Prayer: God who knows our heart and empowers us to see what cannot be seen allow us the experience of deepening our relationship with you through Christ.  Amen.

Last week we gave some thought to entering a relationship with God.  I suggested to you that entering a relationship with God is similar to entering a relationship with another person in that it simply means entering into a meaningful conversation.  A conversation is two-way communication, not a monologue.  A meaningful conversation is one in which there is a sharing of more than just facts.  It is personal.  It is self-revealing.  A meaningful conversation opens the door to change and growth.

When we are speaking with another person we employ a lot of tools that we have learned through experience to help us better understand what is being said.  We see that person with our eyes and/or hear their voice with our ears.  We consider their body language, their tone of their voice, the emotions behind their voice and the expression on their face.  If we are listening, truly listening, when we have uncertainties about what that person is trying to say to us we have the opportunity to ask questions, to probe until we are satisfied that what they are saying is the same as what we are hearing but, what about our conversation with God?  We can’t literally see God’s face, or body language and it is very difficult to grasp the tone of voice or the “emotions” behind the voice.  Better yet, how do we even know that this is God’s voice that we are hearing?

In our readings this morning (John 21:1–19 and Acts 9:1–6) there were accounts of two conversations that involved Jesus.  Both were initiated by him.  One seems to be a very quiet conversation, while the other, seems to be quite “loud” but not necessarily due to volume.

In the John passage, after Jesus serves seven of his disciples breakfast, Jesus singles out Peter and asks him three times if Peter loved him.  Three times Peter responds, “Yes!”  This was a very important conversation for Peter because Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times in the hours following Jesus for arrest just as Jesus had predicted and Peter denied he would do.  Peter’s denial was based in fear, fear that if he was associated with Jesus who had just been arrested and was now standing trial, he too may be arrested and suffer the same all too obvious consequences, losing his life.  When Jesus responds to Peter’s “yes” by asking Peter to take care of Jesus’s followers, he is in reality asking Peter to lay down his life in service of others.  I find it interesting that the tone of this conversation would appear to be very calm and friendly.  There is no hint of anger or judgment.  Jesus does not bring up Peter’s threefold denial; he simply asked Peter three times what Peter was prepared to do now and going forward.  Is this not Jesus asking Peter if he was willing to repent, that is, changes conduct?

In the reading from Acts there’s a young rabbi named Saul who has taken it as his personal mission to root out and destroy the following that had built up around Jesus.  He is on his way to Damascus to hunt and arrest Christians so that they can be taken back to Jerusalem for trial.  In the course of his journey Saul is stopped dead in his tracks.  There is a blinding light and there is a voice.  Because we were not there we do not know if this was a loud voice, an angry voice or a quiet voice but we do know it was a questioning voice.  That question was, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  Personally I tend to think that this voice didn’t need to be loud or angry.  God did need to stop Saul in his tracks and get his attention because Saul was a very passionate man, a driven man determined to do whatever he set his mind to.  The voice was loud enough for it to be heard by those on the road with Saul but I get a sense that what made this message loud was not the strength of the voice but the brightness of the light.  Again, there are no recriminations here.  Jesus asked Saul why he’s doing what he’s doing, identifies himself as the one who Saul is persecuting and then asks Saul to repent; to change his conduct.

In both these cases it was easy for the people involved to know to whom they were speaking.  In one way or another both Simon and Saul, who became Paul, were standing face-to-face with Jesus.  Wouldn’t it be nice, when the easy, to hear God’s voice if we found ourselves in similar circumstances to either of these two? But does that happen today, to us?

I want to ask those who have been in conversation with God for a long time what is it that causes you to suspect that God is talking?  What is it that tells you that you need to pay attention?  Does God always communicate God’s side of the conversation in words?

My personal experience is that often God does use words but they are not loud: most often they are more like whispers and if they have any volume, it is more like the highlighted text I use in the announcements.  Bold text, italicized text and underlined text makes it easier to notice and remember.  God’s words are not condemning although, they can be questioning or challenging.  And they do not come from outside usually they come the inside.  Of course that often makes it hard to know if they are God’s words or just my own thoughts.  It’s also my experience that God speaks at the most unexpected times.

But God doesn’t always use words.  Sometimes God will show us things, often subtle things.  Something will stand out in a movie I’m watching or in a book I’m reading or in a conversation in which I am engaged or simply overhearing.  Sometimes the actions of someone will take on an exceptional importance.  Sometimes I will just find myself with the urge to do something good.  Sometimes, God speaks through a thought or impression that we should do something specific like befriending someone or beginning a ministry or saying something to someone. The truth is God can speak to us at any time, in any place or circumstance, whether it is during our waking hours or in our dreams.

