Grateful for Mom. Aug. 17th, 1943 - Sept. 7th, 2020

Yao Lin Hsu Obituary

Memorial service is tomorrow Thursday at 2:30p PST. I will be conducting the service and it will be available via lifestream here. 

Event ID: Sunsethills

Password ID: SZOSRU

Also, here was a wonderful article run in the Seattle times this last Sunday. The newspaper started work on the article back in July to document couples who had been unable to see one another through Covid. It is a sad article in many ways, but mostly beautiful to me as my parents were able to see one another and I was able to be there.

Married for Decades, Separated by Covid-19

Stu Kerns Honouring J.I. Packer

Pastor Stu Kerns was my pastoral mentor in Nebraska where our three kids were born and where Tanya and I lived for fifteen remarkable years. This is a great tribute because Stu also gives some quick highlights of where to get started if you have never read Packer and his tremendous works.  

NT Wright on Coronavirus, Suffering & Early Church

I found this reflection by NT Wright to be so helpful regarding the role of lament and letting ourselves be filled with the joy of the Lord during these most difficult times. Wright also reflects on the kind of response God's people ought to have to the swirling questions around the "why's" of the pandemic.

Hope for US Evangelicals Still?

This is one of the best interviews of a Christian I've heard on mainstream media (maybe the best one), since Trump was voted into office nearly four years ago. Rev. Rob Schenck speaks with clarity regarding what is wrong with the "white evangelical" alliance with Trump's administration. 

Back in February of 2016, nine months before Trump would be elected to office, I wrote here as to why I was deflated, but not entirely surprised in light of the history of civic idolatry among US Christians, at the growing support among US Christians for Donald Trump.

In this very good interview by Michel Martin of NPR, Christiane Amanpour "sets the table," and Rob Schenck speaks with a kind of clarity that gives me hope that the evangelical church in the US can still rise from the ashes of its own ruins.

SOP for Gathering Again

Dear GV Family,

Here are the "Standard Operating Procedures" that we will abide by for those who choose to return to public worship at 7th and Pine. Please read over very closely. As mentioned in our "Friday Notes," we have had some technological set-backs and are working on them so that we can continue to run online services concurrently with our re-gathered services. As of right now, our planned re-gathered date has been pushed back by a week to July 5th. Let's stay on our knees and keep in front of us Proverbs 19:21, "Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." 

We ask each of you to pray intentionally, in light of the SOP, about whether you should return or continue to stay at home. Our leadership team has discussed that until a vaccine comes out for Covid-19, that it is not possible to eliminate risk of transmission of infection. What we have sought to do is mitigate risk, taking in the best available information we have, and having been cautious to "watch and wait" since BC's "phase 2 reopening" in May. Also, I want for us to have the long view in mind, and therefore expect that there could be starts and stops to our re-opening plans, especially if we see a "second wave" this fall when flu season arrives. It's possible that we re-open for a while and then need to close up public worship again; we truly are on a day-by-day faith journey together. We have determined the biggest "risk factor" for potential transmission is congregational singing, so, with the exception of the one giving the sermon and our Lead Musician(s), we will require all present for our one-hour service to wear masks. The preacher and the Lead Musician(s) will be kept at safe distances from the congregation, the greater concern being the Lead Musician(s) who sing; they will be kept at least 16 feet from the front row.

As for me, I travel to Seattle to help care for my mom about once per month for a week at a time. When I am back in Vancouver, I am on a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine. I am allowed to "leave" quarantine for tasks specifically related to my work, since I am deemed to "be essential to business operations." I have great self-interest in avoiding infection as my mother's stage 4 cancer is a respiratory cancer, and so I take every precaution to keep my mother safe whenever I am in Seattle or Vancouver. Our leadership team of elders, staff and diaconate have communicated that they are comfortable with me coming to Grace Van on the Sundays of my self-quarantines, but I thought you should be aware. I plan to avoid the "after service" times at 6th and Fir to limit my contact for your sake as well as mom's. In addition, I will not handle any elements of communion (though I will give the words of administration).  

Though I had said you we would have a survey this week, with things being pushed back by at least a week, Dale and I plan to send you a survey this coming week of June 22nd, to get a sense of how many are planning on coming back July 5th. Please return those surveys to us in a timely manner when receiving them; this will help us with our planning.

If you have any further questions needing clarification regarding the SOP, please contact John Chan or Tanya Hsu of our Building and Hospitality Team. They have spent considerable time putting together this "simplified SOP," so we thank them for their service and work!

Blessings in Christ dear friends,

Mike

Standard Operating Procedures for opening up GVC

• service length will be kept to one hour.

• doors to the church building will open at 9:45a.

• seating will be socially-distanced by household (initially we will limit our space capacity to under 40 people; ensuring social-distancing rules are kept and maintained). 3-4 spots will be reserved for any potential "walk-in" people.

• keep social distance and have no physical contact with others. 

• paper bulletins will not be provided (powerpoint will be functioning, also bring devices if you wish to have a virtual bulletin).

