NAME YOUR HUNGER FOR GOD

 

Some years ago two moose hunters  in Northern Saskatchewan got lost in the forest. They wandered up and down the cut lines looking for a road. They walked all day and into the night. This was November so darkness came early. Somewhere after six o’clock they stumbled on the camp of two other moose hunters. They had not eaten since early morning. The two men in the camp sadly told the lost hunters, “ All we have is just two burnt wieners.”

 

The hungry and lost hunters said, “You have never tasted such good wieners!”

 

We need to feel the pain of hunger to appreciate how good food actually tastes. 

 

This is the same in the spiritual side of life. We must get in touch with our hunger for God to appreciate how powerful it is to believe and to pray in the mystery of God.

 

The worst thing that happens in our spiritual life is when people feel secure that they know what God wants and they are living pretty good lives.  Religion has a built -in trap that can block the reality of God in our daily lives. 

 

If you do not experience spiritual hunger you will not find God.

 

When you get stuck, parked in a long line of traffic, because the highway has been blocked off until a serious accident up front is cleaned up, you ask in frustration, “God get me out of this mess!” You are not in control and you feel such a need to have God just close by in all your impatience.

 

Your sister, whom you talk to several times a week, has just received the unexpected diagnosis of stage four cancer. You are devastated. In pain and tears you cry out to God, “Why is this happening to someone in the forties? How will we handle this cancer?”

 

There are  so many moments in our lives when we are tossed down, confused and feeling powerless. This is where we feel our hunger, our need, for the presence and the helping hand of God.

 

These are the moments when we are hungry for God. This hunger is most often a deep pain in our lives. We know that we need God’s assistance.

 

This is where the little ones of this world can be so honest. They cannot control what happens in life and they cannot control the movements of God. But it will be out of their pain and confusion (i.e., their hunger for God) that they will cry out for help and courage from God.

 

Today give a few moments of reflection about your own hunger for God.

Where in your life do you feel a deep hunger for God?

 

 

 

 

OUR SEARCH FOR TRUTH MUST PUT AI TO THE TEST

On Monday, May 23,2026, Pope Leo issued an encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity) in which he embraced the reality of AI in the life and world of Christians and all citizens of the world. 

 

An encyclical is an official teaching document on the Doctrine and practice of the Church.  It is meant for a worldwide audience.

 

This fits in with the social doctrine of the Church. There has been a steady and progressive development of the implications for Christians (and all other peoples) about the emerging issues that have arisen in the life of Christiain people. The social doctrine of the Church is an evolvement of the entire believing community, worldwide. The pope does not sit down at his desk and create this teaching out of his own perspective. This evolves out of the concerns of concerned Christians seeking to live a life of justice and peace. It arises out of the conferences of bishops (each country has one) and it comes together at the level of the pope and the central church government.

 

Five days after publication I would say the most significant thing is to have everyone ask how is AI benefitting human beings. Are we advancing forward as human beings if larger numbers of people will be pushed out of their jobs and their production.. Machines/AI will take over. What if the first noticeable consequence of AI is the elimination of jobs? What then?

 

All humans need to work; to make a contribution and to establish their worth in this world. We need to work to feel like a worthwhile human being. 

 

On this point I want to share an observation that Janice Stein ( a well-weathered expert on world affairs, war and peace). When asked what the most dangerous thing in the world she replied., “large number of unemployed fifteen to twenty-four old unemployed males.”  This is exactly where incredible civil unrest begins to smolder. They are frustrated. They feel of no worth and so they hit the streets! 

 

Humans need to work. Humans find great meaning and purpose in their work. 

 

What if AI eliminates huge number of workers?

 

This is only a beginning question that arises from Pope Loe’ encyclical.

 

What do you think?

PENTECOST IS MEANT TO BE A FIRE

This week ( seven weeks and one day after Easter) we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. We are trying to recover the sense that the three days of Easter (the cross and resurrection) are bookended with the feast of Pentecost. In Easter we celebrate our redemption; in Pentecost we celebrate the sending forth to the world of the redemption won in Jesus Christ.

 

Fire is a very strong symbol of the presence and working of the Holy Spirit. When Moses first encountered God, he met him in the burning bush. God sent him on his mission to rescue the enslaved Hebrews from the burning bush. Fire has always remained a very strong sign of the presence and working of the Holy Spirit.

