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Hespeler, August 31, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Jeremiah 2:4-13, Psalm 81:1, 10-16, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, Luke 14:12-24

Earlier this summer, I was asked to perform a funeral for a man named Johnny. The family that requested this are not really connected to this congregation. But, whenever I am given the opportunity to minister to a family in such an important moment of their lives, I always agree, at least if it is at all possible for me to do so.

Making it Personal

But it is also really important to me that a funeral service be very personal. And so, if I never did know the person, I make a point of getting to know them by talking with the people who loved them.

So, I gathered with the family and learned about Johnny. He was a man who lived all of his life with severe disabilities. He was never able to speak. He could only walk with a great deal of help, and eventually he could not walk at all.

A Passage for Johnny

I believe that every person’s life has important things to teach us about the kingdom of God. It is with that idea that I approach every funeral. And so, I spent a considerable amount of time thinking about what Johnny had to teach us about Jesus’ idea of the kingdom of God. My reflections eventually brought me to our reading this morning from the Gospel of Luke.

I can honestly say that Johnny, this man that I never actually met in person, has taught me more about what Jesus was saying in this passage than all of the commentaries and sermons that I have read about it. It’s kind of amazing how often that happens. And I’d like to share with you today what I learned about this passage.

A Hot Dinner Guest

Jesus made a big splash wherever he went, and people often vied with one another to invite him to dinner in their houses. You know how it works. You invite the hottest local celebrity to come and eat at your house, then you invite all the most important people in town too, so that the celebrity’s fame and reputation rubs off on you. I’m pretty sure that the host of the meal that night thought that he had pulled off the social event of the season.

But at some point during supper, Jesus looked around the room and saw all of the rich and important people who were sprawling on the dining couches and he turned to his host. “When you give a luncheon or a dinner,” he said, “do not invite your friends or your brothers and sisters or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.”

A Crazy Thing to Say

That was, to be clear, a crazy thing for Jesus to say. The entire point of this dinner party had been to enhance the host’s social standing. The whole point of it would be lost if he didn’t have all the “right” people there! So, I imagine that the host was upset when Jesus said this. But he was about to become enraged.

“But when you give a banquet,” Jesus went on, “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you.” Now that was just ridiculous. It was one thing for Jesus to suggest that he should not invite people who would enhance his standing. But here Jesus was suggesting that he should actively invite those who would destroy his reputation in the town!

Marginalizing People with Disabilities

In Jesus’ day, it was generally taken for granted that if you were poor or disabled, it was basically your own fault. We still sometimes think of poverty that way these days, though we really shouldn’t. We often assume that if somebody is poor it must be because they are lazy or lack ambition.

But we generally accept that we can hardly blame people with disabilities for their limitations. They did. They just took it for granted that, if you had a disability, you must have sinned in some way.

Because of those false assumptions, they pushed people who struggled with poverty or with disabilities over to the margins of society. They certainly didn’t invite them to dinner parties and, if such a person were to show up, it would have had the effect of lowering the host’s social standing.

People Were Confused

So, I am sure that everyone present was kind of scratching their heads and wondering what Jesus could mean by saying such a crazy thing. And one of the people who was there thought he had figured it out. Such a thing made no sense in the real world, so maybe Jesus was saying something about another world – a world after death.

Maybe Jesus was saying that, if you performed insane acts of charity, like feeding the dregs of society, it would earn you a ticket to another life after you died. And so he shouted out, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

But that wasn’t what Jesus was saying at all. He wasn’t talking about another life. He wanted them all to understand that he was talking about encountering the kingdom of God in this life.

Jesus’ Picture of the Kingdom

But their minds were too small to imagine the picture of the kingdom of God that Jesus had in his mind – the picture of a feasting hall filled with the poor, people with disabilities and other marginalized folk. And so, Jesus did what he always did to expand people’s minds. He told a story.

Jesus was a master storyteller, so he knew exactly what to do to make them feel comfortable. He opened with a scenario that would have made perfect sense to them. He described a host who does what they all would have done. He plans a dinner, and he invites all the “right” people, all the people whose presence will enhance his reputation.

The Twist

Then, just when he had sucked them in, Jesus threw in the twist. As soon as the dinner is ready, it turns out that nobody – none of the “right” guests – can make it. Now this is a crisis because there is only one thing that is worse for a host’s reputation than having the “wrong” people at your dinner, and that is if no one shows up at all!

And so, the host panics. In desperation he implores his servants to drag in whoever they can find. And so it is that the end of the story sees the dining couches filled by people who are poor, people with disabilities and all manner of people who live on the margins of society.

What was the point of that story? I believe that the reason why Jesus told this story was all for the sake of the bizarre picture of the dinner party at the end of it.

Jesus was trying to impress on them that the kingdom of God is something that breaks out in the here and now and it breaks out when we give places of honour to those who are poor or disabled or otherwise on the margins of society.

Such a thing was so unimaginable that Jesus had to tell this strange and convoluted tale of a dinner party that went so disastrously wrong that the host was forced to invite all the wrong sorts of people. He told them this story just so they could get their heads around such a bizarre scenario.

Johnny

Yes, Jesus really taught that the kingdom of God worked like that. And many struggle to understand such a teaching; I always have. But, like I said, I was given a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what Jesus might have meant earlier this summer.

I never met Johnny, but I got to know him by meeting with his family and hearing from his friends and family at the celebration of his life. And yes, Johnny had disabilities. He could not speak. He could not walk.

Johnny did not live a marginalized life to the extent that such people would have in Jesus’ time. We have come a long way in terms of integrating those with such limitations into society. We probably still have a long way to go, but we are light-years ahead of how things worked in ancient times.

But some marginalization was unavoidable. Johnny did spend some time in institutions where he was mistreated in ways that I will not go into. His inability to speak also caused some serious medical problems as he could not tell the doctors what was wrong and so they often didn’t know how to help him and got his treatment wrong.

So. Johnny really does seem like a good example of the kind of marginalized person that Jesus would have imagined taking an honoured position in the kingdom of God. And, as such, his life taught me a lot about what Jesus was really trying to get people to realize when he spoke about that kingdom. I believe that Johnny has many things to teach us about what Jesus was really announcing

Defying Expectations

He has taught us, for one thing, that it is the nature of the kingdom of God to defy our expectations of what is possible. When Johnny was young, the doctors who directed his care confidently predicted that he would not live past the age of twenty. Well, when we gathered to celebrate his life, Johnny was just a little bit shy of his seventieth birthday. And we gathered to celebrate a life that had been full and meaningful.

But it was not just in terms of lifespan that he exceeded expectations. Johnny’s friends and family spoke at his celebration, as did some of the people who had supported him and given him care. They also counted him as their friend.

