BELLS CORNERS UNITED CHURCH
CREATION TIME 3
September 26, 2021
The video recording of this service can be found here.
You can also dial-in by phone to listen to the audio recording at 613-820-8104.
Gathering Music: You Raise Me Up (BCUC Choir)
Welcome & Centering for Worship Rev. Kim Vidal
Good day everyone! On behalf of BCUC, I welcome and greet you in the name of Jesus Christ on this third Sunday of Creation Time in the Season of Pentecost. Wherever you are, whether you are joining us via online, or onsite, or even reading the printed text of the service in the comfort of your homes, we are glad that you have joined us today.
As we enjoy the beauty of God’s creation all around us, please take time to keep in touch with each other through prayers, phone calls, emails or via Zoom. Check also the many announcements on our website including Sunday School resources for your children at bcuc.org to keep you informed and give you opportunities to respond.
We continue worshipping in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings at 10 am with a maximum number of 50 people. Due to the Covid variants that continue to pause some health threats to the community, the Public Health recommends staying at home, but if you wish to attend the service, you are most welcome. As a faith community called to love and serve others, let us be mindful of the health protocols such as masking, social distancing, hand sanitizing and staying home if you feel unwell. It is also highly recommended to get vaccinated as one of the best precautionary measures to protect yourself and others.
Friends, this day, we offer our gratitude for the gifts of the earth lavishly offered to us by a loving Creator. May we do so with praise and thanksgiving and a commitment to care for the earth and to serve each other. Let us now gather in worship.
Lighting of the Christ Candle Acolytes: David Stafford & Barbara Bole
As we light this Christ candle,
Let us remind ourselves that God, the Creator,
lit the light in the darkness and breathed life into all of creation.
We are created in God’s image and Jesus calls us to be a light to the world
and the salt of the earth.
Call to Gather & Opening Prayer Rev. Lorrie Lowes
(Tony Tuck, The Gathering, Pentecost 2, 2021, Year B. Used with permission)
In the name of God, the Creator, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
We gather, marvelling at the beauty of creation
as we breathe in the splendour of life.
We are surrounded by all the signs of God’s creation;
God’s fingerprints are all around us.
Praise be to God!
Let us pray.
We are surrounded by life, and we are related and connected
to all the created world through you, O God.
Let us dwell respectfully in this amazing creation,
remembering that in this wondrous world,
we are not alone.
We are all part of heaven and earth.
In gratitude we declare, God is good
and everything God makes is good.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Hymn: “Morning Has Broken” VU 409
(Words – Eleanor Farjeon, 1931; Music – Gaelic melody)
1 Morning has broken like the first morning,
blackbird has spoken like the first bird.
Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word!
2 Sweet the rain’s new fall sunlit from Heaven,
like the first dewfall on the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
Sprung in completeness where God’s feet pass.
3 Ours is the sunlight! Ours is the morning,
born of the one light Eden saw play!
Praise with elation, praise every morning,
God’s re-creation of the new day!
Storytime Rev. Lorrie
You may have heard that Neil and I have moved to a new house! Did you know that we have moved in with the Kelly family? One of the very best things about moving to this property is that our grandchildren live right next to us and we can see them every day!
This year, we were here for all the excitement of going back to school. They shopped for school supplies and new clothes and they couldn’t wait to see who their teacher would be and who would be in their class. And they picked out a special outfit to wear on the first day of school. I bet you were excited too.
I want to share a story with you about a little girl who was going to school for the very first time. Her name is Phyllis Jack and she lived on a reserve in northern British Columbia with her Granny. When she was 6 years old, she went to the Mission School. Just like you, she was really excited about going to school. Her family didn’t have very much money but somehow her Granny managed to buy her a new outfit to wear to school. She remembers that day clearly. Here’s what she says:
“I remember going to Robinson’s store and picking out a shiny orange shirt. It
had eyelets and lace, and I felt so pretty in that shirt and excited to be going to school!”
She sounds like every little girl and boy I know who is excited about starting school – especially with a brand-new special outfit.
But, Phyllis’ first day of school was very different from yours. It was a Residential School, a place where she stayed night and day. The teachers spoke a different language and she couldn’t understand what they were saying. On that first day, all of the students had their clothes taken away and they were given different clothes to wear. Phyllis never saw her special orange shirt again. She couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t give it back to her. It was her shirt, a special shirt, a gift from her Granny that she had picked out herself.
So, that little girl who was so happy and proud to be going to school, didn’t feel happy or cared for anymore. She didn’t want to stay at this school. She wanted to go home – and she wanted her orange shirt back. Phyllis wasn’t just feeling sad on that first day of school. She felt sad and unloved for much of her life. The colour orange always reminds her of that feeling.
