Spring offers up new life and sprouts of hope

Are you watching as all the trees, grass, flowers and critters are exploding with spring? It is wonderful to see Mother Nature come to life and feel energized again. In being away over the long weekend at a wonderful women's conference it was a chance for me to regroup and really search my heart. Being in community with 600 women speaks to me. The presence of God was alive and well in each and every moment of the weekend.

Dynamic speakers, healthy plenary sessions, one on one chatting over a glass of wine and sharing in a meal. Reconnecting with women who have been lost to us and sharing with young and old. All good stuff.

I am at a cross roads of my life. Many changes are on the horizon, some I have control over and some I do not. What I do know is that God is in charge of my life because I choose to listen to my heart; I listen to the love of God guiding me. As I watch the revelation of God before me and put one foot in front of the other, I listen to the voice of God in people I work with, visit with and share in Sunday morning worship. I hear God in music, the heart beat of my cat and the cry of my grandson.

Where does it all lead? I really don't know yet, I am waiting and watching. So come on a journey with me as we watch and wait together.

Spring brings us such hope for the future....

Picture from: http://www.theseedofhope.com/


Luke 24:13-35 On the Road to Emmaus was the featured scripture yesterday and I believe I have shared how much I love this passage. However, like always as I was reading it yet again to preach it I found a verse I had never realized before.

Verse 27 "Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures." After asking questions and getting to know what these two were all about and allowing them to tell their story, Jesus taught.

How often do we never allow those we are trying to teach to tell their story. Shania Twain has just released her book and is telling her story. She said today on Canada AM that right now today she cannot sing. She is in physio to help correct this. It is an emotional block that she needs to deal with. She needs to tell her story. Do we not all need to tell our own story in order to empty the cup, open the void so that Jesus can then teach us anew?

On Monday's I often feel a little lost or in the midst of turmoil, wondering is this all God has planned for me. Preach and empty myself on Sunday, share with those in the pews and then find little to fill myself up with. What can I fill the void with? God is showing me.

This morning I went for a two hour bike ride. I enjoyed the spring sunshine, rode hard on rough terrain and was blessed with God's voice in my ears. "I love you", "you are wonderful", "keep up the good work" ............. "begin with Moses and all the prophets and interprete for them the things about Jesus they need to know........." "Love my children and share me with them." God is in charge of my journey I know this to be true.

Each day is a new beginning. A new day with another opportunity to be a beacon of God's love. Like on the road to Emmaus I can be Jesus in disguise, if I listen and teach then those I touch will suddenly see the presence of our Lord in their own lives.

Where is Jesus in your life? Is he there and you haven't noticed? Listen to God's voice in your life and you will start each day with a renewed sense of hope. Hope in this life and beyond this life.

Blessings.

Good Friday

Today for many Christians they acknowledge the death of Jesus on the cross but fail to see the saving grace that the cross offers to each of us. The revelation of God through this death, the brutal crucifixion, is our reminder that through an unbelievable level of pain comes an opportunity for us to really see God.

By suffering with Jesus and seeing our own pain we rise again to a better life with God. Bearing the pain is the ultimate truth of our relationship with God. Jesus died for us on the cross but he died on many levels and we can find God through this death in many ways. That is the beauty of the scriptures and the various gospels we have to ponder. Each writer shares with us a different way to be present with the eyewitnesses of that day.

The re-discovering of the events of Good Friday and pondering this death on this day is a perennial event (N.T. Wright: The Challenge of Easter). With each layer unveiled one can see more clearly that Jesus is God and faithfully celebrate the empty tomb.

Bring yourself to the foot of the cross and see it in all your pain. Bring your ego and your stresses to the foot of the cross and let Jesus bear it for you. In this, the finding of your personal relationship with Jesus, you will celebrate the empty tomb and the resurrection of God in your life. This is a blessed day.

Later on Good Friday....

