WHAT WE HEAR IN OUR CULTURE

                     

During the Christmas season I have listened to a lot of contemporary Christmas holiday music. What we have is a culture trying to make sense out of the mid-winter holidays. What are we actually doing? What sense do we make  from the break from economic work?

 

The results are not promising. What we have is a lot of superficial, self-centered music that may pleasure your ear drums but it lacks depth. This is not a distinct time of our year that brings us in touch with a deeper reality in life. It is individualism run amuck!

 

We just have to reflect back to the attention that Canadians pay to remembrance on November 11. There are almost no words but the silence, the painful historical memories that our national identity carries is touchable. There is no superficiality at 11 AM on November 11.

 

The long history of the feast of Christmas within Christianity roots us within the great mystery of the divine. First this is humanity being in touch, in harmony with the transcendent. The very meaning of being a human being, of being alive on this planet, is lived out in the spiritual awareness of this day.

 

We tell the story of the birth of the Savior. We act it out in our churches and our homes. We sing very traditional Christmas carols that lift our spirits into the divine action of the birthing of God among us. This gives us energy for our lives. There is hope, meaning and purpose at the darkest time of the year. We are in touch with something much greater than ourselves.

 

And then we do make festive with family, friends, good food and wine. We enjoy how God has come among us.

 

This is where the secular world is struggling. What do they have to make sense of Christmas? How are they awed by anything besides themselves? Where is the depth and meaning for the secular Canadian?

 

If there is no transcendent meaning to this holiday, will it continue to degenerate into a simple break from work in the mid-winter darkness?

 

There is a benefit for anyone who identifies as a Christian. If so much of the secular world seems empty of meaning, how can the Christian claim meaning and purpose from the traditions and practices of our past centuries?  How can we make Christmas meaningful and purposeful for ourselves?

 

It is never automatic that because your parents/grandparents found great meaning in Christmas, that you also will have enthusiastic meaning for Christmas. Each generation must reclaim and build the meaning of celebrating the birth day of the Saviour. Each year we must reach down into our spiritual roots to once again make present and share in the great truth (action) that God has come among us.

 

Living in a sea of secular meaninglessness should spur us on to greater depth. Even if none of our family members or friends will make Christmas a beneficial religious event, we want to be nourished by the faith and the roots of our ancestors. The emptiness of secular Christmas music is a push to more intense depth and sharing in our Christian roots. 

 

 

 

WE HUNGER FOR PEACE

                

 

In all the messages for Christmas there is always the mention of peace.  But let us listen to what is actually going on here.

 

If we listen to our souls, we will recognize that there is a strong hunger for peace. Has there ever been a time when there was a not a war going on somewhere in the world? Was there ever a time when there is not some sort of turf war going on between rival gangs (often over control of the illegal drug market) within our big cities? 

 

No matter where we are in the history of humanity or in our world today, we must ask with every war or armed conflict, ‘What actually was accomplished?’ Has war ever made things better for humanity?

 

We experience struggles between the very rich, the middle class and the impoverished workers. There growing inequity of incomes in North America is concern for peace in our society.

 

How many families have scar tissues from divisions and misunderstandings? There are divisions that are so painful that no one has talked to the others for years. The cry for healing and peace is very personal and very close.

 

There is no conflict that does not arise out of the struggles for power over others, greed and non-listening. 

 

In our souls we hear the painful plea to end all this pain, destruction and death. 

 

To hear the cry for peace from the depths of our own souls is to rise to the power of God working within us human beings. If we want to have peace we must work toward justice.

 

The cry for peace within our souls is the voice of God to work towards sharing the wealth of the earth. Those who have wealth, skills and economic power must now work to bring this wealth and skills to others. The cry for peace is the cry for sharing of the economic, cultural and intellectual wealth with others. 

 

The cry for peace is for the powerful to take responsibility for their military take-over of the lands and resources of others. Has there ever been a time when the powerful nations of the world have not captured the poorer nations of the world and mined their resources?  Did not the powerful Europeans countries control the colonies and milk them for all the sugar cane, their minerals and feeds grains that they could grab?  The cry for peace in our own souls is a recognition of who got rich and who remained poor in our recent history.

