Will the real God(s) stand up?

As some folks know, I have a love of inspirational card decks.  I have ones on leadership, art, labyrinth walking, discipleship and more.  I’ve taken them to workshops and council meetings, scattered them around the Sanctuary with miniature Jesus figures, used them for Coffee time conversations, and even handed them out in worship randomly. 

When I went to the first of the Blazing Walnuts Workshops, the minister that was helping Moderator Lansdowne with the course was Northern Spirit’s Office of Vocation minister, Rev. Laura Fause. She’s responsible for helping ministry candidates go through the discernment and education process that helps them decide whether or not they are being called by God into ministry with the United Church of Canada.  She’s also the author of five sets of inspirational cards that she sells on a website store (Affirmation Cards for Disciples – My Blessing Studio).  There’s one for disciples, there’s one for flourishing, one for pride folks and one for kids.  It’s a playful, joyful way of finding a thought to inspire our day.

At one time, playful and joyful were not words that we applied to Christianity or our understanding of God.  Many times Christianity is painted as a “Get out of Hell free” card, and the literature going out to recruit disciples is all about the torture and punishment of rebellious, wayward souls.  And at one point, the use of shame, fear and guilt seemed to bring people into the church and keep them there.

But since the 1960’s, people have been rejecting that.  They have been deconstructing this rigid understanding of God as the divine grumpy king sitting on his throne, pitching people headlong into fire and brimstone. And to be honest, the Bible is full of a diversity of images and names of God far grander than a miserable bearded codger on a glitzy chair. 

Genesis One is a good example of this.  Anyone who takes the Bible literally might consider looking at the ancient Hebrew names for God.  "Elohim" is now translated by some as plural, and "El Shaddai", used in the song of the same name, can mean both God of the mountaintop or anything cone shaped, especially women’s endowments, "The many-breasted God".  Elohim is the creator of humans in God’s own image.  Then in Genesis 2, we have Yahweh not Elohim, and it tells a different story of creation where humanity is made first before the plants and the animals are made last.  There are references to God as being a baker, a king, a woman in labor, a wind, a still small voice, and something so vast humans can’t even see God’s back side without risking their sanity.  All these images point to the human experience of God being complicated, and God being surprising.  God shows up in wondrous ways, or as our Song of Faith puts it, "above perfect knowledge, beyond perfect explanation, a holy mystery".

Humans have been trying to understand God as mystery for a very long time.  Some were people like Hildegarde of Bingen, and Julian of Norwich.

Hildegarde became the leader of a convent when she was very young, and dabbled in God language that shocked many, especially men in positions of power in the church.  She was a musician, a writer, a dreamer, a philosopher and a psychologist who wasn’t afraid to talk truth to politicians.  She was born 20 years after William the Conqueror took over England from the Anglo-Saxons and had many surprising ideas. She thought that women should strive to be more masculine, and men should strive to be more feminine, in order to become a balanced Christian. God was called Divine Feminine and Divine Wisdom.  She wrote of God speaking surprising words to her, “I am the one whose praise echoes on high.  I adorn all the earth.  I am the breeze that nurtures all things green…  I am the rain… that causes the grasses to laugh with the joy of life.”[1] Her ideas of God were shared throughout Europe even though they were not conforming to traditional understandings.

Julian of Norwich lived in England about three hundred years later and also pushed the boundaries of God images.  She lived through wars, the Bubonic Plague, losing her husband and children in her early thirties, and surviving an illness that nearly killed her.  When she recovered, she had herself bricked into the local church where she was given meals through a slot in the wall and never came out in public again.  She listened to daily worship and many people who came to her curtained window outside.  It makes me wonder if she had neurodiverse characteristics.  Her routine would have been constantly the same, she never had to make eye contact with anyone, and she could write down her visions in solitude.  Even though she had lived through immense personal tragedy, she’s most famously remembered for saying “All Shall be Well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” She said it because she believed that God is Love and as creator, God’s love will triumph. She described God as the trinity God: Maker, Keeper, Lover, or Might, Wisdom and Goodness.  She described Jesus as a breast-feeding mother, explaining it as “our precious Mother Jesus can feed us with himself… with the blessed sacrament,” how the bread and wine is as essential to us as a mother's milk.  She also had a vision that God’s creation is so precious that it is held in God’s hand, who loves everyone and everything in creation.

