THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

 

 

We love to decorate. But each decoration carries a message. Each decoration is an extension of our values, our hopes and wishes for the good of others. Decorations are beautiful but they are first of all, meaningful.

 

Spend a few moments in meditation before your Christmas tree. What are the most beautiful decorations on the tree? What carry more meaning than just some pretty and colorful bobble manufactured by a factory in China?

 

Touch the first decoration. This is the wonderful service your own mother gives her aged mother in the nursing home. She is there almost every day to help feed her mother, change her clothes and just be present to your grandmother. Where does your Mother find all the patience to hold her mother’s hand when there is barely any response? The most beautiful decoration on the tree is your mother’s patience.

 

Your second decoration is your own sister who finds time to donate two mornings a week to work at the food bank. She cheerly packs hampers, sorts through all kinds of canned goods and helps the clients with her infectious laugh. And she never expects any recognition. Your family knows that she is the unsung hero of the family. Her service makes the Christmas tree smile.

 

And then there is Mary, our retired elementary teacher, who volunteers several days each week to help the kids who have difficulty with their reading. The kids love this one-to- one attention. The only ones who will notice the improvement in the children are the parents and the teacher. This is true giving where hardly anyone will every give you recognition, but the service will make a difference in the skills of the children.   

 

And then there is Philip, eighty-five and going strong, who will drive any of the seniors to their appointments in Regina and Saskatoon. Calgary is not considered to be too far. Everyone kids him that he likes to drive his Cadillac around but he certainly helps the elderly who do not have any family close by to drive to their appointments. 

 

It is not things that are beautiful. We use these bright Christmas decorations to express our gratitude to what is truly beautiful: the love and service that we give to one another. The Christmas tree can carry much deeper meaning if we but look for it.

 

Today, give your Christmas tree some attention. See the beautiful compassion and service that the people of your family, your church and your co-workers are giving to others. 

 

May your Christmas tree shine with goodness and jolly. Have a wonderful Christmas.

 

 

 

 

THIS IS LIGHT SHINNING IN THE DARKNESS

 

People who were brought up in the church are often surprised when you indicate that God will probably upset their apple cart. Encounters with the real God (not the one of our own construction) is always a God who will disturb us.

 

The function of any religious faith, of prayer, is not to make us comfy and secure. It is not the function of God to give us the good life. God has a very different agenda from the thoughts of so many of our fellow Canadians.

 

As we come to celebrate Christmas we want to get in touch with the plan of God. At this time of the year when the afternoon sun is so very low, I remember having a cup of coffee at about three o’clock and looking up at the kitchen window which had the sun streaming through the glass  for these two weeks of the year. The rest of the year the sun was higher up in the sky. But at three o’clock it streamed through the window and I could see so clearly: “My, that window is very dirty.”  The bright sunshine named every speck of dirt chinning to the glass!

 

The light shone out the darkness!

 

Do not sugar coat any part of the Christmas story. What was God doing? 

 

God chose a young woman, Mary, to be the instrument of the salvation that God planned for the world. God did not choose a well-educated, rich person of prestige. He chose Mary; without power and significance. She was poor and unknown. 

 

We need to free our minds of the royal blue that we depict Mary in so many of our drawings. Rather, she should be dressed in the dull, brown working clothes of the peasants of the day. Mary was an ordinary, unknown woman (without power). She stands for every human being. Even though all societies are structured according to the rich/poor, the educated/uneducated, the strong/ weak, the choice of Mary is God’s new standard. 

 

The poor, the little ones, the people who get pushed to the margins are significant. How societies structure themselves is turned upside down. The people you think important, are not! Your system of human valuation is rejected. God measures by a new way: all count. No one is cast aside as worthless.

 

There is nothing sweet and sentimental about the birth of Jesus. He is born in an over-flow area of the local inn. This could only happen to poor and migrant people. Try to imagine how difficult the birth would have been. Who could guarantee security?  Was there a mid-wife, a helper?

