All The Religions Of The World

 While visiting friends in Kingston Jamaica in the late 1980’s I was invited to visit with a local Yogi who lived in the foot hills surrounding the city.  We in the West would call him a naturopathic, a medical practitioner who uses the natural elements of plants and herbs or alternative medicine to help fight disease or to relieve a medical condition.  I was also told at the time that this particular Yogi was also a spiritual master and I would find him very interesting.   After meeting him, I was prompted to ask him a spiritual question.  So, I asked, “how do you understand all the different religions in our world?   The gentleman went quiet for a moment and then he said this to me. 

Every country and contentment in the world has a main river source that we might call the countries life blood.    In Canada you have the St. Lawrence River system, in England you have the Thames, in Germany the Rhine, in China you have the Yangtze and so on.  All rivers, each with their own unique and distinct water flows and offers a rich resource to its country.  All the rivers and streams of the world have in common is where they all join together and that of course is in the ocean.  If you were to go out into the center of the ocean and scoop a pail of water, could you tell me which came from the St. Lawrence, the Thames, the Rhyne, or the Yangtze?  I see the same for all the great religions of our world, eventually we will all come together in the shelter of compassionate love for one another.

I truly believe that this was one of the most important moments in the cultivation of my theologically perspective and my openness to the wisdom teachings of the other religions in our world.   I have often reflected on this wisdom story and others looking for the depth of its true meaning as I believe that we all want to follow in the Holy way.   I also believe that this was the spark that lead me to discover  others spiritual writings Aboriginal, Buddhist, Islam, Zen, etc. which contained within their stories traces of the Holy teachings of the Trinitarian God also.  They may at times use different language and stories to describe the Holy way but they in themselves no longer threaten my faith as a Christian but actually have reinforced and deepened my root in Christ.   Let us keep in mind that all religions including Christianity of our world have been used to promote hatred, violence, and war when interrupted by militant radical groups.  

I believe as did the Apostol Paul that one day, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that the universal Christ is Lord of all.  In fact one of the most important themes thought the New Testament is that the day is coming when we shall all be one people with one as our God head.  

Blessings Folks. I leave this parable with you for contemplation during the remainder of this month and August as I will be on Holidays until the first of September.  Looking forward to sharing with you once again. 

"The Love Of Christ" Who Can Claim Ownership?

              The love of Christ is a central element of Christian belief and its theology, but it cannot be considered exclusive to Christianity.   The love of Christ refers both to the love Jesus has for all people regardless of race, color or religion, and the love Christians hold in their hearts for the Universal Christ.  It only exist because from the very beginning Christ first loved us. Often when we hear about the love of Christ we think of how much we love Christ and we disappoint ourselves.  We begin to feel badly that our love for Christ is so inadequate.  We see others who appear to love Christ more than we and often we may feel inferior, jealous or even worse, unworthy.  The love that is going out from us, at least for many, is the only love we can feel, measure or share.    There truly is something missing here. With this way of thinking I mean because it is incomplete.  Love is a circle and what goes around comes around, or at least it should.    To make it complete we must be able to truly feel, see and measure the love that came to us because it was He who first loved us.  God in Christ sent out a love in cosmic proportion that is so radical because it has no strings attached.   Well folks, here is the kicker: if we have not accepted it or taken it in, how can we show that love back or mirror it for others to see.  I cannot show you something I personally do not know, understand or have.   In fact the only love many of us can share or mirror is a one way love or a love with a condition.  In fact if I cannot feel the depth of his unconditional love in my life how then can I mirror that love for others to see.   

The theme of love is the key element within the Gospel of John.  In his Gospel, John uses the metaphor of the Good Shepherd to symbolizes the sacrifice of Jesus based on his love.  In that gospel, love for Christ results in the following of his commandment, John 14:23:  "If a man loves me, he will keep my word" and in 1 John 4: 19 of the Epistles we hear:  "We love, because he first loved us", expressing the love of Christ as a mirroring of Christ's own love.  Towards the end of the Last Supper, Jesus gives his disciples this commandment: "Love one another, as I have loved you ... 