I would hope that as we are thinking about having a conversation with God, we are in one way or another, linking it to prayer.  And by prayer, I mean a time when we set ourselves to be alone and focus our thoughts, our concerns, our hopes and wishes, our dreams and our burdens on God.  Having a time of prayer every day is important.  How can our conversation with God be increasingly more meaningful if we do not spend time in conversation with God?  However, there is another way.

Very early in my Christian walk I came across a concept of “practising the presence of God” and it’s something I’ve been doing ever since.  Basically, “practising the presence of God” takes prayer beyond a set time.  We talk about how God will never leave us for or forsake us, about how God is always present with us and so, why should we not act accordingly?  From the time that we awake until we close her eyes and drifted off into sleep, and some will say even in our sleep, we can be carrying on a conversation with God.  Yes, at first it is a little awkward when for instance, you’re driving down the road and talking to God just as if God was sitting in the passenger seat or if you are doing housework and carrying on a conversation as if God was in the same room with you, which of course God is.

Okay, we’ve talked a lot about how we hear God’s side of the conversation but, how do we know that voice is actually God’s voice?  I’ll be perfectly honest with you, I may trust God, but I do not always trust myself.  I’m not always sure that when I hear God’s voice that I have understood that voice correctly or whether that voice is actually God’s voice or has originated someplace else.  So what can we do?  Over the course of the next four weeks we are going to take a look at different avenues that people employ to rightfully determine whether or not the voice that they are hearing is in fact God’s voice. Not only that but, these four avenues actually help us to deepen our relationship with God and so they are very important. It is one thing to enter a relationship with God, it is something completely different to grow in that relationship. Too often people treat their faith the way that so many now treat weddings. They are eager to spend a lot of time and money on the wedding but simply don’t care enough to invest anything in the marriage.

Prayer: God who desires that we live in harmony and in communication with you, help us to be attentive to your whispers, shouts and impressions.  Amen.

Tom Holmes
April 3, 2016

Prayer: God who knows our heart and empowers us to see what cannot be seen allow us the experience of meeting Jesus.

In 1949 a program started its run on radio and then in 1951 it transitioned to television.  Unlike the shows of today there was no character development and no emotional commentary.  It was a police drama called “Dragnet”.  Each episode involved the discovery of evidence.  The focus was on the facts.  It played out like a case file.  Even though Sgt. Joe Friday never said the words “just the facts ma’am just the facts,” this tag line very much represented how this drama unfolded.

The Gospels, in many ways, are somewhat similar to that old TV show.  These are firsthand accounts of the events of the life of Christ.  The Gospels of Matthew and John are the product of two of Jesus disciples.  The Gospel of Mark is said to contain the eyewitness account of Peter.  The Gospel of Luke is a result of a research project completed by Dr. Luke from interviews done with those who had actually met Jesus.  However, the Gospel of John is a little bit different because John states very clearly that his writing is more than just an eyewitness account.  It is a polemic or rather an account with an intended purpose.  John writes, “But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.”  In other words, John’s desire is that those reading his gospel will remain in or enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  But how is that possible?

In the third chapter of John a religious leader named Nicodemus comes to see him at eight.  Nicodemus is a good man, a religious man, a righteous man.  He has questions for Jesus but before Nicodemus could ask his questions, Jesus told him that in order to be right with God he needed to be born again; that he needed to be born from on high.  In other words, having a relationship with God was something that only God could instigate. Let me explain.

There is a very real sense in which every human being ever born is a child of God.  If we are all children of God the creator, we are all connected.  But just because we have this connection does not mean that we have a relationship.  There are about 3 million people living in Toronto but I am not aware of having a relationship with any of them.  So, how could I enter into a relationship with any of them?  By beginning a meaningful conversation.  I say “meaningful” because we can talk to a lot of people and all that’s really conveyed is information.  That kind of conversation does not affect us.  It doesn’t change who we are.  A relationship implies far more than just the exchange of information.  And having a relationship with God implies that we become believers.  Now, a believer is not someone who simply agrees with certain facts.  A believer is someone who, because of the facts, changes their conduct.  Thus when we hear Peter preaching on the Day of Pentecost he talks about repenting, changing direction, of living one’s life in accordance with God’s will.

As I’ve said before, when we hear the word repentance, we normally associate it with feelings of regret.  But that is not repentance. “Repenting” means making a drastic change in course.

