Interesting
how stories and rumors evolve. Our
scripture today is a familiar one, but did you notice, there are no tales of
how the sheep and the cows were there.
We assume they were, but that part of the story has been added on over
the years. No talking either, sorry
Kermit, but it’s a lovely idea and it points to God’s Dream.
I had a
dream this summer. I wanted to lure in
teenagers and young adults to church so that they would find it meaningful to
be here on Christmas eve. I asked one
young adult how to make this happen and he said, “make the church a Pokestop!”
For those of
you who know what a pokestop is, you know that’s easier said than done. For
those of you who don’t know, it’s a place where you can find a wild pokemon and
catch it. What’s a pokemon? It’s a
little creature that has been around for 20 years now, a pocket monster, and
very cute but fierce when in a fight.
Well, it’s
not as old as Star Wars, and certainly not as old as Kermit, but it has a
universal appeal. Who wouldn’t want a
cute little creature that is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand,
smart enough to not need paper training, and loyal to a fault. Whether it is the famous Pikachu, Far-Fetched
or Mr. Mime, they attracted 231 million people in the month of June alone. What church wouldn’t like that popularity?
Now I could
have spent money and bought a lure for Christmas eve, but that seems rather
manipulative and sneaky. And while all
of creation is welcome in God’s dream and so that means all creatures are
welcome in God’s church, I wouldn’t want Team Rocket to come blasting in here
to battle us all. Fights are the
opposite of God’s dream for the world.
But
surprisingly enough, when I thought about it, we already are like the
game. The church is what would be a Pokémon
centre, a healing place to recharge. We
are also a Pokémon gym, where people can come to train and strengthen their Pokémon
and help them level up.
But wait a
minute, we have no pocket monsters here, right? Are you sure? Remember that they can be found anywhere,
they are loyal protectors, and that they need to be trained and given
experience in order to grow and mature.
They are quite small, and are always with you wherever you go. The more you use them, the better they become
at strengthening you and protecting you from the trials and worries of life.
Right now,
they are desperately needed. Our year of
2016 has been a rollercoaster for many of our families and friends. We could use a little more protection, a
little more connection, a team to help us work through the challenges we
face. It seems like that peace on earth,
that big dream of God’s, is even rarer than ever. What could help us get through our days?
They are
something rather old-fashioned, that’s been around for a long time, that has
been a part of many legends and stories, and has been the inspiration of quests
and adventures. One CBC guest said this
week that they are desperately needed to help our world survive. And they’ve been on the endangered species
list for a long time. Disregarded,
disrespected, laughed at, sneered at and generally ignored. But our best stories have been inspired by
them.
Whether it’s
Star Wars or the Star of Bethlehem, they have been at the core of the best of
humanity and when people are at their worst, they are conspicuously absent.
They are
simply put, values. Good old fashioned
values. There’s lots of them, you
probably know some already. We light
candles in advent to four of them: Hope,
Peace, Joy, and Love. What about Respect?
Kindness? Honesty? Compassion? Some of
them have old-fashioned names like Temperance which could help prevent fentanyl
deaths, or charity which would help the food banks. Some of them were used by the ancient
knights, like courage or respect for people who are weak or poor or
vulnerable. Our bible is like a pokedex with
many examples, and they are all gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, leadership and
more.
Values are
tiny, and hard to see. They need to be
nurtured and trained to get stronger.
They need to be tested with others.
They need encouragement and support.
And they can grow mightily.
We need them
more than ever. What would the American
Election have been like if everyone had used truth? Look at the difference compassion and
hospitality made to the folks fleeing the forest fires last summer? If God’s dream is to be realised, where greed
and anger and resentment and pride will be defeated, it will be because we remembered
to reclaim the gifts we have been given, our own collection of loyal defenders
and protectors and guides who help us do right.
It will be because we have respected those guides, trained them, healed
them, nurtured them and found places to help them get stronger. It will be because we have learned how to use
them to make this world closer to God’s dream of peace on earth, good will to
all. And that is something all of us can
rejoice in!
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