SAINT Bartholomew Anglican Parish

Elijah knows that Jezebel is looking to kill him. God has been caring for him and he has been told to go to the cave because God will be passing by. God is not in the wind; he is not in the earthquake or the fire. But he recognized the voice of God in the still small voice. We talk all the time about recognizing God and God's voice, but where are we looking? What do we expect? The people of Jesus time expected a fearless leader who would raise up an army and chase the Romans out of Jerusalem. What about us? Have you already started thinking about where God has been in your day? Today, I visited a friend in a nursing home in a city that I am totally unfamiliar with and lost my GPS signal at a very important time, but still made it. On the way home, I got lost again and spent a lot of time just figuring out where I was. By the time I was on the right road, I got a phone call telling me that I had forgotten to do something important, so I stopped and took care of it. Where was God? For me, he was in the getting me to my destination, as well as in my getting lost so that I would be where I needed to be. Because God was with me, my day worked out just fine. It could have been so different. It was an ordinary day in so many ways, but God was with me all the way. I didn't meet God in wind, earthquake or fire, but he was in the still small voice telling me, "I am with you."

When Jesus threw the money-changers out of the temple, he was angry. Was he breaking his own rule? No. He had a good reason for being angry; the money-changers were cheating the people and doing it in the temple. There are things that should make us angry: seeing someone being abused is a good example! But today it seems that anything can cause anger and people react violently with the slightest provocation. Thinking that someone insults you, for example, can lead to a fight. Road rage is another example of this. What about using abusive language? That is so common that people often don't even hear it. What has happened to us? When I was on an educational trip to Tanzania, my sister told me not to say anything negative because the people there did not insult anyone and it would be considered extremely rude. She was correct; I never heard a single unkind or insulting word the entire time I was there. I don't understand why this cannot be the way people treat one another everywhere! Our group was one hundred percent white American, but we were treated as family by the people we were with. What a lesson the people of Tanzania could teach the rest of the world! And not all the people we worked with were Christian; about half the group were Muslim. The thing was, you couldn't tell the difference between the two groups because they intermingled, dressed the same, and treated each other the same. We are all God's children and I've rarely seen a better example of how to treat one another in spite of differences. Can the same be said of us?

The placement of this passage is interesting. It comes shortly after the parable of the sower and the seed and the explanation of the parable given to the disciples. It also follows the statement concerning the placing a lamp on a lamp stand so that the light will illuminate its surroundings. The meaning of the passage can be taken in many ways; some see it in light of what we own as in the saying, "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer." However, I believe that Jesus is speaking in matters of faith and belief in the Gospel. The more we pay attention to the words and works of Jesus, the more we "hear" the more our faith grows. If we don't pay attention, then the little we have will diminish. We are the soil for the seed of faith. In Mark's Gospel, the seeds of faith that fall on good soil produce fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times. In Matthew and Luke's Gospels, it starts with one hundred times and then sixty and then thirty times. Theologians believe that because Mark wrote his Gospel first, Christianity was growing quickly, but since Matthew and Luke were writing during and after the time of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and the beginnings of the persecution of Christians, the rate of conversion had slowed. The important thing for us to remember is that in order for our faith to grow, we need to pay attention to the words of Jesus. We need to listen, but more importantly we really need to hear what he is trying to tell us. If we do, than we will never lose what we have, more and more will be measured out to us.

Will God will find me godly, and answer my prayers? This is the prayer of the psalmist who finds himself surrounded by those who mock him. It probably has been the prayer of many of us who try and follow Jesus. It seems that people love those who champion a cause as long as they don't interfere with their ability to do what they want. In the past few years in the United States, we have seen an increase in gun violence and much of it has been directed at young people. Now the young are banding together to urge those eligible to vote to register in the hopes that they will be able to make a change in the government that they feel has not done enough to limit the availability to those weapons that have caused the most damage. Those who in previous years had hoped that young people would get more involved are now concerned that their rights might be at stake. I'm sure that some of the good that David would do as king probably had many afraid that their corrupt ways and lack of fidelity to God would be affected. We can turn to the psalms and ask God to protect us. We can turn to this early prayer book for everything we need. We can turn to the psalms when we feel far from God and need forgiveness. In times of sorrow, the psalms give us hope. This psalm, said to be of David, expresses his trust that God will bless him and is a warning to those who sin. This is our prayer as well. The closing verse seems to say that when we search our hearts at night we can sleep peacefully when we remember God's goodness to us.

Many had come to find Elisha and bring him to Syria. With God's help, they were captured and brought to the king of Israel. But instead of killing them as he wanted to do, Elisha convinced him to feed them and then release them. The result was that Syria stopped raiding Israel. We will never end violence with violence. Whether it is a war of words, a war between two individuals, or a war between countries, violence does not bring peace. Love has always been stronger than hate, even though hate is louder! The problem is that someone needs to walk away if the fighting is to stop. We have an idea that walking away is a sign of weakness, but it is really a sign of strength. It takes a big person to walk away. People who walk away are often ridiculed, especially if they are in a position of leadership. There are always people who are willing to encourage violence. I remember an incident that occurred when I was teaching in a high school. One boy had gotten involved with a girl from a rival school and a boy from the rival school came into the school yard at lunch time to 'have it out." A group of student from both schools surrounded the two urging them to fight. Unfortunately for them, I was on my way out of the cafeteria and spotted the action. Needless to say, I had no intention of letting any of this happen. I took the student from my school and sent the others away. He wasn't happy to be brought into the office for punishment, and the others were sorry to have their fun spoiled. Why do we encourage violence? The students who had been in the group and had the misfortune to be in one of my afternoon classes got a lecture. Those who encourage violence are equally responsible. May we learn from Elisha.