Canada has named September 30 – this Thursday – as the Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We’ve heard a lot of upsetting stories in the news this year about Residential Schools and the terrible experiences of the children who went to them. This day is meant to remind us of the many ways the indigenous people of Canada have been treated over the years. It is a day for us to think about how we can change this and how we can help to heal the hurt they have experienced in the past and still live with today.
You may have heard this day called “Orange Shirt Day”. That’s because we can wear orange to remember this story about Phyllis Jack. This is a simple way for us all to say, “You are important and we love you,” not just to Phyllis but to all of the children who went to residential schools and all of the people who have lived their lives in the shadow of the trauma they caused.
You might notice that the stole I am wearing today is orange. If you were in the sanctuary at BCUC, you would see that the whole chancel is decorated in orange too, and that Rev. Kim is wearing an orange robe – not just for one day or one week. Orange is the colour of the season of Creation in the United Church. Isn’t that great coincidence? We can be reminded every day in this season that God created this beautiful world for everyone. We can remember Phyllis Jack’s special orange shirt and how her happy spirit was broken on that first day of school. It’s a reminder to us all to treat everyone we meet with love.
Will you be wearing orange on Thursday? I will. Let’s turn this reminder of sad times back into the happy colour orange was meant to be.
Let’s finish with a prayer:
Creator God, the Residential School stories make us sad and we are sorry that so many children were hurt over the years. Help us to show love to everyone we meet, whether they are like us or different in some way. Help us spread the kind of joy that the colour orange brings to our world with orange sunsets, orange leaves, orange pumpkins, and even orange shirts. Amen
Hymn: “Roll Over the Ocean” (CGS)
1. It's me, it's me, it's me who builds community
It's me, it's me, it's me who builds community
It's me, it's me, it's me who builds community
It's me who builds community (clap, clap, clap)
Chorus
Roll over the ocean, roll over the sea,
Roll over the ocean in the deep blue sea (Hey!)
Roll over the ocean, roll over the sea,
Go and do your part and build community.
2. It's you...
3. It's love...
4. It's Christ..
Prayer for Illumination Reader: Ellen Boynton
(Beth W. Johnson, The Gathering, Pentecost 2, 2013, Year C. Used with permission)
O God, you call us to new beginnings to explore our faith
with your Word that sustains us.
Inspire us as we search out new opportunities
for our learning and reflection. Amen.
The Gospel Reading: Mark 9 :38-50 (NRSV)
Another Exorcist
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.
40 Whoever is not against us is for us.
41 For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
Temptations to Sin
42 “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.
43-44 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
45-46 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.
47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,
48 where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
49 “For everyone will be salted with fire.
50 Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
May we find ourselves renewed through this difficult story of faith. Thanks be to God!
Sermon: “Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones?”
I would like to begin my sermon with a poem written by American writer Robert Lee Sharpe entitled: “A Bag of Tools”
Isn't it strange how princes and kings,
and clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
and common people, like you and me,
are builders for eternity?
Each is given a list of rules;
a shapeless mass; a bag of tools.
And each must fashion, ere life is flown,
A stumbling block, or a Stepping-Stone.”
“Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to stop him! We tried to stop him, because he is not one of us – he is of another circle – another tribe, he’s different.” That’s how a lot of religious prejudices and biases start, don’t they? Not one of us! Not in our circle! Not in our denomination! The condescending attitude of the beloved disciple, John, struck a chord in me. There had been times when I was just like him. I sneered at those street preachers with microphones who were preaching about the end times and the second coming of Jesus. I detest attending conservative Christian churches who cried loudly when praying and those who believed in speaking in tongues. I am very cautious of those two people who knocked on my door to discuss about faith and spirituality. Growing up Methodist, I was shunned to dance, to smoke, and to listen to “worldly music.” I was even taught that the Roman Catholics were not “true” Christians. I was just like John and the disciples! And perhaps, many of you felt the same way too.
Thank goodness, Jesus did not listen to him. John’s tattletale will not get far with Jesus. “I don’t think you should stop him, John – he is doing something good in my name! And, I know what you want to do next! You want to put a stumbling block in his way. Not only do you want to exclude him, you want to make sure he fails!” Jesus immediately turns the tables on the disciples, warning them that they are the ones in danger of doing harm. It's as though Jesus was saying, "The problem is not the folks outside our group. Don't worry about them -- they are not the problem. Rather, check yourselves and see if you are stumbling blocks. Look at how you exclude people who live, believe, worship, serve, and practice differently than you do. Look at how smug and superior you feel when others fail. Stop being stumbling blocks.” Jesus’ words pierced like an arrow pointed to my heart.