 

Be awed  this Christmas by the decisions and working of God. The Spirit of God has not come to make you feel wonderful but to lead us into God’s great world where every human being is valued.  How God operates upsets us.

 

There is a new way to live. God wants to expand the hearts of every human being to live and love like God lives and loves. Religion is not about making you feel good. It is all about us getting involved in God’s way of doing things. Your plans will be upset but there is a much greater plan being revealed this Christmas. 

 

 

 

SPIRITUALITY IN A TIME OF EARTH SURVIVAL

 

On Thursday, November 30, COP28 (2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference )  opened in Dubai. This is an international meeting with all the big names and players present. King Charles III gave the opening address.

 

What will be discussed is not only  political and scientific issues  but it also presses hard as  a spiritual issue that affects all of the world religions. Religious faith touches the very center and meaning of all human life. There can be no such thing as religion over here and science over there. We are confronted with the question: will the atmosphere heat up so much that life will become extinct? How well will humans being able to survive in a world that might warm up by three degrees?

 

Even if you have many members of your own family and friendship group who will not deal with this issue, do not step back in fear. Do not allow anyone who claims to believe in God or a higher power off the hook. What does their religious faith and religious

interpretation contribute toward the survival of the earth?

 

Christianity is rediscovering a part of our spirituality that has laid dormant for almost a thousand years. The Christiaan spiritual quest narrowed more and more over the centuries to focus only on the salvation of the human being.  We are now waking up to our belief in creation (the natural world) as the first revelation of the life, love and work of God.

 

When I was doing my theological studies the question of justice for the future generations never came up. Now, after sixty years of serious study of the warming of the earth’s atmosphere, we are warned that if humanity continues to burn the same amount of fossil fuel, we will bring catastrophe to all our great-grandchildren. Justice for the children who will be born seven generations from now is a pressing issue. What kind of world will we hand on to them?

 

Christianity has been blest by the publication of the encyclical (official church teaching) ‘Laudato si’ by Pope Francis in 2015.  He did not address only Catholics but people of all and no religious faith. He first challenged us to once again come to love the earth, all creatures, clouds, every rain drop and all the insects of the earth. Everything is kin to us.

 

The first message is to  rediscover a love for the earth. We must not see the human being as over and beside all creation. Human beings are part of creation. We are all connected. The survival of the human beings is closely tied to the survival of the bacteria, the hawk flying about us and the little chickadees foraging for food during this winter season. 

 

You will never try to preserve and nourish what you do not love. The challenge in front of us, as Pope Francis has taught, is to see all parts of creation as our kin. We are cousins to the sun, the wind, the soil and every bird that flies. We are being challenged to grow into a spirituality that overflows in love for every part of creation.

 

What will be discussed at COP28 is vitally important to our faith.

 

As you grow in your concern for the earth watch your faith and joy grow. There is a new awareness in your spirit waiting to burst forth into flower!

 

 

 

 

 

 

WAR: WHAT A HUMAN FAILURE!

 

After the collapse of the Soviet Empire in the early  nineties a naïve conviction  was circulated that humanity had entered a new era where we would no longer have war. How naïve!

 

In our recent history we have surpassed the sixth hundred days since Russia invaded the Ukraine. The past month has seen unbelievable bloodshed  in Israel and the Gaza strip. 

 

War has exploded on the human scene!

 

Many people have a faint memory of the label from their history books, “the hundred year’s war.” That period of fighting between the French and the English kept flaring up and dying down over a period of one hundred years. Well, no matter what the outcome of the struggles in Israel and Gaza today, there will be a flare up in another twenty years. We are living in the time of our own hundred years war. 

 

War is the ultimate in human failure. We send out our young men to kill each other. We hurl countless bombs to destroy countless homes, factories, bridges and roadways. The news report of the damage done just to the physical buildings  is beyond belief. 

 

Who will answer for all the carnage that has been done to civilians? to working people? To the people at an outdoor concert who have been killed?

