Ezra 2:68-3:13: New Normal and Hope for a Better World

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 28 August 2022, by Major Michael Ramsay

 

 

We had a good time at the Rally Day: Picnic in the Park the other day. It was a really great mix of the parts of our Salvation Army group in the Valley. Many of you here today, of course, were there on Friday. There were a number of volunteers and their families; there were a number of staff and their families; there were a number of children we know from kids’ club and other places; there were customers from the store; there were some of our friends who use or have used our services over the years. It was even an outreach as some people just dropped by and I even saw one or two people I know from the community as well: it was great. It was really great to have people from these different parts of The Salvation Army family here have an opportunity to do something together and maybe get to know each other a little better.

For the second year in a row this Picnic in the Park doubled as our Rally Day. Rally Day is a word we use in The Salvation Army to celebrate the end of Summer and getting ready for the upcoming fall programs. When we get all the final dates set with all the different people involved, when we know, we will let everyone know when everything is happening. Some of the events already starting are Della’s groups: Wednesday coffee time, Friday morning walks. We just started coffee time after church again after a couple of years absence.

Before Covid we used to have a Monday hiking group too. I was reminded of this yesterday as Susan, Heather and I when to Fossli Park. That was a place that we went to with our group before covid. 

 

This year’s fall programs do feel a little strange. As with much of the word, we are still getting into the swing of things after 2 plus years of Covid. We need to update our phone and other contact lists as people have changed, just as circumstances have. Some of the typical church activities like Bible Study we haven’t done in a long time – it will seem very strange to do this again, a good strange but strange, nonetheless. Other things have changed a few times over the last 2 plus years – sermons have become much shorter as have services. Somethings – just like with many other organizations and businesses - we have even forgotten how to do parts of them. You see this with all the community events that are starting up here and all over our world after a couple of years break: people have forgotten how to do things we used to do all the time. We are getting back to normal and maybe it is a ‘new normal’ but it doesn’t quite feel normal yet.

We read from Chapter 3 of Ezra this morning. In the book of Ezra people are beginning to return to the way things were after a minimum 20-year break. We know how difficult it is trying to remember how to do things after a two year break, imagine returning to your old job after a 20 year break and trying to remember how to do everything or imagine returning to your church and having to set up the church calendar after a 20 year break or imagine returning to your old town (along with a few hundred other people) after a 20 year break and trying to find your old house, your old job, and trying to remember the way you used to do everything. Now, that 20 years is a minimum number. People who were the first to be deported could have been in exile from Jerusalem for anywhere from between 48 and 70 years, the full length of the exile.

This is what the book of Ezra-Nehemiah is: people trying to return to normal or a ‘new normal’, as we say now, but trying to make it as close to the old normal as possible – but instead of trying to pull everything together after a 2-year gap, they are trying to pull it together after a, in some cases, 70 year gap.

Now, I know that you haven’t all had the luxury of reading and reading about Ezra this week, so I’ll remind you of a bit more of the context and background. Israel was conquered by the Assyrians ca. 720 BCE and Judah was conquered in 597 BCE (586 BCE, the Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed) by the Neo-Babylonians/Chaldeans. By the year 539 BCE the Persians in turn had conquered both the Assyrians and the Chaldeans and this sets up the events in the books of Ezra-Nehemiah that tell the story of the exiles returning home from Babylon to Jerusalem, returning to the new normal.

Ezra and Nehemiah are two books in our Bible but they were actually written on one scroll called Ezra-Nehemiah and these two books, this scroll talks about many of the problems that the Judeans had returning to the new normal. In reading the book you get the feeling that some people may have thought that they could just go back to the way things were before, some people seemed to have an idealistic view, some seemed tentative, some practical, and others were afraid, very afraid.

All of these responses reminded me of people in our world, our country, our community, and our churches today. Now that the precautions and the measures adopted for Covid-19 are coming to an end, some people seem to hope that everything will return to an idealistic version of the old normal, the way things used to be – at least the good parts of the way things used to be. Some people remember times when all the churches in this country were full. Some people in The Salvation Army remember days of large bands and even large junior bands. Some people remember this and some people remember that. The longer ago the memories the more fondly we remember them too – but - at the same time we can’t quite remember the ways we used to do things just 2 plus years ago just before covid-19 struck. Sometimes it seems like we (or at least I) can’t even remember what we did yesterday.

The passage that stuck out to me as I was reading and re-reading the opening chapters of Ezra was 2:70-3:3:

The priests, the Levites, the musicians, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.

 

When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.

 

The people settled in their own homes – they returned to the new normal even though some of the people were very afraid; they met together and made sacrifices to the Lord. My friends there are some uncertain times still ahead here as we worship the Lord and as we return to our new normal. As we re-start Bible studies, coffee times, kids club, and other things, it will be a new normal. It won’t be they way things were 2 years ago; it won’t be the way things were 20 years ago or 70 years ago but we are returning to this new normal of worship and service and I invite you all to join us in whatever way you can as we figure out together exactly what is this new normal way of serving God in this time and place.

I want to share one more story with you today. This is from when Susan, the kids and I were in Victoria recently. I have always liked a picture my father-in-law had of Tommy Douglas and himself leaning on a fence. 

