Wednesday, December 28, 2022 – New Year’s Day

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6: 33, New Living Translation)

[I have been writing this blog for over seven years. I am constantly surprised and humbled by those who reads these blogs and how many read them. As we enter a new year, I want to say thank you to all my readers. I will continue to try and do my best to lead us in the quest to follow Jesus.]

            One of my favourite computer games is the “hidden object” game.

In the story line (usually a fantasy), one comes across a scene in which I am given a long list of objects to find. Some are obvious and quickly clicked away.  Some are hidden behind other objects and I must move whatever is hiding the object to get to it and click it away. Sometimes, I have a picture in mind of what I am looking for but I can’t find it. That is because my idea of the object doesn’t fit the real object in the scene. Or sometimes, I think I am looking for something quite small and keep overlooking the rather large object right in front of my nose (and visa versa). There is even a type that gives me the objects and I need to place them back into the scene in the right places – also tricky. Sometimes, I simply can’t find something and I have to use the hint button.

We are at edge of a New Year. The future might be compared to that hidden object game. We are looking for something in the year ahead, something that helps us to accomplish our goals and tell our stories.

There are going to be some things that come easily or I hope so, at least. Loving our families. Being truthful. Respecting others. Helping others.  Doing our best.

But sometimes, the good things we seek may be hidden by obstacles and obstructions.  Somebody’s harsh or judgmental words. Illnesses. Setbacks. Worries and fears.  We will need to work a little harder to find the good and the answers we seek.

Then, there will be those times we will be looking for one thing which we think is really important and obvious and discover that the solution is not what we pictured at all. God works in mysterious ways and we will have to trust to look for and find God’s answer to our puzzles, not our own assumptions.

The answers may be under our noses but we refuse to see them, to own them, to let then shape our vision. We fail to recognize the Good News that God has for us.

There are going to be times when we have to put back and not just take away. We need to give back in order to discover the satisfaction of finding answers and solutions.

I only wish we had a hint button in our lives that we could push when we are at a standstill, some crossroads, at some crisis, at some turning point. That would make life so much easier. Far fewer mistakes. Far fewer mis-clicks.

But it comes close in our text above.  “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” (The Message)

It comes down as to how you and I follow Jesus into our futures and how we find Jesus in our stories. Our choices are important and even critical for the storyline which we are living. It is easy to get stuck or incapacitated and choose to make no choice. But in the long run that is in itself a bad choice and leads us no where close to the Kingdom of God.

Trust God and seek God’s Love in all that we choose to do. Look for Jesus and follow him where he is.

Make that your New Year’s resolution.

“For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:8 NLT)

Dale

Wednesday, December 21, 2022 – Christmas

“And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” (Luke 2: 6 -7, New Living Translation)

                So this is Christmas.

                Without the glitter, the coloured lights, the fancy decorated tree, the pretty wrapping paper, the groaning board of food, the Christmas parties and family celebrations.

                So this is Christmas.

                Plain, simple, raw, meagre, poor, barely noticeable – tucked away in a manger.

                So this is Christmas.

                A fresh voice crying in the wilderness of Bethlehem, of all places. A baby’s first cry meant to save the world. Meant to begin a unique sacred initiative to bring us Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.

                Seems impossible, incredulous, presumptuous for something so small to do so much. A wee, small voice to break the silence of darkness and impose a divine, burgeoning Love in a world of shadows and monsters under the bed.

                So this is Christmas.

                God’s sense of irony at work, daring the Herods of politics, power, wealth and fame to come and take a look.  God’s spirit of audacious enterprise matching such meagre beginnings with the false promises and empty hopes and vain boasts of the world. God’s bold but preposterous Word made flesh to rise above the din and cacophony of hate, war, prejudice, injustice and just plain stupidity.

                We celebrate Christmas – we need to celebrate Christmas. But do we get Christmas? Or better yet, does Christmas get us? Does it capture our imaginations, our hurts, our fears, our anxieties, our wrongness and deliver us into God’s Love once more?

                Will this Christmas remind us again that in the face of raw beginnings that there will be New Life beating in this child’s heart?  Will this Christmas give birth to our own  New Life, born anew in our remoteness and out-of-the-way circumstances to remind us that God is not stymied nor disheartened by our human condition. God takes delight in showing us a New Way, incarnating a New Look, lifting the most ordinary and mundane into Good News.

                So this is Christmas.

                Plain and simple. Not much glamour except for angel song. Nothing fancy. Nothing elaborate. Nothing ostentatious. Nothing particularly newsworthy except it is the Good News which nestles into straw and swaddled rags.

                So this is Christmas

                God at work turning the world upside down and inside out. Using the least likely ingredients for establishing a new foothold in a broken, divided, complicated world. Then and even now. Even still.

                It is a long way from Bethlehem to here and now. We, too, long to see that which has come to pass and know for certain that it is truly of God and meant for us. We, too, ponder in our hearts what all this means and does and how it applies to ourselves. We, too, grasp at Mary and Joseph’s robes and see ourselves in their humble humanity and insert ourselves to be part of this drama.  To our amazement – we are!

                So this is Christmas. Jesus is born!

                Hallelujah! Yes, this is Christmas!

