Wednesday, April 4, 2018 

“Then he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (John 20:22) 

                I read a news story, just last week, about a young mother who was suffering from empty nose syndrome. She had undergone some sort of nasal surgery which did more damage than good. The definition of empty nose syndrome is that it is a rare clinical syndrome in which people who have clear nasal passages experience a range of symptoms, most commonly feelings of nasal obstruction, nasal dryness and crusting, and a sensation of being unable to breathe. This woman said that it always feels that she can’t get a full breath and, at times, she feels suffocated or smothered. Experts are divided on what ENS really is, its causes and how it should be treated.

                In light of Jesus’ Resurrection, we sometimes have a spiritual version of empty nose syndrome.

                The disciples are huddled in a locked-up house, more frightened by the Resurrection and its consequences than joyful and empowered. Perhaps, they were still stuck in the events of the Crucifixion. They seemed worried that they would be the next ones arrested, tried and maybe meet the same fate as Jesus. They are confused, perplexed, anxious, mystified, and didn’t know what to do next.

                The Risen Lord enters into this stuffy, stale-aired situation and breathes upon them and offers them his Holy Spirit. They just need to breathe the Spirit in.

                As the opening of John’s Gospel has connotations of Genesis, “In the beginning”, so does this verse. God made Adam “from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being.” (Genesis2: 7) Here is new life shaped into the very likeness of God, in his image.   With that life comes a full garden of possibilities, hopes, joys, satisfaction, well-being and fulfillment.  Literally - what more could a man or woman ask for?

                “When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth.” (Psalm 104: 30)

                In effect, the Resurrection is the renewal of God’s gift of new life with all its potential, possibilities and responsibilities as well. If we are feeling smothered by our worries and our fears of what is happening around us, here is the gift that will set us free if we actually breathe the Spirit in. If we are confused, anxious and don’t know what to do here is the gift of life that throws open the shutters, allows clean air to sweep through the open windows, and blows away the dust and cobwebs, scatters the clutter, and invites us to breathe deeply, inhale the fresh air by which Jesus breathes life into the room.

I suppose that I am mixing my metaphors but “wind” “breath” and “spirit” are all the same noun in Greek. “You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God." (John 3:8, The Message Bible)

But I confess it puzzles me why God’s people act as if they have empty nose syndrome, spiritually speaking. What a gift we have been given, a source of new life, new hope, new joy but too often it seems we are suffocating ourselves with closemindedness, stubborn reluctance to change, and stifling creativity with musty traditions and dogmatic pronouncements, and draining the living energy right out of the Resurrection Hope.  This gift is more than just a promise for the someday life of a New Reality, but it is the immediate blessing for you and me in the here and now.

Breathe, Jesus is telling us. Breathe in his Spirit. Breath in his Life. Breath in his Power. Breathe in his Love.

“I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!”  (Psalm 104:33) 

Dale

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

“But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…” (I Corinthians 1:23) 

It may sound strange but I think that  there is something fitting about Easter Sunday and April Fool’s Day falling on the same day, April 1.

I have never been a big fan of practical jokes. I think some of them can be downright mean, funny only to the perpetrator(s), and not to the victim, although the victim is supposed to be a good sport and laugh along with the rest of the bystanders, even if he or she has egg all over his or her face.

But in this case, the very ludicrous idea of a crucified Messiah being raised from the dead in Resurrection means that God gets the last and best laugh on the powers of evil, humankind’s sinfulness and self-sanctimony, and the powers that corrupt and destroy God’s Creation. Jesus was crucified as a criminal, mocked and scorned, nailed to a cross and everyone knows that “cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13). A dead Messiah doesn’t seem much use to anybody. What a funny idea!

Yet our faith asks us to believe that what God did through Jesus on that cross has accomplished a long-held promise that God would address the corruption of  humanity and his Creation through Jesus’ ignoble and humiliating death.

Now on top of all that, God does the impossible and incredible. He raised Jesus from the dead. Whether in the world back then or in our world today, that seems a lot to swallow.  What a funny idea!

Even some Christians struggle with the idea of a physical resurrection. It pushes the boundaries of one’s imagination and one’s knowledge and experience of reality too far. You can’t be serious! Only a fool would ever believe such nonsense. “Foolishness,” so goes the Proverb, “brings joy to those with no sense; a sensible person stays on the right path.” (Proverbs 15:21)

Even so, this sort of "foolishness" – Crucifixion and Resurrection – is God at his ironic and satirical best. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God,” (1 Corinthians 3: 19). In the Cross and the Resurrection God is upsetting the status quo, while the Evil One slips on a banana peel and gets a pie in the face. “This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25, NLT)

“Instead,” Paul wrote, “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) Look at what God can do with an ugly, wooden cross and a cold, dark tomb. God turns evil tragedy into divine comedy.  God flips an horrendous ending into a new beginning. God turns the tables on the forces of evil who thought they had the last laugh when they crucified Jesus– they aren’t laughing now! The “joke” is on them. “It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” (1 Corinthians 2:14, NLT)

I place great trust and authority in this radical Story of Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection. If that makes me a fool, well so be it!   I will be in good company come Easter Sunday! 

