Wednesday, February 22, 2023 – Ash Wednesday/Lent One – Bystanders at the Cross

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” just say this, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.”’  They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. (Mark 11: 1 -7 New Living Translation)

                 Really, we are all bystanders when it comes to following Jesus to the Cross. It hits us and may include us in different ways but it is a journey which Jesus must carry out on his own. We watch and we react and feel powerless and yet there is nothing we can do now or would have done if we had actually been there. We are bystanders, rubberneckers, part of the crowds who are drawn to scenes of catastrophe and failure. We have little choice but to watch and wonder and tremble as we witness Jesus’ journey to the Cross. “Bystanders” – this year’s Lenten theme – looks at some of the scriptural bystanders in the Passion Story, people who get drawn into the Story, and become a part of the Story.  A lot like us.

                We begin with the owner of the colt, a donkey, which Jesus was requesting for his ride into Jerusalem. There seem to be some cloak and dagger to the scene. Jesus knew a lot about the donkey. Perhaps he knew its owner, had spoken to him, told him prior to his ride that he would need the donkey. Whatever, he knew that he needed this particular donkey for his purpose. The owner – we don’t know if he was follower or not - seemed to be willing to help and allowed the disciples to take the animal.

                As we go about our daily routines and business, we may encounter a time in which Jesus needs something from us. It may be an unusual or curious request.  It may require our immediate attention or interrupt our schedules.  We may not want to be involved in whatever Jesus is doing. We may need the required time, the required asset, the required possession for ourselves.  After all, it is yours or mine, not his, and so, we are reluctant to just give it up or give it away for nothing.

                Did the owner even watch the procession of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and boast a little to himself and to his friends, “Hey. That is my donkey. Jesus is riding on my donkey.”  If he was wanting credit, we don’t know his name or his reward. We know more about the donkey, actually.

                Jesus wants something from us, our time, treasures, talent, gifts. We might tend to ask what is in it for you or me. Sometimes, our reward and satisfaction is merely in the quiet satisfaction that we have served the Lord.  And that is okay!  No fame. No glory. No profit. This parade is about Jesus, not about you or me, anyway.

                There are other bystanders in the story, the ones who challenge the disciples’ taking of the donkey. “What are you doing, untying the colt?” Perhaps they were only looking out for their neighbour’s possessions. But it reminds me that outsiders, looking in, don’t always understand, at first, why we serve Jesus the way we do. It may seem odd to others what Jesus expects from us. It may be an intrusion into their comfort zones when someone acts out of faith, obedience and trust. But we should not let others’ opinions deter us from serving Christ in whatever manner he has asked of us.

                If the Lord wants a donkey like me, then that’s what he gets. I don’t care what others think or say. If Jesus is willing to humble himself on that donkey, then I am willing to give him my best.

                Get on board, Jesus!

Dale

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

“My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.” (1 John 4: 10 – 17, The Message Bible)

                Happy belated Valentine’s Day to one and all. I hope your day was full of love and beauty. We celebrated here with a Swiss Chalet dinner, complete with desserts.  We went decadently whole hog – or whole chicken, I suppose - by even having it delivered. Ain’t love grand!

                But, of course, love is grand. Or, at least, it is supposed to be. Not just romantic love but the Love that was given to us to shape our lives, guide our relationships and influence the world about us. God’s Love - a deep-rooted, high-spirited, radical and uncompromising dynamic which flows from God to us and through us and on to others.

                Much has been said, written, sung, poeticized and been given testimony to concerning love. No word is more misunderstood, abused and damaged than love. No word causes more confusion, angst, pain and heartache than love.  But we would not want a world without love.

                When we allow God’s Love (Agape) to be the bed rock for our own actions of love, it reshapes the definitions we heap on love. Love is the sacred act of compassion, tenderness, grace, forgiveness, joy, non-threatening peace, hope all rolled into one.

                This Love supresses judgment, bigotry, pride, self-interest, anger, and bitterness. This Love brings us closer to God and also to each other. If we view others through the lens of God’s Love, we learn and practice inclusion, tolerance, acceptance, welcoming and the true meaning of open arms.

                Unfortunately, God’s Love has to fight for its rightful place in our world. It has to overcome obstacles and barriers we throw in its way. God’s Love gets belittled  and lost in the harshness of hunger, poverty, wars, violence and hatred that shatter Love’s message.

