The Courage to Speak

Rather like going home to a big family reunion and people say, “oh, you’re little Nell, my how you’ve grown up” or they launch into a story of something we did when we were 8 and didn’t know any better.Preaching to the hometown crowd is a daunting task.  I have never preached in the church I grew up in.  There’s something about standing up in front of a congregation who remembers you when you were a little kid in Sunday School that is unnerving.    It would be hard to step into the preaching role in front of babysitters and teachers.

Yet that’s exactly what Jesus did.  He had the courage to speak to those old family friends, neighbors, matriarchs and patriarchs in the community.  He had courage because he knew his purpose, taken straight from one of the longest and most revered scrolls that are beloved by Jews and Christians alike.  Isaiah 61 became the core focus of his ministry and gave him courage to tell them what his purpose was. Even though he missed a phrase here and there.

Many students going into the ministry have a similar experience, a scripture that grabs them not just logically but also emotionally.  This one happens to be mine.  It was cemented in my head by the Strathdee Song, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”  In fact, it was around this time in 2007, in the season of Epiphany, when I went up to Rev. Dale Irving and said, “please stop reading these call scriptures and playing all these call hymns because they are making me cry.”  Hymns that have haunting words like, “Here I am Lord, is it I Lord, I have heard you calling in the night” that would have the tears streaming down my face.  Thank goodness wise and gentle Rev. Irving knew what to do with me, like a Hogwarts sorting hat!  But this scripture is not just for folks in ministry; if it was, Jesus would have only read it to his disciples, not the whole congregation in Nazareth.

Which is why we keep reading these scriptures – they are addressed to us all.  But how do we know when the Spirit is with us?  I think it comes through continual questioning and testing.  Jesus was tested in the wilderness.  We constantly are tested in our own wildernesses. And Jesus measured his decisions and actions by Isaiah 61.  We too can measure our decisions and actions by this scripture. 

What kind of testing are we facing right now?  I was struck by what David Staples wrote in the Edmonton Journal on Wednesday, “we all study COVID stats and listen to expert commentary, focusing on numbers and words that conform to our own basic needs and selfish desires.”  Basic needs and selfish desires are tests to our courage and our faith.  It is often hard to tell which is which.  Is a night out at a movie theatre a basic need or a selfish desire?  Is a trip to the pool if I’m not vaccinated a basic need or a selfish desire?

My head chaplain for K Division RCMP put it this way,

[Recently, I] realized the extra stresses that the pandemic has been putting on many... I think it’s the constant changing rules, the length of the pandemic, the insecurities it has brought, the feelings of social isolation and not being able to get away to recoup with family and friends.

The recent cold snap and not even wanting to go outside has also had an effect … These are just some of the things that are creating signs of depression and isolation that all of us are having to face.”

He spoke with courage about what we are all struggling with.  The mental health challenge of knowing where the dividing line between selfishness and need is.  The challenge of forgetting that we are called to respect and serve others.  The spirit was speaking through him just like Jesus. The Spirit was not on Jesus so he could have his best life ever, or to have wealth, influence and power.  The Spirit was on Jesus so he could help others find release from what imprisoned them.  We all want to be released from the imprisonment of Covid, but maybe what we really need is to be released from not questioning the difference between our wants and needs, from the difficulty of choosing what is right instead of what is easy.

Figuring out what is right instead of what is easy can be seen in the discussion of homelessness this week.  What is easy is finding a house people can live in and keep from freezing.  But homelessness is a complex issue that is not fixed by warehousing folks like Timothy Phillips.  What really is imprisoning them?  And how do we set them free from their imprisonment? 

Jesus spoke of truth and healing with courage.  We can do that by speaking our truths in ways that respect other people’s truth. Our views of reality may differ, but speaking our truth from wrestling with our own desires for easy solutions, and learning from the wrestling, is our way to connect to the Spirit.  We can’t free others from their imprisonment until we have freed ourselves.  And the way to do that is to check that we’re following the words that Isaiah gave us, reminding us that we are called to the same core purpose as Jesus, witnessing to the good news that freedom from oppression, fear, anxiety and selfishness is here in this, God’s year to act! May it be so for us all. 

