St. John's Elora

09/06/2026

Today’s readings are about deliverance and restoration. This is the movement of the entire canon of the Judeo-Christian scriptures.

The old testament reading today (Exodus 12:1-14) provides a detailed description of the preparations for the event of the Passover. Passover marks the deliverance for the Hebrews from their captivity as slaves in Egypt.

The important part I think comes at the end: “the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you live; when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.”

Don’t forget it!

This text is read in our calendar on Maundy Thursday during Holy Week. It is the day before we hear of the passion of Christ when Jesus becomes the Passover Lamb - the one whose blood becomes the agency for our deliverance.

We also hear on Maundy Thursday the description of the Last Supper. Jesus celebrates the Passover meal with his friends in Jerusalem and says, “this is my body, this is my blood, do this in remembrance of me.”

There is an intentional connection between the body and blood of the lamb, and the body and blood of the Christ, with in both cases the direction to “remember”. It is what we hear in the prayer of consecration every time we celebrate communion: “do this in remembrance of me.”

The act of remembering is foundational to our faith. Remembering the event of our deliverance is a critical piece of our liturgy. Like the Hebrews in Egypt, we all have things that we need to be delivered from.

You remember the story of Peter who steps out of the boat in the storm and walks on water towards Jesus. When he begins to sink, he cries out, “Lord, save me.”

Peter’s cry is our cry.

Liturgically we use the phrase, “Good Lord, deliver us.” It is most commonly used in the Great Litany which describes a host of things that we pray to be delivered from.

There are personal things like pride, vanity, envy, hatred, or hardness of heart. You might want to add to that stress and anxiety. Good Lord, deliver us.

There are more public things like civil strife, mischief, war, murder, and violence. Good Lord, deliver us.

There are more cosmic things like earthquake, drought, fire and flood. Good Lord, deliver us.

And there are spiritual things like evil and the crafts and assaults of the devil.

These are all things that we hear about in the news and should not surprise us. They are things that we are susceptible and vulnerable to and have experienced.

Deliverance doesn’t mean you are held in the prison of slavery in Egypt, but it can be something like being held in the grips of addiction which can paralyze us, take away our agency and start affecting those around us. It can be Tumbler Ridge or the wildfires this summer, or the landslides in Nepal. It can substance abuse, violence or domestic abuse. It can be the insatiable need to read the news, check the stock markets, or scroll social media.

Any of these things can be subtle and careful in how they creep in and take hold of us, and they have a powerful ability to isolate us.

But the movement of the scriptures is always about restoring community, recovering agency and dignity, and providing liberation.

This is expressed in all the gospel stories describing people who encountered Jesus looking for some sort of deliverance.

Today we hear in the gospel (Matthew 18:15-20) about naming the isolation created by something that oppresses us. It starts by addressing something very privately, personally and confidentially; then moves to bringing in witnesses that a small group can assist with; and ends with something much more public. By the time it gets to the last stage we see things being played out in media and it’s always messy. You don’t want to get to that stage.

Last month we had the opportunity to see two plays at the Stratford Festival. Two plays that were written 400 years apart but both addressed these themes of restoration and deliverance.

The first was Shakespeare’s The Tempest. It was a stunning and beautiful production that, amongst other things, is largely a story of reconciliation. It is a Jacob and Esau story, or a Joseph and his brothers story. An exiled brother, Prospero, summons all of his powers to bring his usurping brother and other opposing members of the court to a private place, a deserted island. Here, Prospero is able to confront his opponents and articulate the impact that their hurtful acts had on him. Through a series of events it all finally results in a moving scene of accountability and reconciliation.

The second was Arthur Miller’s 1949 play, The Death of a Salesman. It is a daunting tragedy that addresses the power of generational and cultural expectations placed one person, W***y Loman. These pressures affect not only his own sense of personal value and worth but also those his wife, Linda, and his two adoring sons, Biff and Happy. In both plays the moments of reconciliation are captured with such emotional credibility and vulnerability that they become palpable throughout the entire theatre. No audience member leaves with a dry eye.

These plays are still performed because they express the need for restoration and deliverance. They resonate with audiences across generations because they speak of alienation, disintegration and reintegration. They, like our scriptures, point us to remember something big - in our case we remember the source of a great and powerful covenant. Like Passover this divine covenant is sealed in blood and given to us as a gift: it becomes the vehicle for our deliverance. May we find ourselves always remembering this event because it is the antidote for our isolation, the foundation for our community, and the agency for our freedom.