Of course we often read in the Scripture and hear in some settings the whole business of repenting connected to “confessing your sins”.  These statements are aimed at those who knew the Law.  But I want to ask you how many times have you walked up to a complete stranger and the first words out of your mouth was an apology for all of the things that you have ever done that may somehow offend that person?  I dare say never.  Why would you apologize to someone that you have never had any sense of offending?

Jesus met all kinds of people and I cannot think of an instance when Jesus put a requirement of confessing one’s sins as a precursor to establishing a relationship. Jesus met people where they were Jesus met the people who they were.  He was even chided by the religious leaders for hanging around with sinners and tax collectors.  But Jesus did call people to repentance: to changing the direction of their life.  He told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more.  He told the rich young ruler to sell everything he had and give it to the poor.  Now with that said, if there never comes a time in our growing relationship with God that we do not have a sense that we need to apologize for the harm that we have caused other people or our self and for the offense against God that we have created, there is something seriously wrong.  How can we as human beings be keenly aware of the holiness of God, the otherness of God, and not also be aware of our failings.

So what I’m saying to is essentially this.  Number one, entering a relationship with God is not something that we can do on our own.  Number two, there is a difference between having a connection to God by virtue of God being our creator and having a relationship with God.  And number three, entering a relationship with God assumes a change of course.

I want to go back to the point number one for second, that entering a relationship with God is not something that we can instigate ourselves.

In the book of Proverbs it says that God hass put a taste of eternity in our hearts.  This is true of all humanity.  By that, the writer of Proverbs is suggesting that there is a knowledge of, a hunger for, an openness to and an awareness of something greater than ourselves.  The problem that we face in having this hunger is that we try to fill ourselves by spending our time engaging in really unhealthy actions and attitudes.  Some look for fulfilment in drugs or alcohol, some look for it in gambling, some look for it in illicit sex, some look for it in self-achievement, climbing the ladder of success, seeking power fame and fortune.

The Bible also talks about the Holy Spirit working in all of creation.  I’m not just talking about amongst the people of God.  Part of the responsibility of the Holy Spirit is to lead those who do not have a relationship with God towards God and to lead those who do have a relationship with God towards a deeper one.  So, while it is not within our power to instigate a relationship with God, the fact that we might want to is a reflection of God already working in our lives.  It is God nudging us gently towards God’s Self.  However, it is important to always remember that God has promised to honour God’s giving us free choice.  God will never force us into a relationship.  God will never force us to be obedient. God will never force us.

It’s also important to remember that God only wants what’s best for us and that when we insist on doing things our own way ultimately, we are doing ourselves harm.

Now, even though we have this sense of something more within us and even though the Holy Spirit is nudging us towards God, we are naturally resistant to God.  And so, it is possible to sit in church for decades, to hear sermon after sermon, to engage in conversations about God and to never hear what’s being said.  Yes, we hear the words but the message escapes us.  However, when we do hear, when the question arises within ourselves about having a personal relationship with God, the time to act is now.  Please do not let that question go unanswered.  Take this opportunity to enter into a relationship with God by responding to the conversation that God has already initiated with you.  Ask God to help you to hear more.  Ask God what God would like of you.  And when you think you have received an answer, regardless of how simple or difficult that answer may be to follow through with, just do it.

Next week, we are going to consider how we hear God’s side of the conversation.  It’s interesting that almost anyone facing a difficult situation is willing to cry out to God for help but few ever expect God to answer back.  In fact, many consider it admirable when they hear someone say that they ask God for help but many will question a person’s sanity if that person says God talked back.  But Jesus said that his followers know his voice..

So come back next week as we consider how we hear God’s part of the conversation.

Prayer: Gracious and loving God, make us all like the boy Samuel, who heeded the instruction of the elderly priest Eli.  When you called Samuel’s (1 Samuel 3) name the third time, Samuel no longer ran to Eli but rather answered you by saying, Speak Lord, for you servant is listening.  Amen.

ROSLIN-THOMASBURG PASTORAL CHARGE
November 1, 2015: Twenty-sixth after Pentecost, Reformation Sunday
Ruth 1:1-18; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34

Hebrews 11:11, 12  So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.  With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.  NLT

Prayer:  Creator of all that is, work in us and trough us that we might understand where your whispers want to lead us as we consider your message found in Hebrews 11.  Amen

Growing up, I had a love-hate relationship with sports.  I loved playing them but I hated my inability to play them well.  One of the sports I really liked to play was baseball.  Whether at school, in a vacant lot or on our side street or even on a ball diamond, whether a pick-up game or as part of a league, I was almost always willing to join in.

I guess my greatest weakness in baseball was inconsistency.  Sometimes I played really well and sometimes I played very badly.  And as it turned out, I seemed to play the worst when my team needed me to play my best.  However, I did have my moments.

