Wednesday Wondering - December 20, 2023

Scripture

Hebrews 11: 1

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

2 Corinthians 5: 7

"For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Luke 2: 8 - 10a

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid.’”

Reflection

It is that time of year, for myself, when I start to really think about my faith. I wonder about what it means to be a person of faith in the world today, but also in my own life. As the scriptures allude too, faith can be a difficult thing to define. It is something that we might understand in our lives, but it is hard to put into words because it is based on those things that we cannot see but yet we know that it exists. This week we will, most likely, hear the story of Jesus birth as told in Luke’s gospel and when we think about it was come to see that this is a story of faith. Mary and Joseph both had faith in God in the midst of what was happening to them in their lives. They each trusted in God, even though there must have been many unknowns that they faced. So they travelled to where they needed to go because they had faith. 

But there is another part to this story as well and it is the knowledge that the important part of this story unfolded in the midst of the dark of night. Joseph and Mary came to that stable at night. The shepherds were watching their flocks at night when the angels came to visit them. The visitors followed that star that shone at night. This story is one that is told in the midst of darkness. But the truth is that we have come to be wary of the darkness. Quite often we equate darkness with danger. We talk of dark times in our lives, and in the world, in the negative. We speak of light coming to a dark world. But I have been wondering if there is a gift that might just be found in the midst of darkness. I wonder if it is in those dark times when we truly find our faith. Edward Teller, the late Hungarian-American physicist, has stated about the concept of faith and darkness, “When you get to the end of all the light you know and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.” So maybe our faith finds itself in the midst of the unknown. The scripture from the Letter to the Hebrews speaks to faith as  the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of those things not seen. It might just be speaking of those things that exist in the darkness as those things not seen. Maybe our faith has something to do with us being willing to enter into the darkness rather than avoiding it.

If we understand that our faith is based in those things we can’t see, we can see that our faith exists not only in the midst of the good times of life, but also the dark times. What then are we called to do in faith? Elizabeth Gilbert, the American journalist and author of the book Eat Pray Love, speaks to this idea of what our faith calls us to do, in the following way, “Faith is walking face-first and full-speed into the dark. If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity; it would just be….a prudent insurance policy.” Our faith is not an insurance policy, it is a courageous act in a world that says faith doesn’t exist because it can’t be seen or measured. Yet we know that our faith exists. We feel our faith deep in our souls.

We, in faith, have been preparing for that which we cannot see, the coming of Love Incarnate into the world. We have been trusting in our faith in the midst of a dark time in our world knowing that our faith exists in the midst of the darkness, as well as the light. We trust in our God who is unseen and yet ever-present. We continue to hope in that which we cannot see. This coming week is based in the story that speaks deeply to us, as it unfolds in the darkness, that God is with us all, today and every day. That is truly our faith.

Prayer

God of darkness and light, help us to remember that the story of your coming takes place at night, in the dark. Help us to know that our faith is not only lived out in the light, but also in the dark. Give us the courage to trust in your presence, your guidance, your love, in the midst of the dark places of our lives. Help us to feel you with us always as we enter into dark places knowing that we are not alone. We ask this in the name of Love Incarnate, your son, Jesus. Amen.

Advent Reflections - Week 3 - Joy - Rev. Phil Wilson

Wednesday Wondering - December 13, 2023

Scripture

Psalm 139: 13 - 14

For you created my inmost being;    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;    your works are wonderful,    I know that full well.

Jeremiah 29: 11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Refection

The world has been tough lately, with so much negativity, so much anger so many challenges. This has gotten me wondering about my own sense of self and who I was created to be. I remember growing up feeling as if I didn’t fit in. I felt as if I was the odd one out and that if I could only learn to be the same as everyone else, I would be happy. I worked really hard at fitting in, but I never managed to succeed. As I was growing up there was no lack of other people who would immediately point out those times, places, and actions, that highlighted the fact that I as just a little bit different. I am not sure that much has changed since that time.

It seems as if you can’t go anywhere today without someone telling you that you have done something ‘wrong,’ or that you should have done something in a different way. It almost seems that if we don’t live exactly how others live, or how others expect us to live, well then we are doing something wrong. Julia Cameron, the American, teacher, author, artist, and poet, speaks to this in the following way, "Most of us are not raised to actively encounter our destiny. We may not know that we have one. As children, we are seldom told we have a place in life that is uniquely ours alone. Instead, we are encouraged to believe that our life should somehow fulfill the expectations of others, that we will (or should) find our satisfactions as they have found theirs. Rather than being taught to ask ourselves who we are, we are schooled to ask others. We are, in effect, trained to listen to others' versions of ourselves. We are brought up in our life as told to us by someone else! When we survey our lives, seeking to fulfill our creativity, we often see we had a dream that went glimmering because we believed, and those around us believed, that the dream was beyond our reach. Many of us would have been, or at least might have been, done, tried something, if….If we had only known who we were.”

Yet, the reality is that each and everyone of us was created to be a unique individual. We were created to be different from anybody else and in that difference there is beauty. The scripture that I picked, from Psalm 139, which by the way is one of my favourite, and Jeremiah, speak to the fact that we were created to be different. We were all created to be unique individuals who come to the world in a unique way, bringing our unique gifts to all we meet. It is in this uniqueness that there is found the beauty of diversity, which  mirrors all of creation. We each have been created within the wondrous diversity of God’s creation and each one of us has been created to be a special and unique individual. When we force others into who we think that they should be, we rob them of the opportunity to come to learn who they truly are, and then embrace their true selves. In allowing them to embrace their true selves they are allowed to live authentic lives. This is freedom, to be who God created you to be. To be embraced in your uniqueness, to be celebrated for our individuality is one of the greatest gifts that we could give someone. So let us all see the diversity of others, not as a threat, but as something to celebrate and embrace.

Prayer

God of infinite diversity, we ask that you teach us how to embrace our unique and diverse natures. Give us the courage to be who you created us to be and not bow down to the pressure to be who others think we need to be. Give us the wisdom to see those times when we are placing expectations on others to be who we think they should be and to allow them the space to be all that you created them to be. We ask this in the name of the one who came to challenge the status quo, your son, Jesus. Amen.