A picture quickly emerged of a man who, despite having suffered and despite many limitations, was able to radiate love and friendship. He was a man who could do little more than love you, but when he loved you, you knew it. It came to mean the world to you.

Advocate

I will admit that there was one thing that particularly took me by surprise as I listened to people share their love for Johnny. People spoke about how he would advocate, how he would argue for what was just and right and acceptable and act for those who were struggling.

I would ask you to think about that for a moment. Here was a man who could not speak, but he “spoke up” demanding action when needed. Here was a man who was confined to a wheelchair, but he “stood up” for what was right and just. Here was a man who could not walk, but he would regularly “step up” for others who needed help.

“Speak up – stand up – step up.” Have you noticed how so much of our language for activism and advocacy is hopelessly ablest? Hidden in the way we talk about it is the assumption that you have to be able-bodied in order to make a difference in this world.

How many of us excuse ourselves from taking a stand or speaking up for the injustice that we see in this world? “I’m no public speaker! I can’t take the risk of doing something! I wouldn’t know where to begin!” Johnny had all the excuses, and yet he made sure that the demand for rightness and justice was heard!

Laughter

One other theme also came up over and over as we celebrated Johnny’s life and that was laughter. He had a big belly laugh that everyone found to be infectious.

And I am pretty sure that laughter was a very big part of what Jesus was talking about whenever he described the kingdom of God. That picture of a big dinner party where the dining couches were filled with “the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame” was always and forever a picture of a room filled with laughter.

I know that, when we think of the kingdom of God or, as it’s often put in the Gospel of Matthew, the kingdom of Heaven, we often imagine another life that comes after this one. I am sure that that was a part of what Jesus was talking about, though probably not the main part.

So, while it is good to imagine Johnny today in a new kingdom where the voiceless speak and where those who wait upon the Lord can run and not be weary, they can walk and not faint, to take comfort in that vision of the otherworldly kingdom alone would be to miss out on the dream that Jesus was trying to put before us.

He was talking about a kingdom that can break out here and now and it will happen, Jesus assures us, when we are bold to give place and honour to those whom our society has left on the margins.

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Hespeler, 27 July 2025 © Scott McAndless
Psalm 82, Luke 10:25-37

A few months ago, the Vice President of the United States, who is a newly minted Roman Catholic convert, was doing an interview. He began to speak about a Roman Catholic teaching known as Ordo Amoris, or the Order of Love.

He explained that the Ordo Amoris meant that you needed to prioritize who you love and that you have to start with those closest to you. Family came first, then you needed to take care of your closest neighbours and community, then your country and only after that you could think about immigrants and foreigners.

Limited Love

The assumption behind that statement was that love is a limited thing – that the more you love somebody, the less love there is to go around. And so, you need to make sure that that love goes to the people closest to you first.

Now, I’m no expert on Roman Catholic moral teaching, so I’m not going to argue with him. I’ll just note that he got some pushback from people who are experts, including a certain American Bishop named Robert Provost who tweeted back at him that his explanation was wrong. And, given that Robert Prevost has since changed his name to Pope Leo XIV, he might just have known what he was talking about.

We Want to Define Our Neighbours

That is what we struggle with when it comes to loving our neighbours – we always want to define our neighbours in such a way that we only have to love those we already want to love.

When a man asked Jesus who his neighbour was, he knew that that was exactly what that man was trying to do. But Jesus was brilliant. He didn’t just tell the man that it meant loving people who he didn’t feel like loving. That would have made the man defensive.

So, Jesus told a story. He knew that stories can get in under people’s defenses and help them to see complete strangers in sympathetic ways. But his story was more powerful than we often realize.

What We Get Right

People know this parable well and get a number of things right about it. They recognize that Samaritans were people that Judeans (people like Jesus) despised. And so, it is generally understood that Jesus is saying that loving your neighbour has to include loving people who are not like you.

So far so good, but he was also saying more than that. For one thing, he doesn’t seem to be saying to his fellow Judeans that they should love Samaritans, at least not directly. Instead, he is giving an example of a Samaritan who loves a Judean. And given the twisted relationship that Samaritans and Judeans had, that was a much more powerful thing to say. But you really need to enter into the story to appreciate that. So, let’s do that.

Hiel of Samaria

Hiel of Samaria was finally on his way home from Jericho. He never liked to go there, for it was deep within Judean territory. But Jericho was an important hub for trading throughout the entire region.

Hiel had done pretty well for himself in business lately. He had his own donkey for the transport of goods and more than a couple of denarii jangling in his purse. But the trade he was engaged in passed through Jericho and that made periodic trips unavoidable.

A Dangerous Road

The main road out of Jericho went directly across the plain and up into the hills towards Jerusalem. He had no intentions of going to the big city which he despised, but it made sense to follow the well-worn trail for several leagues before turning off north towards Samaria.

He was aware that because valuable trade goods often passed along this road, it was a frequent target of bandits and thieves. He’d been lucky so far on his journeys, but he always felt vulnerable when he traveled here – always aware of his surroundings and always viewing everyone else with suspicion. He sighed and urged his donkey to a faster pace.

Judean Hate

The journey always gave him a lot of time to think. “Why is it,” he asked himself, “that the Judeans hate us so much? It is not because we have ever done anything to them. We have never attacked them, confiscated their land or desecrated their temple, have we? No, come to think of it, those are all things that the Judeans have done to us over the last century.

“No, the only grievance that they have is the way that we worship. Oh, we worship the same God and follow the same scriptures (or at least they’re pretty much the same). No, it is just, they say, that we worship God in the wrong place and have some different traditions. That’s it.

“And it is not as if we could do anything to change their opinion of us. We aren’t welcome to worship in their temple in Jerusalem. And no reform of our worship will ever be good enough for them. So, it’s really nothing that we have done to make them hate us and nothing that we could do to make them stop. Is it any wonder that I feel so helpless every time I pass through Judea?”

A Priest

As Hiel continued down the road, there was a man approaching from the other direction. He was – as was abundantly clear from his fancy robes and high attitudes – one of the priests of the Jerusalem temple. As he went past, Hiel fully expected the man to insult him or maybe even spit at him, as such priests loved to do to Samaritans.

Much to his surprise, though, the priest did nothing of the sort. Rather than displaying the haughtiness for which the priesthood was famous, he appeared flustered and spooked, as if he’d seen some horror.

A Levite

Soon after him came a Levite. The Levites also worked in the temple carrying out more menial tasks. As this man approached, his attitude was much like the priest’s had been. He was so upset and hurried that he scarcely gave Hiel a glance, much less the customary sneer he usually would have received.

The Samaritan did not understand what was going on, but he was happy enough to see these men having a hard time. The Judeans had done enough to destroy the worship and priesthood of the Samaritans over the years.

