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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-01-05, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2012. By Pastor Perry Chuipka St. John’s and Trinity Anglican Churches “I am the light of the world says the Lord. Those who follow me will not walk in darkness but have the light of life.” A minister gets up after the New Year’s celebrations and waits eagerly for his morning coffee which his wife always gets for him. On this particular morning 30 minutes goes by but no coffee. Then an hour goes by and still no coffee. Now he is really getting impatient. He calls out to his wife “Where is my morning coffee?” She yells back, “I have decided in this new year that you should brew the coffee every morning.” Then his wife adds, “As you get up first in the morning, dear, you should make it. Then we won’t have to wait too long for our coffee.” “But you’re in charge of all the cooking,” replies the minister, “that’s your job, so you should make it. And if I have to wait for my coffee in the morning, well, I just have to be a little more patient.” Finally the wife replies, “But it says in the Bible that the man should make the coffee.” “OK”, responds husband, thinking for sure he has won this argument over who will brew the coffee in the morning. “If you can show me where it says that, I’ll never question you again.” The husband brings her the Bible and with a smile on his face and says “show me where it says the man should be the one to brew the coffee in the morning?” His wife opens the Bible to the first book of Genesis. She turns the page and says. There it is. “HE--- BREWS”. Whether it is waiting for our morning coffee or waiting for anything in life, patience is a difficult virtue for all of us. I am a person who likes to get things done right away. I don’t like to wait. While Christmas shopping in December I had one more gift to get and thought I’II just dart into Zellers and get the gift and be back home in no time. I got to the aisle where the product was, picked it up and headed for the checkout cashier. There were many long lineups at the cashiers. I got into one of them. But while watching all the lines I noticed that there was a smaller line. I thought I will duck into that line. I am thinking to myself how smart I was to shift lines and that I will be home in no time. But after the line goes down to two people. The cashier has to call one of the clerks to check on a product. The lady in front of me and I waited for 10 minutes. Meanwhile I watched several people in the other line I started in, leave the store before me. We live in a society where everyone is in a hurry. We want what we want right now. Waiting is not something we do very well. Most everyone includes the three wise men in their nativity sets, but they really didn’t arrive until about two years after Jesus was born. These must have been very patient men. They travelled a great distance, following a star for months. They did not know when they would arrive at their destination or where they were going. They patiently followed the light of God until it finally came to the place where Jesus was. When we are impatient we are living in what I would like to call a cloud of darkness. The only light we see is the light which helps us get to where we want to be in the shortest way possible. In the fall my wife and I attended my sister’s 50th birthday at the new Keg steakhouse restaurant. We were told to arrive at 6 p.m. and then in the afternoon of the birthday party my sister’s daughter told us to arrive at the restaurant for 5:30 p.m. We decided to make sure we were on time so we arrived at 5:15 p.m. The receptionist gave us an electronic gadget that she said would light up when our table was ready. She told us to have a seat in the bar section for 45 minutes. After waiting for what I thought was 45 minutes I started to doubt if our electronic gadget was really working. It was completely dark in the middle. I banged it on the table a few times to make sure it was working. I was getting frustrated and increasingly impatient. Finally, after waiting, what seemed like an eternity, I went to the hostess to make sure the beeper was working. She informed me that we had only been waiting 42 minutes. They had promised we would be seated in 45 minutes. Sure enough, three minutes later, the gadget flashed bright and brilliantly. The light did exactly as promised although I had doubts. The same is true with the light of God. We don’t always trust that God will see us through the dark moments of our lives. We panic, live in fear, or get frustrated because things are not going fast enough for us. If the story of the wise men teaches us anything, it teaches us of their patient trust in the light of God. We are now in a new year. Last year is history. I am sure there were times when each of you experienced some dark moments. Perhaps some process was moving too slowly. Perhaps you were frustrated at other people because of their inability to go where you wanted to go. Perhaps you couldn’t see your way because you were focused on some light that would give you a false sense of security instead of being focused on the light of God. On Jan. 6 this year some people will celebrate Epiphany. The term epiphany means “to show” or “to make known” or even “to reveal.” In Western churches, it remembers the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing “revealed” Jesus to the world as Lord and King. Epiphany is also known as the season of light. Anytime the light of God has been revealed to us or helped us to find our way we have experienced an epiphany. The problem is not that God does not reveal himself to us or that God does not give us light to find our way. The problem is that we ignore the light because it seems impractical or too risky. The wise men travelled a great distance to find the Christ child. They risked travelling through foreign lands and being exposed to foreign cultures. Their journey ultimately took them to the place where Jesus was. The way was no doubt long and arduous, but they were determined to find him. Now that we are in a new year, we could each ask ourselves this question. Are we willing to take risks and go even when we don’t know the final destination? A few weeks before Christmas THE CATHOLIC PARISHES OF NORTH HURON AND NORTH PERTH CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO ATTEND HOLY MASS. OUR SUNDAY LITURGIES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Brussels: St. Ambrose Saturday 6:00 p.m. 17 Flora Street Wingham: Sacred Heart Sunday 9:00 a.m. 220 Carling Terrace Listowel: St. Joseph Sunday 11:00 a.m. 1025 Wallace Avenue N. Youre Invited to come worship with us Sunday, January 8 Brussels Public School at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday School for children 4 to 11 years of age (mornings only) Childcare provided for infants and toddlers Coffee & cookies after the morning service For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621 Steve Klumpenhower 519.887.8651 Rick Packer 519.527.0173 Chris McMichael 519.482.1644 BRUSSELS - ETHEL PASTORAL CHARGE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA Sandra Cable, Worship Leader Church Office 519-887-6259 E-mail - bepc@wightman.ca Sunday, January 8 Ethel United Church Worship Service and Sunday School - 9:30 a.m. Brussels United Church Worship Service and Sunday School - 11:00 a.m. Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS Rev. Elwin Garland SUNDAY, JANUARY 8 Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available 519-887-2664 10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship - Sunday School getlivingwater.org Pastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848 Living Water Christian Fellowship January 8: 1 Peter 4:1-11 “What are You Living For?” (Intro to Spiritual Gifts) Holy Communion 10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School at Blyth Public School, corner of King & Mill Tuesdays 7:30 pm - Wingham Bible Study 1st & 3rd Wednesdays 7:30 pm - Women At The Well Evangelical Missionary Church Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m. CORNER OF DINSLEY & MILL STREETS MINISTER Rev. Gary Clark, BA, M. Div. All Welcome MUSIC DIRECTOR Floyd Herman, BA, M. Ed.OFFICE: 519-523-4224 JANUARY 8 It’s Not Too Late to Make New Year’s Resolutions JANUARY 15 A Brave New You THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA Welcomes you to come and worship with us Trinity, Blyth 9:15 a.m. Church Office: 519-357-4883 St. John's, Brussels 11:15 a.m. 519-887-6862 Sunday, January 8 Rev. Perry Chuipka www.nabcom.ca/church You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship Hwy. 4, Blyth 519-523-4743 www.blythcrc.ca SUNDAYS Morning Service 10:00 am Evening Service 7:30 pm BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH 119 John’s Ave., Auburn 519-526-1131 www.huronchapel.org Rev. Mark Royall, Sr. Pastor 9:25 a.m. Sunday School for all ages 10:30 a.m. New Year, New Sermon Series What To Do When Life Hurts Begins this Sunday From the Minister’s StudyMake patience a virtue in the new year Continued on page 21