From the Rector’s Study

In New York City’s Central Park stands a statue of William Shakespeare. Four thousand dollars towards its funding was raised at a benefit performance of Julius Caesar in late 1864;
and there is a direct link between that statue, that performance, and one of the most famous assassinations in American history.

Maybe I’m just being cynical, but I don’t put much stock in end times discussion. It is not so much that I’m being naive and in denial of that possibility, but there is another factor that plays a bigger role. That for each one of us, our time on earth is limited and we could die at anytime. So, we don’t need to concern ourselves with the end of the world because our own part of the world could end at anytime.

Today we celebrate All Saints, and we welcome the Legion here for Remembrance. The gospel is Luke’s version of the beatitudes and love your enemies. This is the movement from selfishness and focus on self to relationship and others. Today as we remember those who sacrificed for country and fellow comrades, I am reminded of the survival impulse for all of us, fight, or flight.

I think Zacchaeus gets a bit of a bad rap. The same way I think Judas gets a bad rap as well [that’s a whole other sermon]. This may be rationalizing, but Zacchaeus is part of the Roman system. The system was set up for the tax collector to be the bad guy. The amount of the tax owed to Rome was never communicated. This means the tax collector was paid from the amount of taxes he could collect over and above what was owed to Rome.

Christ Church, Campbellford 9:00am / St. George, Hastings 11:00am

“Nevertheless, she persisted.” This became the rallying cry in 2017 of the feminist movement in the United States, after Senator Elizabeth Warren was formally rebuked by the Majority Leader for ignoring Senate rules during the US Attorney General confirmation hearings. Senator McConnell read the vote from the Senate floor, “Senator Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”

Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life… To me this means living out the two parts of Thanksgiving, giving thanks directly to God in worship, and passing the blessings we receive onto others. The question is, can we get beyond the realization of the brokenness and the problems we face in life?

Do we have enough faith? The apostles did not think that they had enough faith. They asked for an increase in faith for what reason? Was it to look good and about reputation? Or were they trying to get to the end, the finish line before running the race?

A young and successful executive was travelling down a neighbourhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He kept an eye out for children who might suddenly dart out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.