Wednesday, December 18, 2019 – Advent Four
“But the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.’” (Luke 2:10, New Living Translation) 

                [I am going on a brief Christmas hiatus and will return January 7^th.] 

                She’s made of carboard, burlap, yarn and a bit of cloth but I have known her for 41 years.

                “She” is the little angel which I put at the very top of our Christmas tree every year. I found her in a Zeller’s store during my first Christmas at my first church, Wainfleet Baptist Church. Susan and I were not yet married. But I bought a real Christmas tree and some lights and decorations. And my angel. For some reason, I prefer angels to stars as Christmas tree toppers. Maybe, it is just because I like angels and the wonderful stories they always seem to generate.

                This little angel is not very fancy as some Christmas angels go. But she looks happy and content resting on the very top of our tree. I am sure that she wasn’t very expensive and there may have been a host of other angels just like her at the store. But she has become our little angel, the last decoration which goes on the tree each and every year. I would miss her if she was not there. It’s funny how attached one gets to angels.

                This little angel of ours reminds us, of course, of the role that angels play in the whole Christmas narrative.  An angel or angels visit Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. They are the critical harbingers of what God is about to do for the sake of the world. They carry positive and important messages with promises of Good News, hope, possibility, renewal, birth and new beginnings.

Their mystical presence signals a sacred hand behind the drama which is about to unfold. Their words come straight form a holy source and therefore their presence and voice augment the deeply spiritual and dynamic power that flows throughout the whole Christmas Story.

If you get an angel or two in your church, your front parlour, your bedroom or your workplace, you just better pay close attention. God is not fooling around. This is really important. Angels are not to be ignored.

I am not sure that in this day and age we would know an angel if one came up to us wearing a T-shirt that read, “Hello; I am an angel; do not be afraid.” We tend to ignore, trivialize, dis-believe, de-mythologize, or sentimentalize these strange messengers whom our spiritual forebears seemed to take more seriously. But even they probably did not really expect to encounter angels any more than we do. But whatever the deep origins of this story historically may be, the story could not be told without mentioning that powerful words out of the ordinary were spoken to, experienced by and shared with mere mortals, making the Christmas Story a divinely driven and inspired drama full of wonderful possibilities.

We, the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve, tend to keep angels busy with our messy and complicated lives. They speak up against the sinfulness of our times and our personal lives. They voice God’s concerns over our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. They draw lines against our hopelessness and despair. They remind us that God is still Creator and Sustainer of our lives and the world in which we live. In this case alone, they offer us the promise of a Saviour, someone uniquely of God’s choosing who will liberate us from the worst that may befall us or that which wants to make us fall and fail in some way.

Our little angel will have another busy Christmas watching us from her perch atop the Christmas tree. She reminds me to be alert to the possibility of God’s Voice ringing suddenly in the world to let me know that something out of the ordinary is about to make such a difference like the world has never seen.

May you all have a very blessed Christmas Day!

Dale

Wednesday, December 11, 2019 – Advent Three
“Then the angel said, ‘I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.’” (Luke  1: 19 – 20, New Living Translation) 

                This year, Christmas seems to be coming in a box. Or more accurately, make that plural as in many boxes. Susan has been taking full advantage of on-line shopping and the boxers are piling up. If they start singing to me like in the TV commercial, I may have to lay off the eggnog.

                Of course, plain-old, carboard  boxes hold all sorts of mysteries. Our daughter tells us that our little three-old Spencer is agog at the arrival of boxes in their household. He is dying to know what is in all those boxes. Being told that it is secret, only, I believe, intensifies his curiosity to know what wonderful things may lie therein. His little instincts sense that some of these surprises are probably for him. He can hardly wait for Christmas.

                I, myself, have been known to pinch a gift or two, although truth be told I also enjoy the anticipation and  enjoyment of opening up a gift on Christmas day and being surprised by its contents. It is a joy to share the moment with the family member who has lovingly gone out of their way to make the gift uniquely suit me.

But oh, the mystery of boxes.

Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were getting on in years. They were a very devout and faithful couple, deeply religious it would seem, and I expect at their age it would take a lot to surprise them. One regret was that they had never had children. The timing for that had just about passed them by, so they probably settled into the ruts and routines of their lives, saddened by their barrenness, but content in their stable, steady and constant life.

Then, Gabriel shows up with a “box”!

Since Gabriel can’t keep a Christmas secret,  he tells Zechariah what’s in the box. “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord.” (vss. 13-15)

Sometimes we think of ourselves as too old or too smart or that we have seen everything that we are suspicious of surprise packages, especially of the sacred and incredible kind. There is a little Zechariah in many of us and our first instinct is to greet Good News with skepticism or disbelief, maybe even distrust, the too-good-to-be-true syndrome. “How will I know this is so?” (v.18)

Show us what is really in the box. It’s probably just underwear and socks. (Our family joke about the contents of Christmas presents, when asked.) Maybe some bubble gum. (Ditto.)

Zechariah is looking for assurances and proof – quite natural under the circumstances. He wants to see in the box before he accepts it.

The UPS messenger, Gabriel, is not amused by Zechariah’s suspicious nature and he ends up making Zechariah wait, literally shutting him up until the baby John is born. And then when he understood what’s in this wondrous box – Good News – you can’t shut him up. “Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.” (1:64)

All this drama suggests that we need to be open to the wondrous gift who is delivered to us each and every Christmas – the Good News of Jesus Christ, the unique Son of God, who, himself delivers God’s Love, Grace, Hope, Joy, and Peace to us. Let’s us anticipate with excitement and eagerness the arrival of the One who comes. Don’t settle for this Gift to seem just ordinary or mundane. Angels don’t arrive just everyday with surprise packages that portend so much positive and dynamic energy.