- Paul Walker
Rector of St John’s Elora
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Photo Credit 1: David Hou. Stratford Festival, Death of a Salesman, 2026. Tom McCamus and Lucy Peacock.

Photo Credit 2: From left: Paul Dunn, Geraint Wyn Davies and Ashley Dingwell. Photo: David Hou. Stratford Festival, The Tempest, 2026.

09/05/2026

Thank you to Canon Christopher Pratt for offering liturgical, pastoral and priestly coverage on Sunday mornings at St John’s Elora while the Rector was on holiday in August.

Here’s a message from Canon Christopher:

“Thank you for the wonderful sendoff on my last Sunday with you at St. John’s Elora on August 30th. Cards, baked goods and of course, my wonderful Church Mouse! Rather than saying, “Goodbye”, I much prefer the French phrase which also reflects our faith. The simple word, ”Adieu”, says so much, as we entrust each other, “… to God…”
Until we meet again.
Christopher Pratt,
Honorary Assistant, Trinity Church, Cambridge, Diocese of Huron”

09/05/2026

It is a pleasure to return to the parish this past week feeling restored and refreshed.

With school starting up next week we too anticipate the start up for all of the fall programs at St. John’s Elora.

We look forward to the return of choirs (the Elora Children’s Choir, the Volunteer Choir, the Parish Choir); the Friday morning Song Circle, the Men’s Dinner and Ladies Lunch; the 8am Sunday communion, the 10am Wednesday communion, and the Concert Series.

The Elora Children’s Choir begins on September 21st and is nearly full to capacity. If you want to be on the waiting list to enrol, please let us know.

Our Concert Series begins on SATURDAY October 17th at 7pm with the St John’s Commons Cabaret. It will feature performances from singers in the Parish Choir, but there is a call for you to participate. It is an evening to showcase many talents. So if you want to participate let us know at music.stjohnselora “at” gmail.com.

Most of all I am pleased to report that we are on schedule for the GRAND OPENING and DEDICATION of the new ST JOHN’S COMMONS on September 27th. It is a beautiful space that builds capacity for community engagement, addresses accessibility, and improves our plumbing, electrical and HVAC throughout all of our facilities. As we planned, this is creating capacity for our future ministry. So we look forward in hope to this fall at St. John’s Elora and I trust that you can share in the excitement and join the momentum.

You are invited to the GRAND OPENING of St. John’s Commons on SUNDAY September 27th. It will start with an Evensong at 4pm, followed by ribbon cutting, unveiling the plaque and a reception in the new space.

I hope that you have a safe and good Labour Day weekend that involves coming to St. John’s Elora on Sunday.

Here is what to expect this week at St. John’s Elora:

SUNDAY September 6
8:00 Holy Communion
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Communion with Soloist

TUESDAY September 8
5:00 Meditation Group (Parish Centre)

WEDNESDAY September 9
9:30 Circle of Friends (Parish Centre)
10:00 Holy Communion

FRIDAY September 11
10:30 Song Circle (Parish Centre)

SUNDAY September 13
8:00 Holy Communion
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Matins with Parish Choir

Looking forward to seeing you.

Paul Walker
Rector of St. John’s Elora

08/12/2026

Does your child love to sing?

The Elora Children's Choir is welcoming new singers- join us on Monday nights from September-December!

The Preparatory Choir is for children aged 4-6, and rehearses from 5:30-6:00pm. We explore singing and music through our voices, movement and instruments. This class is capped at 14 children- limited spots (3) available!

The Elora Children's Choir (ECC) is for children 7+, and rehearses from 6:15-7:15pm. This group focuses on creating a beautiful tone and a fun community of kids who love to sing. We learn basic music literacy, musicianship, and many songs sung in multiple languages and different genres. This group also performs throughout the term at community events.

Tuition is $100 for Prep Choir, and $120 for ECC, with sibling discounts available and bursaries for families for whom cost is a barrier.

If you are interested in registering or learning more, please contact [email protected] for more information.

08/02/2026

Do you ever wake up in the morning and say, “Oh, I must have slept funny, because my shoulder is sore” or “my back is stiff”? Or, you have a sleepless night because you just can’t turn your busy mind off?

Jacob had one of those nights.

