There was a Catholic priest living in the Philippines, who was a well loved, hard working, and respected pastor. Unknown to anyone, however, he carried a sin within his heart – something he had done  whilst in seminary, and although he had repented of it  some years before, he still carried the guilt within him.

He had no sense of peace, no inner joy, no sense of forgiveness.

As it happened, there was a woman in his parish who deeply loved God, and who claimed to have visions, in which she spoke to Christ, and Christ to her. The priest was skeptical of her claims, so to test her visions, he said to her,” You say you speak directly with Christ in your visions. Let me ask you a favour. The next time you have one of those visions, I want you to ask him what sin your priest committed when he was in seminary.”

The woman agreed and went home. When she returned to the church a few days later, the priest said, ” Well, did Christ visit you in your dreams?”

She replied, ” Yes. he did.”

” And did you ask him what sin I committed in seminary?”

“Yes, I asked him.”

“Well, what did he say? “

“He said, ‘ I don’t remember,'”

That is what God wants us to know about forgiveness. When our sins are forgiven, they are forgotten. The past, with its sins, hurts, brokenness, and self recrimination – is gone, dead, crucified, remembered no more.

What God forgives, He forgives,

But in today’s Gospel Jesus tells us that there is a sin that God does not forgive.

A sin that cannot be forgiven.

A sin against the Holy Spirit.

This is an obvious puzzle, don’t you think?  That all the sin, all the heinous crimes, all the inhumanity of man to man, can be forgiven-  all but one. 

Sin against the Holy Spirit!

Why is that so?

And what is sin against the Holy Spirit?

Mark tells us that Jesus said this, because they –  the Pharisees- said abut Jesus, ” ” He has an unclean spirit.”

Does this mean that Jesus is angry and denying forgiveness to those who accused  him of working with Satan?

I don’t think Jesus, nor God would hold back forgiveness if forgiveness were truly sought.

Don’t you agree?

So what is all this about?

Well  it is explained by some who study these sayings closely,  that Jesus could not have used the phrase ‘ The Holy Spirit ‘ in the way we Christians use the term. The Spirit as we know it, did not come until Jesus had returned to his glory.

It wasn’t until Pentecost that men and women came to the supreme experience of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus must have used the term, they say,  in the Jewish sense of the term.

In Jewish thought the Holy Spirit had two functions. First was to reveal God’s truth, and the second was to enable the truth to be recognised. And acknowledged.

The Holy Spirit enables people to recognise God’s truth, when he enters their lives. The truth of how they are living, for example.

The old saying is that the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins.

That’s fine, but if we don’t do anything about it what is the point? .

Ignoring God’s truth, denying it, leads to a condition where one can look on the goodness of Christ, for example,  and call it evil – as the Pharisees did.

When you can see goodness and call it something else.

When you can see the truth and deny it, and instead profess a lie to be the truth.

I have met people like that. They can lie to your face and not blink while doing it,

They can see a kind act and denigrate it. 

They can do evil and present it as virtuous.

And if you have no sense of guilt for what you have done; no contrition, no regrets, no remorse, then how can you be forgiven?

God cannot forgive someone who refuses forgiveness, laughs in the face of God, calls the Son of God, Satan’s minion.

The prerequisite for forgiveness is  the expression of penitence.

If someone does not accept what they are – doesn’t even know what they are, then how can they be forgiven?

There are many stories of men on death row who have accepted Christ as their Saviour and experienced forgiveness, and who went to their deaths quietly and at peace.   

There are as many stories of men on death row who laughed in the face of those who would bring Christ to them. and went swearing and cursing, and struggling to their deaths.

Then there are gracious examples of forgiveness coming from the victims, of terrible acts.

Corrie ten Boom had been a prisoner in a nazi concentration camp during the war and she and her sister had endured terrible degrading acts from one of the German guards. He had jeered at them and visually raped them as they stood naked in the delousing shower. 

Now, this man, one of the most cruel and heartless of the guards, was facing her, with hand outstretched, and asking, ” Will you forgive me?”

