions of class or caste. Property and possessions wouldn’t be nearly as important as making sure your neighbour was all right. Imagine if even a few people around you took Jesus seriously and lived like that. Life would be exuberant, different, astonishing. People would stare.

And of course, the people did stare when Jesus did it Himself. The reason why crowds gathered, as Luke told us earlier, was that power was flowing out of Jesus, and people were being healed. His whole life was one of exuberant generosity, giving all He’d got to give to everyone who needed it. He was speaking of what He knew: the extravagant love of His Father, and the call to live a lavish human life in response. And finally, when they struck Him on the cheek and ripped the coat and shirt off His back, He went on loving and forgiving, as Luke will tell us later (23:34, 43). He didn’t show love only to His friends, but to His enemies, weeping over the city that had rejected His plea for peace by truly living for God, praying for God to forgive those who crucified Him. He was the true embodiment of the God of whom He spoke.

There are two particularly astonishing things about these instructions. First, their simplicity: they are obvious, clear, direct and memorable. Second, their scarcity. How many people do you know who really live like this? How many communities do you know where these guidelines are rules of life? What’s gone wrong? Has God changed? Or have we forgotten who he really is?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A Moment with the Minister

The Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

The Beatitudes

²⁰ Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,

“God blesses you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
²¹ God blesses you who are hungry now,
for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
for in due time you will laugh.

²² What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.²³ When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

Sorrows Foretold

²⁴ “What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
for you have your only happiness now.
²⁵ What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
²⁶ What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

St. Luke 6:20-26         The New Living translation

For one season, for one summer, I pretended to be a co-coach of my son’s soccer team. I had to go for training sessions, then we were let loose. The boys were 6 years old, and their parents had signed them up to play in the house league. We tried teaching them some of the basic soccer rules while we ran them through drills. Hoping that at least some of what we taught them about what to do and what not to do stuck, we started playing games. Remember, this was a group of boys who wanted to be there, to learn and play, at least most of them wanted to be there.

Now imagine us co-coaches going to say a school ground at recess and trying to pick a group of 11 random kids to teach them the ins and outs of soccer. There might be a few hundred kids on the school grounds, but we only want 11. And we don’t know if the kids we pick have any experience in soccer, or if they really wanted to be chosen. And we don’t have much time to teach them before the games begin.

In Luke 6, Jesus spent a night in prayer up on a mountain, then the next morning He came down the mountain and from the hundreds, maybe thousands of people following Jesus so far, Jesus hand-picked the 12 disciples. Everything Jesus did was “bathed” in prayer, like praying all night before calling the first 12 followers whom Jesus would spend the next 3 years training, not for soccer, but for changing the world.

They came from different families, and backgrounds. And His training began with 4 “rules” to do, and 4 “rules” to not do. Way back in their history, God had chosen the 12 sons of Jacob to be the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. Through them, God intended to fulfill His promises of redeeming His creation. The people listening to and the crowds following Jesus around knew this from their history. And now Jesus picks 12 men to be the core of the new thing God was doing in unleashing His New Covenant through His Son Jesus.

God is doing something quite new: as Jesus had emphasized in the synagogue at Nazareth, in Luke chapter 4, He is fulfilling His promises at last, and this will mean good news for all the people who haven’t had any for a long time. The poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are hated: blessings on them! Not that there’s anything virtuous about being poor or hungry in itself. But when injustice is reigning, the world will have to be turned once more the right way up for God’s justice and kingdom to come to birth. And that will provoke opposition from people who like things just the way they are. Jesus’ message of promise and warning, of blessing and curse, rang with echoes of the Hebrew prophets of old, and He knew that the reaction would be the same.

So what would happen if Jesus comes to “our playground” today…

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

*******

A moment with the minister

The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

5 ^1-3 Once when he was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, the crowd was pushing in on him to better hear the Word of God. He noticed two boats tied up. The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. He climbed into the boat that was Simon’s and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd.

⁴ When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, “Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch.”

^5-7 Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners in the other boat to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch.

^8-10 Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus. “Master, leave. I’m a sinner and can’t handle this holiness. Leave me to myself.” When they pulled in that catch of fish, awe overwhelmed Simon and everyone with him. It was the same with James and John, Zebedee’s sons, coworkers with Simon.

^10-11 Jesus said to Simon, “There is nothing to fear. From now on you’ll be fishing for men and women.” They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them, nets and all, and followed him.

St. Luke 5:1-11           The Message translation

Peter clearly had a sense that life was never going to be the same again, that he was going to face new demands and challenges; but he couldn’t help being swept off his feet by what had happened.

It had started as a neat bit of resourcefulness on Jesus’ part. He’d begun to teach a group by the shore, but the crowd got bigger and bigger and there simply wasn’t room. So Jesus improvised. Along the lakeshore close to Capernaum there is a sequence of steep inlets, a zigzagging shoreline with each inlet forming a natural amphitheatre. To this day, if you get in a boat and push out a little from the shore, you can talk in quite a natural voice, and anyone on the slopes of the inlet can hear you clearly—more clearly, in fact, than if you were right there on the shore with them. Jesus was simply making good use of the geography of the area and the ready availability of a boat.

Having commandeered the boat, with the fishermen listening to His every word, Jesus puts them on the spot. You don’t catch any fish during the day there, but fish are much more likely to be caught after dark. On this occasion the men had worked all night for nothing; the last thing they would normally do would be to start again by daylight. Instead during the day they would be fixing their nets, getting ready for (hopefully) a better night of fishing. But Jesus told them to cast the net now, during the daylight, so they did. He made that sort of impression on people, even hard-working, no-nonsense fishermen.

The rest, as they say, is history. A huge catch. Quick messages for help to the other boat. A struggle to get boats and fish back to land before they all went under with the weight. And then the moment of truth. Peter finds himself right out of his league. Jesus promises that the same sort of thing will happen, only now it will be people, not fish. And the fishermen become followers, going off into a new life with only the skimpiest idea of where it will take them.

This is the kind of story it helps to get inside. Become Peter for a few moments; pause and ponder what you normally do, day after day, and then imagine Jesus suddenly appearing, asking for your help with His own work, and then telling you to do something in your own line of country which seems pointless, a waste of time and effort. You do it, grumbling perhaps under your breath; and suddenly everything clicks into place, everything succeeds on a scale you’d never dreamed of. What’s going on? How did it happen? Feel the sense of awe, terror even, as you come to terms with the power of Jesus. Then feel that sense of terror increase as He turns to you with what looks like a question in His eyes, though it proves to be a command. ‘You and I are going to be working together from now on,’ He says. And you realize you have no choice. If this man isn’t worth following, nobody is!!

And remember, Jesus doesn’t want to leave anybody out. His call to Peter and the others—that they should now help Him in catching people—came precisely in order that the good news would go out wider and wider, reaching as many as possible. Ultimately, there ought to be no bystanders in the kingdom of God. We are reading Luke’s gospel today because Jesus kept His promise to Peter, despite Peter’s initial reluctance and subsequent failures.

When Jesus calls, He certainly does demand everything, but only because He has already given everything Himself, and has plans in store, for us and the world, that we would never have dreamed of.

 

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

^14-15 Jesus returned to Galilee powerful in the Spirit. News that he was back spread through the countryside. He taught in their meeting places to everyone’s acclaim and pleasure.

^16-21 He came to Nazareth where he had been raised. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,

God’s Spirit is on me;
he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free,
to announce, “This is God’s time to shine!”

He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, “You’ve just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place.”

²² All who were there, watching and listening, were surprised at how well he spoke. But they also said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son, the one we’ve known since he was just a kid?”

^23-27 He answered, “I suppose you’re going to quote the proverb, ‘Doctor, go heal yourself. Do here in your hometown what we heard you did in Capernaum.’ Well, let me tell you something: No prophet is ever welcomed in his hometown. Isn’t it a fact that there were many widows in Israel at the time of Elijah during that three and a half years of drought when famine devastated the land, but the only widow to whom Elijah was sent was in Sarepta in Sidon? And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of the prophet Elisha but the only one cleansed was Naaman the Syrian.”

^28-30 That set everyone in the meeting place seething with anger. They threw him out, banishing him from the village, then took him to a mountain cliff at the edge of the village to throw him to his doom, but he gave them the slip and was on his way.

St. Luke 4:14-30         The Message translation

I’ll never forget the first, and only, time I preached a sermon in my home church in London. I was going to seminary in a couple of months, and I was invited to preach in the congregation I had grown up in. I preached for 45 minutes from John 15, about how Jesus wants His followers to bear much fruit for the glory of God, and the best way to do that is to stay intimately close with Jesus. Well, people were polite to me after the worship time together, but I heard some comments about the length of the sermon, and who was I to tell people to stay close to Jesus, I hadn’t even started seminary yet.

