Thursday, August 6

Stumped for a starting point from which to launch this week’s Thought & Prayer, I turned to an old (but somewhat questionable) form of randomized discernment, called bibliomancy. It was a form of divination used by the ancient Greeks through the Middle Ages and wildly popular in the sixteenth century. It was primarily focussed on sacred texts, but apparently even English poet Robert Browning divined his feelings about the future Mrs. Browning through bibliomancy, although he purportedly consulted an Italian grammar book (which I guess could have been sacred to him.)

The person who practises bibliomancy asks a clear question that they want answered. Then they open a treasured book to a random page, or they place the book on its spine and let it fall open of its own accord. The reader then stabs their finger onto the page and takes direction from whatever passage they happen to land on.  This can lead to some strange and dangerous conclusions, especially depending on your book of choice, and is not generally recommended as a healthy mode for discernment.

We of course know that the Holy Spirit doesn’t manifest itself by parlour tricks or fortune-telling. Furthermore, while God does indeed speak to us through the printed Word, we should not imagine we can achieve Biblical wisdom through random and isolated chance. We are meant to study and pray through God’s word in an intentional way and apply its teachings cumulatively to our daily lives.

Nonetheless, I gave bibliomancy a tongue-in-cheek try, praying I wasn’t committing some act of heresy or mortal sin and was soon to be struck down by lightening. I wasn’t dabbling in dark arts; I just needed an idea starter.

As any librarian will tell you though, a well-used book is likely to fall open to a much-visited page anyway. Or, in the case of my RSV study edition of the Bible, to the page where I had stuck in a palm frond and a bookmark from some previous Easter season. So much for results without outward influence!

In any case, I gamely stabbed my finger unto the page and circled it around Daniel 5: 13-20.

God works in mysterious ways, indeed. The passage I fell upon describes the episode where the prophet Daniel is brought before King Belshazzar and asked to explain some words that have mysteriously appeared before him. He says of Daniel, “I have even heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in you.” He needs Daniel to translate and interpret the message that has stymied his own wise men and astrologers (elsewhere in the chapter described variably as “soothsayers,” “enchanters,” and “magicians.”)

The writing that Daniel must interpret is not understood by anyone present and yet it terrifies the king just the same. It is the proverbial “writing on the wall.” It had appeared during a blasphemous boozy feast at which the king and his court drank and ate from sacred vessels stolen from the temple. Suddenly, “the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.”

The writing on the wall was the Aramaic “mene,” signifying NUMBERED; “tekel,” meaning WEIGHED; and “parsin,” for DIVISION. As David Guzik’s Enduring Word commentary puts it, each word stood for a single statement in judgement upon the King:

God had Belshazzar’s number, and it fell short.
God weighed Belshazzar, and he came up light.
God would therefore divide Belshazzar’s kingdom to the Medes and the Persians.

Belshazzar, like his father Nebuchadnezzar before him, is guilty of sinful pride and excess. But unlike his father, he is not humbled. Nebuchadnezzar had been deposed and his majesty stripped from him, but “he learned that the Most High God rules the kingdom of men and sets over it whomever he will.” Belshazzar had not learned this and is doomed to be deposed and slain.

I read through and prayed through the whole of the book of Daniel. The early narratives were as familiar as the idioms they produced: there was Daniel’s companions facing “the fiery furnace,” Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream-statue with its “feet of clay,” Daniel translating “the writing on the wall,” Daniel surviving “the lion’s den.” Notably Daniel not only survives, but thrives each time — by being honest and humble and by tapping into the resources of spiritual power given to him by God, and unknown to his tormentors. Old, constantly promoted and demoted, a stranger in a foreign land, subjected to all sorts of political pressures and royal manipulation, Daniel consistently triumphs, while successive kings fall.

The book of Daniel is a compelling record of true wisdom and sovereignty, and a reminder that the foundation of that wisdom and sovereignty is always ultimately God. It is also a book about courage and faithfulness, and in that, it was also a reminder to me to put aside my own clever devices and shortcuts and just let the Lord speak and lead the way.

