Madagascar Missions 2016

Mary Sherwood, Missionary to Madagascar tells us of the orphanage and school which we help support in Madagascar
24 April 2016

Easter 4 C 2016 - Good Shepherd Sunday

Sermon by the Rev. Elliott Siteman
17 April 2016
St. Luke's, Burlington (Diocese of Niagara)

Photo Credit: Jacob Spinks on Flickr.com

Easter 3 C 2016

Sermon by the Rev. Canon Stuart Pike
April 10, 2016
at. St. Luke's, Burlington (Niagara)

Acts 9: 1-20

John 21: 1-19

I’m not sure why, but reading the Gospel lesson surfaced a memory I had of a spoof advertisement which I read many years ago. Perhaps many of you have read it yourself:

Wanted!! Good woman. Must be able to clean, cook, sew, dig worms, bait hooks and clean fish. Must have boat & motor. Please send picture of boat and motor.

The ad speaks of the essence of a born fisherman. In this instance, it’s a man. It is who he is in his bones and it directs all his thinking and acting. It is his deepest identity.

Of course, we laugh in this instance because it is so all-consuming. It also makes him essentially odd. He doesn’t fit in with the general population. He stands out. And so we laugh. But, along with the laughter, it might be possible that we recognize a bit about ourselves in the image as well. Not that we’re so obviously one dimensional in the persona we display to the world, but that, inside, we have an essential identity which drives us. Some of us are still getting inklings of what that identity is about. Some of us know ourselves more. Some of us haven’t a clue that there’s more to know.

The disciples must have been a confused collection of people. Their Lord had been crucified, dead and buried, and then reports of sightings of Jesus started to surface.  First of all it was Mary Magdalene who saw Jesus. Then it was the eleven disciples minus Thomas as they huddled in fear behind locked doors. Then it was to them a week later when Thomas was with them.

Still it seems that they are at a loose end, not knowing what to do. So what do you do when you feel directionless? I guess most people go back to what they know, and that’s what the disciples do here. They are fishermen. Peter says, “I’m going fishing.” And the other disciples there with him say, “Well go too.”

I wonder if it seemed strange to them that, after all they had been through with Jesus; after having dropped their nets and left their families, here they were again. Back where they started. Just like they were before they even met Jesus. Did it feel like regression to them?

So we know the story: They have fished all night and haven’t caught a thing. Just as the daylight starts there is a figure on beach. And here’s the interesting part. These men are seasoned fisherman. They know how it works. They would fish fairly close to the shore among the shallows, where the fish would school together. They would throw their nets out over them and then draw the net in, hopefully catching a few of them.

Here’s this stranger telling them how to do their business! Throw the nets on the others side (the deep side) of the boat. These men knew there was little chance that they would catch anything by throwing the nets that way, yet, something directs them to do as this stranger - who they don’t recognize – suggests and the miraculous happens.

Not only do they catch fish: they catch so many fish that they are not able to pull the net into the boat, but must tow it in behind them as they head back to the shore.

Peter, the impetuous, brash one of them, recognizes that it is Jesus on the shore and, unable to contain himself and completely disoriented, puts on his clothes before jumping into the sea in his haste to get to Jesus.

The large number of fish is significant. John points out that there are 153 of them. Biblical commentators have tried to interpret what the significance of the number of fish is. Some believe that there were 153 species of fish that were known to be in the Sea of Galilee of the time and that the significance might be that the disciples, who are called to be fishers of people are meant to preach the Gospel to the whole world.

The next part of the Gospel is so important for Peter. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. Peter is, of course, very upset by this. All of us would be if someone asked us three times in a row, if we loved them. But, there is no way to lose the connection here with Peter’s triple denial of Jesus in the High Priest’s courtyard, and Jesus, three times, asking Peter if he loves him.

I believe what Jesus is doing here is reinstating Peter. It was a painful process. It was necessary to remind Peter of his triple denial, yet Jesus keeps on entrusting to Peter: feed my sheep.

Jesus is returning Peter to his central identity: a follower of Jesus and one who will look after his sheep. Jesus is returning to Peter a basic need that we all have: the need to belong.

And the other basic need that Jesus is giving to Peter is his need for purpose; for a deeper purpose; for a purpose which is in the service of God. Peter isn’t supposed to just be a fisherman. Apologies to any hard-core fishermen!

Jesus, in response to each of Peter’s confessions, gives him work to do: feed my sheep. Be a leader. Look out for these others. Devote yourself to this community. Peter is reinstated into the community of the faithful and given a sense of belonging, and then he is given good work to do and given a purpose.

What about you? What is your deepest identity? Do you have a secure sense of belonging here? And do you search for a deeper sense of purpose in your life?

What is it that directs your thoughts and actions?

I truly believe that your deepest identity is as a follower of Jesus. You truly belong here. And your purpose is to be involved in bringing others into this community. Everyone is welcome here. All 153 species of fish, in other words all people. I pray that each one of us may find our deepest purpose through this community and that we will know what joy is through our belonging here and in fulfilling our purpose. Amen.

