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. 

 

 

THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE LOAVES SETS THE STANDARD

There are some parts of the life/teaching of Jesus that have a stronger impact on the Christian life than other parts of the Gospel. Thie Sunday, the multiplication of the loaves is just such a parable in action (Mt. 14, 13-21)

 

The story situates Jesus in a deserted place. The people come looking for his healing miracles and his teaching. The disciples (practical people) recognize how difficult it will be to send then to the surrounding villages to buy some food. Now comes the center of this story. Jesus says: “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

 

We have to appreciate the impossibility of this situation. Where could these people go?

 

Now the deeper meaning is that Jesus provides the food. Not only do they all eat of the fives loaves and two fish, but there is no hoarding afterwards. The disciples collect twelves baskets full of leftovers.

 

This miracle describes what happened with the first Christian communities. Moved by their life and faith in Jesus Christians moved out to care for the neglected, the poor and the forgotten. It was in their care for the people on the margins that the bread was now shared. Their good deeds became the new multiplication of the loaves.

 

When our Christian faith becomes a living reality in believers ‘ lives this happens all over again. 

 

The quickest example would be the generousity of our own parishioners  to bring food to be shared through the food bank. They do not ask questions. The know that today families are short on resources and a box full of groceries will be very helpful.

 

The number of parishes that have reached out to refugees and those displaced peoples trying to become established in Canada is another way of sharing our food/resources. Accommodating refuges is a long term commitment but it makes the sharing of the bread/loaves very tangible.

 

There was a simple but beautiful gesture in one of our senior’s home. The elderly grandmother, with dementia, loved a certain dixie cup from the Dairy Queen. Her son would stop and pick up her favourite dixie cup. How delightful it was to see the elderly grandmother enjoy something some her family years.

 

There are so many ways that we can share in the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. As Jesus feed the five thousand so we can reach out to share our goodness and compassion with the poor, the hungry and the displaced.

The event has so much to teach us about living in Jesus Christ. It also challenges us to share our compassion with others.

 

 

 

FAITH IS PILGRIMAGE

 

 

“But Grandpa, you’re old!” Now that is a blunt observation from a thirteen -ear old.

This Grandpa did not miss a beat. He looked at the thirteen-year old, “But there’s a lot of living to do yet!”

 

Apply this to our life of faith in Jesus Christ. The worse thing that could happen is for a human being to think they actually know God! This is a black side of religion. When w think we have got it made, we are bankrupt!

 

When our faith is lived authentically it is always a journey, a pilgrimage. There is always a lot more to live and discover. 

 

Pilgrimage is an insightful way to describe what is supposed to happen. When people go on pilgrimage they are searching. It can be described as a vision quest.  We make this long journey (by walking hundreds of kilometers) to arrive at the holy shrine, the holy place. We are making ourselves vulnerable so that God can touch and strengthen our lives.

 

One of the things that should be happening in our Sunday worship is that we are exposed to and we explore the Word of God. Each Sunday we are given a small portion of the Bible – but it is meant to be a time when the people of Church are actively saying, “Now how is the Holy Spirit moving in all this?”  How does this apply to our lives?

 

Our life change.  I am thinking f the young couple who are planning to get married a year from today. A few days later his corporation offered him this wonderful executive position (with corresponding salary) in Austria. Their plans changed immediately. The yconcluded, “If you only have five weeks to plan your wedding, you ;can do it!” And five weeks later they were on the plane to Austria. 

 

Your life changes just as fast.  Now, where is God in all this?

 

How is God trying to deepen your sharing and living in and with the very spirit of Jesus? How is the spirit of Jesus moving you to great love and compassion for your fellow human being?

How are you becoming more a person of Christ’s love?

 

We want to say to everyone, “In the Church, you have not got it made!” How, how is the Holy Spirit moving and working among us?

 

How can we discover the Holy Spirit  today? and always on God’s terms?

 

 

 

 

 

LEARNING TO LIVE WITH A MERCIFUL GOD

Each person has their own journey of faith. And like any trip or journey, there are ups and downs. Have you ever made a  road trip or a holiday excursion where there was no upsetting moments?  Remember the last time that you told the kids to be careful with their ice cream cones and one of them dropped the ice cream on the car floor? 

 

When Christian people reflect on their life with God they will have had moments of unexpected grace and moments of great struggle with God. You shouted at God;  “How could you have let this happen to me?”  

 

There are moments of great happiness at the grace of God and there a moments where we were furious with God.

 

Now this is where we need to be challenged to have an adult experience of God. And this Sunday’s gospel story of the enemy planting weeds among the wheat is a perfect example. The wise farmer tells the hired hands to wait until the harvest and then we will separate the weeds from the good wheat. There is a final judgment and it will be left to the hands of God to separate the sinners from the faithful ones.

 

We live in a world where there is evil. Grown children abandon their aged parents. People cheat each other out of fair wages. Government employees steal resources from the government in ways that are illegal but they know how to cover their tracks. And then we humans make war on one another! 

 

Sin and evil are all too real. No one needs to run far to identify evil. And we all struggle with all the many forms of evil.

 

And here is where our struggles with the real God (not the god of our preferred preferences) come into play.

 

God is a God of mercy, healing and forgiveness. God will separate the good from the evil at the last judgment.

 

The God of mercy challenges us to believe that every human being is always capable of conversion to change from their evil ways and turn toward honesty, compassion and healing  for others. We must believe that everyone is always capable of changing their life decisions to a life of goodness and service of God.

 

Forgiveness is always possible with our God.

 

When you walk down the street in East Hastings in Vancouver and you see men and women bent over due to the crippling effects of fentanyl addiction, I am challenged to recognize the great love that God has for this very broken and suffering human being.

 

As we struggle with the real God our faith will mature. How has your faith matured over the years? 

 

 

 

 

WE STAND TALL

 

 

 

When the Church bends down to lift up a fallen sister or brother, it is then that she stands so tall.

 

The people of the Church do not exist for themselves. This is not a profit making corporation that tries to enhance your financial well-being. We have been established as a community of service and care for our fellow human being. 

 

When our Christian faith is actually lived there is a wonderful dynamic that happens. The closer one draws toward God, the closer you draw towards your fellow human being.W e cannot plan that to happen but I  am sure that this is the power of God’s grace moving within us. 

 

Look at the Christians who take time to visit and care for the elderly with their different degrees of dementia. They take time to just be present, to assure them of the care of another human being. There may be no words spoken but the human care that is given is precious. 

 

Look at the Christians who get  organized to  provide meals and human friendship to the homeless and those struggling with mental illness. 

 

There are  so many examples we could examine but it is in these moments of bending down to help another that we stand so tall.

 

I find this image encouraging and gives me strength in my Christian life.