Your Comments

Thank you to those who comment on our blog site.

One of the common threads in these comments has to do with "how." How do we get this information out? What will be our next steps?

In the new year I hope to take these steps:

1) Send emails to as many as we have email addresses for and encourage them to bookmark (add to favourites) and regularly visit this site. And, to collect email addresses we do not have.

2) To make hard-copy documents available to people without access to the website. And, to pick up again the insert pages in the Sunday worship folder.

3) To begin the visioning process. This will, over the course of process, include using the blog site, Sunday hour, after-worship, Monday evenings, a week-day daytime venue, email, and regular mail. The Monday evening and daytime meetings will both largely focus on leadership, and the changes we need to make there. Monday evenings will begin January 19.

In the meantime, anyone reading this, please continue to read and comment. And even comment on comments. This activity will apparently bring us up further on Google searches for Cornwall residents. And, please encourage others to regularly visit. I would also welcome suggestions.

One question of anyone reading this. Should we offer the book study again? Or the content (book optional)?

Thanks again.

No Experience of the Birth

Psalm 96
Sing God a brand-new song!
Earth and everyone in it, sing!
Sing to God—worship God!
Shout the news of his victory from sea to sea,
Take the news of his glory to the lost,
News of his wonders to one and all!
For God is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs.
His terrible beauty makes the gods look cheap;
Pagan gods are mere tatters and rags.
God made the heavens—
Royal splendor radiates from him,
A powerful beauty sets him apart.
Bravo, God, Bravo!
Everyone join in the great shout: Encore!
In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might.
Bring gifts and celebrate,
Bow before the beauty of God,
Then to your knees—everyone worship!
(The Message Bible)

“Royal splendour radiates from him.” In this season, as we think about the holy birth of Jesus, this verse of the psalm invites us to experience his “royal splendour,” or “majesty.” Do we?

The writer wants to talk about what it is like to experience God. The writer uses the best image available for describing this kind of awesome experience – something readers of the time could relate to. And the writer of this psalm uses image of experiencing royalty. In times past, to experience royal splendour or majesty, to witness the passing of the royalty, was to experience: bodily cleanliness, sweet fragrance, clean clothes, rich colours, finest textures, lots of cloth, and latest fashions, gold, silver, and precious gems, to name a few things.

The upper class were the only ones who had these things, from regular grooming to the finest of clothing. The ordinary folks (back then there was next to no middle class) only really experienced these things when in the presence of the royalty. To experience royal splendour and majesty actually meant something unique and extraordinary!

But today, we already know what it means to experience these things on ourselves. We are quite used to cleanliness and are turned off when we are near someone who hasn’t bathed. We wear rich clours and fine materials. I suppose today if we were to visit Buckingham Palace we might be at least close to the kind of awe people experienced when this psalm was written. But for the most part, words like royal splendour and majesty cannot move us as they did centuries ago. It’s like the question we have heard asked at this time of year, what do you give to the person who has everything? How do we experience the awesomeness of this holy birth, we who have life so good?

Is it like the adrenaline pumping thrill of the new Behemoth roller coaster at Canada’s Wonderland? Is it like the wonder of visiting a new and exotic place? Does it compare to the light show at Upper Canada Village? Is it as exciting as seeing Alanis Morrisette in concert? Or as moving as a great film? As compelling as Martin Luther King Jr’s sermon, “I Have A Dream?”

Well, we are here, and we experience it in some way in our hearts or we wouldn’t be here. But how do we experience its true awesomeness - the birth of the saviour of the world, the nativity of Jesus the Christ, the coming of the center of our lives?

Only one way I know of for people like us, people who are relatively well to do, to experience this awesome birth. Not as an experience of royal splendour and majesty, but as an experience through the eyes of another. To experience it through people who have little – the disadvantaged or poor. Those who do not have fine clothing, or even warm clothing, those who do not have homes let alone showers and tubs, those who do not coins in their pockets let alone gold and gems on their fingers and wrists. These may well be the ones for whom an experience of royal splendour and majesty might be something of an amazement.