Whether we use Father Son and Holy Spirit, or as our Song of Faith puts it, “Mother, Friend, and Comforter/ Source of Life, Living Word, and Bond of Love, our old understanding of God the angry emperor is rejected by many people.  They see Christianity as a weapon of control, and a tool of oppression.  We won’t go forth and make disciples if we cling to these feared images of God, more like the Greek god Zeus or the Roman God Jupiter than Yahweh, Elohim or El Shaddai.  But many people hunger for hope.  They still need good news.  They yearn for the tender love of a healing and caring God. They long for a community that will love them into healing.  Maybe it’s time for us to redraw our deck of cards when it comes to describing our God as closer than a loving parent, who feeds us like a tender mother and cares for us with a love that is unshakable.  May God's love, however we describe our higher power, our great mystery, continue to inspire, empower and encourage us and others.  Amen.

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[1] P. 5, Earth Prayers edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon, Harper San Francisco Press, 1991

Fill me up!

There’s nothing that says “Summer Fun” quite like a humble beach ball.  For children, it was a big soft ball that even the smallest of toddlers might be able to play with as it was big and slow and quite soft compared to the hard red rubber balls that were used for endless games of dodgeball.

Beachballs were more durable than balloons, and could be used on land or in water.  They could be used for volleyball, or water polo, soccer, and if there was a hollow plastic bat, it could be used for a pick up game of baseball.  Mind you, no one over the age of 8 would be impressed with how far the ball might fly.  Even fully inflated, beach balls would never break windows or leave bruises after a hard game of soccer.  They couldn’t knock kids off their feet or break a tooth.  They were gentle and soft and caused no harm to their users.

But beachballs depended on someone having a good set of lungs.  Without having some serious air volume, the beach ball would eventually go soft and not be nearly as much fun, as bouncy, as responsive to the actions of younglings wanting to have a good game of catch.  The balls were only as good as their ability to keep air locked inside.  Sometimes they needed to be patched with some good old duct tape.

In our John reading, the gospel tells us of the first Easter Sunday experience, after Mary Magdaline found the tomb empty but before Thomas asked questions and got answers.  The disciples were deflated from the events of their beloved Rabbi’s crucifixion.  They had gone through immense trauma as they ran away or witnessed his humiliating treatment by the temple leadership in a secret trial at night. Some witnessed the state-sanctioned torture and execution by Roman law enforcers.  Never mind that the trial was unjust and the interrogation was done by a corrupt politician, the disciples felt like the wind had been knocked out of them.  They had lost their bounce and playfulness.  They were deep into depression and grief.  They were tired and traumatized.

Then Jesus appeared, greeted them with peace and breathed on them.  They were filled with joy!  Just like a beach ball that is pumped up to the brim, they were ready to bounce and have fun and spread joy.  They still were not ready to go out into Jerusalem to share their good news.  That’s where our Acts reading comes in.  Pentecost is a Hebrew festival 50 days after Passover that celebrates the first harvest of grain for the year.  Pente means 50.  What were the disciples doing for those 50 days? Luke described Jesus telling them to wait.  Wait until the Spirit let them know what’s next.  So they waited. For two months of questioning, conversation, experiences of the risen Christ, debates, decisions, praying and wondering what would be next. 

Waiting is not easy as anyone will tell you who has been pregnant or is waiting on the results of a biopsy.  Waiting is an uncertain time.  It can be stressful too in its own right.  People who rush too soon to decisions can find themselves dealing with unintended consequences, something we saw happen this week when a committee released their report to the public before they had even finished their meeting!

Waiting is hard.  Yet the disciples waited as Jesus asked.  They rested, they reminisced, maybe they planned a committee meeting or two. They prayed, they sang, they talked and they listened.  Then on that 50^th day, something happened that changed their world.  Wind and fire and God!

Things happen that change our world too.  Wind, and fire sweep into our lives unexpectedly.  10 years ago on Pentecost Sunday, Donnalee preached in Athabasca United Church with several folks from Fort McMurray United in attendance, which was the first time we did a joint worship together.  At that time, Athabasca omitted all references to Pentecost flames. We knew that this was a resting time, a waiting time for the whole city in exile, waiting until it was safe to return.  Even when the fires were out, more waiting happened, waiting to hear if their homes had been spared, and how they would rebuild.  No one had the time or the energy to bounce back.  They lost more than homes and possessions, they lost any sense of order, security and stability they might once have had.

