Wednesday, September 24, 2025

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.  Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8)

            We had a gathering of the clans in Mississauga last Saturday. The occasion was the inurnment of Susan’s mother, Barbara Neal, who passed away last January. Saturday was her birthday and it just seemed appropriate for us all to gather and honour her life once more.  Then we all gathered back at my father-in-law’s home for our family time and food. Mum Neal would have loved it.

            One of the things that Mum had told us was that she would like everyone to have an ice-cream cone at her wake. She particularly had a fondness for Dairy Queen chocolate-dipped cones. Whenever the young grandchildren stayed there for any sort of vacation time, there were always many trips to the Dairy Queen.  So, on Saturday, there was a trip to the Dairy Queen (by some brave souls) who procured 25 chocolate-dipped ice cream cones and brought them back to the house. By the time they arrived, the ice cream was already melting. We all hurried out to the back yard and grabbed a cone.  But it was a messy endeavour to say the least, A lot of folk, especially some of the great-grandchildren, were covered in gooey ice cream by the time we were done. The patio area was bespeckled with melted drips and drabs. Even some of the adults were wiping ice cream off their clothes.  We were all laughing at the craziness of this celebration. It was a riot. Mum would have enjoyed every inane, messy minute of it.

            Taste and see the Lord is good.  In these troubled, anxious times, we all need to eat some ice cream and even drip a little chocolate-dipped ice cream on ourselves. We need to be reminded of the joys of family, experience some laughter, don’t take ourselves too seriously, do something silly, remind ourselves God has a sense of humour too,  and let the ice cream drip away. It’s OK if it gets messy. It’s OK if we spill some. It’s OK when we get together as family and friends and imbibe in life’s joys, laughter, appreciation and gratitude. “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”  (Psalm 118:24)

            As I write this, I have had a morning of technical glitches. It has been frustrating, annoying and exasperating. As my mother used to say at times like this, it is enough to make a preacher swear. The world right now seems to be in one big technical glitch. Humour, joy, hilarity, fun, whimsy even, are in short supply. We have a bitter taste in our mouths or left with a sour taste.  A lot of stuff that is happening is hard to swallow. Our taste buds for life are being affected by tastelessness and unsavoury times.

            Perhaps, we are making it too complicated. Taste and see that the Lord is good.  More than  likely, we will find this goodness in the small sweet things in life. We’re in a wonderful season of harvest: apples, tomatoes, corn, fresh garden vegetables. Eating is never more pleasurable than this time of year. This harvest reminds us that there is goodness to be had and enjoyed. But we need to carry this over to appreciate those things that make our lives full of abundance and lives to be relished. Feast on the things that matter, be it family and friend’s, our church and our faith, our health (even though not always perfect) and our freedoms and this country we live in (again, not perfect but far better than many.)

Paul wrote about those who abide by the rules: “Why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? ‘Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this!’ “Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention?” (Colossians 2: 21 -23, The Message Bible) But once we have an appetite for the Lord’s Grace, Love and Mercy, there is a smorgasbord of life’s wonders and a feast of sacred portions. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Sometimes though, it is a simple as letting some ice cream drip down your chin and enjoying the moment for all its worth. Savour the moments like these. They are precious!

Love you, Mum!

 

Dale

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” (1 John 4:16, new Living Translation)

                Hatred is as very strong emotion. We all use the word “hate” all too easily and sometimes often. We hate the traffic. We hate the slowness of our computers. We hate the weather. We hate the slow lines at the cash register. We hate the telemarketer. Our list can grow and become quite extensive.

                There are some interesting synonyms for hatred. They all sound ominous and foreboding. Abhorrence. Detestation. Loathing. Repugnance.  Disgust.  One might think – should think? - that hatred would be best left alone altogether, if we can manage. It is not a healthy part of our well-being.

                But hatred is becoming a raison-d’etre in our society these days. The Right hate the Left. White folk hate the immigrant.  The Jew hates the Palestinian. The Russian hates the Ukrainian.  And vice-versa. Perhaps, there is always the danger of overstating it all.  But the mood of our culture is becoming one of severe intolerance and belligerence towards anyone who doesn’t think, act, believe like they do. As we have seen recently, it can lead to terrible violence.

                I have always believed that the Church, as followers of Jesus Christ, needs to be counter-cultural. Therefore, we need to speaking up against this hateful trend. But there is growing evidence that some Christians are contributing to it instead. One of their popular claims is that “God hates ______.” Fill in the blank with whatever these Christians purport to hate like LGBTQ, pro-choice, liberalism, science, vaccinations, etc. etc.  Their lists are long. They might, but rarely do these days, say they hate the sin and not the sinner.  But their angry rhetoric belies that. Basically, it would seem that if you don’t believe exactly what they  do, you may well end up on their hate list because God hates you, too.

