Category Archives: Uncategorized

Palm Sunday 2022

April 10, 2022Uncategorizedknoxalliston

Good Enough: We are a group project.

“Blessed are we, opening our hands in readiness to risk intimacy, to receive the gift of friendship and give it in return.” (From Good Enough by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie)

We’ve heard it said that no one is an island, meaning human beings are interconnected and dependent on each other. We are meant to be in families, in friendships, and in communities. We are meant to rely on and support one another. We are meant to come together in the joys and challenges of life.

In the week before his death, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on a donkey to the shouts of ‘Hosanna’. The people lined the road, waving palm branches and praising God for what they had seen Jesus do. The stories of Jesus are always about people, people looking for justice, hope, connection, and love. Jesus modeled a life that brought people together and showed them that individual and community life was so much better when they supported and cared for each other.

April 3rd, 2022

April 3, 2022Uncategorizedknoxalliston

Good Enough: We are Fragile

“Blessed are you who are attempting to love what is here, what is now.” (From Good Enough by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie)

Sometimes it is easier to look fondly at the past and look eagerly towards the future, instead of appreciating, accepting, and loving what is right in front of us now. It takes a certain vulnerability to face the reality of life in the moment, the beauty and the pain. We have been reminded during the pandemic how fragile life can be and how important it is for us to connect with each other.

In the Bible, a woman broke a jar of expensive oil meant for Jesus’ burial over his feet. It was a bit of a shocking thing to do. When one of his followers became upset, Jesus told them all that he would not always be with them. It was a reminder of what was to come for him, but also a reminder of how important it is to appreciate life in the present. In this season of Lent, let us live in the moment and embrace all of life, the good and bad.

March 27th, 2022

March 27, 2022Uncategorizedknoxalliston

Good Enough: Being Less than Perfect is Not Fatal

“Blessed are you who do not despise your realness. It may hurt. But this is what we hoped for, right? To live and love. To be loved.” (From Good Enough by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie)

The idea of being good enough, or just doing our best, is not necessarily an invitation for under-achieving or giving up. Instead, being good enough means letting ourselves off the hook when we make mistakes and giving ourselves a chance to start over or even try something new.

The story of the Prodigal Son in the Bible is well-known. After, making some unwise choices and mistakes, a young man decided to go home again. Believing that what he had done was unforgivable, he never expected the joyful welcome he received from his father. Often, we are our own worst critics and have a hard time forgiving ourselves for the mistakes we’ve made. The reality is that we are not perfect, and trying to be, is exhausting. Even when we can’t seem to be kind and forgiving to ourselves, God is there, offering a welcome with mercy and grace.

 

March 20th, 2022

March 20, 2022Uncategorizedknoxalliston

 

Good Enough: Lots of things can be medicine

“Blessed are you who live with courage, fixing what it is in your reach, praying about what is not, and loving, still.” (From Good Enough by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie)

Who doesn’t want a quick fix for something that is broken? A magic pill to cure an illness, heal a strained relationship, repair a flawed system, or end a tragic war. Often, we like to offer our simple solutions to complicated problems, but of course, there is almost never an easy or quick fix.

On the third Sunday of Lent, we will explore a story Jesus told about a fig tree that was not producing any fruit and needed careful tending to be healthy again. It was not so much a story about agriculture but about the time and care it takes to fix what is broken. It is about God being a God of second chances and Jesus as a gardener who sees the beauty of a tree that appears to be all but dead. It is a story that teaches us to be open to new ways of thinking about what we need to be healthy and how we can help each other and our world to solve complicated problems.

 

March 13th, 2022

March 13, 2022Uncategorizedknoxalliston

Good Enough: So much is out of our control

“Blessed are we who discover we are loved and held in arms that are strong enough to hold that which we cannot.” (From Good Enough by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie)

One of the tactics we use to be good enough (smart enough, rich enough, healthy enough, etc…) is to have as much control as possible. It is natural for us to want to influence and manage all aspects of our lives, but the reality is that so much is out or our control. We can’t really control other people: their feelings, their actions, their choices. We can’t really control the weather: if it snows, if it is -20C, if spring is very slow in arriving. The last two years of the pandemic have really made us realize how much is beyond our control.

As humans we are uncomfortable with chaos, with pain, with things not going the way we want. In the end, we can only do what we can actually do and accept what we cannot do, and know that it is good enough and that we are never alone. On the second Sunday of Lent, we turn to Jesus who understood the fear and frustration of the uncontrollable. As well, we consider our constant desire for control and it’s impact on our spiritual, mental, and physical well-being as we lean on the strength of God to carry us through times of uncertainty.