 

What about all the children who have been killed in the bombings? Who answers for their lives? 

 

Humans may have fought , injured and killed each other since we were living in caves. Even if we have this constant history of warfare, no one should ever be excused by saying, ‘it has always been that way!’

 

We may have grown up with the bully on the playground. Now, we have countries and corporations that are bullies to the less powerful. We have one group of people trying to take over another’s country.  The bully just comes in a much larger size these days!

 

No matter how someone tries to explain it or frame it, war is always human failure. 

 

The power and energy of my Christian faith is that we are meant to be a people of peace and justice. One of the powerful images that arises from our Sacred Book is “and they will beat their swords into plough shares and their spears into pruning hooks.”  There will be  a time when we will put down our weapons and transpose them into tools to grow food. We will care for our fellow human being rather than wield destruction on them!

 

When we pray “and free us from all distress” this Sunday I will be painfully asking our God for strength to believe we humans can make peace and end all war. This distress is the painful  feelings that attacks the walls of my heart. I ,along with countless others in this world, feel the pain and disappointment that these wars have caused.

 

Standing amidst the human failure of war, I want to pray and work for peace, justice and harmony among all humanity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

RECOVERING LAMENT IN OUR SPIRITUALITY

 

 

Most of us were raised with a much too polite approach to God. We were also raised with some questionable feelings about being angry. We feel guilt when we explode with anger inside ourselves, but if we could step back a moment, we might find that on this particular issue we should be very angry. 

 

When we examine the long story of walking with the living God we recognize that there were many explosions of anger towards God. The prophets were never docile house cats. One of the clearest is the lament of the prophet Jeremiah 20,7-32. Poor Jeremiah is so angry, hurt, confused and frustrated that he just lashes out his anger toward God. 

 

These were real people who struggled with the mission God gave them. They cried out in pain, confusion and anger.

 

Bring your anger towards God that Putin and his government invaded the country of the Ukraine and wants to take over their land. Bring your anger towards very bullet and bomb that has been dropped in Israel and the Gaza strip in the last seven weeks. Hold your anger to God and your fellow human being over every child that has been killed in these skirmishes. How could human beings deliberately destroy each other, the houses of ordinary people and mine the enemy’s farm land? 

 

Lament toward God what human beings have done to the earth. We allowed our large corporations to dump toxic wastes into the soil and the water system. We cut down the forests of the Amazon and leave land unproductive where once there were strong trees serving as the lungs of the planet. Human beings are heating up the atmosphere of the earth and are very slow to move toward sustainable living. 

 

And then there is the tragedy of the fentynal / opiod crisis in our country. Every day there are at least six adults dying of an overdose. These, mostly men, are dying in the prime of life; a most senseless death. Most of these victims are caught in drug addiction. No one is forcing them to take drugs. But every death and overdose is a tragedy. What a loss to see any human being die such a senseless death in the prime of life.

 

Do not be surprised that your voice might become loud and very firm when you express your suffering to God about what is happening in the world and within your own community. Your prayer might be very emotional, but it will be truthful!

 

We call this the prayer of lament. Life is not going well, evil seems to have the upper hand and we are good and angry. Today, we lay our anger and pain before God.  Our prayer may be naked and raw. But is honest!

 

This is a healthy spirituality. Our sufferings also become our prayer.

 

 

STRUGGLE AND HEALTHY FAITH

 

 

From our first breath when we emerged from our mother’s womb, life can be described as a struggle. There is a moment when the mother and mid-wife listen for that first cry. From then on there are so many struggles to live and thrive.

 

There are so many things we need to learn as we move toward adulthood. We learn not to hit our little brother, how to cross the street and how to chew with our mouth closed. And then we are challenged through the teen years to make new friends, to be a competent and reliable worker and to find meaning and purpose in the ups and downs of living.

 

In old age there is a tremendous struggle  when we begin to lose more and more of our significant relationships. The older we become the more we lose. How do you find meaning and purpose in the last fifteen years of life? 