 

Now on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is given to the disciples in pieces (i.e., tongues – to use an image from present day carpentry). This is a sign that they are being empowered by the Holy Spirit.

 

Now, we need a little more of the fire of God in our world today. 

 

May there be pieces of God’s fire wherever there is war and fighting. Countless young men (mostly) are killed and maimed through bombs and land mines. May there be pieces of God’s fire moving the powers that be to end the war and work towards peace between nations. 

 

Throughout the world there are countless people who have strong financial power, are well educated and manage serious responsibilities but they have chosen to be indifferent to the suffering of their poor neighbors. The world may admire them as being very successful  but their heart has shrunk. They are indifferent to the sufferings of others. May the fire of compassion be lite in their hearts. May the heat of God’s love melt the indifferent walls of the tight, tight heart.

 

The population of the world is on the move. Never before in human history have so many people left the land they were born in and moved to country where life will be better for their children. There are people in our Canada (and we all have immigrant roots) who are very opposed and verbally hostile toward the newcomers. We pray that the fire of the Holy Spirit burn strong in their hearts to take ownership of their  own immigrant roots and their hearts expand to understand people who have different skin color, speak with an accent and work two to three jobs. 

 

I want to leave it to you to add a few more ‘fires’ for Pentecost.  What is the Holy Spirit trying to teach us with this fire image? What new insights have you gained by exploring the possibility of this fire image?

 

 

WORKING TO BECOME A BIBLICAL CHURCH

 About a hundred and twenty-five years ago the scholars looked seriously at how the early church actually lived their life as a faith community. The one thing that stood out clearly was the importance of the Word of God. When they would gather for worship a passage was chosen, proclaimed and meditated upon. These were people who were for the most part illiterate; only a small group of men could read and write.

 

This was also a time when the spoken word, the story told, was committed to memory. Many people knew  and recited parts of the Scriptures in their daily prayer life. The Word of God was integral to their prayer and their spirituality.

 

After the Vatican Council (ended in 1965) the readings for Sunday Mass were updated into the three year cycle of readings. This means that all the New Testament and the important parts of the Old Testament are proclaimed in every church, every three years.

 

This innovation was adopted by the Anglican, United, Luthern, Presbyterian churches in Canada.  This means that on almost every Sunday in Canada the exact gospel passage is being proclaimed in all five churches.

 

A strong value of the three year lectionary is that the Word of God is given to the local church. This means that there is no room to pick and choose just the parts of the Scriptures that we like. Very simply put: local church here is the Word of God – deal with it! Keep in mind that there are many parts of the Bible that people do not want to deal with in their liturgies.

 

Always picture the Word of God (printed in a book we call the Bible) as so much sheet music. A musician may have stacks of sheet music on their shelves, but that is just so much paper that could be recycled in the recycle bin. It is only when the music is played that it becomes real. And what a delight it is to have a musician make the notes on the page come alive! What pleasure it gives us to just enjoy this music.

 

Consider in your memory the wonderful feeling of parents when whey silently enjoy and take great pride in the musical skills of their children. They may not put it into words but there is great satisfaction that all these trips, all these hours of practice were worth it!

When their child plays a certain piece on whatever instrument they have learnt on, the heart of the parent flowering into pride and gratitude.

 

Now, the Word of God must be seen in the same light. It is no good to have a Bible in the house if it is  never read and prayed over. When the Word of God is proclaimed during the Sunday liturgy this is  a lived experience of God.

 

But it is only when it is lived out, made real in our daily lives, does the Word of God come alive. It is in our flesh that the Word of God is real – and alive.

 

 

 

 

GIVE THE VANCOUVER WITECAPS ANOTHER THOUGHT

 

Last week our national media was flooded with protests and discussion a about the proposal to move the Vancouver Whitecaps to Los  Vegas. The fans rose up in protest.

 

What is actually at stake here? What values are we supporting or protesting?

Put yourself in the team owner’s shoes. This is a business investment right from the start. He did not purchase the soccer  club as his own personal entertainment. This was raw business. Now, there is a very good opportunity to make more if the Whitecaps play football in Los Vegas. 

 

But the Vancouver people have made this team their own. This team belongs to the people of Vancouver. They support them in so many different ways. They feel and live a  kinship with this team.  The Whitecaps are part of the life of the city of Vancouver.

 

What are the values that we must pay attention to in this controversy?

