Invitation to the Great Adventure. Proper 7C 22nd June 2025

2025  06  22  Proper 7C

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a and Psalm 42 and 43 -  Galatians 3:23-29 - Luke 8:26-39

  

Do you like adventure?  I hope so, because the Christian life is incredibly adventurous.   The stories that are told in our readings today would easily make for great movie themes.  But does it seem sometimes that we are just a spectator?  We are called to be part of the great adventure.  We might not have to confront a tyrannical Queen, or deal with a Demon possessed man, but we ARE called to be a willing participant, and to play an active part, in our own adventure.

 

In our own adventure we are constantly being called to deliberately choose, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  The point of having these other adventures recorded in the scriptures is so that we can learn from them and navigate our own adventures with success.

 

Elijah is one of the greatest prophets.  We know from our song, that he declared the word of the Lord.  Although he was a famous prophet from our perspective, he lived in a time when the Israelites, God’s chosen people were predominantly worshipping Baal.  He interacted rather famously with the King of Israel, Ahab and his wife Jezabel, who lived in the 7^th century BC.    Jezebel is the character behind that name becoming associated with harlotry, because of her manipulative influence over the King.  

 

Our reading picks up part of the story just after Elijah had asked the people to chose which god they would serve, and he had the priests/prophets of Baal make a sacrifice and wait for Baal to send down fire from heaven.  Baal didn’t answer.   Then, after soaking in ample water his own sacrifice to the Lord God almighty, God did answer by sending fire from heaven and then Elijah ordered that the priests of Baal be killed.  Jezebel was furious and threatened Elijah who fled into the wilderness.

 

After a days’ journey travelling by himself Elijah sat under a broom tree and he was done!  This is the irony of success.  This magnificent miracle had just happened.  God showed up so dramatically, but suddenly, Elijah felt very human and fallible.  He had witnessed the glory of God and, as all do in the presence of God, felt acutely the weight of his own sinfulness and the enormity of his ministry.  Elijah was a great and honourable prophet, but in the presence of God, we all realize how limited we are.  Jezebel was chasing Elijah and threatening him.  There was no repentance in that woman or the King.  Even though God clearly showed his greatness, these people refused to repent. 

 

If we can put ourselves in Elijah’s shoes, he was passionate about serving God. He had experienced God, and he knew Him and his goodness, but no one was listening.  Not completely true, but it felt like no one was listening and it seemed like no matter how greatly God proved himself, there was no resulting change.

 

Have you even been there?  Working hard to achieve what seems to be something good, you know you have truth and wisdom on your side, but all that effort only results in you being targeted and pulled down.  What do we learn from this?  Well, if we stop our story here, we learn to just go with the flow and don’t try to do anything that is different from what is popular.  Is this where most Christians are at today?  But Elijah’s story doesn’t end there….

 

I must confess that this is one of my favourite stories in the Bible.  Elijah is worn out and despondent.  He travels with his servant, but leaves him in a town of Judah (in other words a place of relative safety from the King of Israel) and then goes on alone, finally crying out for God to take his life, and he falls asleep.  He is woken by an Angel of the Lord and encouraged to eat.  He awakens to find bread and water.  He falls asleep again and the scene is repeated and this time he travels to Mt. Horeb.  There is no admonition to stop complaining.  In fact, the Angel provides sustenance and acknowledges Elijah’s weariness and inability to go on… The journey is too great for you, is what he says, but indicating that Elijah will be refreshed by the food and drink. – you know that saying about never being given more than you can handle?  Well even the Angel acknowledges that the journey is too great, BUT HE provides the sustenance necessary.

 

Some interesting elements are here in this passage.  Let me quote from a Hebrew commentary; “… in this verse this angel is identified as the Angel of the Lord; malach Yehoveh . ……it is there in the original Hebrew. In any case, here Elijah encounters not an ordinary angel, but some manifestation of God Himself. Recall that it was the Angel of the Lord that appeared to Moses in the burning bush on Mt. Sinai and claimed to be the Great I am. And so not surprisingly, this Angel of the Lord influenced Elijah to trek to Mt. Sinai, or as it says here, Horeb (Horeb and Mt. Sinai are interchangeable terms).”  (https://www.torahclass.com/lessons/old-testament/1-kings/lesson-31-ch19/)

 

After being refreshed Elijah journeys for 40 days to Mt. Horeb, also known as Mt. Sinai.  In other words, the mountain where the law was given to Moses.  Do you recall Moses’ story of being in a cave on Mt. Horeb?  Exodus33:21-23 tells us;  “Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

 

Elijah is spending time in that same cleft or cave and the word of the LORD comes to him, asks him what he is doing there and informing him that he should go out and stand on the mountain because the LORD was about to pass by.   There was a strong wind, an earthquake and a fire and then a sheer silence.  At this Elijah put a mantle over his head as a sign of reverence and also protection from seeing God’s face.