How can we do that if we do not know how much He Loves us? Jesus goes on to say "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples”. 

The most often missed point here is that the Disciples of Christ are not bound by any religious affiliation.   They were not white Western or North America Folk.   It was a reality when Jesus walked this earth, before Christianity, and for many it is still that way today.  Does that surprise you?   If that were the case then, why should it not be the same today?  We do not profess Christianity as Lord, we profess Christ as Lord of "ALL", or at least some do.  

The love of Christ is also expressed in the Letters of Paul.  The basic theme of Ephesians is that of God the Father initiating the work of salvation through Christ.  Jesus willingly sacrifices himself based on His love and obedience to His Father.  And you thought it was your sins that spurred this radical act of love and obedience.    You may have heard that it was His Love that kept him on the cross, not the nails in his hands and feet.  This insight may pose a problem for those of us who only see Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.  

Ephesians 3:17-19 tells that one of the necessities of knowing the love of Christ, is to  follow his teachings, again not bound by religious affiliation, because His teaching are universal and can be found in many religious sects around the world.   In order to know His Love for us we must seek Him, not a religion to understand and to contemplate on his knowledge.  Doctrine and Dogma might not be the way folks. 

Many prominent Christian figures have expounded on the love of Christ. Saint Augustine wrote that "the common love of truth unites people, the common love of Christ unites all Christians". Saint Benedict instructed his monks to "prefer nothing to the love of Christ".   Saint Thomas Aquinas stated that although both Christ and God the Father had the power to restrain those who killed Christ on Calvary, neither did, and it was due to the perfection of the love of Christ.  Aquinas also started that, given that "perfect love" casts out fear, Christ had no fear when he was crucified, for his love was all-perfect. Saint Teresa of Avila considered perfect love to be love that imitated the love of Christ.   So then we have a new day with the resurrection of the Christ in our midst.  May we begin to be more diligent in reflecting THE LOVE OF CHRIST within our lives and within the life of our gatherings.  Love is for everyone.              
                                "Jesus Teaching on Forgiveness"

"The Miracle of Light"

John 11: 19 Jesus said, “A day has twelve hours, doesn't it? So those who walk in broad daylight do not stumble, for they see the light of this world.

“Miracle of the Light”

Let me tell you this modern day parable that holds within it a spiritual truth.  It was in the late 50’s and there was a mining disaster in a small community in eastern Canada.  Twelve men were trapped 1200 feet below the surface.  For 12 days, they had little or no food and the water had run out. There were no signs of hope for them ever being found. It was as though they were sealed in their own tomb. 

Coal Miners always took with them a little extra food in their lunch can when they went to work in the mine to feed the pit rates who roamed throughout the mine at the many shaft levels.  The food keep the rats from bothering the miners as worked thought-out the day.  After the bump happened and most of mine had collapsed the rats were trapped also, no food could be spared to satisfy them.  The rats, being hungry became restless and the trapped miners, now without light, couldn’t see them but could felt them as they ran over their legs or tried nibbling at their hands in the dark as they sat or lay on the ground.  Without food, water and light, the mines darkness was darker than anything they had ever experienced in their lives before and the fear was overwhelming at times.  One of the miners known as the singing miner began to sing hymns.  The singing, even for the non-believers, gave the men a moment of relief.  It was in that moment that one miner lifted his head in praise to God and to his astonishment a tiny white dot appeared before his vision. At first he rubbed his eyes thinking it wasn’t really there.  But it didn’t go away.  Could it possibly be a glimmer of light he though, piercing threw the darkness.  Crawling on hand and knees towards it, he ran into a wall of fallen rock.  His eye still fixed on this tiny glimmer.  It was light and it was coming through the wall.  As he scratched and moved rock with his hand the light grew bit by bit and the darkness was dispelled, all twelve were rescued that day.  They were alive again and living in the light with hope.  The Light had come into their world and their darkness was dispelled.   

Maybe your life seems in a pit of darkness these days.  May be that is why you have been guided to this message, looking for the light to come into your life.   Maybe you are afraid of the worldly rats of this life who are nibbling away at your existence leaving you with loneliness, shame, guilt, anger and all those things that the darkness can fill you with.  Well folks who do we know to be the light of this world?

