Peripheral Ponderings

For his siblings, always aware of the differences that caused the other children to consider Cor’s behaviour strange, of the constant frustration as Cor struggled in school, the family stigma, his anger issues and vulnerability, there remained a constant ache.  Society has little tolerance and much fears around those with mental illness, and they struggle to find a place.

As much as people vow at the outset, over a lifetime this weight does become very heavy.  As Cor grew older, he lapsed into silence, into a place where he couldn’t be reached.  We were painfully aware of our inadequacies as family and that of the medical or spiritual community to draw him out.

Cor passed away suddenly on April 22, 2021.  It was time to let God carry him, when we couldn’t.  We can’t be sad for him, because he’s now free to explore a wonderful new world.  But we can perhaps take his legacy, and make life a little easier for people like him by early intervention, by appreciating their unique gifts to our society, by patiently coming alongside at their pace instead of ours.

And though we ourselves may be slow learners in this regard, we can at least be willing to be taught.

“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy.  But you – who are you to judge your neighbour?”  James 4:12

I’ve been reading a study on the book of James, a book that has an uncomfortable way of speaking directly to armchair Christians.  To James, faith is not faith unless it is accompanied by action.  He says that we need to be humble, to grieve our sins.  We need to stop the envy, slander, and quarreling that can destroy a community.

When we judge others, we take the law into our own hands, set ourselves up in God’s place.  We judge people for not keeping the law or our standards.  Even worse, sometimes we even judge others to be unworthy of God’s grace, especially if they’ve caused us difficulty or hurt us in some way.  We are the angry older brother, believing he had slaved without appreciation.  We are like Jonah, unwilling to do anything to facilitate restoration for the Ninevites who have been so cruel to Israel.

Sometimes we judge hastily, with casual arrogance, believing we have all the facts.   In the Divine Comedy, Dante has Thomas Aquinas, the Dominican friar,  offer a series of reasons why it’s so unwise to judge prematurely.

“Let the people, then, not be too certain in their judgments,
like those that harvest in their minds
corn still in the field before it ripens.

For I have seen the briar first look dry and thorny
right all through the winter’s cold,
then later wear the bloom of roses at its top.

And once I saw a ship, which had sailed straight
and swift upon the sea through all its voyage,
sinking at the end as it made its way to port.|

Let not Dame Bertha and Master Martin,
when they see one steal and another offer alms
think that they behold them with God’s wisdom.

For the first may still rise up, the other fall.”

                                                              Paradiso, Canto 13

Our senses can mislead us to make judgments of another’s character or competency from very little evidence.  Their deficiencies are sometimes glaringly obvious, while we forget to tally and be thankful for all the ways in which they contribute.  The church, as a caring, loving community, still can fall prey to petty grudges and habits of criticism.  But God’s servants are ultimately answerable to Him.  We wouldn’t think of criticizing someone’s child to his face, but God often hears his children find fault with each other.

And that why it’s so important that we focus our vision, that we  do not take our eyes off God’s providence for us.  We can always trust that He is concerned for our welfare.   Envy and backbiting  diminish as we remember that we can ask our loving Father for what we need day by day, that even the difficulties in our lives are uniquely planned for our ultimate good.

 

 

It’s Maundy Thursday of Passion Week as I write this, the day we remember that Jesus celebrated his Last Supper with the small group of men who followed him for his three years of ministry.  To teach them that they will need  humility to serve others, Jesus himself washes their feet.

Just previous to this, Jesus told his disciples a number of parables that warn them that they must be watchful, must use the time they will now spend apart from him wisely, that they will be responsible to develop the gifts he has given them,  to take responsibility for the welfare of the new community that will spring up after His resurrection.

All those who lead in the church know the weight of this charge.  We are to be like watchmen over God’s vineyard, or like shepherds who watch over the sheep.   In Ezekiel 33, God clearly spells out the necessity for a watchman not only to be alert, but also to communicate danger.  If he fails to do this, the blood of his people will be on his head.  If they fail to heed his warnings, they themselves will be held liable.

In June 2019, as I accepted a new church leadership responsibility, I began to experience frightening dreams.  In one dream, I am driving to visit my mother in a nursing home.  As my friend and I navigate the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) to Niagara, buildings alongside the road were collapsing because of an earthquake.  In the dream I saw the outside elevator cars on the Skylon Tower flung out on their cables.

As you cross a threshold, fear needs to be dealt with.  In a liminal time, people tend to experience more dreams. Their symbols are like those in classical literature.  Only God can interpret dreams, and so we need Divine help.  Why would the Skylon be chosen as the dream metaphor?  It’s a watchtower over a powerful Falls, but it’s also in Niagara which is a place of orchards and vineyards.  It’s a place that receives visitors from all over the world.

In June 2019, Israeli archeologists and assisting soldiers reported the unearthing of a 2700 year old watchtower, believed to be from the time of Hezekiah.  It was a reminder that now, as it was then, God’s people always needed to be alert, to watch and wait.