 

Dale

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 – Advent Four

“So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.” (Isaiah 30:18, New Living Translation)

               Waiting for God seems to be a human condition.  Waiting for God to answer our prayers. Waiting for God to intervene in some circumstance. Waiting for God to show us the way. Waiting for God to grant us some boon. Waiting for Christ to come again.  Like children waiting impatiently for Christmas morning, we wait for God to act. “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14 NLT)

                But in our text above, we discover the rather unusual idea that God is also waiting for us, rather than the other way around. God is waiting for us to make an appearance so that God can show us his Love and Compassion.

                I am reminded then of the nativity shepherds who were told, “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2: 11, NLT). It might have been the last place on earth where one would expect to find Love and Compassion, but  the shepherds took the hint: “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (2:15)

                We are always expecting God to come to us, but sometimes we have to get out of our big blue comfy recliners and actually make the effort to see what God is doing somewhere else.  There is no point in complaining that we never experience God at his best, i.e. Love and Compassion, if we are the ones who stubbornly sit by our campfires and tend our sheep and ignore angels who tell us a brand new story just waiting for us to discover.

                Some of us tend to wait in our homes and churches and think God should meet us there. But we need to get out, get moving, get looking and see what God is already doing in our communities, cities and world. Despite all the bad news, there is a whole lot of Good News, of people practicing, exampling, revealing, enacting the Love of God in so many ways.  Check out your particular Bethlehem and see what is being done to make this world a better, more loving place for so many. You just might decide to do something yourself. Why wait?

                I have always been a keen advocate of the idea that churches, for example, should seek and find what the Lord is already doing in our world and go join in. Too often, churches decide on what they want to do and wait for the Lord to bless it. I am not saying that this can’t happen but the more sure-fire way to be in the Way of Love, whether as churches or as individual Christians, is to go and find Jesus and hear what he wants us to do and actively join in.

                To find Love, one must practice Love. “Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.” (1 John 2:7, NLT)

Or as Jesus would say, go and do likewise.

Go – don’t hang around here. God is waiting for you by the manger, by the cross, by the empty tomb. Love is at work. It is not always pretty, facile, simple, comfortable, convenient – just ask Mary about what it took to become Jesus’ mother.  We don’t always get to choose where to find Love or to whom we give Love.

But God is waiting for us to show up at the meagre mangers of our world and discover the Love which is not only for a few of  us, but everyone, all of us, no matter our status, no matter  our poverty or riches, no matter our skin colour or gender.

Go and take a peek in the manger – it says it all. How God so loved the world…

 Dale

December 7, 2022 – Advent Three

“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, (Psalm 30: 11, New Living Translation)

             One of my favourite songs is Charlie Chaplin’s poignant Smile. "Smile, though your heart is aching. Smile, even though it's breaking. When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by.”

             Some would understandably argue in this era of mental health awareness that one shouldn’t plaster over one’s feelings with a façade of superficial and insincere bearing.  We need to face our fears, worries, anxieties if we are to work our way back into health and well-being.

             Nevertheless, I am drawn to this song: “If you smile through your fear and sorrow. Smile, and maybe tomorrow You'll see the sun come shining through for you. Light up your face with gladness. Hide every trace of sadness Although a tear may be ever so near.”

             To me, it is about not giving up, not giving in.

Joy is the similar  spirit of resistance to the outrages in life. Not denial. Not sweeping bad things under the rug. Not pretending everything is hunky-dory.  Joy is the courage to confront our demons and hear the Sacred Laughter of the Holy Spirit assist us in the hard work of prevailing and finding victory.

Paul, of course, encouraged us to always be joyful, always rejoicing. If it was anyone but him, we might write him off as Pollyanna, a hyper-positive fool. But Paul knew severe sufferings and brutal hardships. We might think to ask how is it possible that he could maintain anything like a joyful spirit. Yet he prevails and clings to his joy which is in Jesus Christ.  “But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.” (Philippians 2:17, NLT)

Jesus arrived with promises of joy. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” (Luke 2: 10, NLT). Although the news of a birth usually puts smile on our faces, it may be hard to imagine how a birth of a baby boy to a peasant couple in the middle of nowhere is a joy to you or me. Advent is over in a blink of an eye and then we are back to the same old world with the same old problems, with the same old issues and difficulties. Joy seems fleeting at best.

                Yet this same Jesus made a promise, a commitment, an assurance: “So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.” (John 16:22, NLT) Yes, some of this is heavenly destined, but it also a Joy that permeates the present. It is a Joy that dares to sacredly clear away the somber notes of sorrow, death, pain, suffering, despair and invites us to find a New Song of triumph, hope, peace, holy laughter, and wrap ourselves in the Joy of Love that God shares.

                "You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy.” (John 16:20, NLT)

                The Joy of the Love of God through Jesus Christ is what sustains us in crises, adversity, chaos, doubt and failure. It is finding a light-heartedness in the best sense of that word. It is a Joy which comes from remembering blessings, celebrations, relationships and successes. It is a Joy which comes knowing that you and I are loved by God, no matter what. It is a Joy which comes from being in the embrace of God’s Holy Laughter, God’s deep pleasure that we are God’s daughters and sons. We are not the brunt of God’s jokes, but the source of God’s Joy as God is of ours.

                “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy.”  (Psalm 5:11, NLT)

                We know how this Holy Laughter culminates: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:4, NLT) But may we each catch some of this Joy today, finding it in the cracks and crevices of our daily living, bursting out of the dark, catching us unawares, showing up in the stables and straw in which we find ourselves.