She says, ” I stood there with coldness clutching my heart  but I know that the will can function  regardless of the temperature of the heart.

“I prayed, ‘ Jesus help me’ .

“Woodenly, mechanically,  I thrust out my hand onto the one stretched out to me and I experienced an incredible thing.

“The current started in my shoulder and raced down my arms and sprang into our clutched hands. Then this warm reconciliation seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to me eyes.

“I forgive you brother,” I cried with my whole heart.

“For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard, and the former prisoner.   I have never known the love of God so intensely as I did in that moment.

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.” She says.

That guard knew his sin. And wanted –  needed – begged for –  forgiveness – from the person he had sinned against.

He was acknowledging the goodness in the woman facing him, and the evil he had done..

His former victim forgave him, and so, I am sure, did God.

Those whom Jesus says cannot be forgiven are those who know no guilt, and feel no need for forgiveness.

How can they be forgiven?

What for?

If they feel no guilt.

There is one condition for forgiveness and that is penitence. And as long as people see the loveliness of Christ’s love , as long as they hate sin, even though they can’t leave it, even if they are in the mud and the mire, they can still be forgiven.

Praise God.

But those who have lost the ability to recognise goodness when they see it, and have so inverted their moral values that to them evil is good, and good is evil, then they can never be forgiven.

That is sin against the Holy Spirit.

When you come across that sort of person you are convinced that Satan must live within them.

In this modern era, however, I wonder if that way of being, that sort of behaviour, is a sign of mental illness, manifesting itself as evil.

And if that is so, that sin is caused be a mental illness, then could the actions of such a person, be understood by God?

And in His gracious wisdom, could He then forgive?

And if so, then could we?    

Amen.

The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew.

 He told them a parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³² Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

³³ He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds^[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. ( Matt. 13:31-33, 44-52)

                                    _______________________

Someone who didn’t attend church once said to me, “ The people who go to church aren’t so good. In fact, “ He said, “ I know  people who don’t attend church who are more loving and caring than most of those who do.” 

He might be right, I don’t know.   But as I told him, church is for bad people. If everybody were good it wouldn’t be needed.

Church is there to help bad people become good people.

And there is no other institution that has that as its goal.

The parable that Jesus told about the fisherman with his net, catching all sorts of fish,  tells us that the church, if it is doing its job, is reaching out to and bringing in all sorts of people.

In one big net, without discrimination.

Not only that but we are also told elsewhere in the Gospel of Matthew that we should not judge – any of those people –  lest we be judged.

So opening the doors of the church to all and sundry is what we should be doing.

I was at St. Mark’s Niagara on the Lake some years ago, doing supply, and I went to the town a few days earlier, to see where it was, and so on. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the church was open to all and sundry – people who might be serious about its history, or need a quiet place to pause for a moment, maybe to meditate, or even, can we say it? To pray?

Of course it is in a tourist town, and has a major part in its history, so it is of especial interest to tourists. 

It was very different to a church that Susan and I visited some years ago in the village of Cropthorne, in the British Midlands.

The church was locked and we were just looking around the outside, and after a few minutes I saw this figure come screaming up the driveway on a bike.

It was  a gentleman wanting to know what we were doing. And he wasn’t a friendly welcomer either.

It was symptomatic, perhaps of a major problem that threatened to divide the church at that time, which was struggling to decide who to admit and who to refuse to admit. 

When the church should have been uniting to reach out to AIDS victims, victims of war, the internet being used to make a spectacle of children being abused , and any number of other urgent causes, time was spent, jawing about who we should admit to the church, and incredibly, at that time in the UK trying to decide in this twenty first century whether women were good enough to become priests and bishops – can you believe that?

But do you know why I think the bad attitudes, and contentiousness arise?

I think it is because many Christians have lost sight of Jesus and what he means to us, and how he wants us to live, and to be, and to be with. We get caught up in the business of the church not the business of Jesus.

“Again,’ Jesus said, “ the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who was seeking goodly pearls. When he had found one of great value,  he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

How many of us value the kingdom of heaven that we would sell everything to have it?

I admit, I can’t include myself in that holy company.

