CALL TO WORSHIP:
Listen to the Spirit urging us to get ready....
Our calendars are jam-packed full.
Listen to the Spirit calling us to wait....
We've already been waiting; there's a line everywhere we go.
Listen to the Spirit inviting us to walk in the way of the Lord....
This is good news!
The way of the Lord is the path of peace....
We are glad to be in the house of the Lord!
May the Advent blessing of peace be with you.
We rejoice, for we are blessed to walk in the light of God! 

​ADVENT 1
THE CANDLE OF HOPE
As a family here today, we come in celebration of hope. But what do we hope for?
As we head towards Christmas we often hope that we can find the perfect gift to give, the perfect outfit to wear, the perfect tree to decorate. But the first Christmas was far from perfect.
The Hope of the Nations came to us on a night of messy circumstances. The Light of the World was born in a stable, laid to bed in a feeding trough and was attended to by field hands. They were messy circumstances, and yet it was just right for Jesus Christ, a perfect Child, surrounded by all of the love two parents could give.
This morning we light the Candle of Hope, as we pray for Christ to come into our hearts again:
(Light Candle of Hope)
Let us pray: Lord God, help us not to be so focused on finding perfection in this season that we miss out on the hope that only You can bring to us. Amen.

​SERMON:                  Wait, and see!

​Today is the first Sunday in Advent, the start of the church year: The day when we begin the preparations for the coming of Jesus Christ. We begin to light the candles, we sing the Advent hymns — and we wait — we prepare. Advent seeks to take us back to simpler times, without the frantic pace that is the signature of so many lives today.

During Advent, we celebrate how Jesus comes to us in three ways. We celebrate the first coming at his birth some 2000 years ago, and we re-enact the birth in the pageant and the carols.

We celebrate his coming amongst us now — most notably in Word and Sacrament. We celebrate how Jesus comes among us in one another, in the least of our brothers and sisters, as we will read in the chapter that follows today's text.

We celebrate the idea of Jesus' Second coming, as well, when he will come again, welcoming a time of peace and joy that is spoken of so eloquently in the reading from Isaiah today.
And here's the important part: We are led to understand that this eventual end is coming.... but when?

The desire to know this 'end' is very much a part of our society. We are a society living in an information age: An age of instant gratification. When I was a kid and I wanted to know something, I had to ask someone, or dig up an encyclopaedia, or perhaps visit the library. These days, most of the store of human knowledge is accessible through our cel phones. We're becoming accustomed to knowing. And it follows that if we know when this eventual end will come, we can do pretty much as we like for today. If we know the end, then we can make our final rush preparations later and do as we like for now. We have RRSPs, TFSAs and pensions to sustain us through years of old age... The problem is.... we do not know which of us might or might not live to see even today's sunset.

Today's text from Matthew speaks of the mundaneness of his coming. People will be eating and drinking, getting married, baptizing their children, working in the field.

If we know the end is near, perhaps we'd be tempted to hole up in a bomb shelter, or perhaps take up arms in a fortress in the mountains and wait. Instead, we are asked to live with the uncertainty. We're asked to live each day uncertain of what might be. Fortunately, we've been given another certainty that helps us endure this `unknowing': The certainty that Jesus Christ is in the midst of it all with us.

When we stop trying to figure out when, when we stop trying to know, we have more energy to listen to what God is calling us to do today. And therein lies one of the great ideas behind this season of Advent. Advent preparation is about removing the noise from our lives so that we can hear and see the coming of Jesus Christ among us today.

Advent is a time to watch lest we miss his coming. If we ignore and trample our neighbours today in our eagerness to be religiously prepared to welcome Jesus on some later tomorrow when he returns from heaven, we will not be prepared at all.

We are to live in constant readiness, attentive to Jesus who gives us hope for today and for tomorrow. If this were your last day on earth, how would you spend it?

Well, Paul tells us not to neglect being together:
We need to make time for getting together, for worship. We need to take our time together seriously, but in hope and joy. Our hope is in the one who came, who is among us, and who we're told will come again. We are to heighten our awareness of his coming. We are to "Live in the light of that day even before it appears," as Paul said in Romans.

Yes, we are to live with uncertainty, but an uncertainty about those things that really do not matter, if our certainty is in the one who is with us and will continue to be with us, Jesus Christ.

Advent is a time to refocus and regroup. Christ came as a baby and we celebrate. Christ will come again, of that we are assured. Christ comes into our midst today and that is where the living is today.