The words “stumbling block”, according to American theologian Ched Meyers has its roots from the Greek word skandaliso- to scandalize. To scandalize, usually translated as ‘to cause to stumble,’ is a term used by Mark to denote rejection of God’s message or desertion of Jesus’ way. Think about the diversity of Christianity in our modern world and the way Christianity have caused this “scandalizing.” We, who claim as the body of Christ, we who claim to follow Jesus, I’m sure, have done many scandals or placed stumbling blocks in the way of following Jesus or in proclaiming the best intent of the gospel. Karoline Lewis writes: “Stumbling blocks have many manifestations when it comes to faith: excuses, blame, doubt, rejection, disbelief. They thrive on rules and stipulations, adjudications and manipulations, judgment and expectation. Whose faith is greater; who seems to believe more. Who follows the rules better than I do. As if Jesus came to set up a competition.”
I almost did not preach on today’s gospel reading. I find this text blunt and repulsive. This is one of the many biblical texts that should not be taken literally. Else, most of us would have been maimed, amputated and blind. It’s difficult to read these words about demons, hell, and mutilation! And what about this reference in wearing a millstone around your neck and throwing yourself into the sea? Is Jesus proposing to better kill ourselves than being scandalizers? Tell me if you are comfortable listening to these verses. I’m not. These Markan words - from the same Jesus, who only last Sunday, took a little child into his arms and taught his disciples about serving others! But I don’t think this passage is about condemnation. Rather, they make us realize of our human nature. We exclude. We judge. We condemn. We compare. We put others down.
In our lectionary group discussion last Tuesday, it was pointed out that these verses were disjointed. They seemed to be taken from small chunks of writings that were put together but not in a chronological order. Traditional interpretations regard these jumbled sayings as hyperbole or exaggeration. The hand, the foot and the eye were considered by 1st century Jews to be sources of sinfulness and temptations. The hand was associated with theft, fraud, forgery; the foot with robbery or runaway slaves; the eye with adultery and sexual misconduct. For centuries, preachers and scholars have used this text to underscore the individual Christian notion of personal sin and the doctrine of hell. While I find these texts very disturbing, I feel strongly that Jesus was teaching his disciples something of highly importance. Why would Jesus speak so harshly about “causing one of these little ones – those of other circle – of other tribe - of other faith, who believe in me to stumble”? Because Jesus wants his disciples to be radically welcoming and inclusive. He wants them not to make a big deal of who’s out or in, who belonged or excluded. Jesus wants them to move away from the “us-them” mentality and be gracious hosts to one another specially those who are not in the same circle. Jesus was not in favour of what Debie Thomas calls “bouncers” of faith – of those who provide tight security, refuse entry to people who aren’t members or allowed inside, and “bounce” or throw out those who doesn’t follow rules. In a broader sense, a bouncer’s job, according to Debie Thomas, is “to serve as gatekeepers for the institution they serve. They screen who is an insider and who is an intruder. They make sure they only allow those who deserves entry to come in and reject those who are not in the circle.” So here’s the good news. Jesus wants his disciples and us to be God’s generous and welcoming hosts. Hosts who throw the doors wide open. Hosts who understand that there’s enough divine goodness, mercy, justice and to go around. Hosts who believe that God delights in diversity. Hosts who respond with joy and gratitude whenever acts of love and kindness are done in Jesus’s name.
The symbolic meanings of hand, foot, and eye are an invitation to discern any behaviour, self-conception, or world view that hinder anyone in attaining a fuller relationship with God and with all of creation, humans included. This is a reminder to remove any stumbling block that obstructs an open path to God and what God stands for: be it love, justice, peace, compassion. Jesus here is warning us against tripping up others and stumbling ourselves. Instead of us becoming stumbling blocks, Jesus calls us to be stepping stones –to pave the way for God’s love to flourish in the world, to be able to have a dialogue with people of other denominations or faiths instead of arguing who owns the “real” truth.
I was a stumbling block. It took me many years of self-reflection, discernment, study and practice for me to become a stepping stone. I am evolving - still in the process of transformation and I realize it’s a difficult process but with God’s help, I know it is possible. I just have to push myself really hard! And if you ask me what made me change from a stumbling block to a stepping stone? It’s none other than this radical teaching of Jesus to be welcoming and inclusive. What about you? How are you getting in the way of the Good News? Are you a stumbling block or a stepping stone?
Today’s reading ends with another hyperbole: “…everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” For the ancient Hebrews, salt is a symbol of the covenant – a symbol of right relationships. Salt is a valuable commodity for preserving, purifying, and adding flavour to foods. Salt preserves good relationship - our acts of generosity, our care for each other, our gestures of friendship, our acts of kindness, that spice up our life together and keep it from spoiling. We are to be salted with fire to be stepping stones. Being salted with fire is to “be at peace with one another” - about right relationships – about welcoming others – about being radical hosts. Be salted with fire. Be a stepping stone. Reach out. Invite. Welcome. Include. You are in the right path.
