We just heard from the Gospel of Luke part two of Jesus’ sermon on the levelled ground. Part 1 we heard last week began with a series of blessings and woes. While similar to the more familiar version recorded in the Gospel of Matthew commonly referred to as the Sermon on the Mount, Luke’s Sermon on the Levelled Ground offered some different theological perspectives on the same strand of Christian memory of the teaching of Jesus.
As a start, Luke did no dancing around the bull’s eye of Jesus’ teaching. While Matthew somewhat spiritualized Jesus’ sermon to begin the sermon with “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, Luke simply said, “Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God” and “‘But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” In Luke, you don’t have to climb a mountain to meet and learn from Jesus. Instead, Jesus, Son of God and Son of Humanity meets us on a levelled playing field where we are. To Luke, at the heart of the sin of the world was social and economic injustice that separated the poor from participating in the common life of the people of Israel, a people and a nation whom the Creator of heaven and earth called and covenanted with to be a living sign of God’s active incarnated love throughout God’s creation. But instead of call the people to revolt against the powers of the days, aka Rome and the religious establishment in Jerusalem and adding one more bloodbath in the history of the world, Jesus cemented his central ethical teaching with these words: “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.” Simple words but some of the hardest things on earth to put into practice. It is so difficult and sometimes seems impossible to do this alone that Jesus calls and gathers us into this community which we call the Church, or ecclesia in Greek, which simply means “a gathering”, to support each other on our way to the Kingdom of God of justice and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, as the Taize chant reminds us.
The kingdom of god is justice and peace / And joy in the Holy Spirit / Come, Lord and open in us the gates of your kingdom.
So here we are, gathered together in this ecclesia we call St. Dunstan’s. The apostle Paul referred to the ecclesia as the Body of Christ.
Teresa of Avila (1515–1582), 16th Century Christian mystic left us with her famous words:
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body…
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
As your new Rector, I am inviting you to join me marking 2025 as the Year of (Re)Gathering as part one of Jesus' threefold mission of Gathering | Upholding | Sending.
Here are 7 areas of focus of the Year of (Re)gathering:
1) Deepen our knowledge and relationship with the land we gather on
Wonderings:
- What opportunities are there to learn about the stories of the land we are gathering on?
- What is our relationship with the land and with the Indigenous peoples who are keepers of important knowledge of the land?
- Which of TRC 94 Calls to Actions are St. Dunstan’s being invited to focus on
2) Strengthen relationships and a sense of mission among existing parishioners (i.e. those already gathered)
Wonderings:
- A Homecoming event to invite people who feel adrift to rediscover community at St. Dunstan’s
- What opportunities are there to enhance the relationship among our diverse membership?
3) Get to know our neighbours (old and new) in the growing municipalities where we live and work to discover common grounds and longings
Wonderings:
- Who are our neighbours?
- What opportunities can we develop to meet and get to know our neighbours both inside and outside of our building?
4) Explore opportunities to share our abundance with neighbours
Wonderings:
- What will it take to have a regular sit-down community meal where our neighbours may be part of?
5) Strengthen the sense of community among those who participated in the Centre for Spiritual Renewal
Wonderings:
- What are some ways we can invite participants of the Centre to participate in the mission of the parish?
6) Revamp newcomer ministry and formation opportunities (Anglican 101, Confirmation / Reception classes)
Wonderings:
- How can we better support people who are new to St. Dunstan’s to follow Christ and learn about the Anglican approach?
7) Identify strategic community partnership opportunities.
Wonderings:
- Who in the wider church/community we may develop strategic partnership with to further the mission of St. Dunstan’s?