Stain Glass Lens of the 21st Century

Tag: Inspirational

  • The Already-But-Not-Yet…

    The Already-But-Not-Yet…

    As we light the first Advent candle, the candle of hope, we do so with the prophetic words of Jeremiah ringing in our ears, “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people…” (Jeremiah 33:14)

    These words were first spoken to those living in the aftermath of war; standing in the ashes and rubble of all they held dear.  Jeremiah reminded them of God’s promise to send exactly what they longed for, one who would restore justice and bring safety.  There was little proof that this “Righteous Savor” would arrive within their life time, in fact it took another 500 years before the birth of Jesus.  In the meantime these people had to get up every day and begin to slowly bring about life amid the ashes. 

    Author, professor, and modern day theologian, Kate Bowler writes that we, like those who first heard these words of Jeremiah, find ourselves living in the “already-but-not-yet.”  She is known by many as a modern day Jeremiah, one who has fought stage four colon cancer into remission and who discovered hope through a curtain of tears while standing in the ashes of life.  She knows what it takes to get up each day and bring about life in the midst of a terminal diagnosis, living through horrible cancer treatments that fell profoundly short of fulfillment, and yet, she brings good news from this land of loss and desperation; there is reason for hope.

    Bowler writes, there is a new hope, a new truth.  She writes that the season of Advent invites us to bear witness to the hope of God’s promise being fulfilled while also bearing witness to our not so perfect lives,  “God has made us for truth-telling, to have eyes that glimpse through tears at the already-and-not-yet that we live in. And at the same time, these same eyes are trained on Jesus, who embodies the compassion, restoration, and justice we long for.” *

    She teaches that the only way to true life sustaining hope is by being honest with ourselves; to open ourselves to lament all that is not perfect in our lives.  Truth is, the story of God’s work in the world consists both of hope and despair, not hope in the absence of despair, but hope in the face of despair and, often, through despair. 

    Living between the already-but-not-yet means we need to make space to lament. Lament is a biblical practice that invites us to express our sorrow, pain, or confusion. It is the act of grieving with God. By practicing this honest form of prayer we are creating a space for hope to take root despite all that isn’t perfect.*

    May your Advent journey begin with an honest and truly sustainable hope,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    (Kate Bowler, The Weary World Rejoices, Advent Study.  2024; pgs. 6-7)

    Photo by Gantas Vaiciulenas/Pexels

  • Spreading Seeds of Care, Connection, and Community

    Spreading Seeds of Care, Connection, and Community

    The best part of going away is coming home again!  My husband and I took a mini holiday this past week. We decided to spend a few days in a popular destination prior to the height of the tourist season.  The hotel, known for its luxury, didn’t disappoint nor did its reputation for friendly and welcoming staff; we will be going back.  The restaurants were not only full of charming atmosphere, and friendly staff but the food was also delicious.   

    What did surprise me were the tourists.   Folks seemed less friendly then I remember.  If a group of us were in an elevator, no one spoke or when a group of us were in the same tour group one afternoon, everyone was polite but certainly not friendly. It seemed that folks have become more insular, less interested in connecting, even in the slightest way, with others around them.  As I observed this change in human behavior I found myself asking, “When did this start to happen?  Is this the result of too much time spent on social media?  Is this a by-product of the pandemic? ” I was puzzled by what I was witnessing.   

    It wasn’t until our first evening home that the puzzle was solved. We had stopped at the corner store to purchase a bag of milk.  As I was leaving the store a young man fell in step behind me.  He was balancing several bottles of pop and a few bags of potato chips.  There was dust all over him from the top of his work hat, across his work shirt covering most of the logo from a local construction company, and all the way down to his work boots.   He looked to be on his way home from a long day.  Not wanting to slow him down I stepped aside and said, “You go ahead of me, I move rather slow these days.” 

    He responded, “That’s okay.  I’m in no hurry.” 

    He stepped ahead of me and walking through the automated doors he turned and held the door open with his shoulder and said, “Just in case it begins to close on you, I will hold it.”  I smiled and thanked him, knowing he had just solved the puzzle for me. 

    The reason folks down in the city seemed so indifferent to each other is because they don’t live where I live.  In the town I live we hold doors for each other, we smile and chit chat even with strangers and we most certainly care for the other. 