And Advent is also about opening ourselves to receive God's message:
The days of telegraph messages are long past: I've never received or sent a telegraphed or cabled message across the ocean, and I never expect to. But telegrams still have an important place in today's society: That of a sermon illustration!

Apparently the telegraph and cable companies used to have a certain code which they required for each punctuation mark, and they would use that code for the punctuation marks instead of spelling them out as they do today.
​
The reason they changed is this - some years ago a woman was touring in Europe and she cabled her husband this message -"Have found wonderful bracelet. Price seventy-five thousand dollars. May I buy it?"

The husband promptly cabled back - "No, price too high." Unfortunately, however, the cable operator missed the signal for the comma when transmitting the message, so the reply which was actually received by the woman in Europe was NO PRICE TOO HIGH, therefore she dropped the 75k and bought the bracelet.

Ever since that time, the users of Morse code have been very careful to spell out all punctuation marks.

This morning as we begin our march through Advent,  we must pay careful attention when it comes to sending and receiving messages, especially messages which help shape and impact the relationship we have with God. We don't want to leave out a comma, or inadvertently add a semi-colon, and in so doing lose part of the message which Advent brings.

​Sometimes that's the way I feel about Advent, particularly when I read this morning's passage from the gospel of Matthew: I'm just not always sure what to make of this talk in the Bible about Jesus coming once again to earth; the Second Coming. The End of Days.

Of course every once in a while some pseudo-prophet will rise to claim the headlines by asserting that they have read the astronomical signs and matched current events with the descriptions in the Gospels, and they know precisely that hour when Jesus will make His return.

But then too these prophets have had to live with a red face when the time came and went without the heavens breaking open and the trumpets blowing and Jesus descending to be with us forever.

I guess, though, this abuse, this false telling of God's word can be understood a little bit when we pause to remember that very few of us care for the unknown. It's as we spoke about earlier: We're a society that places a high value on 'KNOWING'. We would prefer having all the answers in a neatly wrapped package, and so we look for signs, we hunt for clues to unravel the mysteries of our future.

It can also frustrate us that Jesus doesn't seem interested in helping us learn the time of that final hour. What he seems to be far more concerned with is the "now" of God's coming into our lives, how we are living our lives at this present moment. One day at a time is still the way it goes, and any one day could be the last day.

And so for each of us there comes a sort of "midnight hour," a time when we cannot avoid the coming of Christ in our lives, when none of our rationalizing will hide us, when our old excuses will no longer cover our nakedness, when we must take that breathless look deep within ourselves, be completely honest and come clean.

This is one of the reasons we have to be careful with our punctuation during Advent, because it invites us to take that ultimate step of facing God's truth about ourselves, of facing what Kierkegaard once wrote of as "that midnight hour when all men must unmask", or, as one of my favorite authors, Douglas Adams called it: The Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul.

And not only are we invited to take that step, we are further invited to be ready to take it a moment's notice - two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

Our gospel passage this morning reminds us that we must prepare now, that now is the time to get our lives in order, now is the time to reaffirm our love for Christ, that the best way to meet this Second Coming of Jesus is to live every day as though it would be that day.

Martin Luther is supposed to have said that if he knew the end of the world was coming tomorrow, he would plant an apple tree this afternoon. Luther was not given to speculation of the end times. He focused rather on the purpose of the world which God intends for the present time. What may happen inthe future does not excuse you from what God requires of you here and now.

Of course the obvious question for us is 'are we ready?' Do we feel prepared to face our midnight hour? Do we have our lives sufficiently in order? What is the state of our spiritual affairs? How fresh is our understanding of the experience of Jesus' saving grace, how active is our prayer life, how fully have we, at this present moment in eternity, given of our entire selves to God - our minds, hearts, thought, motivations, attitudes, prejudices, and on and on the list could go.

These are questions which are not always easy or pleasant to deal with - but our text from Matthew is quite clear - they must be dealt with, for there will come a time, and we do not know when, that Jesus will meet us face to face. And so in light of this gospel passage, Advent clearly is a time of preparation, a time to think through the ways of our living and ask ourselves these kinds of questions.

You might think of it sort of like that police car that sometimes gets behind you in traffic. You know how it is - you're pretty much a safe and law-abiding driver anyway, but when that police car shows up in your rear-view mirror, you know that being "pretty much" within the law might not quite cut it.

