The church is about many things but one thing it is – one of the main things it is – is a community committed to the growth of its members.”
GATHERING AND GREETING
As we gather, we acknowledge with respect the history, spirituality, and culture of the K’omoks First Nation and the Coast Salish peoples on whose traditional and unceded territory we meet. We also honour the heritage of all indigenous peoples as we recognize the need to seek a new relationship between the descendants of settlers and of those who were here before colonization. As a congregation of The United Church of Canada, with them, we take responsibility both for past injustices and the need for healing and reconciliation. We love and honour this land upon which we meet and live and all whose footfall has trod and will tread upon it.
THE SINGING BOWL IS SOUNDED AND THE LANTERN IS LIT, INVITING US TO BE ATTENTIVE TO WHAT CAN NEITHER BE HEARD NOR SEEN BUT WHICH IS PRESENT AND REAL
OPENING IN COMMUNION WITH THE ANCIENTS
Psalm 123, Responsively
Adapted from “Psalms for Praying”: Nan Merrill, Continuum Press, 2002
To You, Heart of the Universe, we lift up our spirits.
You, who are enthroned in every heart!
For, as the young child holds tightly the hand of its parent,
as those in the throes of disease look to one who brings comfort,
so our spirits seek the Heart of Love,
that we might find safety and healing.
Have mercy upon us, Compassionate One,
mercy that we might turn from any waywardness
born of apathy or intent.
Too long our souls have been veiled by fear;
have mercy, and lead us to the path of wholeness.
HYMN: “Deep in Our Hearts” – More Voices #154
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKF7D28jyTQ
Deep in our hearts there is a common vision; deep in our hearts there is a common song;
deep in our hearts there is a common story, telling Creation that we are one.
Deep in our hearts there is a common purpose; deep in our hearts there is a common goal;
deep in our hearts there is a sacred message: justice and peace in harmony.
Deep in our hearts there is a common longing; deep in our hearts there is a common theme;
deep in our hearts there is a common current, flowing to freedom like a stream.
Deep in our hearts there is a common vision; deep in our hearts there is a common song;
deep in our hearts there is a common story, telling Creation that we are one.
READING FROM SCRIPTURE: Mark 6:1-13
Jesus came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Hear and consider what the Spirit is saying to the Church and to the whole created order: Thanks be to God.
SOLO: “It’s in Every One of Us” – Heather McLean
For those of you who weren’t there to hear Heather sing, here are the words:
It’s in every one of us
To be wise Find your heart
Open up both your eyes
We can all know everything
Without ever knowing why,
It’s in every one of us
By and By.
It’s in every one of us
I just remembered
It’s like I’ve been sleeping for years,
I’m not as awake as I can be
But my seeing is better,
I can see
Through the tears,
I’ve been realizing that,
I bought this ticket
And watching only half of the show,
There is scenery and lights
And a cast of thousands,
Who all know…
What I know…
And it’s good
That its so…
TED’S REFLECTIONS
GROWING EDGES
Ever heard of peer pressure? Ever been pressured or even repressed by it? Often it is hard to be your own person when others around you see you in one way and have a hard time letting you evolve into something more or something different from the prevailing norms in the society around you or in the subculture you belong to.
As a young man, I found myself living four provinces away from where I grew up so that I could push out into new territory inwardly on my own personal and spiritual quest. Actually, I went east initially just to take a summer course assuming I would return home afterwards. As it turned out, I didn’t come home to live until 35 years later, although I did come back frequently for visits with my family and old friends. I wonder, though, if deep down I knew I wasn’t coming back and may have used the course as a reason to leave. It wasn’t that my family or friends were overtly hostile to the areas of spirituality and vocation I was exploring – and likely they would have supported me through them if I had given them half a chance – but, honestly, I felt a bit embarrassed to break out of the mold they saw me in. Moving to a place where I could be whoever I wanted to be without any preconceptions from those around me seemed to make it easier for me to remake myself, so to speak. To be fair, my old friends back home were growing and changing too. I wonder if my leaving might have helped them, giving them the space they needed to be something other than who I saw them as. Of course the details and motivations will be different in every life but I wonder if any of this touches a chord for you.
Such a chord does seem to sound in the story of Jesus’ path in life. In the passage from Mark’s Gospel this morning, he comes back to Nazareth for a visit with his family and, home for the weekend apparently, he goes to synagogue on the Sabbath and stands up to teach. At first, the townsfolk and his old neighbours are impressed by this hometown boy and what he has learned while he’s been away but that attitude begins to shift. “They took offense at him,” Mark simply states. If you turn to a fuller account of this same incident in the Gospel of Luke, you will read how he barely escaped with his life! Too big for his boots! they seem to be saying. Who does he think he is, when he is really just the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of the good old stay at home boys and girls of this town?
What is it that triggers such a reaction? Maybe Jesus does come off as arrogant; possible at least, because I know from experience how we can be a bit full of ourselves in our youthful enthusiasm for our accomplishments and maybe cover with bluster some insecurity we are still carrying under the cover of our new identity. Or maybe the vocal townsfolk at least are ones whose regrets are triggered by Jesus for the things they never ventured in their lives. Maybe some feel challenged by Jesus to rethink some things they thought were settled, to try something out of their comfort zone – to grow essentially – and they are just not ready to do that, even at home. So, instead of nurturing their mutual growth, these folks and that town are stagnating, maybe even shrinking inside the walls they build against anything new, creative, and challenging that might come for the weekend.
