We are delighted to announce that we have hired a new Church Musician. Gwen Wellington will take over from Geoff Haynes on August 13, 2017.

Geoff is moving to Edmonton to pursue other employment opportunities, and to reconnect with his family.

Gwen brings a wealth of musical interest and passion to this position. She has a delightful spirit in leading congregational song, and strives to lift our spirits as we sing our praises.

A Test of Faith?

We’re looking at some of the stories of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis. I mentioned a couple if important things a couple of weeks ago.

First of all, we should read these stories as stories. They’re not history. They weren’t told or written to be part of “the Bible”. They started as stories, and what they’re doing is trying to figure out how God is present in our world and our lives.

The second thing is to be very clear that these are not stories about what God actually said or did. They are stories about what Israel believed God said and did.

A couple of weeks ago, we read the story about Isaac’s birth. Two old crocks laugh themselves silly because of God’s promise about a baby. No one has babies at this age. Who has the energy? Give me a break!

We continue to tell that story, of course, because a child was born. They called him Isaac; it means “he laughs”. Sarah and Abraham’s life was filled with the laughter of faith as they doted on the boy.

Then today we read this ugly, chilling story. In Christian tradition, it’s called “the Sacrifice of Isaac,” and Christians have tied this story to the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. In Jewish tradition, it’s called “the Binding of Isaac.” It’s an important story in both traditions.

Today, Abraham is not laughing anymore. He awakes with a start from his troubling dream in the long hours of the night. He slips out of bed, trying desperately not to disturb Sarah in her sleep. He wakes the boy, telling him to get dressed. There is somewhere we have to go.

Slowly, Abraham and Isaac and two servants trudge towards Moriah, towards the place where his troubling dream told him he had to sacrifice Isaac, his son, the one through whom God’s promises were supposed to be fulfilled.

They leave the servants at the base of Mount Moriah. On the way up, Isaac asks, “I see the fire, and the wood, Dad … but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?”

It was like a knife in his own chest. But somehow Abraham manages to say, “God is going to see to that.”

Reaching the top, Abraham takes his son, his only son, and binds him, ties him, trusses him like a lamb and lays him on top of the wood.

He raises his knife, ready to deliver the killing blow … when he hears another voice, and he sees a ram caught in the thicket.

What are we to do with this story? It feels like child abuse. Is this really what God wanted from Abraham? Did Abraham truly believe that God would have called him to do … this?

As you might imagine, this story is interpreted in a number of different ways.

One interpretation is that this story speaks strongly against human sacrifice. There are several times in the Bible when the Israelites are commanded not to offer their children as a sacrifice. That’s what their pagan neighbours did; other societies would sacrifice a child as a way of appeasing the gods. But Israel was to be a different people with different loyalties and different practices, because they worshipped a different God.

In this interpretation, this story tells how abhorrent this practice is to Israel’s God. Abraham becomes an example of the practice of the other nations. He is ready to do what he thinks God is commanding him to do. So he travels to Mount Moriah, ready to kill his son, to sacrifice the son of the promise. But God has other ideas, and the ram tangled in the thicket becomes the instrument of God’s deliverance. Isaac is saved.

Well, maybe.

This interpretation is a powerful reminder that every person is a gift of grace. In this way, this story serves as a reminder that children are still suffering all around the world. They are still victims. They are being conscripted as soldiers in the Congo. They are being abducted by Boku Haran in Nigeria. They live without hope in Canada’s northern indigenous communities and end up taking their own lives. They are victims of sexual abuse in so many parts of the world, including right here.

Children are, in fact, being sacrificed.

The gospel tells us that not a single one of us is unloved, that each one of us is precious and holy and valuable. And this story points to that reality.

Another way of interpreting this story is to say that it was a test of Abraham’s faith. “Give me your all,” says God. “Give to me what is most precious in your life.” So this is a test of Abraham’s devotion to God.

And there is some truth in this interpretation as well. Our faith requires our whole–hearted devotion. Jesus told us that the Great Commandment is to love God with all that we are, and to love our neighbours as ourselves. Give your whole self to God.