I was never invited back to preach in my home church. But at least they didn’t try to run me out of town and throw me off a cliff, like the hometown crowd did to Jesus after He preached His first sermon there!!

What was so wrong with what Jesus said? What made them kick Him out of the synagogue, hustle Him out of the town, and take Him off to the cliff edge to throw Him over? The crucial part comes in Jesus’ comments to His hearers, in His sermon following the reading of Scripture.

By way of defence and explanation for the line He had been taking, Jesus points out what happened in the days of the great prophets Elijah and Elisha, and in doing so, Jesus identifies Himself with the prophets. Elijah was sent to help a widow—but not a Jewish one. Elisha healed one solitary leper—and the leper was the commander of the enemy army. That’s what did it; that’s what infuriated the crowd in worship that day! To the people in worship that day it sounded like Jesus was saying that Israel’s God was rescuing the wrong people.

The earlier part of Jesus’ address must have been hammering home the same point. His hearers were, after all, waiting for God to liberate Israel from pagan enemies. In several Jewish texts of the time, we find a longing that God would condemn the wicked nations, would pour out wrath and destruction on them. Instead, Jesus is pointing out that when the great prophets were active, it wasn’t Israel who benefited, but only the pagans. It’s not what people wanted to hear.

Luke says that the people ‘were astonished at the words of sheer grace that were coming out of His mouth’. Sometimes people have understood this simply to mean, ‘they were astonished at what a good speaker he was’. But it seems more likely that Luke means ‘they were astonished that Jesus was speaking about God’s grace—grace for everybody, including the nations—instead of grace for Israel and fierce judgment for everyone else’. That fits perfectly with what followed.

Why then did Jesus begin His address with the long quotation from Isaiah (61:1–2)? The passage He quotes is about the Messiah. Throughout Isaiah there are pictures of a strange ‘anointed’ figure who will perform the Lord’s will. But, though Isaiah goes on to speak of vengeance on evildoers, Jesus doesn’t quote that bit. Instead, He seems to have drawn on the larger picture in Isaiah and elsewhere which speaks of Israel being called to be the light of the nations, just as Jesus read from Isaiah 61 “This is God’s time to shine!”. The servant-Messiah has not come to inflict punishment on the nations, but to bring God’s love and mercy to them. And that will be the fulfilment of a central theme in Israel’s own scriptures.

This message was, and still is shocking. Jesus’ claim to be reaching out with healing to all people, though itself a vital Jewish idea, was not what most first-century Jewish folk wanted or expected. As we shall see, Jesus coupled it with severe warnings to His own countrymen. Unless they could see that this was the time for their God to be gracious, unless they abandoned their futile dreams of a military victory over their national enemies, they would suffer defeat themselves at every level—military, political and theological.

Here, as at the climax of the gospel story, Jesus’ challenge and warning brings about a violent reaction. The gospel still does this today, when it challenges all interests and agendas with the news of God’s surprising grace.

How has God’s amazing grace challenged you lately?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The Third Sunday after Epiphany

Love Your Enemies

^38-42 “Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

^43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

⁴⁸ “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

St. Matthew 5:38-48     The Message translation

There was once a father who had to go away from his young family for three or four days on business. Anxious that his wife should be properly looked after in his absence, he had a word with the oldest son, who was nine at the time.

‘When I’m away,’ he said, ‘I want you to think what I would normally do around the house, and you do it for me.’ He had in mind, of course, clearing up in the kitchen, washing up dishes, putting out the garbage, and similar tasks.

On his return, he asked his wife what the son had done. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘it was very strange. It started with right after breakfast he made himself another cup of coffee, went into the living room, put on some loud music, and read the newspaper for half an hour.’ The father was left wondering whether his son had obeyed him a bit too accurately.

The shocking thing about this passage in the Sermon on the Mount is that we are told to watch what our Heavenly Father is doing and then do the same ourselves. So Jesus gives three hints of the sort of thing He has in mind. To be struck on the right cheek, in that world, almost certainly meant being hit with the back of the right hand. That’s not just violence, but an insult: it implies that you’re an inferior, perhaps a slave, a child, or (in that world, and sometimes even today) a woman. What’s the answer? Hitting back only keeps the evil in circulation. Offering the other cheek implies: hit me again if you like, but now as an equal, not an inferior.

Or suppose you’re in a lawcourt where a powerful enemy is suing you (perhaps for non-payment of some huge debt) and wants the shirt off your back. You can’t win; but you can show him what he’s really doing. Give him your cloak as well; and, in a world where most people only wore those two garments, shame him with your impoverished nakedness. This is what the rich, powerful and careless people in our world have been doing for millennia: they are reducing the poor to a state of shame.

The third example clearly reflects the Roman military occupation. Roman soldiers had the right to force civilians to carry their equipment for one mile. But the law was quite strict; it forbade them to make someone go more than that. Turn the tables on them, advises Jesus. Don’t fret and fume and plot revenge. Copy your generous God! Go a second mile, and astonish the soldier (and perhaps alarm him—what if his commanding officer found out?) with the news that there is a different way to be human, a way which doesn’t plot revenge, which doesn’t join the armed resistance movement (that’s what verse 39 means), but which wins God’s kind of victory over violence and injustice.

These examples are only little sketches to give us the idea. What would it mean to reflect God’s generous love despite the pressure and provocation, despite our own anger and frustration?

Impossible? Well, yes, at one level. But again, Jesus’ teaching isn’t just good advice, it’s good news. Jesus did it all Himself and opened up the new way of being human so that all who follow Him can discover it. When they mocked Him, He didn’t respond. When they challenged Him, He told quizzical, sometimes humorous, stories that forced them to think differently. When they struck Him, He took the pain. When they put the worst bit of Roman equipment on His back—the heavy cross-piece on which He would be killed—He carried it out of the city to the place of His own execution. When they nailed Him to the cross, He prayed for them.

The Sermon on the Mount isn’t just about how to behave. It’s about discovering the living God in the loving, and dying, Jesus, and learning to reflect that love ourselves into the world that needs it so badly. In other words, for us to do what we see God the Father doing in and through His Son Jesus.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The First Sunday after Epiphany

The Baptism of our Lord Jesus

^“4-7 But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. Thus we have been set free to experience our rightful heritage. You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.”

Galatians 4:4-7   The Message translation

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”(1 John 3:1 ESV)

From an early age, we’re told who we are: a good student if we get good grades, a valuable player on the court if we cover our person on the opposite team and put up decent shot percentages, and later, a good employee if we hit our quotas and don’t talk back to our boss. How much of it is conditional though: You are good if, you are loved if!!

But what about our identity as people from God’s perspective?

We are chosen and adopted by God (Galatians 4:4-7). We’re not defined by our achievements, failures, or circumstances but by our identity as beloved children of the Most High God!!

This status is not earned through our efforts or lost through our mistakes; it’s a gift and a manifestation of God’s love. Our adoption as beloved children of the living God means we are heirs to His kingdom, sharing in the inheritance of eternal life with Christ (Hebrews 9:15).

It reminds me of Jean Valjean from Les Misérables. After being released from prison, Valjean is taken in by a kind bishop who offers him food and shelter. During the night, Valjean, desperate and hardened by years of suffering, steals the bishop’s silverware and then runs away. When he is caught and brought back to the bishop, instead of accusing him of theft, the bishop tells the police that the silverware was a gift. He even gives Valjean two more silver candlesticks, saying he had forgotten them.

This shocking act of mercy profoundly impacts Valjean, transforming his life. He becomes a man of integrity and compassion, dedicating his life to helping others.

The story is a moving illustration of grace of being lovingly adopted into a forever Family. Valjean, who felt worthless and defined by his past mistakes, was given a new identity through an act of unconditional love and forgiveness.

As beloved children of Almighty God, we are given a new identity based not on our past but on the love and forgiveness of our Heavenly Father. This identity empowers us to live transformed lives, reflecting the love we have received to the world around us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for adopting us as Your beloved children!!! Help us to live in the confidence of our identity as Your children, knowing that You deeply love and cherish us. Amen.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The 1^st Sunday after Christmas

Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector

⁹ Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: ¹⁰ “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! ¹² I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”                 St. Luke 18:9-14          NLT

Robert Capon, author and Episcopal priest, had a different take (as he often did) on the story Jesus told in Luke 18 about the tax collector and the Pharisee who went to the temple to pray. What if that same sinner kept sinning and came back to the temple to pray the same prayer? What if he were a drug dealer, a pimp, or a thief who stopped by the church on his way to deal, traffic, or rob another bank? The story would be the same each time. That’s the point. God’s forgiveness is that radical and surprising.

