Wednesday, January 27, 2021

“Seventy years are given to us!   Some even live to eighty... Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” (Psalm 90: 10, 12, New Living Translation)

                 “He liveth long who liveth well; All other life is short and vain.” Words of a 19^th Century hymn by Horatio Bonar.

                Today is the celebration of the ninetieth birthday of the Rev. Dr. Bruce W. Neal, more affectionately and appreciatively known as Dad to Susan (and to me) or Grandpa  to a gaggle of grandchildren and a Great-Grandpa  to a bevy of great grandchildren.

                He will be graciously modest to a fault about his legacy.  But he is regarded as one of the better preachers of his generation, eloquent, thoughtful, creative, evocative. He has served in some of our principal Baptist churches of his time as their pastor. He has written several books, the latest a collection of sorts of some of his pastoral thinking. He played a key role in the founding of the Canadian Food Grains Bank programme. He has been a leader in our Baptist Convention and the Canadian Baptist Federation (now Canadian Baptist International Ministries) in so many ways for so many years.

 I may be biased but I consider him among the remaining few of our true, elder Baptist statesmen.  He has been a mentor and teacher to many a pastor, myself included. He is deeply respected and esteemed by those of us who are old enough to know and have experienced his work and leadership. With his beloved partner, Barbara Neal, by him all the time, he has left an indelible mark on Baptist life. The shrill, young pastoral turks who are out, these days, trying to make a name for themselves, could learn a thing or two from this gracious, wise and level-headed Christian.

I have known Bruce even before I married his oldest daughter. Then, he officiated at our wedding, after walking Susan down the aisle first.  So, I have had an extra, personal glimpse into the person and character of the man. I have seen him unshaven and wearing his old work clothes while chopping wood at their cottage. I have seen him nestle and snuggle with grandchildren. I have seen him in his bathrobe and slippers.  I have watched sports with the man and I can’t really fault him for being a Maple Leafs’ fan.  (Nobody is perfect.)  I have never seen him overtly angry, although he does have clear opinions about many issues. He has listened patiently and probably bemusedly to some of my many rants and postulations over the years.

It is hard to grow in wisdom as the Psalmist has prayed  in Psalm 90.  The Psalm is a hard look at the realties of life, recognizing that no one lives forever and no one lives a trouble-free life. But if one lives with integrity, has a love of God, shows a passion for the things of God, then there is the beauty of waking up each and every morning with the prayer, “Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.” (Ps.90: 14)

We rejoice that Dad Bruce is in pretty good health for an ol’ guy. We pray that he will be around for some time yet. But he is a gentle reminder that a life  lived well is a key to the joys of living long.

“Fill up each hour with what will last; Buy up the moments as they go; The life above, when this is past, is the ripe fruit of life below.”

Happy Birthday, Dad!

 Dale

 

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

“He (Josiah) did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right.” (2 Kings 22: 2) 

                There is an old Chinese saying that goes, “We live in interesting times.”

                I have the Inauguration of Joe Biden running in the background as I write this. CNN keeps incessantly making the point that this stage at the Capital building was the same site of the mob attack just two weeks ago. I am not too sure what CNN is going to do once they don’t have Donald Trump to bash around. Even today, they are savaging the soon-to-be former President, and justly so. Still, the commentators seem hard-pressed to turn away from the sins and evil of the former and instead focus on the possibilities and potential of the new.

                This modern scenario reminded me of the opinions of the writers of biblical history regarding their succession of their kings. You could argue that there were two categories. The first was describing a king as one “who did right in the sight of the Lord”. The other condemns any king “who did evil in the Lord’s sight.” Josiah was an example of the former. King Omri was an example of the latter. In fact, he was accused of doing evil “even more than any of the kings before him.” (1 Kings 16: 30, NLT)

                Feel free to make your own comparisons.

                It was even said of  Josiah that, to his credit, he followed the example of his ancestor King David. David was the role model for Jewish Kingship. It feeds the image of Messiahship in Jewish hope. David has always been lifted up as the ideal of a good king.

                But David was far from perfect. He was adulterous. He arranged for his lover’s husband to be killed in battle. He had a unstable family, as evidence by his son Absalom’s violent coup attempt.

                Any leadership role is tough. Good leadership is even tougher. Godly leadership may be nigh impossible.

                Whether one is a pastor of a church, the mayor of a city, the premier of a province or a national leader, or the chairperson of the local stamp club, stumbles are always a part, too, of our legacies. In this day and age of Social Media, our gaffs, mistakes, sins and bad choices are given instant celebrity or notoriety. Criticism and outrage, censure and contempt, are but a Tweet away.

                Joe Biden started his day in church. That’s a good start. But it means nothing if his faith does not shape, inform and support him as he now exercises his leadership role. I pray that he will do what is right in the sight of the Lord. But it won’t be easy. He will make mistakes. To err is human, to forgive is divine. He, as any and all leaders do, needs our prayers.