I am sure you have all seen sportscasts which featured a player making one of those incredible catches where they hurl themselves, with glove outstretched, either to the ground or into a wall.  Well, I had some of those same moves but unlike the reaction of the fans in those clips, most often my teammates’ reactions were far less enthusiastic.  Mind you, their response probably would have been very different if my ball park gymnastics had been intentional and located somewhere near where the ball was heading.

For many of us, the message of the passage we just read is not something we get enthused about either.

Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians, not gentile ones.  We do not understand the imagery the writer is using, that of the High Priest and sacrifices, because we are gentiles and we are 2000 years removed from temple worship.

As Christians we carry with us the assumption that Jesus completes the Law given to Moses and so there is no need to bother ourselves trying to understand the sacrificial system.  Going through a theological education taught me that I didn’t need to know Greek and Hebrew to study the Bible but those tools gave me such a deeper understanding.  In the same way, getting a handle on the sacrificial system can really open our understanding of the both the Letter to the Hebrews and our Christian faith.

For many of us, when we hear of blood sacrifices, our minds default to seeing death, blood and gore.  To us, any form of worship that involves the slaying of animals seems far more like a horror movie, in the same way that younger people connect organ music to horror films, not the divine.  They were not introduced to organ music through church services and we were not introduced to blood sacrifices in the context of worship.  What we see is repulsive, but the Hebrews saw blood sacrifices as life giving, not life taking.  It’s a matter of perspective.

Let’s say we are at the final game of the 2015 World Series.  It’s the third inning.  The pitch is thrown; the batter swings and hits the ball.  The short-stop catches the ball after it hits the ground and throws to first before the batter can reach it.  The batter is out.  The batter is disappointed, the players and fans are disappointed and the possibility of a run is dead.

Now, it’s the bottom of the ninth inning.  The score is tied.  There is one out.  A runner is on first and another on third.  The batter comes to the plate and the third base coach seems to suddenly develop a very serious aliment.  He starts tapping and rubbing his arms, his head and the brim of his cap and then just as suddenly stops.  The pitcher determines the medical emergency is past and throws.  The batter does as he was instructed and does it perfectly.  The bunt forces the play to first base and the batter is out.  The fans cheer, the players are jubilant, the game is over.  They have won.  Because the batter had sacrificed himself, his team mate on third made it across home plate.  Forever and eternity, that team will be known as the 2015 world champions.  They can play terribly next year.  They can all die on the way back to their home city.  It makes no difference.  They can now rest knowing they are winners.

The Children of Israel had entered a covenant relationship with God that was conditional.  God will be their God so long as they conduct themselves accordingly.  When they, as a nation brake even so much as one of God’s rules, God’s contract is broken with the nation.  When they, as individuals, brake so much as one of God’s rules, God’s personal covenant with them is broken.  Offering a sacrifice isn’t to appease the wrath of an angry god.  It isn’t punishment for their crime.  In fact, it is the only way to avoid the punishment that is deserved.  It is the prescribed method of restoring that covenant, that relationship with God.  Why, because the consequences of sin is death and because life is in the blood.  When a sacrifice is made, life is restored, not taken.  The shedding of blood removes guilt – the reality of doing wrong – and shame – the realization of doing wrong.  But this only applies to sins committed before the sacrifice.  Another sin requires another sacrifice.

The writer of Hebrews argues in Chapter 11 that Christ in his role as High Priest entered, not an earthly sanctuary made by the hands of human beings but rather a heavenly sanctuary made by God.  Christ offered his own blood, not the blood of animals and thus Christ obtained for us a restored relationship with God that is far from temporary.  Forever and eternally, the game is won.

Baseball is the only professional sport that I know of that is so concerned with the cardio-vascular condition of its fans that it schedules a break from the intense action on the playing field.  At the end of the seventh inning fans are given an opportunity to stretch and perhaps yawn.

As human beings, we need to have a sense of safety, security and significance in order to be emotionally healthy.  What Christ accomplished and the cost of doing so, tells us that in God’s eyes we are very important, guarantees us that no matter what we face in our lives here on earth, we are safe in God’s arms and that we do not have to wonder what will happen to us when this life is over.  Although we are not worthy, although we all sin, that is turn our backs to God and do what we want, although all our human struggling to be good enough will fall far short, when this life comes to an end, we will be found in the presence of God.  Because we are safe, secure and significant, we can live our lives without fear, we can love without fear and we can give without fear.  Gone is our guilt and shame.  Gone are all the barriers we place between ourselves and God.  Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are winners forever.