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Hespeler, November 2, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4, Psalm 119:137-144, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12, Luke 19:1-10

Jesus came to the city of Jericho and was passing through it. This would have taken some time. Apart from Jerusalem, Jericho was the largest city that Jesus entered in all the gospels. It sprawled over a large area, including the old city within the legendary walls. It also included several new surrounding districts that had been constructed by Herod the Great.

Built overlooking one of the most important trade routes in the ancient world, many people who lived there had done very well for themselves by feeding off the trade. There was also an army of Tax Collectors that was there to make sure that the Roman government got more than its fair share.

And of course, this wealthy elite were supported by a multitude of slaves and poor labourers who actually kept the city running smoothly day by day.

Everyone Was There

Jesus was well known. As far as we can tell, he had not been to Jericho before, but his reputation certainly preceded him. Accounts of his incredible preaching and storytelling, not to mention the miraculous healings that took place wherever he travelled had spread far and wide.

Even more astounding, people were saying that that very morning, as he approached the city, Jesus had healed a blind beggar by the side of the road. It was said that the man could now see perfectly, and he had joined in the crowd of disciples who followed in the man’s wake.

And so, as you can imagine, as Jesus passed through the gates and into the old city, large crowds turned out to try and get a glimpse of this phenomenon. Everyone was there – rich and poor, slave and free.

Jesus’ Choice

Jesus could have chosen to single out anyone in the crowd that day. He could have healed this one of his affliction. He could have offered good news for to one who struggled in her poverty. There were also a few people who were quite comfortable in their wealth or standing that he would have been quite able to put in their place with a few choice words about camels and needles’ eyes. But he doesn’t seem to have done any of that.

Instead, we are told that among all the people in that vast crowd, his eye fell upon one figure. And Jesus apparently decided that this was the one person in all of Jericho that he needed to spend time with on this day. But why? Why out of everybody did Jesus choose Zacchaeus?

Zacchaeus’ Small Stature

Most Christians know a few things about Zacchaeus. The main thing they know, of course, is that he was short. “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he!” But Jesus mentions nothing about the man’s stature. His height is only mentioned in passing in the story itself.

I’m sure that there are a lot of people throughout the centuries who have been disrespected or even mistreated because they are small or because their bodies do not fit the ideal standards in some other way. If you have ever felt like that, then take great comfort from the knowledge that Jesus took notice of a short person. But I do not want to focus today on that reason for why Jesus noticed him.

An Outsider

Well, what about the fact that he was a Tax Collector? As someone who collaborated with the occupying Roman government, Zacchaeus was hated and despised by everybody. He was a social outcast. And Jesus seems to have had a big heart that was open wide for outcasts and outsiders.

So perhaps Jesus recognized him as such an outsider, and that is why he insisted on inviting himself to Zacchaeus’ house. If you have ever been made to feel like an outsider, you should take comfort from that notion as well, but again I think that there is another reason that I would like to explore today.

Something Else

I believe that there was one thing in particular that made Jesus want to engage with Zacchaeus that day – one thing that marked him as different above everything else. The crowd was full of people who were trying to connect with Jesus in some way.

Some were greeting him, giving him high-fives and cheering. Others were looking for something from him, asking for healing or a word of wisdom. And, yes, I do not doubt that there were also some who had shown up because they had taken offence to what they had heard about him. They were calling out insults and disputing his teachings.

But amid all of the noise and conflicting reactions, there was one figure who was different. He was balancing precariously upon the branch of a sycamore tree and peering out between the leafy branches. It is remarkable that Jesus could see him at all; he was well hidden.

Withdrawn

The thing that stood out about Zacchaeus at that moment was that he was not there to engage. He had withdrawn to the fringes of the crowd because he was there merely to observe. He had been curious enough to want to come out and see Jesus, but he was not looking to attract his attention.

Had he wanted to, he probably could have. His small stature would have allowed him to slip to the front of the crowd, much like children always seem to be able to make their way to the curb when a parade goes by. Certainly, no one would have complained that he was blocking their view.

But he didn’t do that. He chose to withdraw and find a vantage that allowed him to see everything, but not to be seen. Zacchaeus was there as a voyeur, an intentional spectator of the most important event that had happened in Jericho since another guy named Joshua came to town.

(And, by the way, if you don’t get that reference, the name Jesus is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name, Joshua. So, there are really two stories in the Bible of the time that ‘Joshua’ came to Jericho.)

Spectator Christianity

So, I greatly suspect that the thing about Zacchaeus that caught Jesus’ attention was the fact that he didn’t want to be seen. He didn’t actually want anything from Jesus. And so Jesus, perhaps to Zacchaeus’ initial frustration, decided to engage him.

The Christian faith can very easily become a spectator sport. And when you think about it, it is not really that surprising. We set our churches up like theatres with less comfortable seating. We point the pews in the same direction. The not-very-subtle message we are giving to everyone who enters this space is that you are here to watch.

Some traditions are much more interactive, of course. In Black churches, the congregation is expected to call back to the preacher. In Pentecostal Churches, the people join in the prayers in ecstatic speech and reaction. But we would feel pretty uncomfortable if any of those things happened in our church.

Yes, many of our churches have fallen into the habit of thinking of the worship service as a show that you go to see. And the churches that are seen as the successful ones just happen to be the ones that put on the best show, with their bands and special effects and talk-show style messages.