 

If we do not meet these challenges we will fall back and in some cases we will fade into obscurity. Most often a premature death.

 

Here is where so many people who were born into the church has a warped sense of faith. They think that God is some fairy princess who will just wave the magic wand and all will work out for us. How immature and how distorted!

 

Begin your understanding of the life of faith with Moses. God breaks into the life of this farmer (without economic and political power) and sends him to pharaoh (with all the power and the money)  to demand that he set the Hebrew slaves free. Remember the Hebrew slaves were of serious economic value to the economy of Egypt. No ruler would ever be so naïve as to let these slaves (very valuable property) go!

 

What struggle there must have been in the heart of Moses. He, just a little insignificant guy, is being sent to challenge the all-powerful pharaoh!

 

Our faith arises out of   deep struggles. God leads. We are challenged to trust that God accompanies us every step of the way.

 

Consider Jesus who struggled to be faithful to the Father in the last hours before he brutal murder on the cross. He asked God to take this ‘cup’ (of suffering) away from him. Through prayer he learned to accept the brutal ending that was to befall him. 

 

Jesus struggled! And right to the last breath!

 

We struggle right now over the wars raging in the Ukraine, Israel/Gaza and the Sudan. War is always caused by human agents. Plead with God to move the hearts and politics of the agents of war. 

 

Your nephew is into the drugs. You are anxiously afraid that he will hit a bad batch and suffer an overdose. You pray for his safety each day.

 

God has called you to walk and trust him. God will give you strength to work through some of the most difficult moments in human life. 

 

Now, bring to God and to people with whom you can share your faith journey the many struggles you have encountered. 

 

How many days do you feel just like Moses? 

 

Rely on is the love and power of God! Never give up!

 

 

 

 

WE DO NOT JUST DISAPPEAR

 

 

Every human being is confronted with the question: why am I here?

 

In a society where more and more people identify as ‘no religion” it is very helpful to reflect on what our religious truth brings us. The humorous point is made that when an atheist dies “he is all dressed up but now where to go!”

 

The first bold and strong truth that our Christian religion gives us is that every human being is here for a purpose. There is no such thing as a useless human being. We are all part of a much larger divine plan. You count!

 

We reject the observation: “You live and then you die.” What they are saying , “tough, you have only got so many days and that’s it!”

 

We are created with purpose and with destiny. We are not a one-time creature but we are made up of the people who love us and we love them. Part of every human being is their relationships and the joy and purpose every relationship brings. You are part of the life of many others. 

 

And when you die, these relationships do not disappear. The living continue to love and remember the departed. The departed continue to love us (we know this in our memory). Life and relationships all have purpose. They continue even after death. How many of us have said: “Oh, how I wish my mother would be here to see the kids sing?” How many spouses long for their mate, even after many years have passed since they died? 

 

The Christian truth has made it clear from the beginning that reality consists of the living (on earth) and the departed (in heaven). We leave this physical earth in death but we are destined for a glorified life in heaven. We have a serviceable name for this. We call this the “communion of saints.” We are still connected to the departed and they to us. 

 

Physical death does not negate the meaning and purpose of our life. Our life is destined to blossom and be glorified in eternity. 

 

This is why it is so good to remember our departed and pray for them. We are connected. But we should also encourage people to ask the departed to pray for us. We ask the official saints to pray for us. We should ask our prayerful grandmother to pray for us as we are struggling to make the monthly manage payments or navigate through the grocery store prices. In eternity she is in a position to intercede to God to help us in our struggles.

 

The belief in the communion of saints is not some nice ‘add-on’ but simply the extension of our belief that life has meaning and purpose from the creative hand of God. 

 

This November, remember and cherish your departed loved ones, whether they be family, co-workers, the people you went ot high school with some decades ago or just some of the wonderful people that you have worked with over the years. We are connected; we belong together and every human life has meaning ( alive or departed).