 

The cry for peace is the pain within our own families to build new bridges, to heal the old wounds and to embrace a new understanding in our future. 

 

The cry for peace that you hear within your soul is such a healthy cry for healing and newness. May your Christmas deepen the desires for peace on all levels. And may you become a person of peace. 

WHAT TO DO WITH THE UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER?

This Friday evening, December 18, in Vancouver, there is a very creative fund raiser (The Children’s Wish Foundation), using the theme of the ugly ‘Christmas sweater.’ It is a very big, splashy social event that raises a lot of money for this charity.

 

Everyone must wear their ‘ugly’ Christmas sweater. The bigger the festive eyesore, the better!

 

Who came up with this creative idea for fund raising? Who could turn a moment of social discomfort (to be gifted with an ugly sweater) into a moment of socializing and fundraising?

Is there a message in all this?

 

As we come to celebrate the birth day of our Savior in a week’s time, we can see the hand of God in all this. God uses the very ordinary and the rejected parts of humanity to do great things. The cast-offs (the people who do not count) are sought out by God to bring salvation (God’s great love and mercy) to the world. 

 

Stand at the Christmas crib and say out loud, “But these are all nobodies, displaced people in our world.’ And God has chosen Mary (young and without power) to bring forth the very Son of God. And God sent his angels to call the shepherds (the day labourers) to welcome the Saviour of mankind? And the people considered beyond God (i.e., the Gentiles) are called to gift the Christ child?

 

This is how God actually works. The little ones, the ones who have so little social power, are chosen by God to recognize what God is doing among human beings. The no-bodies are called to Bethlehem!

 

And this is where the ugly Christmas sweater fits in. This is a gift that you only wear to show the donor that you appreciate the gift, But, you will leave that ugly sweater folded up in your drawer until next year at this time. 

 

The ugly Christmas sweater is an indication of how God upsets the way humans value things. The people we consider to be of immense worth are moved to the sidelines; the forgotten ones are raised up! 

 

What a surprise for humanity? What you considered unimportant (the ugly Christmas sweater forgotten in your dresser drawer) has now become the great moment of revelation. 

 

Kudos to the people who first conceived this fund raiser fourteen years ago in Vancouver. There is a wonderful lesson here.

 

Have a wonderful Christmas. Wear your festive eyesore! But be brave enough to celebrate with our God who just upsets human planning. 

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT IS MAKING YOUR LIFE WORTHWHILE?

     

 

We are not born possessing a deep purpose and meaning to our lives. Meaning and purpose is what you have to develop as you go along in life.  Each person is faced with reality: will I find meaning in life that makes it worthwhile to get out of bed each morning?

 

With the legalization in Canada of Medically assisted death in 2016, we are learning of many people who are choosing the option of ending their life. This is another form of suicide. But if you listen to the reasons that people are giving you will see that most often it is due to loneliness and the collapse of any meaning to their life. 

 

Here is where we must ask, “what makes life meaningful? What is giving you energy to live through this day with purpose?

 

In a society of unbelievable consumption, thoughtful people are asking us to take a second look at all our possessions and material goods. We are asked to open our clothes closet, count all the tops and shirts, plus all the shoes, underwear and accessories and ask ourselves: Now, which piece of clothing actually brings us happiness? Which pair of shoes gives us energy to want to continue living for another day?

 

Is there anything in this clothes closet, or in our computer works that actually brings us happiness? Of all the things that we have worked so hard to accumulate and possess, what is really worthwhile to our life? Or is this just so much ‘stuff?’

 

This culture is suffering from too much ‘religion’. It has been around so long that it has lost its punch. The value that religion gives to our individual lives is just not working. People are very content just to be their good selves. Who needs to practice a religious faith life?

 

It is no longer sufficient to say that ‘I believe in God.’ 

 

Turn this around. It is not what we believe that is first and foremost in this argument. It is God’s belief in us. God is the center of attention and action here. We respond to God and not God responds to us! Humans are not the center of meaning in the cosmos.