The renaming of Jacob is a significant turning point in the story of the people of God. Jacob means “the one who supplants,” but his new name, Israel, means “the one who strives with God.” And that is what he does.

Jacob, the supplanter, the deceiver, the schemer, who stole his older brother Esau’s birthright and father’s blessing, has now wrestled with God for an entire night. Heroically he survived this ordeal, and the sun rises for a new day with a new name, Israel, which means, “the one who strives with God.”

It somewhat reminds me of the story of Saul, with his legacy of murder and persecution, who without his vision, encounters a bright light on the Damascus Road. The light is revealed to be the resurrected Christ who calls Saul to follow him and renames him Paul, which means “the least, the smallest, the last” because Paul becomes the one untimely born, the last of all of the apostles. The apostles are the eyewitnesses to the resurrection and so Paul will become the last of these eyewitnesses.

Both of them are renamed. Like for Saul who cannot see, Jacob’s wrestling match with God occurs at night, when he cannot see clearly either.

"Who are you?”, he demands. “Tell me your name.” But his opponent does not reveal his identity or tell him his name, because naming implies a level of ownership; a direction of power.

The event of being injured becomes the moment that Jacob identifies who this is.
Jacob calls this place Piniel, which means “the face of God,” because this is where Jacob encountered God face to face and lived.

All of this happens the day before Jacob is expected to be reunited with his older brother, Esau. Jacob is wracked with anxiety about this reunion and assumes that Esau will be filled a righteous vengeful fury.

Jacob has been informed that Esau is on his way and he is coming with four hundred men in his camp. Jacob knows that he is far out-numbered and his chances of survival are slim.

So Jacob divides his camp in two thinking that if his brother destroys one camp at least he will have the other camp alive.

It is the night before this high stakes meeting when Jacob has this divine wrestling match.

Apart from being renamed, which is significant enough, what I find is critical in this encounter is Jacob’s demand to be blessed.

This of course is what he steals from Esau and gets from his father, but a blessing is now what he desperately needs from Esau in order to survive. The burning question for Jacob is: will he get it?

The description of the reunion of Jacob and Esau is a powerful and beautiful story. It is worth your time to read at home in Genesis 33. It is a story infused with terror on Jacob’s part. As Jacob approaches his brother he goes out in front of his wives, their maids and his children. Jacob comes near to him and bows to the ground seven times.

And then, here’s the astonishing and unexpected bit: “Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they both wept.”

Jacob is completely taken aback by this behaviour. He introduces his family to Esau for the first time and says, “If I find favour with you then accept my present; for truly, to see your face is like seeing the face of God - since you have received me with favour.”

Jacob sees the face of God.

This is one of the most powerful demonstrations of reconciliation in the bible and of course it is the fulfillment of Jacob’s wrestling match with God the night before. Jacob's longing for a blessing has finally been fulfilled. Jacob, now Israel, is blessed. This is the face of God.

Now, we turn our attention to the gospel reading today of feeding the multitude in the wilderness (Matthew 14: 13-21). This story is one of the few events that is recorded in all four gospels. So it must be really important. A vast multitude of people are in the wilderness; it is late in the day; they are all hungry and they have nothing to eat. Like the story of mana in the wilderness here is a story of provision when no or very little resources are available.

Jesus accepts a meagre offering of five loaves and two fish. He then engages what will become the fourfold action repeated in the last supper and the event of the eucharist.

Jesus takes what is offered, gives thanks for it, breaks it and distributes it. This pattern follows exactly what we do in every eucharist.

We offer what we have: the symbols of our labour, and the bread and the w**e from creation. It’s called "the offertory.” God receives that offering, and the priest takes the gifts of bread and w**e, gives thanks for it, breaks it and then it is distributed to the people until all have been filled.

This meal helps us recall the event of the feeding of the multitude in the wilderness, the events of the last supper, and also the story of Jacob and Esau. All of it is a story of reconciliation.

We, like Jacob, and like Saul, are renamed. We are made a new creation in Christ. We are blessed in Christ. God has established a covenant, a promise, to be with us and to never abandon us, and we are provided for, even (and particularly) in the wilderness.

May this Eucharist be for us an occasion to see the face of God. May it be the symbol of God’s promise to bless us and preserve us, and like Jacob, may we discover that God is always us.
Amen.