There's nothing like those blue lights behind you to make you a safe driver!
In the context of these words of Jesus from the gospel of Matthew, Advent can serve the same purpose. It can serve as a reminder of the fact that just as accountability is a part of having your driver's license, so too is it a part of being a professing disciple of Jesus Christ. What we do with our lives does matter. How we think, act, speak, these are a part of the fabric of our response to God's grace, and we will, someday, face an accounting of our living.
What then does this mean for us, this fine November morning? It means that as Christian disciples we are invited to do more than decorate Christmas trees, buy presents and go to parties. It means that in addition to these very worthwhile and exciting endeavors, we are to set aside time for reflection on the nature of our daily living, set aside time for prayer and worship, set aside time for taking inventory of our lives and making certain we have things in order, so that we will be ready....    Whether it's for the Second Coming of Christ down to Earth, or the coming of the Christ child afresh in our hearts at Christmas, whichever comes first.

And, just as the police officer or the municipal judge have the responsibility and authority to hold us accountable for our driving, so too does God carry the responsibility and authority to hold us accountable for our living, and to be ready for that accounting, we must take time to prepare.

But there is a very important distinction that we need to remember here: When Christ acts as our judge, He does so as the God who has cares for us so much that He has given the life of his Son. He provides the means our lives to become meaningful and genuine!

What God would prefer is to return to earth and find all of us living for Him, and He has done so many things to point us in the right direction - we have the Bible for a guide, we have the Holy Spirit for a Comforter and Friend, we have the church to offer teaching, encouragement, and support.

So if we are not ready this Advent to meet this God, if we do not have the same confidence to face our midnight hour as did Martin Luther, it is not God's fault, it is ours. We are the ones who refuse to give our lives completely to Him, we are the ones who want to reserve all control for ourselves, we are the ones who are unwilling to trust God's love enough to let Him shape and mold our hearts.

ARISE, THE KINGDOM IS AT HAND
(Tune-Hosanna, Loud Hosanna)

Arise, the kingdom is at hand, the King is drawing nigh;
Arise with joy, thou faithful band,                                            
To meet the Lord most high!  
Look up, ye souls, weighed down with care,     
The Sovereign is not far;            
Look up, faint hearts, from your despair,  
Behold, the Morning Star!
 
Look up, ye drooping hearts, today, the King is very near;     
O cast your griefs and fears away, for, lo, your help is here!  
Hope on, ye broken hearts,                
At last the King comes in His might;   
He loved us in the ages past when we lay wrapped in night.

 
Hope, O ye broken hearts, at last!    
The King comes on in might, He loved us in the ages past
When we sat wrapped in night; 
Now are our sorrows o’er, and fear                                                 And wrath to joy give place,      
Since God hath made us in His grace His children evermore.
 
O rich the gifts Thou bringest us,                                             Thyself made poor and weak;                                                
O love beyond compare that thus can foes and sinners seek
For this we raise a gladsome voice on high to Thee alone,    
And evermore with thanks rejoice                                      
Before Thy glorious throne,

The right person for the job

• Now I want to talk a little about the title of this sermon, and what you might think when you hear these words.
• Now you might think about things like being strong enough, being educated enough, having enough drive or even personal talent.
• Well I want us all to get out of that train of thought for the morning, what if I told you that sometimes the right person for the job could be the person who is weak enough?

 
2 Corinthians 12:6 (ESV)6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.

• Paul has just told about a revelation he has been given from God.

Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-5

• Paul doesn't want to boast about the fact that God chose to show him some special revelation.
• Paul is saying “if there is an actual need to boast then I will” But if I'm going to boast then you can be sure that I am going to tell you the truth.
• And he wants everyone to be sure that he did nothing special in this situation.
• And Paul always felt that if people were going to think well of him, then let it be not just what he said, but how he acted and lived.

 
2 Corinthians 12:7 (ESV)7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,[a] a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

• Now get this, Paul is given this great vision and immediately after this he is given a thorn. We don't actually know what the thorn is but we know it is a physical thing because Paul uses the term “flesh” the term Paul always uses to describe the body.
• Now you think that this would cause Paul to get mad or discouraged, but it doesn't.
• Paul somehow understands that this is there to help him from developing some kind of spiritual conceit.
• He knows this is from Satan, and he knows it is being allowed by God for his benefit.