                “That's the time you must keep on trying. Smile, what's the use of crying? You'll find that life is still worthwhile If you just smile”

Dale

 Wednesday, November 30, 2022 – Advent Two

“We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.” (Jeremiah 8:15 New Living Translation)

                Let’s be perfectly frank – these days feel like anything but peaceful times.

                I am sure that I do not need to recount the troubling list of things which are going on in our world which disturb the peace. One can almost compare our modern times with Jesus’ most alarming warnings. “When you hear of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history, and no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Earthquakes will occur in various places. There will be famines. But these things are nothing compared to what’s coming.” (Mark 13: 7-8, The Message Bible)

                The daily news makes many of us restless, anxious, fretful, fearful, frustrated, disappointed, uneasy and troubled. Add to all that our personal cares and worries, peace is a hard experience to come by.

                The OT prophets were not fortune tellers. Rather they were keen and inspired observers of the culture in which they lived, severe critics of broken politics and kingdoms, the disparity of the economy between rich and poor, the abuse of justice, the superficiality and phoniness of religion, and mostly the utter abandonment of God and God’s covenantal principles. They, too, lived in very restless and unpeaceful times.

                How could there be any peace in a world that so distained the Love and the Guidance of that Love? Why do we think we can do any better?

                Jermiah criticized “the superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6;14m NLT) We are reminded then to be wary of the honeyed promises of politicians, the smooth-talking preacher, the sweet allure of consumerism, the enticements of false messiahs and their fake news.

                Just when we might be ready to give up on true peace, there is a New Voice crying in this wilderness: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27, NLT)

                We’re not left bereft or alone to face either the present or the future, as people without hope. There is a New Voice that stills the storms. There is a Presence that rises above the din and turmoil and dares speak the holy word of Peace – in fact, embodies a passion for peace in every fibre if his being.

                But let us not cheapen this Peace with easy definitions.  Jesus’ Peace is costly, and therefore precious in its intent. This Peace arises out of our resistance to all forms of sin and evil. This Peace stands against all forms of corruption, injustice, prejudice and hatred and sometimes bleeds in its undertaking. This Peace speaks against the wars and violence of this world and often carries the scars of its message. 

                This is no easy Peace but that fact does not make Peace impossible. Peace is the reward of long journeys and bumpy roads. Peace comes in our endurance of tough things. Peace comes when we learn from our failures. Peace comes when we are at the end of our tether and a helping hand comes out of nowhere. Peace comes when grief and sorrow are shared in the context of God’s Love and Mercy, when we understand that no matter what, we are not orphaned, not alone.

                Not peace as the world gives, superficial, temporary at best, empty at its worst. Peace as only Jesus the Messiah can give. A source of strength, patience, endurance, perseverance and love. This is a Peace which rallies the mind, soul and spirit. In his Peace, Jesus speaks our name and draws us more closely to him. Peace is our trust and faith that his Spirit abides throughout these times.

                Hang on.  Better yet, hold on.

                “Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!” (Romans 7:13 The Message Bible)

Dale

Wednesday, November 23, 2022 – Advent One

“And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.” (Psalm 39:7, New Living Translation)

                Hope is a uniquely human trait.

    I might even argue that hope makes us human. Other species have innate needs and wants which they seek to fulfill – food, shelter, safety. Some animals and birds have limited forms of intelligence and comprehension. Some use tools of a kind and exhibit certain motor skills. But only humans display conscious hope, the unique ability to seek a future and believe ardently for the best of outcomes.

                Hope, not opposable thumbs, defines humankind, the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve.

                We always begin the season of Advent in hope.

                We hope that the war in Ukraine is soon over. We hope that Covid will finally pass. We hope that that violent shootings will cease. We hope that they will find a cure for cancer. We hope that we can solve the crisis of climate change before it is too late. We hope that poverty and homelessness disappear. We hope that our lives will find meaning and purpose. We hope that our families remain healthy and secure and whole. We hope that through whatever we are facing and dealing with we will find the strength, wisdom and support that breaks through the clouds and shadows.

                We are a people who can articulate and specify hope and its value and its contents. We put real words to our hope. We put faith into our hope. We put our trust in hope. We persist in hope.

                Hope presents itself as a shield to fend off our worries, anxieties, fears and hurts. Hope abides and lifts the human spirit, soul and heart so that both alone and together we face the future.

                But hope also is gifted to us in the coming of the Messiah, always a figure of hope, possibility, liberation, rescue and new life. “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” (John 3:17, The Message Bible)

Not condemnation – that would be a thin hope indeed.  There may be judgment, as some believe, but it will be a justice of love, a desire for life sentences in a redemptive way, a proclivity towards compassion and mercy. A spirit of forgiveness and healing. “God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.”  (2 Peter 3: 9, The Message)

At least I hope so.

Hope is our grasp of God’s future, understanding that it is also humanity’s best option. Hope in God and his Messiah gives us strength, courage, resolve, inspiration and assurance.  Christian Hope invites us to stretch our reach into God’s new territory of life and rebirth.  Hope is a summons to follow the One who leads to a more wholesome, vibrant, life-sustaining way of thinking, believing, sharing, loving and inevitably takes on us the road to joy and peace.