Persecution of Samaria

Just over a century ago and entirely unprovoked, the Judeans had come and attacked Galilee just north of Samaria. In a series of bloody battles, they had seized control of the land dispossessing Samaritans and Syrians alike. That alone would have been affront enough.

“But even worse,” Hiel said to himself, “about twenty-five years before that, they came into the heart of our land and destroyed our most holy place. They razed the temple of the Lord at Mount Gerazim and killed our priests. Ever since, they have prevented us from rebuilding.”

Hiel had been to the mountain many times to attend festivals and to sacrifice. There, among the ruins, the Samaritans continued to worship in defiance of what the Judeans had done to them. “They tried to make it so that we couldn’t worship,” he muttered, “but we show them. We worship among the ruins as a continual reminder to ourselves of their cruelty and impiety! We will not give them the satisfaction of stopping us from worshipping God!”

Something on the Road

Hiel was so caught up in all of the reasons he had for hating Judeans, that it took him a while to recognize what seemed like an odd pile of rags by the side of the road just ahead of him.

Every step brought him closer, and the realization quickly began to dawn on him that this was not just garbage that someone had left. It was a person – or maybe it had recently been one. As he made out human features that were bruised and bloody, he began to understand what it was that had made the priest and the Levite so upset.

Clearly, this man had been assaulted by one of the brigands that this road was famous for. They had beaten him, taken everything he had and left him to die. As he saw this, he wondered why the others hadn’t been willing to stop and help him. Weren’t they all Judeans? They all worshiped in the same place, according to them, in the proper way. And yet, despite that, the priest and the Levite had seen no need to pause and help a fellow Judean.

Excuses

And sure, they might have given the excuse that, if they did touch him and he died (which he seemed close enough to be doing), it would have rendered them incapable of serving in the temple. No one who had come into contact with a dead body was allowed to serve without going through the purification rituals.

But surely, that was a silly excuse. The law was clear that the obligation to save someone’s life was more important than any purity law. And anyways, neither of them had been traveling up to the temple but rather away from it, so they did not have any temple duties.

No, they had clearly shown in their actions that having things in common – even worshiping the same God in the same way – did not mean that they had to love one another. Perhaps seeing him had made them feel a bit uncomfortable, but they had felt no obligation to take care of him.

What Would He Do?

But, as Hiel stood there, looking down upon the bleeding Judean, he was left with one question. What about him?

He had no doubt whatsoever that if their places were exchanged, if he were the one lying beaten by the side of the road instead, this man would not help him. He would see only a cursed Samaritan who didn’t worship properly. The Priest and the Levite would not give him a second thought either, unless that thought was that he deserved to be beaten. If they had not helped their own countryman, they certainly would not have helped him.

Not Acting Like a Judean

But did that let Hiel off the hook? Did he really want to become like them? No, the last thing he wanted to be was like a Judean. He did not want to become someone who judged and rejected someone else just because they were different or did things differently.

And so, in that moment, Hiel decided to do the most un-Judean thing that he could think of. He opened his packs. He took out a bottle of the wine he was bringing back for trade and a jar of the oil. He took his second-best tunic and began to rip it into strips to make bandages.

He took care of the wounded Judean by the side of the road and then he put him on his donkey to take him someplace where he could recuperate.

A Strange Twist

When Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbour?” he answered with a story. The story had a strange twist to it. He was speaking to fellow Judeans. You might expect him to tell them a story where a Judean performed an extraordinary act of love towards a hated Samaritan.

But he didn’t tell that story. He told the opposite. He told of a despised Samaritan who chose to love someone whom he had every reason to hate.

Who We Owe Love to

That’s what makes what he did such an extraordinary act of love. And that says so much to us today. It certainly provides an answer to the question of who we owe the greatest love to. If we want to live out the kind of love of neighbour that Jesus was talking about, we cannot limit that love only to those most like us and closest to us.

Jesus tells the story as a way of illustrating that choosing to love those who are far away from us, doesn’t limit how much love we have. On the contrary, it only allows love to grow. For love is something that is limited only when we fail to share it.

Samaritans and Judeans

I also think that Jesus’ story has many things to teach us about those that we are tempted to look down upon and despise. The Samaritans really had never done anything to hurt the Judeans other than live their own lives and worship God in their own way.

But the Judeans had attacked them, taken away their land and destroyed their rituals and customs. I think that Jesus was saying something very powerful when he suggested that it was easier for a Samaritan to act in love towards a Judean than for it to happen the other way around.

Our Attitudes Towards Those We’ve Hurt

For, you see, when we have acted in hurtful ways towards others, it is always easier for us to think of them as somehow less than us. So long as we don’t come face to face with their humanity, we fail to come to terms with some of the things that we or our ancestors have done to them.

It is only our own failure to live up to everything that God has called us to be that prevents us from loving.

A Story to Meditate on

The story that Jesus told about that man beaten and left by the side of the road is a story that is meant to shake up all our assumptions about human relationships. It is meant to challenge you to think about those who are different from you in new ways. That is not easy to do. But I’m really thankful that Jesus gave us this story for us to remember and meditate upon. Please take this story with you and do exactly that.

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Crieff, 20 July, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Baptism
Isaiah 7:1-7, 10-16, Psalm 78:1-7

I want to start out today by acknowledging the incredible gift that Erin and Bryce have given to us today. They have allowed us the wonderful privilege to be a part of their celebration of this most amazing and wonderful thing that has happened to them: the birth of their son.

We have all been given the privilege of participating in this very personal and family event. They have chosen to share it, not only with the church where Bryce is a member, Knox Crieff, but all four of our congregations today. We all get to be part of it. Isn’t that simply amazing?

And the best thing about all of that is that this is not just a personal celebration, or a family celebration, nor even a single congregational celebration. We have been privileged to be part of a cosmic and world-changing event that is meant to give us all hope.

The Opening Scene

Let me explain what I mean by taking us into the opening scene of our reading from the Prophet Isaiah this morning. Our reading opens with a whole bunch of names and places that I realize don’t mean a thing to any of you. One king makes an alliance with another king and together they decide to go up and attack another king. It all sounds serious but, who cares, since we don’t know any of these people or places.

So let us put it in terms that maybe we can relate to. In the days of Carney, son of Carney son of Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, Israel and America went up to bomb Iran but did not conquer it and Netanyahu was bombing the people of Gaza. And Ukraine and Russia were sending squadrons of deadly drones against each other.

An epidemic of measles was quickly spreading across the land, and tariffs were causing economic turmoil. The forests were on fire and the rivers were rising in deadly flood. “And the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.”

