Wednesday, August 30, 2023

“Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.” (Luke 14: 10 12, The Message Bible)

                Has anyone seen my cheque book? I was looking for it yesterday.

                We have begun the overdue decluttering, sorting, cleaning, tidying up of our home. By “we,” I meant that we have hired someone to come in and do much of it for us. But when someone else does the work of sorting and sifting, it means that, occasionally, something actually gets put away - I know not where, when I go looking for it. Thus the “missing” cheque book.

                My desk may look like a messy muddle of papers, envelopes with notes on them, scraps of paper, books and so on, but for the most part, I usually know where things are despite the apparent disorder.  My secretary in Ottawa - a very orderly person, everything in its place and a place for everything (after all, she was a Presbyterian!) – would always sort out my office desk when I was on vacation. I couldn’t find a blessed thing when I returned.

                Anyway, I had to dig through bags, boxes and the like before I finally found my cheque book.

                This parable of the woman who swept and scoured her home in order to find just one lost coin came to mind. I keep finding loose change as things get tidied up. But this is different. It is obvious, that although she still had nine coins left, that the tenth coin was valuable to her. In today’s market, it might have been what she needed to pay her rent or mortgage, or pay off an overdue bill or  buy enough food for her family. Or perhaps, it was for medicine. This tenth coin was valuable, maybe a necessity for whatever purposes she had or whatever she needed.

                So she goes on an intensive search, sweeping, dusting, cleaning, sorting, peeking under the bed, checking the cupboards, going through the garbage, “looking in every nook and cranny.” All-out effort!

                Recently, our seven-year-old grandson lost a small part of a new toy in the car. Trust my daughter Katie, the next day, she takes a flashlight and  turns the back seat of the car seat inside out  until she found the tiny piece.

                You get the picture of this woman who is relentless in her search for the lost coin. No stopping until she finds it. Hurray!

                Jesus uses this parable to illustrate God’s loving and gracious pursuit of each and human being. God wants everyone to experience his Love and Grace. “No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” (2 Peter 3:9 New Living Translation) No one is too small, too insignificant, too unimportant, so lost, that God does not want to find and celebrate their new found life through redemption and salvation.

                But the parable also acts as a reminder that we also need to clear out the clutter and disarray in our lives. We need to sort through the debris and trash that may be filling our minds, hearts and spirit. We need to throw out the garbage of resentments, grudges, anger, hatred, prejudice or anything that prevents us from finding the true and sometimes hidden value that makes life rich.

                “It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.” (Galatians 5: 19 21, TMB)

                It can be a lot of hard work to clean up our lives in order to find that relationship with God who, apparently, has been looking for us along.

 But once that life is found, once we have been found, there will be rejoicing in heaven itself! Hallelujah! There is going to be one wang-dang doodle of a party.

Dale

               

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles. (2 Corinthians 7: 4, New Living Translation)

                O what a wonderful morning!

                This past Sunday morning was as near perfect a Sunday morning that I can ever recall. I was the guest preacher at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Everything came together during the service. The sermon almost preached itself. The hymns were right on topic. The post-sermon responses from the congregation were heart-warming. There have been positive emails from those who watched the webcast. I wouldn’t change a thing, even if I could. It was a five-star morning.

                But the thing that made it a five and half stars  - the icing on the cake, the coup de grace, the cherry onn top -happened when the service was over and I was walking down the centre aisle with Paula, our associate minister. There was my seven-year-old grandson, Spencer, with his family, beaming his big smile and saying, “Grandpa! Grandpa!” I barely had time to give him a clumsy high-five. His sister, Amelia, was dancing alongside in the pew. I hadn’t seen them in the congregation until that moment. But the joy in Spencer’s face, the excitement in his greeting, the unconditional love in his twinkling eyes meant the world to me in that moment. A great worship service and the love of a seven-year-old boy - my cup runneth over!

                It has been a heck of summer. Susan has been diagnosed with a return of her cancer and is under treatment. We lost our dog, Charlie. The basement has flooded and they are going to have to rip out the carpet and strip down the walls. Move over, Job, and share your ash pit, please.

                But in the midst of all these “troubles,” I found encouragement, blessing, joy, happiness in the smile of a little boy and the warm reception of our church family. They are praying with us and for us. I wish Susan could have been there for the ambience of it all wrapped around me and embraced me. It was reassuring. It was supportive. It was encouraging. It made me happy, indeed.

                “You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles.”

                That is the power of family, be it one’s own flesh and blood or be it my brothers and sisters in Christ. Words don’t necessarily need to be spoken. It is the smile of a little boy. It is the assuring handshake of a fellow believer.

                What greater gift can we give another person than when we offer encouragement, reassurances, love, laughter and good cheer?  We usually can’t fix the problems or troubles, nor should we usually even try to fix things, but we can show our caring, our tenderness, our compassion, our empathy by simple and meaningful gestures of support and love.

                “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.” (Philippians 2: 1 -2, NLT)

May God smile upon you!