It’s the principle: God whispers in our joy. God shouts in our pain. God gently comes and loves us in our helplessness.

A man named Dave served in a church in Boston. He was dealing with the theological problem of suffering and this woman then made it personal to her own suffering. She said to Dave, “The pain, humiliation, and failure have been so hard. Why would God put me through all of that?” Dave asked, “Would you rather not have known God?” The woman said softly, “no,” wiping away her tears.

Now please read Isaiah 41:10 & Psalm 18:2 & Romans 8:1  and 2 Corinthians 5:17

We all struggle with fear, shame, and guilt. It’s inevitable. But what then? How would you answer Dave’s question? How has God whispered in your joy, shouted in your pain, and gently come and loved you in your helplessness?

Turn again and again to Jesus. In His loving and open arms, you’ll find safety, peace, comfort, unfailing love, and of course forgiveness!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister

The 1^st Sunday after Christmas

Please read St. Luke 2:21-35.

This narrative is about the old man Simeon who had lived his whole life looking forward to the day when the Saviour would come, and he was overjoyed to hold the baby Jesus, for which he praised God and blessed Mary and Joseph.

I know, Christmas Day was just a few days ago. I spoke with a person this week who said that they are so glad to be through Christmas for another year. Is Christmas time just another thing, another season of extra business that we try to add on to our already busy lives?  Do we ever wonder if we’ll make it through so that we look forward to the slow days after Christmas to catch our breath?  Does it ever feel as though Christmas throws your life out of balance for a while, or does life just feel somehow out of balance anyway?

I guess it depends on what our focus is; what the focus of our/your life really is.  I know people who wondered: if their health would make it through Christmas; if they would have the strength to visit with family for another Christmas time; if their relationship(s) with loved ones would collapse or heal; if they would hear from their “prodigal” daughter or son at all this Christmas; if they would be able to stand the loneliness of Christmas since their spouse or another family member died; if the new year will have a job in store for them; if, if, if  lots of different and yet related things.

These sorts of situations are all related because no matter which one or ones we find ourselves in the midst of, Christmas is one of the biggest ways that God seeks to remind us that He is with us, with you no matter what!!!

The gift of Jesus the Son of God, the Saviour of the world at Christmas reminds us that His love, hope, peace, joy and forever life are with us in the darkest of times, the brightest of days and everywhere in between.  Christmas is God’s invitation for us, not to try to have or to achieve a balanced sort of life with a little bit of Jesus added in for good measure, but rather for us to stake everything on His power and presence in our lives.

Christmas is God’s reminder of Immanuel which means God is with us.  Period.  Christmas is an invitation for us to, not have Jesus follow us, but for us to follow Him, to a cross and an empty tomb and then to a world in which we are His hands and feet, carrying His love and grace everywhere.

Christmas is a reminder of where we focus our lives: our hearts, minds, soul and strength.  Jesus was born, lived the only sinless life perfectly loving humanity, died in our place, rose again from the dead and is one day going to return in glory.  In doing all this and more for us He invites us in the midst of everything we experience to remember He is with us and to follow Him, no matter what.

I was just thinking out loud about this, a few days after Christmas,

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 22^nd December 2024

The Fourth Sunday in Advent

The Birth of Jesus

⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  St. Luke 2:15–20 NIV

Because we’ve heard the Christmas story so many times, we forget the amazing miracle it was. God came to earth in the form of a man. We need to take time to ponder the wonder of this miracle.

The fundamental mistake the religious leaders of Jesus’ day made was trying to force God to fit into their religious boxes (see Matthew 23:23). Instead of being conformed to God’s image, they tried to form God in their own image. What they ended up with was a “God in a box.” Jesus healed people on the Sabbath; He lifted up the down-trodden; He gave hope to the hopeless and real love to those the world considered unlovable, but instead of celebrating the amazing things of Jesus, the leaders plotted to kill him. Why? Because Jesus didn’t fit in their box.

In his book Rumors of Another World, Philip Yancey says there are two ways of looking at the world. “One takes the world apart, while the other seeks to connect and put it together.” He goes on to say, “We live in an age that excels at the first and falters at the second.”

Similarly, there are two ways of approaching God. One approach takes God apart. We make God manageable and measurable. We reduce God to a set of propositions, tightly sealed theologies, or divine formulas. We fall into the trap of reductionism. In the words of A.W. Tozer, we end up with a God who can “never surprise us, never overwhelm us, never astonish us, never transcend us.”

Albert Einstein said, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”

Experience the mystery of Christmas—the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God of all creation was born as a helpless little baby in Bethlehem. Like Mary, ponder the wonder of it all…God became one of us, to bring us into His family!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 15^th December 2024

The Third Sunday in Advent

The Birth of Jesus

¹ At that time a decree was issued by Augustus Caesar: the whole world was to be registered. ² (This was the first registration, before the one when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ So everyone set off to be registered, each to their own town. ⁴ Joseph too, who belonged to the house and family of David, went from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judaea, David’s city, ⁵ to be registered with his fiancée Mary, who was pregnant.

⁶ So that’s where they were when the time came for her to give birth; ⁷ and she gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him up and put him to rest in a feeding-trough, because there was no room for them in the normal living quarters.

⁸ There were shepherds in that region, out in the open, keeping a night watch around their flock. ⁹ An angel of the Lord stood in front of them. The glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

¹⁰ ‘Don’t be afraid,’ the angel said to them. ‘Look: I’ve got good news for you, news which will make everybody very happy. ¹¹ Today a Saviour has been born for you—the Messiah, the Lord!—in David’s town. ¹² This will be the sign for you: you’ll find the baby wrapped up, and lying in a feeding-trough.’

¹³ Suddenly, with the angel, there was a crowd of the heavenly armies. They were praising God, saying,

¹⁴ ‘Glory to God in the highest,

and peace upon earth among those in his favour.’

¹⁵ So when the angels had gone away again into heaven, the shepherds said to each other,

‘Well then; let’s go to Bethlehem and see what it’s all about, all this that the Lord has told us.’

¹⁶ So they hurried off, and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the feeding-trough. ¹⁷ When they saw it, they told them what had been said to them about this child. ¹⁸ And all the people who heard it were amazed at the things the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured all these things and mused over them in her heart.

²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.         St. Luke 2:1–20

Do you know anybody who lives on the margins of society? I’m sure that if we were asked what sorts of people live there, we could easily categorize them: some people with mental health challenges, addiction issues, immigrants who have fallen through the proverbial cracks, refugees, people seeking to live as they work 2 or 3 or 4 jobs and have to decide every month between paying rent or heat or food, that is if they have a place to rent, let alone the growing number of people living in tent communities. The list could go on.

2,000 years ago, in the Middle East there was a section of that lowest social strata who were treated as dung: the group was Shepherds. They were treated as dangerous, untrustworthy, thieves, and worse. But they had their own little community even as they looked after sheep.

They probably knew little of all the prophecies from God that spoke of the coming Messiah, a Saviour Who would bring people hope, peace, joy, and everlasting love; a Saviour Who would treat them as real people. You can almost hear them scoffing at such a thought, ‘Yeah, right!’

So, as you read the old familiar scripture passage from Luke 2, try to imagine their utter shock and surprise as God’s messenger was sent to them with the world’s greatest announcement! They weren’t worried about whether they deserved to hear such amazing news, they simply let God’s joy flow through them as they ran to find baby Jesus, and then as they told everyone they met about what had just happened to them. They didn’t care what the people they told thought about them, they simply had to share their great joy!

And then they returned to their lowly life, transformed, as they praised God!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 08^th December 2024

The Second Sunday in Advent

Joseph was a carpenter of Nazareth when he found himself in a tremendously challenging situation, a heart-wrenching problem. He was jolted by the news that his fiancée, Mary, was expecting a child… before they were together, before he knew her as a wife. Joseph was crushed, of course, but he loved Mary… and he did not want to hurt her or ridicule her or embarrass her.

He was agonizing over how to handle this difficult situation. As he grappled with his problem, he turned to God… wanting so much to do God’s will and somehow in a dream the Spirit of God spoke to him in a dramatic way and said, “Joseph, don’t be afraid. Go ahead and take Mary for your wife. Your love for each other is unique and special. The Spirit is with her bringing a new life. The child is of God. It is God’s will that she will bear a Son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save people from their sins.”

