YOU MUST REDISCOVER GOD

 

As we journey through life and our spiritual life we discover that we are in the process of discovering God. 

 

Many people ( who got done as babies and made all their sacraments as children) are surprised when they discover that their understanding of God is inadequate. It is not uncommon for such persons to ask “was I taught falsely?”

 

If we want to follow the process of the Bible faithfully we see that God has no name. In the Bible if you have the power to name something or someone, you have some power over them. This is why it was the father of the family who “ named” the child. The authority structed was spoken clearly.

 

If humans could “name” God they would have power over God. No one has power over God!

 

When Moses asked God “who should I say sent me?” The answer came back, “I am” “I am with you.”  What was being spoken by the divine was that God’s name is a verb. Bod is an action, a living reality within the people. God lives and breathes in this world.

 

Our task is to discover God as he/she comes to us today. God is always a journey of disvoery.

 

This is why our Old Testament reading (Is. 55, 6-9)  is so helpful. Chew over the words “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways says the Lord.”

 

Think of the times that you have written someone off. You dropped that person to the bottom of the human pile. And then they surprised you with an incredible act of generousity. Was that God at  work moving that person to make such a substantial gift toward their fellow human beings? 

 

You prayed for your thrity-two you nephew who is heavy into the drugs. He has got fired from his last two jobs. You expected the worst in this man’s history. But today you got news that he has gone to treatment and wants to become healthy and sober.  You know that this is the prodding of God in this man’s life. God never abandoned him in all is drunken episodes.

 

This Sunday’s reading from Isaiah (chpter 55) is a wonderful gift.

 

Be calm. Be able to be surprised by God and God’s ways.

 

Now, spend some time reflecting  how God has surprised you?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

UNDERSTANDING PROTESTS

As I write this reflection there is a civic memorial in Gander, NFLD, for the victims of  9’11 bombing of the Trade Center in New York. 3000 people lost their lives in tis attack.

The command was issued from the government in Washington that all American airports were to be closed.

 

This is wartime emergency commands. What do you do with all the planes that are actually flying at the very moment the command was given? 

 

This is where the small airport of Gander, NFLD, (small by the standards of other very large airports) took in 38 planes. And he people of NFLD rose to the emergency and took all these people  (7000) into their homes, halls and shelters. We still are amazed how quickly the people of Gander got organized, opened their homes and took in all these ‘airplane’ orphans.

 

Now, twenty -ive years later there is a civic memorial to remember and to share pride in the generousity of the people of Gander and district.

 

But, there is serious protests that the American ambassador to Canada  (Pete Hoekstra)  will be present and speak at the event. Many people do not want the American presence. This is a protest.

 

This is democracy on its feet – carrying signs and making the dissatisfaction very public – and very loud!

 

Now, apply the dynamic of protest to the religion that Jesus called us to live. And what we protesting against?

 

Jesus worked deliberately to get rid of a religion that did all the right moves but did not have gthe correct heart. He criticized all the people who said all these long prayers but hceated the poor and the widows out their money/property.

 

He deliberately went against the grain and ate with the poor and excluded (who you ate with in that culture was always a statement of status and wealth. And Jesus associated with the unwanted ones!

 

Jesus included women in his disciples and coworkers. It is also very significant that the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus was a woman!

 

Jesus was always very critical of the wealthy who did not care about and share their good fortune with the poor and the lower working class of people.

 

Now, use the lens of protest and study the life and gospel of Jesus Christ.

What will you discover?

 

 

 

LEARNING TO PRAY THE SEASON OF CREATION

There is a danger ( a distortion) in our practice of our Christian faith that makes our prayer life so spiritual that it only concerns God and myself. It makes prayer to become like a child’s game with a long string – with only two people at either end of the string. This is shrinking the spiritual life to its being as thin as soup with nothing in it but flavoured hot water.