Goes With Consumer Society

I can understand the allure. We live in a consumer society, and so we tend to think of anything that enhances our lives as something to be consumed. If we want to improve our health, we purchase a retreat at a wellness spa. If we want wisdom, we buy a book or pay for a seminar. It is hardly surprising that we tend to approach spirituality in the same way. When we want to encounter God, we go out to watch a worship service.

Spectator spirituality is safe. You can listen to the message or the songs and just choose to take away from them what you will – a bit of comfort or encouragement, whatever wisdom you need. But then you can just go home and go on with your life and not worry about anything changing.

Jesus Doesn’t Leave Him Alone

But Jesus, clearly, has a little problem with that. When he sees Zacchaeus merely spectating, he doesn’t leave him alone. “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down,” he cries, “for I must stay at your house today.” Notice how Jesus doesn’t just want to talk. Nor does he ask for Zacchaeus to do anything specific. Jesus asks for a sleepover. He asks for an invitation to Zacchaeus’ table. He’s asking for the most intimate kind of social contact that took place in that world.

That is because Jesus doesn’t merely want you to hear his message. He doesn’t want you to be a spectator. He isn’t even just asking you to study his words and seek to apply them in some way. Jesus is seeking to connect with you on that intimate level. Jesus wants a sleepover. Jesus wants you to invite him to your table.

Seeking Transformation

And why does Jesus want that? He wants that because he is seeking your transformation. He is not simply interested in shaming Zacchaeus over the things that he has done wrong. Jesus knows that shame only creates bad feelings, but doesn’t create transformation. Jesus isn’t merely asking Zacchaeus to donate from his extraordinary wealth, obtained in shady business dealings; he is looking to transform Zacchaeus. He is looking to transform you as well.

And that is exactly what Zacchaeus was trying to prevent. That’s why he was hiding in those leafy branches. It is why he chose to spectate rather than engage. He wanted to be in control of what he did with what he observed of Jesus.

Jesus Transforms Zacchaeus

And he was right to be wary. Because what happens when Jesus does the sleepover? At some point during the night (or perhaps it was over Froot Loops at breakfast), Zacchaeus stands up and says, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”

And let us understand what that is. Those are not just the words of someone who recognizes that he did some bad things and wants to try harder. That is not a promise to make amends for some of the evil he has done with a few flashy donations. That is Zacchaeus recognizing that he has been living in a way that is not just, not honouring of God, and realizing that he can no longer live that way. These are the words of a man transformed.

Where Are You Today?

You are all here today. And I know that you are here because you have heard the word that Jesus is passing through this city. And he is. Jesus is present here in our gathering today. He promised that he would be.

And you are curious, as you should be. You are looking for some word from him that will give you comfort, healing or encouragement. And you should look for that because Jesus does offer that. But I would encourage you not to settle for those things.

Where are you in that quest for what Jesus can offer you today? Are you holding back? Are you up in the sycamore and peering through the protective screen of sycamore leaves because there are some things in your life that you don’t want to let Jesus get his hands on? Are there attitudes, riches, grudges, bitternesses or identities that you are just not willing to let Jesus get his hands on?

Well, the story of Zacchaeus is a reminder that if you have merely been spectating in the Christian faith, Jesus sees you up in that tree. He knows you are there, and he knows why you are holding back. The good news is that he is reaching out to you to invite himself in. “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

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Hespeler, October 26, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Joel 2:23-32, Psalm 65, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18, Luke 18:9-14

Jesus’ Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector was first spoken two thousand years ago and a world away from here. But it has never felt so current – never felt like such a cutting commentary on our modern society as it does today.

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.”

Now I know that we don’t have literal Pharisees today. Nor do we have the kind of tax collectors that they had back then. Our tax collectors work for a government that, at least in theory, is supposed to be working for us and spending the money that they collect for our good. Theirs worked for a hostile occupying government that was actively plundering them.

We Recognize the Dynamics

So, we may not have those specific characters, but I think we can immediately recognize the dynamics at work in the scene. They are in the temple – the most central institution in society. It was the place where people competed with one another for honour, attention and likes. You went to the temple to be seen and to display your virtue publicly.

This is an activity that we recognize today when people post memes and criticisms on the internet or when they engage in political discussion or activity. We are still very much in a society where we compete with one another to get attention and likes. And I think that we can also recognize the way that at least one of them attempts to do that.

Where He Starts

When the Pharisee comes to stand before God and all the people to make his argument for why he is a good person, how does he begin? Does he start out by carrying out acts of goodwill? Does he make rational arguments for what is right or good? No, he does not.

He starts out by listing all of the people he thinks are so bad that they make him look good by comparison. “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.” And that sounds awfully familiar to me.

We may not say it in exactly those terms today. We may not couch it as a prayer of thanksgiving to God. But, apart from that, it reminds me of so much of our public discourse.

Signalling That You Are Better

These days, it is all about signalling how we are somehow better than others for whatever reason. Somebody puts out a tweet to the world that may have different wording, but when you examine it, all it really communicates is, “God, I am so thankful that I am not like that woke mob who are destroying America.” Meanwhile, somebody else over here is signalling, “God, I thank you that I am not like those QAnon conspiracy theorists.”