And in leading the way, God invites us to come to him and listen to him and abide in him. In God, we can find strength and meaning and purpose in our lives despite trials. In seasons of change and uncertainty, we can find, like Daniel does, the security we long for and the answers we need.

Post Script: As for my bibliomancy, I did not miss the irony of the “writing on the wall” narrative being the result of my so-called “divination” of a random passage. While it does tell me that God can and sometimes does communicate in unexpected and even shocking ways, I can’t help but feel that God was definitely a step ahead of me on this one and having a quiet and winsome joke at my expense. (Point taken, Lord!) After all, I did end up reading the whole book – not just one isolated verse – and I found myself led to think more deeply about the true source of spiritual strength and wisdom. God has a way of putting before us the very things we need in order to be comforted or challenged in our thinking.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let them ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given them.” (James 1:5)

Prayer:

God, thank you for the gift of your Word and wisdom. Forgive me when I fail to recognize you working in and through my life. Forgive me when I get in your way by relying too heavily on my own devices.  Help me to remain open to the promise of your plans for me and your faithfulness in nourishing my heart and mind for goodness sake and your glory. Amen.

Tuesday, August 4

I think one of the greatest inventions of all time has to be electricity. It is wonderful to walk into a dark room, flip a switch and have a light come on. Have you ever noticed that in a scary movie, the really bad stuff always takes place in the dark?

The gospel of John uses light as a metaphor to describe who Jesus is. Jesus makes a total of seven “I am” statements to describe who he is and point to the fact that he is God. Today’s thought will focus on the statement he makes in John 8:12 – “I am the light of world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.”

In order to really understand this statement, we need some background information relating to what was going on when Jesus said it. Everybody loves a good celebration. One of these celebrations was the Feast of the Booths (it is still celebrated today by Jewish people). It is also called the Feast of the Tabernacle or Sukkot. A booth is simply a tent. The Feast of the Booths was celebrated every year to help the people remember the time when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. During the day, they were led by a cloudy pillar and at night by a pillar of fire. The booth was basically a travelling temple for the priests.

The Feast of the Booths was an eight-day celebration held in Jerusalem which people would travel from all over to attend. It took place in Fall during harvest time. It was a time of great feasting and celebration. Light is an important part of this celebration to remind the people of the fiery pillar. Huge candelabras were light. These candelabras were 75 feet tall and held four gigantic bowls for the light. These candelabras were located outside the temple. You would have to be very strong to climb up to the bowls and pour 10 gallons of oil into each bowl. The entire city of Jerusalem was lit up by this candelabra. Jerusalem was built on a hill, with the temple being at the highest point, so the light from this candelabra would be seen for miles. The city would be very crowded with people coming for the Feast and many would be camped outside the city in tents. People in these tents would have smaller candelabras which they would light. All the lights would be lit at the same time and there would be music and cheering.

This celebration would be going on at the time Jesus makes his “I am the light of the world” statement.

The Gospel of John really points to the divinity of Christ and this statement is a confirmation of that fact. Jesus is God and was with the children of Israel as they travelled through the wilderness as the pillar of fire. When Jesus makes this “ I am” statement it is a true statement of His relationship with the Father. John Piper states “Jesus speaks from God, for God and as God”.

Jesus is pointing out that He is the only one who can light up our lives and lead us out of the darkness. Jesus is not talking about the darkness that falls on the earth when the sun goes down but rather the darkness of sin. Since Jesus never sinned there is no darkness in Him. He is the light to show us our sins so that we can find our way out.

Plants never move away from light because they are phototropic. In the same way, a spiritual light is necessary for our spiritual life. We accomplish this through study, prayer and fellowship.

Just because we are followers of Jesus, it doesn’t mean that we will never sin but rather that we will hate the sin. We will want to walk in the light or walk with Jesus. Just as Jesus lights our lives we are called to be reflections of his light. We do this by being a credible and obvious witness to the world.