“Because of God’s tender mercy,  

the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, 

and to guide us to the path of peace.” (1:78 -79) 

Dale

Wednesday, December 4, 2019 – Advent Two
“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:14, New Living Translation) 

                I enjoy Christmas music as much as the next person. But if I hear one more rendition of “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” I am looking for a venison stew recipe on-line. One more “Frosty the Snowman” and I am making a slushy or snow-cone. No more chestnuts roasting by the fire or I am chopping down the first chestnut tree I find.

                I have been listening to the Sirius radio station, “Holly”, while I am driving. It can get quite repetitive if you drive long enough and far enough. The problem is, of course, that one particular Christmas song can be recorded by dozens and dozens of different singers and groups. They all seem to have come out with Christmas albums during their careers and all seem to record the same Christmas songs. If I hear one more “Silver Bells” I may go dingy. If one more “Blue Christmas” I may see red. If one more… well, you get the idea.

                I am also intrigued that this station “Holly” is designated as being “Christian” concerning its genre of music. Even as it mind-numbingly celebrates Santa who can’t seem ever to get to town or having a “White Christmas” which just makes Christmas travel plans a headache. Maybe, just maybe, ever once in a blue Christmas there is an actual Christian Christmas carol which directs our attention to the baby Jesus. Fa la la…

                Scrooge, move over, I need a seat.

                But as I think about it, we have heard the angels sing the Glory to God chorus how many times? Our church carols repeat the story ad infinitum. I love Aretha Franklin’s version of “Silent Night” or David Bowie and Bing Crosby sing a duet which combines “Peace on Earth” and “The Little Drummer Boy”.  Often our Christmas carols have depth of meaning and purpose about what God was doing when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  The combination of music and words help us to remember the deep significance of the blessing of incarnation.

                Of course, there was music to celebrate Jesus’ birth. “God has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 40:3). 

There is a deafening cacophony of noise and oral clutter and distracting clamour all around us. It takes a host of an angel choir to break through those fields of racket and confusion. I don’t know how many angels make up a host but I am sure that for us to hear  the message they have for us  they need to be loud, in tune, harmonious and catch our imagination.

This is Good News – how many times do we need to be told or have it sung it to us? This is Good News about God’s favour, God’s love, God’s grace, God’s peace, God’s salvation and God’s future plans for all of God’s Creation. If that doesn’t elicit a “Hallelujah” from us then what will?

 “Sing it over again to me, wonderful words of life.” 

Dale

Wednesday, November 27, 2019 – Advent One
“Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” (Luke 1: 28, New Living Translation) 

                My, how time flies! Where has the year gone? 

I can’t ignore the Christmas ads on TV any more. Christmas is looking at me straight in the face. This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. Thank goodness I have left our outdoor Christmas lights all year on the big fir tree growing on our front lawn. It’s grown quite some more; maybe I should add a few more lights too.

‘Tis the season – here it comes ready or not.

I get a lot less stressed out about this festive season than I used to, before retirement. But I still have some of my mother in me, it seems. Mom would start to worry about which of her three children were going to “have her for Christmas”, usually way too early for any of us really to be thinking about it – like in August. She always told us that she wanted to book her train ticket early. We loved having her at our home over Christmas but she was pretty persistent that each of us take turns and was pretty sure whose turn it was. But she liked to have that “invitation” firmly established in the hearts and minds of her children very early, long before the Christmas season was even a glint in Santa’s eye.

But I am discovering that I, too, like to know the details of our family Christmas plans, whatever they may be, just not quite so early as my mother. I am fairly comfortable as to what the family decides. Just tell me where I am driving to and when. I have no particular Christmas agenda about what, where and with whom but, in part, I want to make sure everybody is covered when it comes to our Christmas celebrations. With our growing families it is becoming harder to guarantee that we all will be able to get together on Christmas Day like before. But I don’t want anyone left behind or left out. I also know this worry is kind of stupid because that is not how our family rolls. Thanks, Mom!

But perhaps, Advent needs a little more of the unpredictable as much as we would like to tie it down to fit our calendars and schedules.  As we unpack the same Christmas tree decorations we have used for years, or bake the same favourite Christmas cookies or light the inevitable Advent candles at church and recall the familiar themes of hope, peace, joy and love, perhaps we could use a healthy dose of mystery, serendipity and surprising grace.

After all, Mary wasn’t just sitting around the house expecting an angel to come visit her and tell her she was to become the mother of the saviour of all humanity.  I am fairly sure that she was gob-smacked by the unlikely and sudden change in her life. Or better yet, God-smacked. There were more questions than answers at this point in the Advent Story. She couldn’t practice her part in this first Christmas pageant. She needed to take it as it unfolded. There were no trains to Bethlehem to buy tickets for.

A life of faith is not always predictable and therefore not always safe and sound as we might hope.  Having God’s favour was going to be a challenge for Mary. It would be demanding of her. It would take her on a totally different life-path than the one she was expecting – settling down with her husband Joseph, raising a family and living a quiet, anonymous life in Nazareth.

Advent is meant to shake us up, sometimes. Advent is meant to alert us to the incredible, the utterly new, the dynamic awesome sovereignty and love of God.  God’s love and grace take us by surprise. You can’t really make arrangements or make plans or book your rooms well ahead in Bethlehem.