Now much of the world also feels like it has lost stability and predictability.  We hear news of politicians making confusing decisions, building ballrooms while people struggle to pay the bills, plans to round up unhoused people and force them into detention centres, plans to change AISH and plans to hold a vote on whether to hold a vote on separatism. No plans whatsoever to repair the loss of privacy for millions of Albertans.

They are rushing to make decisions which will have unintended consequences.  Do these decisions have the ability to restore our bounce?  To help us feel joyful?  To give us space to be playful, loving, hopeful and kind?  Somehow, I doubt it.

Time and time again, Christians have lived in chaotic seasons of political instability.  They have lived through seasons of plague, times of persecution, years of drought or famine, decades of war or oppression.  They turned to God in their distress, turned to deep spirituality through reading the bible, praying with words and without words, remembering hymns that encourage them, and sharing stories of times when God filled them with hope, love and yes, even joy in the midst of terrors.  They have waited for Jesus and been sustained in a community of broken but hopeful believers practicing deep spirituality together.  They have found inspiration that has filled them up until they are able to not just survive but thrive and encourage others to thrive.  We are living in such times again.

We wait, we pray, we sing, we share, we gather together to be inspired and to inspire others.  Sometimes we wait quietly, sometimes we wait joyfully.  And we wait together to find God’s breath filling us up until we are able to love and serve others, seek justice and resist evil, and proclaim Jesus crucified and risen.  In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is filling us with love and hope and joy.  May God restore the bounce in our step and inspire us to thrive in these times with wisdom and compassion. Amen

Courage and Innocence

Have you ever been arrested for doing what is right?  Have you ever had to go to court to prove your innocence?  Or gotten a call from a loan shark looking for someone who shares your name but not your credit rating?  If you are truly innocent, you probably took it calmly and cheerfully.  Hopefully it didn’t end up in court, where a judge had to make a difficult decision of who is telling the truth.

Both scriptures sound like somebody is going to court.  John’s gospel even had Jesus describing the Holy Spirit in legal language.  “The Advocate” in the original Greek, was the term used for lawyers in charge of protecting a defendant. When we pair these two scriptures up, we hear the call to live lives of truth and honesty.

Our world needs innocent and good people now more than ever.  But how do we be brave and trustworthy?

When we face challenging times like these, some people try to ignore everything bad.  Just do your job, keep your head down, and mind your own business, they might council.  

Some people might rage and join in the conflict, going below the line in anger to prove that they are the smartest person in the room.  They blame, judge, complain, even lie or exaggerate.  They don’t like it when they get a letter telling them to cease and desist or when a judge rules against them.  

Then there’s the third group of people.  They are taking the command to be innocent and courageous to heart.  Even when they know that bad actors might have their personal addresses, they still make the tough calls in the courts or tell how they really feel about current events.  Not everyone who is brave and honest gets their five minutes of airtime, but some folks might just surprise you with their courage.  One such courageous action that recently took place was an organized letter against an event in Red Deer.  This event wanted to connect politics with right wing Christianity, excluding all other faiths.

By the time the Alberta Christian Leadership Summit with Danielle Smith took place on May 4 in Red Deer, 205 faith leaders had signed the Statement of Conviction. It started with 50 signatories on April 20. I was part of the original 50.

The statement read in part: 

We are faith leaders from across Alberta - from many traditions, many communities, and many ways of understanding the sacred. What we share is a conviction that faith, at its best, moves us toward one another - toward the neighbour who looks like you and the one who doesn't. It calls us to lead with humility, to welcome the stranger, and to stand with those the powerful would rather ignore.

We also believe in pluralism - not as a compromise, but as a gift. Alberta is home to people of many backgrounds, many faiths, and many ways of living a good life. That diversity is not a problem to be managed. It is what makes our communities more honest and more compassionate. A public life that only makes room for some voices is diminished for everyone.

The Premier's Annual Christian Summit… claims to bring faith into public life... But the event's structure - its cost, its curated guest list, its exclusive framing - means that many voices will simply not be in the room. Smaller congregations, racialized communities, younger leaders, and those without means or connections will be absent. That is not a gathering shaped by the values of welcome and humility. It is a gathering shaped by access and privilege.

We are also concerned by what this event represents more broadly. When any government aligns itself with one religious identity, it diminishes the independence of every other faith community - regardless of tradition or theology. No single tradition, congregation, or political movement speaks for all people of faith. And the faith we know - across our many traditions - has never been most itself when it is closest to power. Rather, it has been most itself when it is closest to the people that power overlooks.

