Sun. June 26, 2011 (John Neufeld)

John Neufeld’s experience as a senior led him to offer advice in his fresh look at John 10:1-20, a familiar passage to all of us. He noted that every senior needs a reason to get up in the morning; to practice curiosity as long as they can; and they need a sense of humour “because if you don’t laugh, you have to take medicine.” So John 10 made John curious about the obvious conflict raised for the Pharisees in Jesus’ words. The Pharisees had codified the law for so long that no new knowledge could disturb them, and the people themselves had lived a long time under that interpretation of the law - that is, until this new rabbi came along with God’s spirit upon him. John noted that the source of the controversial phrase “I am the good shepherd” (vs 11) came from Ezekiel 34 where Ezekiel speaks against the rulers of Israel saying “You shepherds [rulers] have not strengthened the weak, you have not bound up the injured, you have not healed the sick, you have not sought the lost....” Their apathetic self-seeking was a rich target for Ezekiel, who then says on God’s behalf, that he [God] would instead strengthen the weak, bind up the injured, and heal the sick, because the rulers had failed to do so. The Jews of the day would have known this passage well. When Jesus further says in vs 7 “I am the gate for the sheep”, the people would have known (a) Jesus was one with Yahweh, and (b) that God has returned to usurp the leaders of their power and irresponsibility because they have failed. So difficult was this thought for people that Jesus had to repeat himself. Third, Jesus notes in vs. 16 that “I have other sheep...” One can only imagine how the Chosen People would have reacted to the thought of one world, one flock, and one shepherd. This went completely against their assumptions - no wonder they thought him out of his mind. Though these words seem comfortable to us now, we should not forget their revolutionary intent, for they apply to us too. We are always invited to undertake a radical reexamination of our beliefs and practices. [AP]

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Sun. June 12, 2011 (Mariam Kamell)

In her second message from the book of James (Jm 1:19-27), Miriam Kammell noted that this letter was written by the brother of Jesus. James emphasizes that how we behave reflects how we feel about God. James was the one who welcomed Paul into the Christian family and he mediated the council sessions described in Acts 15. James had a towering reputation in the early church. Being quick to listen, slow to speak and even slower to anger requires humility and sometimes it means letting go of our right to be heard. It is in doing the "word" that the blessings are pronounced. Miriam said moral purity and concern for the poor go hand in hand; in doing the "word" we receive the blessings as we are forged into God. Encouraging us to be compassionate and merciful, she called for a return to the prophetic function of the church. What are our prophetic issues and where are our prophets? [HN]

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Sun. June 5, 2011 (Mariam Kamell)

Mariam Kamell, speaking on James 1:7-12, noted how we view God has serious implications for how we act, just as how we view our friends and coworkers affects how we relate to them. James does not present theology so much as a manual for living. It’s both wisdom literature in the line of Proverbs, with its theology, partly hiddne behind a presription for life; and it’s also in apocalyptic tradition as James presents God’s judgment at every turn. James bears warning as prophetic literature - if you do not choose God’s ways, you will be destroyed, so choose life and live. This is in line with Jesus’ commandment to the people “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” God is a covenant-making God (vs 12) who responds to faithfulness. Therefore we should submit to our trials with God’s promise of relief to us in our ears. We should resist temptation - to blame someone else, to succumb to our desires - (vs 13-15) for the outcome is death. It’s not God’s requests of us that cause us to sin, it’s our own resistance. When we act out of love for God, and obey his commands, we are assured of mercy from God. We are not told to judge each other nor God. He is above all a good and giving God, (vs. 16-18) especially when we approach God in our lack, giving us good and perfect gifts. The ethics in James become dos and don’t s if we do not love God. Let us love God instead. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, June 5th, 2011 using your browser's preferred media player.