 

Do most parts of our society come down to being valued only in terms of the money they make? Do our relationships with the social reality of a professional football team count?

What values should take prominence in this discussion?

 

Money is essential to the functioning of any society. But what place must it occupy in our scale of values?  We are being put to the test in this controversy.

 

Who can place a money value on human friendship? Who can measure the value of your grandchildren bursting into your hospital room and giving you one big hug? Who can value in monetary terms when your friend drives through the middle of the night to help you in a crisis?

 

Now, in this Vancouver controversy, if making money is the most important goal, then the sale of this team to Los Vegas is a good deal. This is raw capitalism working at its best.

 

But if the social values of love for the Whitecaps and the joy and friendship that they bring to the people of Vancouver, then we recognize what has first value in our society.

 

This controversy will help identify where each one of us stands in regard to what is of first importance to the thriving of human life. 

 

Wh\ere do you stand on this issue?

 

 

 

 

 

FAITH IS A LIFETIME JOURNEY

The next time that you sit down with friends for coffee ask, “And what have you taught yourself and  discovered on your own?”  

 

Every answer will be interesting and delightful. There is real joy in what you can teach yourself.

 

Now, we must apply the same criteria to our spiritual life Although great numbers of people are very satisfied with their spiritual awareness, it does not mean that they are very much spiritually alive.

 

Do not put too much store on the fact that your mother got you baptized when you were a baby. Always ask, “Did it do that much good?”

 

The real life of faith for an adult is a life of walking with and discovery of the Spirit of God moving inn their own lives. The whole of our life (no matter how long we live) is a life of discovery of God, wrestling with God, lamenting the horrible state of the world with God and humility to accept how the Spirit of God is empowering you to bring life, power and greater love into this human struggle.

 

The life of faith is a life of transformation into the likeness and power of God. We are being changed more and more into the love and mercy of God. We are given more patience with our recovering-addict thirty-five year old son. We are calling upon God for wisdom to handle our declining mother as she slowly moves into dementia.

 

This is the mystery of the resurrection lived out in our lives.  The Son of God must now become alive in the lives, the prayer and the daily behavior of believers. In the plan of God ,we are meant to become the Christ, the love and mercy of God in this time and this place.

 

All the work and ministry of the Church (this includes all believers) is to nourish and support the change that the Holy Spirit is working within us.

Through the sunshine and the storms the Holy Spirit is ever active in your life.

 

How are you living this life of transformation?

 

 

 

 

 

POST-TRUTH WORLD MUST AFFECT BELIEVERS

I listened to an interview of an older couple with no children. They listed their fears of the future. “Who would speak up for them if weare neglected?” And the husband added: “And we are very afraid that we could be scammed.”

 

He speaks the fear that so many of us have. It is not only the poor who are using social media to steal from you, but also some veery well-educated, well -rained people with substantial incomes already who are out there to take from the innocent and ttrusting seniors.

 

If you get a new phone call or an e-mail, you become suspicious. To protect yourself you hang up! And then you share this experience with your coffee-friends and they upload you with more scam stories that you are prepared to listen to.

 

This sense of being weary affects so many other areas of our life and society. Who can I trust is telling me the truth?

 

It also affects our practice of religious faith. What is the truth? What is of divine revelation?

Whose life can I believe?

 

In all this turmoil and confusion there is some light. Our situation today challenges each person, “Are you authentic? Is your life a living witness to the life and mystery of Jesus Christ? “

 

So many of the people we associate with are wonderful humana beings with very solid values. Many of these people practice a sense of justice which works towards equality and respect for all human beings. These are such wonderful secular people. 

 

But where is the mystery of God in their lives? And they will turn around and challenge so many of their neighbors who identify as a Christian, “But can I see in your life a touch of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you putting into practice what you claim to believe in?

 

This puts us back into the life of the first Christians. They were an illegal religion. But they stood out in a world of steep social inequality, (the majority of the first Christiain were  either poor or were slaves) by their concern for one another. The pagan neighbors noticed there was a very big difference in these people who claim to follow Jesus.

 

We must return to becoming a faith community that evangelizes. We seek to bring people to believe and share in the very life of Jesus Christ. Call everyone to the Christian life; a life of conversion and growing in the  mystery of Jesus Christ.

 

Many traditional Christians in all our churches are confused by this, but we need to walk with them to recover  the sense that our first task is to call people of believe and walk in the way of Jesus (i.e., gospel living).