Wednesday, October 26, 2016

                Some time ago, we bought a small, rawhide bone for one of our dogs, Charlie, because our other dog, Kramer, doesn’t usually prefer these types of bones. But neither dog has tried to chew it up.  Instead the little rawhide bone travels around the house or back yard. If Kramer carries it outside, Charlie hauls it back in. If Charlie carries it upstairs, Kramer will bring it back down to the living room. If Charlie leaves it in the family room Kramer will carry it to the front hall. And on it goes. Well traveled, but never chewed.

As the two dogs really don’t get along with one another, I suspect it’s not so much a game between the two as much as a way simply to annoy the other.  It doesn’t look as if either really cares about the bone, but the one dog merely moves it away from wherever the last dog left it in hopes it will irritate the other. Neither especially want the thing, but neither do they want the other to have it.

Of course, I am applying human behaviour and motives in this situation. It is not even coveting or greed really; more like along the line’s, “I don’t want you to have it, so I will take it, even though I don’t need it or will never use it.” 

This is my corner of the world; and I don’t have to share; go find your own corner.

This is my ‘piece of the pie’; go get your own.

This is my church building; I don’t want anybody else using it except just me and my friends, even though it is empty most days of the week.

This my country; I don’t want anybody living here that I don’t know or like, even though there is plenty of room for all.

I don’t want you, maybe even especially you, to have anything that I don’t have, or want, or think I need.

Perhaps ‘selfishness’ best describes the characteristic of having the same bone to pick even though it’s not really about the bone at all. Selfishness is not one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Maybe it should be #8, although it seems implied in almost all of them:  gluttony, pride, greed, covetousness, envy, lust and even laziness.

“An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels,” (Proverbs 18:1). I am sure you have seen children playing and one child picks up a toy and then the other child wants it immediately even though he or she had no interest in it just a few seconds ago. Then a fight ensues over the toy. Now expand that into adult behaviour and one gets the picture, but worse.

 Paul peers into his church at Corinth and fears the worst,  “I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder,” (2 Corinthians  12:10). The epistle of James echoes the concern, “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice,” (James 3:16). Or to put in in a more positive vein as Paul does in Philippians, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,” (Philippians 2:3).

Have you seen the ad for a new website for selling second-hand items? It’s called “Let It Go”.  That can be good spiritual advice, too. Let it go. Better yet, pass it on. Share. Let others in on the spiritual adventure of following Jesus Christ. There’s plenty to go around.

“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble, (1 Peter 3:8).

Now where do you put that old bone you have been chewing on for far too long?

Dale

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

            My wife, Susan, found a baby’s onesie that said on the front “Saw it. Wanted it. Told Grandpa. Got it.” So, when little, two and half month-old Spencer blessed me with some drop-dead cute, wrinkled-up nose smiles on Sunday I was a puddle of mush. Want some candy? Sure, chocolate O.K.? A tricycle? Sure, blue or red?  A pony? Well, we probably should ask your parents. Oh, what the heck; white with black spots O.K.?

            You know what they say – smile and the whole world smiles with you. Smile at your grandpa and the world is your oyster.

            It is somewhat sad how seldom the words “smile” and “laughter” actually can be found in the Bible, and on the rare occasion they do, it is often not referring to anything very positive. Sarah laughs somewhat mockingly when God promises her a son in her old age. “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me,” (Genesis 21:6). Laughter is sometimes seen as mocking and taunting. God can scoff. Even Jesus warns about casual, cavalier laughter, “Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep,” Luke 6:25. No wonder Christians are seen as a humorless bunch of up-tight, over-serious curmudgeons.

            But though the actual words may not show up very often, I would argue that there is an implied and real joy of smiles and laughter hiding in the corners of our beloved scriptures. There are lots of uses of wit, double meanings, puns, irony, and hyperbole that support the deeper lessons that we discover. For example, I am pretty sure that Jesus’ parables must have caused many a twitter, smile and much amusement, nudging one’s neighbour in the side, at least until the listeners realized that they were the target of his humour and point. Surely, Jesus could not have been in the company of children and not be infected by their laughter, smiles and wonderful joy. As a counterpoint to the Jesus’ quote above, he also said, “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh,” (Luke 6:21).

