When Have You Felt the Shattering, Unforeseen Love of God?

Charlie Mackesy, from his book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse 

Or maybe you felt the gentle help of a fellow human being, an angel sent by God, which brought tears to your eyes.  Could they be the same thing?

I felt this earlier in the week, on a day when I felt like I needed a dose of courage to face the road ahead.  

Rev. Donna sent me this YouTube song and it immediately boosted my spirits, reminding me of the goodness of God, running after me.

 

CeCe Winans - Goodness of God (Official Lyric Video)

Because His mercy never fails us, and his goodness is running after us.  Always.  It ran after me that day, until I stopped, paused, and let the realization of the goodness of God wash over me.

I hope you can join us on Sunday for communion, as he gathers us in, the lost and forsaken, the blind and the lame, the rich and the haughty, the proud and the strong.

May you have the courage to ask for help when you need it and may God's goodness catch you today. 

Nor is it only the joy of God and the comfort of God that come at unforeseen times.  God’s coming is always unforeseen, I think, and the reason, if I had to guess, is that if he gave us anything much in the way of advance warning, more often than not we would have made ourselves scarce long before he got there.  -  Frederich Buechner

 

           

Do You Know What Your Gifts Are?

“Pictured is a Mexican Talavera Wall Cross which is hand made and hand painted by the talented pottery craftsman. Only natural clays are used, rather than chemically treated and dyed clays and the handcrafting process takes three to four months. The process is risky because a piece can break at any point. 

The Cross represents the bright, warm, lively, vitality of One’s Faith and Love as represented in Mexican culture.” - Glenn Wong

We are delighted this week to have Glenn share with us a presentation about his missionary work in Mexico.

As you prepare for worship, I invite you to consider this passage from Isaiah:  

 

Isaiah 42.1-4 MSG

“Take a good look at my servant.

    I’m backing him to the hilt.

He’s the one I chose,

    and I couldn’t be more pleased with him.

I’ve bathed him with my Spirit, my life.

    He’ll set everything right among the nations.

He won’t call attention to what he does

    with loud speeches or gaudy parades.

He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt

    and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant,

    but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right.

He won’t tire out and quit. He won’t be stopped

    until he’s finished his work—to set things right on earth.

Far-flung ocean islands

    wait expectantly for his teaching.”

If I consider the fruits of the spirit named in Paul's letter to the Galatians, I would say that Glenn, by God's grace, has been given the gift of love. We have seen him show love here in Vancouver in the Homeless Outreach Project and we will learn about his work in Mexico this Sunday. 

He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt

    and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant,

    but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right.

Sounds like love to me! 

I'm sure Glenn has other gifts too…what are your gifts?

In celebration and wonder,

Susan

May the wellsprings of compassion flow deep within you, until you can taste the tears

of your brothers and sisters.  (2 Cor 1:3-7) - Joyce Rupp

Galatians 5:22-23

NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

MSG

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

Could These Be the Most Important Words That We Need to Hear From God?

The River Jordan, Israel

This week we are going to hear about a baptism. It could be a story about Jesus, or a drama between Jesus and John.   Or, if you pray like the Jesuits do, you could be the one in this story. 

I invite you to read this week’s scripture passage imagining yourself as the one being baptized…in the River Jordan. 

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 MSG

The interest of the people by now was building. They were all beginning to wonder, “Could this John be the Messiah?”

 But John intervened: “I’m baptizing you here in the river.         The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.”

After all the people were baptized, Jesus was baptized. As he was praying, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”

The water is pretty muddy looking, isn't it?  It's raining, and about 10°C at the River Jordan in January. As you come out of the water, shivering, you begin to pray.  You hear the voice of God, the perfect parent, saying to you "You are my beloved…With you I am well pleased."

Despite what you may have done yesterday, last week or earlier today that makes you cringe, despite your difficult circumstances, God says, "You are my beloved…With you I am well pleased."  Sit with that for a moment. 

How do you feel?  Could these be the words that save you today?  Doesn't everyone need to hear these words?

Father Greg Boyle, founder of the world's largest drug and gang intervention program,The Homeboys, says that everyone is unshakably good.  

Everyone…me, you, and all the people that may have annoyed us today.  Do we see everyone the way God does?  I'm going to try to do that today. 

What Challenges are You Facing in 2025?

I hope your Advent and Christmas were as spiritually rich as mine. Every story I read contained signs, dreams, angels or stars, and characters who challenged me with their belief in these things and their trust in God. So many people who were willing to say, "Yes" to the call of God asking them to do things and who were excited by the promises given to them. 

And now we have Simeon, in the temple in Jerusalem:

Model of the Temple in 66 AD, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Luke 2. 21-40 (MSG, excerpts)

When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.

Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God’s Law… 

In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died.                                             

Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:

God, you can now release your servant;
    release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
    it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
    and of glory for your people Israel.

Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother, 

This child marks both the failure and
    the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
    the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty,
    as God reveals who they really are.

When they finished everything required by God in the Law, they returned to Galilee and their own town, Nazareth.  There the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit.  And the grace of God was on him.

This passage doesn’t say how old Simeon is, but we do know that The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died.  Most people assume that Simeon is elderly.  If so, we know that he may be facing one of the biggest challenges of his life - old age and death.

When he sees the baby Jesus, he says, God, you can now release your servant; release me in peace as you promised. Do you notice the word "peace"? 

He continues with a blessing and some challenging words for Mary. 

This child marks both the failure and
    the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
    the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty,
    as God reveals who they really are.

Can you imagine how Mary and Joseph must have felt at Simeon's words?  Joy and great challenge both at the same time, perhaps?

What challenges are you facing in 2025?  Are you ready to say, “Yes” to them?  In peace?  Joy?  If not, that’s OK.  Know that God loves you, and you can ask Him to help you with this.