New Testament 101: Luke

This week we move on to the Gospel of Luke.

Did you know that Luke mentions God’s Spirit more than any of the other New Testament writers?  For example, the power of the Spirit was with John the Baptist from the time he was born (1: 15).  And, the Angel promised Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come down to you….so your child will be called the holy Son of God” (1:35).  Also, Jesus followed the Spirit (4: 1, 14, 18: 10, 21) and taught that the Spirit is God’s greatest gift (11: 13).

Luke stresses how important prayer was to Jesus.  He prayed often – after being baptized (3: 21), before choosing the disciples (6: 12), before asking his disciples who they thought he was (9: 18) and before giving up his life on the cross (23: 34: and 46).  We learn from Luke three stories Jesus used to teach about prayer (11: 5-9, 18: 1-8 and 9: 14).

An important party of Luke’s story is the way in which he shows the concern of Jesus for the poor- the good news is preached to them (4: 18, 7:22) – they receive God’s blessings (6:20) and they are invited to the great feast (14: 13, 21).  Also, if you remember, Jesus commanded his disciples to sell what they had and give to the poor (12: 33).

In order to make sure readers would understand that Jesus was raised physically from death, the writer of Luke reports that the risen Jesus ate a piece of fish (24: 42, 43).  There could be no mistake that the risen Jesus was not a ghost.  His being raised from the dead was real and not the figment of someone’s imagination.

The writer of Luke also wrote another book – The Acts of the Apostles.  This was to show what happened to Jesus’ followers after he was raised from the dead and taken up into heaven.  No other Gospel has a second volume that continues the story.

Luke closes the first book he wrote by telling that Jesus returned to heaven.  But right before Jesus leaves, he tells his disciples:

“The Scriptures say that the Messiah must suffer, then three days later he will rise from the death.  They also say that all people of every nation must be told in my name to turn to God, in order to be forgiven.  So, beginning in Jerusalem, you must tell everything that has happened.  (Luke 24: 46-48).

Next week we move on to my “favourite” – the Gospel of John.

Beryl

Order of service, June 7, 2020

This week we will again have communion at home. Below is the general order of service, and below that, the order of communion “insert”. In addition to a candle, this week you should have a glass of juice or water and a piece of bread or a cracker ready. Please try to watch the service starting at 10AM Sunday so we can take communion “together” though apart.

Holy Communion

The Lord be with you, and also with you
Lift up your hearts, we lift them up to the Lord
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God, it is right to give God thanks and praise

Holy are you God for your mercy is endless.  You have filled all creation with light and life and your glory stretches throughout the heavens.

And we say together:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might
Heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosanna in the highest
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest

Your Spirit calls us now, where we are, to gather all people into our celebration and in remembrance of Jesus’ life we say together Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again

Send O God your Holy Spirit upon us and what we do here that we and these gifts, touched by your Spirit, may be signs of life and love to one another and to the world

And we say together -Through Christ, with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all Glory is yours God most holy - now and forever

At this table, bread is broken and wine is poured as we remember not only the promise but also the price Jesus paid for who he was, for what he did and said and for the world’s brokenness.  We taste the mystery of God’s great love for us and are renewed in faith and hope.

Blessing the Elements
The bread of our being loved and the wine of our joy stand as reminders that miracles in faith and risk continue to happen.  In thanksgiving and remembrance, we ask you to bless this bread and this wine so that, in sharing them together, we shall be your people. 

Sharing the Elements
The bread of life we eat together
The cup of love we drink as one

Prayer after Communion
For the bread we have eaten, for the cup we have shared, for the life we have received, we thank you God. Grant that we may grow in love and understanding and that our lives may be lived in faith. 
Amen

Prayers of the People follow

Worship service May 31, 2020

The link to Pastor Beryl’s service will be live Sunday morning here:

Familiar Faces

Love the boots, Percy!

This week I finally got to drop in on Katherine B. and her son Percy to see how they are getting along.

Katherine, who was working at home before this crisis began, says things haven’t changed that much for her family, although Percy has not been going to daycare so I’m sure that makes working a bit more challenging.