 
2 Corinthians 12:8(ESV)8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.

• He knows why its there and it like he knows it was allowed by God, and it can only be removed by God.
• Do you understand the depth that Paul understands that God is omnipotent.
• We never hear about Going to a Doctor once, but he turns to God three times. Unlike so many that Jesus healed who said “the doctors can do nothing”.

 
2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

• So God said no?
• No that's not what he said, what He (God) said was that there would always be enough grace allotted to Paul that he could be more than a conquer

 
Romans 8:35-37 (ESV)35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

• Even after he asked God three times to heal him and God said “no I won't take it away because it is serving a purpose, but I will give you all you will need to suffer it”.
• Do we trust that God's grace is big enough and power enough to get us through the struggles of our life?

 
 
2 Corinthians 12:10 (ESV)10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

• So Paul is content to be weak if it is for the purpose of showing the strength of God.
• Can we be that strong ? I mean strong enough to move forward leaning and trusting on God's strength?
• Just look at the things he says he will be content with, weaknesses.
•  Insults
•  hardships
• persecutions
• calamities.

 

• Now with the list I just read it is impossible togo through these type of situations without our weakness showing through.

 
So here are some questions to leave you with.

• Is God willing to work with people who are weak? Abraham doubted, Moses stuttered, John the Baptist was weird.
• Are we willing to be weak so god can be strong? The greatest example of this is Jesus.

 
Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV)5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

• Even though He was equal with god, He had God's power (omnipotent) He was willing to put all of it aside and allow Himself to be sacrificed for the sins of man. Because He allowed Himself to be that weak God in His strength raised Him back up again.

 
 
John 10:18 English Standard Version (ESV)18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

• So maybe God has picked you for a job. Maybe you feel that you are not the right person for that job.
• Maybe you feel that you are to weak in some areas, and maybe thats exactly why he picked you.

 
 

​REMEMBRANCE DAY

PRELUDE:                  Chenaniah

Presentation of Colours:
0 Canada/The Queen:
Depositing of Colours:

Act of Remembrance: The last century saw the war to end all wars, and
another world war within 25 years. The last decade saw conflicts within
many lands, between many ethnic groups. The last year has seen fragile
moves towards peace reversed and acts of terrorism continuing to
escalate. Lord, we name You as the Prince of Peace, who urged us to love
our enemies, to do good to those who hate us. And now as we stand
before You to remember all those who have perished in war — all those
who have lost limbs, homes, family and country, we pause for a moment
of silence:
Minute of Silence:
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not
weary them nor the years condemn; at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

In Flanders Fields:

CALL TO WORSHIP: ONE: Remember with clear eyes the horrific cost of war.
ALL: Remember with deep sorrow those who killed and were killed.
ONE: Remember with grief the blood-stained battlefields.
ALL: Remember with tears the rending of people from their homes.
ONE: Remember with compassion the bereaved and the wounded.
ALL: Remember with reverence those who risked their lives for peace
ONE: Remember with tenderness the children's longing for freedom.
ALL: Remember with gratefulness all who forgave their enemies.
ONE: Remember with confidence that faith, hope and love abide.
ALL: Remember with joy that our Saviour is the Prince of Peace.

REMEMBRANCE LITANY:
ONE: We come together today, citizens of earth and of heaven, to remember.
ALL: To remember with pride and appreciation those who have given their lives in service of others.

ONE: To remember with dismay the suffering, destruction and pain caused by human conflict.
ALL: To remember with gratitude those whose lives, love and friendship, has been a privilege for us to share.
ONE: To remember with sadness those whose death has caused loneliness or pain.
ALL: We come together not to glorify or celebrate war and conflict, but to
recognize its cost, and commit ourselves to be peacemakers and peacekeepers, wherever that opportunity falls within our grasp.
ONE: Whatever our view and whatever part we may have had to play in the theatre of war and conflict, we express our common humanity by pausing to recognize the value and worth of every life lost, and so express the mystery that to be human is to be both marred by our common failing, yet fashioned in the image of the Creator.
ALL: And in our remembrance we give thanks to God for memory itself, through which we are forever warned by the mistakes of the past and enriched by experiences that can no longer be known in the present.
PRAYER:    Almighty God, we seek Your presence as we come together in this act of remembrance. Help us not to hide from You our sorrow and our pain as you also inhabit our joy and thanksgiving. May all our acts be open to Your scrutiny, that we might indeed strive upon this earth, to embrace the values of Heaven. By Your Holy Spirit enfold us afresh in Your love and healing, and through the sacrifice of Calvary, inspire us again with the promise of eternal life. You have called us to take up the cross and to follow You, yet too often we prefer the tools of war and words of conflict.
We acknowledge our failure to live as true children of God; forgive us that which cannot be undone; comfort us as we live with its consequences and empower us to build a better world in service and obedience to You.
Join now as we pray together: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