March 6th, 2022

March 6, 2022Uncategorizedknoxalliston

Good Enough: Ordinary lives can be holy

“Blessed are you who need a gentle reminder that even now, even today, God is here, and somehow, that is good enough.” (From Good Enough by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie)

This week begins the season of Lent, the 40 days in the Christian year leading up to the celebration of Easter. It is a time of reflection, remembrance, and thanksgiving for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Sometimes people give up something like chocolate or social media for Lent and sometimes people add a spiritual practice like prayer or service to others.

We live in a world where the pressure to be the best at something or have the most of something is strong. There is nothing wrong with striving to be our best, yet the stress of never being able to measure up makes life difficult. What if perfection is actually what is perfectly suited to each one of us? What if the ordinary can point us to the divine? What if we agree that sometimes just being good enough is enough? On the first Sunday of Lent, we are going to explore the idea of being good enough and recognizing what is holy in the ordinary.

February 27th, 2022

February 26, 2022Uncategorizedknoxalliston

If Only…What If

Luke 6: 27-28 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

If only I could win the lottery… If only the Leafs could win the Stanley Cup… If only people could just get along… If only things could get back to normal… “If only” is what we say when we wish that something unlikely or even impossible will happen. However, “if only” can also be a spark to imagining a better world and the first step in making it a reality, when we change it to “what if”. “What if” creates an opportunity for the impossible to become possible.

In the Bible, Jesus said some stunning things like love your enemies, turn the other cheek, and give without expecting anything in return. “If only” might be our first response to those words, but what if things could be the way Jesus said? What if seeing the humanity of our enemies leads to empathy instead of hatred? What if reconciliation is a better path then retaliation? What if being generous is far more effective than keeping score? When we turn our “if only” into “what if”, our wishes may just become realities.

February 20th, 2022

February 19, 2022Uncategorizedknoxalliston

Come As You Are

Luke 6: 17-18 “Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people… They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.”

We like when things have order, when we know exactly where we stand and what is expected of us. Yet, as we know, life is not always predictable and we can’t control everything. We may be left feeling unworthy, critical of others, and discouraged with the way things are.

In the Bible, Jesus welcomed all people, just as they were. One of his main messages was that things were not going to be the same anymore. Assumptions about who had value and who didn’t, were flipped upside down as he preached about God’s Kingdom. People who had felt unworthy were given hope for the future through unexpected blessings. It didn’t matter if you had it all together or were falling apart, all were welcome. We too are invited to come as we are and to know God’s blessings of justice, peace, and love.

February 13th, 2022

February 12, 2022Uncategorizedknoxalliston

The Gift of Love

1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”

Chocolates, flowers, a special dinner out (or in), a homemade card. These are the gifts we give each other at Valentine’s Day. Traditionally, Valentine’s Day is a holiday that celebrates romantic love, but can also include love among family and friends. There are a lot of clichés associated with love that might not really get to the heart of what love really is including: love is blind, love means never having to say you’re sorry, or you can’t buy love.

There is a passage in Bible that is often read at weddings. It describes the nature of love; love that is kind and patient, love that bears all things, and love that never ends. The original message was directed towards the early Christian church which was struggling to find its way. The people all had different gifts and talents to offer their community and yet, they were reminded that none of those gifts meant anything without the gift of love. Love is more than a feeling, love is an action that requires service, respect, justice, and humility for it to thrive and grow.

February 6th, 2022

February 5, 2022Uncategorizedknoxalliston

If You Say So

Luke 5: 5-6 “Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.”

If you say so. How many times have you heard this? How many times have you said this? Often, ‘if you say so’, is a phrase used when one is giving in to something. It could be said in response to a request to do something you’d rather not do, like the dishes or shovel the snow. It could be said sarcastically to someone else’s belief in something unlikely, like winning the lottery or running a marathon. Or it could be said as a ‘yes’ to the beginning of a new and exciting adventure.

In the Bible, Jesus met a fisherman who was tired and discouraged by a long night of fishing with not one fish to show for it. When Jesus told him to go back on the lake and put down the nets again, the fisherman was understandably skeptical. He might have wondered why he should go out again after such a disappointing night just because Jesus said so. And yet he did, and he caught the biggest haul of fish of his life. Saying yes to Jesus changed that fisherman’s life and he became a dedicated life-long follower of Jesus. It all began with his willingness to take a risk and say, ‘if you say so’, with hope and faith that something amazing might happen.