What Do You Notice About These Grapevines?

 

I see tiny branches anchored in each sturdy stem.  From the sturdy stem, the branches receive all the nutrients and water they need to produce grapes. The tiny branches need a lot of support, though, to hold the heavy, juicy grapes that will grow.  Without the support of the wires that run between the plants, the heavy grapes would rip the branches from the vines. 

"I am the vine; you are the branches”, Jesus said. “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.”

Remaining in Christ requires us to be fully connected to Jesus in every moment.  How do we do that?  Who or what are your supports that keep you anchored in Jesus? 

After comparing us to these branches anchored in him, the vine, Jesus tells us to love each other in the same way that he has loved us - sacrificially.  What does this mean for us in how we deal with each other?

Jesus also tells us that only by staying connected to him, the vine, can we bear fruit in our relationships.  How can the Trinity support us in staying anchored in Jesus?

To prepare for Sunday’s worship you might pray one or both of the scripture passages below, and/or watch this video about the magic of the Trinity:

https://youtu.be/J8lRKCw2_Pk

John 15  NIVUK

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Now remain in my love. 

 My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.

Romans 8. 26-28 MSG

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along.   If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter.  He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.  He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.  That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

If you observe the following, you can be saved, ‘Be joyful at all times, pray without ceasing and give thanks for all things. - Abba Benjamin

What makes us human is not our mind but our heart, not our ability to think but our ability to love.  We find the best formulation of the prayer of the heart in the words of the Russian mystic Theophan the Recluse: ‘To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart, and there to stand before the face of the Lord, ever-present, all-seeing, within you.’  … There God’s spirit dwells and there the great encounter takes place.  There heart speaks to heart, because there we stand before the face of the Lord, all-seeing, within us. - Henri Nouwen

You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. - Jesus, Matthew 5:8 MSG

How Do We Stay Present before God?

Rev. Donna waits for a bird that knocked itself out on her window.  

Donna waited.  The bird waited.  

Last Sunday, several people at CVC agreed that the Holy Spirit was the wobbliest wheel on their Trinity Tricycle.  I wonder what exactly the Holy Spirit DOES?

We heard Jesus say in John 14, that he was sending us an advocate and teacher who abides in us, a companion for the journey.  So he advocates for us, teaches us, and abides in us.

On Sunday we will continue our look at the Trinity, and in our Scripture reading, we will read more things that the Holy Spirit does for us:

• arousing us within

• helping us when we get tired in the waiting

• praying in and for us when we can't 

• keeping us present before God

I hear such good news in this passage - the Holy Spirit is going to  keep me present before God.  I have trouble staying present - the voice in my head chatters away like a monkey.  If it were up to ME to stay present to God I would fail miserably.  I’m also impatient, so “getting tired in the waiting” is something I struggle with.  Is there anything on this list that you struggle with?

Romans 8.22-28 MSG

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. 

The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us.  The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting.                                  

We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. 

If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. 

He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

You moved on the waters, you called to the deep,

          then you coaxed up the mountains from the valleys of sleep;

          and over the eons you called to each thing:

          wake from your slumbers and rise on your wings. 

Which Wheel is Wobbliest on your Trinitarian Tricycle?

These are the questions that Rev. Donna has been asking this week.  What does she mean by wobbly?  The least stable, the one that feels the least secure, that causes the most fear on a bumpy path.  Which wheel gets the least attention at Cambie Village Church, is most likely to cause the most insecurity on a bumpy path?

I can’t answer for the rest of you, but for me it is definitely the “Holy Spirit wheel”.  Why?

Father - the creator of all the beauty I find  in nature.  I can see, smell, hear, taste and feel the physical evidence.

Son - Jesus, who I met in the Sunday School books I read when I was so young…pictures of fishing…songs like “Jesus loves me this I know”.  We have a long relationship.

Holy Spirit - Jesus said he would send us an Advocate, and although there are many mentions of Spirit in the bible, it’s a bit like trying to catch a moonbeam in my hand.

We’ll be focusing on the Trinity this Sunday.  We will also be gathering at the Lord’s table.  The word Trinity is not found in the Bible but the reality is there.  In John 14 (at the Last Supper) we can see the dance between Them.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.  In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” 

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you.  But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you;  my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.          

Some days, my Trinitarian tricycle feels particularly wobbly.  And then something happens that tells me that the Spirit is alive and well and attending to me.  Today it was reading this:

Give up your wish
to be a spiritual whiz.
Even the greatest sage
must learn ignorance,
must go out again
and practice not knowing,
address a stone,
innocent of all but the word:
Who are you?
True wisdom is not knowing,
but attending.

__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net

How is your Soul?

   I have calmed and quieted my soul,

           like a weaned child with its mother;

      my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

                                      — Psalm 131.2

When I was a child, my father offered my sister and I one dollar for every A and fifty cents for every B reported on our report cards.  (We could actually buy something for a few dollars in those days.)  His generation had suffered through the Depression and World War II, and raised their families to value hard work.  

My parents never talked about their love for us; they wanted the best for us, and steering us to success was their way of loving us.  They thought we would understand this, and I do now, but it also left me with the idea that my father’s love was conditional on our performance. 

That is not the kind of love that our heavenly Father offers us, is it?  “He loves us”, as Rev. Paul Beckingham reminds us, “because he loves us, because he loves us”...no other reason…unconditionally.  This unconditional love is one of the things that allows us to calm and quiet our souls in his presence.  We don't have to perform in any way to be loved by him, simply rest.

This Sunday, we welcome back Rev. Beckingham to worship with us, and he will reflect on God's amazing love for us. 

I hope to see you there!

Susan 

1 John 2:28-3:10 NRSVUE

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.

If you perceive that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who does right has been born of him.

