What an exciting day; the day the seeds arrive! These small colourful packets bring magic and joy to an otherwise dull February day transporting me to warm afternoons spent toiling under the sun. Each packet holds small pearls of hope.
The shriveled up peas, tiny radish seeds and the sprinkling of promised lettuce looks insignificant to anyone who has never coaxed life from a garden. But, to those who know of its lure, these packets harken to autumn pleasures of full fruit cellars, preserves and hanging herbs. These tiny gems are deceptive in their power, tenacity and transformation.
Lent is a “seedy” season; a season of great transformation. We deliberately turn inward to examine our personal relationship with God all the while moving steadily toward a crucified death. And, like a seed planted in the dark soil, the darkness cannot stop life from emerging. Similarly, this Lenten journey brings us to a resurrection that teaches death does not have the final word.
So, yes, Lent is the perfect time for the seeds to arrive! As Jesus taught, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”
May we all have a “Seedy” Lent that transforms these darken winter days to days of spring flowers, bird song and joyful celebration.
A clergyman, a doctor and a time-management guru were playing golf together one day. Soon they got stuck behind a particularly slow group ahead of them. The time-management guy said, ‘What’s with these people? We’ve been waiting on the tee for more than 30 minutes and they’re still not on the next green!”
The doctor agreed, “They’re hopeless. I’ve never seen such rambling around a golf course.”
The clergyman spotted the approaching greenskeeper and asked him what was going on. “What’s happening with that group ahead of us? They’re surely too slow and useless to be playing, aren’t they?”
The greenskeeper replied, “Oh, yes, that’s a group of blind fire-fighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime.”
The three golfers fell silent for a moment. Then the clergyman said, “Oh dear, that’s so sad. I shall say some special prayers for them tonight.”
The doctor added, rather meekly, “That’s a good thought. I’ll get in touch with an ophthalmic surgeon friend of mine to see if there’s anything that can be done for them.”
After pondering the situation for a few seconds, the time-management expert turned to the greenskeeper and asked, “Why can’t they play at night?”
This joke reminds me of the Lenten Season. Or, to be more specific, it reminds me of those who impatiently rush through the 40 days of Lent missing out on the gifts of the season. An example of this is the time-management expert who missed out entirely on the beauty of the moment.
The Season of Lent begins on Wednesday February 22nd marking the 40 days and nights that Jesus spent in the desert fighting off temptation. He was hungry and most likely exhausted when he came toe to toe with the biggest temptations life offers; gluttony, ego, materialism, and willfulness against God. Through knowledge of scripture, divine wisdom and depth of faith he not only triumphs but God sends angels to tend to him.
The gifts of Lent are self-reflection, silent correction and a redirection of our pathways. It is an opportunity to decide what we keep from our past, what we appreciate in our present life and what we look forward to in the new beginnings promised by God. As Rev. Dr. N.T. Wright writes, “Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty, not because God is mean or fault- finding or finger-pointing but because he wants us to know the joy of being cleaned out, ready for all the good things he now has in store.”
May we all take time during this most sacred season to prepare ourselves for the good things God has in store.
It was a damp, cool and foggy morning; perfect for a walk through the park. As we quietly strolled past the tall bare trees draped in mist and over small wooden bridges almost swamped by the over flowing streams I thought how perfect this weather fit my mood.
The recent headlines had left a fog hanging over me, images of broken bodies pulled from tons of debris. Two massive earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the first at 4:00 a.m. on February 6th as folks were slumbering snuggly in their beds registered a 7.8 magnitude which was felt as far afield as Lebanon, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. A second quake, which recorded a magnitude of 7.5, struck just 9 hours later. Both resulting in a death count at 41,000 and rising.
How can one look at the images, read the data, watch the carnage on the evening news and not be affected? Besides donating funds (check out Canadian Red Cross at redcross.ca) we can also pray asking for God’s light, love and healing to reach each victim and strengthen the rescue workers.