    His actions reminded me of the saying, ‘Humankind: be both!’

    As the first long weekend of the summer arrives may the hospitality of our small communities warm the hearts of the tourists and be carried back to the cities; seeds of care, connection and community.  

    Happy Summer,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Photo by Gary Barnes/Pexels

  • Summer Solstice Has Arrived!

    Summer Solstice Has Arrived!

    Today, Thursday June 20th, 2024, at about 4:50 p.m. we will experience the moment of perfect balance! This is the day when the sun reaches its highest and northernmost point in the sky, according to the Farmer’s Almanac, marking the first day of astronomical summer; the summer solstice.

    “The summer solstice occurs in the northern hemisphere when the northern half of the globe has its closest tilt towards the sun.  Conversely, it’s also when the southern hemisphere experiences the winter solstice, as the southern half of the globe is at its furthest tilt away from the Sun.” (Adler Planetarium)

    Traditionally the summer solstice has been celebrated in many ways such as Midsummer Festivals which include bonfires, picnics, singing, maypole dancing, and hikes to elevated heights either to witness the sunrise or sunset.  Some take to the beach as a means of commencing their summer rituals of sailing, surfing, or simply sun bathing.  Others plan a special meal with friends and family marking this special day with a BBQ and a backyard celebration.

    Author Sarah Ban Breathnach reminds us that “One way of celebrating the Solstice is to consider it a sacred time of reflection, release, restoration, and renewal.”

    However you may mark the solstice remember that today affords us 15 hours of day light to inaugurate the summer with deliberate joy, celebration, and fun; the perfect way to begin this most welcomed season. 

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Photo by Travis Rupert/Pexels

  • Why Write?

    Why Write?

    A few folks have asked me recently why I had stopped writing.  Perhaps it was the darkness of winter that had seeped deep into my bones resulting in a tiredness that weakened me.  Or, perhaps it was a winter sleepiness that, like a cloud of scentless poison, had lulled me into a dull haze.  I am not entirely sure.  It just felt that my small voice was no match for the looming issues facing us all.  

    Such issues as homelessness which seems to have grown into a global pandemic matched only by the surreal number of accidental overdoses and both pale in comparison to the global environmental catastrophes reported daily.

    It all had silenced me.

    Until early in spring, before dawn one morning I heard this lone bird singing a thin melody.  I stepped out in the predawn darkness searching skyward; no other bird had joined the song and yet, it continued to sing. Something in its refrain struck a chord deep within me, encouraging me to rise again and join my simple voice against the darkness.

    This courageous birdsong reminded me that there is still some worthiness in this worn out world.  There is beauty, kindness, and goodness still to be found; the world hasn’t gone entirely to rot.

    My voice may rise in a whisper offering little wisdom except the observation of what beauty I find.  As I recently read, “We do not see the world as it is, we see it as we are.” 

    May we all reside within a place that hears the little bird singing in the darkness of a beautiful world.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Photo by lil artsy/Pixels

  • Happy Mother’s Day

    Happy Mother’s Day

    Mother’s Day has come around again.  In seminary we were taught that these “Hallmark Holidays” were more about turning a profit for big business than genuine sentiment.  That wasn’t the way it started; Mother’s Day has an honest beginning.

    Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, whose mother had organized women’s groups to promote friendship and health, originated Mother’s Day. On May 12, 1907, she held a memorial service at her late mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia. Within five years virtually every state was observing the day, and in 1914 U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson made it a national holiday. (Britannica)

    There is a tradition that on Mother’s Day one wears a flower pinned to their lapel in honour of their mother.  The tradition holds that a white flower indicates if one’s mother has died, and a red or pink flower tells of a mother who is still alive. 

    Sadly, I find myself wearing a white flower on Mother’s Day.  I miss my mom daily and am grateful that her wisdom and lessons remain with me.   

    This past week I had the opportunity to visit with two lovely women from the church I serve.  Each knows the depths of grief that comes from the deaths of their spouses, and each has lived through the hardships of life.  They both are advanced in years and can fondly remember days of better health and of happier times.  And yet, each visit was filled with laughter and conversation that never turned dull or negative.  These are not the type of women who spend time in gossip or judgement of others. Instead, I heard of future vacation plans, gardens planted and family gatherings.  The time flew with each visit.