Dale

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 

“One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.” (Mark 10:13, NLT)

                Absolute bliss, as far as I am concerned, is holding your five-day old grandson while he sleeps away in your arms. Man, but that feels good!

                We drove to Kitchener to see Declan and his mom and dad on Monday. We picked up Susan’s mother and father on the way so they, too, could see and hold their newest great grandson. We had a marvelous afternoon passing the little tyke among us. He never seemed to mind or protest. We had supper together before we left.

                What joy, what a blessing. We are now four times blessed, in fact. Babies, especially, remind us  that the future can be bright, full of possibility and hope. Their love, joy, laughter, and trust can heal even the most weary and glum person, if given a decent chance.

                I remember, once, when Nicholas and Katie were very small, we went to visit my seriously ill father (heart failure) who was in an intensive care unit in a Kingston hospital. He was all tubed up and looked like hell and probably felt worse. We were all waiting in a waiting area before they were to allow us to go in and see him. One cranky nurse, in her best imitation of disciple-like fashion,  made it clear in no uncertain terms that the children wouldn’t be allowed or welcomed into their grandpa’s room and should be kept quiet. It complicated things but we thought we had no choice but to comply.

                Not long after, another nurse came along and saw us waiting. In fact, I think she may have come out on purpose to find us once she was told that we were there. She was warm and friendly. Then she told us that she had a couple of chores to do and wouldn’t be back into Dad’s room for a bit. What she didn’t know or see wouldn’t matter to her. We quickly scrambled and snuck the children in to see their grandpa. Even in his very sick condition he was thrilled to see the children.  We didn’t stay long, of course, but I don’t think it was a coincidence that Dad began to rally after that visit. He began to get better and eventually made it back home.

                Jesus seems to have an affinity and affection for children. Of course, in his times as it is, sad to say, in our own times, children were among the most vulnerable and powerless within their culture; susceptible to poverty, war, cruelty, abuse, violence, diseases and hard times.  Jesus, at least, seems to have been raised in a close, loving, healthy, welcoming family environment. We believe he had several younger brothers and sisters and so grew up having children around him.

                There is a Gospel story of Jesus inviting a child from the listening crowd to come forward.  Mark tells us that he put his arms around the child and said to the people, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.” (Mark 9: 37)

                 Our children are precious in God’s eyes and therefore we need to love, cherish, nurture, and be blessing to them just as they are a blessing to us.  They need to be encouraged, taught, mentored, comforted when they mess up, and led to know the differences between right and wrong.  I would add that they need to be introduced, at the very least, to Jesus and have an opportunity to decide whether or not to follow him.

                “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

                Hug your children, or your grand-children, or your nieces or your nephews. Love them.  

Dale

Wednesday, March 14, 2018 

“But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.” (Romans 8:25, New Living Bible)

                Dang, waiting is so hard. I am not very good at waiting.

                Right now, we are waiting for our fourth grandson to be born. He is a week overdue, not that he has a calendar to consult to keep him on schedule.  Between the Soble gene for stubbornness  and the Neal gene (from his grandmother’s side) for being late he will come when he is good and ready. But, thankfully, they have begun the process to speed things along. If he is anything like his father he will have forgotten something and need to go back for it!

                But waiting is not one of my strengths.  I am sure that Nate and especially Krista are even more eager for the little one to arrive.

                So sooner would be better than later! But that is up to #4 grandson.

                Waiting is a recurring Biblical theme. It seems to be a virtue among the faithful people of God.

                “Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” (Psalm 27:14)

Even so, it can feel sometimes that God takes his own sweet time about doing what he is going to do. Even the most faithful person can lose patience, show frustration, become anxious, lose hope, and worry about the future. “How long,” says the Psalmist, “will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?” (Psalm 13:1) “How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing?” (Psalm 35:17) “O Lord, how long will this go on? Will you hide yourself forever?” (Psalm 89:46) “How long must I wait?” (Psalm 119:  84)

Yoo-hoo, Lord, I am over here. Time’s a-ticking.  I’m still waiting…

I am sure that someone has said to you, anything worthwhile is worth waiting for.  Perhaps, this seems to arise from what Paul is saying in Romans.  My understanding is that Paul is referring specifically to waiting for Jesus to finish what he had started, and once and for all bring about a whole, new Creation from heaven to earth (the Kingdom of God project). Just about all his references to the need for waiting seem to have this in mind.

