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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-08-30, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2018. PAGE 13. By Pastor Brian Hymers Knox United Church, Belgrave This message from scripture is possibly one of my favourites to speak on because it is personal, honest and real. I wish to speak on the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians. I wish to reflect on Paul’s admission of not being perfect. Not one of us can say we are perfect. Oh, we think we are, but really, are we? Is there anyone that can say they are perfect? We all have faults, some physical, some mental and some hidden away in the back of our minds, not to be revealed or witnessed by anyone but you and God. We all struggle with appearance, we spend hours in front of the mirror applying products to our face and hair to look our best. For years I just wore a hat and now I am really trying to train my hair to sit down at the back, stand up at the front and behave in the middle, when really I should be stapling it all down so it stops disappearing. It is a real pain in the butt or a thorn in the side. There is that phrase that Paul used: thorns. The ones he was referring to I will deal with later but for right now the use of this word is directed more to cosmetic things; things that really do not matter a whole lot in the battle for life and death. During a visit to the emergency room, or while being attended to by an ambulance driver, the last thing you are caring about is your hair. So why do we put such pressure on our selves to be perfect? Young children are told way too early in life that they are fat, slow or ugly. I have an eight-year-old granddaughter who was called all three words by a group of girls she thought were her friends. You see, when she is with one of her three friends, she is perfect. With two of her friends, she is ok, they need each other, but add in the third and the weaker, the larger, the slower, the not-as-pretty one gets bullied and pushed aside. The third so-called friend is threatened and has to make room for herself to be in the spotlight. So the outsider gets pushed away with hateful words that sting and go right to the heart. Poppa cannot always be there to tell her she is the greatest gift I have ever been given. Mom cannot be there to tell the others to be quiet. Gramma cannot be there to give a hug, play with her hair and tell her it is ok and that they really do not mean it. Or do they? To a vulnerable teenager, cyber- bullying with a cell phone can be enough to push them over the edge. To a young man who has been cut from the team, the pain can last a lifetime. To a young adult, male or female, the heartache of a breakup can be devastating; a love that was falsely given, a heart ripped apart in a second. When you have the “realization” that you are alone, Christ is there. From a child to young adult, to mature adult Christ is there. It can be hard to see, sometimes hard to believe and even harder to accept, but Christ is there with you always. We are never alone as long as we believe in him. That even following his death upon the cross, Christ rose from the dead and is with us today is the single most important message of our ministry; to tell everyone of the Good News and to remember that Christ is alive, he is within us as we accept communion on those far too few Sundays when we deliver the last supper. The strength of that message can overcome all the dark, scary, demeaning things that we as humans do to each other. Remember the rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?” When was the last time you heard that! We need to say it to every child, every day, to help them when they get older, we more mature people need to hear it as well. In Paul’s letter to the church of Corinth, he expresses his personal thorns. We are not told what they are. Some have speculated malaria or epilepsy, possibly a disease of the eye. It was chronic, debilitating and kept him from his work of ministry from time to time. He opens up to the church by expressing this element as a thorn. He speaks of being in a third heaven, a place of unconsciousness, I would think, 14 years earlier when he was having an out-of-body experience; an event he states that no human can describe. I can only believe that he is referring to euphoria. Anyone who has experience with acid trips in the 1970s or heroin get such a high they claim they can never completely describe or recapture that feeling and keep trying and trying until they overdose and die or get cleaned out, realizing it was all an illusion. We live in such a make-believe world, wanting things to either go away or we fall in to peer pressure and search for the need to feel a belonging, which has often caused many people to get involved in the world of illegal drugs. The thing that is so confusing is how we, as a modern-day society, rely so heavily on prescription medications and chastise those doing illegal medications for personal pleasure. Paul offers an alternative, over 2,000 years ago and an answer to today’s dilemma. Paul states in verse 8, “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My Grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’” If only those words could be heard by all the ones oppressed, bullied, separated, grieving the loss of a loved one or struggling with addiction or mental defect or dark depression. I am so glad that Emilia had the knowledge that she is loved by a spirit greater than any other eight- year-old. I am so glad that she talked to her mother about what had happened and that tears are real. It hurts to be pointed out in front of a crowd of so-called friends. It takes guts to admit you have a problem. I personally suffer from depression and need to keep a constant watch for the signs of it entering into my life. It is a personal thorn that cuts and opens up every now and then and I need to be reassured that things will get better, that the darkness will dissipate. Sometimes I need to be told to find that light I give away every week for all to have. That small flame upon that candle is a sign that Christ is Grace and Love, His Grace is all we need. His light works best in our weakness. Verse 10 should be our model and our statement of perseverance and faith. “That’s why I take pleasure in my weakness, and in the insults, hardships, persecution and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Blyth United Church Est. 1875 OFFICE: 519-523-4224 Sunday, September 2 Worship Service at 11:00 am Guest Speaker: Elly Dow Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 9:30 am - 2:00 pm Accessible Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches blythunited@tcc.on.ca Certainty in uncertain times Huron Chapel 10:00am this Sunday in Auburn huronchapel.com MELVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BRUSSELS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 Nursery care available 519-887-6687 Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm ~ Soup & More 2 - a free community meal held in Melville’s basement, and made possible by the Brussels churches working together. Worship & Sunday School - 9:30 am (*New time) Coffee & Snacks following the service We invite you to join our church family in: Everyone Welcome! The Regional Ministry of Hope BLYTH BRUSSELS Trinity Anglican Church St. John’s Anglican Church 9:15 am 11:15 am MINISTRY OFFICE 519-357-4883 COME WORSHIP WITH US! Rev. JoAnn Todd, Rector email: revjoann@hurontel.on.ca The Regional Ministry of Hope Youre Invited to come worship with us Sunday, September 2 at 10:30 a.m. 650 Alexander St. (former Brussels Public School) Sunday School for children 4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m. Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers during the sermon. Coffee & cookies after the morning service. Summer evening service 6:00 pm at various homes For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621 Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173 BRUSSELS United Church Sept. 2nd:Worship at Melville Presbyterian at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 9th:Worship resumes at Brussels United at 9:30 a.m. Meet us at our Hospitality Booth at “The Barn” every Friday from 2 to 6 pm You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743 Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen BLYTH CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH SUNDAYS Morning Service 10:00 am Evening Service 7:30 pm From the Minister’s Study God’s Grace is all we need says Hymers Get information on Huron County attractions on at stopsalongtheway.ca