HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-05-27, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2010. From the Minister’s StudyUniversal need to renew the walk of faithBy Pastor Tom MurrayKnox United, BelgraveWalking is something I loved to do
as a young boy in Scotland and in
my teens in Canada. The Australians
have always had their walkabout
tradition. The Brits go hill-walking.
But dedicated walkers can find
walking tours from Paris to
Patagonia or from Vancouver Island
to South Island, New Zealand.
Walking is an adventure available
to all ages and stages of life. There’s
only one problem with all this,
walking is not easy!
We take walking for granted
because most of us learned to master
this complex task when merely a
year or so old.
To walk upright on two legs is a
remarkable accomplishment; spend
a little time observing a baby going
through the steps he/she must master
before walking. You know the
stages, just lying there, thrashing
their arms and legs, then rolling
over, which just about gives us a
heart attack when they’re on a high
bed or change table. But eventually
they learn to flop. Like a fish on the
deck of Simon Peter’s boat, a baby
flops about, arches its back and
swings to and fro.
Everyone knows that to walk
you’ve got to crawl first. But before
you can crawl you’ve got to flop,
then rock, then wriggle and then
eventually take off crawling. Only
half-way there and still on all fours,
they get up on two feet and learn to
stand and the adventure continues.
They use furniture, brothers and
sisters, the dog, and a lot of
breakables, but soon they’re cruising
about their homes. Babies travel a
long road before ever walking it.
Jesus led his soon-to-be-disciples
through a like series of baby-steps
on the way to their confessing
faithfulness. It’s called a faith walk!
First, Jesus directed Simon to park
his boat, so to speak, allowing his
fishing boat to be used as a floating
platform from which to address the
crowd. Next, Jesus ups the stake by
instructing the fishermen to take
their boats out into deep water and
cast their nets. Not surprisingly
Simon stumbles on this step. After
all, he’s the fishing expert, and
Jesus’ instruction goes precisely
against all his experience.
Nevertheless Simon picks himself
up and gamely points his fishing
boat out into the deep water. It’s not
until the huge catch of fish, so
weighty that it threatens to sink bothfishing boats that Simon loses hisfooting completely and falls to his
knees. Despite his prior glimpses of
Jesus’ greatness as a teacher, and a
healer, Simon’s fledgling faith is
swamped by this catch. (Luke 5:1-
11)
This dramatic call of the first
disciples isn’t just some archaic,
first-century fish-story. The step-by-
step process into faithfulness Jesus
offers is the same growth exercise all
God’s people have to struggle
through.
The three steps to renewing our
faith walk are simple and
straightforward. The first step to
trust Jesus, God, and Spirit. Not
having Simon’s (Peter, as named by
Jesus) first-hand experience of
Jesus, the trust issue is big for 21st
century believers in the faith.
But it is trust that plugs us into the
power source that is Jesus. As
Proverbs 3:5 (from Eugene
Peterson’s The Message) it declares:
“Trust God from the bottom of your
heart; don’t try to figure out
everything on your own.”
I love the story of Harry, the
television repairman, called to fix a
television that had neither sound nor
picture. Left alone in the room,
Harry spotted the cause
immediately: the set was unplugged.
Harry faced a dilemma: one part of
him said he shouldn’t charge the
homeowner. The other insisted he be
paid for his time. Finally, hepresented the owner with aminimum-charge service bill, which
read: “Restored isolated connecting
cable to primary power source: $25.”
Far too often, in these times we are
like “isolated connecting cables –
unplugged,” thus disconnected from
the source of our faith. When we do
get plugged in, we are able to step
into the deep waters of discipleship.
This is where the walk of faith is not
about safety or risk-free living, but
rather a walk of purpose and
passion. As United Church
theologian Douglas John Hall
insists: “Christianity is a demanding
and serious religion. When it’s
delivered as easy and amusing, it’s
another kind of religion altogether.”