    As I reflected on both women, I realized they each model nurture to me and remind me of my own Mother and Grandmothers.  Their laughter, hospitality and wisdom mark the way I want to travel as I grow in years.  I too would like to be a beacon of nurture to younger women and be one who shares joy, acceptance, and grace that they each modelled for me.

    This Mother’s Day I thank God for the mother I had and for all those that still nurture the world with their care, grace, and laughter.

    Happy Mother’s Day,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel  

    Photo by George Dolgikh/Pexels

  • When Healing Doesn’t Come

    When Healing Doesn’t Come

    One of my favorite pastimes as a child was to go roller skating around the neighborhood.  My skates were two metal frames with four metal wheels that would buckle onto the soul of my running shoes. They did not have a rubber stop so when it came time to stop, I would throw myself down on the grass or against a tree.  Needless to say, I spent most of my summers with bandaged knees!  Eventually the wounds would scab over and before I knew it my knees were back to normal.  I took for granted that healing would always come.

    A couple of months ago I had a somewhat simple procedure performed on one of my knees.  The surgeon had said that within 6 to 8 weeks I would be back to normal.  Well, six weeks has come and gone and still my knee isn’t functioning like it should.  A few unexpected complications have delayed the healing. In my frustration I called out to God, demanding strength, patience and a pain free day.  

    In the Gospel of Mark there is a story of Jesus healing Samuel’s ill Mother-in-law followed by Jesus healing all kinds of people (Mark 1:29-34).  The story seems to imply that so long as you reach out to Jesus in faith, your healing will come.  The opposite truth being, if you do not receive healing, it must be a sign of some weakness in your faith.

    But we know that eventually healing didn’t come to Samuel’s Mother-in-law.  The same is true of all those Jesus healed; a day arrived when each and every one of them died.  Eventually, healing does not come.

    What do we do when the healing doesn’t come?  We all know those moments when our pain seems to increase and resilience seems impossible.  What do we do when all seems to fail?

    We do exactly what Jesus did. 

    In the same passage in the Gospel of Mark, after healing hundreds of people, Jesus went off alone to pray (Mark 1:35).  He knew that when we feel depleted, there is one who is always ready to listen, to offer peace and to make whole that which seems broken.  We are reminded to “Draw near to God and God will draw near to you.” (James 4:8 NKJV)

    May we always believe in God’s eternal plan, trusting in the one who sees beyond any of our limited horizons. 

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Photo by Lukas Rychvalsky/Pexels

  • Silent Beauty

    Silent Beauty

    Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator best known for her philosophy of education, taught the value of silence to her young students.

    In her book, The Secret of Childhood, she explains that one day she carried a sleeping infant into a busy classroom and all the students quieted down to observe the peacefulness of the infant.   This silence became a game in her classroom and it wasn’t long until the children grew to appreciate all that silence brought, “Silence is refreshing, giving our overloaded senses a break. When it is silent it is easier to notice how smooth the geometric solid is in our hands. It is easier to hear the gentle sound of a zipper, or notice the scent of fresh cut flowers. Silence brings us back into ourselves, yet is also a profound connection to everyone else in the room at the same time.”

    It isn’t unusual to find plants and flowers in a Montessori classroom, each used as a lesson in how beautiful things happen in silence, “Watch as the flower blooms in complete silence or how that green plant grows up the side of the window in utter silence.” The same is true when appreciating a sunrise or a sunset, each taking our breath away without making one bit of sound.

    Autumn is a wonderful example of God’s beauty in silence.  The silent trees fill the landscape with a brilliant celebration; bright yellows, jubilant oranges, and rapturous reds, awing us into a silent reverence.

    May we take this lesson and like Dr. Montessori and her students, savor all that silence can teach us.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Photo by Courtney Read/Unsplash

  • Heading Back…

    Heading Back…

    It is Labour Day Weekend, the weekend of ‘heading back’.  Students are preparing this weekend for ‘heading back’ to school, teachers are prepping for ‘heading back’ to teaching, those fortunate enough to have taken extended holidays will be ‘heading back’ to work.  Just about everyone, retired or otherwise, will be ‘heading back’ into a busy autumn season.

     I wonder if we shouldn’t pause and consider what this ‘heading back’ should look like.   Should we be ‘heading back’ head first into the same exhausting pace that sent us away for a rest?  Perhaps we could ‘head back’ in a way that fills us with purpose, energy and enthusiasm?

