Rev Chris Roth

This is a difficult topic to write on because it is so complicated and divisive. People don't seem to think that you can, at the same time, see what Hamas has done as absolutely horrifying, and also see the resulting death toll of Palestinian civilians as also horrifying. War is horrifying. It is also a war that was completely predictable given the actions of Hamas.  I want to say 3 things.  First, I don't care how oppressed you are, killing, raping and torturing defenseless civilians (including children) and desecrating their bodies, parading their dead bodies, and celebrating any of this is horrifying and evil. Hamas is no different from ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Qaeda, or any number of other Islamic-supremacist groups that desire to suppress all the world's people under a caliphate; to impose their understanding of sharia law on all the world; to place Jews and Christians under the jizya tax so that they feel themselves to be subdued and second class citizens; and kill or co...

Matthew 22:34-46 In our Gospel reading, Jesus has been peppered with questions by the Sadducees and Pharisees. We are nearing the end of Matthew, so tensions are increasing. They are trying to trap him with their questions- trying to get him to contradict himself, or stump him, or get him in trouble with the crowd, or in trouble with the Romans or King Herod. Our reading has Jesus interacting with these groups on two topics this morning. I would like to deal with the second one first. To those who have been trying to trap him, Jesus asks his own question. Whose son is the Messiah? The obvious answer everyone would have known is “The Son of David”. Quoting Psalm 110, which everyone assumes was written by King David, Jesus says,  “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’”?  Who is David calling “Lord”? There are two Lords in that verse, and they are both above David. One is God and the other is assumed to be the Messiah, but w...

 In a previous post , I wrote about how Critical Social Theory could actually make racism worse, or at least not solve the problem.  As an example of how this might happen I saw a video recently regarding Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). I remember talking with friends a few years ago about designating this awful situation as "genocide".  I think those who are inclined towards Critical Social Theory (Anti-Racism) ways of thinking were wanting to designate this situation as a genocide to highlight the importance and tragedy of Canada's MMIW. Calling it a 'genocide' also calls the situation out as a racist action.  Presumably, white people have been conducting this act of genocide. We imagine someone like Robert Pickton, mixed with a lack of concern and willingness to investigate missing Indigenous women on the part of police, which suggests structural racism in the justice system. Or, perhaps we imagine racist and murderous white truck drivers travelli...

Matthew 22:1-14 In our Gospel reading for the last few weeks we have been hearing the Parables of Jesus. … Jesus’ parables are often intended to be unsettling, puzzling, and shocking. They often challenge the status quo. They show the new and often unsettling thing that God is doing. Expectations are reversed. Values are challenged. The social hierarchy is toppled. They force us to think deeper and with a more heavenly perspective. Sometimes they are an indirect way of showing someone their own sin. In today’s parable, Jesus tells a story about a king who is holding a wedding banquet for his son. The theme of a wedding is a common image used when talking about the coming Messiah. … Jesus will tell another parable about ten virgins, some with enough oil, and some without enough as they wait for the arrival of the groom. … Jesus also refers to himself as a groom, for example, when he explains why his disciples don’t fast, he says that they don’t fast while the groom is with them (9:15)....

Exodus 20:1-20 We usually translate the Hebrew word “Torah” as “Law”, but the word is a bit more full than that. It doesn’t just mean ‘legal rules’. “Torah” refers to the first 5 books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And, in its most full definition, “Torah” means something like “God’s teaching” or “God’s instruction”. Torah is God’s guidance. It is something precious. It is guidance to live a good life. … We see it in a condensed form in the 10 commandments, and even more condensed form in Jesus’ summary of the law-  “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ … And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matt 22:37-40). Sometimes Christians think that because of Jesus we don’t have to think about the law anymore. The Early Christians didn’t think that way. Jesus Says he came to fulfil the law (Matt 5:17-18). In Paul’s Second letter to Timothy he says,  “All Scripture is ...

Philippians 2:1-13 It’s amazing to see the power of celebrity on some people. I remember seeing old news footage of the Beatles and watching girls in the crowd go absolutely bananas. They are screaming and fainting and jumping up and down. It looks like they are on the verge of a riot. The power some rock stars and movie stars have over people is amazing. We see them on TV, in movies, or hear them on the radio. We see them in magazines as we buy our groceries, and it is as if they are from another world. They are beautiful and rich and talented. For some reason, we want to know their opinions on the big issues that confront us. They can seem more than human to us mere mortals. In the ancient world it was like this too. A great military leader like Alexander the Great or the Roman Emperor Augustus was considered divine. They were larger than life. They were more than human. They did amazing things that seemed beyond the ability of a human being. St. Paul presents a very countercultura...