“We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide-open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.” (Romans 1:2, The Message)

May you find hope this Advent season.

 Dale

Wednesday, November 16, 2022 – The Reign of Christ (November 20)

“If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, ‘Here’s the Messiah!’ or points, ‘There he is!’ don’t fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and bewitching performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I’ve given you fair warning.” (Matthew 24: 23 -25, The Message Bible)

                 I see where the good ol’ boy, Donald Trump, has announced that he is running for president in the U.S.A. again. Yikes!  No offence (?), but I just might list him in my personal top few as a candidate for a version of an anti-Christ. Along with Putin of Russia and Kim Jung-un of North Korea to name two more. Of course, lists of this nature are very subjective and individual, based on one’s own morality, politics and definitions of Christianity. One person’s anti-Christ may be seen by someone else as a version of a saviour. As I say, Yikes!

                But I am drawn to Jesus’ words in our text above. He reminds us of the lure and temptation of following false idols of leadership and authority.  There are those who make all sorts of promises which lead us to believe that they can deliver the kind of perfect  world we want to live in. Even if it excludes and rejects others. Maybe because it excludes and rejects others, those whom we don’t want in our world.  Promises of a world just for us, you and me, but not “them,” whomever them may be.

                But these wanna-be messiahs are just that – fakes.  They may sound right, look right, make fancy promises, and beguile us with messages of some pure utopia but they are not Jesus, by any stretch of the imagination.

                Not that we always get Jesus right as to his Messiahship either. There are a lot of false claims made in his name and under his authority, as well. “Jesus said, ‘Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people.’” (Matthew 24: 5, The Message Bible)

                Jesus once asked his disciples, “But who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15) Peter had the right answer, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (v.16). But no sooner were the words out of his mouth, Peter tripped over the whole idea of a crucified Messiah.  Jesus, by insisting that Satan get behind him, accused Peter of being sucked into the wrong expectations of a Messiah coming to win the day militarily and triumphantly. Jesus was not that kind of Messiah. His message, one of love, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, tolerance, acceptance, would fly in the faces of the world’s religious rulers and political authorities, both then and now.

                So, who do you say Jesus is? It is important to know who he is not. But it is also critically important to know who he is.  You may not be ready to buy all the labels and definitions which the Church has poured into the theology of Christ over the centuries. Jesus is a hard personality to pin down to just a few words. Once you think you might have him in a neat and tidy box, he bursts out and reveals something brand new about himself and the Kingdom he hopes to establish some day.

                But we are not there yet – in that hoped-for future when all will be made clear. We live today. We need a big-enough Christ in our day-to-day lives who can challenge and thwart the false promises and their messengers who seek only power and dominance and supremacy. The ones who insist they are right and if we don’t agree with them, then we are wrong and should be condemned; the ones who insist that they know best what is good for us; the ones who steal freedom and hope and security. and who twist the truth.    

                It is almost Advent, and there is another relevant question in this discussion. It comes from John the Baptist, the precursor representative to the fresh arrival of the Messiah. He too is somewhat confused by this Jesus and his Gospel of Love and Peace.  “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Luke 7:19)

                Jesus, and only Jesus, is our true Messiah, the One who saves the world, rather that condemns the world; the One who embodies God’s great Love; the One who died for the world so that we might live; the One who calls us into his New World to be his sisters and brothers; the One who liberates us from all that attempts to rule us and subjugate us to evil’s power.

                “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:11)

 

Dale

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

“Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house.” (Ecclesiastes 10:18 New Living Translation)

                Atrophy - partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body.

                I am becoming aware that my legs may be stumbling into a state of atrophy. I have never been exactly adroit or nimble on my feet. Nobody has ever called me twinkle-toes. But, since retirement, seven years ago, I have sat in my big, comfy, blue recliner and moved as little as possible, it seems. Covid made it worse. Certainly, I don’t exercise. Our dog, Charlie, is too old to walk anymore; he is as prone to stumbles and slips as I am. I have fallen a couple of times because my legs don’t react as fast as my brain tells them to. I trip over my own two feet. Once I am down, it is laborious to try and get back up as my legs don’t seem strong enough. At my “young” age, it is a little embarrassing, to be honest.

                I know that I should do some walking to strengthen my leg muscles. But laziness, thy name is Dale.

                Idleness gets a rough reputation in scriptures. “Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin.” (Ecclesiastes 4:5, NLT) My mother always said that idle hands are the devil’s tools.

The apostle Paul would agree. “Don’t you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? ‘If you don’t work, you don’t eat.’ And now we’re getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated. We command them to get to work immediately—no excuses, no arguments—and earn their own keep. Friends, don’t slack off in doing your duty.”  (2 Thessalonians 3: 11-13, The Message Bible)

Now there is nothing wrong or sinful in spending leisure time, resting, relaxing, having some down time, or just plain goofing off occasionally. We need spiritual, physical, mental refreshment and restoration of mind, body and soul. Workaholism can become a curse when it replaces family relationships, saps or drains one’s humanity and becomes the be all and end all to living.

But idleness is a dangerous pool to drown in – especially in the area of Christian discipleship.

We need continuously to practice and exercise the core muscles of Christian behaviour. “This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” (Ephesians  4:13, NLT)

If we become apathetic, indifferent, close-hearted, unmindful, ignorant, careless, thoughtless about our faith, our relationship with Jesus Christ and therefore about our relationships with others, that faith begins indeed to atrophy and becomes weak and we stumble around trying to gain our balance, especially in a world that throws up obstacles and barriers.