This letter was drafted by Affirm United, which is an organization that includes churches that publicly choose to welcome and include people that are not always welcome in other churches.  They reported that 

“Those 205 people didn't just push back against one event. They stood for something: a vision of faith and public life in Alberta and across Canada that is expansive, pluralistic, and unwilling to let one narrow interpretation of one religion set the terms for everyone. That's the opposite of what was being promoted in that room in Red Deer, and it needed to be said out loud, by name, on the record.

"It also appears to have had some effect. Since the statement was released, the summit made three changes without explanation: the lowest ticket price dropped from $349 to $199, the application-and-approval system was replaced with direct public purchase, and the event's name changed from the Premier's Annual Christian Summit to the Alberta Christian Leadership Summit. We're not claiming sole credit... But 205 faith leaders speaking clearly and publicly has a way of making things harder to ignore."

Another minister, who also leads an affirming church in Northern Spirit Region, The Reverend Blaine Gregg, attended in his rainbow shirt.  To put this into context, there were some 700 attendees, and mainstream reporters from the CBC, the Edmonton Journal, CTV and the like were not allowed in.  Talk about brave and innocent! Blaine wrote an article for Broadview Magazine, and said, 

"I noted four areas of concern: banning abortion; restricting or eliminating medical assistance in dying; promoting anti-transgender views; and opposing changes to federal legislation, including Bill C-9’s religious exemption in anti-hate laws…There was a clear sense… that ‘real’ Christians shared the same… opinions on societal issues and ethical values, and that aligning with the provincial government would translate those beliefs into policy.

"This… included a palpable shared fear and worry that… Christianity was losing the battle for the soul of the nation. "

Blaine went even though he knew he might not be welcomed.  He went even though the other people were potentially hostile.  He took Peter’s words to heart, “Who is going to harm you if your goal is to do what is right?"  But even if you do suffer for what is right, count it a blessing. Don't fear what they fear.  Don't be afraid, and don't worry.”

When we play small, or if we lash out in anger, we act as the world expects us to act.  But when we intentionally do our best to live out values of compassion and justice, our witness threatens those who would bully the vulnerable, attack the rights of minorities and intimidate those who are isolated.  When we speak out, we discover we are not alone, and the bullies are silenced, the powerful are challenged and the selfish face justice.  Christianity is not a private club for comfortable people, it is a call to stand up for those who have no voice.  When we are brave and innocent, we will find that God is our judge who will dismiss the case against us.  God is with us, we are not alone, thanks be to God!

Corrupt Generations

One phrase that jumps out of today's scripture is "save yourselves from this corrupt generation". Peter preached this as part of his Pentecost sermon, and it resonated with his listeners. How many of us feel like we are living in the midst of a corrupt generation? With stories about some grocery store chains adding the meat packaging when they calculate the price of chicken thighs, or the government rejecting recommendations for constituency boundaries for the next election, or Canada Revenue Agency being scammed for millions of dollars, who wouldn't want to be saved from a corrupt culture? Peter’s audience sure did.

Peter’s solution? Repentance, baptism and commitment to a life of discipleship. Baptism was free to everyone, no strings attached. And of course, that was just the start. Baptism welcomed the new disciples into a big, vibrant conversation about faith, God, and personal and cultural transformation.

Peter invited them to be transformed as he had been transformed. Peter had witnessed his beloved leader going through the farce of an unjust trial where the decision was made by a court more interested in political popularity than justice and fairness. And Peter ran away, afraid for his life. Then he hid behind locked doors, anxiously wondering when his arrest and execution would happen. The transformation from coward to leader was unexpected and he attributed it to his Easter experiences of the Risen Christ like some disciples had on the road to Emmaus.

Unexpected transformation can come in many ways. It can be dramatic and instant like Mary and Salome finding the tomb empty. It can be quiet and slow like on an eleven-kilometer walk as described in our gospel reading today. That's not a five-minute stroll down to the mailbox!

Today we're most likely to experience a long journey with a stranger by carpooling to an event or taking a bus tour or airplane trip, but back then folks were expected to travel to Jerusalem for Passover. And unless they were rich or had mobility issues or were pregnant, they didn't use donkeys. Donkeys were a luxury, not for regular people. And regardless of how you travel, a stranger traveling with you can be the worst thing or the best thing for such a long trip. Like astronauts flying around the moon and back for days in a tiny space with a broken toilet, the time spent together can be transformative. Just as Jeremy Hansen said in their recent press conference, the astronauts now have become good friends and also have new perspectives and hope for the future.