 Dale

 Wednesday, August 16, 2023

“While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run! - on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.” (Ephesians 4: 1 -3, The Message Bible)

                Go, take a hike!

                Yeah, I mean you!

                Sorry to sound rude, but I have discovered the joys of taking virtual hikes on-line. One can go anywhere in the world and enjoy a beautiful, peaceful trek through nature. Pine forests. Lakes. Mountains. The only sounds are usually the crunch of the footsteps of the videographer or the sound of wind in the trees or the rush of water in a brook.

                Mind you, the “best” part is that I don’t ever have to leave my big, blue comfy recliner. I just settle back and take in the scenery along my “walk”. Now, one could argue, rightfully so, that a virtual walk doesn’t compare to being actually on the trail, live. The exercise would do me good. Could I be any more lazy? I can’t even argue that it’s better than nothing because it is nothing. I don’t take one single step in the venture.  I do get a relaxing, meditative, anxiety-reducing experience, but that is about it.

                The apostle Paul often uses the concept of walking as a way to describe our relationship with Christ. It is appropriate when we think how Jesus would challenge people to “follow me.” “Whoever says, ‘I abide in him,’ ought to walk in the same way as he walked.” (1 John 2:6, New Living Translation) In fact, Christianity was first known as “The Way” (Acts 9:2). This implies that our discipleship is a journey, not just a destination. It suggests that our faith should be moving forward, progressing, walking toward a new horizon each and every day, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7. NLT)

                In today’s text, Paul urges us to go, take a hike - “to get out there and walk—better yet, run! - on the road God called you to travel.”  Virtual following of Jesus is not an option. We should not sit in our spiritual easy chairs and contemplate how nice the Kingdom scenery is. “Walk as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8, NLT) Our following in Jesus’ steps especially means loving one another as he has loved us. The milestones along this Way are our good works, our words of kindness, our acts of compassion, “so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10, NLT)

                “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.” (Psalm 86:11, NLT)

                It doesn’t mean that we won’t occasionally stumble, maybe even fall, sometimes go down the wrong road, get lost along the way, but if we keep our eyes on Jesus, our faith in him will get us back on the right path, help us find our footing, lift us up back up on firmer ground so that we may continue our walk with him. “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me.” (Psalm 138:7, NLT)

                I am reminded of those stories about Jesus when he would encounter someone who was lame and disabled. “Stand up, take your bed, and go to your home.” (Matthew 9:6, NLT) Stand up and walk. Empowering. Counter intuitive. Authoritative. Invitational. Life changing. Transformational.

                So, go take a hike! I think I will join you.

 

Dale

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small…They all depend on you to give them food as they need it. When you supply it, they gather it.    You open your hand to feed them, and they are richly satisfied. (Psalm 104: 24 -25, 27 -28, New Living Translation)

                 It has been said that if dogs don’t go to heaven, then I want to go where they go.

                Late in July, we finally had to say good-bye to our beloved, nearly 16-year-old Aussie, Charlie. He had become greatly infirmed. Age had finally caught up to him. His quality of life was negligible. It was tough to let him go but it was time.  

                Charlie was one of the smartest dogs I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was quick to learn and once he learned, he didn’t forget. He loved his family loyally, even if he never cottoned to strangers. I am not sure why he didn’t like small children but he was always suspicious of their ulterior motives. He loved to lay in the snow for extended periods of time. He was a dog of routines. He could be stubborn. His suppers were a can of dog food, kibble with some shredded cheese on top – in that order, thank you very much. He loved it when he would go to pick up Susan from work – always the first one to the door at the right time. He was a fixture in our front hall foyer. I miss him lifting up his head as I pass by, wondering if I was going to get something to eat as he was a big mooch, especially french fries. The house just isn’t the same without him.

                Now to be honest, I really don’t know about the theological validity whether our pets get to heaven or not. My earthly self says that it wouldn’t be heaven without something furry and wanting a belly rub.

                But I am encouraged how scripture reminds us that all creatures, both great and small, are under God’s tender loving care. “All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all.” John Rutter’s anthem, using those words, is one of my favourites. From the beginning of Creation, God has given us a plethora of beautiful creatures to fill our world, some of which give us  the unique pleasure to be engaged in a personal relationship. We’ve had dogs, cats, birds, and Guinea pigs. It creates sorrow when we lose them, but far more joy in having them as part of our lives. Maybe, that is how God feels about his creatures, the gracious joy in having them as a part of his Creation Story.

                As we observe the interaction between God’s creatures and himself, we are reminded that God’s same loving diligence extends to us, creatures of a different sort perhaps, but still part of God’s abundant Creation Story. Birds of the air, sparrows under the eaves of God’s temple, lost lambs, etc. – all remind us that God seeks for our good and well-being. He will watch over us like a “bird protecting its nest.” (Isaiah 31:5, NLT)           

“Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.” (Psalm 8:7, NLT)

So, just in case, I hope - see you later, Charlie.

 Dale