            My point is this: there is a time to laugh and a time to mourn. I am not advocating plastering some phony-baloney, insincere smile on your face all the time, but I am suggesting that a good sense of humour, joy and the gift of smiles and laughter can soothe even the achiest of hearts and spirits.  I would never have survived ministry without a good sense of humour. C’mon, some of the stuff we do as churches, as pastors and lay folk alike, is downright foolish and silly and funny as all get-out. One might as well laugh as to cry.

Of course, being a follower of Jesus entails some serious character building, but the occasional spiritual pie-in the-face or a slip on a banana-peel piece of life can still be funny once in a while. I have found that it is in these moments of hilarity (from Latin and then Middle English hilarite, good spirits) that God can reveal some very important insights, lessons and values. At the very least, it has always knocked me off my high-horse. And then I think, ‘Who says that God doesn’t have a sense of humour?’  I’m pretty sure that I hear him chuckling somewhere.

Probably the closest Biblical word which we can associate with smiles and laughter is the “joy”.  Again listen to Jesus, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete, (John 15:11).

And that, my friends, puts a smile on my face; what about yours?

Dale

Wednesday, October 12

            Our one-year-old grandson, Henry, has taken his first staggering steps. Sometimes, he uses the furniture to get himself to a standing position and then sets out for his intended destination. It may be only a few steps right now but it is hard work for our little guy. He doesn’t always make it. Sometimes, he loses his balance and plops down on his diaper-cushioned backside. Turns and pivots are still a little tricky. His momentum, once he gets up to speed, may propel him more away than toward his chosen path. But once he gets the hang of it, of course, he will find a new sense of freedom and mobility which will allow him to enjoy new experiences and discoveries.

             Mind you, it adds to the need for Mom and Dad’s attentive diligence, and his old brother can’t escape as easily, and Jackson the dog may have to deal with a busy toddler. But for Henry, it is a new skill that opens up the world around him.

            There are times when I think that it has been a shame that the Christian church allowed itself to become so institutionalized and therefore stuck in in its rigid forms, buildings, rules and codes. Originally, Christianity was called “The Way” by its followers. It implies movement, flexibility, having the freedom to get up and move, discovering of new places and people, going into their neighbourhoods and communities, and understanding faith in Christ as a journey of growth, creation and discovery. Even in the Old Testament God only reluctantly allowed his people to build him a temple, but for the longest time worship was centred in a very transportable ark of the covenant.  The first Christian communities met in people’s homes and often seemed to move about depending on the circumstances.

            Today, many, often older, Christians seem to prefer stability, structure, predictability, certainty, reliability, and safe havens when it comes to the practice of our faith. To be honest the older that I am getting, more and more I am appreciating those qualities myself. There are days when it is an effort to get up off the couch, never mind to try something new, or to seek out a positive change in my life, or to flex my spiritual legs and see what God is doing out there. But if all I ever do is fall down on my faith-cushioned, spiritual backside and not get up and try again I will never get anywhere. And I will be the poorer for it.

            Paul wrote “Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” (Ephesians 5:2). Jesus instructed his followers to pick up our crosses and follow him in the Way of Love. When we walk down the path of God’s Love, we choose a way that opens up a whole new landscape to explore, enjoy, revel in, and discover new blessings and experience the sacredness of all of life.

            “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love,” (2 John 1:6).

Dale

Wednesday, October 5

It is Thanksgiving.

The Creator paints the landscape with reds, yellows, oranges.

Even though the birdsong of summer is silenced

            the human spirit crackles and snaps like logs on a fire,

            embering to tame the frosty air of the brisk, evening air.

The One who has given life both blossom and now harvest,

            folds the changing scenery under a sacred embrace.

As manna drips from the work our hands have made,

            we wonder whether we will be able to ever store enough, have enough,

feeding us and those who can barely feed themselves.

The provisions of God are a mysterious counter-point to our greed, appetites,

and covetousness.

There will be wintry times for laments, confessions, complaints and protests.

We let go of what was, celebrating now the bounty and the grace

            which stores up the love of our God

            for when winter challenges the heart and soul.

It is Thanksgiving.

A time to pause and reflect...