It is not, I believe, just a passive waiting though, not twiddling our thumbs, checking our watches, sitting idly by and waiting for God.

Jesus tells the story about the need for watchfulness, preparedness, readiness, and being good stewards of the time that is spent in waiting. We continue to be of service for the Master. “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.” (Luke 12:42 -43)

In other words, time is not to be wasted, even  under trying or challenging circumstances – when we are waiting for the future to unwind and take hold and we hope for the better and not the worse.  This is not only true on a sacred cosmic level but even in our own personal times of waiting, enduring, dealing with continuances and extensions of life’s circumstances.

Waiting can be a time for praying, for doing good works, for exercising one’s love and grace towards others, for receiving love and grace from others, for seeking counsel, for careful self-assessment and soul nurturing. Waiting can be even be life-changing as one discovers fresh, creative, imaginative, hidden capacities to stand tall, reach for new life, and find strength to keep it all together.

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” (Psalm 62:5) 

Dale

Wednesday, March 7, 2018 

“…the measure you give will be the measure you get…” (Mark 4:24) 

                Well, Lord, here we are – half way through the Lenten season.

                I started out on Ash Wednesday with all sorts of good intentions – to be more intentional when it comes to my spiritual well-being; more honest about myself; more devoted to you; more conscious of my weaknesses and vulnerabilities; less materialistic, less selfish, less judgmental – you know all the stuff which I should and could be working on.

                But baseball spring training has started and you know how much I love baseball.

                We’re waiting on the news of the arrival of our new grandchild and you know how much I love my grandkids.

                I have started another 2000-piece jig saw and you know how much time that takes up.

                It’s another gloomy day and you know that I don’t do well on gloomy days.

                I’ve got some time before Good Friday and Easter. I’ll try to catch up on my Lenten disciplines. I didn’t really promise all that much anyway when I started. How hard could it be?

                Half way through Lent – half measures! If that!

                How easy it becomes to give half measures in the following of Jesus Christ. It is not something which comes naturally. I, like most, really don’t want to pick up my cross of faith and walk with him as far as Jerusalem. I think I’ll wait here and see how it goes.

                Imagine the consequences if Jesus had given up half way; if Jesus had had simply said that he had tried his minimum best and had made his point and it wasn’t his fault if the folk didn’t get his message or his ways. Packed up his sandals and hitched up his robe and went home. Dispersed his disciples back to their fishing nets and tax tables. Thanks boys; maybe next time.

                Half measures don’t cut it! Living up to the least that God expects of me doesn’t measure up.

                There is a Jesus’ story about two people who wanted to become new recruits to the Jesus’ Way. They were very eager at first, “I will follow you wherever you go.” (Luke 9:57) Jesus invited them to follow. But immediately they began to put other priorities first and set conditions and thereby added delays to their followership. Their reasons sound quite, well, reasonable. A funeral of a loved one to attend. Wanting to say good bye to his family and explain what he was doling. Jesus didn’t necessarily refuse them, but he did seize the moment to teach. "No procrastination. No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day." (Luke 9: 62 The Message)

                Half way through Lent and I am wondering how I am measuring up.

                “Correct me, O Lord, but in just measure; not in your anger, or you will bring me to nothing.” (Jeremiah 10:24)

                Now there is a sobering thought! 

Dale

               

Wednesday, February 28, 2018 

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…”  (2 Corinthians 2:15)

                You stink! But I like you anyway!

                Today, I heard about a study – who gives out money for these things? – that links one’s sense of smell to one’s political choices. One of the more interesting findings was that those people who are more sensitive to and thereby repulsed by really bad odors are more likely to have voted for Donald Trump. There’s a straight line in there somewhere but I think I’d better just move on.

                So, I did a little bit of research for today’s blog and I discovered that there are a whole lot of studies relating our odors and scents to the various choices we make.

                One article noted that “It's so easy to use smell to alter perception and assessment of a person or people.” (Gayil Nalls, Psychology Today)  She was curious whether smells  “sway our perceptions and judgments of others."

                When I was pastoring in Point Claire, Quebec, being in a suburban church we didn’t get a lot of transient traffic.  But there was one man who visited me once or twice a year. My office was at the back of the main foyer but I could smell this man the minute the door opened and he stepped in. I always wished that we had a shower in the building and some clean clothes for him.  But I helped him as best I could. I am pretty sure that most people were repulsed by this man and for good reason. His poverty truly stunk!