Now, when you stop to think about it, you can’t help but be inspired by the bold faith of this man called Joseph. As a matter of fact, I think way too little attention has been given to Joseph’s part in the gospel story. His faith, his sensitivity, his kindness, his bigness, his compassion, and his obedience to the will of God have had a far greater impact on Christian thought and the Christian lifestyle than most of us realize. We owe so much to Joseph, and we can learn so much from his faith.

But, how did Joseph do it? What gave him the peace, the poise, the resolution, the confidence, the strength, to rise to that challenging situation? Well, the answer is found in one word in this passage in Matthew chapter 1, one word that underscores the greatest promise in the Bible, the promise of Christmas.

And the word is “Emmanuel” which means “God is with us.” This is what Christmas is about. God in the flesh moved into our broken lives to show us personally the depth of His love. “Behold, a virgin shall bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel, which means, ‘God is with us.’”

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 01^st December 2024

The First Sunday in Advent 

⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

¹⁵ When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”                   St. Luke 2:8-15   NLT

Henri Nouwen told the story of a student who, many years after graduation, returned to sit in his old professor’s office where so many questions had been answered and so many problems had been solved. When the student entered the office, he told his professor that he didn’t need anything, he came just to visit, to be together. They sat for a while in silence and looked at each other.

One broke the silence by telling the other how nice it was to see each other. The other agreed, and then there was silence. Then the student said, “When I look at you it is as if I am in the presence of Christ.” The professor remembers that did not startle or surprise him and that he could only respond with, “It is the Christ in you who recognizes the Christ in me.” The student replied with the most healing words Nouwen had heard in many years. “Yes, Christ indeed is in our midst. From now on, wherever you go, or wherever I go, all the ground between us will be holy ground.”

Our culture puts such an emphasis on productivity, on doing things, solving problems, making plans, producing products that two things have happened. In many cases, those who do not solve or plan or produce are looked upon as second class citizens. And secondly, the idea of getting together just for the sake of being together is so foreign that when we do come together, we often fail to see the Christ in one another because of this uneasy feeling that we ought to be doing something.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 24^th November 2024

³³ Pilate went back into the palace and called for Jesus. He said, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you this about me?”

³⁵ Pilate said, “Do I look like a Jew? Your people and your high priests turned you over to me. What did you do?”

³⁶ “My kingdom,” said Jesus, “doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king.”

              St. John 18:33-36       (The Message Translation)

 

In the ecclesiastical calendar, this marks the last Sunday of the liturgical year. The liturgical year is different from the calendar year. The Church year begins with Advent, the time we set aside for reflection about the coming of Christ. After we celebrate Jesus’ birth, the church calendar follows His life, beginning with Epiphany, His baptism, His temptation, and the beginning of His teaching ministry.

Then we enter the season of Lent when we begin focusing on His death, then His resurrection at Easter. That is followed by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Then we, the church, seek to live out our lives following the teachings of Christ through the ordinary days of the church year until today, the last Sunday in the church year, when we reach a sort of climax with a celebration of the coming reign of Christ over all creation, often called Christ the King Sunday.

With Christ the King Sunday something very powerful is being said. “King,” “kingdom,” “reign” — these are all highly charged political words. They say something about power: Who has it, and conversely, who does not.

Pilate understood that. He asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (vs. 33). This is not a casual question, although Pilate seems to be asking it with a sneer. In fact, this word “king” is repeated nine times during this encounter between Pilate, Jesus, and the Jewish leaders.

Jesus’ response is interesting. Instead of a direct answer, He comes back with another question: “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?” (v. 34). Sounds almost smart-alecky or at least rather bold considering His situation. The Jewish leaders had brought Jesus to Pilate after their illegal midnight trial. They made it perfectly clear that the expectation was that Pilate would condemn Jesus to death, so one would think that flippant replies would not be a good idea.

Pilate, of course, is equally flippant in response: “Am I a Jew?” (v. 35). In fact, that attitude was characteristic of Pilate’s administration in Judea. In his arrogance he never identified himself with the people in his charge and the result was an ill-tempered, mean-spirited regime that would have long ago been relegated to the dustbin of history. His name would quickly have been forgotten, except for one memorable, even earthshaking, incident.

“It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” (v. 35).

Jesus responds, but not with anything that would answer Pilate’s question: “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (v. 36).

Pilate is still confused: “You are a king, then!”

“You are right in saying that I am a king” (v. 37), says Jesus. But we would have to add, “But like no other king this world has ever known.”

We are drawn back to the Christian year that culminates with a celebration of Christ as King. Christ is not Jesus’ surname. It is a title. It indicates “the anointed one” — someone set apart for God’s service. By the time of Jesus, the Jewish people were looking for a Messiah, a Christ, to come who would lead them in victory against their oppressors, a conquering hero who would overthrow the hated Romans. It soon became evident that this was not God’s intention in Jesus. For those who had their hopes pinned on a military & political Messiah, this was a devastating blow. Indeed, some have speculated that this was Judas’ problem — once he found out that his dream of conquest was over, he bolted ranks. And the rest of the story we know too well.

But we know the story does not end sadly. That is why we culminate the Christian year with Christ the King Sunday. This is the day that we can rock the rafters of the universe with our declaration that Jesus Christ is indeed KING and Lord!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 17^th November 2024

“Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’”           Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)

I know it is hard to believe that the Advent and Christmas seasons are just around the corner! And with them can come the “usual” busyness that we can invariably find ourselves wrapped up in, and before you know it, before you actually pause and sit in the wonder of what Christmas is all about, suddenly it is the New Year. Have you ever wondered ‘where did the time go?’ Have you ever thought to yourself, maybe I should do things a little differently next year?

This Christmas, do you need to do less, instead of more? By simplifying your life a little bit now, would you have more enjoyment, more fulfillment, and less stress? What can we learn from Mary and Martha?

At one of the busiest times of the year, do we need to make sure we’re filling our calendar, our mind, and our heart with what’s important, not trivial things that won’t even matter in five years, much less for eternity?

The trivial things I’m talking about are not evil things. We can fill our lives with good things that keep us from spending time with God. We can be involved in serving all the time and be so busy working for God that we don’t leave God any time to work in us.

An example of this is Mary and Martha, who were sisters and also friends of Jesus. One day they invited him to their home for a meal. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, listening to His teaching. Martha was busy worrying about the food and making sure everything was in place.

Doesn’t that sound like Christmas? We spend months buying and wrapping gifts, decorating the house, putting up the lights, fixing the tree, sending out the cards, preparing the meals, planning parties. Then, when Christmas arrives, we realize we were so busy with the preparation that we didn’t make any time for Jesus.

“Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:40-42 NIV).

Mary knew there was one thing worth her time: getting to know the Son of God. And in fact as we spend time at the feet of Jesus, getting to know Him and enjoy Him, it is that time with Jesus that enables us to see where and how He sends us out in the power and presence of His Spirit to serve Him. It is not the other way around.

Nothing else will matter in eternity. God didn’t put us on Earth just to work and then retire. He put us here so you can get to know Him.

This Advent & Christmas pause regularly, take a breath, and shift your focus to the one thing that matters most in this life: Jesus. Then serve from Jesus being our centre!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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Remembrance Sunday, 10^th November 2024

 “The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.”    St. John 1:14  The Message

This past week I have been asked a few times some questions about how God is at work in light of what is going on in politics. I think those questions are leading us to the deeper question: Our world seems to be getting worse not better, so where is God in all this mess? Has God left us?

The whole of the Old Testament (remember that the word Testament is the Latin word for covenant) is the written record of God choosing to be with first an individual, then his family, and then the whole community of his people. God gave them many promises of His Covenant presence, even to the point of promising the gift of His own Son Who would fulfill the whole Covenant in our place, on our behalf, and Who would be God in the flesh.

John’s gospel starts out with the beautiful truth that Jesus moved into our neighbourhood. Whenever we feel that the world is falling apart too much, too quickly, and we wonder if God has left us, we need to remember His promise: God in Jesus has moved into the neighbourhood of His world, and He has also promised that He is with us no matter what even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

With the escalation of conflicts around our world, it can be easy to lose sight of God. A dear friend of ours wrote the following poem several years ago and while I have read it many times over the years, when I read it this week, it struck me in a whole new way. Maybe it was the Lord saying through the words to this poem that He indeed moved into these very specific neighbourhoods in our world, and He isn’t moving out!

Peace and Home

Peace on the littered, puddled streets of the forgotten city;

this is my home.

Peace among the high-rises. blind to the hills and the sky;

this is my home.

