As many of you
know we were at Boundless, the international congress of The Salvation
Army in London and then we took our holidays: one week in England and another
week in Scotland. (Susan and Sarah-Grace are still away.) It was a great time.
Our passage
today, 1 Corinthians 10, addresses heritage among other things. When we were in
the UK our family was able to explore a little bit of our family heritage. I
believe that our family has been in North America for 200 to 300 years but
originally the Ramsay side of our family was from Scotland. And so the tie I am
wearing today is actually my family tartan from Scotland. I do have a kilt and
I considered wearing that today but I thought that might be a little over the
top when speaking with you for just second time.
It was great
being able to see where the Ramsay family originally came from. We saw the
ancient Ramsay castle at Dalhousie and Rebecca especially was good at finding
family names in cemeteries, churches, and museums. I remember when we were
looking for famous Ramsays (and other related family names) in one museum, I
actually found a 'Captain Ramsay'. Since my name and title is also Captain
Ramsay I thought this was great so I took a picture of the display with Captain
Ramsay's name on it. Rebecca then pointed out that maybe I don’t want to share
this picture as she read to me what that Captain Ramsay was famous for: He was
a human trafficker. This was an anti-slavery wall and this Captain Ramsay was captain
of a slave ship. So while I posted a lot of pictures on facebook, I decided
that maybe that wasn’t the best one to share.
Obviously
then, the Ramsay clan, just like the Israelite clans had some dark history, as well
as some bright spots reflecting the light of God. There are some more famous Ramsays people may
know: There is Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay. I don’t know if that name means anything to
anyone but he was the person in charge of the Normandy landings on D-Day. He
was the one tasked with ushering in the beginning of the end of Nazi control of
Western Europe even as Russia was driving the German forces from the East. There was also a very famous artist Allan
Ramsay. But the most famous Ramsay of all – of course – is that rather animated
contemporary Scottish chef: Gordon Ramsay who does all of those kitchen shows.
I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked if he is any relation. As far
as I know I have no relationship to him other than the surname.
We saw some
more of our family's Christian heritage there too: we saw the Ramsay Crest on a
big stained glass window in what is historically Edinburgh’s main Christian
Church. The family motto on our crest is ‘Prayer and Work’: a good motto to
aspire to, for sure. We even saw the family chapel in the Ramsay castle at
Dalhousie.
There were
some other interesting things about exploring the old Ramsay castle as well. They had falcons and owls
that people could fly on the grounds; so Rebecca, Sarah-Grace, and Heather
actually got to hold and pet a real live hunting owl – that was neat! We were
even able to explore the grounds and take lots of great pictures. Our children
were always very good about standing here and there so we could get their
photos with the castle in the background – even once they quite accidentally
stood nicely in a poison ivy patch – sorry about that Rebecca and Heather. The castle was great. It even has secret
passages: entrance ways and stairs hidden in floors and a secret doorway in a
bookcase just like in some old movies. One thing I found particularly
interesting was when we were exploring a back staircase at the castle: there
was a sign that said, ‘turn left for the Spa, turn right for the
dungeon/torture chamber. I would hate to make that wrong turn.
Warning us not
to make wrong turns is somewhat what our pericope today is about. We would hate
to walk the staircase of our life hoping for the eternal spa and turn into the
eternal dungeon by accident. Now of course, God isn’t as arbitrary as that. He
is not going to let us wander into an eternal dungeon by accident: He does a
lot to point us to the freedom and Salvation that comes from Christ alone. He
posts many such signs as the dungeon/spa sign on the walls of our lives.
1 Corinthians
10:11 tells us that one such sign pointing us away from the dungeon, towards
the eternal spa is the experience of those who have gone before us. The Apostle
Paul walks us through a little bit of our heritage as a people of God. (I
understand a couple of weeks ago Calvin walked everyone through a little bit of
that as well as he spoke about the heroes of the faith in the book of Hebrews.)
As recorded in 1 Corinthians 10 here, Paul draws our attention to some of the
warning signs that are the errors Israel has made, in the hopes that we will
not make that same wrong turns in our life (10:6-10). God through Paul reminds
us that 20 000 people died in a single day while involved in some sexual sin.
He reminds us that on another occasion, people complained against God so
grievously that even venomous snakes rose up, bit them and they died and kept
dying until God lifted up the bronze Nehustan (as a foreshadowing of Christ) to
save them as they cast their eyes upon him.