Therefore, or instead, Paul reminds us of the stuff we are made and the work that this implies. “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6, NLT)

Our Ecclesiastes text, above, reminds me a little of Jesus’ parable of the men who built their houses on different foundations.

“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.” (Matthew 7: 24 -27, The Message Bible)

Let us get up off our back-sides and put our faith to work.

 Dale

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord[a] and ours…” (1 Corinthians 1:2, New Revised Standard Version)

                A gulp of cormorants.

                Apparently, according to Google, that is what one calls a flock of cormorants, an old French word meaning sea-crows. We saw many cormorants on Lake Erie, one gulp as large as maybe well over a hundred birds, flying low over the water, skimming not far off the surface.

                A parliament of owls, a coven of crows, a gaggle of geese and a gulp of cormorants. If there are only two or three cormorants is that just a sip of cormorants? Sorry, I digress.

                What do you call a group of Christians?

     Maybe, you might suggest a church or a congregation or a community of believers. But Paul calls a group of Christians, saints. A loaded word, suggesting some sort of holiness, near perfection, do-gooders, sanctified and washed clean or as the Message Bible describes sainthood, “believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life.”

                But let us be very careful about what it means to be part of the sainthood of all believers. Remember that old platitude, “If you are looking to join a perfect church, once you join it, it is no longer perfect.” I don’t mean this as a put-down but as a reminder that even as Paul used the word quite regularly in his writings, he was also acutely aware that he was writing churches which were far from being saintly but could be filled with rancour, jealousies, factions, rigidity and church wars.

                Nothing has changed much in churches in these times. The colony of saints is made up very human would-be saints. This is to say that churches are sometimes messy, chaotic, beleaguered, broken, vulnerable, struggling, and fraught with human feelings, emotions and reactions.  And to use an old Groucho Marx line, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” Simply put, no church is perfect.

                Paul knew that better than anyone but nonetheless he understood that the church, this gaggle of saints, had its work cut out for it.  He understood the potential for greatness. He appreciated the possibilities for service and sacrifice. He extolled the virtues of love and community among them. He exhorted the practice of acceptance, tolerance and grace.

                 “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Ephesians 4: 15 -16, New Living Translation)

                “Instead” – that word speaks volumes, doesn’t it? Churches would do well to practice the theology of “instead.”  Instead of judgmentalism, dogmatism, and intransigence, we practice gracious acceptance, love and inclusiveness. Instead of living in our brick and stone boxes, cloistering against the world, holding tight to the past or even human sin, we open our hearts, minds and souls to love all others as we have been loved. Instead of thinking only of punching our tickets to heaven, we begin to build Jesus’ Kingdom in the corners in which we live and worship. Instead of the veneer of our Christianity, we dig down deep and reveal the essence of being a sainthood, a follower of Jesus Christ in both word and deed.

                “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Hebrews 12: 1 -2, The Message Bible)

                Saints alive!

Dale

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

“The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit each month. The leaves of the Tree are for healing the nations. Never again will anything be cursed. The Throne of God and of the Lamb is at the center.” (Revelation 22:2, The Message Bible)

                 The willow tree which stood in the yard between us and Lake Erie was massive. It looked like one of those trees from a fantasy novel, a formidable tree that knows stuff or is a central piece of folk legends or is a mystical representation of power and life.

                It must have been a very, very old tree. Its trunk was a good ten feet in circumference and it reached thirty to forty feet into the sky. It was sheathed in irregular scales of dark gray bark, with several patches missing along the trunk here and there. There were large nodules and knobs protruding from several places on the trunk and thicker branches. Its canopy of branches and leaves stretched over half the small yard. It looked as if it had braced many a storm off the lake and yet had remained steadfast and unwavering in any and all kinds of weather. It was a tree to be reckoned with.

                Trees play an interesting role in our scriptures. The great Biblical Narrative begins with Trees and ends with a Tree. Trees were a goodly part of God’s Creation and meant for humanity’s benefit: “Then God said, ‘I’ve given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth and every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food.’” (Genesis 1: 29, The Message) In this bounteous Garden, “the Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden, he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:9)

                Of course, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil led to our downfall as humankind. But that issue aside, trees were a good example of abundant living. “Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.” (Proverbs 3:18, New Living Translation) Living under fruit bearing trees was a metaphor of a good and righteous life.  “Instead, you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You’re a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, never dropping a leaf, always in blossom.” (Psalm 1: 1 -3, The Message)

                Jesus also used the metaphor. “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:20, NLT)

                Paul likewise used this metaphor. He wrote how all those who belong to Jesus Christ, even Gentiles, have been grafted onto the promise of God’s blessing of Israel. “So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.” (Romans 11: 17, NLT) Or as the Message Bible renders the last sentence: “Remember, you aren’t feeding the root; the root is feeding you.”

                By the time we get to Revelation we are given a promise that sits in line with what we have briefly and incompletely encountered so far, “To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7, NLT) Eden restored; humankind finding our place within its bounty once again. There is that beautiful image then of the Tree of Life, not something lost or forbidden or abandoned, but flourishing, offering nurture for healing, peace, sustenance, and everlasting Life.