Peace in the endless suburbs with no sense of place;

this is my home.

Peace in the burning desert with no shade, no water;

this is my home.

Peace on the hurtling highway, inches from death;

this is my home.

Peace among the homeless, curled up in doorways;

this is my home.

Peace in the hospital, among the fearful and the dying;

this is my home.

Peace in the delivery room, with the joy and the pain;

this is my home.

Peace in the church, O God, for this is my home.

Peace on the gentle hills, caressed by the wind;

this is my home.

Peace on the water, battered by the waves;

this is my home.

Peace among the lovers, oblivious to all;

this is my home.

Peace among the war-makers, blind to their world;

this is my home.

Peace among the soldiers, their lives taken from them;

this is my home.

Peace among the weapon-makers, consumed by their own machines;

this is my home.

O my God, give me your peace, open my eyes to my home.

Andrew Foster

From “Like Leaves to the Sun”, ed Neil Paynter,  Wild Goose Publications 2013

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 03^rd November 2024

 ¹⁷ When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. ¹⁸ Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, ¹⁹ and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. ²⁰ When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. ²¹ Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.²² But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”

²³ Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. ²⁶ Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

²⁷ “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”

St. John 11:17-27        NLT

When did you last say: ‘If only …’?

If only he hadn’t driven that car while so tired …

If only she had studied a bit harder and not failed the exam…

If only a different Prime Minister had been elected last time round …

If only we hadn’t decided to go on holiday that very week …

If only I hadn’t said …

Oh, if only …

And whatever it is, you will know the sickening sense of wanting to turn the clock back. That’s why movies are made, like the Back to the Future series, in which people do just that, moving this way and that within the long history of time, changing something in a previous generation which will mean that now everything in the present – and the future – can be different.

But of course it’s a wistful dream. It’s a kind of nostalgia, not for the past as it was, but for the present that could have been, if only the past had just been a little bit different. Like all nostalgia, it’s a bitter-sweet feeling, even while knowing such thinking is all a pipe dream.

All of that and more is here (verse 21) in Martha’s ‘if only’ to Jesus. She knows that if Jesus had been there, He would have cured Lazarus. And she probably knows, too, that it had taken Jesus at least two days longer to get there than she had hoped. Lazarus, as we discover later, has already been dead for four days by the time Jesus got there, but perhaps … He might just have made it … if only …

Jesus’ reply to her, and the conversation they then have, show that the ‘back to the future’ idea isn’t entirely a moviemaker’s fantasy. Instead of looking at the past and dreaming about what might have been (but now can’t be), Jesus invites Martha to look to the future. Then, having looked to the future, He asks her to imagine that the future is suddenly brought into the present. This, in fact, is central to all early Christian beliefs about Jesus, and the present passage makes the point as clearly and vividly as anywhere in the whole New Testament.

‘I am the resurrection and the life,’ Jesus said to Martha. ‘Resurrection’ isn’t just a doctrine. It isn’t just a future fact. It’s a Person, and here He is standing in front of Martha, teasing her to make the huge jump of trust and hope.

He is challenging her, urging her, to exchange her ‘if only …’ for an ‘if Jesus is …’.

If Jesus is who she is coming to believe He is …

If Jesus is the Messiah, the One who was promised by the prophets, the One who was to come into the world …

If Jesus is God’s own Son, the One in whom the living God is strangely and newly present …

If Jesus is resurrection-in-person, life-come-to-life …

Then this changes everything!!!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 27^th October 2024

 ⁵⁰ Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.

“My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.            St. Mark 10:50-52

For 51 years Bob Edens was blind. He couldn’t see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness. And then, he could see. A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight. He found it overwhelming. “I never would have dreamed that yellow is so…yellow,” he exclaimed. “I don’t have the words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite colour. I just can’t believe red. I can see the shape of the moon–and I like nothing better than seeing a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail. And of course, sunrises and sunsets. And at night I look at the stars in the sky and the flashing light. You could never know how wonderful everything is.”

Blind Bartimaeus saw what hardly anyone else had yet seen: Jesus is the merciful, promised Saviour. After yelling out for Jesus to have mercy on him even though the crowd of people that day were trying to get him to behave like the unwelcome nobody he was believed to be, Jesus stops to help.

Jesus stopped briefly here while He was on His way to Jerusalem, to where He knew He was going to die for the sins of the world. He heard a brother’s cry for help. Bartimaeus believed that this Jesus was able to heal his blindness, not realizing that he already had better vision than even the disciples who had been following Jesus for 3 years.

Jesus beautifully connects this situation to the situation just prior, when James and John wanted Jesus to guarantee them the top positions of power in the Kingdom of God. Jesus asked both James and John, and now Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you? The two brothers wanted personal power and prestige. But Bartimaeus wanted to see.

He already saw Jesus with his heart of faith, but immediately he now saw Jesus with his newly healed eyes.

What would you or I do if Jesus did something wonderful for us? Wait a minute, what do I mean if? Jesus has done so much wonderful for us!!

What did Bartimaeus do now that he could literally see Jesus? He could have gone anywhere, but his heart chose to follow Jesus, even into Jerusalem where Jesus was headed to die so that the world might see.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 20^th October 2024

 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.          Philippians 2:3-5 NLT

Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

^5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.         Philippians 2:3-5 The Message

 Miguel de Unamuno, the Spanish philosopher, tells about the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, in his native Spain. It was built in 109 A.D. For eighteen hundred years, it carried cool water from the mountains to the hot and thirsty city. Nearly sixty generations of residents drank from its flow. Then came another generation, a recent one, which said, “This aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children, as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor.”

They did: they laid modern iron pipes. They gave the ancient bricks and mortar a reverent rest. And what happened to the aqueduct? It began to fall apart. The sun beating on the dry mortar caused it to crumble. The bricks and stone sagged and threatened to fall.

What ages of service could not destroy, idleness disintegrated.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 06^th October 2024

 ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.           Philippians 4:4-7 NIV

Thanksgiving weekend is upon us! While it goes without saying, still I need to be reminded that giving thanks in every situation is a year-round way of life for the family of God, and who better to remind me/us than my favourite Pastoral Theologian Father Henri Nouwen:

“Gratitude…goes beyond the “mine” and “thine” and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.

Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. . .  The choice for gratitude rarely comes without some real effort. But each time I make it, the next choice is a little easier, a little freer, a little less self-conscious. . . There is an Estonian proverb that says: “Who does not thank for little will not thank for much.” Acts of gratitude make one grateful because, step by step, they reveal that all is grace.””

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

World Communion Sunday 06^th October 2024

 The Rich Man and Lazarus

^19-21 “There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.

^22-24 “Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’

^25-26 “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’

^27-28 “The rich man said, ‘Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.’

²⁹ “Abraham answered, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.’

³⁰ “‘I know, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.’

³¹ “Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.’”

St. Luke 16:19-31, The Message

We have all seen him. He lies on a pile of newspapers outside a shop doorway, covered with a rough blanket. Perhaps he has a dog with him for safety. People walk past him, or even step over him. He occasionally rattles a few coins in a tin or cup, asking for more. He wasn’t there when I was a boy, but he’s there now, in all our cities, all over the earth.

We all know Lazarus. He is our neighbour. Some of us may be rich, well dressed and well fed, and walk past him without even noticing; others of us may not be so rich, or so finely clothed and fed, but compared with Lazarus we’re well off. He would be glad to change places with us, and we would be horrified to share his life, even for a day.

This parable is not primarily a moral tale about riches and poverty—though, in this chapter, it should be heard in that way at the very least. But there is something more going on here. As a parable, that means once again that we should take it as picture-language about something that was going on in Jesus’ own work.

The ending gives us a clue, picking up where, a chapter earlier, the story of the father and his two sons had ended. ‘Neither will they be convinced, even if someone were to rise from the dead’; ‘this your brother was dead and is alive again’. The older brother in the earlier story of the Prodigal son, is very much like the rich man in this: both want to keep the poor, ragged brother or neighbour out of sight and out of mind. Jesus, we recall, has been criticized for welcoming outcasts and sinners; now it appears that what He’s doing is putting into practice in the present world what, it was widely believed, would happen in the future one. ‘On earth as it is in heaven’ remains His watchword. The age to come must be anticipated in the present.

Not only was the prodigal brother a type of resurrected life, not only was the other Lazarus mentioned in St. John 11 also raised from the dead, but soon after Jesus spoke this parable about the rich man and the utterly destitute Lazarus, Jesus Himself would experience death on behalf of and for all the world and then be raised to new life forever! Yet even that Resurrection didn’t and doesn’t convince many.

