Author: Fred Redekop

August 4, 2020,

Good morning,

" There but for the grace of God go I, ________. " ( insert a name)

I thought this quote was from the Bible. It is not. It sounds like something Paul or Timothy or John, or even Jesus might say. It seems to be right on. We must depend on the grace of God for our lives.  We mess up, or sin, so often, that we need God's unconditional love to survive and thrive in our daily lives.

The saying seems to come from John Bradford. Bradford lived in the 1700's, and said this when he watched another man pass by on the way to be hanged. A few years later, he was hanged by the Mary Queen of Scots. I left his name out of the quote because other people have inserted their own names including American preachers like George Whitfield and Dwight L Moody. So, you can insert your own name like, Dianne Rellinger, Anna Dunn or Ralph Kropf !

Yesterday it rained a lot here in Ottawa. We went to the Art Museum to get out of the rain. We met a friend of Ndagire at the front of the museum. We had a short five minute walk from our car to the museum. It did not rain. We had a 15 minute wait outside to get in, it did not rain. While in the museum we got tornado warnings on our phones. Fifteen minutes before the museum was to close, it poured and poured. When it was time to leave at 5:00 pm, the rain stopped. We walked around the local market for 15 more minutes and it did not rain. We stopped for a snack, and it was sprinkling on the outdoor patio, and by the time we got into the restaurant, it poured heavily again. But by the grace of God go we, Ndagire, Shirley, Anna and Fred. We did not deserve to stay dry, just like we do not deserve God's grace. Grace is never intended to be earned, only experienced as a gift for all of our life. We do not need to explain, just live with it, and love God for it.

Shalom, strength and peace for journey of grace for life and faith.

Fred

Tread on bold new paths !

Fireflies flash the direction

Hope springs eternal           Monica Pieper Landoni 2020

Fred Redekop

Pastor

Poole Mennonite Church

August 2, 2020

Good morning,

Wherever you find yourselves this morning, I hope you will find God in worship. Sorry for the technical difficulties with the new website and the downloading of the worship service.

"  Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.              Romans 13:1-2

We are in Ottawa for the weekend. Our housemate, Ngadire, needs to renew her Ugandan passport on Tuesday morning. We have not spent much time in Ottawa in our lives. In this time of Covid there are not many tourists around, so there is a lot of open space to keep distant from other people.

Paul's words about government authority have given the church lots to discuss over the years. Paul was a Roman citizen, so he came from the elite. He used this power when he was in jail in Phillippi . He was literate, and he spoke the Gospel in front of major political authorities in Jerusalem and Rome.

So, what do you do as a church in relation to the Canadian government. We come out of the British tradition where we trust the government to work on behalf of the common good. In the US, the tradition is that government is a necessary evil. You do not want the authorities to tax you, or to infringe on your life. This is why mask wearing is such a question for some people. Good government or necessary evil ? What do you think ?

Every time Paul uses the term Jesus is Lord , he is going against Caesar, Caesar thought he was God, and Paul would not agree to that. We want good government, and so what do we do when the Prime Minister does something we disagree with for our lives ? We do not give them a blank check ?

Yesterday, we walked around Parliament Hill. What beautiful buildings and statues. It is a great form of government that leads us, but we still must be " wise as serpents and innocent as doves " !!

Prayer

Stir us, O Lord

to dare more boldly, to venture into wider seas

where storms show Thy mastery,

where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.

In the name of Him who pushed back the horizons of our hopes

and invited the brave to follow.              

                                                      Bishop Desmond Tutu, bishop from South Africa.

Shalom and strength for our journey of love , life and faith.

Fred

Tread on bold new paths !

Fireflies flash the direction

Hope springs eternal           Monica Pieper Landoni 2020

Fred Redekop

Pastor

Poole Mennonite Church

uly 27, 2020,

Good afternoon ,

" Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. "   Matthew 5:7

One hundred years ago today, Mennonite Central Committee was formed in a meeting of different North American Mennonites. The reason was to work together to relieve the suffering of Mennonites who were living in the Russian Empire ( now Ukraine ). The meeting took place at Prairie Street Mennonite in Elkhart Indiana. The meetings took place over the course of two days before they came to agreement to help the Mennonites in Russia. The two main groups, Swiss-German and Russian Mennonites, had never worked together, and were committed to doing this one project of relief. But, they have continued.

Orie Miller was the first Executive director of MCC. He left New York City by ship on September 2, 1920, and arrived in the Ukraine/Crimea in early October. They had stopped in Turkey to buy some supplies for the Mennonites in the Ukraine. Miller wrote in his own diary on October 9th, "They ( the military ) do or attempt very little in the way of relief for the civilian population outside of those in hospitals… Everyone we met though, insists that the worst need, and a need that hardly can be compared with what is here, exists in Alexandrovosk and Chortitiza, the Old Mennonite Colony. Our plan is to proceed to Halbstadt tomorrow ( where my mother was living )…. "

In late 1920, my mom was almost 2, and my dad just turned 4. They lived in two different colonies at the time. My mom left with her family in 1924 to Canada, and my dad's family followed in 1926. Both of their families were helped by the relief supplies that were brought by MCC. On that first trip, three Mennonite men led the journey. Clayton Kratz left Miller to go to some other part of Ukraine, and he was never found again. This first journey of relieving the suffering was not successful, because the war of revolution was still going on. Later trips brought the needed supplies to the right spots. Thank you to Miller, Kratz and Arthur Slagel.