Those are the messages that seem to proliferate all of our communication these days. “I’m thankful I’m not MAGA.” “I’m thankful that I’m not liberal.” “I’m thankful I’m not an anti-vaxxer.” “I’m thankful I’m not woke.”

Content-Free Discourse

And, just like in the prayer of the Pharisee, there is no content behind that message. There are, of course, many meaningful debates that we could have over various political, economic and fairness issues. But we don’t seem to be having those debates these days. Instead we resort to name-calling. We resort to tactics like trolling and owning others because their position is different from ours.

It’s not entirely our fault. This kind of discourse has not arisen from nowhere. Part of the reason behind it is that so much of our communication has become dominated by social media. The companies that own social media have decided that engagement is more important than meaningful discussion. And they have learned that people become more engaged when they are more enraged.

Algorithmically Driven

That is why they have created algorithms that promote certain kinds of communication. If you make a cogent argument full of logic and reason about how society might operate better, that’s not going to enrage very many people. That doesn’t get promoted.

But when people post things that tear others down because of their identity or their position, that’s going to upset everybody on every side of the issues. Those who agree will take a savage glee in their enemies being put down. Those who disagree will post back in rage. That is why that message will get promoted to the moon.

So, it isn’t that people aren’t trying to have reasonable discussions. They are. The problem is that those reasonable discussions are being drowned out by all the hostile noise on social media.

But, whether it is all our fault or not, we seem to have readily taken to this new way of engaging. We, like the Pharisee in the temple, take great comfort not in our virtue, not in our accomplishments or the people we have helped, but in being at least marginally better than those people, whoever those people may be.

A Canadian Thing

And, if you will allow me to say it, perhaps Canadians are particularly good at it in at least one way. Have you noticed how, whenever you bring up any negative aspects of our country – our history of racism, for example, or our long-term treatment of the indigenous people, you are bound to get a particular response? People will say sure, but we are not as bad as the Americans.

Or what if you dare to point out that we could do a better job of ensuring that every Canadian has access to the medical care and the doctors that they need? What if you suggest that there may be ways to reduce violence against vulnerable people and get money out of politics? How will people respond?

You will hear a litany of all the ways in which Americans are so much worse. You will hear about the half a million Americans who declare bankruptcy each year because of medical bills. They will tell you about the mass shootings that occur, on average, daily down there. They will tell you all about “Citizens United” and how it has put politics in the U.S. up for sale to the highest bidder.

“God, I thank you that I am not American.” That is all that such responses amount to. I am absolutely someone who is proud and thankful indeed to be a Canadian. But, if the best we can muster to celebrate that today is to say, “At least we’re not Americans,” or if we cannot ask more for our people because at least we’re not as bad as them, that is not patriotism. That is just the Pharisee’s prayer.

Religious Observances

To be fair, the Pharisee doesn’t just talk about how bad everyone else is in his prayer. He does say two things about himself: “I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” It is telling that he doesn’t point to any actions of kindness or justice.

These are religious duties that he is fulfilling. The “tenth” he speaks of would not have gone to the poor. These are actions, like the public praying in the temple, that are simply meant to boost his standing and reputation – to make him look good before others. So, this also is not about engaging in any worthwhile discussion about how the world could be better.

Our current level of discourse, therefore, has a lot in common with this Pharisaic prayer that Jesus described and condemned. Jesus says explicitly that this man left unjustified. And I have to say that I often feel equally despairing when I look at the present state of our discourse.

Descent to Pettiness and Despair

As we continually seek to make ourselves look better by putting other people and their ideas down, we only seem to spiral ever downwards. We find no justice for our world; we find only increasing pettiness and despair.

So Jesus, in telling us this story, seems to put his finger on a problem that plagues us to this very day, maybe even more now than ever. The Pharisee is not meant to be a typical Pharisee (by all historical accounts, they did not promote themselves by putting others down). He is a representation of this deep-seated human tendency.

Jesus’ Twist

But if I know Jesus, he is going to do more than just show us what the problem is. He is going to point us to a better way – a way that will be a sign that the kingdom of God has drawn near. And he shows us that better way in the person of the second man who prays in the temple.

Jesus loved to throw unexpected twists at his listeners – to make heroes out of the most despised people that they could think of. And this character is no exception. Everyone despised Tax Collectors because they worked for the hated Roman occupiers.

This is a typical teaching of Jesus. He was always saying that the most marginalized people imaginable would show us the way to the kingdom of God. He was constantly scandalizing people by speaking well of the disabled, prostitutes, Samaritans and Tax Collectors.

Looking to the Wrong People to Save Us

And there is his first answer to the problem we are having with the level of our discourse. We keep expecting the elites to fix it. Why can’t the government do something? Why can’t the billionaires who own all of our communication systems and social media do something about the algorithms? Why can’t the media just highlight the positive stories?

Jesus is telling us that we are looking to the wrong people to save us. After all, they are getting rich off the way things are. Why would they want anything to change?

No, Jesus is saying, we need to start paying attention to the ones who are on the margins – the unhoused, the addicts, the underemployed, the sexual and racial minorities. Surely those are the people that Jesus would populate his stories with today. He would once again insist that they have something to teach us about the kingdom of God.

