Sun. Aug. 26, 2012 (Rosie Perera)

Rosie Perera’s message on biblical non-resistance from an anabaptist perspective was entitled “Blessed are the Peacemakers” and took its inspiration from a book of the same name by Garry Staats of Winebrenner Seminary in Ohio. This huge topic addressed the biblical background of Anabaptist non-resistance, and Rosie found herself challenged as an outsider to understand and explain the roots and results of non-resistance, a difficult undertaking from her American roots which often reflect an entirely different and more violent ethic. As a peace church, we are often challenged by others to defend what we believe and Rosie noted that peacemaking does not preclude activism - Jesus, after all, did cleanse the temple with a scourge. MLK said “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” Further, “a nonviolent spirit...grows out of a spirit of love...” Rosie drew from the Sermon on the Mount, showing that as the kingdom of God draws near, the peacemakers are blessed. The main teaching found in Mt. 5:38-48 identifies retaliation as a seed of evil, and love for enemies a blessing; here Jesus is establishing a new ethic for the kingdom of heaven. Deuteronomy’s advice to respond to injustice and evil with identical behaviour was a dead end, and Rosie notes this change in ethics is an example of progressive revelation as seen in Hebrews 1 “Though God in past days spoke to us in many different ways... Now he has spoken to us through his Son...”. Capital punishment was not the rule in the OT either - Proverbs 22:24 and Lamentations 3:30 all encourage turning the cheek and leaving vengeance for the Lord. Jesus lived what he taught, restraining Peter from more violence at the taking of Jesus, and more so in his betrayal by Judas, meeting violence with a dish of bread and milk. Paul’s grace too picks up the theme of non-resistance, encouraging all Christians to submit to authority. This was a hard teaching for the church and earthly rulers to learn, culminating in Augustine’s call for Just War to redress the invitation of Romans 13. Anabaptists refused to learn this lesson, and often paid for with their lives. Pray that the world of peace and love may be established so that other do not have to pay this price either. [AP]

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Sun. Aug. 19, 2012 (Karl Brown)

Karl Brown gave a message he entitled “The Ghost of Religion” by asking “whose responsibility is it to identify wisdom? Folly? Morality?” Karl insists religion is responsible for all questions such as these: can we have religion without faith? Can we have faith without religion? Depending on your point of view - as Deist (following a watchmaker God); a Theist (knowing a personal God) or Atheist (knowing no God), Karl showed how one’s outlook and traditions are tempered by these beliefs. Logic helps, but only so far. Drawing distinctions between beliefs, religion, moral authority, and faith, Karl encouraged the group to have faith and be religious, to follow God and demonstrate the kindness and tenderness that comes from God, and to avoid the religion without faith that occupies so many other on our planet. Karl asks that during times of trouble, that we not allow our faith, our church, our community to be far from us when we are in need. [AP]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 19th, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 12, 2012 (Bruce Hiebert)

Bruce Hiebert focused on the seemingly unusual relationship between the ascension of Jesus and economics. He noted some discrepancies between Luke’s gospel account and the description of the ascension in Acts. In Luke’s gospel account Jesus ascends on the day of his resurrection; in Acts he ascends 40 days later. Bruce maintained that “ascension” is a metaphor and could mean many things. The choice of Bethany reflects Luke’s anti-wealth thinking; it’s the site many of Jesus comments about the poor; “the poor you will always have with you.” The discussion raised questions about how we know truth, how we interpret events, and how we interpret scripture. How do we know when to take scripture literally, when metaphorically, and when humanly constructed? Discernment is important since truth can come to us in many forms. The upside down kingdom is here, let’s worship God and live it. [HN]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 12th, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 5, 2012 (Connie Siedler)

Connie Siedler (graduate student at Regent College and former resident of The Menno Simons Centre) continued her series on the seasons of life. Earlier talks looked at “winter” and “summer”, following the idea expressed in Ecclesiastes 3, “For everything there is a season”, and this talk focused on “summer”. We are drawn to summer’s long days, summer’s warmth, holidays, fresh fruits and vegetables. In our emotional lives we also experience our “seasons”, including “summers” of light/ happiness, joy, and refreshment. Part of this is hopefully engendered by our belonging to the Kingdom of God, a kingdom we only need to receive and enter (though once there, plenty of opportunities for work will arise, just as in summer). People who garden often enjoy sharing produce with others; the Kingdom asks that we give to others from our abundance (“freely you have received, freely give”). Summers also come with dangers--drought, floods--and the “summers” of our lives can also experience danger. When things are going well, we tend to think less often of God, or consumerism robs from that which we ought to be sharing with others. As we go through life, we should learn to recognize and experience each of our life’s “seasons”, seeing how each transforms us within the Kingdom. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 5th, 2012 using your browser's preferred media player.