Sometimes, God’s favour just leaves one God-smacked.  

Dale

Wednesday, November 20, 2019
“He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20, New Living Translation) 

                When I was about 10 or 11 years old, more or less, I scared my poor, slightly younger cousin nearly out of his wits by terrorizing him with the “details” of the end time, all fire and brimstone, chilling catastrophic end-of-the-world stuff. I had learned my Sunday School lessons all too well as our S.S. superintendent was big on this kind of Jesus-is-coming-soon timeline. I loved my S.S. superintendent, so I was just passing on the message. It was scary stuff for someone of my age; I guess that I wanted someone to be scared with me. It worked!

                I am no longer an apocalyptic enthusiast. Or to put it more succinctly I have a much different understanding and interpretation of the Biblical message about the coming Kingdom of God. Much of the Biblical imagery is indeed drastic in nature, quite vivid and dire. It is very illustrative in this way to get our attention so that we fully understand that God intends a radical, decisive and thorough cosmic re-creation which leads us into his rule of total shalom, justice, harmony, love and grace.  This the Ultimate Vision of God’s New Reality which is full of hope, peace, joy and love (the four traditional themes for Advent).

                I don’t know about you but I am becoming very sick and tried of politics these days, be it global politics or Canadian and American politics or  church politics or the politics of human relationships in general. Not much of it is very pretty, as we have become so divided, hostile, angry, judgmental, confrontational in all spheres of politics. There seems so little respect. Nobody listens politely.  There is little grace in speeches and rhetoric. In this age of social media everybody has an opinion and sends it out in big, bold letters – shaming, bullying, castigating. There is little toleration for different opinions. There is decline in open-mindedness and fairness. Politics in its many forms seems like a battle ground. In all wars people get hurt and wounded.

                So, there is a piece of me who agrees broadly with my choice for today’s text: Come, Lord Jesus! The sooner, the better. We are in dire need of your power to lead us back into righteousness, grace, hope, love, well-being, harmony, positive relationships, justice, forgiveness and all the qualities to turn this world right-side up once again. We are in dreadful need to be find healing for all peoples and all nations. We are in terrible need to eradicate evil, sorrow, pain, shame, brokenness and hatred. We are in abysmal need for renewal, transformation, resurrection, and second birth.

I believe that only you can affect such re-creation. So come, Lord, Jesus, come.

In the meanwhile, I‘ll just wait here while you’re thinking about it. And I will work at getting my little corner of the world ready, doing the right and loving things which you’d expect me to do for you and for others.

I wouldn’t want to be left behind!

Dale

Wednesday, November 13, 2019
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14, New Living Translation) 

                You gotta love our country, Canada.

 No, not the recent early November snowstorm, but that the worst thing we can get our winter knickers all in a knot over is another ignorant thing that Don Cherry  has said which has gotten him fired from Sportsnet. You would have to be living in a bubble if you don’t know the controversial hubbub that his televised, divisive, prejudicial words about immigrants allegedly not wearing poppies has generated.

                I have never ever been a fan of Cherry. Neither his anachronistic social comments nor his outdated views on hockey appeal to me. But he loves the limelight and adulation that he gets from his die-hard fans. In recent interviews he seems to be almost claiming now that he is the victim in all this even though he threw immigrants, his colleagues, his employer, even his precious armed forces all under the bus, one way or the other.  I don’t think Don is that stupid and he knew exactly what he was going to say and when he was going to say it, at the very end of the TV segment when no one would have a chance at any rebuttal. But the world is passing poor Don by and believing in his own power and status he finally crossed the line and went too far.

                One of the arguments being made in his defence is, of course, his right to free speech. If he had not being working for Sportsnet at the time this might work as a defence. But he is accountable to his employer as any of us would be in our work places. But, for the sake of argument, let’s say that at its lowest common denominator, yours or my right to have an opinion is a part of free speech. We might disagree on an issue but each of us has a right to express our personal point of view. This blog is an example off free speech. I will cede the point.

                But I would like to elevate the concept of free speech beyond just being able to say any darn old thing we feel like.

                Grumpy, ornery, old, white males aside I (and I can be one of them), free speech at its very best comes with responsibility and accountability. Simply put, we should think before we speak and like our mothers taught us, if we haven’t got anything good to say keep it to yourself. We are responsible for our words and the effects our words have on others. I have said and written enough stupid things in my life that I know of what I write. Once those words get out there in public domain, we can’t take them back and our words may have the consequences of hurting, insulting, demeaning or simply being outright wrong. There is an old saying, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt."

                Free speech does not entitle us to blind ignorance, abusive language, speaking blatant untruths or making sweeping generalizations and treating them as some sort of “honest”, personalized or patriotic gospel. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29, New International Version) In other words free speech, at its best, is honorable, trustworthy, has integrity and is, therefore, worth listening to.

                Exercising free speech is hard. It should be.  Our words matter.  Great freedoms come with great responsibilities. “The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” (Matthew 12:37, NLT)

                Mark my word! 

Dale

               

Wednesday, November 6, 2019
“But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.” (Romans 8:25, New Living Translation) 

                I am not a patient person. I don’t generally like waiting for anything.

                If I had been a test subject in the Stanford University Marshmallow Test I can tell you what I would have done. This is test in which children were offered a small reward, one marshmallow, to eat immediately or wait a mere 15 minutes and get two such rewards. The study revealed that children who waited, i.e. delayed gratification, were more likely to have better long-term life outcomes.