Taking the Plunge

One of the joys of living in Athabasca is being able to walk along flowing water.  Being so close to the river and the creek is just wonderful, at least when it’s not -30.  We see all kinds of wildlife like the beaver in this photo, and while I’m glad not to have had a close encounter with a bear or a moose on the trails, Tim has.  I’ll stick to beaver spotting at a respectful distance.

I was surprised to learn that the Jordan River is not a grand wide river like the Athabasca.  At the place where John the Baptist was supposed to have set up shop, it’s slower and shallower than that, more like the Tawatina where it goes under the bridge during the spring.  Slow and steady.  Waist deep.  Muddy brown and probably quite refreshing on a hot day.  And a place of great significance even back then.   It wasn’t the size that mattered, it was the sense that this was the boundary between the land of outcasts and wanderers and the Promised Land.  The boundary between poverty and prosperity, between nomadic uncertainty and settled roots, between disconnection and identity, between chaos and purpose.  For the people of the Holy Land, it defined who was ‘us’ and who were ‘they’.  It was a natural border that became the difference between away and home.

A place to wash off foreign influences and prepare to enter the Holy Land, set apart by God for the people of Israel.  A place to prepare to go to the Holy of Holies, the Temple of Jerusalem, a few days' walk away.  A place to start new initiatives, new projects, new lives. 

No wonder John set up there, and that Jesus met him there.  It was full of scriptural importance for the people as well as symbolic importance, and a great place to make great commitments. We pick a time for new resolutions, but they had a place.  A humble, muddy river with a deep history for a frequently embattled community.  A place of hope, new beginnings and new possibilities.

How does that understanding of baptism in the Jordan affect the story of the Samarian baptisms?

The disciples, no longer able to sit at the foot of their teacher Jesus, are still safely ensconced in Jerusalem, hunkered down, and waiting for Saul of Tarsus to get tired of persecuting them.  They are focused on their own people, and remembering what Jesus taught them.  They start delegating work to others, and so Phillip the Deacon went out into the wider world, doing far more than he had been asked.  He found his way into Samaria, preaching and baptizing as he went, finding great success.  He followed the nudging of the Spirit and found himself far beyond Jerusalem, far beyond the Jordan River. 

He found himself outside his cultural community, with people who talked a little differently, who worshipped a little differently, who had a different cultural identity than him.  All those differences didn’t stop him.  Not even the attention of a shyster snake oil salesman in the town, Simon the Magician, deterred him.

Phillip kept on teaching and preaching.  And that got the 12 hiding safely in Jerusalem so curious that Peter and John left to check it out.  They weren’t there to fix or correct or advise Phillip, just to see if the reports were true and to encourage him.  They only were puzzled by why the Spirit had not been included in the baptism, a bit confusing even by our standards, but whatever they did or said to Phillip, he was emboldened to continue preaching and baptizing.  The next chapter is all about his encounter with the Ethiopian Eunuch and that was a transformative moment full of Spirit in the fledgling church.  Clearly, the message of good news was spreading beyond safe cultures, safe borders, safe languages, and catching fire amongst people that the 12 did not predict.  It surprised them and encouraged them.  It reminded them of their own baptisms, and the times that they had experienced with Jesus because of it.  It emboldened all twelve to eventually leave Jerusalem, ending in places like Rome, Spain, India and Turkey, far from the safety and security of the Jordan River.  Remembering their baptism gave them the courage to go out and live what Jesus taught.