- Paul Walker
Rector of St John’s Elora
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Image credit: icon of Jacob wrestling with the angel, Prosopon School of Iconology and Iconography.

Genesis 32:24-31
Matthew 14:13-21

08/01/2026

The August long weekend I find marks the half-way point of the summer.

The full moon this week has been impressively bright. Sometimes it is called the Buck Moon after the fact that the antlers of a male deer are at their full growth at this time of year. In Anishinaabe it is called the Berry Moon or Halfway Summer Moon.

Psalm 104 declares: “Bless the Lord, O my soul… You wrap yourself with a cloak and spread out the heavens like a curtain… You appointed the moon to mark the seasons and the sun knows the time of its setting.” It is a poetic text of praise for the beauty of God’s creation.

Pay attention to the night sky this month. The annual Perseid Meteor shower is expected to be particularly visible this year. Under the dark skies of a new moon it will peak August 12th to 13th with with an impressive display of up to one hundred shooting stars visible each hour as they cut fiery paths through the summer sky. If it is a clear night it is worth looking in the northwest sky anytime after 10pm.

“All your works praise you, O Lord, and your faithful servants bless you.”

You are invited to St. John’s Elora this week for any of the following events:

SUNDAY August 2
8:00 Holy Communion
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Communion with Soloist

TUESDAY August 4
5:00 Meditation Group (Parish Centre)

WEDNESDAY August 5
9:30 Circle of Friends (Parish Centre)

SUNDAY August 9
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Matins with Quartet from the Parish Choir

Have a safe and happy long weekend.

Paul Walker
Rector of St. John’s Elora



Photo credit: Cottage Life, August 2013, Hareluya/Shutterstock

07/26/2026

Congratulations on a very successful 47th season of The Elora Festival. This is the final weekend of three weeks of exceptional music. Thank you to our singers, visiting artists, production and administration team, and over 100 volunteers who helped make it all happen.

Now we turn our gaze towards the horizon of a new season of music at St John’s Elora. The fall and winter line up of choral and chamber music concerts has just been announced and I commend it to your attention. Invite your friends and colleagues to join you. It all begins on October 17th with “The St John’s Commons Cabaret” which is an event curated to celebrate the dedication and opening of the new St John’s COMMONS on September 27th. It’s a full season of ten concerts and it all is described on an attractive double-sided card and on our website. It looks very exciting.

The kingdom of heaven is like….

Jesus speaks in parables to describe what the kingdom of heaven is like. In today’s gospel reading Jesus describes his kingdom using five different images: a mustard seed, some yeast, a treasure hidden in a field, a pearl of great price, and a fishing net.

Except for the net, all of these things are very small. They are barely visible. You place the mustard seed or the yeast on your finger and you hardly see it. Because of their size you can easily lose it.

But when any of these things are engaged for their stated purpose they all have a significant impact. They provide shelter or a place of refuge. They create joy. They nourish and sustain.

All of them in the activation of their work are completely hidden. Their productive work is completely out of sight. It occurs either under the ground, beneath the surface of the water, or hidden inside the dough.

The activity of all of these things, which are so critical to their significance and role, is completely invisible to us. It is hidden.

So is the work of the gospel.

The work of the gospel, the harvest of the Spirit, is not measured by counting the number of widgets produced; or the output from the assembly line. It is not measured by the attendance in the vestry book or the profit-loss statement or the resources of the endowment fund. It is something far less visible and measurable.

It is hidden inside of us.

The apostle Paul describes that what has been hidden has now been revealed. The mystery hidden for all ages is now been made known.

“We have seen with our eyes and touched with our hands the gift of life,” St John writes.

This is the gospel that is revealed through the event of the incarnation. It is the glory of God made known in the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ.

The apostles are the ones who had the privilege to see it, touch it and handle it for themselves. All we have is their testimony; and these symbols of bread and w**e, baptismal water and oil, all which point us to this great mystery now revealed.

The apostolic testimony, along with these symbols, and the presence and encouragement of other people in our lives, all work together to sew or plant the seed of the gospel or bury the treasure of faith deep inside of our imaginations, our hearts and our minds that we too can somehow become contemporary with this great mystery of the gospel, hidden and now revealed.

The apostle Paul talks about this in the first reading today.

He acknowledges that we are fragile creatures and we are susceptible to weakness. Depending on the season of our lives there can be at any time all kinds of forces that seem to conspire against us.