                Not me, boy! I’m stuffing that marshmallow down ASAP. Who knows when the next one might show up, if it all? Don’t trust those sneaky researchers one bit!

                Patiently waiting is not my style.

                “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14, NLT) I just as soon that the Lord would hurry up. The suspense is killing me. One day may be ten thousand to the Lord, but I just don’t have that kind of time.

                So when I was told yesterday that I might have to wait up to two years for my shoulder surgery, I was not a happy camper. (Peterborough has one of the highest rates for waiting times for replacement surgeries in the province.)  But a lot of stuff can happen in two years. I am not getting any younger. That’s a lot of tubes of Voltaren cream and taking Tylenol-3 pills. I’ve got places to be, things to do; grandchildren to wrestle with and play catch with. Two years – yikes!

                We live in a time of instant gratification. Some  us get impatient if our coffee takes more than 30 seconds to brew or our micro-waved food is longer than a few minutes in the making. We expect our parcels to arrive the next day after we have ordered them. Our messages to each other come in a flash of a second or two. When I hit start on my computer it had better be ready to go as quickly as possible. Most of us want life’s better things to happen sooner than later; we want it now, without delay and with as little inconvenience as it possibly can. We want results and we want them today, maybe right  this minute, if possible.

                I am not sure that Life always really needs to be lived in the fast lane, but sometimes it is really hard to move over to the far right, slower lane and enjoy some of the scenery or, at least, not be so stressed.

                Mind you, Paul is not writing about anything so mundane as a marshmallow or an Amazon parcel. He is reflecting on a time - and this is God’s version of time, not ours - in which, once and for all, Creation is freed from all futility, brokenness and decay. It will be a time of healing, restoration, recreation.  It is a time for the success of salivation and a new order of peace and justice. The mere hope for this time has remedial affects upon us in the present, even as we wait.

                Good things, often, need time to work out is own processes at its own pace so as to develop properly and in a healthy way.

“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” (Romans 8: 26-28 The Message)

                This attitude of waiting until it hurts is a part of faith, having the ultimate trust in the Love of God so that nothing can overwhelm us or pervert the good that will, one day, come our way.

                Life is good and we should live it to the fullness that God intends. But it also can be a waiting room, leading us on to another adventure of being and a new reality.

Wait for it!

Dale

Wednesday, October 30, 2019
“Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.” (Luke 11:35), New Living Translation) 

                Happy Samhain to you all!

                The ancient Celtic festival of Samhain preceded the celebration of Halloween but the latter maintained many of the properties and characteristics that we associate with our version. Early Christianity created its own version of this end of summer event in order to Christianize and eventually  replace Celtic beliefs and customs. They also added an All-saints Day on November 1.

                Samhain was seen as a very sacred, supernatural and dangerous time of the year, also falling on October 31.  As the darkness and accompanying death of summer wrought by winter began to invade the land, people believed that last day of October marked a time when the space between the spirit world and the living world became very thin. Malevolent or mischievous spirits would cross over and wreak their nastiness. Trick or treat anyone?

The Britannica describes Samhain as “a time fraught with danger, charged with fear, and full of supernatural episodes. Sacrifices and propitiations of very kind were thought to be vital for without them the Celtics believed they could not prevail over the perils of the season or counteract the activities of the deities.” (Britannica Website)

I am not a superstitious person. I enjoy fantasy stories of magic, wizardry, dragons, and the like but it is not called “fantasy” for nothing. I do like to think that  there are mysteries and wonders and amazing events that can leave us agog and awed at how all of Creation works. Science still hasn’t it all figured out either. I doubt that it ever will. In fact, I hope not. I like a little mystery and even the thrill of the unknown or not-yet. It keeps us humble!

But we should be very  attuned to these times which are fraught with danger, not so much by goblins and ghouls but by the darkness of the evil which humankind can engender all by ourselves, often without much prompting from the Evil One, although  I am sure that Satan enjoys our proclivities for causing the sinful damage we bring into the world. The Devil may have made us do it, but it didn’t take much encouragement. The space between good and evil is very thin at times.

 It is easy to allow the monsters of formed by our actions, words,  even thoughts leak into the real world and cause it bedlam.

Perhaps, this is why, in Galatians, Paul included “sorcery” or “witchcraft” as in some versions in a whole host of all too human traits such as “sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,  idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5: 19 -21)

                Now that’s scary – to live a life that is so full of fear, anger, pain and hatred that it possesses i.e. takes over, your whole life and dictates how you live. And we miss out on a truly blissful sort of living.  It is demonic in spirit to see others as only strangers, alien and as enemies.  It is eerie how some people can lead such hurtful and selfish lives in a world which, especially right now, needs the potent powers of love, forgiveness, hope, reconciliation and justice.

                Better to be a saint on November first and beyond than just a phantom of what God intends  us to be. 


Dale

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures.” (Psalm 104:24, New Living Translation) 

                All things bright and beautiful,
                All creatures great and small,
                All things wise and wonderful,
                The Lord God made them all. (C.F. Alexander)

                When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a veterinary. I even worked for a few weeks for the local vet in Belleville under an internship grant. It was fascinating. In just a couple of weeks I experienced many facets of veterinary medicine. And I have several quite memorable stories that came out of even such a short time.

Once we went to a farm to castrate some pigs.  Usually, this is done when they are quite small, just a few days old or so.  When we got to the farm, we discovered that we were dealing with much older porkers, each weighing maybe around a 100 pounds or more, making the task extremely difficult. Our solution, crude but effective, was to rope them around the back legs, throw the rope over a barn ceiling beam and hoist them up, leaving their back side exposed to do the deed.  There is nothing quite so ear-splitting as a squealing pig. And we had about a dozen we had to nip and tuck.