• a box for the offering will be in the back of the worship hall for anyone wanting to give their tithes and offerings before or after the service.

• masks are required throughout the service.

• hand sanitizer will be available at the front door and also at various locations throughout the building.

• the washrooms will be sprayed with disinfectant between each use (instructions to be followed will be taped to the inside of the washroom doors). Someone will be at the top of the stairs to ensure only 2 people or family units are down in the washroom area at a time; use washrooms only if absolutely necessary.

• people are asked to sign up in advance using eventbrite ticketing.

• children will need to stay at parents' side at all times.

• people are asked to socialize outside, before or after the service (not inside the building).

• the service will continue to be streamed online for those who choose to remain at home during this time.

• communion will be served in a safe manner- the wine/juice will be in disposable cups and the bread will be given to congregants in a no-contact manner.

• all are invited to meet at the park at 6th and Fir after the service for a time of socially-distanced fellowship [all who stay home, (especially those with young children), are invited to join us at this kid-friendly park] Folks coming to the park to join us, are permitted (not required) to "leave" the online service once communion begins, in order to meet us at the park by around 11:15a. This fellowship time will also be somewhat weather-dependent. 

• the preacher and the lead musicians(s) who sing will not be wearing masks but the lead musician(s) will be 16 feet away from the front row and the preacher kept at a safe distance.

• people will need to bring their own masks, but there will be some available if they forget or for visitors.

• those who are at higher risk for infection (people who are 65 yrs and older; people with pre-existing medical conditions; or those with compromised immune systems) are encouraged (not required) to stay home.

• do not attend worship if, in the last 14 days, you have:

* returned from travel outside of Canada.

* been in close contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19.

* lived/worked in a setting that is part of a COVID-19 outbreak.

* been advised to self-isolate or quarantine at home by public health.

• do not attend worship if you have any of the following:

* fever

* cough: new or worse than usual

* shortness of breath

* diarrhea

* nausea and/or vomiting

* headache

* runny nose/nasal congestion

* sore throat or painful swallowing

* loss of sense of smell

* loss of appetite

* chills

* muscle aches

* fatigue

BLM. I Am A Man.

Dear GV Family,

In March of 1879 Chief Standing Bear of the Ponca tribe moved a band of his followers from Oklahoma back to Nebraska. The Poncas originally were forcibly removed from their homeland along the beautiful Niobrara river. Standing Bear and his followers decided they wanted to go back home and ended up being arrested. Standing Bear then stood trial for two days. The verdict came back two weeks later by federal Judge Elmer Dundy who ruled, "an Indian is a person within the meaning of the law, entitled to the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens." The entire trial consisted in Standing Bear making a case for the fact that he was a human being. His argumentation throughout the course of the trial was to establish that he was a person rather than a non-person; as Standing Bear argued, "That hand is not the colour of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be the same colour as yours. I am a man. The same God made us both."

Forgive me as I get a little snippy and sarcastic here,... it only took two weeks to come back with a verdict from Judge Dundy, "Yes the native is a person within the meaning of the law." At least the judge got the ruling right!!! But, two stupid long weeks?! Are you kidding me?!

I envision some poor members from the Ponca tribe in 1879 holding up a placard saying, "Ponca Lives Matter." And those from outside the tribe pushing back, "All Lives Matter." The PLM people and supporters calling the ALM people tone deaf and racist and the ALM people wondering, why are we singling out the Poncas when it is an unassailable fact that all lives matter and that God loves all people of all nations and tribes? And the PLM people pushing back, "But Jesus would have left the 99 for the 1 and so we should be able to see the life of the Ponca in the value of the 1." 

Why Must We Even Have This Conversation At All?

You know what I would want to say knowing what I know, if I could get into a time capsule and travel back to Nebraska to the latter part of the 19th century? Here it is, "Oh, I wish it would all just stop; why must we even have this conversation at all?! And why is a debate raging regarding Standing Bear? and why is he being put on trial for being a man? and why is he needing to prove his case at all?"

The black people I've heard from wish the statement "BLM" was never necessary and the fact that we are having this conversation is an unspeakable sadness,... but it is a necessary conversation, because people of colour have so often felt marginalized, voiceless and not even considered to be persons. They have felt like Poncas in the late 19th century, on trial for needing to make a case for their humanity; that is indeed sad.

Black lives matter is a statement of fact. I do not believe it is helpful in this time to point out that there is a larger movement around the phrase BLM with its broader agenda that does not necessarily follow all the tenets of faithful Biblical Christianity. It's a worthy conversation; what should be the relationship of those who follow Jesus, to the broader movement of BLM? but is not currently a timely conversation at least for most of my audience here that is not Black. The Black Christ-followers I've heard from regarding standing by the statement BLM do not buy into the larger organizational movement, rather as already mentioned, grieve altogether that a statement like BLM ever had to be made in the first place. But for so long they have felt like Standing Bear, invisible, so feel it necessary to make a simple statement of fact, "I am a human being." 