 

What do we learn from all of this?  God controls the elements, but the elements are not God.  We learn that God cares for us and understands when we are worn out and despondent and he himself will supply refreshment.  We also learn that God continues to call people.  Elijah may have expected the people to turn to God, but they didn’t.  Elijah declared the word of the LORD, but they didn’t repent.  Was he a failure? He felt it.

 

Jesus cast demons out of the man in our Gospel story.  He set the man free but what response did Jesus get from the people?  Cheers and welcome?  No, they were afraid and so they asked him to leave.  Imagine this is you. Just when you’ve dramatically seen this one man set free and you are feeling like this is a good thing and surely people will see it that way, suddenly they ask you to leave.  Sometimes our good works, which we are specifically called by God to do, will appear on a superficial, but visible level, to be a failure.  Don’t give up, keep doing what God has called us to do.

 

The Angel of the LORD, a manifestation of God, provided sustenance with bread and water.  Sound like anyone else we know?  Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.”  Jesus also said that anyone who drinks from the water that he gives will never thirst.  Elijah was not the only prophet of the LORD left, but he felt alone.  We need to be sustained by God, encouraged and held up by each other and we need to know that when we are doing what God calls us to do, we are never a failure.  God is doing something eternal.  We may not see the victory, but know victory is there when we are faithful and do what he calls us to do regardless. 

 

We are loved by and precious to God.  We are considered by God as being clothed in Christ, meaning that Christ’s goodness and righteousness is seen when God looks at us.   We cannot ever, therefore, be failures.  Regardless of how it feels or looks.  God has set us free in equality, and he loves to call the least likely.  ALL OF US ARE CALLED into an adventure that God has planned– No exception.  He invites us all into the adventure.  Today, we gather to support each other and be nourished by God so that the journey -which IS too great for us in our own strength, is able to be achieved.  Rest in his presence today and tomorrow, go in the power of the Spirit to accomplish things that God has prepared for us.

Trinity - Tuning in to hear wisdom's voice. Trinity Sunday year C 15th June 2025

2025  06  15   TRINITY SUNDAY YEAR C  

We believe in one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Three persons but one God.  Simple as that?  Ok?  Maybe not so simple. 

Our first reading tells us that wisdom raises her voice, but in the year 325 AD many voices were raised, and the noise was chaotic.  It was a time before Bibles were printed, churches would meet, read readings from the Old Testament scripture and the apostles’ letters.  They sang hymns, ate together, prayed and relied on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Then an influential priest by the name of Arius and some of his followers began teaching different ideas about who Jesus was.  Arius claimed that Jesus was created by the father, rather than being begotten.  Eventually about 200 Bishops met to discuss.  I imagine that it was a robust discussion to say the least. In fact, there are works of art that show Saint Nicholas punching Arius at the gathering.

 

Wisdom is not silent.  We are told that wisdom raises her voice and cries out.    Perhaps it is ironic that this very chapter about wisdom is the one that was used by Arius, to speak against the Trinity.  He claimed that this verse where we are told that God created wisdom at the beginning of his work, was actually a personification of Jesus, meaning that Jesus was created, rather than being God.  My research has informed me that this is a translation error, and the word translated as “created” should be more accurately translated as God “possessed” wisdom at the beginning of his work.

 

To be fair, we are all just “Joe & Jane”.   By this I mean, that we are the creation, trying to comprehend the creator.  The scriptures tell us that God’s thoughts and God’s ways are far beyond us.  We all hold many beliefs about God that might not be completely correct, but God does want us to know him and to love him and to know that he loves us.  While it only stands to reason that we don’t know everything about God and that we will grow slowly in our relationship with him, there are times when it is important that we stand against the misrepresentation of God that allows error about God to spread. 

 

Faith is caught more than taught.  This means that we absorb the ideas of faith from all sources around us.  We don’t very often, if ever, sit down and talk about the nature of Christ and how he is one with God and IS God.  I generally trust that God will reveal his truth in time and this is part of the role of the Holy Spirit.  However, there is a time and place to clarify.

 

325 AD was a time that brought conflict to a head, and 200 people debated, prayed and voted.  Understanding this should cause us to ponder and question; are we also willing to stand up against popular thought that erodes the image of God and proclaim the Gospel truth?

 

Most of the time we will go with the flow, don’t rock the boat, and accept the philosophies of popular thought.  When those sources are Godly, faith is caught, and wisdom’s voice is heard.  When those sources are false, faith is diminished, and the values of the Gospel are eroded.  We may find ourselves called to stand up and defend and clarify the Gospel and Gospel values.  Just between you and me, I kind of think we are here now!