Susan and I have become addicted to several of the reality vet shows on TV: The Incredible Dr. Pol, Dr. Oakley the Yukon Vet and Dr. K’s Animal ER. I now know more about the insides of cows, pigs, horses, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, rabbits, even lizards and tortoises than you could imagine and you might not want to. Some of it is quite graphic. They don’t save every animal. Dr. Pol is a 76-year-old doctor in Michigan, but as strong as some of the big animals he tends to.  He’s old-school when it comes to practicing veterinary medicine and a lot of things he can tell simply by touch and feel and by just looking at something.

Our pets are very precious to us. It is amazing to go into a pet food store and see aisles full of various sorts of just dog food alone. One pet food company in the United States generated 18 billion dollars in sales in 2018. And we pet owners know that a vet bill can easily soar into the hundreds of dollars. Yet, generally speaking, we will go to such lengths if there is even a small chance we can save our pets. Non-pet owners may think we’re crazy in the way we pamper our pets.  There is hardly a client on the vet shows who doesn’t say something to the effect that their pet is like their  child or is part of the family or a best friend or some other sentimental notion. Even some of the farmers have some warmth for their cows.

Maybe we are just a little bit crazy.

Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1: 24 – 25)

God then made humanity to become good stewards of all  these  creatures, both domestic and wild, as well as the  birds of the air and fish of the sea. Creation is good and we should do a far better job of maintaining it and grooming it and providing for all of its welfare.  A farmer who doesn’t look after his cattle, keep them well-fed and cared for, tending to them if sick, keeping their shelter clean  and pest  free will eventually lose  his  or her very livelihood.

So too, all of us need to care about what is happening to our planet. We have slowly been killing our earthly home. If you don’t believe that climate change is real, you should. When God gave us dominion over this world and its creatures he didn’t mean for us to run it into the ground but to nurture and tend to its well-being. As one bumper sticker has it: There is no Plan(et) B.

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who has done all things well.

Dale

Wednesday, October 16, 2019
“I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16, New Living Translation)


                It is a rainy, gloomy, almost bleak, day here in Peterborough. The day began in the near-dark when I got up. Now that Thanksgiving is over, the days seem to get shorter even faster. Today’s weather seems a precursor to the dull days of November when even the colourful leaves are gone. I have put on my SAD light as I write. Even the dogs are curled up and listless. This is definitely not my favourite time of year.

                Have I brought you down now, too? Misery loves company, so they say.

                It seems too early in the season to be so thirsty for light. There is, of course, always the optimism that it will return. Tomorrow may be sunny and bright, I hope. In a few months (!) the days will get longer once again. New life blossoms out of the cold and snow – eventually. But right now, in the moment, let me just say it – bleah!

                Isaiah was speaking to a people who were walking in their own brand of darkness called Exile, forced to live as immigrants in another country, far from home and familiar customs. One might argue that they brought this misery upon themselves by their idolatry and faithlessness. Be it as that may, it was a bleah existence as expressed by Psalm 137: “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:1, NLT)

                Yet, as often is the case, God shines a new light on the situation.  It will not continue to be so dark. New hope is on the horizon.  Fresh possibilities are just around the corner.  Brighter days are coming. God speaks through his prophet to paint a picture of encouragement and inspiration. God has seen the situation that they are in and now wants to lead them out of these dark times and re-establish his light within their community and fellowship. As much as God is irritated and provoked by the people’s worship of other gods, he can’t and won’t forsake them and leave them in the dark. “I will not forsake them.”

                This a substantial commitment from God; not just wild-eyed optimism nor wishful thinking. It is a promise full of grace and confidence. It has the assurances of a loving God who, after discipline, throws his arms around his prodigal people to guide them and lead them home once again. “Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.” (Psalm 139:12, NLT)

                I expect that there were Jewish people of that time in that foreign space who scoffed and scorned such words. Who could blame them, really?  In general, life wasn’t very sunny at all and getting back home seemed highly unlikely.

                But to some degree, that very darkness makes the words that much more powerful and dynamic. Such words seem incredible and wondrous and daring and bold and audacious. It’s like waiting in the pitch darkness in a wilderness, lost and all alone, desperate and helpless, and then seeing a beam from a flashlight, heading your way, finding you. Someone is coming with a light to show the way out of those dire circumstances. The wielder of that light has come to save you. That light washes away your despair, fears and the darkness. What a feeling!

                So, I am reminded and  I am reminding you to trust in the Light when the roads are bumpy and there are nothing but blind corners and nothing looks too bright. God has not forsaken you or me. God has not given up in finding us. God has not  left us in the dark.  “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119: 105, NLT)


Dale      

               

Wednesday, October 9, 2019
“O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” (Psalm 95:2 New Revised Standard Version)


                “Let the chaos begin!”

                Those were the emailed words of our oldest son, Nick, as the whole Soble tribe prepares to trek to Godrich for Thanksgiving celebrations. By whole tribe, I do mean all 15 of us, including nine adults, four boys under the age of six, and two new-borns. Only the dogs are staying behind, although we may get a visit from Finzi, Maggie’s Newfoundland dog. We have rented a huge, century home which we have rented before. It has several bedrooms, two living rooms, a large study, a huge dining room, and a large kitchen – lots of room for everyone and then some. It’s quite the mansion. The kids could get lost in the house  and not be seen for hours.