Why Their Hearts were Shaking

Does that sound a little bit more relevant? Does that make a little bit more sense and do you understand why the heart of the people was shaking? Everywhere you look these days it seems as if things are falling apart. Things that we once took for granted – things that made us feel safe and prosperous – just no longer seem reliable.

So, the people are shaking and the king, Ahaz, is trembling. No one quite seems to know what to do. I don’t know about you, but just about every time I look at news these days, there seems to be something that sets my heart to shaking like the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

And, on top of everything else, the church – which is supposed to give us a grounding and foundation in our lives so that we are not shaking – is going through times of difficult change which are disturbing.

A Message of Hope

And, amid all that shaking, God sends the Prophet Isaiah to the king with a message of hope. Oh, Isaiah admitted that things looked troubling but insisted that shaking was not in order. He said that the people threatening them were like “two smoldering stumps of firebrands” – that it was all smoke but little fire.

But things were going so badly that the king was unconvinced. So, Isaiah went on to offer him something that would convince him. “Ask a sign of the Lord your God;” he said, “let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” Ask God to do something – anything – to prove it to you, the prophet invited him.

But I guess that the king was too discouraged because he refused to even ask for a sign. “I will not ask,” he insisted, “and I will not put the Lord to the test.” So, Isaiah did something extraordinary. He said, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.”

The Sign

And that brings us directly to why we are here today. What is the sign that God offers? “Look,” Isaiah says, pointing no doubt at the thing that the king is supposed to look at. “Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.”

Apparently, Isaiah is pointing at a young woman who is there with the king’s entourage. Perhaps she is one of the king’s new young wives. He points at this woman with a growing belly, and he makes the bold but not particularly wild prediction that her pregnancy will lead to the birth of a child. And the child will be the sign given to the king by God.

And how, exactly, is the birth of this child going to be a sign from God that we should not lose heart despite all that’s happening in the world? For that, we look to the name of this child. “The young woman… shall name him Immanuel.” And “Immanuel” is a Hebrew word that means “God is with us.” So, this young child is a sign from God which means that God is with us.

Matthew’s Use of This Verse

This was a message given to that king at that moment when the hearts of the people were shaking. Isaiah was speaking about a child who would soon be born and would be a sign of hope.

And I realize that Christians, as soon as they read that verse, lose sight of that original setting. We have been told every Christmas of our lives that that verse is only about the birth of Jesus – that Jesus was born of a virgin and that he and he alone is the one whose birth means that God is with us.

That is, of course, because the Gospel of Matthew interprets this prophecy of Isaiah as being about Jesus. And, let me be clear here, Matthew is not wrong!

Jesus is the one whose birth brings us hope and he – in his own body – has shown us what it means that God is with us more clearly than anyone who has ever lived. He was also born of a virgin – which was not the word that Isaiah used when he spoke to the king, but it got translated that way in the Bible that Matthew was using when he wrote his Gospel.

Something that Continues to Happen

But just because Matthew’s application of this prophecy to Jesus is correct, that doesn’t mean that Isaiah wasn’t talking about a young woman who was present that day. He clearly was. What Matthew’s insight actually tells us is that there was something eternal about Isaiah’s prophecy that day. He was also talking about something that would continue to happen over and over again.

And that is what we are here celebrating today, because what Isaiah said, I’m here to tell you today that it has happened again. God has spoken to us today, even as we are shaking like the trees in the forest before the wind, because of all that is going on in the world. God has spoken to us in the same way – a young woman has conceived and borne a son, and she and her husband have brought him to us today as a sign.

Why Denny is a Sign

How exactly is Denny a sign for us? In so many ways. He is a sign because he is new life in a world where there is too much death these days. He is new life for the church, a sign that God will continue to bring children and young people into our churches as we act in faith and minister to them in trust.

He is also a message to us in the same way that a newborn child was in Isaiah’s time. One thing Isaiah was trying to do was give them some perspective on the disasters they were obsessing over.

Isaiah goes on to say this about the child who was to be born: “He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.” That is just a fancy way of saying that the child will grow up and by the time he gets to a certain age, the threat they’re all worried about will have disappeared.

Perspective on Troubling Events

What that means in terms that we might understand today is that Denny is going to grow up. Before long he will begin to walk and talk and try different foods and do all kinds of things. It will go by so fast. And when he does grow up all the things and people and political leaders we are so worried about right now will be gone.

This is a truth that I have observed repeatedly throughout my life. There are always things to be anxious about. This is true in our personal lives, in the church and on the world political stage. But the things that we get hung up over almost never turn out as we fear.

Yes, they may turn out differently and still be bad. And once the present threats have disappeared, no doubt something new will come along. I’m not promising that everything’s going to go great. But what I’m saying is, let’s not waste any energy fearing specific scenarios that we can't do anything about and that might never come to pass. Denny is a promise that the world will change in unexpected ways and sooner than we think. There is comfort in realizing that.

A Sign of God’s Salvation

But, more than anything else, I believe that Denny is a message to us today that God is with us. God is reaching out to save us, and we have baptized him because we believe that God has anointed him to do that for us.

I’m going to speak directly to Denny here, if you don’t mind. You’re welcome to listen in. I know he may not remember what I say, but I’m going to give him a copy of my words so that he can keep them.

Denny, we have baptized you here today because we believe that there is incredible potential in you to bring hope and life and new beginnings to our world so that the whole world may know that God is with us.

Unlimited Potential

I do not know how you will do that. We celebrate newborns because we know that their potential is unlimited. That is true of every child, but I hope you don’t mind if I say that my expectations are particularly high for you.

For one thing, look at this incredible family you have been born into. I know you don’t know this yet, but your mother is not just the person who gave you life, she is a brilliant scientist and public health doctor who is working to protect the people of Hamilton Region (and we who live nearby too) from the spread of devastating diseases. She is the kind of hero that we need these days, and I believe that her role is only going on get more crucial.

And as for your father, he is not just your hero. He is a dedicated educator who is doing his best to prepare our young people for some of the significant challenges that we know they will face in the years to come. Where would we be without people like him?

So, if you were to follow in the footsteps of either of your parents, you would definitely be a sign of God’s presence among us. But the amazing thing is that you don’t even have to do either of those things. You can take all the gifts and abilities and wisdom they share with you and set your own course.

An Act of Faith

We have baptised you today as an act of faith that, whatever course you eventually take, it is going to be amazing. We’ll all be looking forward to seeing what you do, and we have all promised – and especially the people of Knox Crieff have promised – that we will do whatever we can to encourage and support that amazing outcome.

And Denny, your great gift to us today is that you have allowed us to be part of the beginning of the amazing journey that lies before you. Thank you, and all thanks be to God!

