Rev. Susan Lukey

Passage: 2 Timothy 3:10-4:7    

  Description: The B-I-B-L-E. Now that’s the book for me! Today we talk about choosing the Bible. Why do we keep reading and turning to this book whose last stories were written about 1,900 years ago? What is this book to us? Before I get to those questions, let’s look at what this book is. First of all, it’s not really a book. It’s a library – that’s what the name Bible really means. It is composed of 66 books – 39 in what we call the Old Testament and 27 in the grouping called the New Testament. ..... As the first Christians got more organized, they started talking about what they might gather together for authoritative scripture. Groups of bishops who gathered talked about this. Individuals, who were considered the top theologians each proposed their list of books to form the Christian Bible. Some books were highly debated for inclusion. The Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation were two that almost didn’t make the cut. The listing of books that closest matches what we have today wasn’t decided until 382 AD. The questions that the bishops and scholars asked when deciding upon which books to include were these: Who said it & how close were they to Jesus? How good is it & is it widely recognized and accepted? How weird is it? Is it consistent with our understanding of Jesus? Those first disciples of Jesus spoke, Aramaic, a dialect of Hebrew. The first Christian writings were in Greek – the standard language of communication in the first century. In 383, a Latin translation of the books now considered to be the standard or canon was done – the Latin Vulgate; and for centuries, scripture was always read in Latin in church, even if people didn’t understand Latin. They had to rely upon the priest to tell them what they had just heard. (And they had the beautiful carvings and stained glass windows in the cathedrals – that was the Bible for illiterate and non-Latin speaking people.) Being allowed to translate the Bible into the languages that people read and spoke was one of the driving forces behind the Protestant revolution.

Passage: Mark 9:2-8 & John 17:6-13    

  Description: I was baptized and grew up in the United Church. My mom was from a Lutheran family and my dad from a Ukrainian Orthodox family, but neither of those denominations existed in or near to Acme, our home town, so they chose the United Church of Canada as the church to which they would commit themselves and in which they would raise their daughters. As a young adult at university, I tried out other denominations, Baptist, Alliance, Catholic, and attended Bible studies of various groups. But I had too many questions and they had too many answers, and I found that their answers didn’t resonate with the spirit within me. So I found my way back to the United Church, and to ministry within the United Church. This is my home. What does it mean to be a participant in The United Church of Canada? Today, commitment to a particular denomination is not what it used to be.

Passage: Matthew 1:18-25 & Luke 2:1-20    

  Description: So why do we bother? Why do we come to church on Christmas Eve, or any other day of the year? When we could be snuggled up at home, or feasting with family, or reading a good book, or enjoying a favourite Christmas movie? Yet, here we are – gathered on this sacred night to worship. We are unique in some ways. Many in our society have abandoned the Christ in Christmas, and still celebrate with gift-giving and parties, and big meals with family and friends. The sparkling lights of many colours decorating homes, streets and businesses are a delight in this season. News comes from friends and family far away in Christmas cards. A shopping frenzy marks the last weeks before Christmas. But, more and more, there is no sign of Jesus in any of these – not on the Christmas cards available for purchase or in the stories told around the season. Some of this is good, in that it recognizes that there are many faiths and many festivals of light celebrated in our country. Hanukkah, the Jewish festival was celebrated from December 12 to 20 this year. Diwali, the Hindu and Sikh festival of lights, was celebrated in October. Kwanzaa is celebrated by African-Americans for eight days, starting December 26. At the beginning of this month, our Muslim neighbours celebrated Eid-e-Milad, the birthday of the prophet Mohammed. So, some of the reason that we don’t see Jesus in all of the celebrations is simply that other faiths are celebrating their reasons for the season. And that diversity adds to the richness of spirituality in this country. But more and more, Christmas is becoming a secular holiday, devoid of faith and the story of Jesus’ birth. People happily put up trees, count down with Advent calendars, and buy gifts at this time of year, as something quite separate from what we do here this evening. So why do we bother? We bother because there is something profound, something mystical, something for which our spirits yearn, found in the story of Jesus. In a barn, some 2,000 years ago, a child was born, who was named, “God with us.” And in this child we find something that the world can not offer us. We find hope that transcends tragedy, peace that transcends chaos, joy that transcends grief, and love that transcends the judgement of the world.

