Today, at St. Andrew's Hespeler, I did not really preach a sermon. Instead I introduced a method that people can use to read the scriptures for themselves and to discover God in their reading. This method of Christian reflection is called Lectio Divina. Here is an excerpt from my message:

So what I'd like to do today is give you a simple and straightforward way to approach the Biblical text all on your own. The method is called Lectio Divina. It was developed mostly in the Middle Ages by St. Benedict but, in some ways, it is as ancient as Scripture itself – it is the kind of approach to the Bible that is spoken of in that passage in Joshua and in the part of Psalm 119 we read this morning. It is so old that the method itself and the steps in the method are still referred to in the Latin language.

The first step in Lectio Divina, is called the lectio -- which is Latin for reading. During this time you simply read a given passage. But the reading may be a little bit different from your usual reading practice. It's not like reading a newspaper or a novel. You read a short passage slowly and read it over several times. And you pay special attention to the things that jump out at you as you read it. Often there is a word or a phrase that just seems to be louder or more insistent as you read. Don't worry, for the moment, about why those things grab your attention. Just take note of them and write them down.

The next step is called meditatioor meditation. This is when you start to look closer at the things that stood out for you in the passage. Ask yourself questions like, "Why did that jump out to me? Is there something going on in my life or something that happened to me recently that that word or phrase might be speaking to?" Think about these things and, once again, write down your reflections. This is also the time to make use of other resources, if you have them, to better understand some of the things about the passage that might puzzle you. The meditatio might lead you in many directions.

The next part of the Lectio Divina is the oratio – which is Latin for prayer. But think of it as prayer in the simplest sense. It is just talking back to God – reflecting back the things that you have seen in the passage, that have caught your attention and maybe focussed your attention on what's going on in your life. It's kind of like what happens sometimes when you talk with your really good friend. You can share with them what you're going through, just talk it out with them and they don't even have to say very much, but you come away from that talk with a better understanding of what your problems really are. That's the kind of talking to God that you do.

After the oratio comes the contemplatio or contemplation. This ends the entire exercise by taking some time to simply sit in silence – to turn off your mind as much as possible and wait expectantly to meet with God. Various spiritual exercises like the centring prayer that we will discuss in a few weeks can be used to open the mind to hear what God might have to say.

This morning I spent way more time than I ever expected transcribing the results of the election of deacons and elders held yesterday. I will soon begin the long and somewhat complicated process of contacting those who were elected by their peers in the church.

(The process gets complicated precisely because we are electing both deacons and elders at the same time. This means that some people may be nominated for both positions at the same time and (depending on whether all the positions have been filled yet) they may be able to have a choice whether they prefer to serve in one place or the other. So if, say, someone were to come off at the top of voting for elder and just a little lower on deacons, i might have to wait to see if there is still a need for deacons when i get to them on the list before I want to call them to ask them to serve as an elder because I want to be able to give them the choice between deacon and elder if they want. Never mind, it is actually too complicated to explain!)

Anyways, I just wanted to say, before I began contacting anyone, how much I do appreciate this process. I am amazed once again by the wisdom that has been shown by the people of the congregation and by the respect in which they hold  their brothers and sisters in Christ. The best part of this is that I get to call up people in the congregation and tell them that they are loved and respected and that people have great confidence in their wisdom and ability to care for others. I wish I could tell everyone who's name figures on the lists that because it really is amazing to see. Unfortunately not all will have to be contacted so I wanted to send out a general message now to everyone.

Scott

I recently filed a report on my continuing education adventures with my Presbytery. I though I would share that report here as well for those who are interested.

Report on Continuing Education to the Presbytery of Waterloo-Wellington

From W. Scott McAndless

Pastors of Excellence

Self Knowledge

Group Work

The Healing Journey

Revealing Lies

Spiritual Practices

Conclusion

Once again next year I would like to preach a series of sermons in response to the question, themes and ideas put forward by the people in the congregation. During the month of December I am collecting your suggestions for what I should preach on. Once these suggestions have been collected, I will put them to a vote by the congregation during the month of January. The sermons will be preached during the four weeks before the beginning of Lent in 2014. Please give me your ideas for a sermon by responding to this post, by putting it in a box at the church or by email. (Please only one suggestion per person.)

Last Sunday I preached on Matthew 25:31-46 where Jesus tells his followers that if they feed the hungry, clothe the naked and offer hospitality to the homeless, they actually have served him by doing such things.

I related that to some of the things that we do at St. Andrew's particularly to the things that happen on a typical Thursday when we welcome people to a free clothing centre, when we host the Cambridge Self-Help food bank and host the community for a Supper and Social.