Just a reminder that we worship today at Doon Presbyterian Church,35 Roos St. Kitchener, Ontario N2P 2B9

We hope you can make it out for a wonderful celebration, but just in case you can't, know that Doon will be livestreaming the service on their web site: https://doonpc.com/

Watch sermon video here:

https://youtu.be/z2LaO05L2nM

Doon, July 13, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Acts 27:13-14, 18-38, Psalm 25:1-10, Colossians 1:1-14, Luke 10:25-37

The sailors have been fighting a ceaseless battle against the wind and the waves for two full weeks. Caught in a storm of change, they have been unable to escape the power of its winds that have driven them at an unrelenting pace. And the crisis that the church is facing is so dire that they have worked themselves into utter exhaustion. They have not even been able to eat properly, and the lack of sustenance has caused them to become mean and irritable with one another.

They have also been making hard choices. They have had to do whatever they can just to keep the church afloat. They’ve already had to sacrifice the ship’s tackle and gear, those items that are supposed to be used to give the ship purpose and direction. They have had to throw these things overboard, sacrificing it all just in order to gain a little bit more buoyancy so that the ship does not go under.

And, after fourteen days of this, of course they are all feeling discouraged and fearful for the survival of their “boat.” They may just feel ready to give up altogether. That is where we find ourselves in our reading this morning from the Book of Acts.

Heavy-Handed Metaphor

And I know I what you’re thinking. “Okay, Scott, we get it. You don’t need to hit us over the head with such a heavy-handed metaphor. The ship is a traditional symbol of the church. The storm represents the tumultuous times of change that we are living through. The tackle thrown overboard is our vision which gets dumped when we’re afraid for our survival. And we are the poor overworked sailors who are getting irritable because we are spiritually malnourished. We get it! But do you really have to read our specific situation into every story you find in the Bible?”

Ah, but you don’t understand me. It is not me who is putting the struggles we are facing into this story, I am convinced that the author of this passage has given us no choice but to take this story and apply it directly to the life of the church, and that is because of what happens on the fourteenth day.

The Eye of the Storm

On the fourteenth day of the storm, there is a sudden break in the weather. The storm clouds have not disappeared. They still surround them on every horizon, dark and menacing. But, for a few moments, the sky directly overhead clears, the winds slack off a bit, and people get a few moments to breathe.

It makes me wonder whether they may have actually been caught in a hurricane and have just come into the eye of the storm, which may seem like a place of safety. But any experienced sailor knows that it is not. But whatever has caused this, it is a moment of much-needed calm.

And during this calm, something extraordinary happens. A man steps forward. As he stands before them, one pure ray of sunlight breaks through the clouds and falls directly on his bald head. The entire crew looks toward him in surprise and wonder. And he speaks to them words of comfort and encouragement – words of life when all that surrounds them is death.

Shipboard Communion?

And then he takes a loaf of bread and, giving thanks to God, he lifts it up and breaks it before them. And he eats a mouthful as they watch. And then, one by one, the sailors and the passengers on the boat come forward, and they take a piece of bread and eat and find comfort and strength.

Oh come on! Are you trying to tell me that we are not supposed to recognize what just happened as a church service? We just had a sermon and communion! At the time that this Book of Acts was written, the earliest rituals of worship and communion were already established. The first readers would have immediately recognized it, and so should we.

And so, there is no question in my mind that the writer of the Book of Acts (traditionally called Luke) intentionally told this story in order to say something about the challenges facing the church in his own day. And if it spoke to the challenges that the early church faced, it surely speaks to the challenges that we face.

Our Present Storm

It is not hard to compare the situation of the church today to a storm. The winds of change that are whipping around all of our churches are many, and they are blowing strong. There are societal shifts and demographic shifts. We are facing a crisis in clergy leadership – both in terms of finding them and in terms of paying them. And I’m sure we could go on.

Let’s be clear here – this is not new. The church has been in the storm many times before in its long history. As I say, the author of the Acts presents this story as being about the church in his day, but it has happened again and again.

Every storm is different, and each brings its unique challenges, but the messages and the promises that speak to Paul’s storm continue to speak to the church just as clearly as we face our contemporary storm.

Not a Boat Full of Christians

So, what are the messages to the church that we need to pay attention to in this story today? I’m going to start with the one that people might want to point to to say that this story is not actually about the church. There is the simple fact that the boat in this story is actually not full of Christians.

Paul is on this ship because he is a prisoner who is being transferred to Rome. It is never explicitly said, but it does seem like he has a few companions with him. One of them is even telling the story using the first-person plural – “we” did this and this happened to “us.” But there is no explanation for why Paul would have been allowed to bring friends with him, and it really doesn’t make much sense that he would have.

But clearly, even if there are a few Christians, everyone else on the ship is a pagan. There are soldiers, other prisoners, sailors and other people who have bought passage. So, when everyone gathers on the deck of the ship in the eye of the storm, this can’t be a church gathering, can it?

For Whom the Church Exists

Well, of course it can! This is one of the most powerful misconceptions that we have about the church. We assume that the church exists for the sake of Christians. But it doesn't. The church exists for the sake of those who are not part of it, or, at the very least, for those who are not yet part of it.

And as Paul took that loaf of bread and broke it, he did not do it only to feed his companions. He knew that their small presence on the ship would mean nothing unless it also brought strength, hope and meaning to the lives of everyone on board.

Paul and his few companions are therefore a metaphor for how a small church can have a big impact on the whole society. And that continues to be the mission of the church to the whole world, even if we are in the midst of a storm.

Paul’s Leadership

Another odd thing about this whole story is the important role that Paul plays. He is only a prisoner and should have no status on the ship. And yet again and again throughout this story, we see him taking on a leadership role. He gives opinions about when and where to sail. He tells the captain and the centurion what to do at various points. And, of course, he even gathers the entire ship’s complement to address them.

This all makes little sense from an historical perspective, of course. Why would a prisoner be given any sort of status in that situation? But again, I think there is a message in that for us in the church today.

Finding Relevance Today

There was a time – and many of us remember it – when the church was given automatic respect and deference in our society. But today, thanks to numerous church scandals in most denominations and the spiritual diversity of society, we no longer get that. And we often conclude, because of that, that we are now irrelevant and can have no impact on society.

But Paul’s importance on that ship, despite having no status or position, is a message for the church today. If we, like Paul, can dare to stand up and speak in words of hope and purpose into situations where people are lost and despairing, we will earn that relevance and voice that is no longer given to us automatically.

Irrational Sailors

During the storm, there is an odd incident where Paul particularly steps up in leadership. “The sailors tried to escape from the ship and had lowered the boat into the sea on the pretext of putting out anchors from the bow,” it says.

And this, many readers have noticed, really makes no sense at all. The sailors are not acting rationally. If the bigger ship is in danger of sinking or capsizing in the storm, there is absolutely no way that even the most experienced sailor is going to survive in a rowboat.

