Monday, March 2, 2015

reclaiming the 'Holy'

Almost daily we are learning more about creation and as we have our eyes, ears, minds and hearts open to the possibilities, we can be continually in awe of the implications of God’s love in every small detail of what we observe. We cannot help but worship the Creator.
What a tremendous privilege it is to be living at this time when new methods of communication allow us to be privy to the wonderings of others. We owe a great debt to the likes of David Attenborough and National Geographic. We can be fed daily on a diet of TV and radio shows that amaze us with new information about everything from nano to light year size. The glory of the Lord that the heavens now reveal to us is vastly more that the people of the time of David could have ever imagined.
The writer of Psalm 19 which is set for today knew and showed, by what he wrote, that worshipping God was about contemplating creation. What things would you select to include if you were to rewrite this Psalm today? What is most awesome of the things you have learnt recently? Today on the radio they have been talking about the malaria parasites which are animals that behave more like  vegetables and so they are looking at herbicides that might possible kill them.
Jesus had every right to be angry with the traders in the temple. In selling animals and bids for sacrifices, they were showing that they had not grown up in their understanding of God. They wanted to stay with the childish practices of sacrifices. Several of the prophets had tried to tell them God hated their sacrifices. What God wanted was for them to act with justice and mercy. They were inclined to worship the temple. It had become for them and idol. They were also exploiting the poor by charging exorbitant prices for the animals.
May we be brave as Jesus was in the stand he took in the Temple against corruption. May we dare to practice situation ethics when deciding right behaviour and not be bound by unjust laws. May we be brave in reclaiming the word “Holy”. May we reclaim the Sabbath day of rest to have time to smell the roses. It is a wonderful gift from God for us.              
REv Julianne Parker (see sermons page for full sermon)                                                                                                                       

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