John 8: 12 Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. “I am the light of the world,” he said. “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.”

2 Corinthians 4: 4 They do not believe, because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world.  He keeps them from

seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.



                                 " I Am The Light Of The World" 

"The Emerging Church" What's Up Hear?

An Interview with Phyllis Tickle
Taken from the United Church Observer

Q  In your book The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why, you talk about how every 500 years we go through a time of great upheaval when everything changes — intellectually, politically, culturally, sociologically, economically — and that we are in one of those times right now. 

A Yes. Five hundred years ago we called it the Great Reformation, a thousand years ago it was the Great Schism, 1,500 years ago it was the Great Decline and Fall, and 2,000 years ago it was the Great Transition. 

Today, what we are experiencing has been called the Great Emergence. As in every transition before it, there has been such an abrupt interruption in the way things are that there’s no going back. 

Q In times like these, the church has been compelled to have what Bishop Mark Dyer has described as a huge “rummage sale,” when we let go of a lot of stuff and claim new treasures. What are some of the things that are on the rummage table today?

A Clergy as a privileged group is a no-no in emergence Christianity. Emergence citizens want community, to prayerfully discern together, to move by committee, because in this world of vast information, there’s no way anyone can be an expert on everything. All any of us can do is prayerfully bring our little bit of expertise to the table to arrive at some sort of common understanding. 

So emergence citizens are deeply, deeply communal. This makes traditionalists or “inherited church” people nervous, simply because it can seem such a hodgepodge way of doing things. 

Q What other characteristics of the emerging church might make some people uncomfortable?

A The emergence citizen is deeply allergic to real estate. You are no longer nimble once you own something, and emergence citizens believe in transience. Their thinking is, “Just because we are all together in this community right now doesn’t mean we will not be led by the Spirit to scatter like a milk pod bursting and going and planting others, and if we own real estate, we can’t do that” (although they are not averse to asking to borrow a church basement if they need a place to meet). 

Q What about doctrine — will it have a place in emergence Christianity?

A Doctrine is the written record of how we got from there to here, but it’s not necessarily the work of God; it’s the history of Christianity. 

Emergence Christians say, “I don’t want to hear that, though I won’t throw it away. It’s the story we are interested in, the narrative — tell us the story.” So they are deeply liturgical, because liturgy doesn’t involve intellectualization. It involves the body; it’s incarnational. They want their body to be part of the faith experience. 

Q You have identified the work of Albert Einstein as a major contributing factor to the peri-emergence that consistently happens 150 years prior to a time of upheaval. How has the church missed engaging in significant questions of life by not fully entering into discussions with science?

A When the Reformation came along, it gave us Newtonian physics, which said that everything in the world is composed of stuff, and if you slice and dice the stuff, you’ll ultimately get down to the essence of what it is. 

But then you get to the 18th and 19th centuries and face the fact that it’s not all just stuff, there’s also energy because we’re dealing with steam engines and electricity. 

From the latter half of the 19th century on, there were scientists who were beginning to say there might be something besides energy and stuff. They developed what’s called emergence theory — which is where the Great Emergence gets its name. It says yes to the evolutionary process, but evolution doesn’t explain human consciousness, for instance. The only answer is that, after the coming together of all the parts, something enters before it becomes whole. Science calls that information. All the fairly recent branches of science are born out of the recognition that there is energy, there is stuff and there is this other thing. 

Now what’s exciting, and what the church, darn it, is not engaging as it should, is the fact that for the first time, physical science, theology and philosophy are all talking about the same thing. Our story talks about it: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and all things were made by the Word.” That’s the information, that’s the third component of creation. We’ve got all these learned scientists and philosophers wanting to talk to us about our foundational mystery, and the inherited church is just sitting there saying, “I don’t think so.” 

Q So emergence Christianity actively engages in conversations much broader than the traditional church?

A Yes. And that creates anxiety for people like good middle-aged mamas, who see their young adult children not going to church. Well, of course they are not there. They’re down in the pub every Tuesday night, having a beer and doing pub theology. It’s just church in a new way. God is doing a new thing again and we’re living in it. 