I did give up a lot when I went into seminary. Much of what I had, but not everything

But I don’t think it quite means that you have to impoverish yourself. I think it means that we have to realise  the great value in being in the kingdom, and cherish  it, and want it, and be joyful that we are in it.

You know after retiring for the first time, I served in a number of churches  and I can tell you I found few where there was a real sense of joy at being in the Kingdom. At being Christian.

Joy at being a Christian.

And if the kingdom is such a great thing to have – and it is – then how come we are not joyous. Not smiling all the time?

Could it be that we are inwardly gleeful, but trying to avoid smiling –  like, it was once said,  a funeral director trying not to smile, at a $25,000 funeral?

Here’s a thought from a man who gave up everything, the Apostle Paul.  “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are – get this – are  fitting into His plans.

In other words, if we are in the Kingdom, and are living according to God’s plans for His people – and for us – then everything will work for our good.

Fitting into His plans!

I have a lot of great verses underlined in my Bible. I don’t know how I missed that gem.   When I read it this week, my goodness, it resonated with me. Because I am a type A person.  I have  to have everything planned out, and predictable. And if it isn’t then I find my well of patience running dry.

But  Paul is telling me that if I am working according to God’s plan for me, then I can let go of that need to have everything in my life shipshape.

And be happy.

And so can you.

And Paul goes further and strengthens our faith which may be weakened when things don’t seem to be going just right – something else I needed to hear right now – he says,  “When we have trouble or calamity, when we are hunted down or destroyed, is it because He doesn’t love us any more? And if we are hungry, or penniless or in danger, or threatened with death, has God deserted us?

“No,” he says,” for the scriptures tell us that we must be ready to face death at any moment of the day – and,  he goes on  -“  I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love.  Death can’t. Life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away.

“ Our fears for today, our worries  about tomorrow, or where we are – high above the sky or in the deepest ocean – nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.”

So what are we worried about?  Why do we have long faces when we come to church. Why do we let small things occupy our minds rather than focusing on God, and trusting?

I don’t know.

Human nature I guess.

But I will tell you something.

Whenever I officiated at a wedding and led the couple through the words of the service, and the vows, I went home to my wife with my commitment to my marriage and to her reinforced.

I needed to be reminded what marriage is.

It isn’t about who makes supper, or who washes the dishes, or whether you should pay some extra money off the mortgage, or take a vacation, or arguing about what to watch on TV, or whose turn is it to put the kids to bed.

As important as those things seem to be.

No, it’s about two people who have committed themselves to be with each other for life. And I mean life. Not a slow death.

It means that two people have covenanted to support each other, to weep with each other, to laugh with each other, to raise a family with each other.

And be happy with each other.

Don’t ever forget that.

Similarly, being a Christian – being in the kingdom –  isn’t about  ritual; who walks down the aisle first in the clergy procession; who lights which candles in which order; who raises money, makes the coffee, teaches in Sunday School, does the flowers, sends money off to the Third World  – those things, as important as they are  all come automatically when we live in the Kingdom.

But being a Christian is about a covenant made with Jesus Christ. To follow Him. To put him first. To live within the precepts he has given us; to value him and his sacrifice,  (if you saw movie, The Passion of Christ you would value that sacrifice anew) to  take the forgiveness that he bought, and accept it and let go of guilt and live happily in Him.

Let go of guilt, and live happily in Him.

And just as listening to the marriage vows again strengthened my commitment to my marriage, hearing Jesus’ parables again, hearing Paul’s words again, strengthen my commitment to Christ.

And remind me that I really don’t have anything to worry about.

As long as I love God and fit into his plans for me.

And if you don’t have anything to worry about, then you can smile when you come to church. You can smile when you go to work.

And you know what happens then? 

Someone may ask, “ How is it that Bob is always so happy?  Even when we are under pressure here? ” or “How is it that when you go to ask Mary something, she always has time for you?”

And someone else may say, ‘It’s because Bob is a Christian.’ Or ‘Because Mary is a Christian.’

People get to like us. People want to be like us.

To be with us.

