As we gather, we recognize that we live, work, pray, and play
in the traditional, unceded lands
of the Cowichan Tribes and Coast Salish People. 
We continue to commit ourselves
to the work of reconciliation and relationship-building
with our First Nations neighbours.     

Call to Worship:

God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted us
with the message of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5.19

O, Come.   Let Us Worship.

Gathering

In this time and place
We gather on the ancestral lands of Kwakwake’wakw,
Nuu-chah-nulth and Coast Salish peoples.
From many places and peoples we come to this house in prayer.

In this time and place
We are not alone for we meet in the presence of the living God. 

In this time and place
We are not alone for the Risen Jesus stands in our midst.

In this time and space
We are not alone for the wind of the Spirit moves in and through us.

In this time and in this space
We are not alone for we gather with the whole company of heaven,

In this time and in this space heaven and earth are one. 

O Come. Let Us Worship.

Collect for Today

Author and Giver of all good things, 
graft in our hearts the love of your name, 
increase in us true religion, 
nourish us in all goodness, 
and of your great mercy keep us in the same; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Proclamation of the Gospel:

Matthew 18.15-20 

Sermon:  The Ven.  Brian Evans

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of
our hearts be ever acceptable to you, O Lord.  Amen.

" Everyone Matters" 

We hear today in the Psalm:

Praise the Lord,
Sing to the Lord a new song,
His praise in the assembly of the saints.

Borrowing from Chris Haslam:

Exodus 12:1-14
Trying to convince the Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt and slavery behind. God has assailed the Egyptians with nine plagues, but so far, the Pharaoh has refused to let them depart, and to acknowledge the supremacy of God.

Romans 13:8-14
Paul has written about the obligations we Christians have to civil authorities. He now continues his instructions on ethics for Christians.

Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus has just told the parable of the lost sheep. When one sheep gets lost, he has said, doesn't the shepherd go in search of the one that went astray and rejoice over this one more than over those who have never strayed? Now he turns his attention to relations in the Christian community, which we have just heard in the Gospel.

Today we have the great “Stir Up” Collect. The first part reads:

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that richly bearing the fruit of good works, we may be richly rewarded….     

Contrary to popular belief, this Collect was not intended to remind us to get our Christmas cakes ready, giving them time to ferment before Christmas. And, I know in most cases, we are preaching to the choir; but I am sure over the generations the church has observed a greater spiritual understanding of this collect.          

Our scriptures today point more towards this idea of celebrating our life with harmony in the community. In other words: to bear good fruit.         

The Scriptures are interesting. The Season of After Pentecost is about discovering the relationships we build in faith, personally, and as a community.

But they also remind us to look at the world around us: not just the relationships between people, but the relationships we have with all of God’s Creation; the relationships with the land and the waters, and the seas, and all the creatures there within.         

The first lesson from the OT reminds us of what is wrong with slavery or placing people in captivity. If we can for a moment – stop and think about the plight of the Israelite people in Egypt.          

God wants the people to be set free. Pharoah is not convinced. God responds by sending nine plagues to the region. God has an interesting way of (you might say) getting His way. Finally, Pharoah relents, and welcomes the responsibility that he now sees, to let the people be free, and to allow the people to leave.          

We know the rest of the story.          

Listening to the news, recently, there are then, three major topics: Wildfires, Housing Crisis, and the Drug Crisis. 

In many ways we have been imprisoned by them. 

There is no quick fix for either of these situations. The question, as I see it, is how do we move from that sense of imprisonment.          

Thursday Morning CBC was interviewing a person with a leadership role in responding to the aftermath of the fires: a question for which there is very little answer.

The journalist asked what is the provincial government planning in response to possible flooding from the fall rains?

Part of me thought: so, what can we do? What should we be doing? We cannot stop the rain. We cannot stop the erosion that could come with the rain. And at this moment, we do not know the day or time when it will happen. 

And so, Scriptures may have some lessons for us. 

Not to simply say God needs to send “NINE PLAGUES” to convince the people to make changes. 