Yet we are all still called by the Lord to so live our lives towards others, especially the utterly destitute and invisible people in our world, that some will see Jesus in us, and hear His call to life!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 29^th September 2024

 ³⁸ John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”

³⁹ “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. ⁴⁰ Anyone who is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.

⁴² “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. ⁴⁵ If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. ⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’

⁴⁹ “For everyone will be tested with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.”                St. Mark 9:38-50      NLT

William Barclay, 1907 – 1978, a Scottish theologian, author, radio & television speaker, tells the following story in his commentary on this Biblical text. He told a story about someone changing signs. That is, at an intersection of the road, one sign would point to the city of Seattle and another sign would point to the city of Tacoma. And the boy wondered to himself: How many people could I send down the wrong road if I switched the signs around?

Your very life is a signpost and a sign. To where or to whom is our life directing people? To meet Jesus, or somewhere else?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 22nd September 2024

 ^30-32 Leaving there, they went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know their whereabouts, for he wanted to teach his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They will murder him. Three days after his murder, he will rise, alive.” They didn’t know what he was talking about, but were afraid to ask him about it.

So You Want First Place?

³³ They came to Capernaum. When he was safe at home, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the road?”

³⁴ The silence was deafening—they had been arguing with one another over who among them was greatest.

³⁵ He sat down and summoned the Twelve. “So, you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.”

^36-37 He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me—God who sent me.”

St. Mark 9:30-37      The Message Translation

The disciples’ anticipation of greatness is exposed as foolish and flawed. Their quarrel over who would be the greatest and get heaven’s glory seat is dismissed by the looming reality of Jesus’ inglorious death. Jesus shows them, gently at first but more firmly as He goes along, how they must learn to redefine greatness, and how radically they must realign their concept of success and achievement, how totally they must rid themselves of ideas of class distinctions, and embrace, like Him, servanthood.

Jesus turned upside down everything the disciples thought about what making it means, everything first-century and 21st century people have been taught about becoming successful and great. Instead of glorying in His leadership, assuming sweeping authority, and flexing His messianic muscles, Jesus highlights servanthood and insists that, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (verse 35).  When Jesus said to be a servant to all He really meant ALL.

Jesus showed them a daily example as He welcomed a little child as someone worth being loved and cared for. Jesus would soon show them through (what He has already told them about twice): His death and Resurrection!

To borrow the words from the old limbo game, it’s not about how low can you go, but how low will you go? The way up is down; down on our knees.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 15^th September 2024

²⁷ Jesus and his disciples headed out for the villages around Caesarea Philippi. As they walked, he asked, “Who do the people say I am?”

²⁸ “Some say ‘John the Baptizer,’” they said. “Others say ‘Elijah.’ Still others say ‘one of the prophets.’”

²⁹ He then asked, “And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?”

Peter gave the answer: “You are the Christ, the Messiah.”

^30-32 Jesus warned them to keep it quiet, not to breathe a word of it to anyone. He then began explaining things to them: “It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive.” He said this simply and clearly so they couldn’t miss it.

^32-33 But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”

^34-37 Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?

³⁸ “If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”

St. Mark 8:27-38      The Message Translation

 

You might remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first arrived in the United States from Russia, he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, “On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk–you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice–you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, What a country!”

Smirnoff is joking but we make these assumptions about Christian Transformation-that people change instantly at salvation. Some traditions call it repentance and renewal. Some call it Sanctification of the believer. Whatever you call it most traditions expect some quick fix to sin. According to this belief, when someone gives his or her life to Christ, there is an immediate, substantive, in-depth, miraculous change in habits, attitudes, and character. We go to church as if we are going to the grocery store: Powdered Christian. Just add water and disciples are born not made.

Unfortunately, there is no such powder and disciples of Jesus Christ are not instantly born. They are slowly raised through many trials, suffering, and temptations. A study has found that less than 10% of churchgoing teenagers have a well-developed faith, rising to under 20% for churchgoing adults. Why?

Because true-life change only begins at salvation, takes more than just time, is about training, trying, suffering, serving, growing in His love all while dying to self-will.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 08^th September 2024

The Faith of a Gentile Woman

²⁴ Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. ²⁵ Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, ²⁶ and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

³¹ Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. ³² A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.

St. Mark 7:24-37  New Living Translation

Christians have never been called to be obnoxious or hostile in society. We’ve been called to be a people of hope, filled with a sweetness of spirit and a gentleness of demeanor (Phil 4:5). As it says in Titus 2:10: we are to “make the teachings of Christ our Savior attractive.” Or, to put it another way, the church of Jesus Christ was never meant to be a cranky little subculture, but a dynamic and joy-filled counterculture—one in which the surprising grace and spontaneous, unfailing love of God is made known to our neighbours in real and tangible ways. Yes, we gather with like-minded believers to worship God and hear His truth, but then we leave our comfort zones and enter into the world of others to be a blessing to them. To do that means that we have to cross some borders—just like Jesus did. Some borders are geographical in nature, but others are racial, cultural, educational, or social. Crossing them can be difficult.

There’s no greater example of Jesus crossing borders than in Mark 7. It’s the only time the Gospels record for us that Jesus left the nation of Israel as an adult. (He was taken to Egypt as newborn to escape the sword of Herod.) In this passage, Jesus goes to the region of Tyre and Sidon, which is northwest of the Sea of Galilee. This is Gentile territory—outside the covenant land—and Jesus goes there on purpose. Still, it’s one of the strangest and most difficult texts in the New Testament. The parallel passage in Matthew 15:22-28 is even more bizarre. It’s the story of the Canaanite woman, whose daughter Jesus sets free from demonic oppression. But before He does so, He engages this woman in a conversation that surprises us. Not only does Jesus come across as cold, dismissive, gruff, and seemingly unconcerned, He likens the poor woman to a puppy! What’s going on here? Then Jesus and His disciples went even further away from the so-called homeland of God’s people, and He heals a deaf and unspeaking man, then feeds over 4,000 common folk.

Jesus doesn’t usually act like this as He did to this woman, and when He does, we want to know why. We almost feel the need to apologize for what He says. We don’t mind when Jesus is rude to the religious leaders of the first century, but when He seems indifferent to the plight of a desperate mother, Christians get nervous. In fact, this is one of the stories that convinced the famous atheist Bertrand Russell that Jesus was not a kind or moral person like everyone thinks He is. Was Russell right? Not at all. In the end, Jesus demonstrates that the grace of God cannot be contained within the borders of men. He touches all kinds of people so that they are whole and rejoice at being beloved of God. But He has to expose prejudice before He can redeem it. And when He does, His border crossings give His followers a larger vision—a vision that assures us that Jesus is genuinely concerned about—and displays great sensitivity toward—those who need His touch, regardless of who they are, where they have been, what they might have done, and who society says they are.

Jesus crossed all kinds of borders with His grace, and He wants His followers to do the same.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 01^st September 2024

 One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. ² They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. ³ (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. ⁴ Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.)

⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”

⁶ Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
⁷ Their worship is a farce,
    for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’

¹⁴ Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. ¹⁵ It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”     St. Mark 7:1-7,14, 15 New Living Translation

Every church has such traditions that have become “sacred cows”. In one church, the color of the carpet had become the sacred cow. They had always had blue carpet, but now the property committee was going to change it to red. Some people just weren’t sure they could worship God on a RED CARPET, God forbid.

At another church, there was the Great Hymnbook Controversy of 1996. It took ten years in 1972, when the previous new version of the hymnal had been published, for the congregation to switch to the “new” hymnal because they had been using the 1909 hymnal for 70 years. Then in 1996 with the arrival of the latest new hymnal, the worship committee wanted to purchase this latest version. This decision sparked a major debate on the quality of music in each hymnal. The final decision was made at a two-hour church-wide business meeting where they finally hammered out a compromise that just barely averted dividing the church. The 1972 hymnal would be kept in the sanctuary, and the 1996 hymnal would be used in the chapel.

I heard about a church where a similar controversy erupted over whether the Communion would be served before the sermon or after the sermon. Another church fought over where the piano should be placed, where the Doxology is sung, how to take the offering, or if children should be allowed in the sanctuary during the worship time together.

It seems that every church manages to elevate certain practices, practices made up by people, from the routine to the sacred traditions. Bill Easum wrote a book about this phenomenon. He called it “Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers” in which sacred cows are those people created traditions that get in the way of the gracious love of Jesus being freely shared.

In our Bible passage today, the religious leaders were on a fact-finding mission as they wanted to trap Jesus and discredit Him so that the people would stop flocking to Jesus. Now if you have ever seen fact-finding missions in operation, you know they are not fact-finding missions but fault-finding missions.