This is the first time, though, when we’ve known we’re in a rummage sale. What a blessing to have an understanding of our times, and to not consequently get hysterical about it. But what a responsibility to understand that we are shaping not only our times but probably another three or four centuries of western Christianity. And also to know that every other time it has ended in bloodshed, and this time it doesn’t have to if we keep our cool and try to enable rather than squelch what is happening. 

Q You and others talk about a key aspect of this time being the awakening and reclaiming of the power of the Holy Spirit. 

A Yes, we are definitely coming into the age of the Holy Spirit. The prophecy has been that there would be 2,000 years of God the Father, which goes from Eden to the cross. Then there would be 2,000 years of God the Son, which is from the cross to our time, when our focus has been more Christocentric than Trinitarian. From 2,000 to 4,000, the focus will be on God the Holy Spirit. This will be a time of deep engagement with the Holy Spirit in community.

Q You’ve written that in each of these times of great upheaval, the critical question is about authority. How will the power of the Holy Spirit play into that key issue?

A We have gotten rid of sola scriptura as the authority, which was the authority of the Reformation, and before that the Pope, so we stand here in this century, in this part of the Great Emergence, and say, “Where now is the authority? Who is calling the shots? Who tells us what’s right and what’s wrong?” Certainly, scripture is going to be a big part of the authority, but scripture as it is discerned in community, taught and revealed by the Holy Spirit. 

Q In many ways, that is how we function today in The United Church of Canada. We believe the Holy Spirit is among us and that as a gathered group we will be led by the Holy Spirit in our decision-making. 

A That’s one of the reasons I love to talk to you guys in the United Church — you were born in 1925 during the peri-emergence, which was the beginning of the attempt to reconfigure Protestantism in such a way that it addresses these changes. So yes, you are an emergence kid. You should be going gangbusters. 

Q What should we keep in mind in this era of change?

A As the Archbishop in England said, as we move into this new age, we need to remember that we are not here to save the church as we have known it; we are called to our purpose of serving the Kingdom of God on Earth.  

This video clip may have a nugget for you.  It only takes 5 minutes take a listen!

"Freedom From Religion" Looking For It?

"Freedom From Religion"

                                                  Galatians 5: 1- 25 

Question:  How many Church and non-Church going folk today feel as though they are being stymied, strangled or outcast by their own denominational rules, regulation and dogma?   Dogma meaning a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority, {religion in this case} as incontrovertibly true.  

A modern day Parable: 

A Spiritual Master walking along a dusty road side is instructing one of his students concerning some of the rules around being with and interacting with women.  “As a Spiritual Guide you never look directly into the eyes of a women or physically touch her” he explains, “because it may bring to mind passions that have the power to develop sin in your life”.   Just then a down pour of rain causes the ditch along the side of the road to overflow with water.  Stuck on the other side of the ditch is a women hollering for help because she is caught off guard and unable to move.  The Master trudges through the water to the other side, picks up the women in his arms and brings her safely to the other side.  He looked straight into her eyes with compassion and assured her everything would be alright.  Then he and student continued along the roadside.  The student one half hour later perplexed by his Masters actions could no longer contain himself and so asked the question: “Master you broke a cardinal rule back there, I do not understand.”  “Oh yes” said the Master “I forgot to tell you!! There are no rules when responding to a call for compassion, or to show love of neighbor to do for others as you would have them do for you for,   You see Love never fails.” 

Psalm 77 and Galatians 5: 1- 25 

Folks, within Paul’s letters to the Galatian Church you will find the charter of Christian freedom that so many of us are seeking today.  Circumcision was a symbol of having the right background and doing everything required by the Jewish religion.  If a person were counting on finding favor with God by being circumcised he would also have to obey the rest of God’s laws completely and there was a whopping total of 613 of them.  Paul was trying desperately to teach that Jesus died to set them free from their religious bondage.  Not to confuse that with just being able to do any old thing that they wanted, for that would lead them to completely miss the mark.  Freedom from this kind of slavery could only be reached by trusting in the grace of God, not by following a corporate style set of Laws, rituals or regulations.  It was then and still is today, salvation is by God’s grace not by what we say or do.    