As you reflect further on this difficult passage, let me close with a poem written by Andrew King entitled: “If Your Foot Causes You to Stumble”
These words of seeming mutilation:
how strange to us, the exaggeration for heightened effect.
The need for change is what they’re about –
to rearrange one’s attitudes, actions, use of speech, habitual ways.
If what we reach for is not to serve someone in love
but to serve ourselves (choosing to shove aside another’s dignity or need),
then it’s our selfishness and greed that cause us from the path to fall (forgive the feet);
it is the stubborn call of pride that just won’t bend
(and not the hand) that most offends.
If our path from God’s has swerved,
look well inside, to that which serves the will.
There - seek healing.
And maybe start with where most hurting dwells – the heart. Amen.
Sources that helped me with my sermon:
1. BCUC Lectionary Group
2. Karoline Lewis, On Seeing Yourself, www.preaching.org., Sept 20, 2015.
3. Travis Meier quoting Ched Meyers, http://www.thebartimaeuseffect.com/the-gospel-of-mark/mark-938-50, 2015.
4. Debie Thomas, “Hosts, not Bouncers”, Journey with Jesus. Net
5. Andrew King, A Poetic Kind of Place
Prayers of the People & the Lord’s Prayer Rev. Kim
Let us gather our hearts in prayer… Like gentle rain from above, so are your gifts of life to us, great God. In your mercy you move our hearts from anxiety to an act of gratitude. Like the sun that rises in the morning so is the steadfastness of your love that provides for us. In your mercy, you move us from trust in things we’ve made to trust in your goodness and promises. Like a surprise gift, you offer us possibilities and a chance to breathe again. In your mercy, you move us from fear to courage in your ways. In your love, you transform us from being stumbling blocks to stepping stones.
Generous and merciful God, move us to be companions to the sick, the lonely and those who experience life’s harsh challenges. Give us the opportunity to feed those in the world who are hungry and to give water to the thirsty. Give us the awareness that you are present even in our most vulnerable, fearful places.
O God, bless us now with this Franciscan blessing as we hope to become stepping stones, welcoming and inclusive hosts, salted with fire:
May God bless us with discomfort,
At easy answers, half-truths,
And superficial relationships
So that we may live
Deep within our heart.
May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression,
And exploitation of people,
So that we may work for
Justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless us with tears,
To shed for those who suffer pain,
Rejection, hunger and war,
So that we may reach out our hand
To comfort them and
To turn their pain to joy
And may God bless us
With enough foolishness
To believe that we can
Make a difference in the world,
So that we can do
What others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness
To all our children and the poor.
These we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our good and wise teacher, who taught us to trust in God as we recite this prayer together…
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kin-dom come, thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kin-dom, the power and the glory,
Forever and ever, Amen.
Invitation to Offer Rev. Lorrie
In this season of harvest when we are blessed with nature’s amazing bounty, we are called to share the gifts we have been given with our neighbour. Time, talents, and resources are all wonderful ways to further the mission of this church and the building of God’s kin-dom in the world. If you are not on PAR and wish to send in your offering and donations, you can drop them in the mailbox by the kitchen door of the church or mail them to BCUC. You can also send in your support through e-transfer. Thank you for your continued love and support to BCUC.
Offertory Prayer
(Ali Smith, The Gathering, Pentecost 2, 2017 Year A. Used with permission.)
Creator God, you give us our daily bread
so that we might have all we need to survive and to thrive.
In return, receive here our offering
so it can be used to nourish others and the world. Amen.
Sending Forth Rev. Kim
(Bob Root, The Gathering, Pentecost 2, 2021 Year B. Used with permission.)
May the blessing of God,
who made us in love and for relationship
with one another and all creation;
the blessing of Jesus,
whose footprints are deep on our earth
and deep in our hearts;
and the blessing of Spirit,
who blows through us and around us,
go with us this day and always.
Go and be a blessing. Amen.
Hymn: “Go Make A Diff’rence” MV 209
(Words & Music: Steve Angrisano and Tom Tomaszek, 1997)
Refrain:
Go make a diff’rence.
We can make a diff’rence.
Go make a diff’rence in the world.
Go make a diff’rence.
We can make a diff’rence.
Go make a diff’rence in the world.
1- We are the salt of the earth,
called to let the people see
the love of God for you and me.
We are the light of the world,
Not to be hidden but be seen.
Go make a diff’rence in the world. R
2- We are the hands of Christ
reaching out to those in need,
The face of God for all to see.
We are the spirit of hope;
We are the voice of peace.
Go make a diff’rence in the world. R
3 – So let your love shine on,
let it shine for all to see.
Go make a diff’rence in the
world. And the spirit of
Christ will be with us as we go.
Go make a diff’rence in the world!