An Expression of Humility

So, the person of the Tax Collector is part of Jesus’ answer to what ails us. And so, of course, is his prayer. Perhaps he has no other choice, given his extremely low status in society, but his prayer is an expression of pure humility. He cannot play the game of making himself look good by putting other people down. There is no one of lower status that he could point to! So he speaks with perfect honesty.

That is the alternative that Jesus offers, therefore: humility and honesty. How can you practice humility and so show the world that there are better ways? Here are a few questions you can ask of yourself as you engage with people in the world.

Ask How You Are Being Manipulated

First of all, whenever you receive any sort of message that provokes in you some kind of emotional response, ask yourself why. Is someone (or some algorithm) manipulating you to provoke that response? If so, why? What are they trying to get you to do?

Simply become more aware of the words, messages and conversations that come before you. They are not coming from nowhere. Someone has been engineering the discourse we are having, and if you are aware of what they are doing, you will find more freedom not to participate in it.

Consider Your Discourse

Secondly, consider carefully how you respond to people. If what you say makes you feel good because it is true or because it is just, that is wonderful. But if it makes you feel good because you are putting someone else down or demonstrating your superiority, you really ought to ask yourself whether it needs to be said.

If you approach every conversation with the humility that allows you to be yourself and not put someone else down to feel good about yourself, you will change that conversation. That’s the humility we are going to need.

Yes, this parable of Jesus comes to us from a long, long time ago and a world far away. But do not miss the wisdom that Jesus has for us today. It will save us and transform us.

Watch sermon video here:

https://youtu.be/gPRMLUAbP9A

Hespeler, October 12, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Thanksgiving Sunday
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-9, 24-32, Psalm 66:1-12, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Luke 17:11-19

ur reading this morning from the Book of Jeremiah tells the story of something that happened a long, long time ago and in a place far, far away. Because of that, there are some elements in the story that are not going to be familiar to you. They might take a little bit of explaining.

Letters

For example, the people in this story are exchanging something that they call letters. You see, once upon a time, when people wanted to communicate with others who were a long way away, they would take a sheet of parchment, an animal skin scraped smooth, and they would take something called a pen. It worked kind of like when you take a stylus and use it to write on the screen of some kind of portable computer, except this thing called ink came out of the end of the pen and made markings directly on the parchment.

And so, you would write with your hand what you wanted to say to those other people instead of typing it. Then you would roll up this letter and give it to a messenger or put it into something that used to be called the Post Office, and which apparently has now disappeared forever. And that messenger would take it to the other person, they would read it and then write their response to you on another piece of parchment.

And so, you could have a conversation with people who were far, far away. Except of course, this could take a long time. Sometimes it could take a whole day for a letter to be delivered or, if it was a long way, it could take weeks or even months.

Why Didn’t They Text?

And I know what you are thinking. Well, why didn’t they just text instead? Why didn’t they use Zoom or Snapchat? Or, I don’t know, something antique like email? Well, that is just one of those mysteries about ancient times that perhaps we will never understand. For some reason I guess they just preferred these letters.

So, yes, there is a lot about this passage we read this morning that is strange to us. Also, of course, the fact that it is set at a moment when the Kingdom of Judah had been attacked, many people had been taken away to live in Babylon against their will, but Jerusalem was not yet destroyed and many people, including a prophet named Jeremiah, were still living there.

You may well be asking, therefore, what this strange passage has to do with us who live in a very different world with different ways of doing things. But I think it has a lot to do with us. So let me tell it to you in a way that you can relate to. Let me tell you the story of what was going on.

Jeremiah Sends a Group Text

Jeremiah the prophet was just hanging out one day in the Christian church of, let’s say, a decade ago. He was hanging out in the church that existed before the pandemic, before the mass retirement of huge amounts of our clergy that were not replaced by new students coming out of seminary.

And Jeremiah was wondering how the church was faring in that strange new world that was to come. He took out his phone and texted a few of the friends he had in the church of the future.

“Hey guys,” he texted, his fingers flying across the screen. “How are you all doing out there in Babylon? Having a good time?”

The Response

He didn’t have to wait long for a response. It was, more than anything, a litany of complaint. “Oh, you wouldn’t believe how bad it is. Everything is different out here. It is like the world has changed so much and so quickly. It is like they speak a completely different language. They stare at us blankly when we talk about chancels and litanies and Christology. They have completely different styles of music. No one seems to think that our ways of doing things are relevant to anything.

“We are miserable. And the only thing that keeps us going is the knowledge that this is all short-term. There is a prophet among us here named Shemaiah. He has told us that soon God will let us out of this strange place. Soon things will go back to the way they used to be and then everything will be alright.”

When Jeremiah received the text, he frowned. He didn’t know who this Shemaiah was, but he had to be wrong. He took his phone and sent back an immediate group text to everyone he had a number for in Babylon.

Response to Shemaiah

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all of those whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.

“You need to build up your family and your fellowship in the strange place where you find yourself because there is no going back. You need to find ways to thrive where you are because that is where God has put you. But more important than that, remember that God has something for you to do in that strange place.

Seek the Welfare of the City

“You must seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

“I know that you might be tempted to hate everything about the city where you find yourself. They might seem hostile to you and the ways you like to do things. They might have strange ways of doing things that you don’t like. But never forget that God has put you there because God has something for you to do there. And God hasn’t sent you there to judge them or condemn them. God hasn’t sent you to merely survive there in misery. Your job is to make sure that your presence there is a blessing to them. So, get busy figuring out how you can be that.