 

This is a great picture. Susan told me a little bit about the picture the other week. This picture was apparently taken at Susan’s grandma’s farm. She invited Tommy Douglas to visit one day when he was on the Island and he did. When he was there he had a good conversation with Susan’s dad – and it was during the conversation that Tommy Douglas convinced Bob Skelly to enter politics. Susan’s dad then went on to be a leader of the party and the longest ever serving MLA for this riding. It is a great picture. There is another poster at their place of Tommy Douglas with a quote that says, “Courage, my friends, it is not too late to make a better world”.  And that reminds me of a quote – almost the dying words of Jack Layton, “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.”

I think this is a very important reminder and a great encouragement for everyone and especially for us as we embark on our new normal. It is my hope that as we go forward in this new church season, we will remember “My friends, [that] 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.” For “it is never too late to make a better world”

Let us pray.

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1 John 4:7-21: Love Them; Don’t Leave Them

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 20 February 2022, by Captain Michael Ramsay

 

The other night we watched in horror with all the other diners at a packed restaurant in Chilliwack as the TV abruptly switched from the Olympics to show police on horseback and with automatic weapons advancing on a crowd of protesters in Ottawa. You could hear the disbelief as none of us - even those who supported the action - could really comprehend that something like this would be happening in Canada. 

On Valentines Day, of all days, when our PM announced that this was coming, my mind went to 1 John 4 because, 'how do I love my neighbour?' has been a question that I -like many people, with many different views- have been and am still really struggling with during Covid-19. 

 

Perfect love drives out fear: People have been filled with so much fear and hate in this country that it is not only driving out love, but it is also clouding our reason - or at least mine! Bars were packed this weekend with people drinking and dancing and in very close contact with each other; we have been at sporting events where people are packed so close together that they can spill their drink on you or spew the food in their mouth on you when they cheer a goal - it doesn't make me feel safe. 

But then look at our rules around vaccine passports. In our province, one must be vaccinated to eat at a restaurant where the server takes your order from the table. The waiter, however, who goes from table-to-table does not need to be vaccinated. If unvaccinated people are more likely to carry the virus, then the legislation is putting all the customers and especially the staff at risk; if not, then what is the point of the passport - to keep unvaccinated patrons away from unvaccinated waitstaff? 

 

There is more: like we just said, one must be vaccinated to eat at a restaurant where the server takes your order from the table; however, you don’t need to be vaccinated if you place your order at the counter and then the same waiter brings the meal to your table. The waiter still comes to the table so why do we need a passport in one case and not the other?

A line that comes to my mind is one that Plato, in his Republic, put in the words of Socrates. When facing his questioners he said, "I am too stupid to be convinced by you". I think this is me relating to our current (especially vaccine) regulations. I am sure smarter people than I am can figure it out.

 

Wearing masks, washing one’s hands, and social distancing all make a lot of sense when trying to avoid a flu, a cold, or Covid-19. Closing borders and limiting travel are great ways to stop the spread of a global pandemic. Wearing masks, washing one’s hands, social distancing are all things we do here to help the vulnerable stay safe because we love them. We also still check people’s temperatures, and we have plexiglass separators everywhere. At the soup kitchen we even have them on every table separating each diner from the person in front of them. I might even go so far as to recommend that everyone who can be, be vaccinated: I have had 3 shots now!

 

The reason that I have had three shots is the same reason why I personally am troubled with our current vaccine mandate – because I am trying to figure out, in this time and place, how to best love my neighbour. I am vaccinated because I feel that I need to do everything out of love; I need to do everything possible to help others – even and especially those who are fearful of unvaccinated people. I would never want to exclude them from anything. I do realize however that there are people who cannot be vaccinated for health, mental health, moral and ethical reasons. I cannot possibly be a part of forcing someone to violate their deeply held moral convictions, can I?

 

The key for Christians alive at this juncture in history, I believe, is to not let the devil tempt us into fear and/or hatred of anyone. Like our scriptures today say, God is love. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God; if we love one another, God lives in us. Whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God.

 

Anyone of us who is on social media should check our posts. If we have posted something that demeans or belittles proponents of an opposing view, take it down. At the very least, commit to only building one another up in the future. If you find yourself getting worked up while you are watching the ‘news’, turn it off. If you find yourself getting worked up while chatting with someone else, take a breath and say a silent prayer for them – or better yet, acknowledge the heart of a person you many disagree with and say a prayer with them. That is an act of love and whoever loves God loves their neighbour. God is love.

 

At this time when our country is seriously and passionately divided, we Christians need to be united in love; we need to remember when walking with one another that:  

 

·        God loves us all (even the other guys!) so much so that He sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and if anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  

·        There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 

·        And whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love; whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God. 

·        For, God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them; if we love one another, God lives in us.

 

Let us go from here out into this world of hate and fear and let us be different. Let us refuse to hate one another; let us refuse to fear one another. And let us refuse to ‘other’ one another, and may we always, as brothers and sisters, live and walk in the love of God. 

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Luke 2:1-20: Christmas Day 2021

Vaguely similar to the message spoken to TSA's Alberni Valley Ministries, Christmas Day, 25 December, 2021 by Captain Michael Ramsay 

It was tough times in Judea in the 1^st Century when Jesus was born. They had been part of the Roman Empire for a while. They lived through wars and rebellions. Herod the Great, the king of this region, was instrumental in putting Caesar Augustus on the throne. This is a people torn apart by challenges, circumstances, differing opinions and sentiments - much like today.

 

Covid-19 in this country is polarizing many people. The rules, regulations, and restrictions by the governments and our organizations do not seem to be consistent. The pandemic is a real concern and each attempted solution seems to either make it worse, or at the very least, not make it any better.