A time to remember and revel in the memory…

A time to enjoy and relish...

A time to feast and appreciate God’s sacred plenteousness…

So we abide and thrive by the bounty of God’s grace.

So we flourish by the nurture of God’s love.

So we grow by the plenty of God’s hope.

Then we live fully, and fully live, replenished by faith.

It’s Thanksgiving.

Give thanks, today. Give thanks.

Let your hearts be a cornucopia of fruitful praise and acclamation.

Let the sweet juices of God’s unbounded, unceasing, unconditional love

            dribble from your unfettered lips with joy and celebration.

Let my heart and my soul give thanks!

Dale

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

            Driving around Peterborough can be a bit of a challenge these days. It seems wherever you go there is roadwork of some sort or another. In once place it is water-main replacement. In another Bell is working on installing new lines for their Fibe system. In another the City is repairing manhole covers and sewer drains. There is a nearby street that has been under re-construction for months and is still unfinished. Little orange cones are popping up everywhere, like a forest of carrot-y gnome hats blown askew by the wind.

            My question is why do they start something and then not finish the project as expediently as possible? It seems that they are always starting the next thing before they finish what they have been working on.  The City began repairing the curb and sidewalk in front of one of the driveways to my wife’s workplace. It’s not a big job. But it has been over a week and they just got the cement poured for the curb, but not the sidewalk. Who knows when the pavers will arrive!

            We’ve had beautiful weather for working. No more delays, please. Don’t start anything new. Just finish what you’ve started already! This, coming from the Great Procrastinator – namely me.

Jesus told a parable about a man who was building a tower, (Luke 14: 28 -30). It would seem that he may have had quite ambitious plans for a very elaborate tower. He began to build and soon discovered he couldn’t afford the cost to complete the tower. Jesus comments that the man’s predicament is just a little embarrassing. “When he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish it all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’”

Jesus is making a point about Christian discipleship (followership) through this parable. Don’t start down the road with Jesus if you aren’t willing to pay the whole price. Perhaps, one might argue that you and I are always “under construction” in our walk with Jesus and there is indeed truth in that. I am always discovering new and challenging aspects in my Christian faith and practice.

But Jesus was always very honest and forthright about the cost of following him, never shirking from the truth of sacrifice, true grit and even suffering, which to me are the key characteristics of Christian compassion towards others.

It’s fantastic to have the right foundation – faith, prayer, biblical principles, creedal assurances, etc. -  but we are called by Jesus to keep on building up our Christian works (individually and communally) and to strive towards finishing the project(s) of a complete Christian lifestyle and being. “Not that I have already reached this,” Paul wrote, “or have already reached the goal, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own,” (Philippians 3:12).

Some Christians seem to think that their salvation is secure because they have accepted Jesus, and need not do much else after that.  But, in fact, there is much, much more to do so as to increase our loving and grateful response to Jesus Christ’s redemption. “Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means,” (2 Corinthians 8:11).

 

Dale

Thursday, September 22, 2016

            It was a random Bible reading, something to which I had flipped open as I did my devotional time.  I have never preached from it, but I wish had, now that I have discovered it. It is Acts 28, verses 1 - 10. There are all sorts of miraculous events in the whole story of Paul’s venture on the Mediterranean Sea –  surviving a dramatic and devastating ship wreck in the middle of a storm on their way to Rome (Ch. 27), Paul’s almost casual indifference to a poisonous snake that bit him while gathering firewood, and finally a healing miracle, too.  All very exciting and theatrical, making for a great and wondrous story.

But it was not the stirring bits that caught my eye this time, but the common touch of human compassion. Paul and his companions had marooned themselves on the island of Malta. Luke writes, “The natives showed us unusual kindness,” (28:2). They built a fire and “welcomed us around it.”  Hot dogs and s’mores for everyone!

This is an interesting twist on the admonition that Christians are the ones who are to be diligent practitioners of compassion, hospitality and kindness towards others. E.g. “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it,” (Hebrews 13:2). But here, it is Paul along with his fellow travellers, some of whom were Christian, who found themselves on the receiving end of a stranger's benevolence, even though the natives were not probably Christians. Later we are told that the “leading man of the island… entertained us hospitably for three days,” (7).  Luke thought it important enough to include these remarks in his diary.