Passage: Song of Songs 2:8-17 & Psalms 150:1-6    

  Description: I believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am passionate about living the Way that Jesus taught, finding ways to love neighbours and those perceived as enemies, welcoming strangers and deepening my love for God. I am committed to following the Way of Jesus day by day, and letting that sink deeper and deeper into who I am, transforming me, and hopefully transforming the world. I am passionate and committed to the Good News of Jesus Christ ---and that can be exhausting. For you, for me – all of us committed in our love for Jesus and his Way. Therefore, I hereby give you permission to delight, to play, to enjoy life! Think about it – how often do we promise ourselves that we will do something we really enjoy, once we have our work done. And then, the list is usually so long, that we never get to that part. We just keep working and working. We create a wonderful meal, a beautiful event, put our whole hearts in, and then we go on to the next thing on the list, never delighting in what has been. Now, I’m not against hard work. I know that it is necessary. But the truth is that we need a balance of work and play. That is the wisdom of the book of Ecclesiastes with which we started our fall season. What I see in our society is that we are working harder and longer hours. I see this happening with our children as well. Lunch time and recesses are getting shorter in some schools. After school is filled with homework and activities. Weekends have their schedules. And all of this is work, not play. It might be enjoyable for some, but it is not play. Let me explain. We need play for our emotional and spiritual well-being. We need play to process what we have learned and experienced. We need to play in times of joy and times of sorrow. What do I mean by play, you’re wondering? Play is not outcome based. It does not have purpose or goals set for it. It is not structured, though it does happen in a way that no one will get hurt (emotionally or physically). Play is not for real. It is engaging and spontaneous. It can not be taught. It does not have consequences. It is a time to explore and wonder and try out possibilities.

Passage: Mark 4:35-41    

  Description: Sleeping like a baby! Isn’t that what we all wish for! How often have we stood there looking in a crib or a car seat and watched a baby sound asleep and wished that we could have that kind of sleep once again. Totally relaxed. Every limb like jelly. Not a worry or thought disturbing the sleep. Just pure sleep. I think that was what Jesus was like asleep like a baby in the stern of the boat, so sound asleep that he didn’t even notice that the winds and waves were tossing the boat about and that water was beginning to fill and swamp the boat. Jesus was asleep, in that pure sleep of a baby. How did he do that? How do you sleep like a baby through the storms and chaos of life? How do you let go and relax into a deep and undisturbed sleep when life is howling and swirling all around you – unless you really are a baby? Why is it that babies can sleep so deeply? (and I would note that I know that there are some that don’t) But generally babies do sleep deeply. Why is that? First of all, it is because their bodies absolutely need sleep to grow. It is a natural thing for most little ones. Secondly, it is because they feel safe, protected and cared for. They don’t have to worry because there are adults around them to do the worrying and protecting. The third thing is that they only have one thought or feeling in their brain at once. Nothing else is there. If they are hungry, they are hungry. It is the only thing they are focussed on. If they are separated from their parents, the separation is the only thing. And if they are tired, they are tired, and they sleep. No lingering thoughts of hunger or separation to disturb them. It is as we get older – somewhere about age 6-8 it starts – that our brains develop the ability to have mixed feelings – to hold two or more thoughts or feelings at the same time. That’s when it becomes harder for us to just sleep, that pure sleep. But here is Jesus, sound asleep like a baby, in the middle of the waves crashing, the wind howling, and the water threatening to swamp the boat. How did he do that? Is it just a Jesus thing? As I read the story, I think that Jesus expected that his disciples would have learned from him how to do it.