Imagine the experience of doing with them what God does for us - what we remember and celebrate God doing for us at this time of year - Immanuel, God with us, God being with us. Then we could begin to experience again what this season really celebrates.

God with us?

The book of Psalms has five sections, one for each of the five books of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Psalm 89 is in the third division and mirrors the third book of the Torah – Leviticus. Leviticus, and this third division of the Psalms, teaches people how to live with God in their midst, just as Advent is a preparation for living with God in our midst – God-with-us.

Psalm 89 is one of the Royal Psalms because it would have been used during the coronation ceremony in ancient Israel. Verse 18 says "For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel." Israel's king, her defense, belongs to God. Earlier in the Psalm it is clear that this king is David and David’s descendants. When we as Christians read this Psalm, we understand that Jesus is our king and our defense. What, then, does it mean for us as Christians to say that Jesus, then, belongs to God?

The Message Bible, translates this verse as, “All we are and have we owe to God.” But does this mean that we have an IOU to God because all that we have is from God? That we should feel obligated to God, or that we should serve God from guilt or expectation? No, we are talking about something far more radical and life-changing than an IOU.

How do we live with God in our midst? How do we live with Immanuel, God-with-us? By making Jesus “king” of our lives. What we are talking about is making Jesus the centre of our living! That’s a life-changing statement.

You can immediately recognize someone who has placed Jesus at the centre of their lives – they don’t talk about it, but you can see it. They live it.

That’s because it’s life-changing. An IOU would have been far easier. Asking us to change our lives is maybe asking too much. But it is easily done. Just ask God to do it. Let God do it. And let Jesus, at the centre, transform us.

Being Saint Paul

There have been many perspectives on St. Paul and his writings. But for me the one of the most important are his teachings on Jesus.

There are three things that Jesus does for us. The first is that Jesus provides us with an example for living. We could spend years understanding the life of Jesus and applying it to our lives. It would be difficult to see the example of Jesus lived out in many churches today (and many Christians, too). But any faith community that embraced public ministry would be at least close to following the life example of Jesus.

The second thing Jesus provides for us is teachings. We could also spend years understanding the teachings of Jesus and applying them to our lives. Today, Christians and churches have turned the teachings of Jesus into feel-good ideas. But listening carefully to the teachings of Jesus easily calls us to public ministry.

There is a third thing that Jesus provides, and this third one is important for public ministry. We often ask the question, how will we have the motivation to enter seriously into public ministry? The answer is that we need conversion or transformation. The third thing that Jesus provides, and does so by his work on the cross and at his rising again, is what we call "efficacy."

Wiktionary defines efficacy as the "ability to produce a desired amount of a desired effect." The desired effect is transformation. In other words, the work of Jesus on the cross and rising again is "efficacious" for transforming us to become more and more motivated toward public ministry. Of course, we for our part must be in "faith" with Jesus for this transformation.

Any faith community headed toward public ministry will want to give its participants many opportunities to experience the transforming power of Jesus. These opportunities make use of the other two things Jesus provides - example and teachings - and also the congregational spiritual practices of faith sharing, prayer, study, conversation, and discernment.

Already and Not Yet

Psalm 98 is a great Advent / Christmas psalm.

1 Sing to God a brand-new song.
He's made a world of wonders!
He rolled up his sleeves,
He set things right.
2 God made history with salvation,
He showed the world what he could do.
3 He remembered to love us, a bonus
To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.
The whole earth comes to attention.
Look—God's work of salvation!
4 Shout your praises to God, everybody!
Let loose and sing!
Strike up the band!
5 Round up an orchestra to play for God,
Add on a hundred-voice choir.
6 Feature trumpets and big trombones,
Fill the air with praises to King God.
7 Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
With everything living on earth joining in.
8 Let ocean breakers call out, "Encore!"
And mountains harmonize the finale—
9 A tribute to God when he comes,
When he comes to set the earth right.
He'll straighten out the whole world,
He'll put the world right, and everyone in it. (The Message Bible)

This Psalm is like the Advent and Christmas seasons with their quality of "already and not yet." At the beginning it calls for praise for what God has already done – God set things right – and at the end for what God will do – he'll straighten out the whole world.