 

Many people are getting sick, suffering physically: not only from Covid-19 but from our healthcare, hospitals, and/or governments being unable to treat people with other serious ailments. Many people are suffering emotionally – suicide is on the rise, as is Medical Assistance In Dying. Drug use is on the rise. The Opioid Crisis is a real concern and each attempted solution seems to either make it worse, or at the very least, not make it any better.

 

In BC, we have just had the floods that caused loss of life, destruction of homes, highways, businesses and farms and livestock – chickens and cows and other animals have perished. People have been cut off. Our supply lines have been disrupted.

 

The debt and deficit in this country are so bad that I don’t know if anyone has any idea how to find a way out.

 

And now winter is hitting our own community really very hard. We are expecting this week some of the coldest weather ever recorded in our Valley. We are partnering with many other agencies to try to find a way to keep the Drop-in Centre open so people don’t freeze to death.

 

It is into a time not unlike this that God sent His Only Begotten Son to our world in the First Century. Jesus was sent to a people who were struggling. Jesus lived and taught with a people who were struggling. Jesus died and rose again to save a people who were struggling - and he can save us too.

 

There are many struggles that we all corporately have today. There are possibly infinitely more struggles that each and every one of us has personally each and every day. Christmas Day marks the day God sent His Son so that we can be saved even in the midst of our turmoil and saved even unto eternity.

 

Advent Season is about remembering the wait for Jesus’ birth and Advent Season is about our waiting for His return. Jesus has saved us so that when He returns there will be no more death, no more suffering, no more pain, no more tears and until that time we have His Holy Spirit and Immanuel, God With Us.

 

God is with us in all of our struggles today. No matter what happens today, no matter what happens tomorrow, God is with us. We can bring all of our struggles to him – all or our pain, all of our sadness and all of our fears and He will deliver us from them. After all perfect love drives out fear and Jesus is perfect love.

 

And this my friends is what Christmas is all about. So on this Christmas Day let us celebrate the birth of our Saviour who has provided for our salvation us in the midst of all of our struggles and who has made it possible for us to live and grow in that salvation forever.

 

Let us pray.

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Luke 3:1-6 (Isaiah 40:1-8) Straight Paths

Presented to The Salvation Army: Alberni Valley Ministries, 05 December 2021 by Captain Michael Ramsay

 

To read a version of this presented to the 230pm service of Warehouse Mission 614 at 252 Carlton St., Toronto, on the second Sunday of Advent, 10 December 2017 by Captain Michael Ramsay, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2017/12/isaiah-401-8-sometimes-buildings-need_9.html

 

To see the 2024 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2024/12/isaiah-40-luke-31011-today-we-are.html

 

To see the 2023 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2023/12/isaiah-401-8-28-31-luke-31-6-straight.html

When we were stationed in Toronto, we participated in the Santa Shuffle, an annual fun race put on by The Salvation Army. Even Heather when she was very little participated and got a medal. I have been injured since the beginning of covid (hamstring and meniscus) but before then – off and on - since I was in my 30s, I have done a bit of running. When I lived in Vancouver, I faithfully ran every second day. I lived about 5km from my office – I used to run there and back. In Winnipeg I lived almost 10km from the College; a colleague and I did that run more than once. In Toronto I would run past the many Officers’ quarters regularly as we all seemed to live in the same area, and here in Port Alberni I even ran with Rebecca a bit before she moved and then I was later injured. Running can be fun – but when you get out of the habit and have to start again or when you start for the very first time it can be a chore. And sometimes those hills in your first few runs can feel like mountains and those valleys, ravines.  I can remember when I was first learning to run being near the end of my run and my energy... rounding a corner and seeing... another hill to try to run up...I then understand Luke 3:4-6 and Isaiah 40:3b-5:

“...make straight in the desert

a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be raised up,

every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

the rugged places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

  

This is a great verse to ponder when you are running up and down hills and around curves, looking towards a time when obstacles will disappear. Pre-covid we had a Salvation Army hiking group here that would go for walks on Mondays. There is a lot of hiking on the Island here and if one goes backpacking or on a very long hike, after a few hours following switchbacks up and down mountains, you can almost feel the relief of Luke and Isaiah’s valleys raised and mountains levelled. This is part of the Good News of Luke 3 and Isaiah 40. This is the Good News that John the Baptist proclaims: when Jesus returns with His Kingdom, obstacles will be removed. As during Advent we commemorate waiting for Jesus’ birth, we also hope for His return so our mountains of trouble will be levelled and our valleys of despair will be raised to abundance. The crookedness of our paths will be straightened. That is hope.

  

Last week we lit the candle of hope. Today we lit the candle of love. First one has hope and then one can dare to love. One of the key things about hope and love in the context of Isaiah and thus Luke is that both are to and from God and an humbled people, a conquered people, an exiled people. There is no hope when you are on top of the world...only fear that you will fall off.

  

Sarah-Grace is doing her first in-person year at college. She is going to the same college where I studied my first year or so. When I was in college, I remember looking at the marks going into one final exam and noticing that I had the 3rd highest mark in that class. I then heard the people with the two highest marks brag to each other about which of the two of them would finish top of the class, like no one else was their equal – it was at that moment that I resolved that I would beat them both.  And I did.