 

The first absolute demand that God makes on us is that everything is here for a purpose. We humans may not recognize the purpose, but that is our problem! Every human life has value and meaning. Everyone is created, loved and cherished by God. Whether we are bright and strong or born with limitations; whether we are emotionally stable or struggle with severe addictions, we are of infinite value. 

 

When some people put others down because they have limited mental or physical abilities, we know they are working against the plans of God. The way that God’s heart works is very challenging. 

 

This is where we need to get in touch with the workings of God. Allow yourself to be open to the challenges of God. If God has chosen to make the life of another person worthwhile, who are we to denigrate that meaning that God has given to that particular life?

 

As we come so close to Christmas it is an excellent time to reflect on the meaning that God gives human life. God has become one of us, not to make us feel good, but to indicate how much God cares about human beings.

 

This is where everyone must work to discover the meaning that God has for their life. Trying to keep ourselves and our control at the center of our existence is not of the essence of human lfie. We are here (this time, this place) for a very definite reason: God’s reason!

 

May you continue to discover your true meaning this Christmas season. 

 

 

 

FAITH MIIGHT NOT SURVIVE

               

 

No matter where you go in this country you hear our older parents lament, “But my adult children no longer go to church.”  This pain is expressed in all Christian churches, but also equally lamented in the Moslem and Hindu community. It is very difficult to look back at all your valiant efforts to raise your children in the Christian faith and then to conclude that all  my grandchildren will become secular. They are all very good people who live by very good values but they have relegated belonging to a religious community as completely unnecessary to living a good life. 

 

The generation following church-participating grandparents may still want a few religious things done, such as getting their babies ‘baptzied’ in a church, but there is no prayer in their home life. 

 

We want to pay attention to the human need to participate in the life of a faith community. We know (from all world religions) that when an individual/family does not participate in the life of a faith community, what little faith there may be will wilt and not take root in the following generation. Faith needs to be supported and nourished by our fellow believers. We need to have festivals and specific times of prayer for the faith to be nourished. The common-sense dictum, ‘use it or lose it’ applies so well.

 

We must also observe that we live in a time of much deconstruction. That is a big word that the philosophers use to indicate that so many of the values and institutions that supported our life and society are crumbling. You may teach your children one specific value only to have it trashed by the next speaker on social media. Values like prayer, fidelity to God and witnessing to our faith in Jesus Christ need to be supported by others. No human being can live a faith-life as an isolated individual. We also need to experience these values being lived out and supported in our social life. The strong values like working for the common good, working to be faithful to God and the Gospel, practicing social justice appear to be on very shaking ground in this culture. 

 

If any of these necessary values are to survive, we must deliberately work to live and support them. No longer can we assume that our children will even want to practice the Christian faith as we have. Nor can we assume that they will work for the common good of our life within this society. 

 

We must teach (and help people to practice) that their faith will not survive unless it comes out of struggle to land on deep convictions and personal experience. No longer can anyone assume that they were brought up Christian/Catholic. It will only survive and thrive if it arises out of personal experience of the very person of Jesus Christ. Each person must hear the call of Jesus Christ within their own lives and say yes or no! Just as our marriages and families will not survive without definite commitment so our faith needs to come out of personal commitment.

 

In our preaching and teaching we need to call people to a lived experience of Christ. We need to challenge and nourish their faith life and help them to appreciate how necessary it is to arrive at faith out of a lived personal commitment.

 

This may seem confusing to many born-Christians but a smaller church in the future might be a more dynamic faith community. It will probably be more faithful to the call of the Gospel. 

GETTING SOMETHING OUT OF ADVENT

              

We have now moved into the darkest part of the winter months. It is discouraging to see the sun rise so late into the morning and disappear so quickly before evening. One alert farmer wisely coined: if we did not have the feast of Christmas, we would have to invent it! We break the long winter darkness with festive gatherings. Mid-winter festivities are a sign of social health.

 

This is such a busy time with all sorts of gatherings and meals. There is very little energy left over to participate in the wonderful spirit of Advent. Now, for any sincere Christian we are challenged to hang on to some meaning in these four weeks before Christmas. The music of Advent will only survive and give us nourishment if we pay attention. Christmas shopping could drown out the music of Advent.