In Advent and Christmas we remember what has already happened. The two seasons of Advent and Christmas can be summed up in the words of Isaiah 9:2, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." The people who walked in darkness – Advent – have seen a great light – Christmas. These things have already happened. And yet people still walk in darkness, and yes, they still need to see a great light to show them the way.

On this Sunday of Advent, we remember that God came through all of salvation-history to "set things right." But we also look toward God's coming again to "set the earth right," to "straighten out the whole world," and to "put the world right, and everyone in it."

The question for us during this Advent season is not which side of things we will be on when God comes to set things right. It's not whether we will be seeking light or prefering darkness. It's not whether we are on Ceasar's side or not. It's whether or not we choose to join in what God is doing. God is setting things right - are we helping?

This psalm invites everyone to be a part of the family's celebration. But how many people in our city feel left out, uninvited, and alone! One call of God to any faith community that would listen is to work for inclusiveness and belonging, to find ways to change our society around us so that no one feels left out or alone.

And this could be one way we could help God's coming to set things right.

Christmas Song

Occasionally, you hear at this time of the year the Christmas song by Greg Lake and sung by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, "I believe in Father Christmas."

They said there'd be snow at christmas
They said there'd be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgin's birth.

I remember one christmas morning
A winters light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire.

They sold me a dream of christmas
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
till I believed in the Israelite.

And I believed in father christmas
And I looked at the sky with excited eyes
till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him and through his disguise.

I wish you a hopeful christmas
I wish you a brave new year
All anguish, pain, and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear.

They said there'll be snow at christmas
They said there'll be peace on earth
Hallelujah noel be it heaven or hell
The christmas you get you deserve

You can hear it sung at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O_fCs5Buwg

The words may be somewhat disturbing, but they speak to the disillusionment people experience at Christmas - the poor, the lonely, and the grief stricken, to name a few.

I wish we could sing it in our congregation, and take time to think about it. But for a faith community that is hearing God calling them to public ministry, the song is a call to make the meaning of Christmas a reality in our world - not merely providing tinsel and an opportunity to be part of the commercial grab and buy. But rather to make Christmas be about caring, sharing, being with people, peace in heart and family and neighbourhood, and social justice.

Frankly, I wish we as Christians could have the Christmas season back. I am saddened by what our culture has done to it. And we let them. In the name of the true meaning of Christmas, I protest the use of Christian symbols at this time of the year in stores and public buildings.

We could reclaim Christmas, at least for our city.

Love and faithfulness meeting

Love and faithfulness meet together;
justice and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
justice looks down from heaven.
The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
Justice goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.
Psalm 85:10-13

Here is a way to think of Public Ministry. These words of the Psalmist paint a picture, a vision, that could be reached by a faith community in some small way. Look at the words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (a sacred document - you heard it here first). Find one single statement in there that resonates with the faith community. If the faith community only focused on that one item, and only focused on it for our city, we would be one step closer to making the psalmist's vision a reality.

Without suggesting this is the one, but only as an example!!!

Article 16 (3) "The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State."

Suppose a faith community's vision was for family, that in our city it be strengthened as the "natural and fundamental group unit." As family life improved, "love and faithfulness would meet together."

Really, the goal of Public Ministry is not difficult. The steps to get there are not difficult either. But first, we will need vision.

Being John Knox

The Knox-St. Paul's congregation is named after John Knox and Saint Paul the Apostle. Talk about public ministry! These two heroes of faith were completely involved in changing the world around them.

