Grains of Sand

Pixabay Canada isn’t really a melting-pot. When I first arrived in Toronto in the 60s I discovered that the church I attended was right in the middle of an Italian neighbourhood. As the years passed the Italian immigrants who had first settled in the area became more prosperous. They began to move north—as a community. Then the neighbourhood became West Indian. All through the city communities within a community were the norm. Not surprising! When my grandparents and great-grands immigrated to Canada they all settled in the Ottawa Valley around Pembroke, principally in a community then known as Germanicus (they, and all their neighbours, were from Germany). “Next door,” in another enclave, lived the Irish. And never the twain were to meet! Immigrants tend to huddle together. They usually share a common language and common cultural norms. They often share common religious beliefs. After a few generations, “melting” actually happens. But every new crop of immigrants begins the “un-me...

Google Images It seems silly to say that a particular passage of Scripture is “interesting” since they all are. But at the risk of “silly” this morning’s reading is interesting (and necessary). And the end of 2 Corinthians 6, Paul warns his audience about the need to remove themselves from their old pattern of life as it has to do with idol worship. Traditionally the verse, “ Come out from them and be separate ” (6:17) is often applied to things like our relationships with people who are not believers. There are other passages that speak to that issue. Though this verse can be applied to relationships with unbelievers, Paul is actually warning the Corinthians that they can’t continue to worship idols and try to worship the true God at the same time. Here the emphasis is not separation from the people who don't know the Lord but separation from the practices of the people who do not know the Lord. As Chapter 7 begins, Paul says: “ Therefore, since we have these promises, dear fr...

Areopagus from Google Images Those who are my generation and older were probably taught to stay away from the world and from those of other faith practices. We were to be “separate.” Our understanding of the Biblical concept of separation from the world was flawed. Paul gives us a prime example of that in Acts 17. The apostle is in Athens. He started out in the synagogue, which was his custom (17:17). The Athenians were idol-worshipers and this was a concern to Paul so he headed to the marketplace to preach (17:18). Then he was taken to the Areopagus (17:19). Traditionally we talk about this place as being a kind of central housing area for all the gods that the Athenians worshiped, but it was also the place where the high court met to judge criminal and civil cases so it could be that there was the possibility that someone wanted to bring Paul up on charges for “ advocating foreign gods ” (17:18). In any case, Paul did not resist. It is interesting to note that Paul, usually consi...