 

Now, God has become one of us. God has flesh, eats regular food and enjoys human friendship. The mystery of God walks the very same path on this earth as we do. And that means that God is very involved and concerned about the things we are concerned about on a daily basis.

 

This is why our prayer and worship always embraces the world. We pray with our eyes focused on the Holy Spirit and our hands holding on to the struggles of our world in all its complexities.

 

Within Christianity (with all its different traditions and identities) the past thirty years have seen the rise of the Season of Creation (September 01 until the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, October 4). This is a time of prayer and reflection about our care for the survival and thriving of the earth and all its life processes. It began as an ecumenical concern/practice and wants to include all Christiaens in their prayer for the thriving of the earth community – human, plants, animals, water soil and all the rocks). 

 

This is prayer in the authentic Christian sense. It embraces God’s concern for the earth and every part of creation. Human concerns are part of the concern for the survival and thriving of the earth. 

 

This year the chosen them is living water. It begins from the image in Ezekeil chapter 47 verses 9 and 12. It speaks of the work of God’s concern for the earth as the small stream that becomes a strong river. The work of God becomes living water for the earth and for humanity.

 

The image of water is very significant. Water is absolutely essential for any form of life. There are places in the world today where water is beomcing scarce. Without water no human, plant for bacteria will survive.

 

This season of prayer will help us focus on our need and concern for water, clean water for humans and water for our grain fields. 

 

In our prayer we want to focus on the gift of water and what it means for all creation. We want to focus on preserving water for all living things. We want to pray over water and our responsibility to care for the well being of water.

 

The image of water will broaden our life on this earth. This concern will also take us closer to the very heart of God – who gifted us with water in the first moments of creation.

 

 

I GOT SCAMMED!

Last Monday, at 5:30 pm, I received a text stating that I had an overdue speeding ticket and had to appear in Provincial Court, next morning at 9:30 am. At 5:30 pm all offices are closed for the day.

 

I did have a speeding ticket from three months ago. This summons looked so authentic. I had a horrible night worrying about losing my driver’s licence – and all the consequences that could  flow from such a loss. 

 

At 9:30 am I was down at the court house. The clerk looked at the list of names for the day. Then she looked at me. “Your name is not on the list……you were scammed!”

 

Relief!

 

Everyone repeats so often, “You have to be so careful.” “Never open anything that you are not familiar with.” 

 

In today’s world the scammer can reach into your life/business from the other side of the world. They want to build trust and have access to your banking information. We have horror stories (especially from the elderly) of the disaster of having their bank account wiped clean by these thieves. And the money moves within minutes to another country / banking institution where it cannot be retrieved.

 

What happens to our social fabric (the trust we must have in institutions and business people) when you become leary of any phone call or text message that you are not familiar with at the moment? What happens to a society if you are fearful of anyone that you do not know?

 

The people who are knowledgeable in the scamming business will always warn you, “Remember the scammer is always more intelligent that you are.” 

 

Today, listen to the stories of people who have been scammed in many different ways. What cautions can we learn from them. And what do we need to be taught about our own way of doing things --- we may not be as smart or as secure as we think we are.

 

Bring this concern to your coffee friends. What are your learning from their experiences of being ripped off? How much money has been lost?

 

And how do we protect ourselves from these scammers?

 

 

WORLD’S UGLIEST DOG CONTEST

 

This past week there was an interesting contest held in California. I  hope it was all done in fun. I hope this was staged to encourage people to choose a new pet, a dog who is ownerless and neglected.

 

How do you nominate the “world’s ugliest dog contest?” 

 

But let us examine what could be an ugly dog?

 

Do you judge by appearance? Are hairless dogs actually ugly? To their owners? To their mothers? Who determines whether a dog is ugly?

 

I am very appreciative to have got to know a seeing-eye dog that was the constant companion to an older blind lady. The dog could read the traffic, read the red and green llights and recognize ice on the side walks during winter. The more a got to know the seeing-eye dog the more I appreciated what a incredible animal this actually was.

 

Now, how could there ever be an “ugly dog?”