                Never mind the presumptuous rhetoric of speaking on behalf of God about what he may or may not hate, I was curious about what the scriptures say on the subject. Some will argue that in the Old Testament, God can be cantankerous, angry and punitive. Psalm 5 says that God "hates all who do evil.” Well, that makes sense. God hates sin, of course. We are to do the same, “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Psalm 97:10) He hates “those who love violence.” (Psalm 11:5) In Psalm 45, there is a counterpoint to his hatred of evil, “You love justice and hate evil.”  (Psalm 45:7) If anything, in the Psalms, at least, God deals severely with those who use hatred as a form of behaviour against him or others. “Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; they would be doomed forever.” (Psalm  81:5) There is more. “For I, the Lord, love justice.  I hate robbery and wrongdoing.” (Isaiah 61:8) And the message is clear in Jeremiah: “Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.” (Jeremiah 44:4)

                There is also overwhelming biblical evidence that God is far more that any hatred of evil and sin. Hate does not define God’s  whole being by any stretch of the imagination. If we get stuck on what we think God may hate, we do God a great disservice. “The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion.” (Numbers 14:18)

                More than anything, Jesus has allowed us to see God in a whole new Light. The Word made flesh embodies the Love of God.  Jesus surpasses the need to judge, hate, condemn, vilify, denounce or express his disgust about the behaviour of the people around him. Oh, he can be testy and critical at times, (ironically, mostly against the religious pomposity of the religious leaders of  his time) but his compassion, grace, tolerance, brings people into the amazing, unconditional Love of God without little fear of judgment and punishment (although again, Jesus can preach fire and brimstone to the self-righteous and pompous.) “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3: 16 -17) That says to me that God is a Lover, not a hater.

                For sure, that Is the message of John’s letter. God is love. This is God’s prime mode of being.  I could fill another page with the things that Jesus said we shouldn’t or should do which seems to have gone over the heads of the self-righteous haters in our world. Don’t judge. Love your enemies.  Love one another. Go the extra mile. Look after the homeless, the hungry, then poor. But then again, I guess I end up sounding judgmental myself.  But I also think somebody needs to speak up for and uphold this wondrous, uniquely loving God we have. Not that he needs me to, but God is getting some very bad press these days. I may be a voice crying the wilderness, but God is Love and I would like the world to experience that Love in all its glory.

                John says it very plainly: “If anyone boasts, ‘I love God,’ and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.” (1 John  4: 19 20, The Message Bible)

    Blessings!

 Dale

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”” (Matthew 9:12-13 New Living Translation)

              Our family doctor retired over a year ago and we have been without a doctor ever since. At our ages and various health concerns, that is disconcerting. Peterborough has had a difficult time in recruiting new doctors. We were on a waiting list but “waiting” was the operative word here.  It was hard to believe that when we moved to Whitby, there were medical clinics actually advertising for new patients. We found one very close by and we now have a doctor. We have met him. I can’t pronounce his last name or even spell it accurately off hand; his patients simply call him call him Dr. Osa. It is wonderful to have a family doctor again.

                I was fascinated to read in a text from the Apocrypha (Intertestamental literature) how respected and appreciated physicians were even in Biblical times. “Honor physicians for their services, for the Lord created them, for their gift of healing comes from the Most High...” (Sirach 38:1) This text goes on to describe the abilities of both physicians and pharmacists and the important work that each does. The passage concludes with these words: “There may come a time when recovery lies in the hands of physicians, for they, too, pray to the Lord that he grant them success in diagnosis and in healing, for the sake of preserving life.” We are blessed in Canada that we have an affordable health care system and everyone can get the medical treatment they need without fearing the cost.

                Jesus was, of course, the Great Physician. “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14: 14) The Gospels are full of stories about Jesus’ ability to restore health to the sick and dying. “And he healed every kind of disease and illness.” (Matthew 4:23) Not surprisingly, his reputation as a healer spread quickly and attracted large crowds. It also attracted controversy and his critics. Even on a Sabbath, Jesus would heal anyone who had a need. He healed Jew and Gentile alike, the poor, the rich, the old. the young, women, children, the sinner, the outcast and the ostracized.  No one was outside his healing purview. “And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all.” (Matthew 4:24)