SPECIAL MUSIC: On The Road From Srebenica          Gord Furey

On The Road From Srebrenica
Words and Music by Tom Paxton

On the road from Srebrenica,
I saw a woman with two babies and one broken arm.
She could only carry one,
And one would have to stay behind to quickly die.
The gunmen shouted orders,
And the woman started moving down the road, 
While the baby in the blanket,
Lying in the muddy ditch began to cry.
On the road, on the road from Srebrenica, 
Blackbirds fly, blackbirds flying overhead, 
Cry no mercy, on the road from Srebrenica, 
Where there´s no one left alive to count the dead.
On the road from Srebrenica,
I saw the men all pulled aside and marched away.
While their women screamed in terror,
All the men went down the pathway to the trees.
The sound of guns was muffled by the forest, 
But the shots went on and on, 
While the soldiers pushed the women to keep moving, 
And the rain began to freeze.
On the road, on the road from Srebrenica, 
Blackbirds fly, blackbirds flying overhead, 
Cry no mercy on the road from Srebrenica, 
Where there´s no one left alive to count the dead.
On the road from Srebrenica,
Trudged an old men who was bent and stooped and frail.
It seemed all hope was gone,
I thought he´d never make a mile, but I was wrong.
He seemed to have no spirit,
Till he passed the ditch and heard the baby cry.
Then he picked the baby up,
And in the swirling smoke and flames, he moved along.
On the road, on the road from Srebrenica, 
Blackbirds fly, blackbirds flying overhead, 
Cry no mercy on the road from Srebrenica, 
Where there´s no one left alive to count the dead. 

​SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 4  

Answer me when I call to you,
    my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
    have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
    How long will you love delusions and seek false gods
3 Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
    the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 Tremble and do not sin;
    when you are on your beds,
    search your hearts and be silent.
5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
    and trust in the Lord.
6 Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”
    Let the light of your face shine on us.
7 Fill my heart with joy
    when their grain and new wine abound.
8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,
    for you alone, Lord,
    make me dwell in safety.
             
Philippians 1: 3-11


Thanksgiving and Prayer3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

PRAYER OF DEDICATION TO THE CAUSE OF PEACE:
God of peace, who in Christ embraced that ultimate act of loving sacrifice, we give You thanks for those who have laid down their lives for the sake of others, and all those who have given of themselves in service of humanity; for the cause of freedom; to fight injustice; to make and maintain peace; to bring healing and wholeness to people and nations.
And so, inspired by their example, we dedicate ourselves where we find peace to uphold its cause, where we find strife to work for reconciliation, where we find injustice to stand with the oppressed, where we recognize difference to celebrate our diversity, and where we find brokenness to seek healing.
By Your Spirit, give us strength and wisdom to battle for truth and justice where change can be made and generosity of grace and forgiveness where it is ours to give.
So that in this community, this land and our world, peace, security and justice might prevail. Amen.
​
​ANTHEM:              I Vow To Thee My Country (choir)

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above 
entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
the love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
that lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
the love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
the love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago 
most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
we may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
and soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
and her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.


Words: Cecil Spring-Rice, 1918Music: Thaxted

Offertory Prayer:     Gracious God, You provide hope for our future. We join inprayer knowing that You act as a loving parent who calms our worries and fears.
Thank You for this opportunity to dedicate these gifts, In love and gratitude we pray. Amen. 

​MEDITATION:      Looking Back To See Ahead

Looking Back To See Ahead
"I thank my God every time I remember you." — Philippians 1:3
We are gathered together today to remember. And to do so in God's presence is a powerful thing. The pain of loss is great and it is often difficult for us to believe that we have anything to thank God for. But God has that covered. He has generously given us the capacity to remember. We can recall good memories of lost loved ones, and those memories help us to move on. It is God who gives us the strength and healing that we need.

Memory is an interesting phenomenon. When I think back to my earliest memories, some are quite vivid. I recall when I was about 3 or 4 years old, my family was visiting my mother's brother in New Brunswick. We had gone to the lake for a swim and I saw my uncle running toward the edge of the water, ready to jump in, and as he was running, suddenly his lower leg dropped to the ground, but he continued to hop toward the water. I was mortified and started screaming in terror. You see, I didn't know at that young age, that there had been a terrible war and that my uncle had lost his leg in that war and was now wearing a prosthetic limb.