  

When we lived in Swift Current Saskatchewan, I believe each Christmas we would raise more money per capita for The Salvation Army than any other place. At first this was a victory – and then it was almost a fear for me. What happens if we are not the best? What if someone beats us? What if I do not beat my previous record? What if I fail?

  

It was the same in university, once I became addicted to ‘A+’s, a ‘B’ was infuriating. There was no inherent joy in achievement anymore only a fear of failure – and that fear of failure can stomp out hope and it can stomp out love.

  

It was not always like that though in school. I remember a time when I would hope and pray and celebrate even a passing grade. I remember Grade 11 French. The only French words I remember from that year we’re ‘ne lancer pas la papier’ which means ‘don’t throw the paper’. Apparently the teacher didn’t like that we threw paper airplanes in class. Every time we made one, we could hear her say, ‘ne lancer pas la papier’.

  

I don’t think I was her favourite student. One day I was in the counselling alcove and I saw my French teacher and she asked me what I was doing. I told her I was switching out of her French in 3rd period... ‘That is a very good idea to be out of my class’, she said. ‘...to your class in fourth period,’ I continued. She was not impressed.

   

But forget my tales of youth. Don’t we all have stories of a more carefree time? Look back on those times: these are usually times when you didn’t have a lot except the love of a few good friends and the hope that the future will be better. There is a lot of freedom in not having much. Is it Janet Joplin who sang that freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose?

  

Sometimes this is right. Sometimes I think we get to a place of fearing loss so much that we no longer have hope and we no longer have love. Sometimes when we have enough to get by, we don’t share what is ours for fear that we might not have something. This is reflected very much in tithing. When a person who has tithed or knows they should tithe, does not tithe... this is a sign that we are not doing well. This is a symptom that we are not free but instead bound up in fear or pride or something else that keeps us from tithing. I remember when we were Corps Officers in Tisdale, there was Ralph. He had a limited income. He only made $52.30 a week and you know what? Every week he tithed $5.23. This is an example of love. This is an example of our hope in the Lord. I think of him when sometimes I am tempted to keep God’s tithe from Him, when sometimes I fear for my finances. I can choose hope and love instead.

Fear can rob us of hope. Fear can rob us of love. In our pandemic, fear is gaining great power. Fear is grabbing a hold of many people and making them insensitive to the plight of others. Fear is making people mean to each other. Fear can be a crippler of hope and fear can detract from Love. Our candle today is love and perfect love drives out fear.

  

In Advent we talk about the Good News of the Salvation of the world. Do you know where in the Bible this Good News shows up for the first time? Genesis 12:1-3: “All the nations of the earth will be blessed” and do you know what happens just before then... Genesis 11: the tower of Babel. God told the people to move and fill the earth. The people said, ‘No. We are going to stay here, build a city and a tower, and make a name for ourselves instead.’ God levelled their tower, their city; their pride and their fear, in order to give them the hope of salvation.

  

Isaiah records how God’s own temple was destroyed, the holy city of Jerusalem, and the independent nations of Israel and Judah - until the day He will return. Their country was conquered, their city was leveled, their temple was destroyed and through this, God provided them with hope. In Isaiah comes this hope of flattened mountains, raised valleys, straight paths and the joy and love that can only come from trusting God.

There are many things in our world, our country, our province, our time, and our life that are coming crashing down all around us these days. God loves us. This is the love that God has for us: He loves us so much that if there are any untraversable valleys, mountains, crooked paths or Babel-like buildings of traditions, pride, fear, hate, or something else in our lives; He will fill in those valleys, flatten those mountains and tear down those buildings, so we can be rebuilt on His foundations.

  

There is a song by a Canadian Band, Glorious Sons, whose first two lines get stuck in my head whenever I hear it on the radio:

I spent all my money on a pack of cigarettes,

for a lady that I love with a name I forget.

The song tells a story about someone’s troubles as it moves to the chorus which proclaims, ‘everything will be alright.’ There have been some troubles in the world recently. For those of us who have already had things come tumbling down around us and are now feel as if we are in exile in our own lives, for those of us who are fearing or grieving, for those of us who feel like all is lost, God is here. When the people were scattered from the ruins of Babel, God was there with Terah and his son, Abraham, offering salvation. When Israel was slave to Egypt, God was there with Moses offering salvation; when Judah was exiled from her city, her temple, and her life, God was there pointing her towards Salvation: Jesus’ Advent; Jesus whose imminent return we eagerly await today – at that time all the insurmountable mountains in our life will be levelled, all the impassable valleys raised, and all our crooked paths made straight – and right up until that time, right until the end of this age, He is here with us in the midst of it all.

  

It is Advent. Let us start (if we haven’t already) and let us continue in hope and in love. Let us all walk in God’s hope and in God’s love for we know He will see us through and we know He is with us even as we look forward to the day of Christ’s return when all those valleys will be raised, all those mountains will be levelled and all our paths will straightened for ever more.

  

Let us pray.