                Another study published by the American Journal of Political Science claims that “people prefer the body odor of those who vote as they do.” You thought you chose your life’s partner because he or she looked handsome or beautiful and was smart but really it was because he or she smelt right to you.

                Science, eh?

                Paul was way ahead of his time.  People who follow Jesus Christ should have, in a sense (pun intended), a unique but pleasant “body” odor. People should be able to recognize we are a part of Jesus’ family because we emit the fragrance of his Love and grace the minute we walk into a room.

                What is the aroma of Christ? It is the sweet fragrance of Christ-like Love and compassion effused into a world that could use a little air freshener now and then.  We should be making a positive difference around us by our words, deeds, actions, and faith.  It is very sad when Christianity stinks badly of hypocrisy, abuses, judgmentalism, institutionalism and religious arrogance. Instead we should be an “aroma pleasing to God” and therefore to others.

                Some translations use the word “savour” instead of “aroma”. Recall those times of walking into your home and there is the pleasant aroma of a meal being cooked. A hearty stew is simmering in the slow cooker. Or a chicken is in the oven. Or someone has baked cookies or baked bread. The smells are tantalizing, mouth-watering, savory. Not only are you hungry, but the savoury smells make you feel at home, safe, warm, and comforted from the day’s busy-ness.

                I would like today’s Christians to exude that savoury smell of love, compassion,  hope, peace, acceptance, tolerance, inclusiveness, and justice that wraps people up in a pungent  but balm-like fragrance of Christ-likeness.

                Maybe what the world needs now is a bunch of “stinky” people drenched in the sweat of Jesus. 

Dale

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

“Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.”  (Habakkuk 1:3  NIV)

                I grew up with guns in the house. My Dad was a deer hunter and he used  a powerful 30.06 rifle when he went hunting up near Bancroft.  My brother had a 22 rifle.  He claims that he almost accidently shot me once when he didn’t know the rifle was still loaded and it went off accidently (so he says…) but I have absolutely no recall of the incident. As for me I had a BB rifle and a pellet pistol. None of the guns were kept particularly under lock and key if I remember rightly.

                I have never been much of a hunter – scared a few pigeons on my grandparent’s farm now and then, occasionally caused the odd squirrel to have a good chuckle and chatter at my poor aim, or wasted my ammunition on a tin can or two. But nothing serious. I am not opposed to hunting – I just have chosen not to do it. In fact, I love venison, rabbit and other wild dishes.

                But I do not get why anyone – even the most avid gun lover – needs an assault rifle like an AK 17 that was used in the Florida school shootings. The name says it all – assault rifle. Its rapid fire is designed for maximum violence and instant death. It’s a nasty weapon designed primarily for military use. It is not meant for sport hunting and I would hotly debate neither for any kind of recreational target shooting. But I guess there are people who get a thrill out of the power and feeling of invulnerability such a weapon appears to bestow on the one wielding it.

                Nor do I really understand the American reluctance to have even the most common-sense levels of some sort of gun control. I was not happy when our last government removed some of the restrictions on guns in Canada. The argument that ‘guns don’t kill but people do’ is nonsense. It is people armed with guns - big, nasty guns – that kill, murder and slaughter innocent people, especially children and youth.

                I just read where an Australian pastor has posted these words on their church sign: When will they love their kids more than their guns. Susan told me a story she heard about a Florida man who had an assault rifle and loved shooting it but after the Florida massacre he destroyed the weapon. But he will be an exception, not the beginning of a landslide movement to restrict them altogether. Note, just a few days after this tragedy the Florida legislature has nixed a bill restricting assault rifles.

                According to Bible standards there is no greater sign of a sick world than violence. I say that realizing that there is a lot of violence, bloodshed and carnage in many of the stories of the Bible. Even genocide. It is not a pretty picture especially when God is invoked as being the reason behind such violence. Yet, even so, violence is portrayed as an ugly scar on the beauty and sacredness of all Creation. These stories, at least, should make us wince and decry the use of violence as a means to an end.  

                There is a thread in scriptures that also celebrates God’s desire to “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4). Or maybe it should read assault rifles. In God’s Kingdom, under his rule “There he broke the flashing arrows, the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.” (Psalm 76: 3).

                Of course, the vast, vast majority of responsible gun owners would never ever use their rifles for violence against others.  But it only takes a few to do what was done in Florida or in Las Vegas earlier.  Limit and restrict those people who should not have access to guns, do background checks, register, at least,  the big  nasty guns – these are a few ways that we can keep our children safe.

                We need to commit to, pray for and advocate for whatever it takes to bring peace to this hurting world ours, and in the likeness of Jesus Christ, “to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:79)

Dale