Not all memories are good ones, but we try to hold on to the ones that bring us pleasure. When the weather is grey and gloomy, we might remember a great holiday or remember spending time with family or friends playing a game on a rainy day. Perhaps we recall baking cookies with our mother or grandmother. We have fond memories of birthdays, weddings, baptisms, anniversaries and retirement parties. These memories which are dear to us, allow us to continue and develop our relationship with family and friends.

However, there are some memories which we try to block out. Traumatic memories that our brain finds difficult to cope with. We feel that if we block out the memory, then we can block out the pain of what has been lost. But we forget that memory is a gift which God has given us. The memory of a loved one or friend is something that can never be taken away from us. These memories are safely locked away in our mind, ready to be recalled and help us in the healing process of our loss.

The title of my meditation is borrowed from the Royal Canadian Legion. "Looking back to see ahead" is the motto of the 46th Dominion Convention held in St. John's, Newfoundland earlier this year. I'm using it on this Remembrance Sunday because this is the day when so many take time to remember all those who served and sacrificed, and all those who continue to serve. Every year at this time I remember my four uncles who served in World War II, one killed, one wounded and one who returned mentally scarred. Randy had three uncles who served, one in the navy whose ship was torpedoed twice and one a pilot, who was shot down and detained in a POW camp. These are only two stories of hundreds in this area alone.

I can't help but wonder about the pain and anguish of the families, especially the mothers. The anticipation of waking each morning wondering if a telegram would arrive saying: "We regret to inform you. " I think about the hundreds of families in the Chateauguay Valley who worried for their loved ones, and I think of the thousands of families across Canada and the world suffering the pain and anguish of war.

Remembering isn't always easy. Maybe that's why, for generations, people have come together to offer support and help each other in their struggle and need. We all must try to use the memories of the past to find God in the present. It's okay to cry, or even express anger. By sharing our memories and stories, by laughing and crying together, we can find the strength for the new day's challenge and be able to face the future.
Remembrance Day isn't just about war and those we've lost, but it is also about ideals and what we stand for. It's about respecting our past and looking hopefully forward, and more than anything, thanking those who have served.

Remembering our loved ones is often painful, but forgetting them or allowing others to forget is a much greater tragedy. As we are gathered together on this Remembrance Sunday, let us pray that by God's grace we can look back and say; "I thank my God every time I remember you."

In closing, I would like you to hear the remembrance of an unknown First World War veteran:

He was very old now, but could still hold himself stiffly at attention before the monument. His war, the one to end all wars, now just a fading part of history. Very few could remember, first-hand, the savageness of the ordeal that had sent millions of young men to their deaths. Cannon fodder, they'd called them, sent before the guns to be mown down — blown apart by chunks of metal which had decimated their frail bodies. The cream of a generation almost wiped out. He was haunted by the faces of the boys he'd had to order into battle, the ones who'd never come back. Yet one nameless ghost was able to bring a measure of comfort to his tormented mind. At the sound of the gun signalling the eleventh hour he was mentally transported back to the fields of Flanders.

The battle had raged for over two hours, with neither side gaining any advantage. Wave after wave of soldiers had been dispatched from the muddy trenches and sent over the top. So many had died already that day that he decided he could not afford to lose any more men before reinforcements arrived. Perhaps they'd give the remnants a few more days of life. There came a slight lull in the battle due to the sheer exhaustion of the men on both sides.

During this interval, a young soldier came up to him requesting that he be allowed to go over the top. He looked at the boy who couldn't have been more than nineteen. Was this extreme bravery in the face of the enemy or was the soldier so scared he just needed to get it over with?

"Why would you want to throw your life away soldier? It's almost certain death to go out there."

"My best friend went over an hour ago, captain, and he hasn't come back. I know my friend must be hurt and calling for me. I must go to him, sir, I must." There were tears in the boy's eyes. It was as if this were the most important thing in the world to him.

"Soldier, I'm sorry, but your friend is probably dead. What purpose would it serve to let you sacrifice your life too?"

"At least I'd know I'd tried, sir, he'd do the same thing in my shoes. I know he would."