                My annual hunt for a humongous turkey of close to 30 pounds was over before it ever started. Last month, I was in a local grocery store and discovered that they had three or four of the extra big, frozen birds. So, we bought one and it will join the festivities in its own sort of way. I am very grateful for its sacrifice.

                A gathering of the Soble clan is always a boisterous, noisy, animated event. “Let the chaos begin!”

                The Psalmist invites us to make a joyful noise. It becomes part of the thanksgiving procession into God’s presence. The worshippers can’t contain their excitement, their ebullience, their joy, their enthusiasm in knowing that they are loved by God. They want to shout it out to the roof tops, and their hearts are full of God’s grace and goodness.

Maybe, it had been a good harvest year. Maybe, for the moment, all was good and right in the world. Maybe, everyone was having a taste of prosperity and, for once, there was enough to go around for everyone. There is obviously a spirit of confidence, of well-being, of assurance and peace. “For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” (95:7, NRSV) Life is good and the people want to make a joyful noise of thanksgiving in appreciation and gratitude.

There are, of course, many Psalms which give voice to times that are sour and bitter.  But even many of those climb out of their despair and angst and find new hope and fresh trust.

I have often told the story of the homeless man who came to the men’s shelter in Ottawa. As he was being served dinner, he couldn’t contain himself so that he stood up and told everyone how grateful he was and how fortunate he was that he could have a hot meal and a roof over his head for the night.  Make a joyful noise, indeed!

Some families have a custom at Thanksgiving dinner of going around the table just before grace is said and each person has to say one thing that they are thankful for. We don’t do that at our thanksgiving table but we do hold hands around the table and say a grace that has been the Soble grace since our own kids were small. “God is good; God is great; thank you for our food. Amen.” When there are thirteen voices, big and small, chiming in it is a joyful noise expressing our thankfulness for the gifts of love, laughter, health and new life that has come during the year. God is indeed good!

So, go and find something which will elicit a joyful noise out of you. Don’t hold it in. Give voice to it. Let God know; let someone else know. Come on, let it out. I know it’s in you. Don’t be shy. Try a “Hallelujah!”

                “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.” (Psalm 100:1)

                Louder! I can’t hear you!

Dale

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.” (Philippians 4:11, New Living Translation) 

Allow me to describe a moment of perfect, blissful contentment.

We were visiting Erin and the boys in Mississauga on Sunday while Nick and his brother, Nate, were off to close up the cottage over the weekend. Susan and the two older boys were playing a video game in William’s bedroom. The boys love playing “Plants and Zombies” with grandma. I was holding one-month old Beckett who had fallen asleep in my arms. So, Erin used the peace and quiet for a quick nap of her own.

Soon, I  had stretched out the sofa and Becket remained fast asleep, lying on my chest, cradled in my arms.  Both he and I were perfectly content in that moment. I, for one, couldn’t have asked for anything more right then. The occasion brought me joy and satisfaction.

How do you define contentment?

I suspect we all have different and varied definitions as to what might make us feel contented. Perhaps it’s some job or task well done or finally completed. Maybe, it’s that cup of coffee while sitting on a deck watching a sunset. Or enjoying a good restaurant meal with your best friend or loved one. Maybe, it’s an inspiring worship service. Or solving a problem. Perhaps it’s good day in which our aches and pain have eased for while. Or hearing good news. Or experiencing a moment in which we feel loved or special.

Contentment is not as easy to come by as we would like and therefore it is special and treasured when it happens.  Rarely, is the best contentment rooted in the stuff of materialism and consumerism which is  more likely  to make us restless,  malcontented and greedy for more. Just the constant desire alone to acquire all that we can is a bumpy road to real contentment. “So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” (1 Timothy 6:8 NLT)

Contentment can’t be forced or coerced out of a situation. It doesn’t have to be generated by anything which is momentous or monumental but can be inspired by something simple, ordinary or everyday. It is a moment of grace and gift. There may even be a hint of sacredness or holiness about it, making the moment transcend the ordinariness of it all. One becomes acutely aware that this occasion is uniquely special and satisfying. It evokes a sense of gratitude and appreciation. Contentment calls out the best in us and infuses us with a spirit of shalom or well-being.  “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” (1 Timothy 6:6, NLT)

Contentment is no something to be taken for granted. Enjoy! Take pleasure; find peace; absorb it; remember. You can recall it in times of stress and upheaval. It can offer a reservoir of hope and possibility in times of challenge or distress.

We need to continue Paul’s thought from out text above. “I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4: 12 -13, NLT) With a little help from his friends and an active faith and trust in God through Jesus Christ Paul discovered that contentment was measured by different standards or values than the busy demanding,  hectic world was offering. It gave him a freedom to accept whatever life had in store and strength to overcome and an inner peace that saw him through the lean times as well as the good times.

Peace be with you! 

Dale

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

“Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.” (Proverbs 20:4) 

              

              Autumn arrived on Monday morning at the ungodly hour of 3:50 a.m. I’m not sure how the experts in such things figure out such an exact time.  Perhaps the angel to whom God has assigned the seasons looks at his watch and slaps his forehead and exclaims, “Yikes, I almost forgot. It’s supposed to be Fall!” Then, Zap! Just like that, it’s Autumn, whatever time of day and night. (I imagine it’s more scientific than that, probably something to do with what time the sun crosses a certain point of magnitude or altitude of planet earth, but I like my explanation better.)