The church is about many things but one thing it is – one of the main things it is – is a community committed to the growth of its members. Growth in skills, growth in self-understanding and worldview, growth in the ability to get along with others and to communicate effectively, growth in the discovery and enhancement of our innate giftedness, growth in our willingness and ability to reach out beyond ourselves and make a difference in the world, growth that comes from healing the hurts and deconstructing the defense mechanisms we’ve built up over the years; growth into the fullness of what it means to be a human being; growth above all in our capacity to love and be loved. To be a community of mutual growth is essential to the calling of the church and the local congregation.
Often people resent the structures churches put in place to organize themselves. And I can understand that because they often become an end in themselves and create all sorts of frustrations for those who see beyond the rules to what they are there for and what they envision and how the structures get in the way. Gordon Cosby, beside whom I had the great privilege of working for a while with the Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC, had a provocative response to that dilemma that went something like this. “Every group needs structures of some kind; no group can exist without them. And the best kind of structures are those that make it impossible for its members not to grow.” Impossible for its members not to grow. Not only should the structures any group adopts and agrees to not stifle growth, they should actually promote it.
Through my work with the Church of the Saviour and its intentional commitment to growth, I developed an image and a phrase to guide me on my own spiritual journey and in my work with others. Growing Edges, I call it. We need to intentionally commit to being at our own growing edges and to support others at theirs. And, in the context of the church and the spiritual journey, I identify three quite specific and intertwining paths for growth: what I call the inward journey of personal spiritual formation and healing; the outward journey of engagement with the world around us on the long road to peace and justice; and the journey together as we learn how to be more authentically and fully human together. Where are we now on each of those three paths? How do we dare to take a step further beyond where we already are? What do I need from you to encourage and empower me to take those steps? How do you need me to hold you accountable to your intentions and to encourage and guide you as you venture into new territory for yourself?
It is so important to be intentional about identifying our constantly evolving growing edges on each of these three paths, of challenging ourselves to go a bit further, and to be there for others as they do the same. It is also utterly important to realize that for each of us our growing edges will be different. If you expect me to be at your growing edge, you might be pushing me so far out there beyond where I am now that terror will shut me down and I will freeze where I am or turn back altogether. If I ask you to be at my growing edge, I might be asking you to retreat from where you need to be and, instead of encouraging your growth, I will be asking you to stagnate. Even at different milestones along the way, still we are companions on the journey, returning to basecamp now and then to share where we have been and what we are learning, to listen to each other debrief, to help each other heal when the journey has been rough, to rest and play together for awhile before we return to the road, and then to pack our knapsack and head back out there on our paths of growth. One step at a time but definitely one step forward, even if it needs to be baby steps sometimes.
When Jesus came home that weekend, what a difference it would have made if he had been welcomed back with open arms and his changes celebrated by his friends and neighbours from the old days. It would have been a sign that they had been growing as well, even if they didn’t have to leave home to do it. I’m all for peer pressure, by the way, the kind that gently and lovingly but also insistently keeps us at our growing edges.
For Further Reflection
- How would you describe where you are now at each of these three growing edges?
- What would be a next step for you on each of those three paths?
- What support from your community will help you move forward at your growing edges?
A SHARED TIME FOR REFLECTION, PRAYER, AND OFFERING
You are invited to use the quiet to reflect on the readings and ideas shared today, to light a candle or place a stone or shell as an expression of your intention or prayer, and/or to place an offering in the basket. If you get up to move about, please maintain safe physical distancing. And if you have a thought to share, please feel free to offer it aloud.
OUR DEDICATION
From the United Church of Canada’s Song of Faith
We sing of God’s good news lived out, a church with purpose: faith nurtured and hearts comforted, gifts shared for the good of all, resistance to the forces that exploit and marginalize, fierce love in the face of violence, human dignity defended, members of a community held and inspired by God, corrected and comforted, instrument of the loving Spirit of Christ, creation’s mending. We sing of God’s mission.
We are each given particular gifts of the Spirit. For the sake of the world, God calls all followers of Jesus to Christian ministry. In the church, some are called to specific ministries of leadership, both lay and ordered; some witness to the good news; some uphold the art of worship; some comfort the grieving and guide the wandering; some build up the community of wisdom; some stand with the oppressed and work for justice. To embody God’s love in the world, the work of the church requires the ministry and discipleship of all believers. So may it be with us.
CONCLUDING BLESSING IN WORD AND SONG
Look back in gratitude for where you have been,
for the challenges you faced and met,
for any scars that remain that witness to the wisdom you gained,
for the support of Spirit and Community that helped you through.
Take stock of where you are now,
what you want to keep,
what you want to let go,
what you want to build upon,
what you have been given to give to others.
Consider where all this is leading,
what is opening before you,
what steps you may next dare to venture,
what you need from Spirit and Community to act on your intention.
And above all,
know that you are not alone,
that a guiding and empowering Presence goes with you wherever you go.
So be at peace and go in peace and offer peace along your way.
Put Peace into Each Other’s Hands: MV#173
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUBRCFU0MnQn
Put peace into each other’s hands
and like a treasure hold it,
protect it like a candle flame,
with tenderness enfold it.
Put peace into each other’s hands,
with loving expectation;
Be gentle in your word and ways,
in touch with God’s creation.
Put Christ into each other’s hands,
he is love’s deepest measure;
In love make peace, give peace a chance,
and share it like a treasure.
Peace to you.
Ted
