The Citizen, 2007-09-27, Page 18By Rev. Cathrine CampbellMelville Brussels, Knox BelgravePresbyterian ChurchesOne of the deep longings that
humans seem to have is a wanting to
trust. No matter how smart or how
cynical there is that hope, longing,
for certainty, for affirmation. Trust
gives confidence and confidence
gives us a wide assurance for our
lives and futures.
But today, trust seems to be a chal-
lenge and certainty in things that are
trustworthy seem to be a sometime
thing and rare at that. We live in the
“information age”, a “post modern
age” – even a “post Christian age”
and are daily given knowledge about
people and events in a depth that was
unthought-of 30 years ago.
Sports heroes come and go with
the speed of summer lighting.
Presidents and kings are the subject
of media scrutiny and analysis to the
point that their polices and govern-
ment fade into the background.
Revisionists have a field day with
yesterday’s heroes .
Even Jesus is not immune as popu-
lar fiction and movies portray ideas
about Jesus that show him as human
but not as the source of love and trust
that we have known throughout our
lives as Christians.
When one of the best ways to get a
laugh is to say “Trust Me” what hope
can we have in the present or the
future?
Actually, we can have a lot of trust
and hope but we must look further
than what we hear and see and to the
source – the one in whom there can
be perfect trust. We acknowledge that
God and God’s son are not pretty pic-
tures or a distant deity, to be called
upon only in emergencies, but an
integral part of our daily lives.
Jesus was never a remote icon for
Jesus lived in a real word and Jesus
knew people then and he knows peo-
ple now. He isn’t fooled even if peo-
ple can be………
There is a story told about Henry
Ford, the inventor of the assembly
line and a very shrewd fellow, who
very much trusted his business acu-
men and wits. He was visiting his
family's ancestral village in Ireland.
By this time he was also a man of
great wealth.
Two trustees of the local hospital
learned that he was there, and man-
aged to get an appointment to see
him. They talked Ford into giving the
hospital $5,000 (this was the 1930s,
so $5,000 was a great deal of
money).
The next morning, at breakfast, he
opened the daily newspaper to read
the banner headline: “American
Millionaire Gives Fifty Thousand to
Local Hospital.”
Ford wasted no time in summoning
the two hospital trustees. He waved
the newspaper in their faces. “What
does this mean?” How did this hap-
pen? I thought you could be trusted
to get facts straight,” he thundered.
The trustees apologized profusely.
“Dreadful error,” they said. They
promised to get the editor to print a
retraction the very next day, declar-
ing that the great Henry Ford had
given not $50,000 but only $5,000.
On hearing this, Ford offered them
another $45,000 under one condition:
that the trustees would erect a marble
arch at the new hospital entrance
with a plaque on it. They did and this
is what was engraved on the plaque.
It read, “I was a stranger and you
took me in.” (Matthew 25;35)
Back to the original question –
who do you trust? – kings, presi-
dents, movie stars, celebrity chefs,
interior designers, televangelists?
That is an impressive list of people –
all of whom I don’t know. Those that I do trust are farmers,teachers, business people, musicians,retired people, homemakers, nurses,
skilled tradesmen – in short, the peo-
ple sitting in my congregations. For I
think that they understand that to
have trust it is you who must be trust-
worthy.
There is no value if you set the
highest standards for others and the
lowest and most flexible for yourself.
For when Paul asks that “requests,
prayers, intercessions and thanksgiv-
ings be made for everyone – for
kings and all those in authority that
we may live peaceful and quiet lives
in all godliness and holiness” he
means all of us for are we not rulers
of our own lives? and don’t we want
that peace and quiet for all?
Therefore, trust in God will give us
all lives well lived in Gods’word and
God has a straightforward want – a
hope we might acknowledge that
“This is good and pleases God our
Saviour, who wants all to be saved
and come to a knowledge of the
truth” (1 Timothy 2:34).
God will be pleased and we will be
saved – be it king or commoner.
For God knows us – warts and all.
The Parable Jesus tells About the
Dishonest Steward (Luke 16:1-15) is
about someone who has a lot ofwarts. The dishonest steward parableshows that Jesus really knew people.Jesus knew that they were caught out
their reaction would not be “I am a
sinner, I am sorry I want your for-
giveness”.
No it’s “I am too weak to get a dig-
ging job” and “I’m too ashamed to
ask for money” and the solution?
The steward thinks – Aha! “I will
juggle the books instead and people
will think I am a great guy and still
invite me to their parties” – And he
does.
For centuries people have had
problems with verse 8 – “The master
commended the dishonest manager
because he acted shrewdly”. If you
think that the master is Jesus or God
then you do have a problem.
However, if you remember that Jesus
is telling the parable about a master –
you then realize that Jesus is telling
his disciples that this is what happens
in the real world, that they may be the
children of light but they are to be
aware – black and white does not
always apply and all is not always as
it seems .
The likeable rogue, the flexible
businessman, the one willing to buy
something that fell off the back of a
truck are not some new species of
human – Jesus has them all in thisparable and we are to learn fromwhat he says. – Be aware for yourtrust could be misplaced. Don’t be
naive. Just because you are a follow-
er of Jesus doesn’t mean you are to
pretend the real world doesn't exist –
be aware and remember that even
sharks can have nice smiles as well
as lots of lovely teeth.
So Jesus gives the guidance to
those of us who are his followers in
this world over two millennia since
Jesus was on earth. It is still sound
and useful knowledge “Whoever can
be trusted with very little can also be
trusted with much and whoever is
dishonest with very little will also be
dishonest with much”.
The teenager who comes home at
the time set gets the use of the fami-
ly car with no hassle – the teenager
who is constantly truant bemoans to
his friends that his parents don’t trust
him and he can’t have the car. Duhh
– maybe there is a reason.
For trust is earned and it is in the
details we stand or fall – stealing is
stealing whether it is a chocolate
from the corner store or a million
dollar stock fraud. Lying is lying
whether it is about what time you
really got in or what actually hap-pened to the NHL pension fund. It isnot a matter of degrees it is a matterof trust, 100 per cent.
Trust is the positive reality but we
are sometimes the negative reality
and we are really sinners – we
estrange ourselves from God. But
even here we are able to trust for we
can ask for forgiveness. And forgive-
ness is forgiveness whether it is for a
hurtful remark or a broken vow.
And that is the Good News for God
does not want us to fail but God
knows we can and we will – but God
trusts us – remarkable as that sounds
given what God knows about us –
God trusts us to come to him – in
prayer, to listen to God in our study
of God’s work and God’s Word and
to act for God in the living of our
lives.
We never have to fear that we will
be called to account for the manage-
ment of our lives because we have
been given the infallible guide in all
matters and we can come to him at all
times – and in the words of the famil-
iar hymn – Simply trusting every day,
trusting through a stormy way, even
when my faith is small, trusting Jesus
that is all”.
PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2007.From the Minister’s StudyTrust today can be challenging, says minister
getlivingwater.orgPastor: Ernest Dow ~ 519-523-4848
Living Water Christian Fellowship
at Blyth Public School, corner of King & Mill
10:30 a.m. ~ Worship & Sunday School
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Sunday, September 30th
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Special Guest Speaker
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Potluck, Dedication of New Property
Come help us celebrate!
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
Wheelchair accessible ~ Nursery care available
Rev. Cathrine Campbell - 519-887-9831
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Sunday, September 30
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Brussels United Church
Worship Service - 11:00 a.m.
Celebrating our Christian Faith together in worship
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Welcomes you to come
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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
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11:15 a.m.
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308 Blyth Rd. E. ~ Pastor Les Cook 519-523-4590
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