For example, consider this snippet
from an incident in William Lloyd
Garrison’s life. Garrison, a 19th
century reformer who’s outspoken
responses to slavery, echoes Douglas
John Hall’s 21st century insistence:
“I will be as harsh as truth and as
uncompromising as justice. On this
subject I do not wish to think, to
speak, to write, with moderation.
No! No! Tell a man whose house is
on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell
the mother to gradually extricate her
babe from the fire into which it has
fallen but urge me not to use
moderation in a cause like the
present. I am in earnest I will not
equivocate I will not excuse I will
not retreat a single inch and I will be
heard. The apathy of the people isenough to make every statue leapfrom its pedestal and to hasten the
resurrection of the dead.”
Jesus doesn’t call disciples to
wade in the shallows, but to swim in
the deep! Where do such steps of
faith lead us? They lead us to do
what every disciple, from Simon
Peter onwards, have had to do
throughout history: leave old ways
behind and let God create in us a
whole new way of being in life.
Lewis B. Smedes, retired
Seminary Professor and author, died
at the age of 82 in 2002, following a
tragic fall at his home in California.
He had just completed the last
chapter of his memoirs,My God and
I: A Spiritual Memoir.
His final chapter entitled, “God
and an Impatient Old Man” speaks
loudly: “When I was young I hoped
with all my heart that Christ would
never come, that he would stay up in
heaven where he belonged and leave
me alone. Every Sunday morning as
my family shuffled down to our pew
in church, I was scared half to death
by a biblical prayer, taken from the
Book of Revelation, painted large on
the front wall: ‘Maranatha, Even SoCome Quickly Lord Jesus.’ Icountered it, each Lord’s Day, with a
prayer of my own: ‘Oh, Jesus, please
take your time.’ Now, when I am
lying in bed awake at night, I find
myself humming an impatient
at
Brussels Mennonite Fellowship
Sunday, May 30 9:30 a.m.
10:45 a.m. Coffee Break
11:00 a.m. Question/Answer time with Wendy Martin
while children are at Sunday School
12:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to a Potluck Meal at
Howard and Alice Martin’s
Bring your own dishes/cutlery and lawn chairs
Pastor Brent Kipfer 519-887-6388
You are invited to hear
Wendy Martin
share about her experiences
in Laos working for
Mennonite Central Committee
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, May 30
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:
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, May 30
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
SUNDAY, MAY 30
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
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
Fridays 7:30 pm - Youth Group
Christ-centred, Bible-believing,
Fellowship-friendly, Growth-geared
May 30
Guests:
Bob & Jan
Graham
First Nations Missionaries
YOU ARE WELCOME
9:45 a.m. Sunday School for all ages
10:30 a.m. - Sunday Morning Worship
Mid-week Bible Study
C H U R C H O F G O D ,ANDERS
O
N
,
I
N
D
I
A
N
A
Timeless Truths
For Today
308 Blyth Rd. E., Blyth
Pastor Les Cook ~ 519-523-4590
Blyth Community Church of God
Please join us for worship
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00am
Evening Service 7:30pm
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
Pastor John Kuperus
Hwy. 4, Blyth
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF CANADA
Welcomes you to come
and worship with us
Trinity, Blyth
9:15 a.m.
519-523-9595
St. John's, Brussels
11:15 a.m.
519-887-6862
Sunday, May 30
Corner of Dinsley & Mill Street
Blyth United Church
Office: 519-523-4224 Rev. Gary Clark
All Welcome
Sunday, May 30
Worship Service & Sunday School at 11 a.m.
119 John’s Ave.,Auburn
519-526-1131
www.huronchapel.org
9:30 a.m.
Sunday School & Small Groups
10:30 a.m.
Morning Worship Service
Guest Speaker:
Ivan Preston
PLAN AHEAD FOR SUMMER
Huron Chapel is offering two
summer experiences
for your children.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
July 5th-9th
ATHLETES IN ACTION
SOCCER CAMP
August 16th - 20th
Contact Melodi at
melodi@huronchapel.org
for all the details
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