Prayer

God, thank you for today.
Go before me and light my way.
Help me to allow your Holy Spirit to guide me so I can be a light to others.
May your light shine through me.
In Jesus’ name
Amen

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Welcome

Greeting
Celebrant:  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
People: And also with you.

Glory to God
Celebrant: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Collect for the Day
Celebrant:  Let us pray.
Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ fed the hungry with the bread of his life and the word of his kingdom.  Renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your true and living bread, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen

Hymn: How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds (vs. 1, 2, 4)  #620
(for personal viewing: not available this week)

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
in a believer’s ear!
It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds,
and drives away our fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole
and calms the troubled breast;
’tis manna to the hungry soul,
and to the weary, rest.

Jesus, my shepherd, brother, friend,
my prophet, priest, and king,
my Lord, my life, my way, my end,
accept the praise I bring.

The Word

• A Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans (9: 1-5)
• Psalm 17:1-7, 16
• The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (Chapter 14:13-21)

Hymn:  God Who Gives to Life Its Goodness   #428
(for personal viewing: not available this week)

God who gives to life its goodness,
God creator of all joy,
giver of all human freedom,
God who blesses tool and toy:
teach us now to laugh and praise you,
deep within your praises sing,
till the whole creation dances
for the goodness of its King.

God who fills the earth with beauty,
God who binds each friend to friend,
giver of all human talent,
God who wills that chaos end:
grant us now creative spirits,
minds responsive to your mind,
hearts and wills your rule extending,
all our acts by love refined.

Stewardship Moment
We are a part of God’s mission to care for the world using all the gifts God has given us. Whether we meet in person or online or not at all, God wants us to give back in ways that are meaningful and significant. Offertory is not a membership fee. Regular giving is an answer to God’s call to us to be disciples … to offer resources that reflect the grace and generosity of  Christ and equip the Church to be His hands and feet in the world. It supports for ministry opportunities to reach those who have not yet heard of God’s love and invite them to make our church their church.

Thank you for your faithfulness in stewardship.  Continue to drop off or mail your offertory envelopes to the church. If you haven’t yet, please consider becoming a pre-authorized giver or making a habit of donating online at the end of each Sunday service.

Sermon
Lord, we thank you for the gift of your Word and as we think on these things, open our hearts and our minds to hear you. Amen.

For those of you who have not been with us recently and for those of you who may have forgotten, we have been following our Gospel readings as if we were on a voyage of discovery. This voyage gives us the opportunity to review our faith and our commitment to Jesus by following him through various episodes in his life, just like those first disciples and followers did who witnessed his ministry here on earth. Our voyage started with his telling many and various parables to the crowds surrounding him on that boat on the shore of Lake Galilee and today and next week Jesus ups the ante by performing two miracles (or signs as John describes them in his gospel) – firstly, the feeding of the 5000 and next week his walking on water. We must not forget we’re on this voyage attempting to discover why Jesus had the impact he did and trying to place our selves among the witnessing crowds faced with this enigmatic travelling Rabbi and the ragbag of disciples on their journey with him.

So, why the miracles? Do we believe they actually happened or were they just figments of the imagination of the writers of the gospels? Furthermore, whether or not we believe they actually happened, what significance do they have in our lives today? So, three questions and three points for us to mull over this morning and, of course, as we all know, every sermon should always have three points!!

So, firstly, why the feeding of the 5000? The answer is one simple word – COMPASSION. That word literally means “suffering with” someone. Jesus felt compassion for the crowds gathered in the wilderness to hear him, so he healed the sick and fed them with five loaves of bread and two fishes. He did this because he saw them suffering and he suffered with them. He felt the pain of the sick; he shared the hunger of those who were without food. But he also shared the pain of our human condition where good health and life itself are precarious and where, in the words of poor suffering Job in the Old Testament, “human beings are born to trouble just as sparks fly upward.” Among that crowd of 5000 there would have been many whose lives were dominated by poverty and suffering under the occupation of an invading Roman army, many who were sick with terminal diseases, many questioning any idea of a God who loves them, many probably scoffing at Jesus and his teachings and yet, nevertheless, drawn somehow to his enigmatic charisma.

