Meditation: Oneness with our God Only through Christ can we enter into a relationship with God God's

;s covenant with us - Christ is the final sacrifice Let us encourage one another Prayer: Lord, our thoughts swirl endlessly. We are a whirlwind of activity, anticipation, turmoil, doubts. We get caught up in the endless stream of obligations with work, family, health and wellness. We are reactive to the pervasive local and global events and politics surrounding us. But for the most part, these serve only to disturb us and distract us from You. For just this moment, help us to quiet our thoughts, clear our minds, suspend our doubts, slow us down so that we can hear your gentle call, and immerse ourselves in Your Love, Your Grace, Your Peace, surrounded by the Spirits presence, opening the door to the personal relationship You are calling us into. May this meditation of Your Word assure us of your presence, your incredible care, your infallible commitment to us. May the simple truth of your message speak to us and make us hunger for more of You. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

I think, as human beings, we like to make things complicated. We tend to construct artificial barriers to what should be simple targets or concepts, by imposing political processes, with unnecessary layers of bureaucracy, with undignified human emotions and drama, with self-absorption, ambition, pride, title, and the need to impress others. We impose structures, rules and restrictions that make true connection with a goal more complex than it needs to be. We like to know where everyone stands and what side theyre on, and can

then get mired in human emotion and narrowed thinking that limits our belief of whats possible. We seek the quick hit of elation to dull our pain, without ever really letting ourselves get to the root of our restlessness. We over-think possible solutions to problems and end up completely stymied in our action. This complicated way of being becomes so entrenched that it also becomes our standard, expected practice, our normalized, self-limiting human behaviour. We can see this in our family lives, when we get ourselves so unbelievably busy with outside events and obligations that we get taken away from focusing on the relationships that are important. We experience this at work when we try to do what we believe is the right course of action, but confront instead imposed barriers or politics. We feel this in our relationships with others, when very real, sometimes very painful emotion barricades us from moving forward together to a straightforward goal. Ultimately, we allow ourselves to get sucked into this never-ending battle that prevents us from achieving lasting peace, comfort, selfworth, joy, salvation. This complicated norm becomes the human malady or human condition the sin - that burdens us all and conceals the simpler path to real fulfillment. So instead of coming closer into a personal relationship with our God, we drift further and further away, not seeing our way through these barriers.

We see this in Biblical times, too. As described in the Hebrews text, ceremonial laws demanded ritualized behaviours as they related to cleansing us of sin. Priests performed regular sacrifices to atone for behaviours that got in the way of a right relationship with God. To me theres a bit of irony in that, from the outside looking in. The complicated steps of preparation for the sacrifice, the

entitlement of the Priests to perform the ritual, and the process itself that was repeated again and again, all point to a many-layered approach to removing the sin that impedes closeness with our God. So. many deeds and acts needed to be performed for temporary measure, for all the deeds and acts that repeatedly got in the way between us and God. To me, the best metaphor of human beings making things complicated is in this ritualized, complicated behavior, symbolized also by the curtain in the Temple that separated us from the Holy place, where only the Priests were allowed to enter into; so that, believers who were seeking to get closer to God, responding to His call, confronted instead barriers that got in their way to fulfillment of that goal and purpose.

But it doesnt have to be that way. The text in Hebrews also shows us the new way. It carves through the layers of complication to reveal such startling, simple truth: that it is through the one act of Jesus sacrifice that we are brought into a closer relationship with our God. Before Jesus death and resurrection, the law demanded that the priests perform their religious duty of offering sacrifices, again and again, to purify those who were seeking God. But this routine repeated endlessly year after year [could not] make perfect those who drew near to worship [the Lord]. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For worshippers would have been cleansed once and for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins (Hebrews 10:1-3). Its a bit like Einsteins insight, about doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. But the really hopeful news is this: God replaced this complicated ceremonial law with one final sacrifice that of his only son, Jesus. Indeed, on the day Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the temple tore, so that access to the Holiest place in

the Temple access to God himself - would never again be restricted by human hands. This tearing of the curtain of course signified the new freedom the liberating impact of the final act of sacrifice, the removal of the barriers between us and our God. Such is the Love that our Creator has for us, that He gave us his son, Jesus, God-on-earth, who lived among us, who taught us a new paradigm of Gods unfailing, unconditional Love and Grace, and who, through his sacrifice, brought us closer into relationship with our Holy Creator, the One who knows each of us by our name. Jesus followed this path, for us, to perfect us, to make us acceptable in Gods eyes, to ensure that we may walk into Gods presence at any time, to forgive us, once and for all, for all the human behaviours that take us further away from the right relationship with our Lord.