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Psalm 25:1-10: Our Leader in Times of Trouble

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries by Captain Michael Ramsay, 28 November 2021

Psalm 25 is an acrostic poem which means that every line begins with a different letter in the Hebrew Alphabet. If it was our alphabet, it would run A through Z in sequence. It is a poem written during some very difficult times. We, now, are in some very difficult times: Flooding around the province, fires in the summer, the plague that still ravages the world and seems to mutate almost at will (if that were possible); our economy is in shambles and we are making it worse; our country is more and more involved in many -at best- questionable aggressive international actions; our country is divided over things like vaccine passports and vaccine mandates. People are scared. People are mean. People are uncertain. All of this is coming across on social media and in person. I have heard multiple stories of people ‘losing it’ and I think we have each probably encountered someone ‘losing it’, getting noticeably upset in public when they never would have before. That person ‘losing it’ in some cases may even have been us. These are some very difficult times. Psalm 25 is an ABC poem written by someone in very difficult times. Let us take a look at the first 10 Verses of this poem, those in the lectionary for today and let us find some encouragement from this ABC poem as we look at an equivalent of letters A through I. (I have adapted it slightly here to fit that form)

 

A.

Always to you Lord, I lift my Soul

B.

Benevolent God, in you I trust…

 

In our struggles today with all that we already mentioned and the more personal, immediate things that we are each facing today, let us take a deep breath; let us sit maybe in silence for a while; let us lift our thoughts and our hearts to God. Let us release our minds from all the things that want to work us up into a frenzy and let us instead place our trust in God.

 

… do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. 

C.

Champion us, do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 

 

Lord as we come to you today with all of the things we are struggling with; Lord as we come to you in vulnerability, aware of the forces and powers and principalities aligning against us, please champion us, please do not let those who wish to divide and conquer us succeed. Please help us not to tear at each other to bits but rather to be unified in our love for you. Please may we not tear and be torn apart. Please help us to persevere in peace. Please may we not be put to shame.

 

D.

Do make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. 

E.

Everyday lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. 

 

God, please help me to know what to do in these times; You are my salvation; God, please let me know what to think in these times; You are my salvation; God please show me how to show love to my neighbour in these times, even though they may be my accusers and tormenters in these time. Lord please help me to persevere; You are my salvation; please help me to always follow You in truth which is love and forgiveness. Lord, please help me to quiet myself so I may have Your peace in these times.

 

F.

Forgiveness and Mercy: Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 

 

Lord you are merciful on everyone. May I be the same. May we be the same. May we be charitable with one another. We are blessed through your covenant faithfulness. Each of us can think back on troubles in our lives and the older we are and the more troubles we have had, the more experiences we have that we can remember your never-failing faithfulness. You have always been faithful in pulling us through so that we have survived even until today and you continue to pull us through so that we may survive even until tomorrow and eternity. Lord, may we never forget your love, your mercy, your faithfulness and may we always be faithful and merciful with one another.

G.

Gracious God, do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O LORD!

 

Lord, I appeal to your mercy. I appeal to your forgiveness and your never-ending love. I know that I have done and said many things in the past. I know I have thought many uncharitable things. I know I have made comments that were not and are not okay. I know I have done actions and said words that are harmful. Lord, please forgive me and thank you for forgiving me my sins and the harmful things I have done, said, and thought.

H.

He is Good and upright; therefore, the LORD instructs sinners in the way.

 

God is good. He loves all of us. Even those of us who fail and flail about. When hate grabs our heart, and despair, and helplessness, and unforgiveness, and all else that can grab ahold of us and drag us under, the Lord is here offering to teach us the ways of forgiveness that lead to peace. Unforgiveness is one of the key things that rob us of peace and love. It is only through forgiving others that any of us can ever hope to have peace. Unforgiveness is a self-inflicted wound. It is only we who can heap that debilitating injury upon ourselves. The Lord can free us from its suffocating grasp. The Lord taught us that in His life, in His Death, and He continues to teach us that in His resurrection life. Love overcomes death. In the Lord, we can be free.

 

I.

In what is right, He leads the humble and teaches the humble His way.

J.

All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. 

 

As he instructs the sinners; so too does he lead the humble. As we humble ourselves before the Lord in our times of trouble, He will lead us through. As we humble ourselves to realize that we may not always be correct, as we humble ourselves to acknowledge that we do not know everything, as we humble ourselves to see that we cannot solve the problems of the world – much less the problems in our own lives – all by ourselves, as we humble ourselves to follow the LORD, He will lead us through our troubles.

And this is the hope that I wish to leave us with today. On this Advent Sunday, 2000+ years after the birth of our saviour and 2000+ years closer to His return, I want to encourage us all to turn to the Prince of Peace, experience His love and forgiveness and indeed, as we do, He can and will see us through even the most difficult of times.

Let us pray.

 

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Exodus 12:24-27 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26: Lest We Forget

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries by Captain Michael Ramsay (Padre, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293), 07 November 2021

The Exodus passage that we read from today references the Passover. The Passover was deliverance that God brought to His people through some terrible times. We have been struggling through the plague of Covid-19 since about March of 2020. The Passover occurred after the people had suffered through, not one plague (like we are struggling to do now) but 9 plagues. Can you imagine? Can you imagine if when we get through our current plague there are 8 more of these things waiting to greet us? …Each arguably worse than its predecessor? The Israelites suffered not one plague of Covid-19 but 9 plagues of various kinds: 

1. The Nile River turns to blood (7:14–25)

2. Plague of frogs (7:25–8:11)

3. Plague of gnats (8:12–15)

4. Plague of flies (8:20–32)

5. Plague on the livestalk (9:1–7)

6. Plague of boils (9:8–12)

7. Plague of hail (9:13-35)

8. Plague of locusts (10:1–20)

9. Plague of darkness (10:21–29) 

It was after the Ninth plague, when I am sure that everyone is completed exhausted from it all, that the Passover happens: the Angel of Death comes and kills the eldest child of every person and animal in a household, in a family – unless they were fully prepared. God saved the Hebrews. The Angel of Death passed over them. This salvation was so important that God instructed those who lived through the Passover to never forget it. They were to have a ceremony that they practiced annually down through the generations. Exodus 12:24-27a again

“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”

The ancient Israelites were asked to never forget the trials and tribulations that their forebearers suffered through hoping that future generations would never suffer in that way. They shall remember, lest they forget. 

