Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Then the Lord told Moses, “Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. (Exodus 19:10, New Living Translation)

               Our text would make a good sermon text for an induction sermon for a new pastor into  his or her new church or perhaps for an ordination service. God has ordered Moses to get his people ready for God’s appearance in three days time. Every time a minister creates a worship service and delivers a sermon, the pastor-shepherd is enabling the creation of sacred space and time so that God’s people, i.e. the Church, might experience the presence of God in some fashion. It was a task that I never took lightly or casually when I was in pastoral ministry. From the opening invocation, every hymn, every prayer, every liturgy, every scripture, every word of my sermon to the final benediction was artfully and thoughtfully sculpted in hopes that the people of my congregations just might experience the Spirit of God in some aspect or another. “O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple.”  (Psalm 48:9)

                Part of the Israelite people’s preparations meant coming before God in clean clothes. It used to be that Sunday was the one special day of the week that everybody put on their best clothes, the Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. There would be a Saturday night bath or a Sunday morning shower.  People would put their ordinary, sweaty, old  work clothes off to the side and come together in their cleanest and shiniest best. Now, I don’t think one’s clothes should deter anyone from worship. I certainly don’t believe that God is judging anyone with a few tatters or buttons missing. God wants everyone to join him in worship. God is not going to exclude anyone if your jeans area little dirty.

                But the grumpy old man in me also winces at how casual worship attire has become, especially among the clergy. I get it, robes are maybe a bit over-the-top in most churches.  Once, I had a child ask me at the door why I was in a dress. I get it, too, that clergy don’t want to be seen as separate from or different from the ordinary Jane or John sitting in the congregation. Yet, we pastors have a unique function to represent and present God in Jesus Christ to our people. That is special! It matters that we look the part.

                That silly pet peeve aside, the real point is that we prepare ourselves, both clergy and people, for the awesome appearance of God. “On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.” (19:16) It is highly unlikely that we will hear thunder and see lightening in any of our church services on a Sunday. Although, in the book of Acts, we read that after a very inspiring prayer service at the Jerusalem church, “the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31) Pentecostals, of course, are renowned for raising the roof, but we, Canadian Baptists, are somewhat tamer although we love a good rousing hymn sing, an inspiring and uplifting sermon, or listening to a beautiful emotive anthem or solo. I’ve had a few thunderstorms happening coincidentally (?) during a worship service and it was kind of exciting. But, by and large, our modern worship services are not quite so loud and boisterous as it was for the Israelites.

                Be that as it may, our preparations are the key to avail ourselves to the living God in our lives. Our relationship with God is a dynamic, living, interactive and sacred activity. It doesn’t happen by chance usually. Jesus told several parables about the need for his followers to be prepared for what God was about to do. “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (Matthew 24:44) We are called to prepare ourselves for Jesus’ arrival, for God’s presence, for the work of the Holy Spirit in our ourselves personally and in our churches collectively.  The washing of clothes can become a metaphor for getting our hearts, minds, souls and even bodies in a healthy, clean state of being so that we may receive the Love of God in all its power. “Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.” (Psalm 89:15)

 

Prayer

Our amazing God, we confess that we lose our focus and become distracted when we join with others in worship. We become distracted or even feel unworthy of entering your holy presence.  Yet, your Love through Jesus Christ has washed us clean and you are eager to invite us to meet with you and experience your Grace and Mercy. We come to you with gratitude, hope and give you our love in return. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (Matthew 7: 13 -14, New Living Translation)

               It had been such a good day in Mississauga on Saturday. Our whole family along with Susan’s two sisters and Sharon’s two adult children had gathered at her father’s home to remember her sister Jennifer who died earlier this year. We shared laugher and tears and stories. It was a grand day.

                But exhausting as well. So, when we left in the early evening, I was very tired. But it was only an hour’s drive to get home.  As I drove, I sort of put my mind on automatic pilot. Therefore, I missed my usual turn to get onto Hwy 427 to take me up to the 407, something I have done dozens and dozens of times.  But no big deal – I’d simply take the Gardner Expressway to the Don Valley Parkway and then the 401, heading for home in Whitby. It would take a little longer – but not much. But before long, the expressway did indeed become a parkway – no express, and a lot of park. I had hit the mother of all road jams.  Stop and not much go. A road sign alerted me that it was going to take an hour to get to the 401. (There had been a traffic accident on the DVP that closed two of the three lanes.)