There are events that happen to overwhelm us, discourage us, or even condemn us. St. Paul lists some things: “hardship, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword…” Reflecting on that list, it is a pretty efficient and exhaustive list of things that threaten to assail us or completely overwhelm us.

Whenever we are in that position regardless of your faith background it is instinctive to cry out in a sort of prayer, even if we haven’t uttered a prayer for years.

This is a natural instinct. We see it in so many of the gospel stories. The leader of the synagogue pleading with Jesus to come to his house as his daughter is critically ill; Mary and Martha pleading that Jesus come to Bethany to heal their brother Lazarus; the crowds assembling in Galilee and Nazareth to bring their sick and lame. They all have the same prayer that Peter uttered as he sank in the stormy sea: “Lord, save me."

But sometimes when we are in those situations, we don’t know what to pray or how to pray except in sighs too deep for words.

That, Paul says, is precisely the moment when the Spirit intercedes for us because we just don't have the words or the language to express it.

One of the strengths of a liturgical tradition is that we offer the same prayers on a fairly regular basis. The repeated rhythm of these texts allows them to seep deep inside of us. They become part of the fabric of our being. So when a rough season comes, you can access these great prayers and hymns of the church hopefully without too much difficulty.

All of these texts of the church - the hymns, the prayers, the scriptures, the sacraments - are given as a rich resource to sustain us and realign us.

One of the opening sentences in the funeral rite, the burial sentences, comes from the last line of today’s epistle reading: “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Therein lies our hope, our anchor and our safe refuge.

This is the pearl of great price, the yeast in the dough, the mustard seed in the ground, the treasure in the field, and the net under the water which draws us in. This is the hidden mystery that is revealed to sustain us and give us life.

Paul Walker
Rector of St John’s Elora

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Some of the members of St John’s Elora Parish Choir and members of The Elora Singers with the Rector.
L to R - Val, Graham, Nathan, Jerome, Paul, Josh, Paul and Lesley.

07/25/2026

It has been such a pleasure to offer our worship with The Elora Singers during these past few weeks on Sunday mornings and Thursday afternoons at St. John’s Elora. We are spoiled in our parish with an excess of musical and choral leadership and talent. This applies equally to our visiting artists as much as it does to our year-round resident singers in the Parish Choir. I am thrilled to be gathering tomorrow with a quartet from the members of the St. John’s Parish Choir to celebrate the sacrament of the great mysteries of our Lord for two consecutive Sundays.

Join us at any one of the three liturgies offered tomorrow morning (8, 9, 11am) for a communion service.

Each one of our liturgies carries its own charism, unique tone, and reverence. Whether it be a simple mid-week said liturgy, a meditation group, or a full blown mass setting, there is something at the core of the experience that brings us home and resets our gaze. Thanks be to God.

You are invited to St. John’s Elora this week for any of the following events:

SUNDAY July 26
8:00 Holy Communion
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Communion with Quartet

TUESDAY July 28
5:00 Meditation Group (Parish Centre)

WEDNESDAY July 29
9:30 Circle of Friends (Parish Centre)
10:00 Communion Service

SUNDAY August 2
8:00 Holy Communion (last one until September 6)
9:00 Holy Eucharist
11:00 Choral Communion with Quartet

Come by to visit St. John’s Elora this week.

Paul Walker
Rector of St. John’s Elora

07/20/2026

We all know that The Elora Singers are full of talent, skill, fine tuning, heavenly harmonies and endless energy. What we didn’t know is that with the significantly compromised air quality on Friday they have the ability to completely relocate their whole production team, their audience and themselves from the Gambrel Barn to Melville United Church in Fergus with seamless ease. It was like Elora Singers on tour. Thank you to our friends at Melville United Church for accommodating us on such short notice!

Furthermore, never before in their 47-year history have The Elora Singers performed anything from Madonna. But on Friday evening we heard them sing the hit song, “Like a Prayer.”

Arranged by their own Richard Hrytzak they sang,
“Life is a mys-ter-y
Every-one must stand a-lone
I hear you call my name.
And it feels like… ho-ome.”

Then the choir belted out:
“Just like a prayer, I’ll take you there.”

Well, they took us there!

While all of this was happening, because of the heat, the volunteer ushers - God bless them - were discretely giving out hand-held fans to audience members. It was like the cabin crew on an Air Transat flight offering drinks to passengers and not wanting to disturb their inflight entertainment.