Jesus could so easily have ignored them, bearing in mind he had gone to the wilderness privately to grieve for the loss of his cousin, John the Baptist, whose beheading had taken place just before. He could have sent the crowds away, as his disciples urged him, to find food for themselves. But no! He saw their suffering and had compassion on them regardless of who they were and what they believed. He made no judgments; he did not insist they got on their knees and acknowledge him as their Lord and Saviour; he did not feed just those who believed in him – he simply saw them, had compassion on them and FED them.

So, secondly, do we believe it really happened? Well, I’m sure we’re all aware of the favourite explanations for believing this miracle not to be true…..the people had brought their own food anyway and the loaves and fishes were just an extra; according to Luke’s account a boy had brought the loaves and fishes and he may well have had many more than the numbers declared in the story; the crowds were much smaller than claimed, many in the crowd did in fact leave to buy food for themselves, etc., etc. – the explanations go on and on! Yet this miracle is the only one recorded by all four gospel writers and it is one of the most dramatic events in history performed by Jesus, the Son of God, which had a huge impact on Jesus’ followers, not only at the level of miraculously providing food but also at the level of providing a resonance among them with how God, the Father of Jesus, had miraculously fed their ancestors in the desert with manna from heaven. If this latter event had not happened, would there not have been scoffing comments made to and about Jesus? We hear no negative reaction like that; instead, we are told, “they ate and were satisfied.” For me, there is no doubt this miracle occurred – the rest of you can decide for yourselves!

So, to our third point or question – what significance does this event have for us in our lives? Well, the first thing to say is that the miracle of the loaves and fishes reminds us of God’s abundant generosity towards us – all of us in the world, not just the holy huddle of believers. By providing so much from so little, Jesus shows God’s willingness, no, more than that, God’s desire to care and look after all His people and remind them that nothing is impossible with and for Him. His abundant generosity comes together with His compassion and that remains the same today as it did when our Lord walked here on earth.

Therefore, the hallmarks of our lives as Christians should be an awesome gratitude to God for all He gives us in creation and an overwhelming compassion for our fellow human beings, no matter who they are or what they believe or do. Amen.

Prayers of the People
Leader: Lord in your mercy;
Response: Hear our prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer

Hymn: Fairest Lord Jesus (vs. 1, 3, 4)  #619
(for personal viewing: not available this week)

Fairest Lord Jesus,
ruler of all nature,
O thou the Godhead’s human son:
thee will I cherish,
thee will I honour,
thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.

Fair is the sunshine,
fairer still the moonlight,
and fair the twinkling, starry host;
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.

All fairest beauty,
heavenly and earthly,
wondrously, Jesus, is found in thee;
none can be nearer,
fairer, or dearer
than thou, my Savior, art to me.

The Blessing
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord: And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be amongst you and remain with you always.  Amen.

Thursday, July 30

Today, for a change of pace, I offer you a stewardship fairy tale, which I wrote in December 1999. It was originally printed in the St John’s, Port Whitby church newsletter, of which I was the editor at the time. It has also appeared in various United Church parish newsletters and UCW leaflets, thanks to my Mom, who has routinely shared it with other church ladies over the years.

This is the story of a great city in a far off kingdom. This city was known and admired far and wide throughout the land because it was in possession of a rare and wonderful and spectacular thing. This rare and wonderful and spectacular thing was kept in a field on the edge of the city. No one knew exactly how it had come to be in this place, but the residents of the city, from one generation to the next, cherished it and cared for it. This rare and wonderful and spectacular thing was … a hot air balloon.