They might even ask about coming to church for Pete’s sake!

And since we are secure in God’s love, we don’t have to be protective about church – whether someone will fit in – or whether they will like it here –  hey, get that big net out there – and bring them all in. Willy nilly!

Didn’t I say that the church is for bad people –  and since God accepted us without judging us too severely – then we accept them without judging them too severely.

But it all starts with us revisiting our Christian promises to Jesus.

Or if we have never made any, doing it today.

Remembering what He means to us, and us to Him, and reveling in it, enjoying it, being joyful in it,  living the life of a Christian and loving it.

Unfortunately, McDonald’s got there first.  But imagine what a  sign posted outside of every church with the words, “We are loving it,”  might do.

Amen.

                                   

Abraham found favor with God, and was promised  a great multitude of descendants. But Abraham didn’t think he was going to have offspring with his wife Sarah so he had a son with a servant woman, Hagar whose son was Ishmael. And who would be heir to Abraham.

Then when Sarah bore her child, Isaac, there was discord in the household, as you might expect, so Abraham sent away this young man, Ishmael, aged about sixteen, with his mother Hagar.

In time, Hagar found a wife for Ishmael who bore his children, and Ishmael is said to be the father of Arab nations  the Ishmaelites –    Isaac became the father of the Hebrews.

I am told that in the Arabic view, Ishmael was kept as the son of Abraham  and Isaac was sent away.

Isaac married Rebekah  and they had two sons, fraternal, twins, Esau and Jacob.

Now as the elder son, probably by seconds, Esau was to receive his father’s blessing, and all the benefits that came with that.  Basically he would be the main heir. But by a trick, Jacob had Isaac give him the first son’s blessing.

Esau wasn’t too pleased with what had happened, and so Jacob had to leave  and he went to live with his uncle Laban.

While there he fell in love with Laban’s daughter Rachel and asked Laban to allow him to marry her.  Laban, said that first he must work for him for seven years . Which he gladly did.

After seven years, Jacob went to Laban and asked for Rachel to be his wife. Laban set about setting up a great feast and the marriage took place. The bride wore a veil.

When Jacob removed her veil he saw not Rachel but Leah, the elder sister.

He protested to Laban but Laban said, “It is not proper that a younger sister be married before the older. Work another seven years and you may marry Rachel.

He did so, and after seven years married Rachel.

There is lots more to tell, about Jacob and Laban, and Jacob and Esau but to make a long story shorter and to get to the point of all this, some time when Jacob  had fled from Laban, and Esau, and had sent his family ahead, and he was alone, a man came to him and they wrestled.

Jacob was prevailing over this man, and when the man pleaded to be freed, Jacob said  that first he must give him a blessing. He felt that somehow this man was from God.  

The man did bless him, and tell him he would be fruitful and have many descendants, and also told him that his name would be changed. He would no longer be Jacob, but Israel.  

Jacob, now Israel, had ten sons by Leah and two sons by Rachel.

The two by Rachel, were his favorites, one Joseph and the other Benjamin.

He loved Joseph so much that he had a special coat made for him, a coat of many colors.

These twelve sons eventually became the patriarchs, the fathers, of the twelve tribes of Israel. 

The brothers were Jealous of Joseph and sold him to slavers, who took him to Egypt where he was brought to the household of a rich man named Potiphar.

Potiphar was an important official in Pharaoh’s household, and he came to trust Joseph with all his household matters.  

Potiphar’s wife lusted after Joseph and made advances to him, but he resisted saying that he could not go against Potiphar and God .

So she told lies about Joseph to her husband, and her husband had Joseph imprisoned.

In prison, Joseph found favor with the jailer, and he was placed in a part of the prison reserved for Pharaoh’s prisoners.  Two of these were the Pharaoh’s cupbearer and his baker.

As it happens, they both told Joseph about dreams they had had, and Joseph correctly interpreted their dreams. The cupbearer’s dream indicated he would be restored to his former position. Which became true.

Pharaoh was also troubled with some dreams he had had, and had called for his sages and wise men to interpret them for him, but they could not.