He was about to order the boy to the ranks, but the impact of his words softened his heart. He remembered the awful pain he'd felt himself when his brother had died. He'd never had the chance to say goodbye.

"All right soldier, you can go." Despite the horror all around them, he saw a radiant smile on the boy's face, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"God bless you, sir," said the soldier.

It was a long time before the guns fell silent for the last time and each side was allowed to gather their dead and wounded. The captain remembered the young soldier. He looked through the many piles of bodies. Young men. So many as to give an unreal quality to the scene before him.

When he came to the makeshift hospital, he looked carefully through the casualties.

He soon found himself before the prone body of the soldier, alive, but severely wounded. He knelt down beside the young man and gently laid his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry son. I knew I was wrong to let you go."

"Oh no, sir. I'm glad you did and I'm glad you're here now so I can thank you. You see sir, I found my friend. He was badly wounded, but I was able to comfort him at the end. As I held him dying in my arms, he looked me in the eyes and said, "I knew you'd come."

The young soldier faded between consciousness and oblivion for some time before he finally slipped away. The captain stayed by his side until the end, tears streaming quietly down his cheeks. Only in war could the happy endings be so terribly sad.

As the bugle sounded "Taps," the old captain envisioned once again the young soldier's face. Looking up, he could almost hear the stone monument calling out to him: "I knew you'd come."

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

PARTING HYMN:    Go Now In Peace​ 

Go now in peace. Never be afraid. 
God will go with you each hour of every day. 
Go now in faith, steadfast, strong and true. 
Know He will guide you in all you do. 
Go now in love, and show you believe. 
Reach out to others so all the world can see. 
God will be there watching from above. 
Go now in peace, in faith, and in love.
 Milosz

 ​
"Praising what is lost makes the remembering dear."
Czeslaw Milosz

MARK 9: 30-37
There Jesus goes again! Turning everything upside-down!
 
Who wants to be LAST?  Anyone here this morning want to be last?  It’s pretty hard to take!!
 
Watching the Olympic “Walking Race”

I recall sometime back there was a story that came out of the SPECIAL OLYMPICS.
 
It seems that a contestant tripped and fell while running a race. Instead of just charging down the track oblivious to an other competitors distress, the other contestants stopped,
and went back, picked up their fallen comrade, then all ran together to the finish. 
 
FIRST--LAST.  Who cared?     Everyone made it across.  That was all that mattered!
 
Maybe this is the message Jesus has for us. 
 
Jesus and his disciples "left that place and passed through Galilee.
 
It seems Jesus wanted some quiet time he with his disciples

He did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was “teaching” his disciples. He said to them,
 
 'The Son of Man is going to be betrayed intothe hands of men they will kill him, and after three days he will rise.' 
 
But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
 
What's worse, they didn't want to understand him.  They were afraid to know the truth.
 
The reason Jesus understood his purpose so clearly is because he was thinking with the mind of God. 
 
Throughout the Gospels, we read of Jesus spending time in prayer. 
 
Through prayer his feet travelled in the pathway God had laid out for him. But it's painfully obvious in this passage that Jesus' friends did not understand him. 
 
I suspect that many of us “fear prayer” because we're afraid of what will happen if we let God into our lives.   
 
We don’t ask God to reveal “HER will” to us because we just don't want to know!  We want a comfortable life, not an abundant one.  And if we were to view our lives through God's eyes, we just might have to change the purpose of our live!.

That's the challenge Jesus faced in our Bible passage today.  If he's ever going to teach his disciples about the purpose of their lives, now is the time.. 

The answer was surprising to them, and it's still a challenge for us today. 
 
Verse 33 reads, "When he was in the house, he asked them, 'What were you arguing about on the road?' But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest." 
 
They tried not to talk about it in front of Jesus, of course.  Jesus was a funny guy.  You never knew how Jesus might take things.  They had their private ambitions, but they
preferred that Jesus didn't know about them.
 
They hadn't really heard Jesus when he told them he would be betrayed, murdered and rise again. 
 
Have you ever had that experience, when someone was talking and your mind wandered.
 
Probably some of you are experiencing it right now, you know, thinking about what your going to do this afternoon or what to make for supper? All kinds of things can distract us when we don’t really want to hear what’s being said. I do it myself. 
 
So we can have some empathy with the disciples. When Jesus told them what he was going to do, they were busy talking about who would be the greatest.
 
Which ones would be on top and which ones on the bottom?  Nobody knew, but they knew that big changes were coming, and they were nervous.
 