This is Remembrance Sunday in the Church. In Canada we are asked never to forget what our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents went through in the World and other Wars. It is important that we remember so that we don’t have to live through those times ever again. I can’t imagine what Reinhart and Christa lived through with bombs dropping on their town and near their home. I can’t imagine what it is like to see a soldier attacking your town. I can’t imagine what Kirk, who is a member of our group here is going through right now even. As we speak he is back east getting treatment for PTSD brought on by some of the things he has seen in wartime and some of the things he has done. We are asked to remember our veterans and we are asked to remember the horror and sorrow of war so that future generations never need to live through what others experienced.

Just like with the World Wars and the Passover, Jesus and his disciples tell us that we are never to forget what Jesus has done for us between the cross and the empty tomb. Just like we have ceremonies here on Remembrance Day and the Israelites commemorated the Passover we are told in the Gospels and 1 Corinthians here to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Paul says:

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Some denominations may take communion every day, every week, or every month to remember Christ’s death. Sundays are traditionally in the Church a time when we come together to remember Jesus’ resurrection; when people take communion they do so in remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection. Just like the ancient Hebrews remembered the Passover in a ceremony every year, Good Friday, even to this day, is a time when we in the Church gather to remember Jesus’ death and Easter Sunday is a time when we gather to remember his resurrection and look forward to his return. We will remember Him. Lest We Forget.

Just like on this Thursday upcoming we will gather in the cemetery to remember our service people, who offered their lives so that we may one day see an end to war; Easter, every Sunday and every day we have an opportunity and a responsibility to remember Christ who died and rose again so that we can all live forever more (if we so choose) and so that there may one day be an end to all war and a future time and place, a future realm of peace when even we ‘ain’t gonna study war no more’.

Let us pray

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Psalm 126: Imagine

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 24 October 2021, by Captain Michael Ramsay

1 When the Lord restored the people,

we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then it was said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

3 The Lord has done great things for us,

and we rejoiced.

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like the watercourses in the Negeb.

5 May those who sow in tears

reap with shouts of joy.

6 Those who go out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

carrying their sheaves.

 

Imagine this with me. You get up and get ready for your day. You head out to pick up some groceries before doing whatever else you have planned for the day. You don’t have a mask. You don’t go back to your car to get a mask; you don’t have one there either. You don’t go all the way back home; you have no idea where one might be there even though not long ago you had 2 or 3 readily accessible everywhere. You don’t have a mask. You don’t know where you might find one. But here is the thing – imagine this: You don’t need a mask. You don’t have to look for one because no one asks for you to wear one. 

 

Imagine then that you go for brunch with a friend. The is no hand sanitizer at the door. There are no directional arrows on the floor or the wall. No one meets you at the door or at your table asking to see your papers or scan your vaccine passport. Imagine that the table next to you is full of your friends. Imagine that you shake hands with your friends or even –if you are a hugger – hug. Imagine your friends ask you to join them. Imagine that the waitstaff pulls a table up to theirs for you and your friends to all sit down together. Imagine that you go up to the counter to pay the bill when you are done and there is no plexiglass separating you and the host or hostess. 

Imagine then that you go to a coffee shop with a friend later in the day. You drive there while listening to the radio and you don’t hear about any new covid-19 cases. You get to the coffee shop early so you check your phone or a newspaper while you are waiting and you see no news of a pandemic. You wait in line and are so close that you accidently touch the person in front of you – and neither of you notices! Imagine that as you stand in this line while people are talking all around you and you don’t hear anyone complaining about daily or weekly changes to the rules that guide our society. Your friend arrives, the two of you have a conversation and out of nowhere Covid-19 does come up in the conversation but neither of you can remember the names Dr. Bonnie, Dr. Tam, or Dr. Fauci or Dr. whomever else. 

Imagine then that you go home at night – you are afraid to go to sleep because you may wake up and realize this is all just a dream. You wake up the next morning... and... it’s true. Covid-19, the pandemic is just a memory. People’s fear and anguish about the virus is just a memory. People’s confusion and anger about what to do about it is just a memory.  

This Psalm is very much like that. It was probably written either while or just after the people of Israel were in exile or when they were in some other significant predicament.  The people of Israel were experiencing or anticipating a ‘new normal’ with all of the challenges that that inevitably held. Not everyone survived the exile. People in subsequent generations suffered and died. Individuals never saw their homes again. It got to the point where people thought that the time that they were going through was never going to end – and then it did. They got through it.

God got them through it. This was very likely a psalm that was sung regularly by pilgrims as they approached Jerusalem remembering and praising God for seeing them through this time.  When people did return it was not the same as before. There were many challenges ahead. But today in this psalm there is much celebration! God has delivered them just as God is delivering and will deliver us through the pandemic

Just like we can imagine the joy in our lives when this pandemic comes to an end, the author of this psalm captured the moment of excitement for the people. It is like the end of a war or the end of a plague, a global pandemic. We are in that moment now of dreaming of times to come, like many did in the Bible and many have done since and before. It is important that psalms like this are recorded and repeated (as they were)  because soon people forget about all the things that people suffered through and in times of prosperity people forget about all that God has brought us through – how faithful He is to us. It doesn’t take long to forget. But we need to remember because remembering is hope for we know that just as God has got us through predicaments in the past, He will get us through predicaments in the future and He will get us through this one now.  He is faithful!