Don’t Listen to Their Dreams

“For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to your dreams that you dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.

“There will always be those among you who tell you to just give up and dream about how things used to be. They will tell you that you don’t need to be a blessing because it is just too hard and will encourage you to be bitter and blame everyone else. You need to not listen to them.

“And you yourself will be tempted to dream of how things used to be, but do not let those dreams consume you.”

Shemiah’s Indirect Message

Jeremiah typed furiously until his thumbs were sore. And once he was done, he rather expected that his phone would blow up with responses. He hoped, of course, that people might react positively and thank him for giving them the word of the Lord. But he was equally prepared for angry responses and for people to tell him off.

What he wasn’t prepared for what he got, which was absolutely nothing. Nobody texted back to him at all. What he didn’t know was that, no sooner had he written, than somebody forwarded the group text to Shemaiah, the prophet who had promised the people that God would let things go back to the way things used to be.

Shemaiah was outraged that Jeremiah would say such things about him. He paused not a moment to reflect on whether Jeremiah might be right, and he was just caught up in nostalgia. No, he said to himself, it was Jeremiah who was wrong, not him.

Text to Zephaniah

But he didn’t do the mature thing. He didn’t write back to Jeremiah and talk it out. No, he decided to use his contacts back in the past to punish him. He took his phone and texted Zephaniah, who was in charge of the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.

“The Lord himself has made you priest instead of some other guy. And we all know that the whole point of having a religion is to make sure than nothing ever really changes. Your job is to make sure that anyone who even upsets people by suggesting that things need to change gets shut down.

“So now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who plays the prophet for you? For he has actually sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘Things aren’t going to change back; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat what they produce.’”

Forwarded to Jeremiah

Well, when Zephaniah the priest received that text, he didn’t much appreciate being told what to do by the likes of Shemaiah. So, he just forwarded it directly to Jeremiah. And when he got it, he had his phone out in a moment and was firing off another group text to everyone in Babylon.

“Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and has led you to trust in a lie, therefore thus says the Lord: I am going to punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants; he shall not have anyone living among this people to see the good that I am going to do to my people, says the Lord, for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.”

How We Handle Change

What am I trying to say here today? A lot of things may change in this world. Technology certainly changes – especially, in our times, the technology that we use to communicate. But one thing never changes at all and that is human nature.

We don’t handle change well. We resist it. When we find ourselves in a place where we live with it, we dream of everything going back to how it used to be. We become negative, defiant and obstinate because we don’t really want things to work where we are; we just want to go back.

That is what Jeremiah was dealing with in his communications with the exiles in Babylon. They were sabotaging their lives there, and he knew that there really was no going back for them.

Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving. And I think that we all agree that thankfulness is a positive trait. We all appreciate it when people say thanks and when they are truly grateful for what we do for them.

But does thankfulness end once we have said thank you or have shown our gratitude in some other way? We often seem to assume that it does. But Thanksgiving is not a word, it is an attitude. And it is an attitude that is particularly needed when we find ourselves dealing with change that leaves us in a place that we don’t like.

A Different Attitude

If you just resist and dream of going back to what is familiar, you miss out on the opportunities that God has prepared for you in this strange place where God has placed you. But if you are truly thankful for what God has sent you or where God has put you, you will have a very different attitude.

And it is an attitude that will allow you to... “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce.” A thankful heart allows you to invest in this new situation. You believe enough that you are willing to put some work and some risk into making it work.

It also allows you to... “Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.” A thankful attitude means that you will look for opportunities for growth in that strange situation and you will be open to working with partners to create that growth.

Seek the Welfare of the City

But, more than anything, true thankfulness means that you can... “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” It allows you to act with generosity towards the strange world where you find yourself and the kindness that you practice there will rebound to your own welfare.

So, on this Thanksgiving, can we practice true thankfulness and not just let it end once we have said thanks?

Watch Sermon Video Here:

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Hespeler, October 5, 2025 © Scott McAndless – World Communion Sunday
Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4, Psalm 37:1-9, Matthew 18:15-20, Luke 24:13-35

How many times, do you suppose, does the word church appear in the Gospels of the New Testament? It is an interesting question because we often assume that the only reason Jesus came was to establish a new religion, and, specifically, to establish the church. So, you might think that he would have talked about the church all the time.

Jesus Didn’t Talk Church

But he didn’t. In fact, the word church does not appear at all in three of our four gospels. It only appears three times in the Gospel of Matthew, and two of those occurrences are found in our reading this morning. In addition to those two usages, Jesus also speaks about building his church on the rock of Peter’s confession in the sixteenth chapter.

But that is it. Those are the only three times when the word church appears on the lips of Jesus during his life. And really, that is not all that surprising when you think about it. The church didn’t exist during Jesus’ life. He was constantly announcing the kingdom of God, not the establishment of some church institution.

Rethinking What Jesus Had Said

But after his death and resurrection, his followers wanted to remain faithful to his message. Some way of organizing themselves was necessary, and the church came into being – birthed, we are told, by the action of the Holy Spirit.