 

The first thing I must do is ask myself: Does Advent offer anything to my life. What is there to gain from paying attention to Advent?

 

There is very little to do (i.e., activity) during Advent. This is all about paying attention to the great and wonderful works that God is doing among us. Advent is a  gift of time to pay attention to the great struggles between God and the Covenant peoples of Israel. The people learnt through incredible sufferings, (they were deported and abused as slaves by the conquering Empire), that God would not abandon them. God proved to be faithful. The first step is to pay attention to God’s faithfulness to our ancestors.

 

The second part of our paying attention is to participate in the coming of the very Son of God among us. There was an actual birth among poor people who were experiencing displacement. God has become flesh. Paying attention means deepening our relationship with the God-man Jesus. We must work to get to know Jesus so that we can know what God is like. 

 

The third part of Advent is to pay attention to what God is doing among us today. What direction is God giving us through the flooding of the Fraser River in British Columbia? What does God want to recognize among the huge number of drug overdoses in Canada during the past five years? Is God moving us to share our time and energy with our elder co-workers who have slipped into various degrees of dementia? God is ever at work among us. We want to pay attention.

 

What I need to do during these four weeks is block off some special time to take the Sunday readings for Advent, pray and work them over. I need to give special time to just paying attention to the movements of God. There is no need to re-invent the wheel here. The Sunday liturgies offer such a rich fare for my spiritual life. 

 

In all the business of this holiday season there is a nourishing gift awaiting: just be, just be present, to our faithful God.

BC FLOODS MAKE US QUESTION

         

During this past week we have seen horrific pictures of the flooding caused by unbelievable amount of rainfall in the Fraser Valley in BC. The entire town of Merrit (population 7000) has been evacuated. I can picture in my mind of the next few days when these people will return to their homes and their farms to survey the damage. I feel for the people who will have to go down into their basements and start carrying out all the soaked and ruined things they had in their basement. 

 

In the midst of all this disaster and suffering countless people have stepped up with generosity, opening their homes to these displaced people, preparing meals for these people and help rescue farm animals. This flooding has brought out some of the best in the people of BC. 

 

But this year of climate disasters challenges us to ask some very hard questions about our cultural values. What contribution has human behaviour contributed to these huge forest fires, the heat the heat dome and this unprecedented rainfall that became such damaging flooding? 

 

Thoughtful people come the conclusion that these disasters have been enhanced by human behavior. We have heated up the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, clear cut the forests and not respected the natural flow of the waters. No one should be surprised that the rich agricultural areas around the town of Abbotsford was a large lake one hundred years ago. What once was a lake became rich farm land. We have built barriers to protect the new land from flooding but it still is a lake! These torrential rains last Sunday and Monday did what was natural: the lake reformed!

 

How much damage has our practice of clear-cut logging done to our forests? After the forest fires raged this past summer, we must ask how the soil had lost its ability to absorb and retain water? 

 

There are many other heavy-duty questions that must be asked and reflected upon but this short column also wants us to get in touch with what our Christian faith brings to this reflection. 

 

First, all of creation is an extension of the great love that God has for us. There is nothing that exists that is not a sharing of the great love and compassion that exists within the very life of the Trinity. I am not sure where mosquitos fit into this scheme of things but I know they are some reflection of the goodness which is God. 

 

If creation is good and humanity is part of the web of creation, our responsibility is not to use anything in creation selfishly (use and then throw away) but to live and work with all parts of creation in harmony. For the past two centuries Western human beings have used creation as their personal possession; not showing any accountability to the rest of creation for any damage done to the atmosphere, the soils and the waterways. We have lived disconnected and irresponsible toward creation. 

 

Now, what are the flood waters in BC telling us about our interconnectedness with all parts of creation?

 

Our Christian faith calls us to care for our common home. Our prayer can bring us into the very heart of God and God’s great love for all creation. This can give us courage to ask the hard questions and then to take appropriate actions to live more simply and not do any damage to creation.

 

Our faith can give us the energy and power to work towards sustainability. First, we must begin by loving all parts of creation as God loves all parts of creation.