The disciples picked up a hitchhiker and had no idea what was coming.  They discovered that the more they talked to the stranger, the more surprised they were at his ignorance of current affairs, and then amazed at his thorough knowledge of scripture.  They were trying to figure out what had happened.  Was Jesus resurrected?  Was it a hoax?  Was it a hallucination? They weren’t sure.  But they called themselves disciples, and although they are not a part of the official list of 12, they too had followed Jesus, they too had learned his teachings, they too, knew his methods of thinking through complex issues.  And they too knew what disciples of Jesus were called to do.

Disciples are called to test the insights and ideas that come their way.  They are to ask questions.  They are to explore the scriptures, the sacred texts, not as a law book with rules and regulations, but as a road map that may need some redrawing from time to time.  Like astronauts seeing the world from a different angle, scriptures help change our viewpoint.  And scripture helps us explore what God is calling us to through conversation, through logic, through experience.  The disciples said, “this is what we experienced, this is what we know, the tomb is empty.  This is what others are saying.  Now stranger, help us understand what is happening.  Help us make sense of our upside-down world. Help us understand this corrupt generation and how we are being called by God to respond.”

Notice that they didn’t get their full answer until they practiced that first, fundamental Christian discipline of offering hospitality to the stranger.  It was only after they invited him to stay and eat with them that the revelation of who he was transformed them.  It was only when their simple meal of bread and wine was turned into the sacrament of sharing abundance that Jesus had practiced with them that they realized his true identity. This revelation transformed them so much that they ran back the 11 kilometers in the dark to testify to the disciples that Easter was real, Jesus was risen! Transformation was possible, both for individuals and for their corrupt generation that had murdered an innocent man.

Some will say that our generation is not corrupt.  And yet the Guardian newspaper reported this week that the world’s largest oil companies are making more than $30 million an hour in excess profits. Exxon will earn an extra 11 billion, Shell will get 6.8 Billion, and Chevron 9.2 billion if the price continues. The Alberta Government is dismissing the non-partisan report on where to draw political boundaries, and they are excited about new legislature that will protect children from pornography in public libraries while cutting grants to family violence programs.  Now I don’t know about you, but I have never seen a copy of Playboy on the magazine shelves, nor have I ever seen 10 year olds sneaking blue videos out of the libraries, or librarians gleefully lending 12 year olds piles books on how to make money as a sex worker.  Our definitions of what a corrupt generation is may vary from church to church, but we are all called to be disciples that are transformed away from exploitation and manipulation to justice and compassion.

Peter called us to turn from a corrupt generation, by repenting, remembering our baptism, celebrating God’s presence, welcoming strangers, feeding the hungry, comforting the lonely, and being open to new encounters with Jesus when we gather together in the breaking of bread, the celebrating of communion, and the gathering of disciples to celebrate Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope. In Life, in death, in life beyond death, He is risen, halleluiah!

Passing the Peace

In almost every United Church of Canada, which includes churches in Bermuda, by the way, at some point in the service, there will be a moment where someone says, “Peace be with you,” and those who’ve attended at least a few times before, will respond, “And also with you.”  Some churches have the right-side pew sitters stand and say it to the left-side pew sitters and vice versa.  Some bow with hands folded like they are ending a yoga class, a practice that became popular after Covid.  Some wave.  Some shake hands, like at a Rotary or Toastmaster’s Club.  Some say it in sign language, where the word peace is made with two actions, “turning” and “stillness”.  Some churches only do it at communion, some do it every Sunday to start the service, some do it at the end of every service, some vary their practice from week to week.  Of course, it’s not just the United Church, many denominations do this as part of their worship.  And it comes from the first Resurrection appearance as described by John.  Jesus pops up like a magical Dr coming out of a police box in the middle of a living room, astonishing everyone.  Except Thomas of course, who proceeded to sulk and grumble because he was left out and thought they had gone off their collective rockers!

One of our former moderators, Richard Bott, described the scene with Thomas like this: “I have to wonder how long he politely smiled at the other disciples, nodding his head, thinking, “Yeah. Right. Grief. Does strange things to a body, eh?” How long did he listen to the disciples tell the story of what they experienced, over and over – “What were you doing when he appeared?” “Oh, I was playing dice with Peter – had won him taking over dish washing duty for a week!” “Yeah, I was just staring out the window, bored silly, when I heard the commotion.” “Didn’t he look great?” “For having been crucified, he looked amazing!” and on and on… until [Thomas] finally had to say, “Ok. Stop it! I don’t know what you’re up to, but until I can see him… no – until I can touch the wounds the spikes made in his wrists and put my hand on the side where they speared him, I just can’t believe you!”  Then he gets his wish.