Importance of Working Together

It makes no sense, therefore, that the sailors would have done that, but that is exactly the kind of nonsensical thinking that we fall into far too easily in the church these days. As soon as the waters get rough, we start to think only about our own little lifeboat. We huddle in together and concentrate on bailing. We even make the ridiculous assumption that, if we just let all the other lifeboats go down, ours will become miraculously more buoyant.

But it just doesn’t work like that when you’re caught in the storm. As Paul insists, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” If we stay isolated in our own lifeboats, the storm will overtake us. But Paul speaks to offer us hope. If we all work together, we will be able to thrive.

I Told You So

There is one particular thing that we need to understand about the hope that Paul offers to us today, though. He is very specific about it. At another point, he addresses the ship’s company to explain exactly what God is committed to preserving.

“Men,” he proclaims, “you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss.” Yes, Paul actually got up and said, “I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.” And we usually say things like that to make ourselves feel good and to put other people down.

No Loss of Life

But Paul actually says this for very different reason. He is about to give them good and hopeful news. “I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you.” But he also wants them to understand that this salvation is not because they have done the right thing. They have made the wrong decision again and again. But he is telling them that God will save them anyway.

And God will save us. We may make the wrong decisions in our churches. We may foolishly act in self-centred and self-serving ways. We may let our pride or fear guide us rather than our trust and our faith. But God is faithful. God is committed to you and you and you as believers and will not fail you. God is committed to us as the church, the body of Christ. God will save you and not just in the next life but in this one.

But Only of the Ship

But – and yes, Paul adds a but. “There will be no loss of life among you,” he continues, “but only of the ship.” And I will leave it to you to reflect on what the ship represents in our present context. As the story continues, what Paul predicts comes true as various parts of the ship – the tackle and ropes, the lifeboats, its precious cargo of grain – are jettisoned one by one. Finally, the ship itself is broken apart when it runs aground at Malta.

What might we have to jettison in the present storm – what traditions, independence, how many “we’ve always done it that ways” will have to go overboard? I don’t know. But we will have to remain open to all of that. And will some or even all of our physical structures be broken up on the reefs of the Island of Malta? I cannot say.

All of what may come may be traumatic, but do not doubt for one minute God’s promises to you – both to you individually, but also to you as the church, the gathered people of God. If you trust in midst of the storm, not one of you will perish.

An Invitation to Hope

Once all those pagans on that ship had eaten the broken bread with Paul, they found the courage to hope and to do what needed to be done. “After they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.”

And so, I invite you now. I found this bread in the hold of the ship downstairs this morning. The storm has been raging, and you have been in suspense and lacking sufficient spiritual nourishment for some time now. Therefore, I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive, for none of you will lose a hair from your heads. Thanks be to God who will always provide what we need most.

Watch sermon video here:

https://youtu.be/YG1EjXrVe6E

Hespeler June 29, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Third Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings 19:15-21, Psalm 16, Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9:51-62

Of all the time management tools that I have ever tried, the one that I can never quite get a handle on is the to-do list. The time management gurus will tell you that this is the great tool, the tool that will set you free. You just create a list of all the things that you have to get done, breaking them up into the smallest steps, and you put one of those infernal check boxes to the side of each one.

It’s motivational, they say. Every time you finish one small task you get to check off the box and you feel this little endorphin boost and it makes you feel like you have the energy you need to tackle the next one.

Don’t Work for Me

It doesn’t really work for me. When I make the list, I am much more likely to feel overwhelmed than motivated. It reminds me more of what I haven’t done than it makes me think of what I could do. And making and maintaining the list itself just feels to me as if I am adding another task to the ones that I already have too many of.

But that is just me. Maybe they do work better for you; in fact, I hope that they do. But as one of the to-do list challenged people of this world, I am just glad to know, in our reading from 1 Kings this morning, that I am not alone.

Elijah’s Crisis

Last week we read the story of how the Prophet Elijah went through a major crisis. In a moment of great emergency and danger he performed one of the most amazing feats of running away in the history of running away. He ran away from Queen Jezebel who had threatened his life and he ran all the way from Samaria to Mount Horeb. That is an incredible distance of over 600 km. It would normally take someone walking at a reasonable pace about 18 days.

He was running because he didn’t know how to respond to the crisis. He went to Mount Horeb, that place where God had appeared to Moses, because he clearly wanted God to tell him what to do. And, in our reading this morning, God actually does that. God appears to Elijah in the midst of the sound of sheer silence and gives him a to-do list.

Short List

The list is mercifully short. There are only three check boxes. He is to anoint Hazael as king over Aram, anoint Jehu as king over Israel and anoint Elisha as prophet in his own place. And that really seems like a wonderful thing that God does for Elijah, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t you love to receive a clear and concise list like that directly from God? Wouldn’t you love to know with absolute clarity what you needed to do in order to obey God?

But here is the thing that has always puzzled me about this story. Of those three simple tasks, the Bible tells us that Elijah only ticked off one to-do box. We read the story this morning of how he called Elisha to be his disciple. He didn’t literally anoint him with oil, but he definitely called him. So the final item is checked off the list.

The Other Two Items

But what about the other two? Well, that is quite the story. You see in both of those cases, the person to be anointed was someone serving a ruling king as a subordinate. They were not the heirs. They hadn’t been chosen to succeed the previous king. In both cases they killed the ruling monarch. So, what God is telling Elijah to do is engineer a coup by telling these men that they can become kings of their countries.

God is telling Elijah to meddle in the politics of two nations – his own and its biggest neighbour. What’s more, he is being told to do it in the most disruptive and destructive way imaginable. This will lead to endless death and violence, as God admits by summing up, “Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill, and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill.”

Engineering Coups

Can you imagine such a thing today? Can you imagine one country deciding to bomb another in order to bring about regime change? Even worse, can you imagine a Canadian Christian clergy person going to Federal Cabinet Minister Chrystia Freeland and telling her that, if she were to mount a violent coup to take out Prime Minister Carney, that God would be with her and she would succeed? Can you imagine that preacher then going to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and telling him to do the same thing to Trump?

Of course not! That would be madness! That would be seen as an unacceptable intrusion of religion into politics. And it is a disturbing reflection of the deeply troubling times that we are living in that I actually wouldn’t be surprised if we did see something like that happen (at least in the U.S) before the end of this year?

Disturbing Idea

But that is the disturbing idea that is raised in this story – this idea of people of faith intervening in the world of politics and not even to try to make things better. God is not asking Elijah to advocate for laws and politicians that he supports – that would be one thing and not necessarily a bad thing if done appropriately.

