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. 

 

 

MY FAITH EXPANDS MY LIFE

 

When our Christiaan faith is actually lived (that is much beyond a label that we use to identify ourselves) we discover how the spiritual teachings of the Gospels actually shapes and challenges our life journey.

 

At this point in our history there is concern that mankind has become so powerful that we will not need a lot of human beings to produce the things we need. And there is a real fear that AI (artificial intelligence) could actually start a war without any human beings in control. 

 

There is concern that we could lose a part of the dignity that makes human beings so wonderful. 

 

The population of the world is shifting. Never before in the history of humanity have  so many people moved into a country that they were not born in. Migration is a fact of life.

 

I want to thank the workings of the Spirit of God to reroot us once again in the creation story. This is not some pious teaching story from the past but a powerful tool to shape our personal lives and the way that we structure our Canadian society.

 

The roots of our creation story is that God has created human beings (male and female) in the very image of God. Each human being is an expression of the Creator. Each human being carries within themselves the very value that they are living image of God. 

 

I am so thankful that our Christian teaching moves me to try to see and value the very image of God in every human being I encounter. No one is  more valuable because they can work and be productive in their careers. No one is more valuable because they are capable of being the best soccer player in the world.

 

My Christiaan faith challenges me to see that value in the other each and every day. I must never limit my appreciation of the other based on their physical strength, their intelligence and their self -reliance. 

 

I am challenged to see the other as the loved creation of our loving God and as a sister or brother of equal worth.

 

Christian faith has powerful challenges and incredible rewards when I live and treat the other as the very image  of God.

 

Thank you, Gospel religion, for expanding my vision and my heart. When I live the actual teaching of my faith, I am a more sincere human being.

MISTAKES COME WITH BEING HUMAN

Crea

No one wants to make a mistake. 

 

But making mistakes is as necessary to life as breathing. 

 

How many times have you had to work with people who “make the same mistakes over and over again?  But you can’t tell them anything because they know better! 

 

Right from very early age we experiment, we see if the stove is actually hot! Our little hand touched the hot stove! Ouch! We never do that again! We have learnt something new.

 

Now this continues right to the end of life. In our very senior years we may think that we are still very competent drivers. Then, ouch! We back into a parked car and leave a dent in a stranger’s vehicle. If we are honest with ourselves, we will draw the correct conclusion to this fender-bender.

 

But it is also important in our teenage years that we get ourselves into trouble. We are caught in a very difficult situation. Now, this may be a time when we have to figure our way out of this mess that we brought on ourselves. 

 

What a lesson learnt!

 

As we enter into the spiritual life we want to teach people that we will make mistakes. We can be too demanding of God: “Get us out of this sickness! Or other sufferings and confusion!

 

We may have abandoned the practice of daily prayer only to be confronted that we are out to “Use God.” We are in trouble and so we cry out as a man falling off a cliff cries out for help. 

 

We may be blind to how judgmental we really are toward people who do not share the same color, culture and history that we do. We can be blind to the ‘racist spots” in our personality. 

 

The spiritual life is an actual journey of ups and downs. Try to see what can happen when we are honest about our mistakes, our failures and missteps. Where is the direction that the Holy Spirit is giving in these mistakes?

 

Fortunately, we are living in a time when our church is being more honest about its failure to live up to Gospel teaching. Last month Pope Leo asked for forgiveness for the failures of the Church in its long history with slavery.  It has taken six centuries to come to a n honest assesment that the people of the Church were very wrong in their approval and practice of slavery. And it took six centuries to come to this honest assessment.

 

Take a few moments to see the blessings that have emerged in your own life in r egard to the mistakes you have made.  

HUNGER FOR GOD’S JUSTICE

Whenever a believer draws closer to the living God, that is, they live in a face-to-face relationship with God, they also draw closer to their fellow human being. What is happening here?

 

Now, much of all religions will be cultural. This means we do religious things because that is what we are  supposed to do in this culture. There is a lot of going-through-the-motions in all of the world’s religions.

 

When a believer draws closer to the very life and heart of God they experience in their own lives a growing love and compassion for their fellow human being. The relationship with the outpouring God, i.e., the Trintiy, motivates them to be outgoing towards others. As God is Father and creator of all, so now others become our sisters and brothers. Authentic religion always expands our heart, our world view and our society.

 

This is where the hunger for justice for others grows and matures. It first arises from a heart that shares the compassion and goodness of the holy Trintiy. How we live in God and the Holy Spirit within us flows to service and care for others.

 

Focus on the hungers that emerge from your own heart when you reflect on what God is doing and moving within your life.

 

Pay attention to the concern you feel when you go grocery shopping. Prices have increased 26 percent in the last five years. But wages, especially the wages at the bottom, have not increased. What is it like to be a single parent , trying to provide proper nourishment for your children, when your budget gets tighter every year.? Now, what kind of hunger , i.e., compassion, do you feel in your heart when you consider the people who shop for groceries but are at the bottom end of the wage scale?  How much of the concern for these parents comes from the Holy Spirit?