But of course, the early Christians looked back on the sayings of Jesus to guide them as they tried to set up an organization that was faithful to his teachings. And what little the gospel says about the church are likely words of Jesus that had more general application that the gospel writer took and applied directly to his experience within the church.

Experiencing the Risen Jesus

A key concern for those early Christians was the question of where and how they would experience the presence of the risen Jesus in their shared life within the church. I believe that is still one of our key concerns. And so let’s ask what these sayings of Jesus tell us about that vital experience for the church today.

Today, when we imagine what the church should be and how it should properly live out the vision of Jesus Christ, what are the things that we focus on? We often focus, don’t we, on large assemblies of people? We focus on things like power and influence.

Finding Jesus in Big Gatherings

When we think about experiencing the presence of Jesus in the life of the church, we often imagine that happening in our experience of large-scale worship, like when large congregations lift their voices in harmonious song or when we are held spellbound together by the words of a skilled preacher.

It is very similar, isn’t it, to the experiences that we have in the world outside the church. Who among us hasn’t gone to a concert, a sports game or a political rally and just got completely caught up in the spirit of the crowd? When people start chanting, singing or cheering as one, there is a kind of ecstasy to it. It takes you out of yourself.

We can have the same sort of experience in the church, especially in the larger gatherings. That is why we often even assume that a certain scale is necessary for us to experience God. Jesus seems to be more present in large and busy churches.

And I completely understand where all of that is coming from. I, too, have had that experience of finding myself in the direct presence of my God in the midst of corporate worship. I, too, have seen how we have encountered Jesus in our community when we have the resources that allow us to offer food and clothing to those who don’t have enough.

They Don’t Talk About Large Gatherings

But when the early church spoke about encountering Jesus in the church, they didn’t talk about any of those things. Oh, they knew that he was present when they met, but they also knew that that didn’t depend on there being a large group.

In fact, the only thing they remembered Jesus specifically saying about finding him in the life of the church was this: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” So, let’s talk about that for a minute. Let’s talk about how we encounter the risen Jesus and the power of God among us in small gatherings.

Big Groups and Small Groups

It is not the same thing. Meeting with a few people does not have that same power to sweep you up in the feelings of a crowd. There is no mass hysteria or enthusiasm. But you can encounter Jesus in such gatherings and, I would argue, such encounters have much more power to transform you.

Getting caught up in the spirit of a large group often involves setting yourself aside, if only for a while. When you are chanting or singing at a big event, you tend to forget about the little worries and cares that are with you all the rest of the time. There is a kind of anonymity to being in a large crowd that can make it easy to pretend to be someone else.

That can be a liberating experience, of course, and I do think that it is an experience that we need from time to time. But once the big event is over, you also know that all of those things that make up your personal day-to-day life are still there waiting for you.

A Place to Be Yourself

But small groups are different. They can offer you the chance to be authentically yourself in them. Now, that is not necessarily something that happens quickly or easily. When you first gather with a group of two or three or four people, you may not know them. You don’t know if you can trust them enough to talk to them about your worries, fears or anxieties. What if they don’t understand you or are impatient with your flaws? You also may not feel like you can share your passions, stories or accomplishments because what if they belittle them?

But when you put in the time and energy to really get to know people – something that is so much harder in a large group or assembly – something amazing can happen. You discover that you can trust people with the things in your life. You discover that they don’t laugh at your failures or shame you for your mistakes. You experience them taking joy in your successes. And so, you learn that you can truly be yourself with this small group of people.

A Difficult Path

I don’t mean to suggest that this comes easily because it often doesn’t. There are so many things that hold us back and make us fearful of the judgement of others. And there are problems and roadblocks that arise as we try to get there.

We see that very thing in our reading, don’t we? Before it affirms that Jesus is present in our small groups, it does talk about how our fellow believers may sin against us. It is not always intentional, of course, but we do sometimes say or do things that hurt each other. And there is always a risk of that kind of thing when we drop our defences and start to really get to know one another.

And our reflex, for many of us, when that does happen, is to protect ourselves from further harm. We withdraw or hide ourselves. For others, their reflex is to hit back and spread the harm around. Both reactions prevent our personal growth.

Engaging in Loving Ways

But Jesus urges us to give in to neither of those reflexes. Rather we should engage in loving and respectful ways. There is a lot of good advice about how to do that. You start off privately in a one-on-one setting, and you include others when that is unsafe or unhelpful. You only bring it to the whole church if it can’t be worked out otherwise.

But the bottom line is that you don’t give up. You work as hard as you can to get to the place where you can truly trust one another enough to be yourselves with each other.

A Level of Commitment

Now, I realize that that sounds like a lot of work. And it can be. Let me underline that it usually isn’t. God often blesses us with a group of people that we connect to quickly and learn to trust painlessly. But whether it is easy or it is hard, Jesus is asking us to approach with the same level of commitment to making those relationships work.

But he does not ask you to do that without making a promise. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” That is a promise that, as you learn to trust one another in your small group, as you feel comfortable sharing more and more of yourself, you will begin to experience more than just mutual friendship, love and support.

I mean, you will experience those things, and they are truly wonderful.  Too many people go through their entire lives without them. But Jesus promises even more. He promises that, if you do this in his name, you will also experience his presence in your small group.