But to sacrifice a child? I don’t think so.

In fact, the prophet Micah offers a resounding “No” to that question. He asks, “What does God require? Shall I give my firstborn to atone for my sin?” The answer comes … “No. What God requires is to do justice; to love kindness; to walk humbly with God.”

So this interpretation—I don’t buy it.

Here’s another way of interpreting this story. It is not as common as the others, but it is a legitimate way of interpreting this story.

The story begins with the word that God came to test Abraham. This is a story about testing.

And for thousands of years, most people have assumed that Abraham passed the test. By being willing to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham proved that he was devoted to God. The book of Hebrews states that “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son.” By this word, Abraham’s act was an example of faithfulness in action.

But what if our assumptions have been wrong? What if Hebrews is wrong?

What if the real test was whether Abraham was willing to stand up like a real father and say, “NO!” No to death. No to killing. No to child sacrifice. What if Abraham failed the test?

Now, I’m not just making this up to make it easier for me or for us. For centuries, Jewish scholars have said that the most important part of the story was the ram. They don’t focus on God’s call. They don’t focus on tying Isaac to the altar. The focus of this story is that ram—which is the symbol of God stopping Abraham from doing what he was about to do.

Every year, at Rosh Hashanah, which is the Day of Judgment, a ram’s horn is blown. Many Jewish scholars say that the purpose of the shofar is to awaken the divine in us. Let me repeat it: the ram’s horn wakens the divine in us.

So every year, Jews blow the ram’s horn, the shofar, reminding them that God stopped Abraham from killing his son Isaac. The shofar renews in us all the command to honour life always and in everything we do, and to walk humbly with God.

I think that’s what this story is about. Abraham failed the test, and God did what God always does. God redeemed Abraham and sent him on his way, and the promise was kept intact.

We need to be very humble and careful about claiming what God wants. We don’t know the mind of God. We can’t know the mind of God, and we had better be aware of that — except that God calls us to love, to be compassionate, to be faithful, and to honour life everywhere.

Paul reminds us in Romans today that we are people who have been brought from death to life, and that we are to live as instruments of righteousness. And in the gospel, Jesus tells us that even a small thing like a cup of cold water given in love becomes a sign of God’s presence in our lives.

Our faith is also tested. And the question for us is whether we will honour this God of love, compassion, grace and hope in all that we do. Will we live as people who, in every small act of our lives, show the love of God in our lives?

Pray that it be so.

Thanks be to God.

Rev. Yme Woensdregt

July 2, 2017 (4^th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 13)

Genesis 22: 1–14

Matthew 10: 40–42

Romans 6: 12–23

Wednesday, June 21, is National Aboriginal Day. In the Anglican calendar, it is a Day of Prayer. We confess our participation in the terrible legacy of the Residential Schools, and reaffirm once more our commitment to the goals outlined in Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Anglican Church of Canada established the Anglican Healing Fund 25 years ago to support projects for recovery of language, culture and spirituality.

Let me quote from the last of the Ten Principles the Truth and Reconciliation Commission declared as underlying their 94 Calls to Action. It reads in part,  “Together, Canadians must do more than just talk about reconciliation; we must learn how to practise reconciliation in our everyday lives—within ourselves and our families, and in our communities, governments, places of worship, schools, and workplaces. To do so constructively, Canadians must remain committed to the ongoing work of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships.”

We will mark National Aboriginal Day in Worship on Wednesdays on June 21 at 7:00 pm. The collect for the day reads:

“Creator God, from you every family in heaven and earth takes its name. You have rooted and grounded us in your covenant love, and empowered us by your Spirit to speak the truth in love, and to walk in your way towards justice and wholeness. Mercifully grant that your people, journeying together in partnership, may be strengthened and guided to help one another to grow into the full stature of Christ, who is our light and our life. Amen”

Our summer worship schedule begins this Sunday, June 25. From now until the Labour Day weekend, there will be one service on Sunday mornings at 10 am. Join us for this time of refreshment, renewal, and inspiration.