 

Canada has accepted many refugees (displaced people who had to flee from an unsafe country in which they were born) during the past twenty years. You reach out to help them get settled, learn Canadian business practices and get their kids into school. Where does this concern for displaced people come from?

 

Spend time listening to the hungers within your soul for others. These hungers  are so often God-given. The Spirit of God can move within us – but sometimes it is painful when you see your fellow human being suffer.

 

What hungers for justice and compassion do you experience?

 

 

FAITH IS ALWAYS A SEARCH

If you have ever went hiking in the mountains you will agree that every turn can be something new. You keep walking but the wildlife and the scenery are enjoyable. It is always new!

 

There were moments where I just asked fellow hikers, “Just sit down and enjoy this!” Now the truth was that there was another beautiful surprise that would capture our attention in the next little while. But just stop! Don’t miss this one; it is so beautiful!

 

Now our life our faith is a walk, a journey, with our God. The very Spirit of God is moving in all parts of the earth – and every human person. God is alive and moving within us. Our task is to pay attention and always ask  “Where is God in all  of this?”

 

True to the journey of life there are always ups and downs. We may go through some hard patches of life, some very difficult struggles with believing and trusting in God. There may be moments when we want to give up on the whole God-project. Throw it all in! Quit!

 

Authentic faith is always a search for the ways that God is moving in our life and through the mess of the world events. You never have God nailed down and under control.

 

We try to image the very life and spirit of God as a bird. Now, here in Saskatchewan try to control a flock of sparrows! They move and fly where they will move and fly. Every movement of the wings of a sparrow is always a surprise.

 

Noone controls God. 

 

Search and pay attention.

 

When the Sunday liturgy is prayed correctly it is always the people of the Church taking a small chunk of the Scriptures and asking, “What does God want to communicate to us today?”  It will always be new because God is not stationary and the situation of the world is always on the move.

 

Faith is always searching for God. Faith is always listening to the movements of God in the life of our country, our family and within our own soul.

 

How do you know and live with God today?

 

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).

 

 

 

 

TRUMP SAYS “ WEAK POPE.”

Today we are right in the middle of an international controversy. Donald Trump has reacted to Pope Leo’s condemnation of the war in Iran with the dismissive, He’s a ‘weak pope.’

 

People and governments  (who are very careful not to criticize other leaders )have reacted strongly demanding an apology. Trump refuses to back down. 

 

Now, this controversy has effects on all of us, believers and non-believers alike.

What truth must be spoken at this moment? What does this mean for the way that we live our lives?

 

At this very moment (Tuesday morning) Pope Leo is in Algeria which is almost totally  of the Moslem  religion. This visit is clearly an effort to build bridges and new understanding between the Moslems and Christians. 

 

Pope Leo has made it very clear that he will continue to teach about building peace and rejecting war-making. He will not back down from Trump.

 

But this is where all individual Christiains must also ask themselves: “How firmly dow I believe in peace making and how well do I reject war-making? This is a moment when we have to identify and claim our own standing on war and peace.  This crisis in th lives of individual believers and local churches is a very good thing. There is no room to be wishy-washy. 

 

Christianity nhas always had a difficult time justifying war. We came up centuries ago with the ‘just war’ theory. A country could go to war to defend itself from an unjust aggressor.

 

Wars always have a multitude of purposes (and many purposes downright nefarious). 

 

Christians must speak out clearly about the unjust war. We are living in this right now: Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine. The Ukraine has mineral wealth, huge agricultural wealth and a ice-free port in the South. Why wouldn’t Putin was to steal this wealth from the Ukraine?

 

What is the purpose of the invasion of Iran during these last five weeks?

 

I hope that Pope Leo continues to speak loudly about the evils of this war and continue to prod both sides toward laying down their weapons. The little people of the world continue to suffer as a result of these wars. 

 

But may the voice of Pope Leo always encourage and empower the ordinary Christiain person to rediscover the power of the peace of Christ and the mission toward peace that he has given to his disciples.

 

This ois a time a peace-making, bridge building and making it clear how evil this war actually is. 

WE ARE EASTER PEOPLE

There is a weak side to our interpretation and practice of our Christian faith. In Western Christianity (Catholic and Protestant) the emphasis has been so strongly on the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus. But the resurrection was almost an afterthought.

 

As good example of this would be the devotion to the Stations of the Cross. They finished with the burial of Jesus. Then what?  There is an unbalance here.

 

Now, with serious study of the Jesus story in the New Testament we are very conscious that the resurrection of Jesus  is the revelation that we need to be living today.  As we lived through the terrible tragedy of the Last Supper and Good Friday, we must walk with the breakthrough of God in the resurrection of Jesus.