                But it must be Fall. It’s much cooler, so much so that I have pulled out my long sleeve shirts and put away my shorts. The leaves are suddenly turning colour. Concord grapes and fresh crisp apples are in the stores.  There have been a couple of days during September already that I have had to turn on the fireplace in the family room and even switched the thermostat over to heat mode. The kids are back in school. The new TV season has finally premiered.  The Halloween decorations and candies are in the stores. Canadian Tire is cleaning out its gardening and patio supplies. And, oh yes, it’s only 3 months to the day when it will be Christmas.

                Yep, it’s Fall. It used to be my favorite season of the year. (Spring now gets the edge.)  My church was gearing up and new things were starting. Autumn life had a familiar pattern of anticipation and eagerness as the lazy, hazy days of summer became a fond memory. For me, I looked ahead in the church year which was about to unfold, and although sometimes the beginnings of a new church year might sputter and hesitate, by Thanksgiving, my favourite holiday of the year, things were kicking into gear.

I also enjoyed the crisper, cooler Fall air compared to the heat and humidity of the summer. I loved all the colours of Fall and the aromas and tastes that came with harvests of fruits and vegetables. And despite Winter just around the corner and the days getting shorter there has always been a sense of joy and satisfaction about the season this time of year.

Mark Buchanan wrote that Fall is a perfect time for gathering.  It is a time to celebrate the efforts of our hard work that has led to fruitfulness and productivity. It is a time to rejoice in the cornucopia of bounty and plenty by which most of us are blessed. Many of us have worked hard and long and consequently we are rewarded with the satisfaction and gratification of a life well-lived.

 I would add that it becomes a good time to share this gracious abundance with those who have far less, allowing them to get in on the season of thanksgiving and joy.

The apostle Paul wrote that well-known adage, “the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6, New Revised Standard Version). It is another way of expressing our proverb at the top of the page. To get good results one must put in the good effort. Entitlement, that attitude that seems to believe that one simply deserves or merits reward or success without putting in the sweat and blood, is not a biblical concept. The goodness of life usually comes out of intentional planning, preparation, doing and often in cooperation with others.  Success in life does not happen by magic and pixie dust.

                “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing.” (Galatians 6:9, NLT)

                Doing what is good – that’s very important. Not delaying doing what is good, but doing good from the start, waking up each day and anticipating that there may be some opportunity to do good and make a difference.

                We reap what we sow. “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” (Luke 6:38, NLT)

Dale

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

“But God told Samuel, “Looks aren’t everything. Don’t be impressed with his looks and stature. I’ve already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7, The Message Bible)

[We are delighted to announce the safe and healthy arrival of our granddaughter, Amelia Susan Costa, on September 12^th, a daughter for Katie and Gary Costa and a sister for Spencer. Double yeah!! 

                Groan! Another federal election campaign has begun.

                Not that I don’t appreciate my freedom to vote, but I cringe at the political rhetoric that has begun, especially the attack ads on TV. You hear so little about actual policies, platforms and plans but too much about how the other party or candidate is not worthy of our votes. It is far worse in the United States when it comes to attack ads, really vicious and over-the-top. But I confess that when political ad come on TV I either mute them or change the channel.

It has become very hard to make a well-informed decision based on the information we get through the various media sources. So much of it is slanted one way or another. We have found out that social media can be manipulated and abused. We need to be very cautious before we believe anything we read or see. Elections seem to be more about personality and popularity or lack thereof than making choices based on realistic and fundamental platforms and policies.

The cynical among us don’t believe anyway in the promises and platitudes that rise up over the election period. If one politician says that the sky is blue, it seems almost mandatory that the other candidate will say that the sky is gray. Politics seems to be only about winning, no matter how. Campaigns seem based on pragmatism and appealing to the lowest common denominator, and creating the worst impressions about the other party, leader or candidate as successfully as possible.

When Israel needed a new king, Samuel was tasked with looking over the sons of Jesse for credible candidates. The first seven sons would have seemed to have all the best credentials – strong, handsome, battle-tested, confident, experienced in the ways of the world. But Samuel kept working down the line and couldn’t find the ideal candidate among the young men. He asked Jesse if he had any other sons.  Yes, he did; the youngest, so young that he hadn’t even been invited to the party but had been relegated to tending the sheep out in the wilderness.

He was the least and the last. But he was the right One.

He was not without some appealing physical features – her had beautiful eyes – but this was not why he was chosen to become the next king.  Perhaps God appreciated that David was not yet a finished product like his militarized brothers. It may be that God saw in David a project, someone to develop, shape, reform and prepare to be the sort of leader that God’s people deserved and needed.

So this shepherd boy eventually became the King that became a model for all future kings; some who failed miserably, others who succeeded better. David’s kingship, at its best, became the ideal for Messiahship and influenced how we interpret Jesus. Not bad for a shepherd boy! David was far from perfect but his love for God and the people was still an indelible part of his leadership.)

Through this incident and by God’s words we are reminded there is more to a person that their outer appearances. We should not be judge people based on their looks, the colour of their skin, the shape of their eyes, the clothes they wear, the gender they are born with, their age or nationality. It’s what is on the inside that matters far more. What makes them tick? Are they good people? Do they care about others? Do they practice what they preach? Have they a strength of character, values and principles that speak louder than looks?

We need to get beyond the superficial and shallow criteria which we may tend to use in our relationships or understanding about others. It is about what is in the other’s heart that should transcend our reactions and responses to other people. If we must judge  - and Jesus is quite clear that judging is a fool’s game -  the qualities we use are intrinsically found  in a person’s character and actions.