Though I've said a lot already, nonetheless, I resist getting sucked into the dark rabbit hole of debate on this very point (I'm glad I'm not on social media with quick back and forth comments... I generally leave social media more disillusioned about humanity than ever). Shouldn't it be enough to affirm that our brothers and sisters who have suffered so much, do in fact matter? Rather than arguing the point further, what I prefer to get us to consider here, regarding this conversation, is that the source of our problem is not so much social, political, economic or even psychological (as much upheaval as we've seen in all these areas as of late),... but our deeper root problem is theological.

A Theological Problem; North American Christianity and "The Gospel"

The Social Gospel

Here it helps to know a little something about the shape of some of the significant cultural movements around Christianity here in North America. In the early part of the 20th century there was a movement here in North America that established the notion that the gospel most Christians proclaimed was an individualized one placing so much emphasis on personal sin and the need for regeneration in Christ, that institutionalized sinfulness was ignored. This movement became known as the Social Gospel movement. Other powerful movements were happening throughout the 20th century, with some churches that began to borrow from higher critical scholarship of theological institutions in Europe, embracing modernity, challenging notions of the believability of miracles in the Bible, including core doctrines such as the resurrection of Christ and the virgin birth of Jesus. Many of these churches that became defined as "mainline" churches (as opposed to the "fundamental" churches that split off from them), began to adopt the Social Gospel, as their key platform, working towards building a better world, pursuing a kind of utopia here on earth,... but many of these "Soc.G" (Social Gospel abbreviated) advocates also rejected historical teachings of the Christian faith, i.e. "fundamental" doctrines such as the historicity of the resurrection of Christ (as mentioned). 

When the Civil Rights movement came along in the US in the 1960s, many of its major movement leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr. while not repudiating the core of the historic Christian faith (as a number of churches and their leaders had been doing since the beginning of the 20th century), nonetheless, began to embrace and teach themes from the Soc.G movement. While evangelical scholars who were bore out of "fundamental" churches would in time become quite critical of MLK Jr. for having a theology more akin to the Soc.G, they would miss something significant regarding North American cultural history. This is what they would miss: many years ago, I learned from Civil Rights leader Dr. John Perkins of the Christian Community Development Association, that MLK Jr. actually desired to do his theological training at a more "evangelical" institution, but that such institutions were not open to black people in the 1940s and 50s. So the irony was that MLK Jr. was criticized for having a theology that didn't place a strong emphasis on themes around personal atonement and justification, what many evangelical Christians consider to be "fidelity to the heart of the true Christian faith." Yet the same critics did not recognize that the receiving of such a so-called "faithful" theological education was not open to the MLK Jrs. of the world at the time he was doing his theological training.

That might all take just a moment to sink in.

The Simple Gospel

So the reaction of many Christians to what we have been calling the "Soc.G." was that we needed a return to emphasize the "Simple Gospel" (we'll call this the "Sim.G." for reference) and preach repentance to souls, because it doesn't really matter if we try and make a better society (which history isn't very kind to such a reality being sustained over the longer term), if souls end up going to hell anyways. As the Sim.G. people would likely say, "what is the point of that?" Sim.G. people were likely to say the call is to preach the Gospel to "all nations" and not get too caught up in the social and political upheavals of the day,... this is where the impulse seems to come from among Christians who would push back, "All Lives Matter" because the mandate of the church is to "make disciples of all nations" as Jesus' Great Commission goes (Matthew 28:18-20). 

Yet people of colour especially south of the border and First Nations here north are hurting and have felt like "invisible" people for most of their history. We need not repeat here the terrible things that have been done to them creating a kind of corporate trauma that has impacted them for generations... and by the way, slavery was abolished, really, not that long ago. To give some perspective, my late grandfather who passed away in 2002 was born in 1917. Let's assume his parents were in their 30s when they had him; that means his parents would have been born roughly twenty years after slavery was abolished in the US. Let's say grandpa's grandma gave birth to grandpa's mom (did you catch that?) in her 30s; she would have been born approximately twenty years after slavery was abolished in Canada and approximately ten-years-old when it was abolished in the US. We're talking only 5, maybe 6 generations removed from legal institutionalized slavery here in the US and Canada! The trauma of racism and systemic oppression is very real and also fairly recent as far as human history goes. 

So how do we respond to the Soc.G. and the Sim.G. people who seem often to be in a kind of ongoing social media war between what faithfulness to Jesus is? Well, first of all, we should do our best to stand at the side of the oppressed, and have no problem saying "Black Lives Matter." We should stand against police brutality, though recognize that seeing and naming structural problems in a system in no way is a blanket judgement against the many hard-working, faithful and sincere servants in law enforcement who risk their lives every day for the welfare of our communities.

It's hard to "lean" towards one side of a polarized and heated argument, without seeming to diminish the other side,... but Jesus often seems to describe what Catholic theologians call a "preferential option for the poor." I can't always explain it well, I just know it when I see it, in places like Luke 4:18-19, when Jesus announces the fulfillment of His Kingdom, reading from the scroll of Isaiah:

"The Spirt of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."