Easter 2 C 2016

Sermon by the Rev. Elliott Siteman
St. Luke's, Burlington (Niagara)
John 20: 19-31

Photo credit: Jim Devlin on Flickr.com

Easter Day 2016

Sermon preached by Canon Stuart Pike
Easter Day, 27 March 2016
St. Luke's Church, Burlington (Diocese of Niagara)
John 20: 1-18

Photo Credit: Waiting for the Word on Flickr.com

Hallelujah! Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed, Hallelujah!

This is the traditional acclamation and response for Easter which has been proclaimed for a couple of millennia since the first Easter.

For me it is extremely important to note that it is proclaimed in the present tense. Christ is risen, rather than Christ rose, like 2000 years in the past. Christ is a present reality. Christ is risen, not only for Mary Magdalene, but also for you. So what does that look like?

Well, we can go back to that first Easter story and see what it looked like then.

The themes of darkness and light are very important in John’s Gospel. From the very beginning of his Gospel he refers to Jesus as the light of the world. And so the Easter Gospel begins in darkness because Mary goes to the tomb even before the sun has risen. And in John’s account, she goes alone. In this account she carries no spices with her. Jesus’ body has already been prepared and laid in the tomb by Joseph of Arimethea and Nicodemus the night before, and a great stone has sealed the tomb.

She goes because in her grief, she cannot sleep, and she goes to mourn. What she finds when she gets there is the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Now we Christians talk about the empty tomb being a symbol of new life, but Mary is not there yet.  For her the empty tomb simply compounds her not only have they killed her Lord, now they have stolen his body.

Mary runs to tell the other disciples that they have stolen Jesus’ body and Peter and John seem to have a footrace to get to the tomb.

John arrives first, but Peter enters the tomb. Sees the graveclothes lying there and the head cloth rolled up in a place by itself. John records these details because if the body of Jesus had simply been stolen, the thieves wouldn’t have bothered to unwrap it. Nor would they rolled up the face covering and put it in a place by itself. The scene doesn’t seem to have much of an effect on Peter, but it says that John, who reached the tomb first, but entered second saw and believed. Yet, it is unclear what he believed, because it says that they did not understand the scriptures that he must rise from the dead.

Astonishingly, the story seems to end here with these two. The Gospel just says that they returned to their homes.

It is Mary who stays in the garden at the tomb, still, mourning; seemingly inconsolable. Grief is disorienting. Those of us who have gone through it know that it can change our not only our perspective, but also our perceptions. We see what we don’t or can’t normally see.

She is so overcome by her grief that when she looks into the tomb and sees two angels there, she doesn’t recognize that they are angels. Perhaps she thinks that they are burial officials! In fact, she doesn’t even recognize Jesus, but thinks he is the gardener!

Jesus asks her why she is weeping and she continues to be focused on the theme that has filled her mind and distorted her perception, “Sir, of you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away.”

What follows is the transformation that Mary needs to bring her back to full reality. The transformation is deeply personal as it needs to be for everyone. Jesus simply says her name, “Mary” and the transformation happens. It says that Mary “turned.” I think this means more than just her physical orientation, she had just turned to see Jesus in the previous sentence. Her whole being has turned here and she is transformed. In the twinkling of an eye she is brought into full reality and her inconsolable grief is transformed into indescribably joy. Just like that.

Can you imagine what she felt like in that moment?

Grief is disorienting, but Jesus’ transformation is reorienting – and that is why Mary “turns” in this moment.

This transformation is deeply personal and intimate. As personal as your own name. And remember the present tense, Jesus is risen. Jesus is not only risen for Mary, he has risen for you too and he is calling your name:

Jane, John, Elizabeth, Bill, Heather, Ray (I’m not going to get all your names in here, but you get the idea.) I did have to get Ray in there, though!

Susan, Peter, Alice, Mike – Jesus is calling your name too!

Transformation of your perception and focus is always ready to be your reality in any moment. Jesus is always ready to welcome you to live in God’s Kingdom in the here and now. That’s what Jesus called Mary into in that moment in the garden. That was the turning, the transformation which she experienced. She entered into the kingdom which Jesus had been saying all during his ministry that is among us.

The next thing that Jesus says to Mary is “Go.” She is to go and tell of her experience to the other disciples. Thus, Mary is the Apostle to the Apostles.

And remember that Jesus is risen. Our lives are full of times when we too need to “turn” to be transformed and to live into the fuller reality of God’s kingdom. It is not only grief which distracts us – though there’s plenty of that in the world right now. But also the cares and preoccupations of our lives keeps us from living into this fuller reality. And the focus of the world in general is so far from this deeper reality.

So this Easter and always: listen for your name: Jesus is calling you. Be transformed so that you can live into the fuller reality of God’s kingdom which is among us. Be there – make God’s kingdom your abiding place. And finally, Go. Tell others about this reality and invite them along. Their lives are crying out for transformation, as is yours. Be present to this in the here and now, because:

Hallelujah! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed! Hallelujah!