 

Our Christian faith gives us rock-solid truth about all creation. In the story of creation (Genesis chapter 1 and 2) God stands back at the end of every day of creation and says, “and it is good.”  All creation nis good.  Even the green slime in our prairie sloughs is good!   

 

This ugly dog contest challenges us. Is there any part of creation that is ugly?

 

Take a few reflective minutes to see how beautiful each bird that flies by is. Enjoy the beauty of each cloud in the sky.

 

And look into the eyes of each person you will deal with today. What bauty! What a beautiful expression of God’s creative power.

 

There is no “world’s ugliest dog.” 

 

Everything is creation is a gift. How good God the Maker/Creator is. 

MOVING US TOWARD GOD

 

One of the great drives toward  a religion on the part of all human beings throughout the world is for security. We want a divine power that will protect us, give our lives strength and meaning and enable us to get along with life.

 

But that is only a part of what religious faith is supposed to do.

 

The other part (and the most important part) is  for human beings to get in touch with the direction that God wants for the world and for our individual lives.

 

The gospel reading for this Sunday ( Mt. 15, 21-28) about the Cananite woman (an outsider) marks a deepening in the ministry f Jesus and in the life of the people of the Church.

 

She does not belong among the Jewish people. She is an outsider but she is persistent. Jesus (as a typical Jew) referred to her as a dog! But she is sharp and she is determined: “But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the Master’s table.”

She had him. At this point in time the vision of Jesus was enlarged. His ministry was al for all people: Jew and Gentile alike.

 

This is where this event in Matthew’s gospel expands and challenges all the Church. The mercy and redemption of the death and resurrection of Christ is for all peoples.

 

This is why our Christiaan faith is a daily challenge. Are there peoples who we exclude? Do not give fair and equal employment opportunities because they are different? 

 

All cultures have a black history of exclusion to people who are different based on their skin color, the ethnic background or their  educational background.

 

This Sunday’s gospel selection is a bold challenge. God’s heart and vision are so much bigger than our own. We are being stretched.

 

How do you feel challenged by the insight that this Cananite woman gave Jesus? And what does she give to us about God’s heart?

 

 

CREATION: WHERE DOES IT FIT IN THE PLAN OF GOD?

In this history of Christianity certain aspects of God has been emphasised and others parts neglected. 

We now live in a time of history when there is great danger that humanity will warm up the atmosphere and make it very difficult for life forms to flourish. Three is a real danger that certain parts of the globe will no longer be habitable for humanity. We can   picture milli0ns of climate refugees. 

What does our faith have to say to that? What can our salvation story offer?

We are not empty handed here. We need to go back to our very understanding of who and what God is. 

The first part of our creed is very clear. All of creation comes from the very hand of God. “I believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth.” 

When we go b ack to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis in the Bible we see that God created  all that is. He made creation in six days. Notice that at the end of each day “God saw that it was good.” And on the seventh day God rested. God too pleasure and joy in all that he had created. 

This means that for you and for me we need to see each cloud, each green leaf, each deer from wanders into town from the park is an expression of God. Each small cell and each massive tree is created and loved by the very  had of God.

The first cathedral of God is found in nature. We need to spend time during this  rather hot summer to sit back in enjoyment and gratitude for the goodness of God, the hand of God fluttering in the breeze.  The first book of revelation is nature.

We need to see every bird and animal as a gift of God. A gift  of God that comes solely out of the goodness of God. 

And now we must move from seeing God’s hand in creation to loving the earth with the same love and enjoyment that God has in creating he earth. 

As we grow in our concern for the future of the earth we need to dig deep into what our faith offers us? Challenges us? And empowers us  to work to ensure that call creation thrives.

You will never try to preserve what you do not love. You will never work to preserving thre earth if you do not  love the handwork of God.

Spend some time today, coffee cup in hand, just enjoying all creation as you sit on your deck this afternoon. And let the prayer of praise from in song and joy from your heart.