                Until then, we attach ourselves to the Vine. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15: 4 – 5, NLT)

                Creaton speaks to us; are we listening?

 Dale

 Wednesday, October 19, 2022

“Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them.”  (Hebrews 11: 13 -16, The Message Bible)

                I sometimes wonder whether I have some deep-seated, ancestral sea-faring DNA running though me. There is nothing that I enjoy more than sitting beside a large body of water like an ocean or a Great Lake and watching the horizon stretch out on front of me, almost seemingly endlessly.

                Such was the case during our vacation on the shores of Lake Erie recently. The Lake could be quite moody, sometimes calm and serene but often choppy with  great waves and whitecaps. You could even see the whitecaps in the distance on the horizon. As I watched the horizon, sometimes, something would catch my eye – a soaring Bald Eagle, a majestic Golden Eagle on the hunt, black cormorants, gulls swooping and diving or a fish jumping in the water.  Perhaps a fishing trawler or a laker just on the edge of the horizon or just a small boat with someone fishing. The horizon was seldom dull or static or boring or tame, even on a calm day.

                On a clear day, one could see off in the distance, a far country, some of the distant shoreline of our neighbours to the south, the United States. But mostly, it was just water reaching to the far horizon, as far as the eye could see.

                “I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans.” (Proverbs 8:27, New Living Translation)

                Horizons come in many guises.

                To me, life’s horizons are about possibilities, the future, hope, seeking the best-is-yet-to come potential of living with clear vision and steadfast determination. Yes, there are life’s storms that stir the waters between now and then, but even so, the horizon remains steady and beckons us when the storms and winds cease. Generally, I am not a pie-eyed optimist but I strongly affirm that what God has in store, always tantalizing on the horizon of our faith, vision and hearts, is worth the wait.

                Our text above speaks of those who knew of this sacred horizon and saw across the span of time that their new home would be eventually found. They were seeking a far better country than where they found themselves. They were not daunted by the distance between themselves and God’s horizon, for someday the gap between where they were and their true home would be closed.

                The horizon gave them hope for the day. Sometimes, there are reminders of God’s promise which break the horizon like a soaring eagle. “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”  Isiah 40:31, New Living Translation) Or a beautiful sunset - we saw several breath-taking ones – which reminds one of the abundant creativity of God’s hand on our world, leaving one awe-struck and thankful. No matter what.

                Our living horizons are never dull or static or boring or tame, but full of calling, summoning, beckoning, inviting us to dare walk across the waters (sometimes) and reach for the new City that centers God’s Kingdom, a kingdom of peace, justice, joy, love, mercy, forgiveness and well-being. “Thy kingdom come” – that is the very heart and soul of horizon watching.

                “‘Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.’ The Enthroned continued, ‘Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate.’” (Revelation 21: 3 -5, The Message Bible)

Dale

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”   (James 1:19, New Living Translation)

 [I am going a brief hiatus for the next three weeks. The Unconventional Baptist will return on October 19^th.]

                 “Your wife has good ears.”

                This was said to me by a senior woman sitting next to me at Susan’s retirement party on Sunday at St. Luke’s Anglican Church. Susan is retiring this week as the church secretary after 16 years. It has been a job she loved and excelled at. Her many, many duties included being the church treasurer and book-keeper. She administered the day-to-day affairs of the church, its bookings and its logistics. Yes, she typed the bulletins and all that secretarial stuff.

                But where she really shone was in her ability to listen to the people with whom she came into daily contact, be they a regular parishioner or a complete stranger. I think my wife has nice ears, too, but what the woman meant was that Susan really listened to people. A goodly portion of her job was pastoral care as she was often the first on the front lines of pastoral care. Susan made time for people,  be it on the phone or if they had come into  her office in person and always listened attentively  to their stories and concerns. Even if she had a dozen other things to do. Before the need got passed on to one of the pastors, it was Susan who responded first.  Several people have mentioned that her gift of caring and compassionate listening will be most sorely missed. Her capacity to listen and listen well was truly her gracious ministry.

                Listening can be hard work when done well. It may even be a lost art. Our culture throbs with overly loud opinions, people shouting out their views and sentiments, the noisy clamour of protests and dissent. Everybody wants to have their voices heard but is anyone listening?

                I am reminded of the suffering Job. His three friends came to “console and comfort him.” (Job 2:11, NLT) When they first set eyes on their friend their hearts were broken. “Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.” (v.13) Silence was golden. Just their presence spoke volumes. The trouble started when they spoke up against Job’s complaining and lamenting and wouldn’t shut up, arguing with Job and blaming him and scolding him. All they really had to do was listen but they couldn’t and wouldn’t.    

“Turn your ear to listen to me; rescue me quickly. Be my rock of protection, a fortress where I will be safe.” (Psalm 31:2, NLT) Albeit, this is a prayer of trust in God’s ability to listen, but it reminds us  that listening provides a safe harbour for the one who is talking and sharing their lives. Listening should make the other person feel safe. “Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you.”  (Psalm 102:2, NLT)

“Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.” (Proverbs 12:15, NLT) Listening is that ability to allow another person to be known, to be respected, to be understood, to feel included and affirmed. There may be a time when one needs to speak or offer a response but listening first leads us down the right path of being helpful and insightful with what we might have to say. “Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.” (Proverbs 18: 13, NLT)

To borrow from Jesus - “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!” (Matthew 11:15, NLT)

Dale

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

“Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God, the gift of just rule to the crown prince. May he judge your people rightly,  be honorable to your meek and lowly. Let the mountains give exuberant witness; shape the hills with the contours of right living. Please stand up for the poor, help the children of the needy, come down hard on the cruel tyrants.” (Psalm 72: 1 -4. The Message Bible)

                The Queen is dead; long live the King.

