Wednesday, May 25, 2022

“A cry was heard in Ramah— weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.” (Matthew 2: 18, New Living Translation)

                 No whimsy. No gentle contemplation. No silly humour. No thoughtful musings. Not today.

                Innocent children are dead. It never stops. People would rather defend the right of an 18-year-old to go to the local gun store and buy assault rifles and body armor rather than protect our children.

                What is wrong with 18-year-old males?  Normally (?), 18-year-old males are thinking about the opposite sex, sports and fancy cars. But in less than a few weeks, two 18-year-old, white males have gone on a killing rampage. Where did all that hate and rage come from in someone so relatively young?      

                These 19 precious children are my own grandchildren’s age. I feel my own sense of rage and despair over their loss. How do I explain this terrible event to my grandchildren when I can’t explain it to myself? How do I explain a broken world which allows this to happen as frequently as it does?  And let us not forget the innocent children who have been killed or maimed in the Ukraine. King Herod who initiated the “slaughter of innocents “after Jesus’ birth has nothing on our own acts of brutality, violence and murder.

                Let us weep with Rachel. Let us wail. Let us not be comforted.

                No spiritual bromides. No well-worn theological clichés. No biblical nuggets of wisdom. No sermonic pep-talks. Not today.

                If you are wondering where is God in all this slaughtering of innocents or how could a loving God allow this to happen, I have no easy, simple answers. In fact, I am asking the same questions myself. And today, that is okay – let’s not whitewash this event with cheap theology. I, too, would like God to make his Presence plainly known in all this pain and suffering. We need a radical intervention, a fundamental intrusion, a deep-seated cleansing. Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus.

                Matthew used the above scripture text to address the slaughter of innocents under Herod’s regime. It is found in Jeremiah 31, verse 15. Jeremiah was a prophet during the terrible events of Jewish exile to Babylon.  It was catastrophic. It was insufferable. It was numbing. It was a lost and forlorn time. There was weeping and wailing and grief and suffering. And I am sure that the Jewish people wondered where God was and why he was allowing this all to happen.

                But as I read the whole chapter, it surprised me that these words arose out of a song of hope and anticipation. Going against the grain of the times, Jeremiah speaks about the time when God will bring his people back to Jerusalem and the Promised Land. Despite the overwhelming spirit of godforsakeness and abandonment, Jeremiah dares to speak on behalf of God who promises “grace in the wilderness.” (Jeremiah 31:2)

                God makes a promise: “I will turn their mourning into joy.  I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing. The priests will enjoy abundance, and my people will feast on my good gifts. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Jer. 31: 13 -14, NLT)

                The words were probably met with great skepticism, doubt, mocking and reservation. God never felt so remote, so seemingly indifferent, so unloving.

                But despite the weeping and wailing, Jeremiah persists to be a voice crying  in the wilderness: “’There is hope for your future,’ says the Lord. ‘Your children will come again to their own land.’” (Jer. 31:17)

            Perhaps, that seems like thin gruel, today. And that's just fine for today.

But, come tomorrow, it is a sign of grace in the wilderness.

 

Dale

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

“You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.” (John 15:16, The Message Bible)

                 Now batting for the Mississauga Twins, #33, Will “The Thrill” Soble!

                Allow a little grandfatherly bragging, please. After being assessed for Little League Baseball House League, our 9 year old grandson, William, was instead chosen to move over to the Select Team. This means that he has the added ability and talent to play ball at a “higher” level for his age group. He got three hits in his first game. It also means extra work for his parents as there is a bit of travel involved and they will have to figure out how to work out family schedules. Nevertheless, it is recognition of William’s love, talent and skill levels for baseball. I just hope he enjoys the summer and the friends he will make on his team.

                But he has inspired me to reflect on the text above from John’s Gospel. Jesus was speaking to his disciples, the chosen twelve, and explaining what it meant to be chosen to be on his team, so to speak. They are a part of significant venture – to embody the Love of Christ in the world. They need to trust his Love and hold fast to Love’s hold on them, like a branch to a vine. The team’s goal is radically simple and singular: “Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you.” (John 15:12, The Message Bible)

                It cannot be stressed enough that Jesus does the choosing, not you, not me, not the Church, not other Christians, not the Pastor, not the Deacon’s Board,  not the Association, not the Convention,  and certainly not the World at large.

Jesus chooses. He doesn’t really need our help; probably wishes we wouldn’t.

Sad to say, many Christians act as if they choose Jesus to be on their team and not the other way around.  Although there is an element that we do make a choice or a decision for Jesus, again it is Jesus’ call upon our lives first that we accept.  But many think that they chose Jesus to be on their particular team and therefore since they are in charge, it gives them the right to discriminate who gets to be on their team and, more so, who cannot play on “our” team.

When we think we get to choose the Jesus we want, we use it as an excuse to exclude, ban, prohibit, reject and dismiss so-called, “lesser” qualified people. Despite our church signs which say “All are welcome”, all are not welcome. We claim that we have got Jesus on our side and it’s our choice to say who makes the team or not, who gets to "fellowship" with us or not.

We all can remember from our childhoods when it was time to choose up sides for a game. All the good players were taken first. Eventually it would get down to one or two kids who were deemed not very good at the game, and they were, sometimes mean-spiritedly, reluctantly and awkwardly chosen. Nobody really wanted them on their side. Did it ever make us consider how they must have felt?

Jesus has eliminated that stolen responsibility when it comes to who can or who cannot become part of his Work. We don’t get a say, or state a preference, or make the choice, or make the  selections. Jesus chooses.

