HELLO!

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday, either in person or if you are watching the YouTube link. I am aware Labour Day Sunday is what we call in the church “a low Sunday”, meaning very few people are expected to attend. Regardless, I am looking forward to being part of worship again.

And what is the theme for our September 6^th service? Romans 13:8-14 is brief but carries a powerful message. The Apostle Paul tells us Christians are “morning people.” The time is just before dawn, the sky is brightening, the alarm is ringing, day is at hand. It is time to rouse our minds from slumber, to be alert to what God is doing in the world, and to live in accordance with God’s coming presence and purpose. This “wake up call” comes in the midst of teaching about mutual love and acceptance in the community of faith; Paul interrupts himself to remind his hearers of their common hope in the clear and revealing light of God’s coming day. This hope is the motivator for new ways of relating to one another Paul wants the Jewish and Gentile Roman Christians to adopt.

When we wake up, we get dressed. Paul tells us what to wear: “let us put on the armour of light” (v.12); and “put on Jesus (v. 14). The image tells us we’re in the middle of conflict; instead of fighting each other, we need to unite against a common enemy. In parallel passages (Ephesians 6:10-20; Romans 8:38-39) Paul names the enemy as “not flesh and blood,” but “principalities, powers, the world rules of this present darkness, the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” As Christians, we are never to consider other people as our enemies. Rather, we are to fight against the destructive powers that enslave and divide people. That might be a history of mistrust and injustice, thirst for revenge, prejudice and fear, greed. Paul calls these “the works of darkness”.

Paul is adamant the Roman church wake from sleep. And we are exhorted to wake from sleep along with them. We are to be carrying the armour of faith, the clothing of Jesus, ready to engage these destructive spirits and hold on to the power of love. Whatever challenges or good fortune our day may hold upon waking up, this is the attitude in which we are to live it. Paul's exhortation to wake up comes in the context of a broader theme of watchfulness. Disciples of Jesus must be Awake and Watchful.

In the iconic movie Groundhog Day the main character, played by Bill Murray, is sleepwalking his way through life. He has become a self-centred person, as he sees no other way to live. But (spoiler alert) after some epiphany moments, when he can see what truly matters in life, what life is for, he becomes alert and alive. I am ready to sound the alarm, to wake us, and call us to be watchful for the signs of real and lasting life, life we all crave, life that sets us free. Jesus can set us free.

Peace, Kevin