This was the exact wording of the second last paragraph of my sermon:

"So, yes, I do declare it without reservation and without doubt. Jesus has been here this week. He may have stopped by at other times. In fact, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised to encounter him before I leave today – maybe in one of you. But I know for sure that he was here on Thursday. I’m pretty sure that he will stop by next Thursday too."

So guess what happens tonight at the supper. One of the women who helps with the clothing centre (who knows nothing of what I preached) motions me over and says:

"Hey, pastor, we had a busy day at the clothing centre today. We had a new client come by and he loved it. I think he was from Mexico. He said his name was.....

(wait for it)


"Jesus."

Okay, folks, I have some big news on the "Caesar's Census, God's Jubilee" front. My book continues to sell as an ebook on many retail sites but I have had far too many people asking how they can possibly obtain a printed copy that I have been persuaded to enter into an agreement to get the book printed through a print-on-demand publisher. The printed book will be available, within a day or two, athttps://tsw.createspace.com/title/4503502. It will also be sold at Amazon.com though that might take a day or two more. The list price is $9.99 US.

There is one big drawback to all this: the printed book will not be available on Amazon.ca or through any retailer in Canada which means that, if purchased, it must be shipped across the border which can be complex and expensive.

I will be ordering a box of books and paying the shipping for them. I will then distribute them at St. Andrew's Hespeler Presbyterian Church to anyone who orders one from me for $10 Canadian. Please let me know if you would like me to order one for you.

One plus -- the publisher had software to create a new cover for my book that I really like!

I am very pleased to announce that my book, is now available.

For the past decade or so, I have been writing a book in my spare time. The book sprang out of my general dissatisfaction with the traditional ways of telling and dramatizing the story of the birth of Jesus. In many ways, I find that the ways that we think of the story really do not honour the intentions of the original gospel writers - especially the writer of the Gospel of Luke.

I feel that we miss so much of what Luke was trying to communicate about Jesus because:

1. We have insisted on harmonizing the two accounts of the birth that we have (Matthew 1 and Luke 2) in a way that strips both of them of their unique perspectives on the meaning of the birth of Christ.
2. We have not struggled in constructive ways with some of the problematic elements in Luke's story like
1. The description of the census (which does not fit with what we know about Roman policy and practice).
2. The reasons for the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem which are not sufficiently explained.
3. The historical and political situation that Luke describes at the time of the birth that is obviously very meaningful to him but that we have neglected because it is inconvenient to us.
3. We have not taken into account Luke's use of Old Testament ideas and imagery in his Nativity Story.

So I have been working on these and similar thoughts for quite some time. This has led me to some very interesting places and, indeed, a way of reading and understanding Luke's story that I think is refreshing and revolutionary.

Writing this book has made me love Luke's nativity story - a true story - all the more and I have decided that it is time to share what I have learned with a larger audience. For this reason, I am publishing my book with the title, "Caesar's Census, God's Jubilee."

It will be published as a ebook only. (Sorry to all of you know do not own a reading device but physical book publishing is a whole other matter, I'm afraid). Soon, if all goes well, it will be available at online ebook retailers everywhere (including Amazon, Kobo, iBooks etc.) When that happens, I'll certainly be announcing it here and everywhere I can!

It is a scary thing to do but I am glad to be finally sharing this book that God gave to me.

Genesis 17:15 - 16 (NRSV) ¹⁵God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  ¹⁶I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 

This morning I did a Lectio Divina (a meditative reading) on the above passage. When you read in a meditative fashion, God will often make certain words or phrases jump out at you because there is a personal message that you need to hear.

Today the word that jumped out at me was bless. I wondered if God might be seeking to bless me in some particular way -- if God knows that i need a blessing.

Of course, the particular blessing that God wanted to give to Sarah was a son -- and with the son a new identity as signified by the name change. I don't think God wants to give me that particular blessing (though the invitation to embrace a new identity in Christ is always something that God is working on for us).

But my thoughts particularly focussed on why God wanted to bless Sarah -- it was so that she might "give rise to nations and kings." The blessing was not merely an end in itself but a way to spread God's blessing out into the wider world.

Why does God want to bless me? Not merely because I need it (though I do). God wants to bless me so that others (kings, princesses (Sarai means princess), leaders etc.) may arise and do good in this world.

I had a brief vision of the congregation as a vast pool of potential. There are people within the congregation who have incredible skills and abilities, who are natural leaders and who have much to share. God may want to bless me but I suspect that it is because God wants to use me to inspire others, enable others, sometimes to get out of the way of others and let them lead or act or participate in such a way as to bring greater blessing on our community and beyond that to the world.

.... based on a recent email discussion with some colleagues.