                Despite that, God never gives up on his Love for us and the world. “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” (John 3: 16 -17, The Message)

                Love puts the world right again. That is one powerful message.  It will need God behind the effort for Love to take its rightful place in our world, in our minds, in our hearts and in our actions. God’s Love repairs the damage we do to him and to others. God’s Love holds us responsible to reproduce, in human form, the Love he gives us through Jesus and through the Spirit.

                “Jesus said, ‘The first commandment in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.’” (Mark 12: 29 -31)

                Get it? Nothing is greater than Love.

                Pass it on!

 Dale

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

“What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.” (Galatians 6: 7 - 8, The Message Bible)

                I wish I had a 5-minute rewind button. Just five minutes to go back in time - is that asking too much?

                Yesterday morning,  I was backing out of our garage to go to the grocery store. I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have been and before I knew it I was clipping the side-view mirror on the edge of the garage door frame. I panicked a little and instead of immediately stopping and going forward, I sped up a little, continuing to back up, and that stupid action totally busted the casing right off the mirror into two big pieces. Careless, thoughtless, senseless, dumb – you can stop me any time. An expensive bag of groceries, to say the least. If I could just rewind those few minutes before I got into the car, think of the grief I could have saved myself. (Thanks to the handyman's best friend - duct tape -  I have managed to re-attach the casing.)

                Or consider the Moncton landlord who recently posted to her tenants that she did not want them helping the poor or homeless. She felt that homelessness was a personal choice and there were enough beds and meal programmes to help these needy folk. Now she has had to apologize for her foolishness and ignorance. “I wish all of this didn’t happen.” If only she had a five-minute rewind button before she sent out that email to her tenants.

                You reap what you sow.

                We have all said things or done things that we regretted later.  We have opened our mouths and put our both feet into them. “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.” (James  3:2, New Living Translation) If only we could take back those harsh, critical, blunt, hurtful words we spoke to a spouse, a child, a friend, a co-worker.  The subsequent consequences can be so costly. If only we had a five-minute rewind button. If we hurtfully unload our words constantly and consistently enough, ignoring the feelings of others, riding rough-shod over their self-esteem and self-image, we soon have a “harvest crop of weeds.”

                Unfortunately, we do not have a rewind button. What’s done is done. We can’t take it back. We can’t undo the initial damage which has been done. We have to live with it. We might wish we could eat our words, but once they are spoken, it’s too late.

                But we can and should  apologize and not let the words or actions fester any longer than is necessary. We can seek forgiveness and make amends.  Don’t try to justify, validate or explain your words or actions – rather show sincere regret and repentance.  Seek reconciliation. Yes, it may be embarrassing, awkward and uncomfortable, but it needs to be done to restore our relationships with others.

                Of course, Paul has suggested that we should try not to harvest weeds in the first place. Let God plant goodness, kindness, compassion, consideration, thoughtfulness, graciousness, love in the words and actions we speak, then we might be far less prone in doing or saying the wrong thing in the first place.

                Think before we speak or act. Consider the consequences.  What might it cost if I say this or do that?  Better yet, strive to do good right from the get-go. Make Love the guiding force of your actions and words.

                “Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” (Colossians 3: 17, The Message)

 Dale

Wednesday, February 1, 2023

“What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise … But I need something more! I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in good actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.” (Romans 7: 14 – 21, The Message Bible)

                In our Soble clan, it is called “doing a Dad” or “doing a Dale.” It is a family curse.

                It usually (and all too often) goes like this. I go into a grocery store and want to buy, for example, potato chips -  regular, everyday potato chips. I get to the shelf where the potato chips are featured and grab a bag. But when I get home, I discover that I have inadvertently grabbed a bag of jalapeno flavoured potato chips. Or I grab chicken nuggets and bring home spicy chicken nuggets. That happened to me just this past weekend. Poor Susan has a cupboard full of bottles of conditioner when I meant  to buy her shampoo. I blame the manufacturers for poor labeling. Who’s got the time to read and study the labels?

                Sadly, it runs in the family for some. Recently, Katie reached for a package of regular coffee and came home with decaffeinated. She did a Dad. I am ratting her out because she blames me for this sin. Even our little, five-year-old grandson, Declan, chose jalapeno fish crackers instead of the regular. His astute father pointed out that Declan can’t read yet, but I fear the worse.

                On the bigger stage of life,  Paul wrote about deciding one way and then doing the opposite.  His humanness knows the right and the good but seems to slip into doing the wrong and sinful. “I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise.”  Even when he is very intentional  “not to do bad,” he messes up and goes right ahead and does the bad thing anyway.