Many of us are being held in what appears to be some sort of bondage to a Christian Church that is more corporate than Gospel.  Mega Churches rely on slick theatrical TV presentations to attract their followers.  You must say the words, be baptized or even more dramatic you have to be slain by the spirit to receive the gift of God’s grace of salvation.  The small rural churches have not escaped the misconception that works saves either. Their form of bondage is trying to maintain out dated church buildings and follow corporate style church policies and rules that keep them from God mercy and grace wondering why their numbers are dwindle down to bare bones.   We are in changing times folks. 

 Here is their situation in the Church then and I ask you to compare it to our reality today within the church. 

Most of the first converts and early leaders in the church were Jewish first, then they converted to Christianity proclaiming Jesus as their Messiah.  As Jewish Christians, they struggled with a dual identity.  In other words, people carried into their new found faith some baggage from their original family home and their religious training.  Sound familiar, are we not still there folks? 

Their Jewishness constrained them to be strict followers of the law but these rules often contradicted the holy freedom Christ was inviting them to celebrate.  The difficulty was that this "radical compassion and Love Christ was showing us" was not bound to laws or rituals because it had no boundaries.   They struggled with the idea of how the Gentiles who were non-Jews could be acceptable candidates for the Kingdom of Heaven.   

Our Question for us here might be this:  Who is it that we look down upon as non-acceptable candidates for the Kingdom today.  What minorities are being discriminated against by the so called saved and how does this fit within the teachings of our Master?    

You see just the thought that someone is not acceptable goes completely against the radical love and compassion we are to embrace.  For it is within this radical love and compassion that our freedom from religion can be found folks.    

It is often the of baggage traditional church, its rituals, not conforming to or being an outsider that created bickering and in-fighting among the faithful and is this not still going on in our churches today?  Here we may find another clue that keeps religious freedom from getting to them and to us in the church today.   Keeping with tradition, following the church rules of law, its rituals, and by ignoring the newcomer, would form clicks, not community by the narrowness of their thinking.  Bickering, infighting and the upholding of old traditions within church going folk today is very common for most religions and does not help us to build a healthy community of faith either.  In fact if we were to look real closely we would probably find one of the major reason why newcomers tend to shy away after a very short period of attending, especially if they see this kind of behavior within its members.  

Now folks you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see this same struggle happening today within the church.  It is as though we haven’t really gone very far from where the apple fell.   The congregants of today struggle with denominational identify which has its rules, rituals and dogma.  We often fight and picker among ourselves as to what rule applies where, who fits in and of course who’s out.  On one hand we want the freedom to worship and invite newcomers but what they see is a turn off because our churches seem to be more corporate than community.  Most denominations require you to become a registered member to fit in properly and leaders must be properly educated with the proper status in order to lead.  With policies that restrict the spirits movement within the church how do we embrace the changes that are necessary to become free to show this radical love and hospitality to the community as a whole. 

Religious freedom seekers of today who want to follow the teachings of the Master are often being held in bondage seemingly by what appears to be corporate denominational laws, rules or regulations.   

These letters by Paul were not just meant for his time but resonate with all who are struggling for religious freedom and true salvation today.   It certainly seems that we have not gone far from the early traditions as many seeking freedom from Religion seems to be stymied, strangled or controlled by buildings, denominational rules, regulations and church dogma.   As in the parable this morning, it appears that we too were not told or at least we didn’t listen because there are no rules that should prevent us from responding to God's call for justice, compassion, and love of self and neighbor.  If we look closely within the Gospel and the writings of Paul, we will see that Paul letters to the Galatians church proclaims that the reality of their freedom and liberty could only be found in Christ Jesus.  Paul proclaims that religious freedom can only be found when we are freed from our bondage to Church membership laws, the rituals of the tradition and the power of corporate sin.  Being set free we can now serve this radical hospitality of compassion and love shown to us by the birth, life, teachings and death of our Master.   So what is Paul really saying here folks?   May I suggest that the Love of Christ and the freedom it offers has no Religion?  In fact unconditional Love is not a religion it is a way of life and there are no rules that caution you to rethink God’s love.  Love with rules is conditional and the love you seek, the love of God through Christ is unconditional.   Human love as hard as we try to keep the conditions out it seems to us almost impossible.  God’s love on the other hand is totally and completely free of conditions. In fact that is what true salvation is all about, you surrendering to the love of God.  That is why with God’s love in you, around you, and through you, if you truly accept it, you will be able to love your enemy, you will love those who hurt or persecute you, and yes, even those who would kill you.  Love you see, breaks all the rules just as it did in the parable at the first of my message. 