My parents were saved by the relief that came to their communities by MCC. I served with MCC for almost eight years, so I feel that they have always done good work. So, today I celebrate with all the work of MCC throughout the world, with a great big 100th BIRTHDAY MCC !!!

Prayer

Thank you God, for Miller, Kratz and Slagel,

for their passion and endurance

to go halfway around the world to

bring needed relief,

to people who were suffering.

It changed the lives of the people under starvation

and

the people who donated the money

for the effort.

We were all changed in the

blinking of an eye.  

Thanks be to God.                              AMEN.

Fred

Tread on bold new paths !

Fireflies flash the direction

Hope springs eternal           Monica Pieper Landoni 2020

Fred Redekop

Pastor

Poole Mennonite Church

uly 25, 2020

Good afternoon

"I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.  And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.  Philemon 20-22

The letter to Philemon is about relationships. At the end of the short letter, Pauls calls Philemon his brother , in faith. He seems to have a deep love for him, at least that is what I am reading between the lines. They must have discussed what it means to follow Jesus Christ, the Risen One. Philemon would have a way of doing things in his life. He was most likely wealthy because he had slaves. Paul, or another evangelist, had invited him to have  a different set of ethics. We all know how hard it is to change the way we act, and what we believe. Philemon seems to be an example of a person who has been changed or converted to a new understanding of the world.  

Right at the end, Paul pushes the slave owner even more. He writes, ' … knowing that you will do even more than I ask ". Paul is confident  in the gifts and understandings of this new believer. As the co-writer, Timothy is learning a lot about leadership. The other people who would read the letter, would have been shocked with most of what Paul was saying. He had been a Pharisee, a teacher of Jewish law, and he is a real game-changer. He invites all of us into a new reality.

And to make the letter about real life, Paul asks the slave owner to prepare a guest room for him. Was it a local  B and B, or was it the Airbnb. Or maybe it was the Hyatt Regency in the big town. Or he might have gone cheaper with a room at Motel Six. If the letter would have been dropped from heaven, there would be no reason to mention getting a guest room ready for a guest. So, why do you think the church selected this letter to be in the Bible ? Why is it so important  ? This is the final piece about Philemon.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for your Word.

for words about slaves, owners, the community

and guest rooms.

Thank you for the love, compassion, and change of heart

that we find in Paul and Philemon.

Make us to be, and to do

even more than you ask.

today, especially today,

and maybe tomorrow.     AMEN

Fred

( Do you have any other portions of Scripture that you would like me to reflect on in the future ? )

Tread on bold new paths !

Fireflies flash the direction

Hope springs eternal           Monica Pieper Landoni 2020

Fred Redekop

Pastor

Poole Mennonite Church

July 23, 2020

Good afternoon everyone,

" I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,  because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.  Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. "      Philemon 4-7

Philemon was a member of the community and a slave owner. Today, we would not allow it. He would be labelled a white supremacist and be put in jail, maybe. Paul was the leader of the Christian movement, and a murderer of early Christians. He has been transformed by a flash of light on the road to Damascus. How did Paul deal with the sin that he had committed ? Could he forgive himself, and was the community always trusting of him ?

Why did Paul not call for the abolition of slavery ? I do not know. He had said in the letter to the Galatians ( 3:28 ), that there is no longer slave or free, male or female or Jew or Greek… So in theory, it is not allowed, but he does not say to Philemon, " no more salvery ". He asks Philemon to take back the slave , Onesimus, after Onesimus had run away. Both people are under the Lordship of Christ, as is Paul and Timothy. In Roman society, you could earn your freedom, but this freedom meant you left your employment, and it was often impossible to survive being a free person. So, slavery allowed you to survive, maybe, but people were not able to thrive.

So in verses 4-7, Paul tells about his love for Philemon and everyone. He is not going to address slavery head-on, but invite Philemon to a new partnership with his slaves and the community of faith. Was Phileom a new convert to the people of " The Way" ? For Paul to say that Philemon and Onesisimus were partners in faith and life,  is a very radical thing to write. We do not have a follow-up letter from Philemon to know what he might have thought of Paul's idea about Onesimus .

What issue are we dealing with today, that would ask us to be radically converted ? Are we willing to go in the direction of the Damascus Road ? Slavery was embedded in society, both in political and religious terms. If a vaccine for Covid would be developed, who would get it first ? How do we decide ? Who are our radical partners in these situations that may arise in our country within the next year ? What other issues can the letter to Philemon invite us to discuss ?