To paraphrase a credit card ad. It’s not about what’s in your wallet  but “What’s in your soul?”

Dale

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’  So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order.  Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.” (Luke 11: 24 – 27, The Living Translation) 

Wasps – the horror sequel!

Last week, I told you about my battle with a frenzy of wasps which had made itself at home through a small niche in the brickwork near the front stoop. They had not read the fine print in their lease that they were supposed to leave humans alone and one stung me in the neck. I thought that I had sufficiently sprayed and sealed their entryway. Problem solved!

It turns out that wasps are not too keen on eviction notices, either. They have simply moved down the outer wall and are now using a new crevice to get into their nest somewhere in the garage. Moreover, where the first group of wasps were small but nasty, these wasps are bigger, heavy-duty dive bombers, foul tempered and stubbornly ill-willed. They won’t go away no matter how often I spray. I have another hole to seal.

I started the allegorical conversation that Sin is a lot like a nest of wasps which invade our personal space. It starts out with one or two but soon you have to deal with the constant presence of a swarm of sins lodging in your life and that, eventually, will get you stung. If you put off dealing with the negative issues, the bad attitudes, and crude behaviour which are messing up your life it will only get worse.

But Jesus reminds us through his parable as to how difficult it can be to rid ourselves of those offensive bits of life.  My wasps kept coming back to their old entryway and before long they figured out that  there was an other way in. Now I still have wasps and they’re bigger and worse and nastier than ever. Our sins can suddenly rear their ugly heads when we least expect and return to inflict their buzzing, stinging ways back into our lives. One sin is dealt with and seven take its place, right when we though everything was “all swept and in order.”

“Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Genesis 4:7, NLT)

It would have been helpful if Jesus had immediately given a 12-Step programme about how we might combat the return of sins in our lives, but he doesn’t. So we have to glean a strategy from other things he said at other times. I think one of the chief things he would recommend is for us to turn our energy into good works or what I prefer to call fruitfulness. We need to choose intentional, willful, deliberate acts to do and create goodness in our corners of the world.

The apostle Paul stated it this way, “And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God…But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.” (Colossians 3:5,8 The Message Bible)

That is not enough alone, so he adds, since we have been given a second chance, a rebirth, because of Jesus Christ, we need to choose to make the most of it.  “So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” (Colossians 3: 12- 14, The Message Bible)

I am not sure that love is going to work with my wasps but I am sure and do believe that God’s Love for us and our Love for God and others can repair and seal our lives from harm.

Dale

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

“For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.” (1 Corinthians 15:56, New Living Translation) 

                [Good News! Susan and I are proud to announce the safe and healthy arrival of our fifth grandson, Becket Clark Nicholas Soble, a son for Nick and Erin Soble and a  brother to William and Henry -  last Wednesday, August 28. Yeah!!!]

                I haven’t been stung by a wasp or hornet or bee since I don’t know when.

                But over the summer, wasps have been building a nest near our front stoop. Somehow, they took notice of a very small chink in the bottom row of bricks. At first, it was only one or two and I didn’t worry too much about it. But since we have got back from our vacation in early August, there have been dozens  flying in and out of that tiny hole. I really don’t know how they all squeezed into that hole; perhaps their entrance led into some larger area in the partitions of the garage. But their numbers were increasing like crazy.

                In my usual procrastination, I didn’t do anything about the wasps when I should have.  If they left me alone, I would leave them alone. They’re God’s creatures, too. But this week, the frenzy of wasps flying all around our front door couldn’t be ignored any longer. (A collection of wasps is only called a “group” but I think it should be a ”frenzy”.)

Somebody was going to be stung.

                That would be me.

On the very day (Tuesday) that I was planning to deal with the problem, as I was coming in, I was stung by one of the critters. Fortunately, I am not allergic to stings, but this one hurt like crazy especially at the first and did so for the rest of the day.

                It serves me right for putting off dealing with the problem,  especially much, much earlier, probably as far back as when I first noticed the first ones hovering around, checking out the real  estate values of the property.

                Once stung, I “leapt” into action, applying chemical warfare and then sealing the niche in the brick with a special compound meant to seal off and discourage insects. There are still one or two buzzing around, trying to figure out a way back in. Better late than never, I suppose.

                There is a sort of parable in this story.

                It is so easy to ignore those little one or two sins that creep into our lives. They don’t really cause us many problems. So, we put off dealing with the faults and poor choices that are buzzing around our lives.  The don’t seem too serious; we can manage them; maybe they will “fly” away.

                Yet, somehow, these little problems and small acts of sinfulness find tiny little chinks in our moral foundations and begin to nest there. Soon, before we know it, they begin to multiply and take up more space. And when we ignore that they are posing a threat to our behaviour, our thoughts, our actions they have lodged themselves more permanently than we could ever have imagined way back when.

                It becomes much harder to deal with such sinfulness. Eventually, we will get stung by Sin and its various aggressive, worker wasps. Jesus mentioned a few of these waspish characteristics when he said, “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” (Mark 7: 21 – 23, NLT)

                Then, we have to be very radical in our eradication of these things, sealing up the little chinks and crevices which   allowed such things to gain access into our lives to begin with. But it has to be done or we will get stung by the consequences and will pay the penalty of our neglect and experience the stinging pain of the costs of failure to deal with these traits.

                We are not alone in this challenge. God, especially in the presence of Jesus Christ, is on our side. God has given us spiritual guidance, moral strength  and clear direction as to how to deal with Sin and its stinging ways.

                “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” (Philippians 4: 8 – 9, The Message) 

Dale