“Turn to Stillness, all you stressed disciples,” Jesus commanded Thomas and the others.  Not an easy thing to do then, and still not easy to do given everything that is happening in the world today.  There’s a new war in the Middle East and an old one in Ukraine.  There’s angry rhetoric between separatists and non-separatists.  Cuba is in crisis. The price at the pumps and in the grocery stores doesn’t help. The odd weather we’ve been having where some places have three or more feet of snow while other places are worried about flooding and going from -20 to plus 10 in a matter of days, does not help.

It’s too much, and many people may think that peace is something we get when we block out the world, turn off the phone and hide under the bed covers, or maybe blast off into outer space.  That was not the peace the disciples got.  They were, except for Thomas, hiding from the world behind a locked door, afraid that the roman soldiers would be coming for them at any time.  Thomas was out and about, showing his face in public.  Was it bravery?  Was it despair, a desire to martyr himself because without Jesus, he felt there was no reason to live and hang what the Romans might do to him?  We’ll never know.  We do know that he was the one who wanted proof, who doubted the words of his community, who struggled to understand what Easter was about, and had the courage to name it out loud.  He wasn’t afraid to call out the elephant in the room. 

But he also didn’t have peace in his heart.  He had anger and defensiveness, and he knew he was right.  When people get entrenched in certainty that they are right, and the rest of the world is wrong, they can get locked into unhealthy attitudes and power struggles that also do not lead to peace.  Peace like that is what led to the crucifixion in the first place.  The Romans defined peace as something they were entitled to inflict on others through violence, what they called “Pax Romana” or state-sanctioned ability to prevent a lot of the freedoms we take for granted today, the right to freedom of speech, the right to protest what we see as unjust laws, the right to basic human needs including education and clean water.  Peace through authoritarianism was not what Jesus believed in, and saying so in public is one of the reasons why the religious and political leaders executed him.

“Peace be with you” is a gift that money can’t buy.  It’s a prayer that disrupts our moods, and our certainties.  It’s a call to remember our Christian commitment to compassion and justice. It’s a reminder that we are disciples inspired by Jesus, crucified and risen.  Let us turn to stillness now.  Take a deep breath.  [breathe] Take another, down to your belly button. [breathe] Then one more. Now let us pray, repeating after me:

God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change

Grant us the courage to change the things we can

And the wisdom to know the difference.

Grant us the serenity to accept the people we cannot change

The courage to change the people we can

And the wisdom to know the only person we can change is ourselves.

And let us remember to turn to stillness and pray that we give everyone we meet the gift of turning to stillness too.  Amen

Friends, if you are reading this and enjoying the thoughts here, if they inspire or even challenge you, consider supporting Athabasca United Church.  Without their support, I wouldn't get paid to write.  Without their support, we wouldn't be the only organization in Athabasca publicly supporting human rights for all people regardless of gender orientation.  They also support the food pantry and a variety of outreach projects both in Athabasca and even as far as the Ukraine.  E-transfers to athabascaunited@gmail.com or https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/athabasca-united-church/ will help me continue to share my reflections on the world and scripture.  Thank you!

Passport to Life

When was the last time you looked at your driver's license or your passport? Or if you don't have one of these, ask to look at a friend's or parent's. The last time I got my photo taken, it was taken with strict instructions.  Don't smile. Look up. No glasses. Get your hair off your face. Then the bright flash seems to suck all the color our of your face and the results are ghastly. Pale, dull, emotionless blank look that in all honesty looks way older than you actually are. Boring and lifeless.

I imagine that's how Mary Magdalene and the other women looked when they hurried to the tomb that first Easter Sunday. Shocked and maybe even traumatized by the experiences of Good Friday, they would have been going through the motions, numb and empty. Their faces blank, putting one foot in front of the other, doing the traditional mourning rituals that were a part of their culture and religion. Trying to organize the details of what to do next. The community was in turmoil, and rather than a cohesive group looking to a leader to guide all their decisions, they had no one to fall back on. Did James and John make plans to rejoin their dad's fishing business? Did Matthew think about going back to his job of despised tax collector? Would Mary and Martha have felt trapped back into a life where they would only be allowed to cook and clean and never sit with the men as equals? Would Lazarus have thought about going back into his tomb and never dream of coming out again? Would the Samaritan woman plan to go back to her well and her village, doomed to go from one man to the next as she used to, or the man born blind wish he could close his eyes to the pain he saw in the faces of his new friends?

