As we gather, we recognize that we live, work, pray, and play
in the traditional 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:  

  Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is great in heaven,

Matthew 5. 12 

O Come, Let Us Worship 

Gathering
Almighty God,
to you all hearts are open, all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hidden.
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the
inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

Collect for Today
Living God,
in Christ you make all things new.
Transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives make known your glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.    Amen. 

The Proclamation of the Gospel:

Matthew 5. 1-12

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.

       “In Here versus Out There” 

How better can you get than these words:

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God.”                          Micah 6.1-8

The scene is a court of law, where God, as judge and accuser, charges Israel with contravening the Sinai covenant and forgetting what it means to live in a way that holds God in awe.  

And when I think of those words from Micah, they really are about standing in a sense of awe before God.  To think about doing justice; to think about kindness; and to walk humbly with our God.   

And then, in 1 Corinthians 1. 18-31, Paul says:

“For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  

It really reflects back to that line from Micah as well.

Paul has decried the divisions in the church at Corinth. (Yes, there were already divisions in the early church!)

Now he differentiates 'those'—for whom Christ’s death, resurrection and return to the Father, are highly significant, and 'those'—who fail to understand Christ’s sacrifice for us.  

And, we can only truly understand that sacrifice when we are able to walk with God in the way that the prophet Micah is suggesting.  

And when we are able to do that, we are able to really hear that proclamation of Christ in the Gospel:  

“Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven.”             Matthew 5.1-12

In Galilee, Jesus tells his followers those human qualities required for entry into the Kingdom of God. He speaks of the new era he has come to initiate.
All the qualities are expected of the faithful:
they will enjoy spiritual happiness now, and in God’s reign at the end of time.  

Then, these opening words from Psalm 15:

“O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy hill?”          

A first reading may suggest there are two, very different, groups of people.
Those who, at first sight, appear to be the “IN” crowd; while at the same time, there are those who, for all intents and purposes, may have been left standing on the “OUTSIDE”, looking in.          

This makes the two opening questions very relevant:

O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy hill?          

These sentences have echoes of society in general.   Each day, with the aid of A.I. (artificial intelligence) we have a list--nearly as long as the commercial artist’s rendering of Santa’s list--of those who have been naughty, and who’s been nice.          

All of this is a part of the background for our scripture readings for today.  
Micah opens the gate for us today.

Like Psalm 15, the week’s text from Micah opens with a question:  
With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high?
(Micah 6.1, NRSV).

Now, in the Micah text, the question is clearly sarcastic–the prophet mimicking worshipers who pretend not to know the answer. But I think the same might be true, on some level, for the Psalm.

We know the answers to these questions–these texts are not full of new information.

• Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly;

• be honest and fair in your speech;

• tell the truth about the world;

• don’t take advantage of people or unjust situations.

We know these things—and God knows we know them.

Why? Because these ethical practices are woven throughout the pages of the entire Bible.
We often hear reference to these words, or similar:

• Those who walk blamelessly;

• Those who do what is right;

• Those who speak the truth;

• Those who do not slander;

• Those who do no evil;

• Those who do not take up reproach against their neighbour.

One of the problems with this list is part of what the late journalist Pierre Burton referenced, in his book titled The Comfortable Pew.  Many of us may have read it.  

Comfortable, or not, with Pierre Burton’s commentary on the state of the church in the 60’s, some of his observations (60+ years ago) we now see as 'profound'.

I am sure not all of us in our “comfortable pews” may be aware: Burton’s book was written at the invitation of the leadership of the Anglican Church of Canada.  

Follow this now to the 1980’s, when Bishop John Shelby Spong entered the stage with his books. The most popular of which was his 1991 publication – Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture.  

This book came out shortly after I was ordained, and I can assure you, when it hit the pews (so to speak) there were many questions that arose from the people, asking how a leader in the Church could have such a view.    

But without question--these two scholars--from two ends of the spectrum: one from the secular world, and one a scholar from the world of Christianity--without question, they were controversial in their writings.

At the same time, their contributions to the church was each challenging us 'to think out of the box', in our life as Christians.  

