Wednesday Wondering - August 23, 2023

Scripture

1Kings 19: 11 - 13

He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Psalm 139: 7 - 8

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

Reflection

I have been thinking a lot lately about how fractured this world seems to be. We live in a world that connects us to everything in an instant. We can go onto technology and find the information that we need. We can log onto social media and connect with people around the world. I have reconnected with people whom I haven’t seen in 40 years through the wonder of social media. It seems as if technology has made the world a much smaller, a much more intimate place. I wonder, has it though? This wonder of technology has also allowed us to become more isolated, as we don’t have to leave the comforts of our homes to interact with others. We can go onto our computers, interact as much or as little as we want, without physically being in the same space as others. The other thing that technology has done is that it has allowed so many to interact with others without the fear of rejection, the fear of being who they truly are because, in reality you can be anyone you want to be on the internet.

It is strange how the Spirit works, isn’t it? This ‘Wondering’ started out as a rather negative commentary on technology and as I began writing my perspective changed and evolved. I see this as the Spirit moving within my thoughts, my words, and my writing. To be honest I think that that is what this entire piece is about this movement of the Spirit when we don’t expect it. The scriptures that I chose speak to the presence of God with us. In 1Kings it is Elijah, who goes out to meet God. As Elijah waits, God is not in that wind, or in that earthquake, or even in that fire, God comes to Elijah in the silence. The second passage from Psalm 139 (which by the way is my favourite Psalm) speaks to God’s presence with us no matter where we find ourselves in our lives. As I think about these scriptures and I think about the world, I have come to see that there are many times when I have not been open to the presence of God in my own life. I have been quick to judge others and how they live their lives. I have been quick to judge how others connect to the world around themselves and in doing so I forget one important thing. The late Fr. Donald Cozzens, Roman Catholic priest, author, and lecturer, in his book “Notes From The Underground” stated, "At the heart of the Gospel is a subtext that whispers we are not alone, that our creator has planted in our true selves a capacity for intimacy with God, creation, others-and ourselves.” We have been created to be in relationship. We have been created to be in relationship with ourselves, with others, and with God. Who gets to decide what that might look like for each of us? I think that the challenge with the world, why the world has become so fractured, is that we have lost the ability to see ourselves as connected to each other, in whatever way that works for us, and to God. We struggle to listen for God in the silence. So many don’t see the presence of the Divine in their lives, in the world, in others, and so they feel lost and alone. This is not the loneliness of being alone, but rather a spiritual loneliness that comes from missing real connection in one’s life. We as Christians are challenged to constantly seek God in the silences, in the cracks, in the margins of life. We are also called to come into intimate, deep meaningful, relationships with the people around us. If we do this we might just model a new way of living for others so that they too might find true connection in their lives.

Prayer

God of the deep silences, give us the wisdom to seek you in the silences of our own lives. Give us the courage to reach out to others in friendship, care, and compassion, offering our presence to them so that they might feel you. Give us the strength to move beyond the comforts of our own lives and to venture into those places where we might once again find you waiting. We ask this in the name of the one who is God Incarnate, your presence with us, Jesus. Amen.