Prayer ( from Gerald Manley Hopkins ( 1844-1889 )

Gather gladness from the skies

Take a lesson from the ground

Flowers do [h]ope their heavenward eyes

And a Spring-time joy have found

Earth throws Winter’s robes away,

Decks herself for Easter Day.           Amen.

Fred

Tread on bold new paths !

Fireflies flash the direction

Hope springs eternal           Monica Pieper Landoni 2020

Fred Redekop

Pastor

Poole Mennonite Church

July 21, 2020.

Good afternoon,

" Moses led Israel from the Red Sea on to the Wilderness of Shur. They traveled for three days through the wilderness without finding any water. They got to Marah, but they couldn't drink the water at Marah, it was bitter…… And the people complained to Moses, " So what are we supposed to drink ?"  Exodus 15:22-24 ( from The Message ).

As the Israelites came through the parting of the Red Sea, this was their first experience of freedom. They had been slaves for generations and had just lived through one of the greatest miracles of all times, Mose and the Red Sea. And now they are beginning to complain after three days because the water tastes like Elmira tap water, a little bitter. We have not changed. After a miracle of surviving a heart attack, I keep asking God for a little more here, and a little more there. " Please God , control my diabetes!".  We are no different than the Israelites. I think it is part of the human condition, to want more, and have less things go wrong. We want nice sweet water all the time.

" It is not that we cannot feed the poor, it is because we cannot satisfy the rich "  ( found recently on a Facebook feed ). I am wealthy from my Canadian perspective when I compare  myself with the rest of the seven billion other people in this world. I want more than enough food, a week at a cottage, books to read and 70% dark chocolate among other things. Why is it that I would like just a little more every month, when I know many people do not have enough ?

So, the three day wait for God's people was too long. They wanted sweet water from an overflowing stream. I am just like them. Moses does not have time for their complaining, but he never gives up on them. He was in charge for 40 years, and put up with their attitudes for a long time: two generations worth. Moses put them in their place often. He was one of them. I believe they understood each other. God gave them that "pillar of fire" to lead them besides who they were. God loved them, as God loves us despite ourselves.

Prayer

Keep me satisfied,

With all that I need

because I want too much.

Help me share

out of my enormous abundance

with those who need it

today.

It is a matter of life.

And death

Help me, O Lord of the Red Sea and Wilderness.   AMEN.

Fred      Pastor Poole Mennonite Church

July 18, 2020,

Good afternoon everyone,

" Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ' The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.  They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.' "      Matthew 23:1-4

About a month ago, I invited you to read the Gospel of Matthew. One sitting would have been the best, but read it as you can. For the times that I will be preaching on the Gospels, it will be from Matthew this year. As Christians, the problem is that we know most of the stories, or parts of most of the stories so well. The book begins with Jesus' ancestors, and then the story of the Wise Men continues the tales of Jesus of Nazareth. At the end of the Gospel,  there are two stories of the Resurrection, and then Jesus ascends to heaven and the book ends.

The miracles, the healings and the teachings are inspiring. I wonder what it was like to wake up every morning with Jesus holding you a cup of tea. Everyday would have brought uncertainty and excitement. Who would be healed today ? Would he raise someone from the dead ? Would the Roman soldiers arrest some of us this morning ? What do read between the lines from the Gospel of Matthew ? So many questions.

My thoughts are always going back to Matthew 23. It is during the last week of Jesus' life, after he comes to Jerusalem. While there, he goes off on the leaders of the Jewish faith. " Woe to you ! ", he says more than five times. The leaders seem to not do anything right in terms of faith in God. " For they do not practice what they preach ." That is the worst thing that you can say about a rabbi ( or a minister ), I think . He calls them a " brood of vipers !". The snake was the most evil of animals, and Jesus says to anyone who would listen that he thinks the professional clergy were the worst snakes. He ends the blast against the people who are called to lead, by saying they have left the Temple desolate . Chapter 23 is hard for me to listen to because I hold the same position as the Jewish leaders.

I have worked for Mennonite Central Committee, been in Seminary or been a  leader in three churches since the age of 21. I want to remain a good leader, and not fall into the dangers of power. I do not want to abuse the trust that has been given me in any of the positions that I have held in my ministry . The Pharisees, the teachers of the Law and the rabbis were called, and some of them went astray, and used their power for their own pleasure and gain. I want to be faithful.

Matthew 23: 1-38 is for me, as a leader in the Christian faith, a call to be vigilant in the way that I lead . Keep me near the cross, O God

Prayer

Keep me on the narrow,

and the straight.

Keep me focused on your Son,

his teachings,

his miracles

his difficult parables

his tough woes.

Keep me close,

So I might taste salvation

Every day, every hour, every second.

AMEN.

Fred

Tread on bold new paths !

Fireflies flash the direction

Hope springs eternal           Monica Pieper Landoni 2020

Fred Redekop

Pastor

Poole Mennonite Church