An interesting thought: What would our answer be if Jesus came to us and asked, "What were you arguing about on the road?"
 
Well, Lord, we were arguing about language for God - should we use masculine, feminine, both, neither? We were arguing about sexuality - if folks are homosexual, should they be allowed to marry?  
 
 We were arguing about which translation of the Bible to purchase. Some of us might argue about how much money shall we give to support the mission of the church around the world when we have so many needs here at home. 
 
 Let's stop here and imagine what Jesus was thinking.  He knew what his disciples were arguing about.  And he knew how shallow and pointless their ambitions appeared when
compared to the life-changing mission God had in store for them. 

All these men had was a wish--a wish for greater status, a wish to stand in Jesus' spotlight and soak up some applause.  Jesus wanted them to look beyond their own selfish wishes to embrace the purposes of God. 

"Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.'" 

HERE, IN A NUTSHELL IS THE CENTRAL PURPOSE OF THE CHRISTIAN'S LIFE:   TO SERVE OTHERS. 
 
Let me tell you a story about last becoming first.  Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross is famous for the work that she has done with people who are dying.  She revolutionized the care that
people in hospitals and hospices receive as they are dying. 
 
Kubler-Ross noticed that a particular woman seemed to have a special touch with dying patients.  She was a maintenance woman who made beds and cleaned rooms and emptied bedpans -- but dying people always seemed to be more peaceful when she was around. 
 
Kubler-Ross asked the woman her secret.  Listen to what the woman said.  She said: 
"Well, I've been up the mountain and I've been down the mountain."   "I've lived in many homes, The worst time was when I went to a public clinic with my three year old daughter but she died  in my arms before we could see a doctor. She died from pneumonia."
 
She said "I could have become cynical and angry, but instead I decided to use my pain to help others.  I'm no stranger to death and that's why I'm not afraid to talk and touch those who are dying. I try to give them hope."
 
Kubler-Ross promoted her. She made the woman a special counselor to the dying in that hospital. 
 
That woman who was LAST became FIRST.         
 
We exist to serve, not to be served.
 
That's the secret of happiness in any job--to see it as a calling-- a vocation.
 
This is why some people are so unhappy in life. They want to be served rather than to serve. And the ironic thing is that people who are waited on hand and foot are the unhappiest people of all. 
 
One can’t help but notice,

A COMMITMENT TO SERVING PEOPLE IS THE KEY TO SERVING GOD. 
  
Marion Hill, a Hollywood actress, was married to the internationally famous movie director, Otto Preminger.

But she couldn't handle the fast life.  While Otto made pictures, she slipped into alcohol, drugs and numerous affairs. 
 
She divorced Otto and attempted suicide three times before
finally moving back to Vienna.  There she met another doctor, Albert Schweitzer a Medical Doctor, a famous Theologian and a renown Organist.
 
He gave up fame and fortune in Europe give his life as a servant to the people in Africa.   
 
When the time came for him to return to his simple hospital in the jungle of Africa, she went with him.  She spent the rest of her life as a hospital servant.
 
In her  autobiography: 
She wrote:  "Albert Schweitzer said there are two kinds of people.  There are the helpers, and there are non-helpers.  I thank God He allowed me to become a helper, and in helping, I found everything."
 
Do you see what she is saying? The happiest people are those who understand life is about serving.
 
To drive home his message Jesus, took a little child in his arms and said: 
  "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes God who sent me.
 
Jesus' gesture must have had a profound affect on the disciples, you see, in that time and place, children have so little status -- rank somewhere between a woman and a slave.
 
The person who welcomes a child is the one who is truly great.
 
 But it isn't just children who we are to welcome.  That child stood for anyone who is helpless and needs help -- anyone who is small -- or defenseless -- or hungry
or thirsty -- or naked -- or sick -- or in prison.
 
Jesus wants us to help people in these situations -- to defend them -- to feed them --offer a cup of drink of water -- to clothe them -- to visit them. 
 
This is how we best serve God--by serving the least and the lowest. 

That’s how to make our lives count.  Find a place where we can serve.
 
It may be in our work. It may be here in our church or in our community visiting the hospital or senior residences, working with young people or in a food bank or caring for a family member. 
 
JESUS tells us, we will never be happy or truly GREAT until we recognize that we are here to SERVE.
 
To SERVE others, particularly the LEAST and the LOWEST, is to serve GOD!         

AMEN