 

We belong to the family of God, but we also belong to a human family, a local town, a state, a country.  We also live in an era.  All these things colour and influence the way that we understand or misunderstand God.  Faith is caught, not taught, but what is it that we are catching?  Wisdom is not silent.  She raises her voice and cries out.  But this doesn’t mean that people are listening.  In fact, if people are listening, we don’t need to raise our voices.  Today we are encouraged to reflect on just what influences are impacting us and our faith.  Are they Godly and true?

 

The doctrine of the Trinity was officially established at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.  The creed that we know as the Nicene Creed stated definitively the beliefs about God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  God the Son is “God of God, Light of Light, very God of Very God (or true God of true God), begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father,".  This is not something that was devised arbitrarily but is taken from the various scriptures that speak about the Messiah. 

 

Wisdom raises her voice.  It seems that wisdom needs to raise her voice because other voices are so much louder.  There are ways to find wisdom and hear her voice.  We need to study the scriptures but know that great intellectuals have still gotten things very wrong.  The religious experts of Jesus time, who studied God’s word, were those responsible for crucifying him.   So there has to be some other element that is necessary to be able to find wisdom and truth - there is another vital ingredient.

 

Last week we celebrated Pentecost, the birthday of the church and the feast when the baptism of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples.  The disciples had already had Jesus breathe on them and told them to receive the Holy Spirit.  The baptism of the Holy Spirit was a separate out-pouring.  That baptism of the Holy Spirit was not confined to that event on that day of Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit is offered to all of us, and today we read where Jesus explained what would happen when this baptism would come.  He said; “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”  Wisdom is possessed by God.  The Holy Spirit is God.  The Holy Spirit is God with and in us.  The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.  With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified.  The Holy Spirit will guide us into all the truth.  The Holy Spirit is the vital ingredient we need in discerning God’s truth.

 

Some things happen all at once and some things happen gradually.  I also used an analogy last week, that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit can be like jumping into a pool of cold water.  Some jump right in, but others go in step by step… and when we are a “step by step” person (which is more common), we need to be encouraged to continue to say, “Yes” to receiving the Holy Spirit, and continue to enter into the call of God and into that Holy Spirit baptism, receiving the gifts that God has for us.   In the same way, some wisdom and knowledge about the truth of God will happen all at once, like scales falling from our eyes.  Other wisdom and knowledge we will need to wait patiently for God to reveal.  The important thing to remember, is always to say, “Yes” to God as He invites us to come to know him by the gift of his Holy Spirit dwelling in us. 

 

If today we don’t fully understand how the idea of how three persons, but one God works, we can rest reassured that God knows that we are only, “Joe & Jane”… Limited!!!  And God loves us so much that he suffered and died for us, so that there would be nothing separating us from God. 

 

Our reading from Romans explains that we are justified by faith, and therefore we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  That faith only needs to be the size of a mustard seed.  We don’t need to understand, but we need to trust in the one who does know and who understands everything.  We know that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  God doesn’t change and He loves us, but our culture, our fears and doubts and the various ideologies of the world and people around us can be like a blanket over our eyes and they are like a loud cacophony afflicting our ears so that we can’t hear wisdom raising her voice. 

 

Can we, like a radio, aim to tune into the frequency of the Holy Spirit?  God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.  It is that love that has the power to cut through the noise that is in the world.  And when we show God’s love to others, we and they can “Hear” the Spirit of God.  Wisdom’s voice is heard.  Our world needs the truth and the wisdom of God.  Let us pray for God’s Holy Spirit to pour God’s love into our hearts.  Let us tune in.  Let’s take a moment to listen.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit! Is it for me? Pentecost 8th June 2025

  2025  06  08  Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21    Psalm 104:24-34, 35b    Romans 8:14-17    John 14:8-17, (25-27)

 

We’ve reached the day of Pentecost; the Day that we consider the birthday of the Christian Church.  In the time since Easter, Jesus appeared to his followers and then he ascended to Heaven and told his followers to wait.  They were to wait until they were clothed with power from on high.  They were told that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

 

Our Gospel reading contains a great quote that expresses the concept of the Trintiy;  Jesus says, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”  He then goes on to talk about the Sprit - the Advocate, and Jesus tells his followers; “This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him.  You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”

 

The disciples already had the Holy Spirit abiding with them, and this happened before the day of Pentecost.  Remember when Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.  What happened on the day of Pentecost was something else.  Google gives a summary this way;  “Having the Holy Spirit, and being baptized with the Holy Spirit, while related, are distinct concepts in Christian theology. Having the Holy Spirit is a one-time event of regeneration, where the Spirit indwells the believer, empowering them with a new life and purpose. Being baptized with the Holy Spirit, however, is a separate experience that involves a renewed outpouring of the Spirit's power, often associated with supernatural gifts and the ability to minister more effectively.”