Happens in Many Ways

This can happen in a multitude of ways. As you get to know your fellow believers and they get to know you, there will be times when Jesus speaks to you through them. There will also be times when you see the love and power of Jesus in their actions and kindnesses.

But more than anything, you will be built up into a mature Christian. By being honest with others, you will come to know yourself better. You will be affirmed and built up, and become more aware of what you need to work on for yourself.

All of this will build your faith and form you more into the image of Jesus Christ. Christ will be more present and powerful in your life. That is not just a prediction. That is not what I hope will happen for you. That is Jesus’ promise to you.

Small Group Sunday

That is why Joni and others have put so much energy into creating this Small Group Sunday for us all. We believe that, as we find more and more ways to connect with each other in small group contexts, we will find the presence and power of Jesus compelling us towards a strong and mature faith that will transform us, that will transform the church and will help to transform the world.

With all of that being said, I would encourage you to consider carefully where that might fit into your life. Not every group is for everybody. It is always easier to connect with people when we share the same passions, and there are particular groups that will help us to do that. I also know that we all have a great many demands upon our time, and we have to choose where to make our commitments and what fits into our lives.

Why We Do This

Small groups are vital to the life of the church in many ways. They are what enable us to do much of our work, including our vital outreach, but also simple things like keeping our facilities clean and in good shape. Some are essential to our organization and mission, while others are focussed primarily on fellowship or learning. All are needed in our shared life in the church.

But I want to make clear that I am not encouraging you to do this because we need your labour. I’m not asking you to do this for the sake of the church. I am asking you because it is the best way that I know to accelerate your growth as a Christian. It is one of the very best ways for you to encounter Jesus in your life.

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Hespeler, September 28, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Sacrament of Baptism
Acts 16:6-15, Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16, 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31

I have been so looking forward to this Sunday morning service. Ever since I heard that Ruhaan had been born back in the middle of May, I have been entranced by the possibility that we would get to celebrate his birth, his baptism and his initiation into the Christian Church.

As you well know, we have been richly blessed by the presence of Ruhaan’s family in our congregation over the past year. His sisters have often shared with us their wisdom and enthusiasm during our services, and they have been a wonderful addition to our Sunday school. We have also been blessed to get to know his father, Arasalan, who has been here so faithfully, even though his mother has often been understandably tied up with other things.

A Gift to the Church

But today we get to celebrate the gift of this family to the church of Jesus Christ, and, in particular, the gift of this particular child who comes to us with a message from God. That’s what we always celebrate whenever we baptize.

So, I gave a lot of thought to what scriptures would speak to us on this special occasion. And I finally landed on our reading this morning from the Book of Acts.

That might seem like an odd choice. It is a strange little passage in the accounts of the travels of the Apostle Paul that doesn’t seem all that important at first glance. Paul and his companions are travelling around the Anatolian Peninsula – the part of the world we call Turkey today.

Paul’s Travel Difficulties

They try to go to one place and then to another and another in order to preach the word about Jesus Christ. But it doesn’t work. In fact, it states that they are prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching in those places. Somehow (and this is never really explained) they keep trying to talk to people and start churches, but the Holy Spirit intervenes to let them know that they cannot.

They finally end up in a place called Troas, where they seem to be somewhat frustrated with all of these restrictions. But there, Paul has a dream of someone asking them to come over to Macedonia. So, they go there and there they meet some people, especially a woman named Lydia who is open to hearing them.

The end. It doesn’t sound particularly important, sort of like when someone comes back from their vacation and they start telling you about the problems they had at the airport or the time when they almost lost their bags. You might listen and nod your head sympathetically, but it really doesn’t matter to you at all.

A Major Transition

So why should we care about Paul’s travel woes? I’ll tell you why. This passage is symbolic of one of the most significant transitions in the history of the Christian Church. Why? Because, even though they are only a few miles apart, Troas is in Asia, and Macedonia is in Europe.

 Christianity, like all major world religions, began as an Eastern religion. It was born in Galilee and Jerusalem. It started out as a sect of Judaism, which traces its origins to a man named Abraham who came from Mesopotamia. But we don’t really think of Christianity as an Eastern religion today, do we? In many ways, we think of it as the premier Western religion, the one that has been essential to the creation of Western institutions and thought.

The Church Moves West

So, when did that happen? When did Christianity become a western religion? Well, in many ways that is what this passage in the Acts is talking about. The author is recounting the first time the Christian message passed over the Bosphorus and entered into the Western world. This is a moment that really did change Christianity.

I’m not saying that it changed Christianity in a bad way. I believe that Christianity was enriched by its encounter with Greek philosophy, Roman organization and European innovation among other things. But, good or bad, the changes have been significant. And this little passage in the Book of Acts is a symbolic exploration of that very significant moment of change. And we have a wonderful opportunity to reflect on that transition today.

Ruhaan’s Family

We have that opportunity because Ruhaan’s Family has come to us from Asia, specifically South Asia. So let me tell you a little bit about this extraordinary family.

They come to us from Pakistan, where Ruhaan’s great-grandfather was a Presbyterian minister and where his mother studied to become a Christian minister in another denomination. Pakistan is a majority Islamic country, but the Presbyterian Church is the largest Christian denomination in that country.

