Sun. Aug. 25, 2013 (Veronica Dyck)

Veronica Dyck's meditation looked at the story of Jesus teaching in the synagogue, stopping his talk to ask a severely stooped woman to come forward, healing her instantly (without her asking), and then being criticized by the ruler of the synagogue for 'working' on the Sabbath (Luke 13.10-19). This complaint was based on a close reading of Deuteronomy 5.13, but Jesus cleverly responded by showing how most men commonly broke the next verse (Deut. 5.14). If it is acceptable to untie an animal on the Sabbath in order to lead it to water ('work'), why would it not be acceptable to untie a woman from 18 years of physical disability on the Sabbath? The woman really celebrated her new freedom and was not about to be silenced. This is yet another story illustrating how God's Torah, studied every Sabbath, needs to be interpreted through the lenses of mercy and grace, rather than being viewed as harsh rules. Consequently, gatherings on the Sabbath need to find ways to lift up the lowly and reconcile them back into God's community (the woman would have been thought unclean). What keeps us captive and prevents us from being fully part of God's kingdom? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 25th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 18, 2013 (Michael Thomas)

Michael Thomas (former "Menno" resident and faithful participant at PGIMF) reviewed Paul's metaphors (1 Cor. 12 and Eph. 2) in which all members of the body are important. Michael recently studied how and what seminarians in Ghana learn about Christianity and some of the ways they view scriptures and faith.

1. Westerners do not bother with wide swaths of the bible dealing with evil spirits, genealogies, healings, visi ons and the like, but African Christians are familiar with these worlds; therefore the bible is very much their book--all of it, especially the Old Testament.  
2. African Christians understand the spirit realms (casting out spirits, etc.) far better than Westerners; the spirit world is just a real to well-educated Africans as is the physical world.  
3. Believing that the foundation of all things is God, Africans do not separate the sacred from the secular as we do; "theology" (the study of God) encompasses everything in life.  
4. Westerners have emphasized individualism in our ethics and increasingly in our churches, but African Christians believe that the well being of the group takes precedence over individualism. One person even commented that democracy is undercutting Christianity in the West, watering it down (letting untrained people have a significant say in what the church should teach).

Western Christianity appears to have the upper hand because of its vast financial wealth and long history of thinking, but there is so much that we can learn from the African "parts of Christ's body". [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 18th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 11, 2013 (Dave Diewert)

Dave Diewert (Regent College) spoke on the story of feeding the 5,000 (Mark 6), which recalls parallel themes with the story in Exodus of feeding many thousands in the wilderness. Jesus, recalling Ezekiel, often spoke of political and religious leaders as shepherds who neglected their sheep. Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus speaks of people being abused by power, being hungry for justice, and of Jesus wanting to 'feed' them/satisfy their needs. In this story, various solutions were proposed: (1) the disciples advocated individualism, tantamount to the survival of the fittest in which people fend for themselves (go and buy their own food); (2) Jesus asked the disciples to purchase food for everybody (charity, handouts, one-time solution) and this was thought impractical. Finally (3) Jesus asked everybody to share with each other (the economics of mutuality). The real miracle in this story is that God was on the side of those society was hurting (the peasant Galileans were being even more severely taxed at that time than previously, while the middle and upper classes in Jerusalem were protected). Herod, Pilate, and the Temple officials (appointed by Rome's appointees) depended on the peasants in Galilee being poor/powerless and financially oppressed. Leaders therefore feared Jesus's and John the Baptist's work with the poor, just like some have feared the Arab Spring, Vancouver's downtown demonstrations, and calls for a more equitable world. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 11th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.

Sun. Aug. 4, 2013 (Morgan Tipton)

Morgan Tipton (Residence Coordinator of the Menno Simons Centre) spoke on "Habitation and Formation: Why Living in Christian Community Matters." Morgan began with a box of brownie mix. For one ESL student at the Centre, the instructions were formidable and frightening. Another student baked brownies every Wednesday midnight, while students gathered to eat and talk. For still another student, only Grandma's recipe sufficed. This was just brownies . . . image the variety of understandings of Christianity and community 23 students bring to the Centre each September. Scripture indicates that faith is shaped in the presence of others. Although 'Christian community' undoubtedly takes place at our Centre, every square inch of the earth is God's, so community can also happen on the dance floor, in a pub or on the bleachers. The social rituals outside the classroom are more formative than are classes, labs and libraries. Community living can have its problems, but a community without tension is also not experiencing growth. [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 4th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.