No, this is about people of faith intervening in order to stir things up and cause violence and chaos. This is about disrupting the entire system in the hope that maybe, once the dust settles, there might be a chance of building a better system from the ground up.

Modern Like-Minded People

And yet, even as I say that, I realize that there are at least some Christians in our world today who are rooting for exactly that. They are hoping that the latest troubles in the Middle East or Iran or on the streets of Los Angeles blow up into World War III so that the world comes to an end and Jesus can return. And, once again, it is a symptom of the times that we are living in that that seems somewhat possible these days.

In any case, that is what is at stake in the to-do list that God gives to Elijah. And if Elijah were to have followed through on two of those bullet points, I think I would be troubled by that. I would wonder how we are supposed to apply that to our modern Christian lives and particularly what it would say about how we are to live as people of faith in such troubling political times.

He Didn’t Do It

But, as I say, Elijah didn’t do it. We know that he didn’t do it because we are told, later on in the Second Book of Kings, that other people engineered those coups, and they did so after Elijah was gone. Jehu was anointed by an unnamed prophet sent by Elisha in the ninth chapter of 2 Kings. (9:1-13) And Elisha himself provoked Hazael to rebel against his master in the eighth chapter. (2 Kings 8:7-15)

And you may say, “Big deal. So what if Elijah didn’t do the anointing himself and it didn’t happen for a while. It still happened, which means that God is still in control. Who cares if there is a little glitch in the text and that Elijah doesn’t complete his to-do list?”

A Message for Us

Well, I care. As I have said many times, I don’t believe in glitches in the text. Sure, sometimes there may be contradictions and plot holes and historical errors, but I have accepted that this is a book inspired by God, which means that I have to struggle with all of those things and try to find the message in those things for us.

And I think there is a message for us in Elijah’s to-do list failure, and it is a message that is particularly helpful for these tumultuous times in which we find ourselves.

For one thing, anyway, I’ve got to admit that I really appreciate Elijah’s hesitancy to wade into such disruptive political acts. There is a long history of the Christian faith that has demonstrated again and again that some very terrible things can result when that line between politics and religion is breached.

Many of the worst abuses of power, the massacres and the atrocities that nations have carried out in their history have occurred when political leaders took their cue from religious leaders. I think we should definitely hesitate to open the door to such possibilities again. And yet, there is always the question of how to balance that hesitancy against the demands of living faithfully.

Declaration of Faith Concerning Church and Nation

It was 76 years ago that the Presbyterian Church in Canada wrestled with this problem. At that time, the church produced a document called the Declaration of Faith Concerning Church and Nation. (Click to download)

This was produced at a time when our denomination still had a fair bit of political influence in this country. At that very moment, we were enthusiastically participating in the government program of Residential Schools for indigenous children – something that the church saw as greatly benefiting itself at the expense, as we have since been made abundantly aware, of the welfare of the indigenous nations and people.

Wise Counsel

And yet, this document wisely counselled that the church must approach such things with care. “Christians must always do their utmost to honour the civil laws, and to fulfil all statutory obligations whether financial or personal, as unto Christ the Head. Nevertheless, no citizen is thereby relieved of his constant responsibility to work for the remedy of any unjust statute, or iniquitous assessment, or violation of conscience.”

That statement is still considered to be so important that, when ministers and elders are ordained, we accept this document as one of our standards. And I do not think we should forget it because it can be so hard to sort out that tension between supporting the state and advocating for what is right and just within the state.

And so, yes, let us continue to hesitate to jump on in, let us always be ready to give sober and careful thought as this document shows us. I have actually printed a few copies of the document. It isn’t long and you should read it if you haven’t.

Disruption

So, I do appreciate Elijah’s hesitance. Of course, none of that ultimately stops the kind of disruption that God seems to be calling for from occurring. The men did eventually get anointed with all of the negative and violent consequences that came with that. I see a message in that as well.

The reality of this world seems to be that these kinds of disruptions do occur. We may do everything that we can to make sure that we set up good and just systems. But no political system is perfect.

Cracks will begin to form sooner or later, especially when there are big disparities in wealth and power in a society. Those who have a lot tend to create rules that will get them even more while those who have not increasingly feel that they can no longer succeed without breaking the rules.

Tumultuous Times

One way or another, whatever order is created in this world will break down sooner or later. And I don’t necessarily want to be the one making predictions here, but it does seem that we are moving into such a time. And I think that God giving these disruptive to-dos to Elijah, even if Elijah himself does not follow through on them, is a way of saying that we cannot completely avoid this kind of turmoil in life.

Yes, let’s do whatever we can to find other ways to bring about positive change. But also take comfort from knowing that, even in the major disruptions that sometimes erupt in this world, God can be at work.

In the end, Elijah is put in a difficult spot when he encounters God at Mount Horeb. God seems to be saying that they are coming to a moment when the only way of acting is in this disruptive political way. I am glad that Elijah hesitates to do that. I hesitate too.

But let us also take some wisdom from the to-do that Elijah actually follows through on. He calls Elisha as his disciple. He chooses, in other words, to enter into partnership and community. He finds someone who he can support and who can support him. That creation of solidarity is always the right thing to do. And if we can build our coalitions of those who are committed to God’s justice in this often-unjust world, we will be well placed, no matter what difficult times may come.

Watch sermon video here:

https://youtu.be/b92O_AjCZDU

Hespeler, June 22, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Second Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings 19:1-15, Psalm 42, Galatians 3:23-29, Luke 8:26-39

How would you react in an emergency situation? Would you know what to do when the alarms went off? For some strange reason, one that I can’t quite put my finger on, that was a question that was very much on my mind as I prepared for this morning’s service. It is an important question. Emergencies are situations that naturally provoke confusion, panic and fear. When those sorts of emotions are in play, it can be very easy to react in the wrong way.

And that can be a big problem because emergencies, by definition, happen when you don’t expect them. Why, one could even break out amid a Sunday morning worship service. And that is, of course, why we sometimes carry out drills so that people can work out how they will react before the emergency occurs. But the reality is that we may never know how we will react until we find ourselves in the actual situation.

Elijah’s Emergency

The prophet Elijah had been feeling pretty good about his accomplishments lately. He had engineered a confrontation with the prophets of the god Baal, and he had beaten them at their own game. He had pressed his advantage and led the people as they attacked and slaughtered the priests of the foreign god.

But his good mood was suddenly destroyed when a messenger arrived from Queen Jezebel, who was a patron of the god. It was short and to the point. “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.”

As you can imagine, that set off immediate alarm bells in Elijah’s head. Honestly, he shouldn’t have been surprised. He had been the first to resort to violence. It shouldn’t have been unexpected that violence might be turned back against him. But there is a great difference between thinking that there might be some consequence and having that consequence suddenly spelled out for you in such stark terms. This was not a drill!