One of our favourite shows in Still Standing (CBC). Host Jonny Harris visits small struggling towns across Canada and using his humour helps celebrate their perseverance, hopes and aspirations. This week he was in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan.  A few years ago the people had to survive a catastrophic, unprecedented flood. One of the buildings that was severely damaged was the historic hotel in the town. The building was slated for demolition, but a band of immigrant Philippinos took over the building and have fully restored it, better than ever. Strangers helping others, even though they didn’t, perhaps, share the same attachments, heritage, culture, religion, as everyone else. They simply cared about their neighbours.

Compassion can always break down barriers between us. Showing kindness can often make enemies into friends. A helping hand is far superior than a closed fist.  Empathy is a conversation starter, leading to understanding and better communication. 

It is hard work being to be unconditionally hospitable. Maybe that is what Luke meant by describing the Malta natives’ hospitality as “unusual”.  The writer of 1 Peter tells us to show hospitality without grumbling and griping (1 Peter 4:9), some advice that I wish a few churchy Christians would heed when pressed to engage the “otherness” of people. If pagans and nonbelievers can do this - and they do, all the time – then we, the Church, need to be more like Paul and pitch in and gather some firewood even if it sometimes bites us.  Or listen to the writer of one of the letters from John: “We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth,” (3 John 1:8).

Work together –  now there’s a concept!

Dale

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

            Before September arrived I had been wondering whether I would miss the “thrill” of starting up another new church year now that I have retired. I used to love the Fall when everything began to kick back into gear. There was a sense of anticipation and a spirit of eagerness. Sometimes, new programs would begin, or a new project, or some fresh venture. It often took the church folk a few weeks to catch up to my enthusiasm; maybe by Thanksgiving when everybody was finally back and ready to go. Nevertheless, by and large, I enjoyed the start-up season of September.

            But, to be honest and a little to my surprise, I haven’t missed it as much as I thought I might. It feels different in some ways, but I am very okay with this. I’m not bored yet. I am not looking very hard for the next Big Thing. I feel no burning itch to hitch myself up to some new wagon.  I have heard of pastors who have hated retirement and sometimes it makes me wonder what’s wrong with me that I am so comfortable in this season that I am in. Then I understand what the writer of Ecclesiastes meant: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven,” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

            This is not to say that if and when God taps me on the shoulder and has a new assignment of some kind that I will turn it down.  In fact, I pray that it will be something that I have never done before, just for the challenge of it. It doesn’t have to be pastoral ministry – in fact, I hope it isn’t. But whatever it may be, I hope I will welcome it with enthusiasm, and commit myself wholeheartedly to the effort.  I can remember too often when sometimes, a few of our most capable, gifted, retired folk in my churches would turn down taking on tasks or challenges. I don’t want to be that person, if I can help it. Although maybe the real issue was that we weren’t offering something challenging enough, stirring enough, daring enough to warrant their time and they had already done everything else that could be done in the church, you know, the same old same old. Boring! Unrewarding! Fruitless!

            Abraham and Sarah had a good laugh when God said they were going have a son in their nineties(!). Even taking in account the possible and even intentionally humorous hyperbole of the text, it still effectively stresses the point that God does not see old age as an excuse for opting out of his unusual work. Indeed, Abraham and Sarah set out on this sacred adventure when they were said to be in their seventies, leaving behind everyone they knew and everything that was familiar.  There are mornings when my knees ache, my shoulder throbs, my arthritis acts up that I don’t even want to get out of bed, never mind set out on a mission trip to God knows where.  

            Moses was in his eighties when God asked him to lead his people out of Egypt, for 40 years! When I am eighty I plan to sit on my front porch, with my favourite beverage, a good cigar, and wave my cane at the kids going by and tell them to keep off the grass. Just kidding – about the last part anyway!

            So try something new this Fall. Have you ever been to a Bible study? Have you ever sung in a choir?  Have you ever volunteered at the meal for the homeless, poor and hungry? Have you ever volunteered to help the pastor with hospital visitation?  You get the idea. Or as it is written, “Be prepared in season and out of season…” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Dale