Jesus chooses; thank goodness. His criteria are radically different than yours or mine.  He turns our stringent conditions for inclusion upside down; the last shall be first and first last. He is far more inclusive, tolerant, loving, accepting. He sees the inner heart, spirit and soul. He alone is the One who sees a person’s true worth. It’s not about race, colour, sexuality, gender, age, nationality but whether we have the same capacity to love others – all others - as Jesus demonstrated and, in fact, commands. “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” (John 13: 34 -35, The Message Bible)

It means servanthood, compassion, unreserved commitment to the work of God’s Love. Everyone has a part and a place in the line-up if they are committed to that Love. Otherwise, frankly, go sit on the bench!

“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.” (1 Peter 2: 9 -10, The Message bible)

Batter up!

 Dale

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! (Psalm 96:1, New Living Translation)

                 Tweet. Tweet. Trill. (Or variations thereof)

                This is the woefully inadequate way to try to depict the bright, sweet song of a Song Sparrow. There are two of them who grace my backyard and I enjoy just sitting and listening to their sprightly warble.

                Sometimes, I spot one of them. There will be one sitting on a branch of the very top of a very tall pine tree in our neighbour’s back yard. It is mostly silhouetted against the bright sky but I can still see it well enough. It doesn’t have the vibrant colours of its avian cousins, the flashy red of a Cardinal, the neon blue of a Blue Jay but it can out-sing them any day.

This little brown bird, with a black spot in the middle of its breast, lifts back its head, puffs out that breast, and sings for all its worth, for all the earth to hear.

Not defiantly, not cheekily, not despite the world in which its lives. It sings because the Lord made it for song. The Song Sparrow sings for the pure joy and pleasure of singing.

             Sing to the Lord a new song!

              I am so tired of the cacophony and clamour of the world right now. I am weary of the abrasive, shrill, unloving voices of the conservative right but equally so of the smug, arrogant verbiage of the progressive left.

Sing to the Lord a new song!

I feel swamped by the discordant voices of prejudice, judgement, ignorance, selfishness that permeates the news. I languish at the noise of bombs and missiles.

Sing to the Lord a new song!

I want to plug my ears at the unloving racket the  Church makes about issues that divorce it from Jesus’ Love. I want to silence the unholy clatter that divides us, alienates us, seduces us, drowns us in its wild war music, intolerant disharmony and the sour notes of hatred.

Sing to the Lord a new song.

I am even tired of the sound of my own voice and words, sometimes.

            So, sing to the Lord a new song.

            Tweet. Tweet. Trill.

            “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1, NLT)

             You and I are made for singing, not clanging. God has given us this fresh, vibrant song of Love. It is new every morning. We are made for sitting on proverbial pine trees and letting the world know about the generous love of and beauty of God’s immense Love.

              I long to hear the harmonious chorus of God’s song of Love. “So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.” (Romans 14:19, NLT) But the same goes for the whole world.

              Sing to the Lord a New Song.

 We need to drop the old, weary, minor keys of dissatisfaction, complaint, argument, quarrels, criticism and sing a New Song of Love.

 We need to  find our voices of hope, peace, love, joy and celebration of life  and sing for all we are worth, against the world, for the world.

 “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them.” (Philippians 4: 4, The Message Bible)

 Tweet. Tweet. Trill.

Dale

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature…  God created human beings; he created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.” (Genesis 1: 26 -28, The Message Bible)

                 I am not a robot. Check.

                Most of us have encountered that computer prompt when we are using the Web. Before we can get on-line with whatever website, we are asked to prove that we are not a robot. Once we check that “I am not a robot” box, we can proceed. Apparently, a sign or proof of our humanity is our singular ability to check a box. I wish it was always that easy.

                Mind you, when it comes to social media there are no guarantees that we are who we say we are. Identity theft happens. I have received several bogus Facebook messages from people whom I know but in actual fact somebody is piggy-backing on those folk’s accounts and are trying to run a scam of some sorts, “selling” me something. As soon as I read a plain “Hello” or “How are you?”, I am pretty sure that it isn’t the person I know.

               So it was not surprising that recently, a Facebook contact reached out to me and asked whether I really was who I said I was. I claimed that it was really me, but I am not sure that really proves anything about who I really am.

             Who is the authentic me? Who is the authentic you?

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” (Psalm 139:14, New Living Translation)

We have been created with the divine spark as part of our DNA. This blend of humanity and divinity is unique. God has shared something of himself in each of us. God’s Creative goodness abides in each of us. Our human nature is blessed by God’s genius. “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?  Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority…” (Psalm 8: 3 – 6, NLT)

With great humanity comes great responsibility.

We are responsible for the stewardship of our lives and the world around us. If Christ is in us as God is in us, then the best should come out of our living. To be authentically human is to love one another as we are loved by God. To be authentically human is to care for this fragile planet we live on. To be authentically human is to engage evil with goodness, justice and peace. To be authentically human is to experience joy, laughter, pleasure, satisfaction in the blessings we have. To be authentically human is this: “The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6|:8 NLT)

We don’t always get this right all the time. That’s being human, too. Jesus Christ, fully human, came to help us with trying to get this part of our humanity right with God. “That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed.” (Hebrews 2:19, The Message Bible)

“Living for Jesus a life that is true, Striving to please him in all that I do. Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free, This is the pathway of blessing for me.” (T. O. Chisolm)

Dale