    This long weekend affords us a few extra hours to ask ourselves, “What do I value most in life? Are these values reflected in the busyness of each ordinary week day?”  “What do I want the sum of my days to amount to?” 

    Our values direct our days and define the purpose in our lives.  By deliberately considering what we value we begin to take control of the activities, people and busyness that fill our days.  Without this deliberate focus our days are devoured by meaningless pursuits which leave us soulfully exhausted.

    Once we discover our top values we then have a frame work in which to place the moments of our days.  For example, if peace of mind or time with family top our value list, then perhaps we would think twice about whose company we keep, how many extra commitments we make and how we spend our leisurely time. 

    Taking time to consider what we value most is like resetting the compass of our life, it will result in a life directed toward enthusiasm, purpose and peacefulness.   

    As John C. Maxwell writes, “Your core values are the deeply held beliefs that authentically describe your soul.”   May we all ‘head back’ soulfully prepared.

    Happy Labour Day,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Photo by Estee Janssens/Unsplash

  • The World House  

    The World House  

    Some years ago, a famous novelist died. Among his papers was found a list of suggested plots for future stories, the more prominently underscored being this one: “A widely separated family inherits a house in which they have to live together.” 

    This is the great new problem of our time.  We have inherited a large house, a great ‘world house’ in which we have to live together-black and white, Easterner and Westerner, gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Muslim and Hindu-a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace. (Martin Luther King, Jr’s introduction to his talk, “The World House”)

    The world’s religions all agree it isn’t complicated to live in peace, simply “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Jesus simplified it even more, “love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39).   

    Who is our neighbour?  Anyone beyond ourselves. 

    Author Saul Bellows tells the story of a rabbi in a small village who mysteriously disappeared every Friday.  It was whispered, and the villagers sincerely believed, that on those days he ascended to Heaven itself.  A newcomer to the village heard this and was extremely skeptical.  So, making sure he was not seen, he stealthily followed the rabbi one Friday.  He saw the rabbi change into the clothes of a peasant.  Then, carrying an axe, he went into a nearby forest where he cut down a tree. He cut the tree into fire logs.  Gathering enough for a week’s burning he took them to the home of an old and frail woman.  After that, he returned to the village, changing back into his usual clothes. 

    And ever afterwards, when the villagers declared that every Friday their rabbi ascended to Heaven, the newcomer would say under his breath, “If not higher.”

    May we all ascend higher than heaven by our daily selfless acts of caring for our neighbours.

    Blessings,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Photo by Priscilla Du Preez/Unsplash  

  • Night Calls

    Night Calls

    It was in the wee hours of the morning that they woke me.  At first, I wondered if I had dreamt it but as I lay awake their calls filled my darkened room.  Getting up and quietly pulling on my slippers I leaned against the open screen and listened more deliberately.

    Sure enough, they were out there.  Not one but most likely two or more owls screeching and hooting; each marking their territory.  Carefully I opened the door to the patio and slipped out unnoticed.  I wanted to enjoy their conversation for as long as I could.

    Their hollow hoots took me back to a night many years earlier in the same back yard.  We all were gathered around a camp fire and my three young children, no older than 9 or 10, heard an owl for the first time.  As we silently listened to the haunting call the camp fire flames danced in the night creating a most desired effect; it was a night we won’t forget.  The awe I felt that night returned as I now sat alone listening deeply from the back deck.

    Earlier that night I had prayed asking for words, the kind of words a minister is to preach on a Sunday following a week of terrible headlines. That week we had witnessed wild fires strip thousands of acres of land, homeless people pitch make shift tents in city centres, random stabbings on the Toronto subway, and locally we had the deaths of two young promising youth.

    These owls had arrived to answer that very prayer.  Their timelessness reminded me of God’s great mystery, awe, and eternal presence.   

    As the owls flew away leaving behind the wind whispering through the pine trees I knew I had my answer.  As First Nation’s writer, Richard Wagamese once wrote, “I know that the price of faith is the courage to walk through anything with belief in immaculate love-and the value of faith is eternal.” 

    There is eternal value in trusting God’s love, participating in the great mystery and remaining open to God’s un-chartable awe.

    Blessing,

    Rev. Heather McCarrel

    Photo by Erik Karits/Pexels