At times of terrible pain, we can go into such a state of numbness, and many of us can relate. Our days feel meaningless and empty. We slip into states of apathy where even getting out of bed seems too onerous. Now in the days of Jesus, life was far shorter and folks might have been more prosaic than we are with our modern medicine and hygiene, we don't know for sure. But even though Jesus tried to prepare his followers, they hadn't listened, they rejected what they heard as gloom and doom nonsense. So Good Friday would have been a real shock to them all.

It also would have been a time of great guilt and shame for the men who had all either run away or denied their connection to Jesus. The women didn't run, but witnessing the ordeal must have been dreadful.  The United Church’s Song of Faith describes it this way, “Because his witness to love was threatening, those exercising power sought to silence Jesus. He suffered abandonment and betrayal, state-sanctioned torture and execution. He was crucified.” It could have become the stuff of nightmares.

The historian Josephus, writing his book for the Roman Empire of the history of his Jewish country wrote that Jesus was executed. This we know is fact. Jesus was real and he was killed in the most public and shameful way possible, on a hill that could be seen for miles, nearly naked in a culture that treasured modesty, and slowly as a traitor, to remind other potential rebels never to question authority.

That should have been the end of the story. This Roman execution should have snuffed out their small movement before it had a chance. End of story. Except it wasn't. The morning when the women came to the tomb, the one thing they weren't expecting was that it would be empty.

Death was not the last word. Now, there are a lot of theories and explanations trying to debunk the resurrection.  Those theories started from day one, trying to discredit Christianity.  Over and over, the detractors attacked, mocked, belittled and even tortured people believing in a Risen Christ.  The Roman Empire and modern Communists alike made it illegal.  Atheists like Richard Dawkins and Carl Sagan wrote book after book ridiculing the Easter Story, and they expected their scientific debunking to end Christianity and all other faiths.  Their motives were sound, they wanted to end violence and religious wars.  But often religious wars are using people’s faith to manipulate and convince people that war is necessary, it isn’t because religion itself is warlike.  Interestingly enough, even with atheists and countries declaring faith illegal, a research project found that the only faith shrinking in 2026 was Buddhism.  Christianity grew by 5%.  Rather like the Monty Python knight, Christians can claim that “I’m not dead yet!”

The truth is that a stolen body can’t inspire a spiritual revolution, a lie can’t inspire people to come together and risk their lives to talk about teachings of respect, compassion and faith.  A scam doesn’t inspire quiet resistance to tyrants, a plot doesn’t embolden people to protest against discrimination.  The Resurrection story has inspired people for centuries.  Without it, William Wilberforce wouldn’t have worked to end the Slave Trade, Charles Dickons wouldn’t have written about the oppression of impoverished children which inspired the establishment of public schools as a human right, monks and nuns wouldn’t have built hospitals and hospices, and people like Martin Luther King would not have preached equal rights even at the risk of their own lives. 

Easter, like God, is Holy Mystery, beyond complete knowledge, above perfect description.  It inspires us to love our neighbors, love ourselves and love that holy mystery whatever we name it.  Easter helps us work in hope for a better world.  Easter brings people to life, giving them purpose and a vision.  We become more than our passport or driver’s licence photos; we come to life.  Easter inspires us to deeper spirituality, both in our daily lives and in community here.  Easter inspires us to engage in learning more about our faith and our world so that we can practice bold discipleship.  Easter inspires us to also work daringly for justice, whether it’s joining in protest rallies, voting in elections or sending e-mails and phone calls to people who need to hear that we believe in human rights and equality for all.  Easter empowers us to speak against racism, homophobia or discrimination.  Easter is the ultimate “No Tyrants” event, not started by Jesus, or the disciples, but started by Holy Mystery itself. Our Song of Faith says, “in love, the one eternal God raised Jesus from death, turning sorrow into joy, despair into hope.  We sing of Jesus raised from the dead. We sing hallelujah.  

Today, let us choose to have the mystery of Easter, however we understand it, inspire us to continue the work for justice and human dignity that Jesus started so long ago.  Because the empty tomb didn’t stop the followers of Jesus back when they knew what Herod and Pilate did, and they followed Jesus anyway.  Not because he was a passport to power or wealth, but because he was a passport to community, love and abundant life.  Thank God for this passport we have that is the Risen Christ.  Christ has risen, Halleluiah!