So then what are we to do, when we feel this pull, this restlessness that unsettles us? What do we do when we want to respond to that call urging us forward? How do we reconcile our personal relationship with our God? What, in essence, does all of this mean, for us here today? First, it means acknowledging this pull, hearing the inner voice that is calling out to you. It means accepting the Spiritual promptings and urges that may be leaving you feeling restless and unsettled. It means opening your heart and mind to the possibilities of a God who cares so much for you, that He will never leave you and He will always take care of you; He wants nothing more than for you to draw nearer. It means thanking Him and praising Him for loving you so much that He gave us His son as the profoundly simple, unconditional, permanent way through which we can enter into an intimate relationship with Him. It means learning more about the One who is calling out to you through personal study of the Bible, and through discourse

with teachers like Rev. Kurt; for as we learn more about God, we are drawn even closer to Him, and we are made Holy set apart for His special use in our daily lives, perfected day-by-day. It also means spending time with other seekers, growing and learning from each other, as well as spending personal time with your God in thought, in prayer, in deed. It means recognizing the barriers that prevent us from coming closer to God, and consciously striving to eliminate these distractions. It does not mean we will never again make mistakes, nor that we will never drift it is part of our human condition that we will confront barriers to our relationship with God some self-constructed, some put up by others. But we can ask for forgiveness, and we can rest-assured that we can always return to Him. As we become Christ-followers, we steadily flourish our lives become intertwined with His at every level, changing us, changing the way we see the world, changing the relationships we have and the new ones we create. We become eternally cleansed, our hearts and bodies sprinkled with pure water to gently wash away all the barriers that prevent us from oneness with our God, relinquishing old ways and embracing tender growth in our renewed relationship with our Lord.

In this new state, we are called to consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds (vs 24). This is our action piece with others. As we relate to one another in this new manner, we need to support and encourage one another, so that we may grow heartily, together. How might we accomplish this? What have we done in the past that may count towards spurring one another on toward love and good deeds? What have we done in the past that may have had the opposite effect? What could we have done differently? As reflective people,

we can use our past experiences to help us determine the direction of our new ones, and continue to learn and grow. Going forward, consider what situation you presently find yourself in, where you have an opportunity to encourage someone towards love and good deeds. What are some tangible ways you can reach out to those in your network right now: with family, friends, neighbours, colleagues? What might that encouragement and support look like for you and for them? Is it an invitation to join you in regularly attending a worship service, both to learn more and to spend time in Christian fellowship with others? The rewards are lifechanging with a great rippling effect on others in your midst, in your circle of influence. In addition to regular engagement with Scriptural teachings and worship, might there also be a small group that meets regularly to learn from and with each other, to support each other in celebrating joys and sharing pain? Maybe its a prayer group that meets regularly to bring to the Lord those in our midst who are suffering, to pray for healing and comfort, to celebrate joys and answers to prayer, and always to praise the One who brings us together. Is it a group of young families that networks together, to support each other in their own Christian development as they cope with the challenges of parenting? Is it sitting down to break bread together, to share a meal and fellowship as we worship together, as we do each Wednesday here at Ryerson? Whatever it looks like, we are called to spur one other on towards love and good deeds; so then let us not give up meeting together, but let us encourage one another learning together, living through the lens of Love, especially being living examples of His incredible love, His grace, His hope and His peace.

So then its time to simplify to erase the complications and celebrate the simple truth: that it is through Christs sacrifice that we can enjoy this kind of relationship this oneness - with God and therefore with others, drawing nearer with a pure heart. There is no greater gift than that! Because of this gift, we can hold unswervingly to this hope we profess, for the One who calls to us is faithful. And for that, we worship together, we study together, we encourage each other, we praise God with full hearts, and we keep focused on the triune God, drawing ever nearer to the One who knows us by name.