At the same time, we as a people need to think about how we live in the midst of crisis. What you will note is that there are many people working to make a difference in peoples’ lives.          

There are many people working according to the principles outlined by Paul on ethics.

• Love your neighbour as yourself.

• Lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.

• Live honourably.

• Be not reveling, or living in drunkenness, not in debauchery or licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.

Then Paul sums it all up with these words:

Instead put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” 

Powerful words with a powerful message. 

Guess what? Jesus also has something to say about this.          

At first, we could be surprised Jesus would be talking about sin in the church. Let us be reminded of these lines from today:

18:15 "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.”          

Yes, there was sin in the early church, just as there is to this day. The church is not a community where there is eternal peace and harmony. The Church is, after all, human. Therefore, the Church has a fundamental duty to strive not to let sin separate us from one another.          

It is this reality of sin that we read about in the Gospel today, and why Jesus is so adamant to address the topic. The topic most of us would want to avoid. But Jesus never avoided the tough topics.          

This is why I chose my title for today: “EVERYONE MATTERS.” 

In our most idealistic notions of the Christian church, we have this idea about the church corporate, or the church body, should be without sin. At the same time, we recognize that Christ speaks of his coming into the world, to live in the world. 

In Jesus’ ministry we see many examples of forgiveness. 

To live with such an idealistic view is both wrong, and hopelessly idealistic.          

Then, acknowledge this fact, and ask the question, “what do we do about it?” 

In other words: what should our response be?          

For Jesus, this is obviously very important.

Jesus’ first reaction is not to deny, or to dismiss. Jesus’ first reaction is to meet it “head on.” And Jesus’ concern is to find restoration for the community, or the individual.          

What does Jesus say is this:

"If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.”          

Everyone matters, and our work is about reconciliation.

Yes, it is tough work. It is a tough topic.  

I believe, that is why Jesus addresses it and asks the community to address it with Him. 

He gives us a formula:

1. Put your complaint into words.
   (Talking with each other makes the issue come alive with words.)

2. Share with each other your concerns.

3. Take into counsel, others.
   Listen to the Christian leaders and their observations.

4. Make use of the fellowship of the church.

5. MOST IMPORTANT: Never give up, keep trying. 

Everyone Matters!

Amen. 

Let Us Pray

Heavenly Father:

This day, we give thanks for the community we live in.
We give thanks for the creation that has been created;
For the gift that was given by the First Peoples of this land in their caring for it and their entrusting it to the Creator.

And we give thanks that in their caring, we have been able to live in a land that, in many ways, is described in the Scriptures as flowing with milk and honey. A great example of life,

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for the leaders of our nations; we pray for the Prime Minister; for the Premier of this province; for the mayors and councils of our two local communities in the Valley. 
We give thanks for their gift of giving; for their sharing their lives with us; and the gift of supportive community and families that comes with them and supports them. 
We pray that we may be faithful in our participation in this community.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for those who are sick; those for whom our prayers have been asked or desired; we pray for Yasmin; for Peter; for Darrell and Sue. We pray for those who are facing transitions in their lives; those who are awaiting medical tests. Be with them; and may Your hand of peace rest upon them, and give them strength. 

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for this valley and for our farmers; for our fishermen; we pray for the rivers and for the blessing of rain that we may receive, so that the rivers may host the salmon which are running at this moment; so that they may lay their eggs, and so that new birth may happen in our waters, to bring food to the Nations; and to bring food to the creatures of the sea that depend upon them.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray, O Lord, for this parish, and for our Bishop Anna; for myself, as priest of this parish; for Trish, our deacon; for Kathy, our lay worship leader; we pray for our wardens, and for our parish council.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray, God, for each one of us in the fellowship of prayer, and in that prayer that covers the bases of life for each of us, as You taught us:

 Our Father,
who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven. 
Give us today our daily bread. 
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive
those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us fom evil.  
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
forever and ever.  Amen.

The Blessing: 

And the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be with you, and remain with you, always. 

Let us go in peace to love and serve each other. Amen

Amen. Alleluia!