As well as
these warning signs about the perils of the dungeon, Paul gives us signs of
encouragement about how we can trust and follow God to the eternal spa even as
we go through very difficult passages.[1]
Paul draws our attention to the sign of the fiery cloud leading the Hebrews out
of Egypt, the parting of the sea, the manna they ate and the water from the
rock they drank in the desert (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). These are all signs
pointing us to the spa, the grace of God we can experience now and forever as
we walk with Him through our life.
That all being
said, Paul knows– just like Iris reminded us in her devotional thought this
past Wednesday on Philippians 4 – that sometimes the staircases we navigate in
our life, sometimes these staircases get pretty tight. Sometimes the walk down
the stairs of this life can be dark and scary and sometimes we need the encouragement
of 1 Corinthians 10:12, to watch our step so we do not fall. Sometimes there is
barely any room to move; sometimes these staircases can get pretty dark.
Sometimes we have to squint and sometimes I know that there are times when some
have wondered if they can even still see the light of God at all through the
troubles, trials, and tribulations that can sometimes line the walls of our
lives. Last time I was blessed to speak with you here, we chatted about the
trauma that Noah and his family must have experienced as they passed through
the flood even as they were delivered unto Salvation.
Now, I know
that there are many of us here who have gone through some really serious
trials, temptations, troubles, and test. Some comparably minor tests for Susan.
the children, and I arose even as we were at the conference in London and then
on our furlough in the U.K. When we arrived in a strange city, in a strange
country, in a daze after an all-night flight and with three children in tow,
our hotel had given our room away. We had no place to stay. Even though we had
booked it months in advance, even though we had called to confirm more than
once, even though we had even sent email to confirm our room in writing, they
gave it away and here we are in a foreign city, in a foreign land with no place
to stay and when we try to call for help we can’t even get our phones to work!
Then as we are trying to rent a car and as we are trying to get some food to
eat and other things, neither our credit cards nor our debit cards will work!
so here we were in a foreign city, in a foreign country with no transportation,
no money, and no place to stay.[2]
So what did we do? We prayed... and I called my mother.
God took care
of us. We also contacted Patricia and
Iris, whom we had just met, and others to pray for us and God led us to Major
Linda Budgell, whom we have never met before, and she knew of a room that a
single Salvation Army Officer was unable to use and the hotel was gracious
enough to let us fill up every free space on the floor of that small room with
extra beds so that all five of us could fit there until the conference was
over.
Now we were
staying in London for another week beyond the length of the conference so when
the conference was over we were in the same predicament: homeless, nowhere to
go. God took care of us. I ran into Captains Curtis Cartmel and Rachelle
Lamonte, whom I had never met before, and they told us that Majors Al and Karen
Hoeft –are staying at an apartment rented by The Salvation Army in Barking,
London. They were leaving London the very same day that we were without a place
to stay and, Nigel Shultz, the Corps Officer from Barking, whom we had never
met before, told us that we could use it for the rest of the time we were
in London – for Free! God took care of us.
And there is
more: our bank cards and credit cards: they still wouldn’t work. The computer
chip technology they use in the UK is incompatible with our cards and VISA was
no help and we certainly did need access to funds to survive. God took care of
us. Even as I couldn’t use debit, PTL, my bank card still worked in some
machines and our credit cards would work so long as they entered them in by
hand. We were okay. God took care of us and when Susan and the Sarah-Grace were
stranded and we couldn’t get our phones to work to reach the hotel in Venice
where they were headed, God took care of us. We couldn’t reach the hotel from
Scotland but my mother could from Victoria in Canada here; so she spoke to the
hotel on our behalf and they held the room to the last possible moment and just
as they were about to lock up for the night, Susan and Sarah-Grace arrived safe
and sound. God took care of us.