 

This is the revelation and the outpouring of the very Son of God to us. The great mystery of our salvation, in Jesus, is being given to us in our own time and place. Jesus rose from the dead on a very specific night, but now the mystery of the resurrection must happen in us. Jesus must be lived and revealed in each believer. The resurrection is a present, a daily event. 

 

The mission of Jesus was to make present the great love and mercy of God toward humanity. Now, the resurrection of Jesus must happen in each one of us aa se try to bring respect to the life of each human being. This is so important as this time when so many people feel devalued because they are different from the majority of people who hold power in this culture. The resurrection of Jesus means living the life of the resurrected Jesus in our valuing of everyone, no matter how different they may be from the majority of people. 

 

As Jesus came to bring healing to the lives of broken people, so now, the resurrected Jesus living and moving within us moves us to bring healing to others.  At this point we go back to our roots. Very early on (actually about a hundred years after the death of  Jesus) it became very clear that Christians do not have any distinctive dress, nor any food retractions. The only sign that will identify them will be the good deeds towards others. 

 

Living the resurrection means living a life of care and concern, especially for those who are wounded or excluded. The opportunity to do good is right around each and everyone of us. 

 

We have a long way to go but these fifty day of Easter provide many opportunities to explore how we can live out the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

INDEED .THE LORD IS RISEN!

 

In some cultures with a Christiain heritage ordinary people would greet each other on this Easter Sunday with “The Lord is risen.” The response would be, “Indeed. The Lord is risen.”

 

This was a simple but friendly way of recognizing the absolute change that God has brought about in the world. The tragedy and evil of humankind has been defeated and overcome. The goodness of God now reigns among humanity.

 

Marvel and rejoice that God has completely overturn and throw down all evil and selfishness. God has come to change the selfish and evil ways that one group of people trample over and exploit another group of people.

 

The resurrection of Jesus happened on a specific night. It is the act of salvation that is not limited to a historical moment. Now, the resurrection must happen in us. Each believer must be a living encounter with the resurrected Jesus. 

 

Jesus is God to the world. In the flesh, the teaching, the friendship, the healings and the prayer of Jesus we encounter God. Jesus is God in  living flesh.

 

Now, the mystery of the resurrected Jesus must happen in us. 

 

You have been chosen by God to be the living disciple of Jesus in this time and place.

 

Jesus revealed a humble God. The triumphal entry into Jerusalem was on a working animal; a donkey. God is truly one of us, but not among the rich and powerful who can dominate others, but a working human being riding a very ordinary donkey. Get in touch with the humility of God: a working person on a working animal.

 

He reached out to the poor and marginalized. It was often the people that society pushed aside that the ate with and brought healing to their pain and sufferings. Jesus was making a clear statement that God does not give attention to the powerful and the rich (i.e., get favours from them) but rather he brings friendship and recognition of the people are  left behind.

 

Now, the resurrection of Jesus must happen in all of us. The Spirit of God is given to us to be the living presence, the living person , of Jesus in this world. 

 

When you turn to God in prayer, that is the movement of the Spirit of  God. When you give some of your time to the lonely and forgotten elderly, there is the presence of the risen Christ. When you help the newcomers to our country find their way around, there is the love of the risen Christ living among us.

 

Be a resurrected people. Pray that the resurrected Jesus come alive in your life.

 

WHAT YOU MUST BRING TO HOLY WEEK

It is Holy Week. It is the most intense time of our Church year. 

Hard work is the only way to describe what we do during Holy Week.

 

In these few days we once again tell the story of the last days of Jesus. We walk with him in his great struggles to be faithful to God the Father and his tremendous patience with his disciples, who half -he-time  do not appear to know what was going on.

 

But when we pray and meditate over the sufferings of Jesus, we must also be very pro-active. We must be bringing to these Gospel stories the suffering and violence that people around us are suffering right now.

 

This is not written down in the gospel accounts of the suffering of Jesus but the people of the Church have firmly believed and practiced an understanding that whenever another human being suffers at the hands of someone else, the crucifixion of Jesus happens all over again. This is not a story of the distant past. It is being lived out in our own world, today.

 

This Holy Week bring all the ordinary people who have suffered so greatly at the hands of war.  Bring all the people who have had the houses, school and hospitals bombed; the people of the Ukraine, Gaza, Iran and the Sudan. Bring all the pictures you have witnessed in the news media, all the apartment buildings and schools – bombed and flattened to the ground! Bring the suffering of all these little people.

 

Bring all the people who have been the victims of scammers. The people who were trusting of what they thought was a legitimate request, only to find that they had been robbed by a scammer.

 

Bring all the people who need care in our nursing homes. No one comes to visit them or even enquires how they are doing. Bring the great pain of loneliness that pervades their life. It is one of the greatest pain we can endure in this life.

 

Bring your own cancer diagnosis to the cross of Jesus. Your own pain and confusion need support and healing. 

 

Bring all the pain of the world to this Holy Week. Allow the self-giving of Jesus to be shared with the suffering of our contemporary human beings.

 

May your prayer be deepened this Holy Week.