The Whole Gospel

At the heart of the Gospel wasn't only the announcement of salvation to the world (though it was that!), but ultimately the heralding the "Good News of His Kingdom" that had come into the world in Jesus Christ (feel free to check me on that one Bible scholars... Matt. 4:23, 9:35, 24:14; Luke 4:3, 8:1, 16:16; Acts 1:3, 8:12, 19:8, 28:23, 28:31). In a simple reflection, in Jesus' own ministry, He had authority over sins (to forgive them), but also over the created order (calming the storms) as well as the spiritual/demonic realm (casting out demons). The presence of the Kingdom of God was in Him, because of course He was the Eternal King and in His coming the Good News of the Kingdom of God was heralded to all the world!

So when I think of the Soc.G people, my main concern is that without the preaching of repentance and for hearts to be given to Jesus, for renovation to begin with the wickedness of the human heart, the cleansing and washing of Jesus's blood by rebirth,... the hope for any meaningful longterm change in society is severely limited. But I also have a concern for Sim.G people; my main concern with Sim.G people is that Christ's power over the whole of His created order is undersold and therefore our acknowledgment of the glory of God over all that is rightfully His is diminished (Psalm 24:1). And as His glory over all of creation is diminished, so is the cosmic scope of the accomplishment of Christ at the Cross. As a young believer, most of my Sim.G teachers could not give an adequate explanation of Paul's teachings in Col. 1:20 as well as Romans 8:21 that says the blood of Jesus and the restoring work of God in Christ is far more cosmic in scope than simply ensuring that as many people as possible get to heaven. As the wonderful Christmas hymn goes, "He comes to make His blessings flow,... far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found, far as,... far as the curse is found! Joy to the World,... the Lord has come!!!"

We have to keep in front of us always what I would call the "third way of the Gospel" (thank you Tim Keller). The third way is neither the Soc.G. nor the Sim.G. but the "Whole Gospel" that applies God's sovereign reign over all; both the redemptive work of Christ over all of human life as well as every square inch of the whole of God's created universe. 

We should be politically engaged and care about "social justice" but as we stand, also we should be on our knees, recognizing that the power of God's Kingdom draws closest as we utilize "weapons" which are not of this world, weapons of peace... Ephesians. 2:17 says that our preaching is that of peace to those who are "near-by" as well as "far-off," the desire for shalom to come to all. Let me put it this way, being blind to systemic racism or being a willful participant in it, is a dehumanizing of self, because the animal-like instincts of fallen man are on full display in those moments of human darkness. While it is a different kind of pity and compassion we have towards oppressors, there are no ultimate winners in the carrying out of racism. Perhaps this is so much of what the Bible means when it says "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son" (consider John 3:16 against John 3:19 and exactly how radical the love of God is) and perhaps this is also what it means when Jesus asks the Father regarding those driving the nails into His hands, "forgive them for they do not know what they do." Somehow all cosmic powers of heaven and earth broke and bowed down to the true King of kings in that moment of "God's own kind of love" (Romans 5:8) being put on full display for the world to see, the hope of its renovation beginning in earnest.

We should never pit the wholesale depravity of the human heart (Jer. 17:9) against the depravity of man we find in institutions and human systems (Romans 8:22). We should see that just as humanity and all of God's created world fell in Adam,... so all will be redeemed and restored in Christ (Romans 8:21). So we must participate in efforts that would work for change and goodness to come to our world,... but we must work on our knees as a form of expectant prayer, trusting in the power of God in Jesus Christ to bring the wholesale change we truly desire to see in our world, "your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth it is in heaven" (I think someone taught us to pray in that way?) Wendell Berry once said, "for the ancients, to work was to pray." Imagine the farmer planting the seed, looking to the heavens for expectant rain, despite years of drought, never giving up on the prayer,... "give us this day our daily bread."  

Isn't that the Whole Gospel, to proclaim the reign of Christ the King over all things? To Sim.G people I say, please stand with the hurting and the marginalized especially in this time and hear their hearts, ask if Jesus wouldn't indeed have you listen more and to speak less, and to be OK with statements of BLM, for the reasons already mentioned? (I exhort you with the somber note in Matthew 25:31-40 regarding what truly is a "heaven or hell" issue... let the Scripture here challenge and reform you). To Soc.G. people I remind you that it is only the power of Jesus from above and preaching His reign over all things that an ultimate solution to our sad history will be found... as Alexander Schmemann wrote, "Adam still sits outside paradise weeping." 

Quoting from Mark Sayers in his helpful 2019 book, Reappearing Church, "Our culture lurches from attempts at renewal to reaction and back again in a feverish sickness. . . . the West continues to fail at its projects of renewal. In this exhaustion and disorder, we see the hand of God's merciful judgment, which allows us to rest on nothing but His presence." As Sayers observes, "God allows cultural crises to bring us back to Him."

Let's do what we can to educate ourselves on our part of the "sad history of humanity" nearby, so that we can love better, listen better and better participate in the work of the Whole Gospel over all of life. 

Why must we even have this conversation at all? Do I even need to say it? 

Unfortunately, I do.... 

Standing Bear is a man. And... 

Black lives matter. 

If you didn't know that before in the core part of your being, repent with tears of sorrow, and God in Christ will forgive you. If you already knew that, then repent (and lament) on behalf of people all of whom are "Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve" (C.S. Lewis) and of which you are a part. Then step into our sad, beautiful world by bearing fruit that keeps with repentance (Matthew 3:8).  

I leave you with words I left you with a couple of Sundays ago from Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow,

"Those who wish to see Him must see Him in the poor, the hungry, and the hurt, the wordless creatures, the groaning and travailing beautiful world.... We are too tightly tangled together to be able to separate ourselves from one another either by good or by evil. We all are involved in all and any good, and in all and any evil. For any sin, we all suffer. That is why our suffering is endless. It is why God grieves and Christ's wounds are still bleeding."

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor Mike

Some Other Helpful Items:

* Please take time to read this simple, yet powerful poem Corey Porter wrote for the young people his P2C ministry seeks to equip: Lamenting the Killing of George Floyd

* Last Sunday, Karl Peterson forwarded this powerful video that gives us a deep window into the black experience in America. It is an educational tool that also helps us to feel the pain of our black brothers and sisters. Maybe the most powerful statement I found in it was "Jesus blessed as He bled." The Cross and the Lynching Tree: A Requiem for Ahmaud Arbery 

* Finally, you are invited to join me this Thursday (tomorrow) at 11a for part 3 of 3 of Mission to North America's webinar series on "Racial Brokenness in America and Our Gospel Response." You will need to register in advance by clicking the link. MNA is our denomination's church-planting arm. Did you know Tanya and I are missionaries to Canada sponsored by MNA? While this series more directly addresses the situation in the US and the response of churches there, it gives you a window into the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) history being a denomination with deep roots in the "South," working through important issues of racial reconciliation.

A Hopeful Vision in this Time

Dear Grace Van Family,

As protests erupt all around us revealing systemic issues of institutionalized racism that have plagued us as a race of people for generations, I wanted to pass on this video that was put together in 2017 by people in Nebraska very close to us. The Lead Musician in the video Crystal Davy has been the Music Director for 14 years at the church we planted called Grace Chapel. Mona Reeves, the African-American lady featured in the video is a dear woman we got to know in the late 90s when I was interning at our mother church. Renee Welstead is one of the singers at the end of the video, a white woman, mother of four African-American children (also featured in the video). Renee and her husband Ben were our first youth leaders in our church. There are others in the video who mean a lot to us as well. I forward it because though the video is called "I'm Not Fine," you'll see that it is a hopeful vision of shalom and the peace of God.

Coming off the Eastertide season, I want for us to keep our eyes on the "hope that does not disappoint because God's love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us" (Romans 5:5). The Gospel is bigger than even the greatest evils, sorrows and injustices in our world. I know it's not Christmas time, but I had this line from this great hymn running in my head today: 

"No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found."

Be blessed today friends,

Pastor Mike

Reflections on the Table, Part 5 (Finale May 30)

When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him (Jesus), "Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!" But he (Jesus) said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he  sent his servant  to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"                                           -Luke 14:15-24 Dear Grace Vancouver Family, At the centre of any home with any sense of health, joy, togetherness, belonging and family. . . is a Table. As Eastertide comes to a close tomorrow Sunday May 31st on Pentecost Sunday (50 days following Easter), this piece will be my last in this series on "Reflections on the Table." Last week, I said I would write another piece on the Table of the Lord's regarding this question, "Who Comes to the Banquet Feast (and Who Refuses It?)" We've been spending a fair amount of time in this series reflecting on the blessing of gathering together as God's people on the Lord's Day around the preaching of His Word and participating at His Table together. I've written this to continue to help us gain a deeper, richer and fuller understanding of who we are as God's people together and what is the meaning behind the sacrament of the Table we participate in together. I felt especially compelled to write this series since we have been kept from gathering and participating in the Lord's Table together as a church family for a number of months now and the longing to be at His Table seems to be stirring in many of us. In today's piece, I suppose I write in the prophetic tradition of guys like Isaiah who end with a warning. I am a pastor and a shepherd first and foremost, but it might be that, with God's help, a great warning might be exactly what the Great Physician ordered. After all, the Word of God is often described as a sharpening sword (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). I share this particular set of verses in Luke 14 because, for a number of years now, they have captured my imagination regarding the Kingdom of God and that the people who come to it might look a lot different than who I typically am around in the middle-class professional educated churches I have mostly been a part of through my thirty years of following Jesus. That's not to say that there aren't true believers in those/my churches (I think we mostly are at Grace Van!), but to say we might get to the New Heavens and New Earth and discover that people who look like most of us (upwardly mobile, professional and educated) turn out to be minority residents in the Holy City of God. Luke's passage in particular, reveals idols that people with means, income and who have the "most to lose" as far as earthly blessings, are most likely to serve. Such folks are the most likely to turn down the invitation to "eat bread in the Kingdom." Again, I close my writing today in the prophetic tradition. Of course, mostly I've sought to encourage you through this series. We've spent a fair amount of time through this series reflecting on the power of God's work in drawing His children to His Table, to feed, nurture and care for them. We talked about the yearning we have to be together again, gathered around the power of His Word and participation together at His Table. My hope has been that if you have followed the series to this point, you have been strengthened and encouraged by your time of being at home and away from the kind of daily meaningful "neighbourly" contact we were meant to experience on a regular basis. Mostly I've wanted to encourage you.... So here comes the "holy but" (as one of my friends used to say)... BUT, you know this if you read passages like 1 Cor. 11 closely,... participation in the Table also comes with a sober warning of judgement regarding those who come "unworthily" to the Table (1 Cor. 11:27). Coming to the Lord's Table is a bit different than the casual nature of my dinners at home, with a table full of teenagers, where we mostly have light-hearted conversations about everything under the sun, sometimes joking, sometimes talking over one another, sometimes teasing one another. At the Lord's Table, ultimately we "remember" our sin that sent Christ to the Cross and we take into our hearts His great love for us. We examine our hearts to see where we have not been right with God and with others. In a word we "repent."  So, since there is this glorious vision of the nations coming into the Holy City of God at the end of the Bible and to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19) and that the warning is to come "worthily" to His Table,... I thought it might be helpful to ask on a grand scale, who comes exactly in the end? Also, who refuses the Table ultimately?  This is where our Luke 14 passage comes in handy, because it identifies three particular excuses individuals give for refusing the invitation of this great banquet feast that signifies the Kingdom of God. Interestingly enough, the excuses are not particularly dramatic but pertain to the stuff of everyday life for most who live in the world of "professional, middle-class working families." By the way, if you had to guess, knowing nothing about Luke 14, what might you think were the reasons invitations were refused to this great banquet feast of the Kingdom? Would you say, "well, I'm sure they were bad things that served as excuses"? For example, I'm sure a lot of people wanted to have a night out partying on the town, doing illicit drugs, maybe smoking some weed? Maybe even worse, frequent the engaging of prostitutes and steal from others, loot and promote violence? Would you say, rapists and serial killers are the ones kept from God's house? Maybe another guy cursed a lot and was always taking the Lord's name in vain? As the story of goes of the Christian who boasted of his moral purity, "I don't curse, smoke, drink or chew... neither do I date the girls who do!" Maybe "chewing" was a thing of my generation, but the "naughty kids" would get hold of the "skoal bandits" chewing tobacco tins and try to get away with hiding the little tobacco packets in their lips at school.   The REALLY BAD STUFF must have been the reasons given for refusing the Feast of the Kingdom. Is that what you would guess? If so, you would be completely wrong; we find Jesus illustrating a completely different set of excuses... in this passage, he is in the house of an accomplished and spiritual Pharisee, so Jesus exposes a set of excuses that cut to the heart of not first and foremost the people doing "bad things," but to those many consider to have "good lives."  What are the three excuses given for refusing the Kingdom of God in Luke 14? "The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'"  -Luke 14:18-20 1. Land. I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. 2. Work. I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. 3. Family. I have married a wife and therefore cannot come. Excessive concerns around "Land, Work and Family" are the primary excuses that revolve around turning down the invitation to the Banquet Feast of the Kingdom of God.  These are generally three things we consider to be good gifts of God, right? To have Land (a place to inhabit),... in our case as city-dwellers, to have a home a place of habitation, earthly possessions to bring a level of stability and security to our lives. Work is a blessing that allows us to provide for our needs and those of our family and of others,... Personally, I've always thought it to be easier to be generous towards others than to receive generosity from others. Work gives me the income to be able to be generous towards others. Some even find a deeply-rooted "life meaning and purpose" out of their work. We think of frontline workers in this time of Covid as nothing less than heroic. Work can represent heroism for others. Marriage and family... no one can argue here that marriage and family, when together, healthy and loving,... to be anything other than a good thing. YET, these "good things" are precisely that which represents the three excuses that are given for REFUSING the Table of the Kingdom here in Luke 14. How do we make heads or tails out of this passage? Well, what Jesus is pointing us to is what we might call three classic idols of the heart, "Land (or Possessions), Work and Family." What is an idol? An idol is something we worship in the place of God. An idol isn't necessarily a bad thing (it can be, having a lust for power over others as one example), but an idol can also, at least begin, with a good thing; where that good thing becomes a dark thing is when it goes from being good to ultimate in our lives. In fact, the Apostle Paul defines idolatry as the worshipping and serving of "created things rather than the Creator who is to be forever praised" (Romans 1:25). We know that all things God created were originally created good. An idol can be anything we place in our lives over God as more important and more worthy to be pursued, worshipped over and above God Himself. An idol is what we might call an "over-desire," an "excessive desire," turning a good love into an ultimate love,... going from "that would be a blessing if I got that job/degree/pursuit to,... I HAVE to HAVE that job/degree/pursuit or my life will be meaningless."  In C.S. Lewis' narrative The Great Divorce we come across a bitter old lady who refuses the blessings of heaven because while on earth she had lost her son prematurely; she argues vehemently with the gnashing of teeth that by taking her son far too early, God had violated the most universally-held and greatest principle of love, that of "motherly love." So for all of the rest of her dark eternity, she gnashes her teeth refusing to move even one inch towards such a God who, in her mind, would do such an unspeakable evil. The narrative ends with her shrill voice yelling with hatred and vitriol to the heavens, "Give me back my son! Give me back my son!" You see, for this woman, her son was the ultimate thing and the great non-negotiable, not God,... Her son had moved from being a good love from the Lord to an ultimate love her life could not do without, so she discarded God and worshipped the dark idol of her son... into hell,... for all eternity.  In Lewis' character, we can hear echoes Jesus' rebuke of the woman in the crowd in Luke 11:27,28, "As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!' But he said, 'Blessed rather are those  who hear the word of God and keep it!'" There is so much more that could be said about these three classic idols of "land, work and family," especially as we reflect on their place in the creation account at the beginning of the Bible in the book Genesis. We are limited here, as this is supposed to be only a reflection, not a dissertation! But let me say this much about this "Big Three" in the creation account... All three of these "good things" were actually creational ordinances, blessed and sacred gifts of God, meant to be places of blessing, "sacramental" as I talked about in these reflections, part 3. Our first parents were to live and minister out of their togetherness, as "one" sharing the joys of the covenant bond of marriage (Gen. 2:24,25). Through our years struggling with infertility in our 20s, I read a terrific piece by Roman Catholic ethics professor Gilbert Meilaender where he described the laughing and joy of children as an embodiment of the love of their parents. Meilaender spoke of "loving-giving leading to life-giving" and children being an embodiment of that love and life.... Then again, late Presbyterian theologian John Gerstner also was fond of referring to children as "vipers in diapers," hahaha (so I suppose there is a balancing out of these ideal visions of marriage and family with their sometimes unpleasant realities in our homes). Either way, the point is that marriage and family could only be "conceived of" originally (pardon the pun!) as very good things, as a creational ordinance of God.     The same goes for work. The man and the woman were to do good work for the Lord as a way of co-reigning with God, and the work was to reflect/"image" faithful stewardship and care for the land (Gen. 2:15... much more could be said here regarding Gen. 1:28 too). Today we think of marriages that are holy places of loving mutual service, of the most effective couples working in concert together to love and serve. Also we pray at our church for God's people to see that "Mondays Matter" and ask God to give us wisdom in life and to establish the work of our hands (Psalm 90:12,17). The same goes for "land" in the creation account. We have in our vision statement that we are to be "faithful stewards of the Kingdom of God." We don't shy away from topics around generosity and being open-handed with our resources and possessions, through tithing, giving to our Care Fund and supporting various partnership ministries,... to opening our homes in hospitality to others. For those who have the blessing of "space" in Vancouver,... outside of this time of pandemic, normally we have genuine opportunities in our city that is often described as "lonely" and "disconnected," to welcome others to our tables. We've always wanted our people to be intentional in thinking and praying about what faithful stewardship of their "land" looks like for them in their lives and how to be neighbourly with those good gifts. Land, Work and Family were all God's good gifts in the beginning, indeed creational ordinances. And for the redeemed in Christ they continue to be viewed as such. Yet Adam's sin made a mess of things and the good things of creation easily became elevated as ultimate things,... our fallen sinful hearts began to worship the good gifts of God above the Giver. We began to replace the Benefactor with the Benefits and worship the Benefits in the place of the Benefactor. And in this time of pandemic, it's as if God kicked the legs out right from under the three-legged idol stool of "land, work and family." If we have been worshipping at the altar of any of the three of these classic idols, we have found ourselves more fearful, anxious, stressed and uncertain than ever. In a way, this time has revealed where our ultimate hopes are found for our joy, meaning and even salvation. When I was interviewed for the Lead Pastor position at Grace Van some years ago, I was asked the idol I most struggle with in life. My answer was my wife Tanya; I can't imagine life without my best friend, marriage partner in life for 25 years and the girl with whom I became friends at the age of 16 and fell in love with at the age of 18, the person who was most instrumental in bringing me to Christ too. Yet I've discovered through the years that while Tanya is a terrific wife, she is a severely inadequate Saviour. So what might be some ways this time of pandemic, i.e. testing, has kicked the legs out from under this three-legged stool? Let's consider.  