Picture yourself in the hopefully very near future, months from now even when this is all over. Now imagine a year or two down the road. Imagine explaining to someone a few years from now about what it was like when the whole world once-upon-a-time had a lockdown. Imagine explaining to them how people had to isolate for two weeks if they went to certain places or saw certain people. Imagine explaining that all school was homeschool or online from Spring break until the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Imagine explaining to people how churches, restaurants, businesses, and many other things were actually forcibly shut down for months. Imagine explaining to people how you weren’t allowed to visit your parents and grandparents in seniors’ homes for months on end. Imagine explaining that some people were actually denied their last rites (or equivalent) by Health Authority staff or administrators. Imagine explaining to people that you weren’t even allowed to visit your sick and injured children in the hospital. Imagine explaining that there were actually many people who never or very rarely even left their homes for the better part of a year or more. Imagine explaining to someone that many people stopped going to work and either quit, went on leave, or worked from home for a long time, a year or more without going into the office. Imagine trying to explain to people that after the businesses slowly opened that your friend lost their job because they couldn’t actually get a government approved injection. Imagine telling someone how you personally were turned away from a restaurant once because your phone died and you forgot your laminated version of a vaccine passport. Imagine explaining to someone a few years from now what a vaccine passport even is! Imagine explaining to someone that feeling you have when you walk all the way across a parking lot to the store only to get to the door, realize that you don’t have a mask, and have to walk all the way back to your car. Imagine explaining to someone that – yes – you actually did have a facemask in your car. Imagine showing someone pictures of the different masks and visors we wore. Imagine Covid-19 as a distant memory. Imagine being able to gather and celebrate and enjoy life without so much of a thought to any of these things. Imagine the pandemic as a memory that fades so much that we actually have to strain to remember the details of the plague! Imagine! Imagine when we will say:

 

Psalm 126

1 When the Lord restored us,

we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then it was said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

3 The Lord has done great things for us,

and we rejoiced.

 

 Let it be, Lord; Let it be. Verse 4ff: 

 

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like the watercourses in the Negeb.

5 May those who sow in tears

reap with shouts of joy.

6 Those who go out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

carrying their sheaves.

Let us pray.

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Mark 10:1-45: The Left and Right Privilege

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 17 October 2021 by Captain Michael Ramsay

This is a very interesting passage. You need to picture this. Jesus has been teaching. His disciples are with him. They are helping. They are assisting. They are doing what needs to be done. They all serve Jesus but there isn’t really a hierarchy among the 12 of them; though some do have specific responsibilities: Home League, YPS, CSM, CFS, … okay maybe not these roles but they are a team working with Jesus as he is preaching, serving, and teaching. Jesus is a popular speaker, and he is on a speaking tour travelling from the north to the south, with his final show to be in Jerusalem in Judea. Jesus is not only teaching the large crowd of disciples, students, adherents, and interested public who come to hear him speak on his cross-Palestine tour, he is also teaching his 12 especially selected disciples, the ones with whom he will leave his ministry when he retires, is promoted, gets his raise (from the dead) and goes to be with the Father.

In the early part of Chapter 10 leading up to our passage today, Jesus has been teaching about some very important things. This chapter opens with Jesus telling the crowds and the Pharisees, that contrary to their laws, divorce is a non-starter with Jesus. He said that marriage is ordained by God and people cannot tear apart what God put together. Jesus forbids divorce.[1] He goes even one step farther when he is alone with his disciples: he says that if you remarry after you are divorced you are guilty of adultery. This may not sound like much to us today but then and there adultery was a serious legal matter: you could be killed for adultery. Jesus said if you get remarried you are guilty of a capital crime. I believe he does this to protect women.[2] They were very vulnerable to exploitation in the first century but that is another sermon for another time.[3] There is more than that too because some of the most significant victims of divorce, even still today, are children.[4]

After Jesus addresses the fate of vulnerable in and out of marriage; some moms, dads, or others who are there in the crowd with their children (children are always vulnerable and on the outside of adult activities) bring the kids to Jesus.[5] The disciples with Jesus try to stop this so that Jesus can deal with some ‘more important’ things – adult talk, or get back to what he was teaching about before he was so noticeably interrupted, or something else. Jesus stands up for the children the same way he stood up for the vulnerable by prohibiting divorce. He exalts the children. He notes that the children are coming to him with no agenda of their own. They are just coming to see him, like a little child who will hug a mascot of a character they love, or an even younger child whose face just lights up when they see their parents or even hears their voice. If we come to God like this, if we are like this, we will inherit the Kingdom of God ourselves.