The scribes and Pharisees were always testing Jesus. This time, in order to trap him, the scribe asked which was the greatest commandment? At that time, there were hundreds of commands that the Pharisees imposed on the Jews. Jesus did not fall into the trap, but quoted the two great commandments. Unlike the story in Luke's Gospel, the scribe does not try to justify his question. The scribe's answer in Mark's Gospel differs from the answer in Matthew and Luke by saying that keeping these two commandments is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices one might offer to please God. No matter what we "give up" or do as penance for sins, or to earn favor with God, if we are not putting God first and loving our neighbor, then we are failing. We can't earn God's favor and we can't earn heaven. Jesus is our Savior, we can't save ourselves. Salvation is a pure gift from God. In the letter of James, we read that faith and good works go together. Because we believe in Jesus and want to spend eternity with him, we choose to follow him and live a life based on loving others. This love of neighbour then encourages us to do good works as God wants us to do. If the only reason we do good works is to "earn" heaven, we are the same as those who offered sacrifices to please God without keeping the commandments. God knows what is in our hearts; he knows why we choose to act the way we do. He knows if we are acting out of love or not. If our intentions are pure, as the scribe described, then we too will not be far from the Kingdom of God.

It's been many years now but I remember a young man who was a member of my church. He was a senior in high school at the time and he was very interested in learning more about the Bible and so attended a Bible study after school. He usually carried his Bible with him so that he could read it during his study periods or on his lunch hour. He once told me how the other boys in his class made fun of him for this, but that he cared more about what God thought than what his classmates thought. I was both surprised and proud that he had such a deep faith and commitment to Christ. I often wondered what happened to him as he moved on after high school and I lost track of him. I'm sure that there are instances of young men in a religious high school who read the Bible in school, but I'm not sure about those in a public high school such as this young man. He was not ashamed of his faith and I'm sure that he suffered many hardships as a result. I hope he continued his journey as an adult and continued to both profess his faith and bring that faith to others. It is as if he was a modern day Timothy. We too need to be proud of our relationship with God and not ashamed to live as he wants us to live, continuing to deepen our relationship with him by prayer and meditating on the Bible, and letting others know the joy of the Good News.

Have you ever tried to imagine the new heavens and new earth? I know that I have. I see myself surrounded by all my friends and relatives including the ones who died when I was a small child or before I was born, listening to their stories and sharing mine. I picture a peaceful atmosphere full of the smell of flowers and the glow of the sun, and all around me the feeling of being loved. Of course, there's a catch in this passage – being found without defect and blameless in the sight of God. None of us is without defect or blameless under our own power. Therefore, we need God's help to achieve this, and even with God's help, we have a lot of work to do! Peter believed, as did all the early Christians, that Jesus would be coming back soon. They would have been surprised to know that two thousand years later, we would still be waiting. But the challenge is still the same. We need to do our best to live our lives following the way that Jesus showed us just as they did. I once heard someone say that it is easier to die once for Christ than to live each day for Christ. The first is a decision made once; the second is the decision to live for Christ every day. Every day we need to make choices to love, to forgive, to be truthful, and to be faithful, in our dealings with ourselves and with all those we meet. The older I get, the closer to that "new heavens and new earth" I get. Although my children might like me to live forever, I know that that is unrealistic! Because of my faith in the promise of Jesus, death holds no fear. May you be able to say the same.

Anyone who is familiar with the hymn "On Eagles Wings" will recognize the words of this psalm. I love the idea of resting in the arms of the Father. I come from a very Irish English background, and those of you who are the same will understand when I say that this is not a very affectionate group of people even though they love you very much. So, it was a very special moment when your father hugged you. Usually this happened when you really needed a hug! This is how I think of God watching over me and giving me refuge when I am feeling lost or troubled. Just as I trusted my father to be there when I needed him, I trust God to be there. My father couldn't prevent disappointments or trouble from coming my way, neither can God. However, both fathers were there to see me through them, by my side all the way. God assures us that his love and his presence is everlasting. God is faithful even when we are not. I am well aware that not everyone has had a father's presence in their lives for so many different reasons. One of my grandsons was only 2 when his father died, and I am so proud of my daughter-in-law for letting him know that his father loved him. Some children have suffered at the hands of their parents, and this experience makes it difficult to trust God. When I would work with parents, I always reminded the Dad's that the first prayer most of us learn is the "Our Father" and that their children will judge God by their experience with their own father. I do realize that I was fortunate, and I encourage any men who read this to think about the connection their children will have between their behavior and God's. Even if you are not always able to be present, make sure that your children know of your love for them and that you have placed them under the protection of the Father. And so we pray: