That is how this morning’s reading from Mathew ends in the version of the Bible we normally read from. And Leviticus, our first reading, was no better, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”
Same story in Matthew’s Gospel, when we are instructed to be perfect, we are told to do so because God is. The version we heard this morning from the Message soft peddles the perfection part. Eugene Peterson, the author of the Message, gives us; “This is what God does. God gives his best.” Peterson understands our modern day infatuation with being perfect…so he saved us from ourselves a bit. After all, let’s be honest, which one of us hasn’t fallen into the trap of looking in the mirror, the fashion magazine, the sports illustrated and lamented the fact that I’ll never be that perfect. The easy thing to do is just give up – who could blame you – I’m never going to look like Matthew McConaughey – I could maybe buy a Lincoln – but I’ll never look as good driving it!
Thankfully God has another kind of perfection in mind for you and me. So the question this morning becomes how do we reveal our god given perfection?
When we think of perfection in today’s world, we get all caught up in tangible stuff: The perfect job with the perfect colleagues, the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood, the perfect church, with the perfect priest (who likely looks more like Matthew McConaughey than me), the perfect hair that perfectly frames your face, the perfect swoosh on your new shoes that have just the perfect shade of blue…Toronto Maple Leaf Blue or maybe Toronto Blue Jays Blue .
Sherway Academy of Music
We are pleased to announce that St. Margret’s is the new home of the
SHERWAY ACADEMY OF MUSIC!
Sherway Academy of Music has been providing music lessons in our community since 2002.
Lessons include Piano, Guitar, Violin, Viola, Voice, Bass & More, for ages 5 - Adult.
Lessons are held:
Tues - Thurs from 3pm - 9pm
Saturdays from 9am - 1pm
@ 156 Sixth Street, New Toronto
Call Bill at 416-259-0251 for more information or email
http://www.sherwaymusic.com/
NEW STUDENTS - Save 25% on your first month!
PARISHOINERS – Receive a 10% discount on all classes!
Why Inclusive Language Is Still Important by Jann Aldredge-Clanton
“We don’t need to do inclusive language any more,” some of the young women tell Isabel Docampo in her intern classes at Perkins School of Theology. “That was important when you were going through seminary because there were all men. Inclusive language isn’t important anymore because now women can be leaders in church and are in the workplace big time.” Isabel says that when they go out into churches, these students discover that gender discrimination, although often more subtle now than in the past, is still all too prevalent.
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There is hope for the ‘mother church’ yet !
The Church of England is actually holding up pretty well in an adverse market
It is perfectly understandable that an organisation that believes in resurrection ought to be generally less anxious about the prospect of its own impending death. Or perhaps this lack of anxiety is a form of denial. Whatever the explanation, it seems that the Church of England continues to slip quietly into non-existence; at present it’s on the gentle downward gradient of a 1% loss in membership a year.
Intergenerational Ministry- Creating Christian Community Across Generations
Sermon for Youth Sunday
By Rosemary MacAdam
For any of you who were here a month ago we had the pleasure of hearing Andrea preach and it was moment I was very proud of Andrea sharing her experience, and it also brought me back to the first time I preached.
I was asked to preach when I was 20 and had just returned from Nicaragua from a international feminist solidarity trip. I had lived in a remote indigenous village where their local church was a hub of community. And I was particularly inspired by the faith of my host mom and these strong women who ran the church. When I returned back to Toronto my church, Holy Trinity, asked me to preach. I was quite nervous and also I have the habit of tearing up when I talking about something I care about while speaking publicly.
My Experience at the Canadian Anglian Lutheran Youth Gathering (CLAY)
Sermon for Youth Sunday
By Andrea Morrison
When I was asked to preach this Sunday I was unsure as to what preaching was…I was also very unsure of what I was getting myself into. That being said, that was the same unsure feeling that I had about going to British Colombia. So, before I delve any deeper I am going to show you a short trailer which will accompany a longer video which you will get a chance to view during coffee hour.
This summer I was given the opportunity of a lifetime.
This was too good not to share!
God and Taco Bell
by Austin Thomas
If you ever want to feel really good about yourself, go spend $100 at Taco Bell. It is magic. The people working behind the counter go bonkers. I am not joking. They will do things that fast-food employees never do, at least in my neighborhood. They will call you sir, and give you free drinks — as many as you want! When they address you they will lower their eyes to the floor like they are approaching a king. True story! If you are observant, you will catch the burrito-wrappers stealing glances at you and whispering about you with their taco-making friends. I have tested this theory, too. It works everywhere I’ve done it: Jack in the Box, multiple Taco Bells. It works so well that I have considered doing it for therapy — medicine for heartache or low-self esteem. I only did that once though; the bums who got the tacos loved me more than the taco bell employees. All the other times were for the high school kids I work with. Promise.
Charles Briggs and the Bible
Briggs was ordained an Episcopal Priest in 1899, prior to that he served the Presbyterian Church. His view proved to be too radical and he was suspended in 1893 from his ‘home’ denomination.
Here are 3 quotes reflective of Brigg’s thought:
- “Church and Bible are means not ends; they are avenues to God, but are not God.”
- “The Bible has been treated as if it were a baby, to be wrapped in swaddling clothes, nursed, and carefully guarded, lest it should be injured by heretics and sceptics.”
- “Criticism is at work with knife and fire. Let us cut down everything that is dead and harmful, every kind of dead orthodoxy, every species of effete ecclesiasticism, all those dry and brittle fences that constitution denominationalism and are the barriers of Church Unity. Let us remove every encumbrance out of the way for a new life: the life of God is moving throughout Christendom, and the springtime of a new age is about to come upon us.”
I find myself in agreement with Briggs. I wonder do you? And I find it amazing that he was thinking these things outloud better than 100 years ago!
Some Thoughts about Mary
There are passages, events and people in the Bible that I think are best understood by woman. Mary is certainly a case in point. So this morning I’ve turned to a woman, Joan Chittister, a gifted writer of theology and her book, “In Search of Belief” which is a primer on the Creed. She writes this of the Virgin Mary and I think it’s worth sharing…
“The question of Mary’s place in the history of salvation has ebbed and flowed throughout the centuries. Mary raises many questions. What does God really want from woman? What kind of sign is Mary to us all? What, if anything, do we see in her that has any meaning for women today?” I remember, writes Chittister, “that as a young child, despite the efforts of the nuns who taught me, the parish that formed me, and the example of other girls my own age, I developed little affinity to Mary. She was they taught me, docile and passive, submissive and unquestioning. She was not the strong, self-directing, thinking woman my mother was. What could I possibly find in Mary to respect, to imitate?