And many parts of the Scriptures, Old and New Testament alike, call us to do exactly the same thing—call us to ask questions, to look deeper, to search further.            

They challenge us to think about:

• What places and spaces are sacred for me/ you?

• What makes them different from other places?

• Why do we seek them out?          

Our first answer to these questions, more often than not, is because they are our place of 'comfort'.          

At the end of the day, in what I believe Jesus is challenging the worshipping community of his day, and the challenge for each worshipping community today is, for us (myself), to consider if you (if I) am conducting myself differently in here than I do out there.

Who is in, who is out?          

IN HERE, can mean here in my heart, OR here in this comfortable pulpit.          

OUT THERE, can mean my outer sense, OR out there, out in the community.          

The theme runs through the readings today.

God’s place of comfort is a place where people may see us “in the midst of people who revile you, persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you, falsely, because you are walking in world of justice, kindness, and humility.”  

That for myself would be the comfortable pew.   

Thanks be to God.  Amen. 

We respond in the words of the Apostles' Creed
Our statement of faith:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.  
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated
at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.  

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen. 

Let Us Pray

Called together to follow Jesus, we pray for the church,
the world, and all in need.  

Cultivate humility in your church.
In gathering of every size, teach us to boast only in the cross.
Shape your church to be people of kindness,
generosity, and justice. 

Merciful God,
Receive our prayer. 

The foundations of the earth bear witness to your faithfulness;
the mountains and hills echo with your holiness.
When we mistreat your creation, show us the error of our ways.
Inspire us with reverent awe to honor all you have made. 

Merciful God,
Receive our prayer.

You make foolish the wisdom of the world.
Raise up honorable leaders who seek justice,
love mercy, and pursue peace.
Frustrate plans that are corrupt, wicked and self-seeking.
Prosper the work of peacemakers. 

Merciful God,
Receive our prayer.

Bless all whom the world rejects.
Accompany those who are regarded as foolish, weak, low and despised;
reveal your power and presence at work where it is least expected.
Give your life, strength, and wisdom to all in need. 

We continue to pray for those in need, particularly in our parish:
Roy & Gail;  Les; Daryl & Sue; Roy; John; Daryl & Joyce; Sheila; Carolyn;
Catherine; David; and those on our hearts.  We pray also for Elizabeth, for healing.

Merciful God,
Receive our prayer.

As with your people Israel, remind this congregation of your saving acts.
Remind us how your faithfulness brought us through difficulties
and sustained us despite our weaknesses.
Establish the cross as the center of our life together.  

Merciful God,
Receive our prayer.

Praise to you for your blessed saints in every time and place.
Trusting you accompanied them in poverty, persecution, and in every trial,
we trust you abide with your people always. 

Merciful God,
Receive our prayer.

We bring to you our needs and hopes, O God,
trusting your wisdom and power,
revealed in Christ crucified.   Amen. 

Confession and Absolution  

Dear friends in Christ,
God is steadfast in love and infinite mercy;
God welcomes us and invites us to the table.
Let us confess our sins, confident in God’s forgiveness.  

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.

We are truly sorry and humbly repent.  

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us,
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name.  Amen.

Almighty God have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and keep you in eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

I invite you this week to take with you the greeting
that we share in the liturgy when we say,
“the Peace of the Lord be with you”;
not necessarily in a demonstrative way,
but just to think about the peace
that Christ gives us in the world,
and how you may share that with those you encounter.  

As our Saviour 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 tresspass against us.
And lead us  not into temptation, but deliver us fom evil.  
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory,
forever and ever.  Amen.

We give to thanks to God this week,
as we share in worship,
for his goodness that he gives us in our lives:
Source of all goodness,
In this eucharist we are nourished by the
bread of heaven and invigorated with new wine.
May these gifts renew our lives, that we may
show your glory to all the world,
in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord.     Amen.

The Doxology:

Glory to God,
whose power working in us can do infinitely
more than we can ask or imagine.  
Glory to God from generation to generation,
in the Church and Christ Jesus, forever and ever.  Amen. 

The Blessing

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God,
and of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you, always.  Amen.