 

Dale      

 

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

“If you’re not on my side, you’re the enemy; if you’re not helping, you’re making things worse.” (Luke 11: 23, The Message Bible) 

{Susan had successful knee replacement surgery yesterday and is now on the road to recovery. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers, please.}

                 Like many of you, I watched, with fascination and no little horror, the siege of the American Capitol building in Washington, last week. One thing I can say is that it surely took my mind off the pandemic news for a while.

                There were many disturbing sights throughout the whole melee. But one in particular dismayed and disgusted me.

                One individual was waving a huge flag above the heads of the mob. The only word emblazoned on that banner was “Jesus.” Yuck! As a Christian I am deeply offended by this action. As a person who proclaimed and demonstrated peace, love, forgiveness, non-judgmentalism and love, even for enemies,  Jesus would have not participated in such an attack.

                In Jesus’ own time and place, there were many Jewish zealots whose only passion was to overthrow the Roman rule of government. These groups led revolts, insurrections and used violence as a means of opposition.  Sometimes, the leaders thought themselves to be the Messiah, come to free Israel. The harsh Roman might crushed these groups. None of them ever succeeded.

                Jesus was quite different in word and deed. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” he once said. I am sure that those were words which the zealots did not want to hear. “Love your enemies,” was another approach to standing up for his personal principles and freedom. In the Gospels, he mixes with even Roman soldiers and military leaders. He may have disliked the Roman Empire as thoroughly as any Jew but he adopted the ethic of non-violence and used words and actions to offer a daily alternative to live under its thumb.

                We all may be guilty to some degree of trying to co-opt Jesus into supporting our causes, belief systems, lifestyles, politics, arguments and choices. We want Jesus to justify what we say and do. We want Jesus to verify our prejudices, dislikes, hatreds and opinions. We want Jesus to beat up those whom we are against and condemn those who, in our eyes, have earned their ticket to hell. Self-righteousness just loves Jesus to pieces!

                “I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.” (John 12:47, NLT) Maybe, there’s hope for that Jesus-banner waver.

                “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37, NLT) Then again, maybe not, but it won’t be up to me to decide their fate either way.

                Jesus did occasionally talk about the violence that faith in him may initiate. But it needs to be stressed that Jesus’ followers don’t foment that violence or retaliate when it happens. It is violence that is perpetrated against us because we believe in and follow Jesus. The strongest political statement that he made was to Pilate, that even in the face of his crucifixion, Pilate’s definition of power and Jesus’ definition of power were miles apart. “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36, NLT) It is a radical statement, not backed by violence, hatred and enmity but by his non-violent acceptance of the worse that the Romans could do to him i.e. crucifixion, and still have the final victory, i.e. Resurrection. Not so much as raised a fist, but lifted up life.

                Last week’s action by that Jesus-flag bearer  was blasphemous, heretical -and a violation of the ethics of Kingdom-living under the banner of Jesus Christ.

Jesus must weep, somedays.

Dale

 

Wednesday, January 6, 2021
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.” (Luke 16: 10, New Living Translation)

                Drop the microphone! The New Year has started out really well. This week, I actually was able to open a large jar of  Vlasic dill pickles. Victory is mine!

                Now, you may be thinking “So what?” or “Big deal!” Opening a jar of dill pickles seem pretty small potatoes or small cucumbers. There is a serious pandemic going on, so who cares about something so mundane and inconsequential?

                Stay with me.

                For the longest while, I have not had the ability to open any jar of pickles.  I had not enough strength because of the arthritis and the subsequent pain from my shoulders. The Vlasic jar was especially difficult. – like it was glued on. If I really wanted that dill pickle, I had to rely on Susan to open the jar.

                But this week, I faced my demons. Using my surgically-repaired, bionic left arm, the jar lid came off with no problem. No pain either. Hallelujah!

                Pretty silly stuff, eh?

                But it got me to thinking how important little things can be. Maybe, especially during a pandemic.

                I know we have been told not to sweat the small stuff and that’s not bad advice either. But I think there is an argument that there are some small things in our lives that we should be tending to, nurturing, looking after and making sure that these small elements of living take root and blossom. They make a difference, especially when they start to add up and make a difference in our lives, moods, attitudes and behaviour.

                “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” (Zechariah 4:10, NLT)

                No doubt, we can feel buried on the small irritants in a day or a week or a year like last year. But as we are faithful in the small workings-out of our lives and taking care of those everyday things that matter, we may find life takes on a new shine. One step at a time, we find strength and confidence and even satisfaction.

                There are times when we have no control over the really big things that happen to us and our loved ones, but we do have the ability to be mindful about these little things that make a day more meaningful, one by one.

                It may be doing something that we have been putting off. It may be a kind word to a spouse of a child. It may be petting your dog and giving the pooch a treat. It may be a prayer in the middle of the day, a quick thank-you to God for some little moment of grace that caught your attention. It may be a small, thoughtful act of kindness to a stranger. It may be biting your tongue when provoked and feeling good that you didn’t hurt someone’s feelings.

 If we are diligent or faithful enough, I think our days are full of such small possibilities and moments when  we open our allegorical jars of pickles and taste the fruits of our labours.

                “And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.” (James 3:4, NLT)

 Dale