I just returned from the morning service where we shared in the loss and death of Jesus on the cross. As we bear our burdens and bring them to the cross it is there we find Jesus in his fullest. As he suffers for us on our behalf, we are reminded why he died on the cross for us. We can better understand through the Good Friday experience what it means that he "died for our sins". We can witness and leave our burdens there as we wait on Saturday for the Risen Lord to return to us in his divinity and bringing to us God's love.

It is through my study of scripture, theologically thinking it through, sharing it with others through means like this blog and my own sharing of God's love that I better understand God and the presence of God in my life. Today many others brought themselves to the cross and as we meet on Sunday morning to celebrate we will do so with glad hearts and a lighter load!

5:00 AM revelations ...

Open the doors for me O God as I walk through
this life with you by my side.

For the past hour or so I have been tossing and turning in my bed. Streams of data being downloaded into my brain is keeping me awake. Is it God talking to me or just my own stress? I am thinking this is what a computer must feel like upon us pressing the power button and firing that processor up. The internet automatically connects and all the software comes alive spidering out into cyberspace to check for the latest and the greatest updates. I do not need to tell any of you that we live in a constant age of new information at our fingertips. Just in the evening hours I was preparing a presentation for the service I enjoy monthly at a senior's home, and, upon request, instantly my daughter sent me a photo I needed during the 30 second break in her online TV watching. As I now sit in the semi-darkness, one light burning at the edge of my desk, kitty taking her usual position, which is to curl up in the tossed back duvet, I await the coming of the dawn. The moment when the light of the sun will begin to illumine the darkened sky. Drinking my tea, I wonder is this how our mind works as well? All this in the light of my Anne of Green Gables marathon; two worlds which seem so far apart.

It is a time in the Christian year when we are pondering the darkness of the crucifixion. Asking the hard questions. Do I believe in what the gospels have recorded? What does it all mean? What is it about scripture that keeps me coming back for more? Every year, as a Christian, I revisit the depths of my faith and peel back another layer of myself.

Last week I wrote the final exam for the course I took at Huron College this winter. The course was called, "Interpreting the Qur'an" and it was one of the best courses I have ever taken. After this study I see the Bible in a new light, having studied our Lord Jesus Christ in a different context and it has opened my eyes so that I might see. Sacred scripture is sacred scripture and it all is relevant in our world. As I ponder about the final exam I have come to realize my final mark means nothing to me. I gleaned more than I ever could have imagined by simply allowing myself to be lead where I had not gone before. It was God driven and the revelations of Godself into my life through this study is simply amazing. I have spent over 50 years hearing about the Bible and reading scripture, and after one semester of Qur'anic study my senses are more keenly aware of my deeply embedded love for Christianity and a stronger faith in a living God.

The sun must be just below the horizon, there is no light in the sky at this moment but I can hear the robins beginning their day. Chirping and singing outside my window calling to me to say, "Good morning, the sun shall rise again" ... as I listen and ponder my Palm Sunday resources I listen to the robin, God's messenger, that reminds us, "The Son shall rise again; get up, get up and pick up your life, I am here for you!"

Blessings to all of you who may be in darkness. May you know that God has revealed Godself to us yet again in the greatness of Easter. The Son shall rise again to bring us light and life. Ask and the doors shall be opened for you. Walk knowing there is hope in all darkness just before the dawn.

Heaven or Hell?

Do you know where you are going? Gee I sure don't. Actually I do not believe that heaven or hell are places we go after death, I think we live them here on earth. The early Christians looked at the big yellow thing in the sky and wondered where it went at night. They also thought the world was flat and that that women were property, all reflected in the Bible as cultural and contextual. So where does that leave us in a 21st century world?

Rob Bell has a new book, Love Wins of which I am going to read and would enjoy doing a book study with a group of people. We can do this online through this blog should there be interest. Wrestling with concepts such as this bring us closer to God and helps us to understand Jesus and the biblical text.