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. Everyone who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born of God do not sin because God’s seed abides in them; they cannot sin because they have been born of God. The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love a brother or sister.

Holy One,

like a mother with her newborn infant,

you do not demand anything of me,

but purely love me, for my own sake.

I am born of you; I am like you,

made of your loving kindness.

Your unseen, immutable truth

is alive in me.

No matter what happens to me

I am in your arms.

No matter what I do

you are in me.

My soul is at peace.

I can become your love in the world.

I rest in your arms. - Steve Garnaas-Holmes, www.unfoldinglight.net

What is the Hardest Thing You’ve Ever Done?

The hardest thing I have ever done was get my aging mother to accept that she needed to make a change in her living situation.  I had been trying unsuccessfully for months, and the day came when I was meeting a BC Health social worker at my mother’s apartment.  I was anxious and afraid.

I can still remember sitting at the eastbound traffic light at Grandview Highway and Boundary Road and praying, “Lord, I do not know how you are going to do this, but please help!”  Never, in my wildest dreams, could I have imagined the solution that God devised.

This Sunday we will celebrate Pentecost and Rev. Donna has chosen two scripture readings for us that speak of the Holy Spirit -  the friend, advocate, helper, that Jesus promised he would send to us.  

The first reading, from Acts 2 (MSG translation) is full of the confusion that we can feel when something unusual happens “without warning”:

When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from.  It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.

Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?”

The second reading, selections from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 3 (MSG translation) is full of hope, joy, strength, and the “extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love”.

I ask God to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Susan

What Turbulence Disturbs Your Soul Today?

 

Feed My Sheep

Church of the Supremacy of St. Peter, Tabgha, Israel, Sea of Galilee 

While others were on the beach, I escaped into the small, dark, overgrown garden, in search of something.  I thought at the time it was peace and quiet I was after, but I believe now it was grace. Interesting how peace and grace often go together, isn’t it?

I was feeling guilty for something that I had said; I no longer remember the details.  I was surprised to see this statue, and there I sighed, breathed deeply, and bowed my head.  I felt peace enter my soul.

In our passage this week Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?”  How guilty Peter must have felt for denying Jesus three times, such that Jesus had to ask this question.  And what grace Jesus extended to him, not only restoring him, but also giving him a mission and a purpose that showed what confidence Jesus had in him. 

As I navigate my way through these turbulent, difficult times, I hope that I can give a small portion of such grace to those around me and to myself.  What turbulence disturbs your soul today?

Can you remember a time when you were extended God’s grace?  Is there someone in your life who might need to hear how much you love them?  (I can think of a few in MY life.)

John 21 MSG

After this, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, this time at the Sea of Galilee. This is how he did it: Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the brothers Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter announced, “I’m going fishing.” The rest of them replied, “We’re going with you.” They went out and got in the boat. They caught nothing that night. When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn’t recognize him.

Jesus spoke to them: “Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?” They answered, “No.”  He said, “Throw the net off the right side of the boat and see what happens.” They did what he said. All of a sudden there were so many fish in it, they weren’t strong enough to pull it in. Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Master!”

When Simon Peter realized that it was the Master, he threw on some clothes, for he was stripped for work, and dove into the sea. The other disciples came in by boat for they weren’t far from land, a hundred yards or so, pulling along the net full of fish. When they got out of the boat, they saw a fire laid, with fish and bread cooking on it.

Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.”  Simon Peter joined them and pulled the net to shore—153 big fish! And even with all those fish, the net didn’t rip. Jesus said, “Breakfast is ready.” Not one of the disciples dared ask, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Master.

Jesus then took the bread and gave it to them.  He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had shown himself alive to the disciples since being raised from the dead.

After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Master, you know I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”  He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”  “Yes, Master, you know I love you.”  Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.”  Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”  Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

On Sunday, many of the songs we will sing together mention God's tremendous grace. I look forward to singing them with you!

Susan

Let us build a house where love can dwell

and all can safely live,

a place where saints and children tell

how hearts learn to forgive.

Built of hopes and dreams and visions,

rock of faith and vault of grace;

here the love of Christ shall end divisions:

all are welcome, all are welcome,

all are welcome in this place.

What is your story?

Imagine a world where we listen to everyone’s stories and learn we are not as different as we are the same. - STORYPEOPLE

I got a little taste of that world on Wednesday, at coffee with Rev. Donna and Terry.  As I listened to a small part of Terry’s story, I discovered that we shared something in common.  That discovery was significant because it changed the way I think about Terry.

This weekend, we celebrate Mother's Day. The stories of our family life can be both wonderful and painful, but they are stories that we know.  The rich stories of our church family members, those things that we have in common may still be there for us to discover.  After my experience with Terry, I want to discover more of your stories!

The first Mother's Day was celebrated in May, 1907, but its roots go back to 1858 when a remarkable woman organized Mother's Work Days to improve sanitation and reduce deaths from disease-bearing insects and polluted water. Other women are included in its history which you can read about here:  https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/resources/commemorations/history-of-mothers-day/

Mother's Day now celebrates the contributions of women and all the mothering they do in the world, not just being mothers to children. 

Like the women who have worked to improve the world, Jesus came so that we could have a better life.  He wanted us to do God’s will (harmonious cooperation) and called those who do, his real family…his mother even. This is the Jesus Way.

When we gather in our circle in worship on Sunday, I will look around at each one of you and think, “This is my family, my mother, my brothers and my sisters.  What are their stories?”  This too is the Jesus Way.

Luke 24:13-32  MSG

“Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road?” 

John 10.10  MSG

“I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”

Mark 3:31-35  (NIVUK)

Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.’

‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ he asked.

Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’

Behold, behold, I make all things new

my promise is true, for I am Christ the Way.