Too often, we act without thinking, do something regardless of the consequences, say something without much if any discernment and before you know it, it’s jalapeno time.

We should know better. You might think that our past experiences would teach us not to make the same mistakes. But we do it anyway a lot of the time. It is as if we can’t help ourselves. Paul wrote that it is sin working in us that deceives us into making the wrong choices. He is right, of course, but this is not some extraneous power to blame, but the “sin that dwells within me.” We might want to say that the Devil made me do it, but in reality, we have no one to blame but ourselves. “Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.”

But we are not left in this quagmire of good and bad actions. “Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.” (Romans 7: 24 -25, The Message)

Jesus sets the standard of good conduct. He is the example of love, grace, mercy and forgiveness which we are called to imitate. He has taught us how to live a meaningful and fruitful life. It is Jesus who commands us go out in the world in his name and do the things he did, “The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing.” (John 14: 12, The Message)

With Jesus’ Spirit alive within us, all of us can make better choices, do the right thing, say the loving thing, be the kind of person who overcomes the wrong and the hurtful.

 “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Romans 12: 1 -2, The Message)

Do a Jesus!

 Dale

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

“God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows,  you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.” (Psalm 23: 1 – 3, The Message Bible)

                 Godwink “essentially refers to a coincidental event or experience that is perceived to be fate or destiny. It can also be inferred as the work of divine intervention hence the use of ‘god’ with ‘wink’, acting as confirmation you are either on the right track or perhaps hinting at a different path that you may not have considered.” (An internet definition)

                The term is especially used when two persons inevitably find each other and fall in love through a whole set of circumstances that throws them together time after time again – as if God was bringing them together.

                Recently, I encountered a lovely Godwink story while I was acting as the on-call chaplain at our hospital. Sadly, the man had just lost his wife in their 69^th year of their marriage. They met all those years ago when he was attending university. He was dating someone else when he graduated and due to some job restrictions, he couldn’t marry her for a couple of years. She didn’t want to wait and broke off the relationship. His wife-to-be, a nurse, was dating a doctor. He wanted to go to a third-world country and practice medicine there. A noble ambition but her parents didn’t want her to go because of the risks and dangers. She, too, broke it off.  Eventually, not long after, the fated  two met at a church function and the rest, as they say, is history.

                God works in mysterious ways.

                It goes to show that if we put ourselves in God’s Way, good things can happen. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10, New Living Translation)

                Now I am not a predestination kind of guy, believing that everything is predetermined nor do I believe that God pulls our puppet strings. But I do believe that God desires our benevolence, our blessing, our happiness, our joy and provides us every opportunity to respond to his hopes and promises for us. We have the free will to walk away from those gifts, ignore his leading, choose our own paths.  God is even there when we stumble, lose our way, fumble our future or stubbornly go our own way and it is the wrong way. Often God gently nudges us back or offers to guide us back into the way we should go.

               Of course, life doesn’t always go the way we wish it would. We may face times which are difficult and painful. We may wonder where God has gone when the going gets tough. But I would suggest to you that God is in the gaps and cracks of life, looking for us. Like the Good Shepherd of the parable, Jesus seeks for us when we are lost and feeling abandoned and don’t know which way to turn.  The Good Shepherd brings us back into his Love and carries us on his shoulders to get us back on the right path.

             He leadeth me, He leadeth me, By His own hand He leadeth me/ His faithful follower I would be, For by His hand He leadeth me.

                It can always be surprising how God works in our lives. It is not always spectacular or magnificent. It may seem coincidental and unexpected. Yet after all is said and done, we begin to understand that the Love of God has always been at work for us and with us.

                Here is my definition of a Godwink: “Guard me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings…” (Psalm 17:8, New Revised Standard Version)

 Dale

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.” (Mark 4: 30 -32, New Living Translation)

                The pipe organ at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church swelled into the opening chords of that great celebratory hymn by St. Francis of Assisi , All Creatures of Our God and King, praising God for all of his good and magnificent Creation. I settled in my big, blue recliner to watch the service.

                Just outside our front window sits our bird feeder. Sunday was a beautiful, bright sunny day and the activity at the feeder was especially busy. It all seemed to echo the hymn’s praise about the goodness of God’s Creation.

