Heaven - we all wonder about it.  Our creed tells us that "in life, in death, in life after death, we are not alone; God is with us."  I believe this absolutely but what does "life after death" mean.  In this week's sermon I reflected on heaven, weaving my personal journey from a belief in angels to worldly skepticism to Near Death Experiences, ultimately concluding upon hope.  Despite what Christian tradition promises, despite what NDExperiences suggest, we just can't know.  In the absence of knowledge I want to legitimate hope.  Why don't we hold on to our best hopes for heaven and then wait to be surprised!  What are your thoughts about heaven?  What do you hope for?  Looking for your comments.

Good morning!  After some worries that my sermon on sin might leave people in an untenable place of not believing it possible to both care for self AND care for neighbour I hope my ideas about salvation came as some light in the tunnel.  In this week's sermon we looked at the churchy words of salvation and atonement.  I took a pretty hard position suggesting that the traditional view of atonement - i.e. Jesus, through his death, paid the price for my sins - just doesn't make sense to me.  Some scholars suggest that a better view of atonement is breaking it down into the phrase of 
"at-one-ment".  I like the idea that through Jesus God was pursuing harmony (at-one-ment) in the world, but I still don't believe that God required Jesus' death. 

Jesus' absolute commitment to love resulted in him being put to death by those whose relentless self-interest knew no bounds.  Both his acts of and commitment to love inspire me and hold open a space where I might allow love to triumph over self-interest.  My salvation comes in those moments when I am drawn toward acts of love.  Although we long for love to universally inform human actions (futuristic eschatology); for now I have to believe I am "saved" in those moments when love captures my heart and informs my actions (realized eschatology).

Well this is a pretty "thick" discussion but I believe it is so essential if we are to understand the historic Christian message in our era.  I would very much appreciate hearing from some of you about whether salvation is still a relevant concept in your life.  Looking forward to it -
Brian

Have you ever had the experience where you think something is a good idea and then when you begin you ask "Why did I ever think of that?"  That was my experience as we started our four Sunday examination of "churchy" words.  On this first week we considered the concept of sin.  Thanks to David and Donna who initiated the reflection by sharing their ideas.  Although many people outside and inside the church think sin is no longer a relevant term, I found myself defending the concept as important.  There has been way too much "blaming" people for transgressing major and minor commandments.  Those who do the "blaming" are often no more morally righteous than anyone else (I'm reminded of Jesus' instruction to take the log out of one's own eye before criticizing the speck in the eye of someone else).  For me, the concept of sin invites us into self-reflection NOT self-blame and certainly not blaming someone else.  I concluded that my understanding of sin is:  "relentless self-interest to the exclusion of others."  It is this relentless self-interest that I must continue to wrestle with in my own life, especially in light of my desire to respond to God's invitation to love neighbour.  At the end of the sermon I worried that I may have left people in a self-blaming place and if that happened I apologize.  My intention is to encourage reflection upon the disparities between where we want to be as followers of Jesus and where relentless self-interest often takes us.  I would appreciate hearing your responses to my thoughts.  It's a tough topic and is best addressed with shared wisdom.  I look forward to hearing from you.

I've returned!  After a couple of delightful weeks visiting family in Calgary, vacationing in Mexico and recovering from the flu in Saskatoon :) I have returned to ministry at St. Martin's.  While I was away I followed the trial of Gerald Stanley with many mixed emotions.  I identified with Mr. Stanley's fear in the face of potential intruders.  I grieved for the Bushie family whose experience of systemic racism seemed to be confirmed in the trial.  And I wrestled with how Jesus might speak into this tragedy, asking myself "what is a Christian's response" to these events.  I concluded I could not speak for all Christians, but reflected on my understanding of scripture to help me put those events into perspective.  The result was the sermon I offered this past Sunday.  This was a complex situation with many competing perspectives but I concluded that we need to continue to scrutinize our own lives and actions for remnants of racism and re-affirm Jesus insistence that the essence of life is about loving people and not protecting our stuff.  I would appreciate your thoughts on how your Christianity informs your views on the Stanley trial and the ongoing realities.  Please take a few moments to share your thoughts.

Well it's cold this morning but I felt a little 'hot' this week as I discussed the relevance of Oprah Winfrey in the Spiritual Conversation Groups.  After Oprah's inspiring speech at the Golden Globes it caused me to wonder if she was on the side of God's justice.  At that point I assumed her spirituality was secular in nature, although upon investigation, I discovered that she was raised, and still considers herself, a Christian.  Conversation within the groups varied with some appreciating Oprah, some viewing her with skepticism, and others bringing a feminist/political critique to her persona.  I was curious as to how to view a "secular priestess" (which seems to be her cultural persona) in light of my strong Christian roots.  I was led to explore a small piece of scripture in which Jesus states, "Those who are not against us, are for us."  My own conclusion is that Oprah is both a media cult figure with a ridiculous financial worth and someone interested in the well-being of others.  I believe Jesus statement applies, "If she is not against us, she is probably for us" in so much as she challenges sexual exploitation and promotes self-affirming messages.  I hope that some of you might share your views, both on Oprah and also on how your Christian life is influenced by Jesus' statement quoted above.  It would be great to have a lively blog discussion this week.  Will you join in?

Greetings everyone!  It has been great to have a reprieve from some of those cold days and to enjoy the best winter has to offer.  In yesterday's sermon I considered a couple of challenging passages.  One from the book of Jonah and the other from a letter of Paul to the early church.  In both passages "Warnings" were issued.  This, combined with the recent false warning issued in Hawaii, caused me  to reflect upon how one responds to warnings in our own lives.  There are many different responses which we considered in the sermon.  The passages suggest that three characteristics might help us in the midst of warnings - to act with hope; to pursue love and to persevere.  How do you approach warning signs?  What is the role of your faith when confronted with a crisis?  I'm looking forward to the conversation.

Yesterday's scripture reading reminded of Jesus' call to the disciples to come and follow.  I was intrigued by Jesus' comment that if we follow him we will see amazing things.  I'm sure if we would have literally followed him we would have seen amazing things such as his charismatic personality, his interesting interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures, his compassion and his courage in confronting oppressive powers.  In the 21st century we have only the report of past events and a mystical connection with his spirit.  It made me wonder why I still want to follow Jesus and believe in a God-power.  My musings made me realize three things that I attribute to the God-power of which Jesus spoke.  The first is the marvel of creation itself which I portrayed through an interesting YouTube video. The wonders of the universe make me conclude that there is a divine intelligence that I call the God-power.  The second marvel that draws me to faith is when people step out of self-interest to passionately care for others.  Mother Theresa and Jean Vanier are grand examples of this but here and there we see ordinary people also acting to support and encourage others ahead of their own interests.  They are walking in the steps of Jesus.  Finally I was intrigued by those moments of existential aloneness when we are confronted by a struggle or just the realization of our smallness in the universe.  In those moments I am drawn to looking toward a greater purpose and an eternal companion.  What is it that causes you to be a disciple of Jesus?  How do you explain faith and spirituality?  If you were to tell another person about your spirituality, what would you say?  I look forward to your responses!