 

Those pre-Pentecost disciples of Jesus had been taught by God and were indwelt with the Holy Spirit.  They were loyal and they continued to meet and pray together.  We, likewise, continue to meet and pray together.  We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God.  Those disciples of Jesus are a lot like us.  They also were previously sent out in twos by Jesus to lay hands on the sick and cast out demons.  They witnessed greatness and were involved in great deeds, and yet Jesus told them to wait for this baptism of the Holy Spirit.   If this baptism of the Holy Spirit was necessary for them, what about us?  Do we need to be baptised with the Holy Spirit?  The prophet Joel is quoted in our first reading from Acts; 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, …..”   The prophesy implies a dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit that makes no distinction in social status, gender or race.  This outpouring is given to all.  So, who is eligible for the baptism of the Holy Spirit?  Can WE be baptized with the Holy Spirit?

 

Over the years I have had friends who argued that the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the outpouring of those more dramatic gifts was only for the disciples of that time, or for if a Christian was in an extreme circumstance.  And I’ve had friends who thought this way and then learnt that they were wrong, when they experienced that outpouring themselves.   One example of the baptism of the Holy Spirit outpoured on people after the day of Pentecost is recorded in Act chapter 10 where it says;  “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his message.  All the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.…”  What do you imagine was the evidence that the Holy Spirit had been given to the Gentiles?  I imagine that those people also began to speak in tongues and maybe also prophesy…. It doesn’t actually say, and I could be wrong, but one thing that is certain, is that something dramatic and definite happened that caused the circumcised believers to know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, the Spirit had been poured out again.

 

This shows us that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was given again.  Also, in Acts chapter 19 we see signs that there was more to the Christian experience, then simply being baptized in water.  St. Paul travelled to Ephesus asked some new disciples if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed.  They had no understanding of the Holy Spirit and so Paul laid hands on them and we are told that they spoke in tongues and prophesied.  If those Gentiles and those Ephesian believers and so many others received such an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, is there any reason to think that God would not out pour his Holy Spirit in the same way on us?

 

In our Gospel reading, Jesus was speaking with his disciples who were already indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  They knew how to pray for the sick, cast out demons and preach that God’s kingdom was near, yet Jesus informed them that they needed the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  If those very experienced people needed the baptism of the Holy Spirit, surely, we do too.

 

I like to explain the Baptism of the Holy Spirit by using a balloon.  I have a bag of balloons.  Any balloon, not blown up, is every bit a balloon as any other, but we could say that it isn’t fulfilling its’ intended purpose.  If we breathe just a little air into the balloon it begins to take balloon shape.  This is us when we respond to God and are baptised.  The Holy Spirit in us is like the air in the balloon.  We become Born of the Spirit of God, and we receive his Holy Spirit.  We take the shape that resembles a balloon – we begin to fulfil our purpose.  In fact, it is a balloon! and has all the authentic qualities of a balloon…. But it isn’t the kind of balloon that we might use for party decorations.  To be baptised with the Holy Spirit is like a balloon expanded by a full breath of air, becoming all that a balloon is intended to be. 

 

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit changed ordinary people with ordinary fears and concerns into courageous people who proclaimed the wonders of God boldly, and the result was that about 3000 people became believers.   People were impacted by the Gospel, some were healed, some were brought back from the dead, and some became martyrs.  In fact, the whole world was changed from that day. 

 

Over the years the western and civilized world was so impacted by Christian values that human life being so valued as precious in God’s eyes, saw slavery abolished, charities emerge, and more.  Our laws and our legal system reflected these values.  These came of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Do we still need God’s Holy Spirit?  If all those different groups of early Christians were baptized in the Holy Spirit, is there any reason that God would not pour out his spirit on us?

 

Jesus said to his followers, and he says to us; “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”  God is calling us to be living life abundantly, relying on the Spirit… and this means we need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit.  

Today, in celebrating Pentecost, we are forced to contemplate some questions; What impact does this baptism have for me?  Have I said, “Yes” to God in regard to the baptism of the Holy Spirit?  Or, what other Holy Spirit gift is God desiring to give me, that I haven’t yet be open to receive? 

On the day of Pentecost the baptism of the Holy Spirit was dramatic and sudden.  I liken it to someone jumping into a pool of cold water.  We can enter cold water differently however, and enter gradually, bit by bit.  This might be more like the way we approach the baptism of the Holy Spirit… so today we are reminded that every step of the way, we need to continue to say, ‘yes’, and take another step into the deeper water of the Holy Spirit.

Let us therefore pray for God to pour His Spirit on us and on our church;  Heavenly father, I ask you in Jesus's name to fill us with your Holy Spirit, to baptize us in the Holy Spirit, and to clothe us in your power.  According to the promise in your word.  Fill us with the courage to continue to say, “Yes,” and that therefore by faith we receive your Holy Spirit today. Thank you for your gift.  Amen.