Holy Disturbance: Pulling Apart

In this week’s passage, Luke 5:17-26, holy disruption occurred when young men pulled apart roof tiles to gain their friend a wide, free access to the presence of Jesus. They had such enormous devotion to their friend that they would pull apart a roof.

Jesus looked at the young man and said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Listening, the religious leaders who had gathered in the house from great distances to size up Jesus, grew disturbed. “Who gave these men the right to pull apart that roof? Only the owner has the authority to put a hole in his roof. Who gave Jesus the right to forgive sins? Only God, the creator of all souls, has the authority to forgive sins.”

As gatekeepers of their faith tradition, these men were predisposed towards judgment and the determination of right and wrong. Threatened by the disturbance, they too, like the young men, begin the activity of pulling apart. They pulled apart Jesus’ words with their intellects, challenging his right to forgive sins.

This is the repeating pattern of the gospels: Jesus gave wider and wider access to the loving presence of God, while the religious rulers found that this very widening threatened their sensibilities of right and wrong. 

In the story, Jesus sees both groups of men—the faith-filled youth shouldering with devotion the weight of their friend and the religious leader shouldering with devotion the responsibility of their faith tradition. He healed the man, restoring his movement, and the young man went away walking and leaping for joy. And the older men went away celebrating the mystery together, “We have seen remarkable things today!” A holy disturbance, prompted by the exclusion of the young men from the house and their resulting refusal to be excluded, resulted in this moment of shared joy and freedom.

I wonder what needs to be pulled apart in our church so that people may have the widest possible access to Jesus?

I wonder what needs to be pulled apart in Christianity?

I wonder what needs to be pulled apart within you and me?

Worship Calendar

Location & Zoom. We meet on Sundays at 15639 24 Avenue, Surrey. Zoom is offered if you cannot attend in person. Zoom link. Meeting ID: 831 1690 9977 password: 753319

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Blogs
Catch up on Anne’s recent blogs under “News” on our website, southpoint.ca

Sun Apr 7
(2) Opening to Love
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
John 21:1-19

Sun Apr 14
(3) Receiving Clarity
Rev Anne Baxter Smith
Acts 3:12-19
 
Sun Apr 21
Rev Scott Swanson
Acts 4:5-12

New to Southpoint?

At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and creation.

We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *

We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.

As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.

Curious to know more?

These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.

If you’d like to really peek inside, sign up for our weekly Southpoint News (scroll to brown footer at bottom of page). The Southpoint News is a MailChimp distributed email—you can unsubscribe anytime and will not be added to our contacts list. Email us at office@southpoint.ca. Website: southpoint.ca.

UPDATED: Proof of full vaccination is now required for people 12 and up in order to meet In-person in the Sunnyside building at 15639 24 Avenue, Surrey
* Wear a mask if older than 5 years old
* Covid statement & policy

ADVENT
Holy Disturbance: Where Does It Hurt?

Sun. Dec 19, 10:00 am
Breaking Through     Peace
Speaker: Anne Smith Luke 2: 1-7
Screening of kids’ Nativity performance (Credit: Lily & Lynne Oger!)

Sun. Dec. 26
NO SERVICE

Sun. Jan. 2, 10:00 am
Speaker: Brent Unrau

Sun. Jan. 9, 10:00 am
Speaker: Anne Smith

New to Southpoint?

At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and creation.

We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *

We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.

As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.

Curious to know more?

These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.

If you’d like to really peek inside, sign up for our weekly Southpoint News (scroll to brown footer at bottom of page). The Southpoint News is a MailChimp distributed email—you can unsubscribe anytime and will not be added to our contacts list. Email us at office@southpoint.ca. Website: southpoint.ca.