Late in 2019 the pandemic began, its successive waves like the aftershocks of an earthquake.  Our seniors in nursing homes were at great risk, our health care systems, economies and political systems shaken.  We have had our eyes opened to the dangers of continuing in this path of greed that is destroying the earth itself.  Travel and tourism has been greatly curtailed.

The Old Testament king of Judah,  Hezekiah, called people back from their idolatrous worship of stone idols to once again serve the living God, restoring the temple to its vital function. He had men collect wisdom literature, the proverbs of Solomon.  He interceded for his nation in prayer when threatened by foreign invaders.  But he also took action to prepare for times of danger by blocking the Gihon spring, channeling the stream down to the west side of Jerusalem.  And he built watchtowers on the country’s border.

In this time, too, the church must live out this watchfulness, ensure that it is prepared so that we can properly care for the welfare of each member and the communities in which we are placed.  It’s not easy to do, as we are isolated physically.   Like the Skylon Tower in my dream, right now we often feel our only connection is far-flung cable.

Still, the body of Christ can be unified in a vibrant way through prayer.  Like Hezekiah, living in dangerous times, we are called to intercessory prayer, to watch, and to take action in whatever way we can.

 

 

For all that Christianity has sometimes been seen as an exclusive religion, the New Testament shows Jesus constantly invited people to follow him, to choose the better way of communion with God and others.

Jesus tells a parable about those who turn down a king’s gracious invitation to his son’s wedding feast, even abusing those who offered it.   As a result, the king tells his servants to go out and invite all kinds of people from the streets instead.

Prior to telling this parable, Jesus tells the educated people (who should have recognized Him for who he was), that” crooks and whores are going to precede you into God’s kingdom . . . even when you saw their changed lives, you didn’t care enough to change and believe Him.” (The Message)

This parable refers to the Kingdom of Heaven, but it begins even now, here on earth.  Like the bride-to-be who samples some of the food choices the caterer offers for the wedding dinner, we have been given a foretaste of the goodness of God.  And He has provided for us a beautiful world.  When we treat what God has provided for us with contempt and arrogance, we turn our back on both gift and Giver, closing ourselves off from admittance to the eternal world of abundant life.

“I am large, I contain multitudes,” said the poet Walt Whitman.  It’s true that in myself I often find a cynic, a critical judge, a doubter and other unsavory characters, as hard as I try to leave them behind.   Nelson Mandela talked of the African concept of ubuntu, the reality that we are only human through the humanity of others.  Until we come to realize our common need of a Saviour, we project on to and disown others and shut ourselves away from true celebration.  Unbelievably, the door has now been opened to those astonished that they are wanted.

It’s the season of Lent, a time to look into our hearts, to respond to God’s offer of the Life his Son died to give us.   There will be a great wedding feast.  We need only to admit our need of God’s gracious offer, and we will be admitted into a celebration of His glory and splendour, welcomed and given a place at His table.

“All day long the sun proclaims it
Like a Bridegroom dressed in white
Coming from his tent to greet them
All his guests feel his delight.
Words of love and warmth he whispers,
Warming all who hear His voice
‘Oh, be glad and share my table
Dance and celebrate, rejoice!
Dance and celebrate, rejoice!'”

Excerpted from Anthem, by Gaither

“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in” 

Anthem, Leonard Cohen

It was early in pandemic days, when many church congregations were still trying to get their footing in the digital world, when we watched one service that had the lyrics posted along with the music so that we could sing along.

Unfortunately, there had been a misspelling in the text.  Normally this sticks out like a sore thumb to me, probably due to the stringent efforts of teachers as far back as grade-school, to ensure we got words right.   I remember spelling bees with two teams lined up at the back of the classroom.  Once the teacher named a word, there was a mad dash to inscribe it on the dusty blackboard, quickly and correctly, to make our individual contribution to the team’s success.  Generally,  these games were considered great fun.

But sometimes, like a Freudian slip, a misspelling creates a paradigm shift that reveals a world underneath.  The word believe had been misspelled in the lyrics, as “belive.”  To believe is a central Christian tenet,  It implies a holding something precious close to our heart,  but can be such a fuzzy, abstract concept.  Sometimes, when we go through difficult times of doubt,  it can feel tougher to maintain than a lifetime of works.

But for just an instant, an epiphany seemed to illuminate “be live.” And I had to stop to ponder this.   For, after all, we are to be in Jesus, to live in Jesus’ Life, to fully be alive.

Each Sunday, our technical teams faithfully prepare the readings and lyrics in the worship software for the intended church service.  As each screen is lined up, there is a moment when the technician hits the Go Live button, and the words are displayed so that all can participate.

Living the Christian life first means being in Jesus, then doing out of that.  This means we are fully connected to the Source,  set free to be abundantly alive.  It’s an overflowing life that enriches the lives of others.

All of this insight from a “mistake.”  Perhaps perfection is not only unattainable, but highly overrated.  Because, as the apostle Paul discovered, God shines best in our weaknesses.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

2 Corinthians 4:7