Someone in front of me said, “I’ll take two please… with ice.”

Never again will I complain about the heat in the Gambrel Barn or the cold in St. John’s basement.

As the singers belted out Madonna, the temperature in the church rose and then something remarkable happened. All of these hand-held fans began waving in unison to the beat of Madonna to create this choreographed waft of moving hot air.

It was like The Elora Singers Rave!

Further to this choreographed spectacle, we also learned that, according to the unreliable source of Flanders and Swan, Jenn is “tone deaf.”

Not to worry, Jenn, Christina reminded us of the immortal words from Neil Sedaka,
“Love, will keep us together,”

and Kieren Kane sang from the Bridges of Madison County, “it all fades away.”

So, Jenn, if Mark says you’re in, then you’re in.

Thank you to Mark; Jonathan and Chris, our guest organists; and all the members of The Elora Singers for your outstanding dedication, talent and inspiration to us all during this 47th season of The Elora Festival.

It’s not over yet! There’s still another full week of concerts and events including Evensong with The Elora Singers on Thursday at 5:00pm right here at St John’s Elora.

In her song, “Like a Prayer,” Madonna dreams of her beloved’s voice calling her name to a place called home - it could very well be a divine voice (like it was for Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jonah, Mary, or Paul - they all heard their name being called). So we hear today in our first reading about Jacob in his distress who has a dream calling him to a place that he can only describe as heaven on earth.

“Surely, God was in this place, and I didn’t know it,” he exclaims when he wakes up.

How often is this the case? God is present, fully present to us all the time - that is the promise of Emmanuel - and yet we, like Jacob, are so often unaware of it. We are blinded by our anxieties, our preoccupations, our short-sighted vision, or our egos. God is in this place and we didn’t even know it. God is and we were completely oblivious.

Jacob has every reason to be in distress. He deceived his blind father, Isaac, and with the help of his mother, Rebekah, stole his father’s blessing from his older brother, Esau.

“Run,” his mother says, “get out of here. Your brother is furious and he is going to kill you.”

So Jacob is on the run from home and collapses with exhaustion to fall asleep in the wilderness. This is where Jacob has his dream. In his dream he has a vision of a ladder connecting heaven to earth with the angels of God ascending and descending on the ladder.

God is in this place.

Thousands of years later, when Nathaniel is called by Jesus to follow him, Nathaniel asks Jesus, “where did you get to know me?”

Jesus replies, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

This becomes the moment, like for Jacob, when Nathaniel is called by name and he believes. Jesus says to him, “You will see greater things than these. You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

This point of the heavens being opened will become the crucifixion. Jesus, suspended between heaven and earth on a cross, becomes the vision of Jacob's ladder. God is in this place.

Jacob’s dream becomes a new reality, and the guests at the wedding in Cana, the disciples in the storm, the man born blind, the paralytic at the pool, the multitude in the wilderness, the Roman centurion at the cross, and finally Mary Magdalene at the garden tomb; all of them, like Jacob, will have the same epiphany - that God is in this place. God dwells here with them and they believe it. They are home.

So despite Jacob running away to escape the wrath of his brother, or despite the Hebrew people complaining in the wilderness and longing to be back in Egypt where they were slaves, or despite the fact that Peter denies, Judas betrays, and all of them run away and abandon him, Jesus in today’s gospel reading says, “leave the weeds alone.” It’s an astonishing statement. “Let the wheat and the weeds grow together,” he says.

In all of our lives, there are some unsightly and perhaps noxious habits, thoughts or behaviours. There are beams in our own eyes. But perhaps it is best to leave the delicate task of removing them to the skills of the master gardener who knows the condition of our hearts far better than anyone else.

Jacob, Nathaniel, Peter, and Mary are all examples of people whose lives were filled with both the wheat and the weeds. But God loves them, calls them by name, and promises to be with them. God accompanies them and dwells in their midst so they beheld His glory.

Every so often we are given the grace to see this glory and be reminded of this promise. These moments are glimpses of heaven on earth. We get glimpses of this during this Elora Festival. And when that happens, like Jacob we say, “surely God is in this place.” Then we set up an altar so we can offer our sacrifice of praise. Amen.

Paul Walker
Rector of St John’s Elora

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Second Sunday of The Elora Festival