Katherine works for a small company called Dovecot Studio, which specializes in “boutique information architecture”. I’m not going to pretend to fully understand what they do, but it has to do with ordering information - on websites but also in other settings - to make it easier for users to find what they’re looking for. Katherine’s specialty is taxonomies, which means grouping things. As it says on the Dovecot website,

A visitor brought a hand-me-down toy that Katherine says he played with for hours:)

“we’re excited to help you detangle the mess and create some order.”

UK Celebrates 75th Anniversary of VE Day

May 8th marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, and Britons were not about to let it go by unacknowledged. Originally, all sorts of parades and live concerts and events had been planned but of course, these had to be cancelled or adapted as the UK battles the coronavirus. Below you’ll find a link to a video that aired on the BBC of people all over the UK singing along to Vera Lynn’s wartime standard, We’ll Meet Again, led by Welsh mezzo Katherine Jenkins and some old footage of Vera Lynn herself.

Dame Vera Lynn, who turned 103 in March, doesn’t sing in public anymore, but apparently “raised a glass” and watched the TV special with family from her home in East Sussex as several neighbours gathered - at safe distances - outside to sing along.

Here’s a link to a story from the Newham Recorder: Dame Vera Lynn thanks people marking historic anniversary under ‘difficult circumstances’

And here’s that video. Warning: get your tissues ready.

Order of service: May 31, 2020

Here is the scripture reading for today, from Acts 2:1-21 (New Revised Standard Version)

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
    and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
    and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
        and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
    and signs on the earth below,
        blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood,
        before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

New Testament 101: Mark

This is the shortest of the four books that tell about the life and teachings of Jesus, but it is also the most action-packed.

From the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus worked many wonders or miracles.  After choosing four followers (1: 16-20) he immediately performed healings; among those were a man with an evil spirit in him (1: 32-34), Simon’s mother-in-law (1: 30-31), crowds of sick people (1: 32-34) and a man with leprosy (1: 440-45).  Over and over the writer of Mark tells how Jesus healed people, but always in such a way as to show that he did these things by the power of God.

Mark details how the religious leaders refused to accept Jesus.  This led to conflicts that finally made them start looking for a way to kill him (11: 18).  However, the demons saw the power of Jesus and they knew he was the Son of God - although Jesus would not let them tell anyone.

This book is full of miracles which amazed crowds and Jesus’ own followers.  However, according to Mark, the most powerful miracle of Jesus is his suffering and death.  The first person to understand this miracle was the Roman soldier who saw Jesus die on the cross and said “This man truly was the Son of God” (15: 39).

This Gospel is widely thought to be the first one written.  The many explanations of Aramaic words and Jewish customs in Mark suggest the writer of Mark wrote for Gentile or non-Jewish Christians.  He wanted to tell about Jesus and to encourage readers to believe in the power of Jesus to rescue them from sickness, demons and death.  He also wanted to remind them that the new life of faith was not an easy life and that they must follow Jesus by serving others and being ready to suffer as Jesus had done.

It is interesting that the writer of Mark (living in a male dominated culture) tells the reader that the first followers of Jesus to discover the empty tomb were three women and that an angel told them “Don’t be alarmed.  You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was nailed to a cross. God has raised him to life, and he is not here”. (16:6)

Next week we move on to the Gospel of Luke.

Beryl

image: The Sick Await Healing, by James Tissot (1836-1902)

Worship Service May 24, 2020

Watch the service as of Sunday morning here.

The reading this week is John 17:1-11

Familiar Faces

Ethel

I have spoken to all of these ladies in recent weeks, but unfortunately have not been able to see them in person. Sisters Phyllis and Ethel have not been able to visit each other for two months, and that is very hard. I thought I would share these pics of them with Lil J. from last year’s St-Jean barbecue as a reminder of happier days, and a vision of happier days to come.

We have also learned that Shirley Robinson was taken to hospital earlier this week. This was taken a few weeks back outside her apartment. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Shirley!

Phyllis

Lil, Ethel.

Shirley

Pandemic Pastimes

Dennis Brown sent along a series of photos from the last weeks that reflect his and Dorothy’s isolation experience. These are his captions for them.

1) Masked grandson delivering groceries

2) - Jigsaw puzzle of Locomotives (a difficult one)

3) Building a kit Locomotive.

4) Camera set up to take Macro images

5) - The picture Lady

6) The new Mother’s Day visit.