What defines us as being God’s beloved children? For those religious leaders, and for all who put too much value in people made rules and traditions, Jesus reminds us that it is not what we eat or how we eat that matters to God (and you can always tell if we are in fact putting our “faith” in rules and traditions when it becomes clear that that’s what’s eating you, rather than putting our faith in Jesus), but instead what matters to God is the quality of our heart. The process of living less by “garbage in, garbage out” and more by “grace in, grace out” is a life-long one!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 25^th August 2024

 ⁶² Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? ⁶³ The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 

St. John 6:62, 63          New Living Translation

I have been focusing the last few weeks on the incredible passage of John 6, and I am finishing these thoughts this weekend.

John chapter 6 is a very long passage with lots of challenging yet very interconnected parts. The heart of this passage is verses 62 and 63, and the explanation for how the whole thing fits together is given by mentioning two things: the ascension of Jesus, and the Spirit. At first sight this seems only to confuse an already complicated set of problems still further. Perceived problems like: how on earth did Jesus do that miracle of feeding thousands of people with just a few fish and loaves of bread? How and when did Jesus cross the Sea of Galilee, and why wouldn’t He let the people make Him the King they wanted? Why won’t Jesus do more miracles right now to prove Who He is and then everyone would follow Him (or would they really)? How can Jesus even suggest that He is greater than their ancestor Moses, the greatest prophet and leader ever? What does Jesus mean, saying that He is the bread of life which came down from heaven, isn’t He just the son of Mary and Joseph? And perhaps the biggest problem of all in this chapter, what on earth does Jesus mean about eating His flesh and drinking His blood???

But these two verses, 62 & 63, are actually the keys to unlock the puzzles of this chapter, and this book.

The mention of the ascension of the son of man is designed to say: maybe you need to come to terms with the fact that the one you are now dealing with is equally at home in heaven and on earth. He is The Citizen of both. He is, after all, the Word made flesh. If that is so, it makes sense to suppose that this flesh, and this blood, are somehow vehicles of the inner life of the Word of God. The flesh by itself, of course, would be irrelevant, as verse 63 indicates. But when the flesh is indwelt by the life of God, of the Word who is God, it makes sense to speak of it in the way Jesus has just done. Though the ascension as an event remains mysterious in John’s gospel (Jesus speaks of it in 20:17, but He does not elaborate on it), it is clearly important for John, here and elsewhere, to affirm that Jesus’ body, not just his ‘spiritual’ life, was and remains the place where the Word of God took up permanent residence.

Jesus will have more to say about the Spirit as the gospel progresses (see especially chapters 14 and 16). Here He is warning against a purely physical interpretation of His words about eating and drinking. He is urging His hearers, as He has been doing all along, to go beyond a one-dimensional understanding of what He is doing and saying (for instance, the crowd’s desire to follow Him simply to get more free bread) and instead to break through to listen to the Word of God within the flesh. For this, they will need the Spirit to help them. Without that, they will remain in unbelief.

The Twelve, however, remain, but eventually are really eleven. They are prepared to say out loud that Jesus is God’s holy one, His Messiah. He is the one who is not only speaking about God’s new age, the age to come, but is, by His words, already bringing it into existence: ‘You’re the one who’s got the words of eternal life’ they said in verse 68. Jesus knows that one of them will turn traitor, and, worse than traitor, become an ‘accuser’ (the word can mean ‘devil’, but here and elsewhere John seems to refer to what Judas was actually going to do in handing Jesus over to the courts). But for the moment the Twelve stand as representatives of the faith, the belief, that Jesus has been looking for: the recognition that in Him, His words and His deeds, the Hebrew peoples’ God was at last bringing into being the new Exodus, the great movement that would set the whole world free from sin and death.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 18^th August 2024

 Please read our passage from St. John 6:47-59 from whatever translation you have.

 The German theologian Helmut Thielicke told of a hungry man passing a store with a sign in the window, “We Sell Bread.” He entered the store, didn’t smell any fresh baking bread but still put some money on the counter, and said, “I would like to buy some bread.” The women behind the counter replied, “We don’t sell bread.” “The sign in the window says that you do,” the hungry man said. The woman explained, “We make signs here like the one in the window that says, ‘We Sell Bread.’”

But, as Thielicke concludes, a hungry man can’t eat signs.

Bread isn’t always found where we think it might be.

When people see the Church, or when they encounter you or me, do they see, smell, and then want to taste the Bread of Life, the enduring life that Jesus offers? Or are we letting the Bread of Life get a little stale in us?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 11^th August 2024

Please read our passage from St. John 6:22-59 from whatever translation you have.

The influence that food can have on us appears in a Chinese story originally told by Linda Fang. She presented this story at the Smithsonian Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C., March 19, 1988.

At the foot of a great mountain in China lived a father and his three sons. They were a simple and loving family. The father noticed that travelers came from afar eager to climb the dangerous mountain. But not one of them ever returned! The three sons heard stories about the mountain, how it was made all of gold and silver at the top. Despite their father’s warnings, they could not resist venturing up the mountain.

Along the way, under a tree, sat a beggar, but the sons did not speak to him or give him anything. They ignored him. One by one, the sons disappeared up the mountain, the first to a house of rich food, the second to a house of fine wine, the third to a house of gambling. Each became a slave to his desire and forgot his home. Meanwhile, their father became heartsick. He missed them terribly. “Danger aside,” he said, “I must find my sons.”

Once he scaled the mountain, the father found that indeed the rocks were gold, the streams silver. But he hardly noticed. He only wanted to reach his sons, to help them remember the life of love they once knew. On the way down, having failed to find them, the father noticed the beggar under the tree and asked for his advice.

“The mountain will give your sons back,” said the beggar, “only if you bring something from home to cause them to remember the love of their family.”

The father raced home, brought back a bowl full of rice, and gave the beggar some as a thank-you for his wisdom. He then found his sons, one at a time, and carefully placed a grain of rice on the tongue of each of them. At that moment, the sons recognized their foolhardiness. Their real life was now apparent to them. They returned home with their father, and as one loving family lived happily ever after.

This Sunday as we gather together to worship God, we will receive a reminder of home, a taste of food that will help us remember who we are. I mean the bread of life, Jesus, our heavenly Father’s gift to us. This is the food of God’s kingdom and reminds us that this kingdom is our true home.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 14^th July 2024

 Please read our passage from St. Mark 6:14-29 from whatever translation you have.

Ok…How many of you have had the experience of looking back at your life and lamenting (perhaps over and over) a mistake you wish you wouldn’t have made? I think we’ve all done that at one time or another.

How many of you have had it keep you up at night?

That nagging, awful feeling of blame and guilt that just won’t let you go.

The nightmares, the sleepless nights! We can be awfully hard on ourselves sometimes. (And if we are honest, sometimes we are just as hard on others for their sin).

Wrestling in itself is not bad. It helps us discern right from wrong. It helps us learn and grow. It’s part of our human entanglement with our conscience and with God. But when our torture and turmoil gets out of hand, and anxiety sets in, we can become downright haunted by a past that just won’t let us go. That’s when we tend to push God out and take to imposing punishments on ourselves. Unlike God, sometimes, we can be unrelentingly punitive.

Unrepenting, obsessive, unredeemable guilt is a kind of sin, a self-imposed spiritual desert that keeps us isolated, in bondage, and in a vice grip, and refuses to allow us to be redeemed. As humans, in fact, we can become so obsessed with punishing ourselves, so entrenched in fear, that we forbid ourselves God’s grace. We push away the very God who could heal us.

That’s part of the story of King Herod in our Gospel passage this weekend.

And if this sort of thing is a part of your/our/my life story, remember, Jesus joyfully went to the cross 2,000 years ago, died, and rose from the dead to life eternal, to give us forgiveness for all our sins, which includes forgiveness and freedom from all our guilt and shame!!!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A Moment with the minister:

Sunday 07^th July 2024

St. Mark 6:1-13

Many preachers can remember the first time they stood up to preach in front of their own parents, in front of the congregation where they grew up. It’s actually very hard to preach there; everyone remembers you when you were little and all the trouble you got into. They remind you that you are simply the son of Dick and Mary, nothing more. Besides, when I once preached there, I had not yet started seminary, I was not qualified.

Multiply that up a lot to allow for the fact that Jesus’ message was different. He wasn’t just another synagogue preacher, telling people how to obey God’s law, offering God’s hope for the future, explaining from the prophets something about when the Kingdom might come. He was saying, on His own authority, that the Kingdom was now at hand, then and there. Where He was, the kingdom was. And if there was any doubt on the matter, He was doing things, miracles that demonstrated it.