Then the cup bearer hearing this, told Pharaoh about Joseph who was promptly brought from prison.

And Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams for him.

You will remember I am sure that the dreams forecast seven years of plenty and seven years of famine.

And of course, what followed was that Joseph was put in charge of collecting and storing grain during the good years so that during famine, there would be enough.

Because of the famine, Jacob, (now Israel) sent his sons to Egypt to buy food. 

Joseph looking like an important Egyptian, met them himself, but didn’t tell them at first who he was.

When he did so, they were ashamed of what they had done – selling him to slave traders –  and begged his forgiveness.  He told them not to be sorry, because it was obviously God’s will. God had made sure that he would be in the right place to help them when the time came.

Joseph spoke to Pharaoh and his family were allowed to settle in the land called Goshen.

They, and then their descendants lived and prospered in Goshen for four hundred years until the Pharaoh of the time became worried about such a number of foreigners in the land, that he had them enslaved.

Then Moses came along and under God’s guidance and help, took them out of Egypt and through the desert –  half a million of them, from the twelve sons of Jacob, also known as Israel – until forty years later they made it to the promised land.

The tribes who took over the land were named after the sons or grandsons of Israel, and were known collectively as the tribe of Israel or the children of Israel.

What I have related is only a fraction, a tiny fraction of the story.  And you can find more detail, and much more history in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is a history of the Israelites, but it becomes more than history, when God’s hand is seen in that history.

From Abraham, through Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon and so on, God is seen in history as favoring His Chosen people: enabling Moses to get the better of Pharaoh, Joshua to lead them into victory after victory,  David to unify the disparate tribes, Solomon who made Israel a wealthy and leading nation in the Middle east. 

They all believed in a God who had made promises to their forebears and fulfilled those promises as long as they honored him individually and as a nation.

The record of God’s hand in the history of Israel is what makes that history scripture.

The people of Christ Church,  can themselves celebrate 186 years history . 

In July 1837, Sir George Leigh, and Mr.George Leith and his son, were led by God to see Archdeacon Strachan in Toronto to ask for assistance in building a church. There was no money but the Archdeacon urged them to go ahead anyway.

The first service was held in the Steam Mill Schoolhouse presided over by Rev M O’ Neille.

On February 14 1840, God moved in the hearts and minds of several men of the congregation to haul sand and to erect the wooden church building that opened for services later that year.

Over the years God has moved in the hearts of many men and women to build a congregation  in Woodburn. He sent people to be leaders, both lay and clergy, endowing them with the same purpose, to build and maintain a witness to Christ in Woodburn. 

That congregation was the church.

Oh I know the building was important, and still is, but the people were and are the real church. Not the building. It is just somewhere to meet and have fellowship and to worship.

I can see in this church’s history that God moved in many hearts and minds, just as he did in the hearts and minds of the Israelites, and although that small number of people who were initially called to worship here in the past 180 years hasn’t grown to be half a million – after all it took 400 years for the Israelites to reach that figure – nevertheless, this congregation in this historic building can be proud of what has been accomplished over the years.

There have been times of plenty, times of scarcity, times of success, and times of failure in those years, but still this congregation, and this building too, have both stood the test of time.

We don’t have an ark, we don’t have a tabernacle, we don’t have ancient articles of law. And you might say that in the scheme of things, 186 years doesn’t seem so long.

But!

We have Christ!

And our connection to him goes back two thousand years  to the day when he empowered his disciples by the Holy Spirit, to when they likewise empowered their followers, and those followers empowered their followers, and so on through the church’s history, until we too are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We are unified with the whole church in heaven and on earth,

And being unified in Jesus the Christ, church members – have succeeded in  making a very real presence in this hamlet and in the larger town.

And beyond.

And will continue to do so.

Don’t ever doubt that what you do is God inspired.

Even things that seem mundane.

I see people collecting dishes, washing them, baking food, serving food, lifting and moving chairs, and tables, fixing windows, making music, singing hymns, cleaning, fixing, leading, following, being present in town, and known as Christians from Woodburn church.

God inspired, don’t ever doubt it.