Now as
harrowing as our time was, I know for others here there have been even more
harrowing times. I was chatting with John this week about a friend he is
planning to visit in prison. I know that as I have visited friends in prison
some of my struggles suddenly seemed minor compared to some of theirs and I
know that as I was reading the Words of Life – a devotional book written
by Major Bev Ivany – She spoke about a murder that affected many in this 614
community a while ago. Calvin shared with us on Thursday about his friend who
has just had a terrible stroke and now is only able to speak two words: yes or
no, in Japanese. Calvin spoke of the comfort that the Lord offered through the
Psalms at this time. This week also I listened to a maiden speech by a SNP
politician who referenced her friend who was struggling to survive so much so
that he even passed out from hunger when going to see a government welfare
worker and then the result of his seeking government help after a this long
ordeal: they financially penalized this man who already couldn’t even afford to
eat. I know that there are real struggles that real people are really going
through everyday but we don't need to be tempted to give up, to
throw in the towel. We don't need to be tempted to wander in the dungeon.[3]
It is in this
very serious context of our real life that we are really given some very real
hope both for eternity and today as well. 1 Corinthians 10:13: 'No testing has
overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and He will not
let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing He will also
provide the way out so that you may [you will!] be able to endure it.'[4]
Like with the stories we've shared today of God helping us in and through our
struggles and there are many more even this week. One example I don't have time
to share relates to the miracles surrounding the girl from Oklahoma who suffered
the burn but God provided for her and her team mates the way and strength to
get through and in miraculous fashion too! The Lord gives us hope in the midst
of even adversity in our life.
The hope is
that the Lord will comfort, sustain, and even transform me completely and
totally even as I experience all of the trials that are part of my life. This
hope is that the Lord will comfort, sustain, and even transform you completely
and totally even as you experience all of the very real trials that are part of
your life. This hope is that the Lord will comfort, sustain, and even transform
each of us completely and totally even as we experience all of the trials that
are a very real part of each and every one of our lives. And this hope is that
the Lord will comfort, sustain, and transform even this whole country as we
experience all of the trials that are a very real part of each and every one of
our lives. And this hope that the Lord will comfort, sustain, and transform
even the whole world completely and totally even as people everywhere
experience all of the trials that our part of our life. And our hope in the
Lord does NOT disappoint! And as we are faithful and follow Him we will be a
part of that hope that He offers to all people.[5]
A picture that
I love is on a wall in my in-laws home. It is of the Reverend Tommy Douglas; it
says, “Courage, my friends; 'tis not too late to build a better world.” Another
quote that resonates strongly with me is from Jack Layton’s farewell letter to Canadians; he
wrote “My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear.
Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic.
And we’ll change the world.” The Apostle Paul offers us this same encouragement
and more and I promise you that as difficult as the staircase of our life may
be at times that there is no testing that has overtaken us that God has not
already escorted someone safely through before; so as dark as our life may seem
at times, we can keep on keeping on, serving God through loving our neighbour
because God is faithful and He will see us through even the most difficult
circumstances of this life. And as we serve Him in the midst of our very real
struggles I know that He will comfort and sustain us and I believe that, as
recorded in Isaiah 61:1-4, He will use even us to transform the whole world; rebuilding the ancient ruins, restoring the places long devastated, and
renewing the ruined cities that have been ruined for generations.
Let us pray.
www.sheepspeak.com
[1] Cf. Cf. Harold W. Mare, The Expositor's Bible Commentary,
Pradis CD-ROM:1 Corinthians/Exposition of 1 Corinthians/VII. Paul's Answers to
Questions Raised by the Church (7:1-14:40)/B. Instructions Concerning Christian
Freedom: Its Privileges and Responsibilities (8:1-11:1)/4. Warning: Israel's
lack of self-restraint (10:1-13), Book Version: 4.0.2
[2] Cf. NT Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (Louisville,
Kentucky, USA:WJK, 2004), 128 and Simon J. Kistemaker, 1 Corinthians (NTC: Grad
Raoids Michigan: Baker Academic, 2007), 331.
The temptation to grumble or have faith is key to understanding this
pericope, I believe.
[3] Cf. NT Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (Louisville,
Kentucky, USA:WJK, 2004), 128 and Simon J. Kistemaker, 1 Corinthians (NTC:
Grand Rapids Michigan: Baker Academic, 2007), 331. The temptation to grumble or have faith is
key to understanding this pericope, I believe.
[4] Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians (Interpretation: Louisville,
Kentucky, JKP, 1997), 166 and NT Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians
(Louisville, Kentucky, USA:WJK, 2004), 129
[5] Cf. J. Paul Sampley, 1 Corinthians, (NIB: Nashville, TN: Abingdon
Press, 2002), 915.
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