In our Gospel Lesson Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd.” This is one of the most common images for Jesus in the world. You can see one example of a stained glass window on this theme pictured in the insert to your bulletin. There is another such window (though a different one) at First Baptist Church of Eau Claire, where I was a small boy. There’s another at the Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Baptist Church where we worshiped for many years. It struck me that I have been followed by the Good Shepherd for much of my life, but it… Continue reading →

I remember a distinguished preacher and the former minister of Canada’s largest Baptist congregation who was one of my colleagues who used say to students, “Don’t make yourself the centre and constant example in sermons.” That’s undoubtedly a good idea, and I hope I haven’t done that too much. But sometimes, one’s own experience makes it inevitable. It may seem a small thing to some of you who have done it and survived, but this last week, on Monday, I filed the paperwork concerning my pension. I received an email response from the Retirement Board representative, saying, “You’re on your… Continue reading →

Holidays are very important times. In the church year the Easter Season lasts for the 50 days from Easter Day until Pentecost (which derives its name from the Greek word for fifty). In this time following Easter Day, the Great Church celebrates the implications of the fact that Jesus is alive and “Going ahead of us into Galilee” (Easter words at the Empty Tomb). So, it is not surprising that the scripture lessons today talk about some of the characteristics of communities that centre in God through the risen Christ.

To start with the Old Testament, Psalm 133 is a… Continue reading →

This morning we used an age old greeting and response for Easter Day: “Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen, Indeed!” Each year, on this Sunday, and on many others, we proclaim this good news directly. But, indirectly, the very fact that the overwhelming majority of Christians (including us) changed the day on which they worshiped from Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) to Sunday (the day of Christ’s resurrection) proclaims the resurrection of Jesus week by week, silently, by their very meeting together.

Now, although, today and often, we proclaim the resurrection of Jesus, it is not his own act, as if… Continue reading →