Who Is John Chapman???

Fathers Day 2016

When I was a little boy well my daddy, he could do anything.

Around age six well, my dad is smarter than your dad.

By the time I was ten well, dad really doesn’t seem to know everything.

And when I hit twelve, naturally dad doesn't know anything about that.  He is too old to remember his childhood.

At the ripe old age of fourteen,  dad, well he is too old- fashioned.

At twenty-one DAD!!!   my heavens, he's hopelessly out of date.

But you know when I hit my thirties things began to change:  Maybe I should ask dad what he thinks.  After all, he's had a lot of experience.

At forty, ENLIGHTENMENT sets in and things really change.  Now I'm am not doing a single thing until I at least talk it over with my dad.   

These last comments are meant for those of us, including me who’s earthy DAD has passed on. 

As I get older still:  - I think, if dad were here now I would want to talk things over with him again,  and I would tell him how much I love him.  

In a moment of thoughtful silence, consider what is special about your DAD. ---------------------------------------------Amen

You know we all have the same DAD and He was with us from the very beginning, and has never left our side, he’s in Me and in You because He made us in his image the image of love, and he loves us no matter what, He has never left or forsaken us.  He is our God, our Heavenly DAD, and he is there for everyone who will accept him.  Thanks be to our Heavenly DAD.

The Pearly Gates?
Over the massive ornate carved front doors of a cathedral church, these words were inscribed: "The Gates of Heaven". Below that was a small cardboard sign with an arrow pointing to the side which read: "Please enter by the service entrance."   

Folks, I believe the service entrance is the only way to enter into the Kingdom Of Heaven. I believe the kingdom of God will not be entered into through the affluent elaborateness of the rich and famous nor through the powerful of this world.  I believe service is the key Folks and for the Christian it is through Jesus and His way of serving that we enter. 

In Mark 4: 26-27 Jesus said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how."

How many of us here like apples?  You probably understanding the picture at the beginning of my service today.  Of course all of us know the story of a man called Johnny Appleseed. As you might guess, Johnny Appleseed was not his real name. His real name was John Chapman. He was born in 1774 in the state of Massachusetts. When he was in his early twenties, John became a nurseryman working with plants, trees, and shrubs. John Chapman especially loved apple trees and he planted them all around the town where he lived. But that wasn't enough for John, He wanted people everywhere to enjoy apples just as much as he did, so he traveled all around the country planting apple trees and giving away apple seeds.

John’s life wasn't easy thought, but he loved what he was doing. He never married, and collected more friends than he could count. He lived a long and happy life enjoying the great outdoors and the beauty of God's creation until his death in 1845.

You may be asking, "What does the story of Johnny Appleseed have to do with our Bible lesson for today?" Well, the story of Johnny Appleseed is a bit like the parable that Jesus told in our Bible reading for today. Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he is asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but the man doesn't know how it happens." Nor can the man see what is really in the seed, but he knows that there really is a tree in there, with more apples and more seeds.  Isn’t that amazing!

Just as John Chapman was passionate about planting apple seeds, God wants you and me to be passionate about planting seeds of the Good News everywhere we go. If we will take the Good News of Jesus to people, it will take root in their life and begin to grow.  We may not understand it, but we know that, that is the way the kingdom of God grows -- by people like you and me planting the seed and watching it grow.   God chose ordinary people like you and me to get his message of unconditional love and forgiveness out into the world.    Let us plant seeds of faith in Jesus Christ wherever we go. 

                                                            A Fathers Love