                That seems to be  the traditional outcry after the death of a monarch – at least in the fantasy books I read. But with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, we now have a king after a very long while.

                A recent poll came out yesterday finding that the majority of Canadians are indifferent to the change in monarchs. Most of us said that it has no impact on the way we live. I would probably include myself in that majority, which isn’t to say that I don’t care or am not interested in this historic change. But King Charles III, God bless him, doesn’t make a whole lot of difference in my life, except in remembering to sing “God save the King” on the very rare occasion I might have to sing the anthem, which is hardly ever.

                Perhaps once upon a time, kingships mattered in ordinary people's lives. Take Psalm 72, for example, one the Royal Psalms. There are high and lofty expectations placed on the King’s shoulders. The King is probably King David, who, as we know, became the model or paradigmatic  king for all Jews of all time. Even the concept of Messiahship finds its roots in the kingship of David.

                Psalm 72 is impressive in the scope of the King’s responsibilities towards his people. King Charles should take note, although he has set a tone of promising “selfless service”. The proof will be in his actions. The Psalm points to the necessity of “right living” for the King. It exhorts the King to “stand up for the poor, help the children of the needy and come down hard on cruel tyrants.”  Kingly power is to be  used for justice, compassion, generosity and hope. “In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.” (v.7, New Revised Standard Version)

                We need to note verses  12 to 14: “He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them. He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them. He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to him.” (New Living Translation)

                Selfless service indeed!

                Words like these remind us why Jesus carries the mantle of kingship. He embodies these words in his own life, ministry and vision for the world around him. We hear the Psalm echoed in Jesus’ words: “God’s Spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the burdened and battered free,    to announce, ‘This is God’s time to shine!’” (Luke 4: 18 – 19, The Message Bible)

                Good kings love their people beyond measure and prove it by their actions and words and deeds.

                Such a king is worth following, being obedient to and accepting his authority in our lives. Many of us could use a good change of ruling values in our personal lives, needing a new style of kingship from those things that have taken over and have gained sovereignty in harmful and negative ways. One cannot be or should not be indifferent to the kingship of Jesus. He makes a difference and has a lasting impact upon us when we allow him to have authority on our lives.

                “Jesus had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.” (Philippians 2: 6 11, The Message Bible)

                Long live the King!

Dale

 Wednesday, September 7, 2022

“Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost.” (Proverbs 22:6, The Message Bible)

                “School days. Schools Days. Dear old golden rule days. Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic…”

                Bright and shiny faces. Parents posted the annual first-day-of -school pictures of most of our grandchildren on our family Messenger board. Pre-school Naomi claimed she wanted to be a friend. Beckett, still in day care, wanted to follow his two big brothers into their school. It was Declan’s first day in JK. As the old commercial went, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”

                Back in the day, I was okay with attending elementary school. But I didn’t enjoy a lot of my high school education. The peer pressure was intense and the requisite curriculum didn’t always hold my interest. Phys Ed periods were full of things I couldn’t do very well, like rope climbing or running a mile. I took three years of Latin, for goodness’ sake.

                It wasn’t until university and seminary that I truly discovered a hunger for learning. A whole new world of topics opened up for me. I took religion courses and philosophy courses, sociology, political science. I thrived and did very well at these levels of “higher learning”.

                Learning helps build character as well as develop one’s mind. We should never stop learning. Keeping our minds open and informed leads to better choices and decisions, helping us to have a better appreciation of others and the world around us.

                When we think we know it all, we probably know very little. A lack of learning leads to superficiality, small mindedness, shallow thinking, e.g. conspiracy theories. When we stop being curious and inquiring we risk becoming stuck in old attitudes, prejudices and thin assumptions.

                “If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will turn your back on knowledge.” (Proverbs 19:27, New Living Translation)

                Knowledge is, of course, more than just book learning. Our education comes from many sources and life experiences. It comes from the good examples of other people like parents, grandparents, teachers, etc. We learn from our mistakes. We learn by listening to words of advice and counsel. We learn by trying and doing. We learn from developing our skills, talents and giftedness.

                “Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to my instructors?” (Proverbs 5:13, NLT)

                The book of Proverbs is all about gaining wisdom that comes from paying attention to sources of knowledge and thoughtfulness. Much of it seems to address a younger generation – words from an older and perhaps wiser generation:

                A manual for living, for learning what’s right and just and fair;
                To teach the inexperienced the ropes
                and give our young people a grasp on reality.
                There’s something here also for seasoned men and women,
                still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—
                Fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate,
                the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women. (Proverbs 1: 1 -6, The Message Bible)

                So, please keep an open mind. Always have a questing spirit especially for the good. Think about what you do and say and how it affects others. Set a good example. Find meaning in the world around you. Pay attention to what is  truthful, authentic,  trustworthy and enriching.

                “Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.” (Psalm 86:11, NLT)

Dale

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.” (Isaiah 43: 18 -19, The Message Bible)

                 If I remember correctly, I am not a big fan of nostalgia. (Please note the irony of that statement.)