1) Land (including possessions and resources) have become even more unstable with concerns about being able to pay the rent/mortgage and cover our basic expenses. Will what we have enough and be able to provide for the life we hope and believe we should have? Are our spending habits shaped by consumer society sustainable ultimately in this time of what is described by investors as a significant "capital loss environment"? I've been helping to manage my parents' estate ever since mom was given her terminal diagnosis. My parents have spent a lifetime accumulating their wealth; I heard mom voicing out loud the other day, "will it all be gone through this economic disaster created by the pandemic?" They've accumulated a lot, so they stand to lose a lot,... of course this altar of "land" is much easier for them to worship at, than those who never had much in the first place. Remember the empty promises of the Devil to Jesus offering the greatest of all possessions? and Jesus' response in Matt. 4:8-10? "...the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down and worship me.' Jesus said to him, 'Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.''' 2) Work has left many either unemployed or underemployed through a significant downturn in our economy. Even for those who still have steady jobs, the nature of work has shifted dramatically with most of our work being done online for the last few months. What will work look like moving forward as we re-engage? And while some jobs might be steady, we see the global connectedness of our work and know that our businesses if not now, a few months down the road, could be receiving significant cutbacks, adjustments and possible layoffs. Tanya's sister who is the president of a large advertising firm in New York has had to lay off a number of long-time employees who have been like "family" to her for many years now. A cousin of mine in a similar position of influence has had to do the same; in tears, she let a number of her employees go. With appreciation for these workers, in addition to the severance they received, my cousin divided her bonus (as CEO of the company) among the workers she had to let go. We see some beautiful gestures in this time, even heroic ones,... yet even such kindnesses do not mask the realities of some significant economic shifts in our work environments that are coming. These are challenging times, especially for the most established and "successful" people many might have assumed (wrongfully), prior to Covid, would continue to enjoy their economic successes, without interruption, for many years to come.  3) Families have been challenged both in their "forced togetherness" as well as concerns for the welfare of our children. I know mine seem like small costs in light of all the suffering from Covid, but Tanya and I have grieved the loss of an actual high school graduation ceremony for our graduating daughter Mia (and loss of all the activities that come with this significant achievement in our daughter's life). Again, perhaps small, but I was set up to coach my son Calvin's flag football team, which we believe had a good chance to win BC provincials in early June (scheduled for next weekend), among a field of what would have likely been 60 teams. Perhaps more significantly, two of our engaged couples at Grace Van (Jon and Gloria and Rolland and Hannah) have had to either dramatically alter their plans or hold them with a great deal of flexibility. And then those longing to be married with family have perhaps felt isolation and loneliness more acutely being forced to shelter in place during this time. I haven't been able to see my dad in his care home since last March and I find myself always wanting to be in two places at once, to be everything I can be to my mother through her cancer fight and to be present to my kids, especially as Mia graduates from high school here in a few days. What a year it has been! I've discovered I can only be in one place at one time! Will I trust God with my family here in Vancouver and also in Seattle? The idolatry of marriage and family tends to be there whether married or single, and either way, at least in our parable,... it has kept many from coming to the banquet feast of the Kingdom.    What is God trying to teach us NOW in this time of pandemic dear friends? Which idol(s) is He seeking to reveal in you so that you will dislodge your heart from their devious grip? Is it one of the "Big Three" described here in Luke 14? Perhaps all of the above? and then some more? As one good brother asked us staff to pray for him and his family that they would not only survive, but flourishing and thrive through this difficult time. Are you flourishing and thriving during this time? If not, why not? Could this passage in Luke 14 reveal some of the reason?  For me the lesson has been to learn to love and fear the Lord more than the very best things I have going on in my life. As an example, if I love and fear the Lord more than the welfare of my children, then I find I am no longer controlled by my anxieties about their lives, for they are in the Lord's hands. If I love and fear the Lord more than my work as pastor, then whatever economic uncertainties are there (we have had a drop in giving since the time of pandemic, which is understandable in some ways, and we had a huge transitional year in 2019 losing a number of families),... such uncertainties are overcome by my trust in the Lord who holds all things in His hands and who is the Lover of His people. If I love and fear the Lord more than my "land," then I don't have to worry about the uncertainties of being a renter in this very expensive city, a city now struggling even further. I don't have to worry about if there will be enough there to support a daughter now headed off to university in Langley (I think life is about to get a lot more expensive!)  As we finish here, we answered the question regarding who refused to eat the "bread of the Kingdom" and the excuses that were given, but we never quite got around to reflecting on those who actually would come to fill the banquet hall of the King... Luke is pretty clear on that in verse 21... "the poor and crippled and blind and lame" as well as in verse 23 those in the "highways and hedges" (the far-off places, travelers who do not occupy places of power, influence and wealth). Jesus' banquet hall in the New Heavens and New Earth, it turns out, will be filled with many more people who DO NOT look like me with my degrees and professional upwardly-mobile friends and family. Instead, it will be filled with people who never had much in terms of "land, work and family," so had little occasion to use them as excuses for refusing His Table at His Great Banquet Feast of His Kingdom. I have to admit, this passage puts some holy fear into my heart, but that's good right? What is God trying to teach us in this time of pandemic? Ending this series in the prophetic tradition with a word of warning and exhortation, I give you again the words of our Lord, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."  As you do, I'm convinced you will discover that at the centre of the Lord's Table is health, joy, togetherness, belonging and family. . . . with the bread of the Kingdom.  I am very much looking forward to that time when we will be able again to re-gather together around His Table. Blessings dear friends, Pastor Mike