A group of women enjoyed a delicious and delightful luncheon at Sally Passey’s home on Jimsmith Lake.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Deb Saffin as the Licensed Lay Pastoral Associate at Christ Church. She will take up her position in September. This 3–year pilot project will be a ¼–time position, to be funded from funds raised through our Together in Mission stewardship campaign.

Deb brings many gifts to this position, including a strong faith, a keen desire to learn more and grow in her faith, and a strong compassionate heart. She will take primary responsibility for pastoral visiting in the parish, and will also promote church membership visiting. As part of this ministry, she will also work with the Prayer Chain. Archbishop John (Diocese of Kootenay) has approved Deb as the right person for this position, and he will issue a license for her in September. We fully support this vocation for Deb, and believe she is uniquely qualified to take on this ministry.

We will hold a Service of Commissioning for Deb in early September. It will be an opportunity for us to welcome Deb as part of the leadership team at Christ Church. We will be able to express our support and gratitude for her ministry among us.

Thanks be to God for this evidence of God’s working among us, enabling us to grow in our ministry.

Archbishop John has invited us in the Diocese of Kootenay to spend time considering the vocation to which we are called.

What is a vocation? Many people think of vocation as a calling to serve in the church–as a priest or a deacon. It’s true that service in the church is a vocation. But the word vocation is much wider than that. It comes from the Latin word vocare, which means “to call”. God invites all of us, God calls all of us, to live out the good news. Our vocation is rooted in our baptism, and is found in our response to questions such as these:

“Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ?”

“Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbour as yourself?”

Our response to those questions is “I will with God’s help.”

Frederick Buechner is very helpful in helping us understand vocation:

“There are all different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work; the problem is to find out which the voice of God rather than of Society, say, or the Superego, or Self-interest.

“By and large a good rule for finding this out is this: The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you’ve probably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing cigarette ads, the chances are you missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time you’re bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a), but probably aren’t helping your patients much either.

“Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” That last sentence is at the heart of thinking about our lives as a matter of vocation.

Where is your deep gladness? Where do you find your passion?

Where does that intersect with one of the deep hungers of the world?

Something to think about.

The FMCC held its third annual Golf Tournament at the Elizabeth Lake Lodge Mini Golf Range. A great time was had by all who came out, and the tournament winner — a surprise! Tom Sutton, Ed Saffin’s grandson, notched 4 holes-in-one. Congratulationis to Tom, who will be presented the Ron McFarland trophy later this year.

The winning foursome in the tournament included Jim Roberts, Joel Vinge, Antoine Beurskens and Dennis Burton. They will be presented the Peter Davidson Memorial Trophy at the same time.

The FMCC meets weekly at the Triple O’s on Friday mornings at 10 am.

Save

On June 4th, the Church celebrates the festival of Pentecost. It is the last day of the season of Easter; it is also the day on which we celebrate the gift of God’s Holy Spirit which fills our lives and empowers us to reach out in love and compassion to a world which is increasingly in need of such love and compassion.

As we reach out to the world, we understand also that the gift of God’s Holy Spirit is a calling to the church to be active in the world with the good news of God’s passionate love affair with the world. Pentecost, thus, calls us back to our vocations as God’s people in the world. “Vocation” comes from the Latin word vocare, which means to call. We are empowered with God’s Holy Spirit to live out our calling in the world.

The Diocese of Kootenay has a website called “Pathways”, which is devoted to helping you discern ministry opportunities in the Anglican Church and in our Diocese. You can find that website here. There are also some resources on the website of the Diocese of Kootenay.

Opportunities for ministry outside the church and in the world abound. Frederick Buechner writes as follow about our vocation: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

As we celebrate this gift of God’s Holy Spirit, may we also discern our passion to live as a follower of Jesus Christ, and the place where that passion meets one of the very real needs of our world.

Christ Church will once again be present at the Cranbrook PRIDE Day celebrations at Rotary Park. It all happens on Saturday, May 27 from 10 am to 2 pm. Drop by our table (which someone called “The Jesus Table” last year) for some conversation, or a free hug. We are all made in the image of God, and we are all infinitely precious in God’s sight. Christ Church is proud to be an open and welcoming congregation!