                There were chickadees, juncos and sparrows. Even a cardinal showed up to feed. (No squirrels that morning – God is good!) As the service continued, I also watched the birds. Grateful for the variety. Grateful for the way they mostly get along and let everyone have a turn at the feeder. Oh, the sparrows can get a little feisty with each other (probably Baptist sparrows) but not with any of the other birds. There is plenty enough in the feeder for each and every bird. I have also had nuthatches. The scenario fitted the hymn and the hymn fitted the scenario – “Let all things their Creator bless and worship Him in humbleness. O praise Him.”

                But it also brought to mind the Parable of the Mustard Seed that Jesus told. A small, inconsequential, ordinary seed is planted into the ground. Hardly a momentous event. Yet this tiny seed sprouts and is nurtured to grow unhindered, and become this enormous bush, so big that it can harbour and protect all the birds which seek its shelter. The Message Bible says eagles can nest there, but I rather think that what is meant is that any and every kind of bird can find a safe home in the bush’s great branches. The Welcome Nest is out!

                Such is the Kingdom of God, Jesus said.

                Small acts of love, compassion, generosity grow into the many branches of God’s good and gracious Creation. Within God’s Kingdom there is enough room for everyone, for each and every kind of son of Adam and daughter of Eve. Here within God’s nesting protection is abundant Love for each and every human being, regardless of our genetic codes and DNA makeup. Here within God’s copious Grace, all of us are fed and protected from the worst that the world can throw at us, even the storms which shake and rattle the “bush,” at times.

                It is up to us to get along with other, to accept the differences, to make room for the other, to realize that there is room enough for all, that everyone is welcome at the Kingdom’s “feeder.”

                O.K., I’ll admit -   even squirrels are included or whatever their human equivalent.

                Even you and me.

                And all ye folk of tender heart, Forgiving others take your part, O Sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care. O praise Him. O Praise Him. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

                Amen indeed!

 Dale

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

“People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need.” (Proverbs 11:26, New Living Translation)

                "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender….”

                With apologies to Winston Churchill, I am applying his epic words to my ongoing battle with the squirrels at my bird feeder. They are relentless adversaries. Wily, inventive, acrobatic little rats with fluffy tails! They belong to the Ecclesiastes school of life: “to eat and drink well and have a good time—compensation for the struggle for survival these few years God gives us on earth.” (Ecclesiastes 8: 15, The Message Bible)

                Recently, I read a story of a man in Minnesota who is my age and was charged for shooting his gun at the squirrels at his bird feeder. Justifiable squirrel-cide, if you ask me.

                I know what you are thinking, that they are God’s creatures, great and small and deserve a square meal like any other. Fair enough. So, I offered a pact with them that if I fed them peanuts in the shell they would leave my bird feeder alone. What do they do? They eat and hoard the peanuts in a few minutes and then come back and still raid the birdfeeder. Even worse; I think they have been inviting friends and family over to indulge in the free meals.

                This was going to be a rant against greed, hoarding and selfish behaviour., pointing fingers at the  squirrels.  But on sober second thought, I realize that I must also come to terms with my own definitions of sharing, generosity, caring and giving. As the squirrels might say – oh, nuts!

                The squirrels are only doing what comes naturally.  And perhaps it can be said that when we humans act in the same way, we are only being naturally human. Remember during the worst of the pandemic and how people hoarded many household goods.  Or now, when people are hoarding over-the-counter medicines. Our human nature tends to look out first for ourselves and our immediate loved ones. We do what comes naturally for safety, survival, food and shelter.

                But there are exceptions. I heard a story of a man in one of the humongous snowstorms in Buffalo before Christmas who was stranded in his car. He went to over a dozen homes to seek shelter and no one would take him in. He went back to his car to wait out the storm.  Someone knocked on his window and asked if he could get into his car as he was also stranded. The man immediately agreed. They helped each other get through the storm. The first man ended up helping others the next day. In fact, the man said that perhaps it was meant that he was refused shelter, so that he was available to help those who wouldn’t have otherwise found help.

                “If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.” (Matthew 5: 40 -42, The Message)

                Live generously.

                There is a challenge in that. How do we live generously? Like the priest and the Levi in the parable of the Good Samaritan, we would prefer to cross the street and ignore the needy person. But if we are following Jesus, we should know that we can do better. If I am blessed and fortunate to be able to afford both “peanuts and bird seed” (metaphorically speaking) then why should I really care who gets what? There is enough for all of God’s creatures, both great and small.

                “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” (Matthew 25:29, New Living Translation)

                Oh, nuts!

Dale