It is easy to despair and feel vulnerable. We know that one minute these people were sleeping soundly and the next chaos ensued. We know they did not deserve this to happen and we know, from witnessing this devastation that it could happen to us too. Perhaps our chaos may not come as an earthquake but may be disguised as a pandemic, cancer or a car accident. Some were left feeling anxious this past weekend as an American Fighter Jet shot down an Unidentified Flying Object over Lake Huron. This happened way too close to home!
Thing is, we have only so much control over what happens in this world and there is no sense worrying over that which we cannot control. What we can control is how we spend our days. The moments of our lives add up to the sum of our days and result in the story of our lives. It matters that we handle what we can control well.
Richard Wagamese, a truly inspiring First Nations writer shares this wisdom,
“All we have are moments. So live them as though not one can be wasted. Inhabit them, fill them with the light of your best good intention, honour them with your full presence, find the joy, the calm, the assuredness that allows the hours and the days to take care of themselves. If we can do that, we will have lived well.” (Embers, 161)
May we all continue to hold the victims in our prayers while also shaping our moments into lives of light, joy, peace and love.
Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world and we are to shine His light for all to see; “do not hide it under a bushel”, he warns (Matthew 5:16). Hearing these words always reminds me of the author Robert Louis Stevenson who is best known for works such as Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I once read a story from his childhood that illustrates what it means to be Christ’s light in the world.
As a child Robert Louis Stevenson was in very poor health. One night, when he was quite sick, his nurse found him with his nose pressed against the frosty pane of his bedroom window. “Child, come away from there. You’ll catch your death of cold,” but young Robert would not budge. He was mesmerized as he watched an old lamplighter slowly work his way through the black night lighting each street lamp along his route. “See, look there,” Robert pointed, “There’s a man poking a hole in the darkness.”
That is what we are called to do, poke holes in the darkness. To be Christ’s light means we go into dark places and share God’s love, forgiveness and acceptance. These dark places may be grief, poverty, illness, injustices and loneliness.
It takes courage and faith to be Christ’s light in a darkened world. So often the world rewards the “winner” at the risk of many “losers”. What would TV be like today if we took out the competition to be the best and instead just celebrated everyone’s unique talents? What if everyone received second place and praising God came in first place? Then we would see the light everywhere!
We need not do grand acts that bring us a lot of attention and accolades, as Neal A. Maxwell writes, “Small lights have a way of being seen in a dark world.” Simple acts as taking time to listen to each other, building each other up and speaking words of love produce a powerful light.
Dwight L. Moody put it best when he preached, “We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to the shining—they just shine.”
I got caught in a net this week; a net of kindness. It all started off so unassumingly. I had phoned the cell phone supplier with questions regarding my bill and what seemed like 12 hours of being on hold my turn finally arrived.
After explaining the reason for my call the operator politely sighed and in a soft and kind voice said, “Sometimes things happen that we have no control over. I am sorry this has happened to you. Let’s get this fixed today.” She began to explain what she was doing as she clicked her computer keys. It was just a mix up on my bill and within minutes she had corrected the mistake. As I thanked her, she again said, “As I said before, sometimes things happen that we have no control over. It is hard but we can help each other out.”
After hanging up the phone, I paused and wondered if she was an angel or some kind of Zen Master! Who knew that having a billing mistake would make my day?
She was right, there are times when things happen that we have no control over and it is hard, but together we help each other out.
I suspect that is what Jesus meant when he called the fishermen to be his disciples. It is written that Simon (also called Peter), his brother Andrew, James and his brother John put down their fishing nets so to follow Jesus. (Matthew 4:18-23)
Jesus taught them how to use the nets of kindness, understanding, acceptance and healing words to catch those falling into despair and darkness. Jesus knew the world was in need of such “catching”.
It would seem Jesus also uses cell phone operators to do the same kind of healing. I wonder what the world be like if we all followed Jesus’ teaching, “…in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…” (Matthew 7:12) How many more could we catch?