                Now, I took this unfortunate turn of events with my usual calm, good-natured, look-on-the-bright-side demeanor.  Yeah, right! Not a chance!  I railed, fumed, ranted, sputtered for twenty minutes or so over my absolute stupidity and bad fortune. Poor Susan. I had no one to blame but myself and I let myself have it, full bore, although God might have had an earful or two about letting this happen. I can’t even say that I felt any better after the rant was over. It certainly didn’t make the traffic move any faster.  A one-hour drive became a two-hour drive. Serve’s me right for my inattention and wool-gathering.

                That’s a long preamble to get to our text today.  We use the expression to be on the straight and narrow sometimes. It comes from this text. One definition is “living an honest, moral, and disciplined life, avoiding wrongdoing and staying on a virtuous path.”  But Jesus points out that this can be very challenging. It is not automatic. You’ve got to pay attention to your “driving”. You have to be intentional, observant, aware, vigilant.  Otherwise, we find ourselves in circumstances, challenges and difficulties that slow us down and bring us to a standstill. Or worse, we find ourselves in a self-destructive state  of being, “the highway to hell.”

                It is easy to choose the wrong way, thinking that it really doesn’t matter. One way is as good as another. We might even prefer the easy way until it becomes a roadblock. We may let things slip and slide, putting off those things that help make our lives more fruitful. We make poor and maybe even bad choices. Our intentions may be good but we get side-tracked. We become distracted. We take the wrong road. We fail to read the signs.  And we end up where we don’t want to be.

                Taking the right way, the Jesus way, the Gospel way, is difficult. It goes against the grain of our society and culture. It was amazing how many of us got caught in that same traffic jam on Saturday. We were all following the same road and all of us got stuck. We were all like sheep without a shepherd. If I had been smarter, I would have gotten off that highway and gone back to where I wanted to go in the first place. But I didn’t, probably because I kept thinking that it was going to get moving any moment. Except it didn’t. I was stuck as the rest of the cars. This is what happens when you conform to the world as Paul wrote. “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Romans 12: 1 -2, The Message Bible)

                Sometimes, we have to learn the hard way. But as long as we learn…

 Prayer

Our loving Creator, forgive us as we weave in and out of the way of Jesus Christ. We confess that there are times that we have taken the wrong road at the wrong times. Yet you always reveal to us the right way, the road perhaps less travelled, but the road that leads us to you Grace and Love. Help us to read and appreciate the signs that mark the way for us. Help us to hear the voice of Jesus and follow him. In his name, we pray, amen.

 

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

“God spoke: “Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven’s sky! Separate Day from Night. Mark seasons and days and years, Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.” And there it was. (Genesis 1:14, The Message Bible)

               Where has the summer gone? I am not done with it yet! I like the long hours of daylight. I don’t want cold and snow. I want short sleeves and tee shirts, not boots and gloves and winter parkas.  I know that as a good Canadian, I’m supposed to say that I love the four seasons of a Canadian year.  But I want summer to last longer and winter days be fewer. Like many seniors have found, the days just seem to fly by and there is just no stopping precious time. I look at our grandchildren and wonder when did they get to be so tall and so much older?

                But apparently all these seasonal shifts are a part of God’s creative plan and according to the Creation narratives, “God saw that it was good.” Each “day” was full of change and an abundance of life and creative energy. Each day was a blessing. Each day was a vibrant celebration of possibility and accomplishment.  Each day produced life, new forms of flora and fauna, and all living things including, finally, man and woman. For six glorious “days,” God fashioned our beautiful and Edenic world and all that is in it. Only at the end, did God rest and look at what he had made.  God looked over everything he had made; “it was so good, so very good!”