Deep, Bold and Daring Conversations

What kinds of conversations happen in the middle of the night?  Usually secret ones.  Ones that we don’t want the public to know about, ones that may be completely innocent, and ones that may be deeply evil. 

When I wake up to headlines about war and assassination and leaders of countries being bombed, I wonder about the secret conversations that happen behind closed doors in the middle of the night.  Orders given, decisions made, and worst of all, accountability ignored, compassion sneered at, human rights completely disregarded.  It is deeply disturbing that two men, having most of the world’s military power, made a decision that impacts the whole world.  Where is the accountability?  Why do they think they are entitled to take over countries and send the world in a tizzy?  Why do they want to start another world war? 

Today’s scripture reading shows a conversation that didn’t start a war, for all it happened in the night and not in public.  Was Nicodemus sneaking off to talk to Jesus secretly, or was it one of those, “gosh, look at the time” conversations?  We do know that Nicodemus was really struggling to understand Jesus.  He wanted things to be practical and easy to understand.  Jesus was talking in metaphor.

Nicodemus struggled to understand what Jesus was trying to explain to him.  Not just the whole “being born of the Spirit” but all that Jesus was teaching.  The way of compassion, empathy and spirituality.  This way that the United Church has described as “deep spirituality, bold discipleship and daring justice” was not something Nicodemus was comfortable with.  He had heard Jesus talk in scathing terms about Pharisees like Nicodemus. Jesus thought the pharisees who were more concerned about what people thought about them than what God thought, were hypocrites.  The leaders that Jesus challenged liked having a clear rule book of what would bring them closer to God and what would pull them away from God.  Rules were easy to follow on a surface level.  Jesus wanted them to explore at a deeper level what a relationship with God could be like.

For Jesus, a life of faith was centered around loving God, and loving neighbor.  This wasn’t a matter of nice stories or poetic prayers. It wasn’t about compartmentalizing what we believe on Sunday mornings and what we do on Monday mornings.  This wasn’t a conversation that was a fun little exercise in debating skills, but a call to reexamine our lives and our priorities.

It was about what we do in public.  It was about how we live out our God-shaped priorities.  It’s about when do we make a stand, when do we act? When do we make a commitment to empathy, compassion and justice?

Jesus wanted people to live deep bold and daring lives, not secretive ones.  He wanted people to have deep, bold and daring conversations about their faith and their relationship with God.  All too often, we’ve seen how that has been done in abusive ways.  In ways that are more like the Pharisees than Jesus.  Especially now, when Christian Nationalism seems to be the only game in town.  When John 3:16 is used to shame and blame people for not having a deep enough faith.  When conversations are not dialogues where people actually listen to each other’s opinions and try hard to understand them, but monologues spouting whatever conspiracy theory happens to be most popular on social media.

Nicodemus was very brave, even though he came in the dark.  But Jesus called him to live a more honest and open life.  A life of secrecy can cause tremendous harm and stress.  In modern business lingo, it is ‘living below the line’.  Below the line attitudes are like thinking, “I’m right, I will reject new ideas, I’m reacting emotionally, I’m resisting.”  Nicodemus was resisting what Jesus was trying to teach him.   He didn’t like the new idea of being born into a spiritual way of being.  He didn’t want to look at his theology as something to be lived, not just thought about.  But somewhere during that conversation, some time during that long night, something Jesus said made sense.  And his words still resonate today:

“This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.”

This Lent, we can see on the world stage what happens when world leaders become addicted to practicing evil, addicted to denial and illusion.  It’s easy to point fingers at them for their behaviors that are leading us into another war.  But we can’t control the men who order armies around.  We can only change ourselves.  Nicodemus was changed by his conversation.  He became public in his exploration of what Jesus was teaching.  He became accountable for his actions, standing up for Jesus to the other Pharisees, and eventually publicly burying Jesus in his own family tomb. This Lent, let us give up living in secret, hiding our lights, being addicted to being right, avoiding hard conversations and being stuck in denials and lies.  Instead, let us remember that God loves us as we are and wants us to live lives that are deep, bold and daring, for the world needs more transparency, more love and more hope.  Let us also remember that when we choose to live deep, bold and daring lives, we will find that we are not alone, we live in God’s world, in life, in death, in life beyond death, thanks be to God. Amen!