Now, this wasn’t any ordinary hot air balloon. No, it was the most beautiful and the lightest hot air balloon ever known to humankind. The basket was woven from the finest peacock feathers and sparkled with glittering jewels made from the morning dew and the first fall frost. The five lines that drifted down from the balloon were specially crafted from cobwebs and forgotten kite strings. And the balloon itself was made from the gossamer of moth wings and the silk of the milkweed plant, and was filled with the whispers and sighs of woodland fairies. And because of this marvelous design, the balloon was so light that the very idea of a breeze could carry it off. And because of its delicate construction, the only way the residents of the city could keep such a balloon grounded was to hold onto it by hand. And so, on any given day, you would find five citizens in the field at the edge of the city in that far off kingdom holding the five lines, made from cobwebs and kite strings, that kept the balloon from drifting away.

Now, it happened on one particular day that the attention of the five citizens holding the lines began to waver. Their thoughts turned inward so they were thinking only of themselves without regard to the others or the wondrous value of the balloon. The first citizen, who was small and weak, thought to himself, “I am small and weak. Surely my poor effort can’t make a difference,” and imagining no one would notice if he didn’t try so hard, he loosened his grip. The second citizen, who had taken many turns holding the lines, considered how often he had been asked to shoulder this responsibility and he said to himself, “I have done my share of the work in the past. Let others hold on for a change,” and so he relaxed his grip. The third man was much stronger than any of the others and he thought to himself, “I am much stronger than the others. Why should I exert myself any more than the rest do? I am only going to work as hard as the next man,” and he too made less of an effort. The fourth man’s heart wasn’t in it at all; in truth he was barely holding on in the first place. It seemed to him that the balloon was more trouble than it was worth and he didn’t want responsibility for it because he wasn’t convinced he needed the balloon. He thought to himself, “This balloon isn’t worth the effort, it’s not very convenient to look after, and it wouldn’t bother me if it were gone tomorrow.” And so he only made it look as if he were holding on.

And just as each of them let up their effort, a small wind came up and sure enough the balloon suddenly rose skyward and the lines were pulled from the hands of all of those who weren’t holding on tight.

Now, if you’ve been paying attention, you will remember that there was a fifth line and a fifth citizen holding on to it. The fifth man was a steadfast man who took his responsibility seriously and always did what he was called upon to do. Just as his father had, and his mother had, and his aunts and uncles and grandparents had, he did his part to the best of his ability. And so it was that he alone held the line as the balloon rose up in the wind. Of course, his effort alone was not enough, and so he cried out to the others, “Grab onto the lines! We must bring the balloon back down!” But it was too late; the others could not reach the lines anymore. And the steadfast man himself felt he was being pulled from his feet and the single line, though marvelously crafted of cobwebs and kite strings, was beginning to stretch and fray. They were about to lose the rare and wonderful and spectacular thing that had been entrusted to their care.

And it was then that it occurred to the steadfast man that something more than his customary effort was in order. So, he did the only thing he could think of. With his free hand and considerable exertion, he reached down and picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the balloon … and into the basket that hung beneath it. The first man, who was small and weak, saw this example and picked up a small stone too and although he didn’t imagine it would go very far, he threw it and it too landed in the basket of the balloon. And the second man, understanding what was needed because he had cared for the balloon so many times before, threw a rock into the basket. The strong man picked up a boulder because he knew he could manage it and he threw that into the basket. The fourth man who thought he didn’t need the balloon looked around at the empty place where the balloon had been and immediately regretted the loss and found that he too had the strength to throw a boulder. And so each in his fashion continued to contribute to the basket until finally the balloon descended and the four loose lines were within their reach again.

They had recovered the rare and wonderful and spectacular balloon, and holding the lines firmly once more, those five citizens smiled and laughed and congratulated one another on how they had pitched in. And they agreed that the balloon had been secured not by the effort of any one man or by the weight of any one pebble, rock, stone, or boulder. The balloon was saved through the sum of their contributions to the basket and by the combined endeavor of them all. And they found, because the balloon was heavier with the things they had added to it, that the task of holding it firm against the wind was made easier. And because they had each risen above their own inward thoughts, they found their hearts were somehow lighter.

But just the same, they also all agreed it would be best to hold on tightly in the future.