                The health of a person is so essential for their well-being, their shalom.  It is hard for someone to feel near to God when they are sick or dealing with a disease or infirmed or in pain.  I have chronic arthritis and there are days it just makes me miserable (well, more so than usual). Susan is still dealing with her cancer and this is frightening. But our faith helps us to battle through. Jesus still reaches out to us with his compassion and grace and walks beside us in this journey. It may not be exactly the same as a miraculous cure but the stories of healing in the Gospels give us courage, strength, and assurances. Paul, when he was dealing with and praying about his physical aliment, “a thorn in my flesh,” wrote about the Lord’s counsel, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

                In our text above, Jesus is responding to the Pharisees who are criticizing Jesus for eating with a group of low-lifes in their not-so-humble opinion.  Jesus tells them that it exactly for those who are spiritually unwell that he has been sent by God. His purpose is health. Total health. To help everyone who needs God in their lives for one reason or another, to experience God’s Shalom, i.e. total well being. It is no coincidence that following these verses are two more stories about healings and even a resurrection.  Ironically, the leader of a synagogue asks Jesus to help raise his daughter who had just died. On his way, a woman who had been suffering a chronic condition for twelve years touches the hem of his cloak and is healed. Jesus restores the daughter back to life. Later he restores the sight to two blind men and then casts out a demon. Just another normal day in the life of Jesus. A physician’s work is never done. Jesus’ mission to help those who are in need of a physician for the heart, soul and body knew no limits: “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

                Salvation comes from the Latin word “salus,” meaning safety or being saved from harm or danger. But now we use it to describe the results, the good prognosis, we have because of  Jesus Christ. The Great Physician has used his sacred Love to save us from whatever life and death can throw at.us. “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?... No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” (Romans 8: 35 -37)

                Be well!

 Dale

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14, New Living Translation)

                “And who is my neighbour?” a man once asked Jesus. Well, so far, I can name Linda, Don, Wayne, Stephen, Jackie, Justin, Jacob and Ryan.  I now know more names of my neighbours in 3 months here in Whitby than I ever did in Peterborough in 20 years. I could name our neighbours’ dogs better than I could name the neighbours themselves. But I am discovering that our apartment building is a very friendly and close neighbourhood in its own right. Nobody is ever nosy but everyone keeps an eye out for each other. I am working hard trying to remember all their names. There are a lot of dogs in our building, too, but I haven’t learned a single one of their names, yet. How times have changed!

                The population of our apartment building is richly diverse. There are many retired folk like us. But there are children, too.  It is very multicultural. There are singles and mixed families and same sex couples and many others sharing our building.  Very different personalities and characteristics.  I know all this by watching and listening and talking to my neighbours. As one of my neighbours said to me, we’re all different and there is no point in judging others.  Life is too short for that. Amen to that! Everyone seems respectful and considerate of one another. (It’s kind of like one would want a church to be.)

                We are living in a perilous time where powerful political and extreme conservative social forces are creating a very unfriendly and unneighbourly society. Outsiders, i.e. people not like us, are being targeted as unwanted. People who don’t look like us talk like us, act like us are unwelcome. Conservative Christianity, sadly, is sometimes at the very vanguard of this movement. Neighbourliness is taking a beating out there in the world. We are more like to accuse our neighbour of something than to befriend him or her. Jesus pointed to such troubled times as this as a portent of the end of the world: “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.” (Mark 13: 12)  We give little heed to God’s declaration: “I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.” (Psalm 101:5)

                It may take a Second Coming of Christ to restore civility, tolerance, mutual concern, compassion, justice, grace and peace in our neighborhoods. Perhaps, it can only be Christ’s Love that can fully and completely re-establish the Kingdom of God in all its fullness where one neighbour really does love another neighbour. Let the rapture begin if it means we can treat each other with Love again. At the very least, “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.” (Matthew 7: 1 -5, The Message Bible)

                Proverbs give us some clarity on neighbourliness. “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, ‘Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.’ Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for those who live nearby trust you. Don’t pick a fight without reason, when no one has done you harm.” (Proverbs 3: 27-30)

                And just maybe, if you and I can begin to get it right again, then the world leaders will pick it up and stop their warring madness. But I am getting way ahead of myself. Let us consider what Jesus and then Paul had to say: Love your neighbour as yourself. Blows your mind, doesn’t it? It sounds so simple. We don’t need to complicate it with conditions, exceptions, restrictions, qualifications, etc.  Just love your neighbour as yourself. Jesus gave us the Golden Rule as a good start: “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” (Luke 6:31) How hard can that be? This is not complicated, sophisticated theology. It’s practical, down-to-earth. Love your neighbour as yourself. A child can do it. Why not us?

                Who is my neighbour? You are!

 

Dale