There is a lovely story about a young man who went from his home village to study to be a priest.

After five years he was coming back to preach in the local church.

The village was agog with excitement. Their own boy was  now a priest and was going to be there. Everyone was excited.

The local shoemaker made a pair of shoes especially for the preacher, and asked if he would wear them when in the pulpit. 

“I can’t be a preacher, but I want to be part of what you do,” he said.

And the preacher wore the shoes.

And the shoemaker felt he was able to share in what he young preacher did in some small way.

In the Gospel of Matthew, it says: Anyone who welcomes a prophet, just because that person is a prophet, will be given the same reward as a prophet. Anyone who welcomes a good person, just because that person is good, will be given the same reward as a good person.

You can paraphrase that as: Whoever works to assist in whatever way in the ministry of others, will  receive the same reward.

However high or lowly the work. It is all the same.

The  history, the chronicles of Christ Church Woodburn,, the exploits that brought us to this day the excitement that stills enlivens us, is a witness to God’s presence in our lives and in the lives of past members, as real and as effective as God’s presence in the hearts and minds of those we read about in the scriptures.

The same evidence of God working in His children in this His world.

Continuing to do so.

At Christ Church Woodburn.

Praise God.

       The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ According to Matthew.

            “ A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master;
it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his household!

” So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.

“ What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.

“ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

” Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven;  but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

” Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

“ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

“ Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (Mt.10:24-39)

                                   _____________________________________

Last week we heard Jesus’ words as he sent his disciples into the countryside to preach the gospel. This week’s readings continue from last week. 

He tells them that since he, Jesus, was called a Satan by some so-called religious people when he cast out demons, it is likely that they, his disciples will also be misunderstood, and slandered, 

But he tells them to have no fear  because the truth will out. The truth will be seen. And he tells them not to be afraid of being hurt, He says that  rather than being afraid of people, they should remember that it is God’s hands that  their eternal lives are held.

In God’s hands!

God knows each of you, he tells them. If God sees even the sparrow fall to the ground, then surely he will care about you his precious children.

Jesus says not only that, but that he will  bear witness in heaven for those who witness on earth, for him.

He says, go, take the message of the Gospel, and do it daringly. If you fail to do it out of fear, you will, instead of saving your life, lose it.  But being fearless, and bringing the love of God to the world will save your life for eternity. 

These words sound dramatic, don’t they?  But those who followed Jesus would be persecuted, and perhaps even killed.  Later on, when Christians were being persecuted in parts of the Roman empire, they were often given the option of denying Jesus, and worshipping the emperor.

Should they refuse, the punishment was death.

Thank goodness that in today’s world we are shielded from having to make such a horrible choice.

But the fact is that in some countries,  even as we speak, people are faced with monstrous decisions to do with life and death, and principles, and loves and hates, and politics.

And the religious and political freedom we have today is because in our own history; people have been willing to die for their faith, and their principles.

So what is there  left for us to do?  How are we called to fight for our faith and to stand up for Jesus now that there is no dangerous work to do.   

Christianity is said to have been fed with the blood of martyrs and that may be,  but I think also  that Christianity was fed on the resolve of those who would stand up for what they believed, and would not be swayed whatever the cost.  

That’s what we are asked to do – to stand up for – to witness to our faith – our love of God and the Jesus we follow, whatever the cost.

For some, that means standing up in front of a congregation and telling of their faith, as frightening as it is to speak in public, and about such an intimate thing.

For others, it may mean telling a superior at work the truth about a situation even when doing so may result in a reprimand, or even the loss of a job.

Then again, witnessing for one’s faith may mean butting into a conversation where other people are denigrating Christian faith.

It may mean insisting on going to church to worship and witness, when family members pressure you not to go. 

It may mean acting as a Christian and being the one to apologize and build a bridge of reconciliation between yourself and a family member from whom you have been estranged for years.

It may mean speaking up for someone who is being condemned; for someone who is guilty, and yet is also a victim of circumstances.

It may mean speaking about your feelings on a particular issue even when everyone else in the room has the opposite point of view.