Have a look at Rob Bell and please comment telling me your thoughts.

LOVE WINS. - Available March 15th from Rob Bell on Vimeo.

The signs of spring

As I sit under the skylight in the part of the room I call my office, I am blessed with this sun on my shoulder. It feels warm like the hand of God reminding me that the sun always comes out even after the darkest hours.

I have been reading and re-reading the Presbyterian Record this month because the articles all seem to speak to my heart. I am especially warmed by Elleana Hoekstra's journal article about her work as a midwife in Malawi. Her father, Rev. Ed Hoekstra and her mother Jackie have been there for three years ministering in the Blantyre area. This real journal brings to life what it means to resurrect Christ to all people. Take the time to have a read.

http://www.presbyterianrecord.ca/2011/04/01/a-lot-to-learn/

It is also the most significant season for the church. Lent and Easter take us to the heart of our beliefs and can sometimes be a time where we question our faith and understanding of the resurrection.

http://www.presbyterianrecord.ca/2011/04/01/giddy-confusion/

Giggy Confusion: Embracing the meaning of the resurrection speaks to the mystery of it all. I find such wisdom in the quote "Like gazing at the sun, we are better not to look directly at the resurrection to think that we can solve it. Instead look around the edges." What does it mean to look a the edges of the resurrection? How can we bring the hope in the empty tomb to every person's life? That is a deep and probing question. I believe first we have to reconcile in ourselves what it means and be open to hear all possibilities. It is through absolutes that we are ridged and take the risk of being broken or at odds with others in this question.

Being our authentic and true selves we reconcile what the empty tomb means for us and it is in looking at the edges that we have enough mystery to allow for all mysteries to unfold.

Let God be that hand of sun on your shoulder guiding you to better understand the empty tomb and the significance of resurrection in your life. This week Ezekiel was in a valley of dry bones .... how can you put flesh on the bones of your life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

John 4:5-42 The woman at the well....

As we journey we must look at the events of our lives to see God and be witness to the love of Jesus Christ. This past weekend's events have so many components of awareness that is part of our ministry. As each of you may know I am engaged 1/3 time at St. James PC and have a field placement on top of my paid time. This gives me opportunity to preach every Sunday, engage with the interim moderator who is also my supervisor, while engaging in new and exciting programs to help this rural congregation feel inspired.

This weekend was no exception to the greatness of rural community and the rural family. In January I had approached session about bringing in a Christian youth band that I am familiar with to perform at St. James on a Saturday night. It was approved and this past Saturday was the night. The congregation had never heard of this group before and were not familiar with the music or the experience. I have known of this group many years. I have watched as the youth come and go from it; this June the group celebrates their 25th anniversary with over 150 alumni.

The social club took on the challenge of the meal prep, as this group consists of 14 youth between the ages of 11 and 18, 4 to 6 parent volunteers and a conductor. They arrived at the church at 2:30 pm set up for the concert, practiced for an hour and then it was our responsibility to have a meal ready and then they performed at 7:00 PM. We also invited other congregations to bring youth and have dinner; so all in all there were about 40 people who had dinner. (we get about 20 out on Sunday morning to worship)

The concert was well attended (over 100 ppl) and almost $400 was collected through a free will offering for the group and there was $100 in CD sales and donations for cassette tapes. Then the group packed up at 8:45 pm loaded into vehicles, and lead by the truck and trailer, went to a church in London set up before they were billeted and returned for the 9:00 AM contemporary service. This group of inspired young people then broke the equipment down once again to move to a third church where they performed at 2:00 PM as a mission fundraiser for a country church just outside of London. This group much like our congregations have seen people come and go, participate then wane, grow into it and die out of it (retire).

On Sunday morning I had a pew full of young people. They were all present the night before and were inspired by this group of singers. Young people praising God in song is, to some, an unorthodox way of worship. The sanctuary of the church was still ringing with the sounds of Chaverim (means ‘good friends’ in Hebrew) and the people were all talking about them and asking when they would be back. The outlying churches have reported that they went away with a fresh feeling of hope and all are hoping to book this group into their church.