In these darkened days of winter let us all join in the work of Jesus’ fishermen and throw wide a net of kindness, gentleness and understanding. As the Dalai Lama said, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
It was two years ago this month that I finally figured out exactly what I wanted. It wasn’t an easy decision, I had traveled down some tricky roads, tossed and turned through sleepless nights and after intellectually weighing all the pros and cons I decided against logic and followed my heart.
I stepped out of all the busyness of life and took a rest. It had been over 30 years since I had such a rest. Not just a 2 week holiday but an indefinite hiatus from the world with no plans. It reminded me of the time just after graduating University; a time of excited uncertainty. I had no doubts that whatever lied ahead would be amazing and I was right.
In the Gospel of John we read of two disciples who began to literally follow Jesus down the road. Turning around, Jesus saw them and asked, “What do you want?” They wanted to be closer to him and had stopped everything in their lives to do so. He invited them to, “Come and see.” I felt as though I was one of those disciples and excitedly followed.
What an adventure it has been! My prayer life has improved immensely and with certainty I have heard back from God in the song of the birds, the sway of the trees and in the silence of a full moon. Miraculously opportunities came my way and I now find myself serving God as a Hospice Chaplain and a Country Preacher, both roles bringing me deep purpose and a sustaining peace.
As author Hiral Nagda writes, “Sometimes doing nothing makes way for everything.”
Have you listened lately? There is something January whispers. It is a soft melody left behind after the song birds have flown south and the trees have quietly gone to sleep. It is a gentle refrain leading us deeper into rest. A song augmented by the softening of daylight and the slowing of the days.
These muted days of January are a gift meant to sooth and calm our eternal souls which are forced, for a while, to reside in a world bent on a feverish pitch of movement, noise and selfish ambition. January is a soothing balm which can soften a quiet part of our souls that sense the gentle movement of God’s Spirit. This Spirit is an eternal presence so ancient it is familiar to a sacred part of our being. It calls us to slow down and be at peace.
Listen as January whispers, “Be Still and know that I am.”
As we now step into the first week of the New Year it is wise to do so as prepared as possible. For me this means spending time setting up my day timer. Yes, I am old school and still use a hard copy day timer complete with lists of things I hope to accomplish in the coming year as well as certain reminders of wisdom I hope will lead me. One such list is titled, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.
Dr. Don Miguel Ruiz is a trained surgeon from rural Mexico who has become known worldwide for his writings on Toltec spiritualism. One such writing is a book titled, The Four Agreements. These four agreements are guidelines to aid in accomplishing a life of freedom from habits that would otherwise rob us from having a contented and peaceful life.
The First Agreement is, ‘Be Impeccable With Your Speech’. This is a reminder to use your words with integrity that wisely build up yourself and add truth and love to world. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” And, as written in Proverbs 21:23, “Whoever keeps their mouth and their tongue keeps themselves out of trouble.”
The Second Agreement is, ‘Don’t Take Anything Personally’. This wisdom teaches that what others decide to say and do is a reflection of them, not of us. We are responsible for how we respond to these people, but we are not responsible for their words, decisions or actions. Jesus said it this way — a couple of times: “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45). May our actions and words express hearts full of wisdom, kindness and love.
The Third Agreement is, ‘Don’t Make Assumptions’. For me this has been the most powerful of the Four Agreements. Having the courage to ask others clarifying questions has helped significantly in avoiding misunderstandings, drama and hurt. I find myself often pausing meetings or a telephone conversation and saying, “I need some help in better understanding what you are saying.” Then after a few gentle but direct questions are answered we move on in a clearer pathway. This Third Agreement has transformed my life!
The Fourth Agreement is, ‘Always Do Your Best’. Some days my best is at a different level than other days but because I did my best each day, under differing circumstances, I can sleep well every night! By aiming to do our best we avoid regret and shame. Instead, we are gentle with ourselves knowing that tomorrow is a new day.
These Four Agreements: ‘Be Impeccable With Your Word’, ‘Don’t Take Anything Personally’, ‘Don’t Make Assumptions’, and to ‘Always Do Your Best’ are four tools, if used daily will guarantee an amazing 2023!
