From the Pastor

April 2009

Growing up in small town Southern Ontario, we would often have to drive for miles through farm country to get anywhere – even to go to church (Fergus had no Lutheran church yet, so we had to drive to Elmira). On these drives, we would often pass by a field with a religious sign posted near the roadway. Maybe you’ve seen one; they’re all pretty much alike. On a brightly coloured board is painted the image of an open book – presumably a Bible – with a verse of scripture displayed in large black letters. Two versions of this sign come immediately to mind. The first is from Paul’s letter to the Romans (6:23), “For the wages of sin are death.” The second comes from the prophet Amos (4:12), “Prepare to meet thy God.”

The land-owner has gone to a great deal of effort to convey a message to passers-by; a message that may or may not be received by this method. But at the same time, the land-owner has revealed something about themselves by what they have chosen to post… and also by what they have chosen to conceal. 

The whole of Romans 6:23 actually reads: For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (emphasis added). 

And, to whom does the prophet Amos address his dire warning to “prepare to meet thy God?” Amos himself tells us: to those, both men and women, who “oppress the poor” and who “crush the needy” (4:1). 

The choices these land-owners make – both what to print on their signs and what to conceal – says something about who they are as Christians and what they believe their mission in the world is. 

At the St. Ansgar congregational retreat held on February 28, participants were asked to identify a scripture that is particularly meaningful to them – one that touches them in a special way; one that inspires them or that gets to the heart of their faith. Individually, each chosen scripture revealed something about the person who chose it. But taken as a whole, the chosen scriptures began to paint a picture revealing the heart of the faith of the whole group who were gathered at the retreat. We began to get a clear picture of who we were as a gathered community of Christians on that day, what we believed God’s mission was, and how we might consider participating with God in that mission. 

I think that it’s very important for programme planning, budgeting, developing congregational promotional material and for helping us set priorities for our ministry that we, both as individual members and as the whole gathered community, get a clear picture of who we believe God is calling us to be. There are many ways for us to go about doing this, but I like the “choose a scripture” method. I like that it takes seriously our Lutheran heritage of ‘word alone.’ And I like that it forces us to think seriously about our religious values, our hopes, and our priorities. 

So, I need your help. I need to know what scripture verse, lesson, or story you would choose as a reflection of the heart of your faith. I know that’s not any easy thing to ask – the Bible is a big book with a lot of good things to say – but please try. Think hard about it, and write it down on the space provided below - book, chapter and verse(s) - and add a comment if you wish. Then tear it off and drop it into the offering plate on Sunday morning. 

Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure and leading by example, here is the scripture I choose, though I know it would never fit on a roadside billboard: Matthew 6:24-34.

Peace,
Pastor Brian   

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