But in Nazareth there was doubt, and Jesus didn’t do very much in consequence. This is the odd thing. They had heard what He’d done in Capernaum and around the lake shore; now they were teasing, mocking, challenging Him to do the same back home where everyone knew Him. You see, the hometown crowd knew that Jesus had simply grown up being a local carpenter, and he never went to be schooled under the best of Rabbis or any Rabbi for that matter, in training to become a Rabbi on His own. There must have been that underlying sense of ‘who does He think he is ‘cause He’s certainly not qualified to be any sort of professional Rabbi.’

I think, though, that there was more to it than just putting the ‘local boy made good’ in His place. The kind of kingdom Jesus was talking about was not the sort of kingdom His contemporaries wanted to hear about. When the good folk of Nazareth had such an excuse for rejecting Him, they took it with both hands. They didn’t need to believe such a dangerous message; they could dismiss it as ‘Oh, He’s just the local handyman’. As if that made any difference. Actually, like Mary mistaking Jesus for the gardener in John 20, there may be a hidden irony here: Jesus is indeed the one who can fix things, the one who is putting up a ‘building’, the living Temple of the Lord, the one people should go to, to get things sorted out.

And as so often in Mark, there is a pointer here towards the time when Jesus would go to the city the Messiah might think of as home, Jerusalem, to the Temple where a Messiah ought to go, and yet even there He was once again rejected, this time with fatal consequences. Already at this stage of the story we are being pointed forward to see where it will all lead.

Then fresh from the (according to our world’s standards) failure of a short stint in His hometown, Jesus and the disciples turn their backs on Nazareth, and head to all sorts of other little villages, there to share the message of God’s love, of God’s Kingdom. No time to wallow in the pain of rejection from the hometown folks, they’ve got to get moving sharing the message.

They became heralds of God’s Kingdom, and so are we!

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 30^th June 2024

 ²⁴ Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him.²⁵ A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. ²⁶ She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. ²⁷ She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. ²⁸ For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”²⁹ Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

³⁰ Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”

³¹ His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

³² But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. ³³ Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done.³⁴ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”            St. Mark 5:24-34 NLT

 “Touch in Church:”

What is all this touching in church? It used to be a person could come to church and sit in the pew and not be bothered by all this friendliness and certainly not by touching.

I used to come to church and leave untouched. Now I have to be nervous about what’s expected of me. I have to worry about responding to the person sitting next to me.

Oh, I wish it could be the way it used to be; I could just ask the person next to me: How are you? And the person could answer: Oh, just fine, And we’d both go home…strangers who have known each other for twenty years.

But now the minister asks us to look at each other. I’m worried about that hurt look I saw in that woman’s eyes.

Now I’m concerned, because when the minister asks us to greet one another, the man next to me held my hand so tightly I wondered if he had been touched in years.

Now I’m upset because the lady next to me cried and then apologized and said it was because I was so kind and that she needed a friend right now.

Now I have to get involved. Now I have to suffer when this community suffers. Now I have to be more than a person coming to observe a service.

That man last week told me I’d never know how much I’d touched his life.

All I did was smile and tell him I understood what it was to be lonely.

Lord, I’m not big enough to touch and be touched! The stretching scares me.

What if I disappoint somebody? What if I’m too pushy? What if I cling too much? What if somebody ignores me?

“Pass the peace.” “The peace of Christ be with you.” “And also with you.” And mean it. Lord, I can’t resist meaning it! I’m touched by it, I’m enveloped by it! I find I do care about that person next to me! I find I AM involved! And I’m scared.

O Lord, be here beside me. You touch me, Lord, so that I can touch and be touched! So that I can care and be cared for! So that I can share my life with all those others that belong to you!

All this touching in church — Lord, it’s changing me!

What was it our bold friend said 20 centuries ago? “If I but touch his robe, I will be healed.”

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 23^rd June 2024 

³⁵ As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” ³⁶ So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). ³⁷ But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

³⁸ Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

³⁹ When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.⁴⁰ Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” St. Mark 4:35-41 NLT

Jesus and His disciples were experiencing some amazing results of ministry together, when Jesus said that it was time to go, head across the Sea of Galilee. As they did so, Jesus fell asleep in the boat and soon the disciples, 4 of whom were professional fishermen, became terrified of the fierce storm that arose. Amazingly, as this violent storm was taking place, Jesus still slept.

When John Wesley was going to America from England, he found himself in the middle of a storm. This was in the days before his Aldersgate experience. He was frightened to death. He frantically ran around the ship seeking shelter. In the process, he came across a group of Moravians who were singing and calmly praying. No fear. No panic. Not even among the children. Wesley could not believe this, and he asked the source of their strength. They replied: “We have Jesus as our Saviour.”

If we do not understand who it is that is in the boat with us, then our fear of the storm outside and our fears of the storms within us have the power to paralyze us. When Jesus awakened, He rebuked not only the storm but the disciples. “Why are you afraid,” He asked. “Have you no faith?” Now, let us be clear about this. The promise that is made to us is that of God’s very presence. In the midst of the storm, God will be in the boat with you. In Jesus He is with us always.
You need not panic, though the situation may appear bleak. The Lord of the Church is in the boat with you. The Lord of History is in the boat with you. You need not become immobilized. The Lord of all creation is in the boat with you. That is the promise: Emmanuel.
Will the clouds dissipate immediately? That’s never promised. Will you no longer have to struggle with problems? That’s never promised. Will you henceforth prosper, as some T.V. ministers assure you? That’s never promised. God promises us Himself, Emmanuel. God lives within us by His Holy Spirit.  God’s presence got Noah through the storm. It got the ancient Hebrews through the 40-year wilderness experience. It got Mary through her pregnancy. It got Jesus through the crucifixion, and it will be sufficient to get us through every storm in our lives.

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 16^th June 2024

 ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.                                   St. Matthew 7:20 NLT

 Yes, it is true, the saying about ‘does the walk match the talk?’ As someone once said to me, “I’d rather see your sermon than hear it.”

“Where one man reads the Bible, a hundred read you and me.”—Dwight L. Moody (evangelist through the second half of the 1800’s).

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 09^th June 2024

 16 “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith…

⁵ “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. ⁶ Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. ⁷ But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.   St. John 16:1, 5-8  NLT

A few years ago in the Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena, a float stalled. Frustrations increased quickly because other floats could not move, and this event was televised around the world. Mechanics quickly descended upon the stalled float, searching all over for the problem. Finally, someone had the presence of mind to check on the fuel level of the vehicle. It was empty, out of gas. This became even more embarrassing when the crowd realized that the float’s sponsor was one of the major oil companies.

Did you know that Christians can run out of gas too? It happens all too frequently. A Christian’s inner resources can be depleted by struggles, temptations, trouble, grief, all sorts of things that move us to take our eyes and hearts off Jesus. Unless that Christian is receiving fresh resources from a reliable source, he or she will be in trouble.

We have such a source, available and inexhaustible. That source is the Holy Spirit.

As Chuck Swindoll wrote, “What fuel is to a car, the Holy Spirit is to the believer. He energizes us to stay the course. He motivates us in spite of obstacles. He keeps us going when the road gets tough. In short, he is our spiritual fuel.”

Shalom,

Pastor Mark

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A moment with the minister,

Sunday 02^nd June 2024

 Please read St. Luke 7:36-50, the narrative of when Jesus was invited to a dinner party by Simon the Pharisee and what happened there.

There was a certain young woman who was nervous about meeting her boyfriend’s parents for the first time. As she checked out her appearance one last time, she noticed that her shoes looked dingy. So, she gave them a fast swipe with the paper towel she had used to blot the bacon she had for breakfast.

Arriving at the impressive home of her potential in-laws, she was greeted by the parents and their much-beloved, but rotten-tempered, poodle, Cleo.

Well, the dog got a whiff of the bacon grease on the young woman’s shoes and followed her around all evening. Wouldn’t leave her alone. At the end of the evening, the pleased parents remarked, “Cleo really likes you, dear, and she is an excellent judge of character. We’re absolutely delighted to welcome you into our little family.”

Cleo may very well have been a great judge of character but that night, I’m afraid it was the bacon grease that won out.

According to our passage of Scripture, the Pharisees didn’t think Jesus was a very good judge of character.

Damaged Goods. That’s what the Pharisees saw in the sinner woman who interrupted the dinner party, but Jesus saw the woman very differently. Thankfully Jesus sees all of us the same way…what way is that?

Shalom,

Pastor Mark