I hadn’t been the minister long, only five months when the Sunday School Superintendent approached saying, “You don’t have to lift a finger for the third Sunday of Advent, I will take care of everything.” It was White Gift Sunday; the Sunday of Joy and she would tell the organist and choir which hymns were chosen and she would pass the order of worship to the secretary. She assured me everything would be taken care of and all I had to do was show up.
My husband, daughter and I arrived that Sunday to utter chaos! There were children everywhere, we usually only had five arrive on any regular Sunday, but this Sunday there were at least five times that many. There were three Marys, two Josephs, one Wiseman, five angels, three sheep, countless shepherds (all in their bathrobes and towels), four elves, two reindeers, one Santa and a pink and white unicorn. I was a bit confused by the pink and white unicorn but later was told that was Ashley and she wore her Halloween costume everywhere.
I became nervous when the service began with Santa entering the sanctuary and taking the seat at the front. Soon a few elves and reindeers followed as they entered and sat by Santa’s feet; but I relaxed when Santa picked up his Bible and began to read out loud the story of Jesus’ birth.
And, on cue, the children came down the aisle as their character appeared in the story. That is, until a wrestling match started somewhere by aisles five and six between one of the Marys and her brother, a shepherd! While they were duking it out in the aisle two of the lambs began a bleating contest to see who could bleat the loudest, three of the angels discovered they could climb over the front pew, down it’s back, under it and back up over the pew again and again, two of the shepherds began sword fighting with their shepherd’s hooks and a Joseph found the piano keys and began to pluck away!
It was a mess; a beautiful mess!
Santa just kept reading, louder and louder, as the characters piled into the sanctuary stepping over the wrestling shepherd and Mary, around the dizzy angels and despite the bleating sheep. The story continued until the Wiseman presented his gifts to Jesus. He then turned and galloped away on his broom stick camel and Santa sat silently, the angels stopped playing, the sheep stopped bleating, and all the fighting ceased. The sanctuary fell quiet.
The story was complete.
Or, was it?
Two 12 year old elves quietly came down the centre aisle and as they did so one of the Senior youth went to the pulpit and carefully said, “Wise people still search for Jesus to this very day.” As the two elves approached the manger, they knelt, and while looking down into the face of Jesus they touched a switch on their hats making the top of their elf hats swirl up and down in a comical gesture of awe!
It was the most powerful rendition of the birth of Jesus I had ever witnessed. The joyful, unexpected, uncontrollable and messy presence of God was dancing throughout the sanctuary filling us with joy and laughter.
But, before I could make the mistake of over thinking this service, I was handed a piece of paper. The children and the Sunday School Superintendent were now all lined up at the front of the sanctuary and pre-recorded music was playing. I looked down to the “hymn” sheet and couldn’t believe my eyes. I looked straight at the Sunday School Superintendent as she winked at me and with a huge smile she began to lead us all in the final song of the service, “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer”!
It was a Sunday I will never forget!
May God’s joyful presence dance through everyone’s Christmas celebrations and may we all be so filled with hope, peace, joy and love that they last for the entire New Year!
Richard Francis Xavier Manning (April 27, 1934 – April 12, 2013), known as Brennan Manning, was a prolific American author, defrocked Priest and public speaker who summed up the Advent journey colourfully when he wrote, “You could more easily catch a hurricane in a shrimp net that you can understand the wild, relentless, passionate, uncompromising, pursuing love of God made present in the manger.”
The last sign post before arriving to the destination of the Advent Journey is the last blue candle, the candle of love. We pass through the doors of love as we draw ever closer to God among us, in the form of a wee baby born in a feeding trough.
This love surrounds us from birth to the life beyond this life; a love so perfect we know not life without it and yet, so often fail to recognize its presence. As it is written, “In this life we have three great lasting qualities-faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.”(1 Cor 13:13)
This last week of Advent I offer a poem by Margaret Matthews to accompany you on the journey:
Stain Glass Lens of the 21st Century 