It warmed my heart that I was able to facilitate this meeting of two worlds. Then on Sunday morning the scripture was John 4:5-42, the woman at the well. In my undergrad I had presented a paper in which we were to take on the persona of a woman in the bible and I had chosen the woman at the well. So I dressed the part and while the congregation was singing the hymn ahead of my reflection. I stepped out and came back in costume. I presented the story from the woman’s perspective. A conversation with Jesus in a place that most people of the day avoided (Samaria), detoured around for fear of their lives or fear of encountering a despised people. An unorthodox approach perhaps but my message was simply how many people avoid our churches, detour around and miss having a conversation with Jesus.

These two events on the same weekend raised a personal awareness that we must be somewhat unorthodox, but not to the detriment of our roots, traditions or heritage. We must listen first to the congregation’s heartbeat and get into its rhythm. While taking the time in pastoral care to place the stethoscope, listen carefully, trust is built and we then can hear God’s voice directing how and where we should go. In taking on the role of the woman at the well those in the pews had a feel for what it might have been like for her. I wanted them to have this experience because I feel like the woman at the well all the time. I have great conversations with Jesus and yet feel sometimes the world despises what I am or detours around me in fear. I was out for a beer and a social time with my daughter on Friday night, engaged conversation with a couple over the pool table and when they asked what I did it was interesting to see the change in them. A pastor having a beer and shooting a game of pool just seemed to be something that did not comprehend. I am aware that I must be where people are; I must meet them at the well like the woman met Jesus.

This praise and worship and unorthodox way of delivering a sermon both were accepted because I have built a trust with my congregation. This rural community is hungry to see what is going on in the world. Contemporary music to them is “Open the eyes of my heart Lord” which is a piece that is 20 years old or more and contemporary music has exploded since then. This small area of the world has been like the woman at the well, the world has been detouring around or avoiding the rural life in search of a more modern life in an urban setting. The context of rural life is no less hungry for new ideas and they are willing to ease into the community at large, but unlike the fast pace of urban contrast it must be done slowly and carefully, allowing time for it all to sink in and feed their very soul.

Theological Reflection

In the voices of the youth and acting the scripture I felt breath of the Holy Spirit weaving its way through all who witnessed. God was present and I feel God said “it is good” as thunderous applause and hearts were joined through praise and worship. From the 82 year old man who has been part of St. James since he was 18 (1948) to the 9 month old who was watching intently God was bridging the generations through our common heart of music and visual. On Sunday morning, all the children could name all three puppets used the previous evening and were abuzz as they went down to the lower level to paint God into their picture during lessons on Sunday morning. God is ever present we just have to find ways to bring people to the well in the heat of the day and they too can have a conversation with Jesus.

At 8:30 pm on Saturday night we honoured God and Mother Earth for Earth Hour and Chaverim sang Point of Light. A song about volunteers and they link it to the great mission of the church. It was moving and the electricity of God was in the air. As we darkened the sanctuary and the members of Chaverim held candles there was a hush over the crowd as this prayerful song reminded us of our responsibility to God’s creation.

In taking risks we probe and poke at our faith. We probe and poke at the faith of others. By building a trust and honouring each and every person where they are they will let you lead them into unchartered waters in faith and be open to where they might see God for the first time. God will speak to them if you take the time to help them listen. As Jesus walked into Samaria, to be with the woman at the well we must watch for Jesus in places that we do not expect him. It is the human who thinks him not there. It is not because he is absent. I have seen great growth in myself this year. With the help of the TFE requirements and the congregation opening their hearts to a student, with all her flaws, God has blessed us all in many ways.

A colleague of mine said, “I'm wondering what God really wants us to do.” I believe God wants us to listen and then act in faith. Blessings, Cynthia.