Hope....

Today as I was driving home from some errands I came up a hill and noticed in a field off to the side, a tractor. My first thought, temporarily forgetting that we have had more snow this winter than for several previous years, was that the tractor was working up the ground in preparation for planting. Then, reality kicked in, and as I drew nearer I could see that the tractor had been left out there last fall and the bottom half was completely buried in the snow. I felt rather foolish at the ease with which I forgot that we have, in my opinion, far too much snow. My enthusiasm and desire and hope for spring gets stronger each day, now that the days are getting longer and the sun stronger. I believe that hope is a wonderful gift from God.

In Romans 15:13 we read “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Our God is a hopeful God, and God's hope for us is that we will choose to be hopeful in return. You see, a person who has hope has a reason to live. A person who has hope has a reason to reach out to others. A person who has hope has been hugged by the Holy Spirit and strengthened to do God's work.

My hope for you is that you are also hopeful, and that you are moved inspire hope in others.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield..

There was an episode of the old TV series Star Trek that had the above title. In the episode, the Enterprise picks up two survivors of a war-torn planet who are still committed to destroying each other aboard the ship. The two are unique in that they are each black on one side and white on the other. But the colors are on the opposite sides on each of them. One of them is a “slave” and the other is a “master”. The crew of the Enterprise are surprised at the war between the two, since on the show, racial differences are non existent on earth. The crew do not see the two as different, since they are both white and black. Their difference lies in the fact that their colors are on different sides, and to the two that makes a huge difference.
As a society today, we often find differences between ourselves and others. We are not the same color, or we don’t share the same religion, or we live in different areas, or we don’t share the same beliefs. I wonder when or if we will ever get to the place where the crew of the Enterprise was on that episode. They saw the two aliens as the same. They saw the two as the same, both black and white. Imagine how much we could accomplish if we stopped seeing ourselves as different from others, and started seeing all of us as children of God.

Fire and ice....

I was reading a novel this morning, and a passage struck me as interesting. A mother said to her kids each morning, as she held out her two hands to them, “we are offered each day a cup of joy and a cup of sorrow. Which one will you choose today?” These words stayed with me as we left to go to church. I found myself unable to stop thinking about them during the drive there.

When the readings began in church, the first reading went like this: “If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you choose. Before each person are life and death, and whichever one chooses will be given.” Sirach 15:15-17 I would beg to differ with anyone who says that God doesn't speak to us. I don't think a message could be much clearer. I don't think that all messages from God are this direct, but I believe that a lot of the time we are so absorbed in our own issues that we don't hear God even when the message is this clear. Thank you, God, for reminding me to listen.

Julian of Norwich...

Julian of Norwich was a fourteenth century mystic. She was an anchoress – that is, a type of hermit who lived in a cell attached to a church, and who engaged in a form of prayer called contemplation. Contemplative prayer is distinct from vocal and meditative types of prayer, where we use our mind, imagination and other faculties in an attempt to understand our relationship with our creator. In Contemplative prayer, these activities are halted or restrained, so we can seek a deeper connection with God, as one source put it, a connection that is “too deep for words.”

That is all very interesting, but the point I wanted to make about Julian is about an experience she had. When she was 30 years old, she suffered from a severe illness, and, believing she was dying, had a series of intense visions or revelations about God. These were later recorded in both shot and long form named “Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love.” What happened to Julian of Norwich is regarded by most as a perfect contemplative experience with God. Her writings have been studied and written about in great detail over the years. What I really wonder is, if someone came along today and professed that they had had an experience similar to that of Julian, how would we treat them? Would we embrace them and listen to their story seriously? Or would we back away and try to get away from them? I suspect that anyone with a story like Julian's would not be taken seriously. So I ask myself and you, what would have to happen for us to believe a modern day Julian of Norwich?

People.....

The Chinese character for “people” is composed of two simple brush strokes. It is probably one of the easiest words for someone not studied in the Chinese language to write. Each line is supported by the other – if we remove one, they both fall. The two strokes are dependent on each other, just as we, as members of a Christian community are also dependent on each other. Our responsibility is to love and support those around us. Who would have thought that a simple symbol could express so much....

Confused....

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” Luke 6:35

Once again, I am more than slightly confused. I have read and reread this passage of scripture hoping that a light would come on and it would make sense. I feel like someone has hidden my lamp under a bushel (memories of another great story) and as a result, I can't see. I wondered why I would be considered ungrateful and evil if I do the things asked of us at the beginning of the passage. Then it struck me. It is not us that are ungrateful and evil by helping others. Rather, it is the ungrateful and evil we are asked to help.

If we take on this challenge and keep it foremost in our minds each day, we will certainly make the world a better place, by our actions and by the effect it will have on others who see us acting this way. We will truly be living the second great commandment, that of loving our neighbour as ourselves, even if that neighbour is not “our kind of people”. God calls us to move closer to the people that we most want to move away from. Which way will you move?

Encouragement....

And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vine dresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” Luke 13:6-9

There is an important lesson for us in this parable. As the story tells us, in order to get a plant to produce fruit, it needs regular care, including watering, fertilizing and pruning. Anyone who has begun to prune a tree in their yard can attest to the fact that pruning a young tree actually encourages it to grow and branch out. Yeah, yeah, I know, the lesson here is so simple you are probably wondering why the heck did he bother? Can't he find anything else to write about? Actually I can, but I LOVE this parable and the message that we have all heard before. But let me ask you this question. Who have you pruned today? Who have you watered today? Who have you nurtured in order to encourage them to produce fruit? EXACTLY! That's why we ALL need the reminder! So start looking for those trees (people) that are in need of pruning (encouragement) and get clipping!

The narrow gate.....

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.” Matthew 7:13

We are expected to do many things in our lives. If we work, as most of us do, we are expected to show up at our jobs as scheduled, and to do our jobs to the best of our abilities. If we have families, we are expected to look after and care for the members. Responsibilities can often seem to tie us down and keep us from doing what we want to do. I know there are lots of days when I feel there is so much I could be doing if I didn't have to go to work.

God also has expectations for us. There is a certain way in which we, as Christians, are expected to act. That way often seems to us to be a very narrow path, with not much room to move from side to side. I'm sure you, like me, often resent and rebel against the path. Sometimes it is just easier to take a different wider path that doesn't seem so restrictive. But when we follow a wider path, we meet up with more distractions that keep us from focusing on our Christian mission. When we follow an easier path, we don't have to work as hard. By passing through the narrow gate, we stay on track with God's purpose for us. The right way is never easy, but it is guaranteed to be the most rewarding.

99 & 44/100% pure....

I remember as a child watching the commercials on TV for Ivory Soap, and the claims by the company that their soap was 99 & 44/100% pure. I remember thinking that the soap was about as close to perfect as one could get. It was amazing to think that there was less than 1% of that product that was not pure. I used to wonder what the difference would be if the manufacturers managed to increase the purity of the product to hit 100%. How much better could the product possibly be if it went from 99 & 44/100% to 100% pure?

I find it hard to think of things that I can say are 100% pure. Even gold is reported to be 99.9% fine or pure. Something that is 100% pure must be completely made up of only one thing. In trying to think of an example of such a thing, I was repeatedly drawn to the image of God's love. That love is very definitely 100% pure. It has no artificial colours or preservatives. It needs no perfumes or ingredients to keep it together. And that love is available to us simply by our asking, without conditions or restrictions. It is indeed 100% pure.