Wednesday Wondering - August 16, 2023

Scripture

Matthew 8: 1 - 4

When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Reflection

I have been thinking a lot about who, many of us, tend to gravitate towards in our own lives. Van Jones, the American news and political commentator, author, and lawyer, speaks to what he calls our ‘resistance bubbles.’ This is our tendency in life to surround ourselves with people and groups that think the exact same way that we do. It is our resistance to actually engaging with people who are different from ourselves, or those people with whom we would never engage with in our lives. This does not mean that you have to agree with them, but it is about engaging with those who have different ideas, different spiritualities, different life stories. Our scripture from Matthew is one of those stories. Jesus sees someone that everyone else in society has shunned and rather than following what everyone else is doing, Jesus does something different. Richard Beck, author and professor of psychology at Abilene Christian University, speaks to this story in the following way, "What is intriguing about this story is the sequence. Jesus touches the leper first. Then the command "Be clean!" is offered. That is, Jesus' first move is into ritual defilement. By first touching the leper, Jesus intentionally and willfully seeks contamination, standing in solidarity with the unclean. This is striking because the expected sequence would be the initial purification followed by contact. Jesus, surprisingly for the onlookers, does the opposite. Contact occurs first. Purification follows solidarity. And one can only wonder how various Christian communities approach this sequence in their own missional endeavours.” This challenges each of us to move beyond our own resistance bubbles and to become intentional in our work to engage with others who might just be different than we are, those whom others might actually shun. It is the challenge of our faith, to engage with those we see as not the same. It is the challenge of our faith to engage with those whom society might deem unworthy. It is the challenge of our faith to be with those, to include those, whom society has shunned. Jesus spent his time with the sinners, the tax collectors, those who were seen as unclean, and in doing so he surrounded himself with those who were different and they knew that they mattered. Jesus didn’t just do this once, when he was feeling charitable, he did it throughout his entire life. We are called to the same life. We are called to live lives where everyone matters regardless of where they might find themselves in society. We are called to include everyone, those whom others have shunned, so that we might truly follow Christ. We are called to include the outcast to engage with those whom society has deemed as ‘less than.’ Jesus fought against those who would continue to sow discontent, those who would continue to marginalize, isolate, and ostracize, all in the name of their own gains and their own narrow views of the world. We, in following, Jesus are challenged to be those who see the worth in the ones that others have deemed unworthy. Jesus challenges us to touch the unclean, to be in solidarity with all those who have been cast aside, not just in word, but in deed. This is what I think it means to be a Christian today.

Prayer

God of the marginalized, help us to see those times in our lives when we are surrounding ourselves only with those who think like we do, who act like we do, who believe exactly like we do, who are always included in our resistance bubbles. Give us the courage to be among those who society has deemed unworthy, ‘less than,’ unclean, and give us the wisdom and the eyes to find you there. Help us to truly follow Jesus on a life of inclusivity and acceptance. We ask this in the name of the one who ate with the sinners and tax collectors, your son, Jesus. Amen.

Wednesday Wondering - August 9, 2023

Scripture

Isaiah 43: 1 - 2

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

Reflection

I have been thinking about this thing that we call hope and some days it seems elusive. I have to admit that there are times when I struggle with hope. I struggle with that it might mean in my life and I struggle with what it might mean in our world. The world just seems to be a mess in so many ways. We live in the midst of anger, hatred, marginalization and it seems as if we have forgotten how to talk to each other. We don’t listen to understand, it seems as if we only listen to respond and in responding there are so many who only speak words of anger and separation. How do we have hope in a world such as this and what might we actually hope for in this world? These are questions that weigh heavy on my heart, but then I remember this reading from Isaiah. This reading from Isaiah, which just happens to be the basis of the song “I Have Called You By Your Name,” which reassures us that God is with us and that we will come through the challenges that confront us. Agnostic Zetetic, a young advocate and activist, speaks to what I see as hope in the following way, "May we each find in ourselves the courage we forgot we have, to see the beauty we forgot is inside us, while battling the demons we forgot we can slay, on a battlefield we forgot we can win.” Hope is the knowledge that we can and will persevere and that deep conviction that no matter what we face, God is always with us. The poet Emily Dickenson wrote,

“Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all.”

Hope is that deep understanding that no matter what, we will continue. It is the understanding that this life is full of struggle, strife, challenge, grief, and deep sadness, yet in the face of all of this we will continue. Hope is the knowledge that when our strength fails, the strength of those around and the strength of God will carry us through to the other side. Hope is knowing that God always is with us, in the deepest of dark places and the most joyful of joyous places. It is knowing that God will never let us go, for God has called each of us by name and we are God’s. No matter what happens we are God’s and so we will persevere, we will come through these times of struggle, but we have to hope in God. In holding on to God’s hope we then are called to be that hope in the world. We are called to be that presence for others, to offer our strength when their’s might be failing. We are called to bring forth God’s world so that all may live in the knowledge and hope of a world that is based in; justice for all creation, peace, forgiveness, grace, and love. I believe this is what it means to live in the God’s hope.

Prayer

God of infinite hope, we ask that we come to know your presence with us throughout all that this life brings to us, the times of challenge and the times of joy. We ask that you give us the courage to know that, with you, we will persevere. Give us the strength to be your presence with others when their strength is waning, so that they too might know that they are not alone. Give us the wisdom to know that your hope is the hope in a world that is coming based in justice, peace, forgiveness, grace, and love, and let us see who we are called to be a part of your kingdom come. We ask all this in the name of the one who came to set the captives free, the one who brought hope to a hurting world, your son, Jesus. Amen.