                So, who am I to quibble over the changing of seasons or the passage of time? They are a wondrous gift from God. Every season in our lives brings new possibility, fresh understanding, evokes powerful memories, and becomes a celebration of the goodness of God. We are reminded of those words from Ecclesiastes: “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) In that well-known passage, the Teacher covers the gamut of human life’s experiences, both the good and the not-so-good. The teacher is somewhat cynical about these changes in life, but this text can be used for our understanding that life is  not static and is always in motion.  Our human lives fluctuate in many ways.  We need always to be aware as to how God is also moving with us in these changes.  “For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, New Living Translation)

                In the beginning of the Creation narratives, there is much emphasis on the creation of light. “God saw that light was good and separated light from dark.” (vss. 3 -5)  As the day-light get shorter and shorter and  we move deeper into the Autumn season,  there is still much brightness in our world. Farmers’ markets are bursting in abundance. The air will  become fresh and crisp.  Fall colours will make us gasp with awe. Every season has its possibilities and opportunities to find God in them, even winter.  Light plays an important part in the darkness. It sets apart the influence of God’s Creative Love and Grace from the elements of darkness. Even in the dark night of the souls, God’s Light be found.  Winter never has the last word.  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)

                In an  echo of the Genesis story, John the Gospel writer  wrote, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.” (John 1:5) He lifts up Jesus Christ as the true Light who has come into the world (1:9) so that we may see the best way forward. We live our lives each and  every day, no matter what the season, in the accompaniment of the Light of Jesus. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

                Shine Jesus, shine!

 Prayer;

Our Creator God, fill us with the light of your Love and Grace. May we reflect the shining countenance of Jesus in all that we say or do. Enlighten us with compassion, forgiveness, mercy and love so that we, too. may be light for others.  May your face shine upon us and grant us your Peace. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:17, New Living Translation)

               It is a tradition in our family that, on the first day of school in September, pictures are taken of our grandchildren as they head off to school  and then the pictures are posted on our family chat page. Smiling and shiny faces, for the most part; eager, for the most part, for the new year ahead. All of our grand children are now in full elementary school from grade 1 to grade 8. Each year, we remark how they have grown and changed. Many of us might recall how those first few days of school felt with brand new text books to be studied and fresh, unmarked note books for our homework, maybe some new pencil crayons still sharp and never used, making new friends.  Anticipation, expectations, possibilities, resolve and determination, with maybe just a touch of anxiety and concern. Most students, at least, begin with high hopes for the year.  

                I was always hyped about the beginning of the church year in September. New and fresh starts were in the air.  The business and the work of the church was getting off to a renewed beginning. I had a new sermon schedule. There would be a new bible study to begin. Choir revved up.  Sunday school was going to get started. I had some new ideas to try and had set some new goals and ambitions for the church year ahead. I was raring to go! The “problem” was that my folk didn’t quite share my enthusiasm for the coming year. It often seemed that it would take until Thanksgiving in October for them to really get up to speed. I never really ever adjusted to the lag.

                But now that I am a senior, I understand better. I don’t appreciate newness in the same way as I once did. I like things to stay the same. I don’t like surprises. I try to avoid most new challenges. I don’t want change; I want the familiar, the tried and true, the no-surprises agenda. Besides, at my age, I tend to agree with the writer of Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun anyway. “Sometimes people say, ‘Here is something new!’ But actually, it is old; nothing is ever truly new.” (Ecclesiastes 1:10) Please don’t innovate, change, renovate, alter or modernize anything going on in my world  on my account. The same old same old is just fine.

                But our text challenges us that fresh beginnings are a life-enriching experience if we let them into our lives. God offered his people these words as words of possibility and hope in the middle of life-draining exile : “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19) Just when we think that nothing is changeable, that all is predictable, that life is one damn thing after another, God pours out his wondrous Love in invigorating, refreshing, enlivening, copious portions. “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” (Lamentations 3:23)

                And when God strikes something new, one can’t just put it in back in the bottle and recap it. It calls for a response. It demands an action. It calls out our commitment. We are supposed to pay attention, do our homework, have good attendance, get involved, participate in “class”, be a good classmate, and strive to do our best. Don’t let the ordinary be your high bar.  God is always teaching us something new, always giving us instructions in new possibilities, always stretching each of us to reach our potential as children of God. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5: 17)

                Even at my age? Yes, even at my age!

Prayer:

Our Loving Creator, we celebrate the newness which you give to us through so many ways and means. Help us to be receptive to your vision fore us and the Church. We pray for students and teachers who have begun a new year; keep them safe and ready to both learn and teach. But teach us all what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ that we may always be ready and willing to strive for Christian excellence. In Jesus’ name, amen.