A rich person probably saw this and was obviously quite concerned: he ran up to Jesus as he started on his way, it says, and fell on his knees before him, He is probably picking up on this theme: vulnerable are protected, excluded are exalted – what about him? What about the privileged people? Then, like now, it is the wealthy -far more than any other group - who have all the advantages in society. If you are part of the privileged group called ‘wealthy’, that is a trump card that cancels out any non-privileged cards you might have in your hand. (Again, this, like the preceding two pericopes, is a whole sermon series on its own.) Jesus tells this person whom I believe comes to Jesus with a very sincere heart, that he needs to give away not only all his privilege, all his excess; Jesus says he has to give away all his security, and become completely vulnerable to receive Jesus’ protection. The man is understandably heart-broken, sad. The disciples are understandably worried even; They ask in essence, ‘who is willing to do this? to give up everything? Anyone? Us even?’ They come right out and exclaim, Verse 26, ‘Who then can be saved?! Anyone?’

Jesus says no; with man this is impossible. He then offers them this: with God nothing is impossible. God can save them. Those who give up everything, who are vulnerable and thus rely fully on God can be saved. Peter then I imagine nervously checks with Jesus, Verse 28, ‘we have left everything to follow you…’. Can we be saved? Only those fully relying on God are saved in this discourse – but God can do anything. Jesus does put the disciples’ minds at ease, Verses 29-31, “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

It is after this, and after Jesus tells them some of the horrible things he is about to suffer by way of the crucifixion, et cetera that Mark tells us about the conversation that we read earlier today.

Verse 35: Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

Jesus has just been teaching to the crowds and all the disciples about how the vulnerable are protected, the excluded are exalted, the disadvantaged will be advantaged, those who seek for themselves will be left outside by themselves and then these two brothers (whom Jesus loves) come to Jesus seeking left and right privilege for themselves! Do they learn nothing from what Jesus teaches them?[6] Do we learn nothing from what Jesus teaches us?

Verse 38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,

This cup is of course persecution and death; as Jesus said, Verses 33-34, he will be condemned to die, handed over to others, mocked, spat open, flogged and killed. This is the cup from which Jesus will drink before he heads into his glory through the resurrection. This is the cup from which the disciples may drink.[7] Jesus says, Verse 40, “but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” And, of course, the people on Jesus left and right, as he moved into His Glory were the thieves on the cross. At least one of whom joined him in Paradise very quickly thereafter.

          When the rest of the disciples hear that James and John were seeking privilege for themselves, when they hear that they want to be assured status as teacher’s pet. When they hear that James and John are trying to exalt themselves above everyone else – and especially the 10 of them! - they get quite upset. Verse 41, When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.

I imagine, they are all quite excited now! So Jesus puts all their minds at rest. Verse 42ff:

 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is important. Everyone here, I think you have been doing great. Especially through Covid-19 (and other times), not worrying about yourself but going out of your way to include and involve others.

When people were most afraid of Covid-19 in our community, when people were most vulnerable; you were making food for people, you were handing out food to the most vulnerable; you were making food for those removed from society; you were going on the truck delivering meals to people in places where (even not during a pandemic) others are afraid to go. You prayed with people. You did not stop gathering as some churches got into a habit of doing, but you met together, even daily, you met together as the Church to serve God by serving your neighbour!

We have been blessed with a great opportunity to serve God and our neighbour through the pandemic but even beyond the plague; many of you here given up a lot in your life to serve God in community here for many, many years. Some of you have served God in full-time ministry for a time; many of you have served him full-heartedly in ministry while you were employed at other things. Many of you have given up hours and hours and days and days over many, many years serving God in the Church, in community. Many of you have led people to Christ. Many of you have taught people the Scriptures. Many of you have discipled children, women, men, and others. Many of you have fed and cared for those in need. Many of you have tithed religiously for your whole Christian life. Many of you have been willing to go without, so that you can faithfully give to God and the Church, and His ministry. This is what salvation looks like! This is what many of you are continuing to do and that is what many of you are continuing to experience!

This is my encouragement to you. Sometimes we get tired. Sometimes I get tired. Sometimes we are tempted to throw in the towel. Sometimes we can be tempted to look at friends, family members, or peers who have not given up their life in service to God and the Kingdom the way you here have. Sometimes we can look at them and then look at ourselves and wonder, is it worth it?

It is. It really is. Persevere my friends, persevere.  You are doing God’s work. This is what it looks like when you are saved![8] Jesus loves you and he will get you through everything and I know that many of you have given up much for Jesus and for the Kingdom and I would like to leave you with these words for you to reflect on whenever you need to be reminded of them, Mark 10: 29-31, “Truly I tell you…no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life...”

So my friends, keep up the good work. Jesus loves you and he will see you through to victory. He promises.

 

Let us pray.

 

---

[1] Cf. Victor Babajide Cole, “Mark 10:1-12: Teaching on Divorce” in Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1214.

[2] Cf. David Smith, Mark: A Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, USA: Wesleyan Publishing house, 2007), 191.

[3] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, "Matthew 5: Jesus' Election Speech and Moore," Sheepspeak.com, 27 October 2019, https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/10/matthew-5-jesus-election-speech-and.html

[4] Cf. NT Wright, Mark for Everyone (Louisville, US: WJK, 2004), 133.

[5] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, "As Christians do we have a responsibility to take care of the poor?" Nipawin Journal, January 2008. Cited from Sheepspeak.com, http://sheepspeak.com/sasknews.htm#poor

[6] Cf. David Smith, Mark: A Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, USA: Wesleyan Publishing house, 2007), 200.

[7] Cf. Victor Babajide Cole, “Mark 10:35-45: The Request of the Zebedee Brothers”, Africa Bible Commentary (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1215.

[8] Cf. David Smith, Mark: A Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, USA: Wesleyan Publishing house, 2007), 204.