If you think about it, there are many times when we are challenged to live as a Christian, to witness with truth and integrity, in modern life.

But these are hardly life or death situations –  merely the sort of situations that all of us are faced with every day.   .

And yet, how many of us have shirked our responsibilities, have stepped back from the plate, so to speak, for nothing less than the fear of embarrassment, or plain nervousness?

How many of us have turned down the  chance to stand up and be counted, have abandoned our principles for plain faint-heartedness?

How many of us have in effect, turned our back on Jesus, the one we profess to follow, and in whose teachings we believe?

I don’t think any of us can claim always to have been forthright for Jesus in our faith at all times.    I can’t.

Neither could the disciples. Especially the leader of them all, the apostle Peter.

After Peter denied Jesus those three times, he was devastated, wasn’t he? He must have despaired of ever measuring up to what he thought a true follower would be. And yet, Jesus relied upon him. Jesus didn’t reject him. Jesus didn’t discard him.

And Peter went on to become a wonderful, talented, and courageous representative of – apostle of  – his master.

There is a true story about a young man working for a bank, who found himself in financial difficulties. He was beset with worry, driven to do something he would not normally have done.  He changed some figures, and stole money from his employer.

He wasn’t very clever at it because soon afterward, his boss called him in and confronted him with the evidence of his wrong-doing. To his credit, he didn’t try to lie his way out of it. He admitted his crime. He tried to tell the bank president that this was the only time he had ever done anything like this.

“I suppose you think that since this is the only time you have stolen from us, that we should forgive your lapse?”

“Well,” the young man whispered, “I have done wrong and I am willing to take my punishment.”

The president went on, almost as if he hadn’t heard the miscreant, “ Some thirty years ago, a young clerk, just like you, stole a sum of money, and was found out, and the bank overlooked it that one time. Do you know what happened?”

“No, sir.”

“He became a valued and trusted employee of this bank and is with us today.”

“Really sir?”

“Yes. That young man was me.”

None of us can claim to have always done the right thing. But praise God, He forgives us, understands us,  and still wants us to serve him.

Peter made his mistakes, as did the other disciples, but God was still able to use them to build his kingdom.

But Jesus’ words are very challenging. “Unless you are willing to take up your cross and come with me, you are not fit to be my disciples.”

We all have crosses to bear. We all have things in our past that we would rather forget; things that weigh us down, that prevent us from properly following him with conviction.

How can I – such a weenie – such a sinner – such a weakling – such a poor example of a Christian, how can I –   how can I be anything good for him?

Pick up your cross, whatever it is that is holding you back, and follow Jesus.

We can make it, despite having to carry that cross.  We can, by God’s grace put behind us whatever it is that has held us back.

“If you tell others that you belong to me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you are my followers. “

Not if you do great works;  not if you change the world single-handedly; not if you do great miracles –    just tell others that you belong to me.

That’s the extent of our witness, required by our Lord.

To own him as Lord, and to be one of his. 

It’s not too complicated is it?

A clergyman took his seat in a dining car of a train traveling along the Hudson River. Opposite him was an atheist, who on seeing his clerical collar started a discussion.

“I see you are a clergyman.”    

“Yes” came the reply. “I am a minister of the gospel.”          

 “I suppose you believe the Bible.”       

The clergyman, orthodox in his views, responded,  “I certainly do believe the Bible to be the Word of God.”     

“But aren’t there things in the Bible that you can’t explain?”

With humility, the minister answered, “Yes, there are places in the Bible too hard for me to understand.”    

With an air of triumph, as though he had cornered the preacher, the atheist asked, “Well what do you do then?”

Unruffled, the minister went on eating his dinner – which happened to be Hudson shad, a tasty fish but known for being bony.    Looking up, he said, “Sir, I do just the same as when eating this shad. When I come to the bones, I put them to the side of the plate and go on enjoying my lunch. I leave the bones for some fool to choke on.”

The apostles weren’t theologians. Nor were they great orators. They had nothing much to recommend them except one thing. They were determined to bring the message of the gospel to all who would listen.

And the message of the gospel?

Simply this, Jesus saves!  

Amen.