                On the weekend the Toronto Blue Jays made a big splash of the 30th anniversary of their first World Series win in 1992 prior to Saturday’s game. Yes, that win was a grand, unforgettable time for anyone who was a Blue Jays’ fan back then. But I confess I found the pre-game ceremony way too long, somewhat tedious, and over hyped. I am probably in a minority of those who might think that. But it really struck home how long ago that past was when they wheeled out some of the players who played in those games. Boy, they looked old. I barely recognized some. They reminded me how old I now am. And how much has changed in the world over those last thirty years, both good and bad.

 Reminiscing is fine. Sharing fond memories is fine. Retelling family stories over and over again is fine. But nostalgia is more than remembering. It is a vain attempt to want the present to be like the past. It is the desire to live in the past. It is making the past far more glorious and superior than it really was. It is about the “good old days”. Nostalgia is the wistful  longing for something that no longer exists.

When we are stuck in the past, we may hold on to grudges, hurts, prejudices, dislikes and such. We are less open to new opportunities, new ideas, different ways of thinking. We might critically and negatively judge the present based on old assumptions, old traditions, dated concepts.

There are things in all our pasts which we would be better to forget. Don’t keep going over old history, says our text above. Some of us brood over, relive, hold on to and can’t let things go which happened in the past.  Yes, it is true that those who forget the past tend to make the same mistakes, but I am referring to those things in the past that haunt us, keep us stuck, hold us back, bind us to yesterday, and keep us looking over our shoulders for whatever sins are catching up.

God has a good memory. “Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I’d never forget you—never. Look, I’ve written your names on the backs of my hands.” (Isaiah 49: 15, The Message Bible)

But God also has a good ‘forgetry’, too. God desires to forget our sins, to blot out the past that separates us from his Love. “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” (Psalm  103:12, New Living Translation)

Our text urges us to be open, instead, to the future which God has in store for us. God has something creatively fresh and vital if we trust in his capacity to renew, bring resurrection out of death, bring life out of sin, bring hope out of despair, bring joy out of sorrow. “But I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3: 13 -14, NLT)

The past should not encumber us, weigh us down nor lead us to despair and hopelessness. We do need to remember the things of God’s Love and Grace but these qualities empower our present and future. God’s Love through Jesus Christ moves us forward and is indeed the road through the wilderness.

“Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold.” (2 Corinthians 3: 8 -12, NLT)

Don’t ever forget that!

 Dale

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

“We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead!” (2 Corinthians 1: 8 -9)

                 “I’m choosing scars.”

                This was the so-called punchline in a recent Pearls Before Swine daily comic strip. Stephan Pastis’ PBS is probably my favourite daily comic strip. It is the Ecclesiastes of the comic strip world in many ways. Its acerbic wit appeals to me. The three main characters are Rat (no fancy names here) who is  the egotistical, sarcastic, self-centred cynic and skeptic. There is also Goat, the ever-hopeful but often disillusioned, suffering optimist. Then, there is Pig, a kind-hearted but simple character who is always looking for a purpose in life, wanting something more, up against the vanities and vagaries of this world. His best answer is usually “cheese”. Or just staying in bed.

                It is Pig who has climbed the hill to ask the “Wise Ass on the Hill”, “is it possible to get through life unscarred?”  The Wise Ass responds “If you take no risks and live a life that’s no life at all.” Afterwards Pig says to Rat, “I’m choosing scars.”

                It is not so much funny as simply poignant.

                No body chooses scars. Nobody asks for bad things to happen to them.  Nobody wants pain, hurt, suffering, heartache, loss, failure, disappointments, or anything of that nature. But they inevitably happen to all of us. No one gets through life unscathed. These moments, events and circumstances leave their permanent mark. They are part of living – along with the many blessings, joys, happy times, victories, celebrations and people who enrich our lives.

                Perhaps, it can be said that the struggles and sufferings can even make the good times shine better, bolder, more brightly although we are unlikely to think that when we are in the middle of the upset.

                The apostle Paul draws our attention to some bad times in his life. “We were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself.” (New Revised Standard Version) That is one deep pit in which Paul found himself. Whereas some Christians think they should never despair and always put on a positive, happy,  blissful face, Paul is being totally honest. He had more than his share of enemies, critics, opponents, accusers, attackers, even jailors and punishers.

                “I’ve worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death’s door time after time. I’ve been flogged five times with the Jews’ thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I’ve been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I’ve had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I’ve been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I’ve known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather.” (2 Corinthians 11: 23 -27 The Message Bible)

                He is no martyr. Most of us might give up  under far less challenging circumstances. He did not choose this life and what his faith cost him. But he learns that the way through it all is to “trust God totally”. He does not give up. He knows his scars are a powerful testament to his faith and reliance  upon God through Jesus Christ.

“I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” (Philippians 3: 10 -11, NLT)

Paul’s scars are a part of his journey of faith. So, it is with us. Our emotional, mental, experiential scars are a part of our faithful testimony about our long walk with God. They are deeply painful,  for sure, but  in the hands of Christ’s Resurrection power, we are stronger and more determined, more resilient and more robust in all areas of our living.

“None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Romans 8: 38 -39, The Message)

If not that, then maybe, the answer is “cheese”.

Dale