John Knox took every opportunity to public address the social ills of his time, sometimes even to the point of being considered obnoxious (no pun intended) by the leaders of his time. Unfortunately, his most famous sermon is seen by women as being opposed to women as rulers. "The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women" was a sermon against the tyranny and injustices of the two ruling Mary's of his time - Bloody Mary as we now call her (Queen of England just before Elizabeth the First), and Mary Queen of Scots. Mary of Scotland actually had him brought to trial but he was acquitted.

He is a shining example of public ministry. He didn’t stay holed up in a church building. He was out there, bringing injustice to the light and righteousness to sight. His favourite passage of Scripture was John 17, the long prayer offered by Jesus. At the end of it he prayed (The Message Bible):

I'm praying not only for them [my disciples] but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they'll be as unified and together as we are— I in them and you in me. Then they'll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you've sent me and loved them in the same way you've loved me.

This is a passage to take us out of ourselves and into the world, the community, the city. To “give the godless world evidence” of the good news of Christ Jesus is a calling to go beyond ourselves, just as John Knox lived his life. Devoted and fearless.

A New Sacred Text

This coming Sunday is Human Rights Sunday. It is based on being the Sunday closest to December 10th, Human Rights Day, the date that the United Nations adopted the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The link to the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights is found in the links on this blog site as "Human Rights."

Remember how the various books of the Bible were not actually written to be books of the Bible. They were just written for various reasons - collections of "history," letters, collected writings of prophets, and so on.

This document - please go read it, the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, may well be, next to the Bible, the most sacred document we have. It's not intended to be merely a dream. Nor am I suggesting it become a prayer - "May it be that ...." It is at least an expectation, the expectation that each and all of us can have for our communities, our nations, and our world.

But it is also a call from God to any congregation that might be willing, a call to public ministry, to working that some part or parts of this document be realized in our place and time.

So give it a slow read, and ask what part of it resonates for you, for vision and mission for Knox-St. Paul's, in this our time.

What Changes Part One

Imagine a teeter totter. You are standing at one end facing an up-ramp, and you walk slowly up the ramp. You know what happens when you reach half-way. One more step and the teeter totter falls down the other direction and you're facing a down ramp. At the beginning the teeter totter is up on the far side, and then when you step just barely over the half-way mark, it's down.

A change of focus is a lot like that teeter totter. How far past half-way did you have to go to cause the teetet totter to fall back? Just barely over. Think of the change of focus from inward-directed to outward-directed like that walk up the teeter totter. It's a walk up. As you walk up the ramp toward the middle, your focus is still inward-directed, but you're moving toward the outward-directed. And then, just past the halfway mark, you're there. You can keep going - becoming more outward-directed, but you've arrived. You're an outward-directed congregation.

What changes? Well, first and foremost, focus changes. Makes sense since we're travelling toward changing our focus to being outward-directed. Does worship change? Mainly its focus. Meetings? Mainly their focus.

This means that in worship, what we sing and preach and pray and affirm and confess is our outward-directed focus. We celebrate it, we motivate ourselve toward it. We confess that we forget it. We re-affirm it. And, we feel it.

And meetings. Finance meetings remember that we know what the true mission of a congregation is by its budget! Our budget will move toward outward-deirectedness. Christian Development is about how we learn to become outward-directed. Worship committee is about how to make the worship support outward-directedness. And so on.

We recognize that when we become outward-directed, that what is most important is what we will be doing outside of ourselves as a congregation. The inside things like worship and meetings? Since they are not our primary focus, they only need to change to the degree that they help us get focused and keep focused on what we do outside ourselves as a congregation. Really, if what we do outside ourselves is the most important thing, then we don't really have to make many changes to what we do inside.

Not so bad, really. It's where God seems to be calling this congregation. So spread the explanation. And spread the joy we feel at such a wonderful calling and at such an easy change.

Missing - Apology & Thank You

I have been away on medical for about 3 weeks (but I was sick longer than that). So I have missed writing these blogs. Please forgive. And thank you for bearing with me and returning to read and comment.