Elijah Chooses Flight

And how did Elijah react? Not particularly well. He was filled with confusion, fear and panic. These emotions immediately triggered that part of his brain that makes us react to danger with either fight or flight. And which option did Elijah take? “Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.” And let’s recognize that reaction for what it is. Not only did Elijah run away, he fled the country. Beer-sheba is about as far as you can go from the Kingdom of Israel without leaving civilization altogether. And, of course, he was not yet finished running.

Now, let’s be clear here. Flight is absolutely an appropriate response to a dangerous situation. It is often the best thing to do. When the building is on fire, yes, you should get out. But how you do that is also important. Unhelpful reactions like panic and disorderliness can make the whole situation worse. The worst outcomes often take place because people do not flee the scene in an orderly and calm manner.

So, let us not judge Elijah for running away. But let’s take a critical look at how he ran because we might well learn something that will help us to deal with the crises and emergencies that we encounter in our lives.

Isolation

Here is the first thing I notice about how he responded that is often problematic for us as well. “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree.” Here we see Elijah isolating himself, and how many times have you seen people respond like that when things go wrong?

For many people, their automatic response when anything happens that makes them feel vulnerable is to cut themselves off from anyone who might give them support or help. They are afraid, perhaps, that other people might see them struggling, that they might appear to be something other than self-sufficient. The very idea that they might need help from somebody else seems even more intolerable than anything else in the situation.

Depression

I understand where the temptation comes from, of course, but it only makes a bad situation worse. We human beings were made to live together in community. We were made to need each other. And you only make things worse when you isolate yourself because things have gone wrong.

Not surprisingly, therefore, when Elijah isolated himself, things immediately began to spiral for him. He fell into a deep depression. “He asked that he might die, ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’”

And, yes, depression is always a danger when we go through difficult times. But I think that there is also a lesson for us in how he handles his situational depression. Sometimes we may be tempted to bottle up all of those negative feelings inside – to hide them from others, from God or even from ourselves. We think that not expressing it all is a way of being strong and faithful. But that is a big mistake.

Learning to Lament

Holding it in can make it rot and fester, and that is what makes those feelings toxic. That is what can turn situational depression into endless cycles of inescapable depression. And so, take note of how Elijah let his feelings out. He didn’t hesitate to express them to God.

And I know some who struggle with that. They think that expressing their gripes to God means that they have lost all faith.

If you ever think that, remember the example of Elijah. Remember the example of the psalmist who wrote that incredible psalm of lament that we read together this morning. Do not be afraid to express your negative emotions to God. God will always appreciate your honesty. What’s more, God’s feelings are far from fragile enough that you could hurt them with a genuine display of your emotions.

Where is God?

Now, we finally come to the biggest question of all that people face when things go wrong in this world. Where is God in the middle of the disaster? I constantly talk with people who ask why God allowed this disaster to happen or that disaster to take place. They seem to think that, if they can only find some divine meaning or purpose in it, everything will be all right.

But, as Elijah’s story of emergency preparedness continues, I think we might get a different perspective on that obsession. He continued his journey of escape and finally came to a mountain called Horeb. This is a very significant location, of course, because it is the very place where Moses met with God and received the Law. It is also known, in some of the accounts, as Mount Sinai.

So, the prophet had come to the ideal place to answer the question of where God is in the midst of all the terrible events and disasters of life. But let us see how God answered his question. God told Elijah that he was about to pass by him, that he was to stand out on this mountain of God, and he would finally understand.

Three Disasters

And what happened next is crazy. While Elijah stood there, three of the worst disasters that you can imagine passed by. First, he was assailed by a gale-force wind – the kind of wind that destroys whole cities in tornadoes and hurricanes. Next, there was an earthquake, which can be even more destructive. Finally, there was a fire, an emergency so devastating that we actually run drills to prepare for one, all while we fervently hope that we never have to actually deal with one.

So we have the three most stereotypical disasters that you could imagine. Surely we will now get the answer to the question, where is God when disaster strikes? Except that’s not quite the answer that we get, is it? Was God in the wind? No. Was God in the earthquake? No. Was God in the Fire? No! In each case, we are told that God was not.

Now, there are some things that we shouldn’t read into that. That does not mean that God is absent when we are going through trials. For one thing, we believe in an omnipresent God – that there is no place in this world where God is not. It also doesn’t mean that God is not there with us when we go through difficult times. On the contrary, people of faith often find that it is at such times that God actually joins us in our suffering, comforting and sustaining us when things are at their worst.

No Answers

No, what I think this story is saying is that we may not always find an answer to that perplexing question of why from God in the midst of the wind, the earthquake or the fire. In fact, we may never get that answer that we often crave. That doesn’t mean there is no answer or that God doesn’t have a plan; it just means that such an answer may not be given to us.

And I think that God is telling Elijah and us that that is okay. Not knowing the answer is okay. The wind, the earthquake and the fire may not give you any sort of answer when you are in the midst of them. After all, disasters often overwhelm us so completely that all we can do is react. There may not even be time to think, much less come to a deeper understanding of why bad things happen.

You may not find God amidst the disaster. That doesn’t mean God isn’t there, and the story of Elijah shows us how we can become aware of that presence.

In the Silence

Where, then, did Elijah encounter God if not in the wind, earthquake or fire? “And after the fire [there came] a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.” And it quickly becomes clear that it is in that silence that God met with Elijah.

And there is certainly a message for you in that – a lesson on how to navigate the disasters of life: you will find God in the silence. And that doesn’t just mean that, after the storm has passed, you will be able to look back on it and discover what lessons you were meant to learn from it or what new strength you have gained by surviving it, though that certainly does happen sometimes.

But silence, you see, isn’t just something that sometimes happens to you. It is a practice that you can cultivate in yourself and that you can bring with you into any circumstance – even into the wind, earthquake and fire. By cultivating silence, through practices like prayer, meditation and contemplation, you can make it possible for the voice of God – which is always present, which is always seeking to lift you up and walk with you through the wind, earthquake and fire – to break through to you and you will know he is there.

Learning From All of This

As a result of our little drill here today, I do hope you will leave with a better understanding of what you ought to do should an emergency ever arise in a setting such as this. That is some pretty good, useful information to take away with you.

But perhaps the story of Elijah and how he came to terms with his “not-a-drill” situation can do even more to set your heart at ease. This story teaches us how our ongoing relationship with God equips us with resilience to face the ups and downs and challenges that do unexpectedly come into our lives from time to time.

And may you also resolve – each one of you – to build silence into your lives. It is something that everyone can do. Learn about mediation techniques, which are indeed ancient Christian practices. Make a point of finding times to turn off the noise in your life and your brain, which never stops. You might be surprised to discover just how near God has been all along.