The Presbyterian Church in Pakistan exists because missionaries, specifically American missionaries, took the Christian message and the Presbyterian way of doing things to what was, at that time, part of India. Those missionaries took a Western form of Christianity, and they planted it back in the east – they kind of did the opposite of what Paul does in our reading this morning.

The Strength of the Pakistani Church

But, when Pakistan became an independent and Islamic state, it was not going to tolerate foreign religious influence. So, the Pakistani Presbyterians took control of their own church. And their Presbyterianism became a uniquely Eastern expression of the faith. The Pakistani Christians built a strong and resilient church. In part, they did so because they knew that, if they did not find that strength, their church would not survive.

For example, as Arsalan has explained to me, they know very well that, if their children, even from a very young age, are not grounded in their faith and do not have a clear understanding of why they are Christian, they can very easily become caught up in the dominant Islamic culture. The connection of children to the church and their formation is a life-and-death matter for them.

God is Re-enacting the Story

And now, God has sent Ruhaan and his family from South Asia to us in the West. And I see in this that God is re-enacting for us the story that we read from Acts this morning.

Like the Apostle Paul, this family had a good life and had done well in Asia. They were part of a vibrant church. But, like Paul in our reading, they knew that the Holy Spirit was restricting them. There were certain things that they were not entirely free to do.

And so, the Spirit sent them to the West where, by the power of the Spirit, they would find new freedoms to explore. In particular, they wanted the opportunity to raise their children to experience new possibilities in Canada.

The Holy Spirit is Key

And notice how the Holy Spirit is key to all of this. They have named their son, Ruhaan, in recognition of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. In Persian and in Urdu, Ruhaan means “from the Spirit,” and it is indeed from the Spirit that he has come to us.

So, the Spirit has led them here. He has sent them here for their own sake. And they have been willing to listen to the guidance of the Spirit and to the dream (like Paul dreamed) of the possibilities offered to them in the West.

This has been a costly decision for them. They have chosen to leave much behind and there has been a financial price to pay. And we pray today that they know much blessing in their lives here.

But today is not just about celebrating what the Spirit has done for them by bringing them here. Today we celebrate what the Spirit has done for us by bringing them here.

The Church in Canada

The Christian Church in Canada has so many advantages that the Pakistani Church does not. We may not live in an explicitly Christian country. Canada does not have an established church or any approved religion, but our culture is still dominated by the vestiges of a Christian past. Christmas and Easter are national holidays. Churches have tax advantages. We have legal protection for our right to worship. Ontario even has a publicly funded religious school system. These are advantages that Christians in places like Pakistan do not have.

I have noticed that, when we are feeling particularly vulnerable as churches, we often speak fondly of the past, when the church actually enjoyed more advantages and our society was more explicitly Christian. We bemoan the loss of a time when society reserved Sunday mornings for the exclusive use of the church or when retail stores would play religious carols at Christmas time.

Truly Strong Churches

But I’m not convinced that going back to such times is what we need. The true strength of the church has never come from us trying to force the society into something that looks more like the church. True strength for Christians comes rather from a strong sense of who we are and an understanding of who God has called us to be. That is the only thing that will make us resilient, no matter what the shape of the society that surrounds us is.

Ruhaan’s parents have brought him here today because they are truly committed to raising him and his sisters within the church. They make that commitment because their experience in Pakistan has shown them just how important it is to give their children a strong foundation so that they can be free to choose their own course in life and not merely allow the larger culture to conform them to its ways.

A Message About Our Children

And God is definitely speaking to us in and through them. God is speaking to us about our own children. I am a strong advocate for children to be free, as they grow up, to choose their own paths in life and to adopt the beliefs and thoughts that nourish them in positive ways. But Ruhaan reminds us that, if we do not give our children a good grounding and ways of appreciating how our faith applies to their lives, they will not be truly free to choose. They will simply absorb the ideas of the society that surrounds them.

So, here is an opportunity for us all to recommit ourselves to our Christian Education priorities, to support our Sunday School teachers and to never stop thinking about how we can make all of this relevant to the challenges that young people are facing in the world today.

But it is important to add that this is not just a concern about our children and youth or their parents. It doesn’t start with them; it starts with all of us. Our children and youth can only embrace a Christian identity if we all have a strong sense of who was are as Christians in this time and place.

Embracing Our Christian Identity

That is why the work we are doing on our identity right now is so important. For too long, Christians in North America have relied on incidental things to anchor their identity. We think it’s all wrapped up in our buildings, in locations and in long-standing traditions that may no longer be relevant. We need to embrace an identity that is founded in who God is calling us to be.

What’s more, we need to get to the place where we can express that understanding of our identity to anybody. In a few words, in an image or an idea, our sense of identity in Christ must become something that is always at our fingertips, never too far from our minds.

If given the opportunity, can you communicate to someone else what it means for you to be a Christian? Can you demonstrate to somebody else that you are a part of this congregation and that this congregation is a part of you? I hope that you can, but if you can’t, work on that. That, more than anything else, is what will make us resilient in the midst of our secular and multi-faith society.

We are honoured to welcome Ruhaan into this congregation and into the Christian church today. We are glad to officially welcome the whole family as friends and companions on our journey of faith. But most of all, let us be thankful that God has spoken to us a message in and through this child – a message meant to breathe new life into our church.

A beautiful mass choir/musical celebration of Christmas, beginning at 10:30 am