Remembering our baptisms is not something everyone can do.  I was baptized as an infant, so I don’t remember what it was like.  But I remember my brother’s baptism, my children’s baptisms, my husband’s baptism and the baptisms I have done here among you, from seven-year-old Sidney and baby Emilie and  toddler Isla to adults Bev, Heather, Gordon, and Wendy, which I thoroughly enjoyed getting wet!  Every time we gather in community to celebrate and welcome another soul into God’s big family, I get a speck of something in my eye.  Every time we get to bless an individual and their spiritual journey and hear what a difference we have made in their lives, I get a lump in my throat.  I remember OUR baptisms!

Baptism is where we learn that Christianity isn’t just a philosophy, it isn’t just a logical bunch of ideas that stick.  It isn’t just a bunch of mumbo jumbo touchy feelie stuff that anyone can do.  It isn’t for sale, as the magician Simon discovered the hard way.  It’s more than community, although it’s part of community.  It’s more than miracles and signs, which surprisingly I have heard a few here in my time.  Christianity is an experience and a movement that empowers many.  It gives life and purpose to those who are struggling, it gives compassion to those who believe that they have to be tough individuals to be successful.  It challenges the magicians looking for power to rethink their understanding of what it means to be a thriving human being.  It challenges us all to reflect and reorient our lives towards God’s loving community.

Try this experiment the next time you are in the shower, the bath or even washing your hands.  Take a moment to feel the water and say to yourself a few times, “Remember your baptism”.  Reflect on how far your journey has brought you and ask God where you might be called like Phillip, Peter and John, to set out into the unknown with good news for all to hear.  Remember the nurturing, sustaining, and transforming power of God’s love and our grateful response to that gift of God, that amazing grace.  Remember that you are gifted, called and chosen by God to inspire and empower the people around you.  And if you are not baptized, I invite you to prayerfully consider it as a sign of hope and inclusion in this community of faith.  It is the sign of a journey, an adventure that leads us all in surprising new directions with a community that stretches all the way back to Jesus and John standing in a modest river, starting something that became bigger than their wildest dreams.  May our baptisms, past, present and future be part of God’s great plan for a beautiful world.  Amen.

Eyes on the Stars

There’s something so inspiring in the story of the Magi.  Following a star on a long journey that must have taken years to complete, one step ahead of another without a map or invitation.  On a hunch that they got from staring up at the sky.  Pretty amazing.  There must have been times when they felt tired, discouraged, maybe even doubtful or depressed, and yet they continued on. 

I felt discouraged this week, as Council discussed closing the church to in person worship again.  We have always put the health of the congregation as our top priority and been prudent and cautious.  But there was a part of me that selfishly wanted to keep seeing people in the sanctuary to talk to and worship with.  Thank goodness that we work together to come up with the difficult decisions that are for the greatest good of the community.  I imagine that the magi also faced similar conversations and conundrums, especially when debating how to return home.  It would have been easier to take a familiar path back, be treated like royalty in Herod’s palace, perhaps soaking in a hot tub to get rid of the smell of the manger and the sheep and cows.  Instead, they heeded that niggling voice that suggested they turn off the beaten path and skip Jerusalem on the way home.

It’s hard to know when to heed that niggling voice and when to ignore that voice.  Christians call this discernment, and it’s not easy.  We sometimes talk ourselves into doing something we shouldn’t, or talk ourselves out of doing something we should, and it’s hard to tell what is ego talking and what is God talking.  There have been times when we talk ourselves into doing things and regret it, and other times when we discover that our hunches have been very helpful.

I once got a gift of a simple notebook that someone had taken the time to fill with inspirational quotes but left plenty of room to add my own quotes to it as I found them.  She doodled and copied and scrapbooked probably 30-40 quotes into it and I have added some every time I find a quote I want to remember.  I also started to give notebooks of quotes to folks I knew that were getting ordained.  I now have a file of quotes and prayers for ministers on my computer, so I can print them off, glue them into the notebook, hand copy the shorter ones and send it on.  Last May someone from AST was getting ordained and I got another notebook out, but for whatever reason, I kept procrastinating on putting the quotes in.  Life was busy, it went to the bottom of my to do list, and I never got around to sending it.  Last November, I finally made time to put it together and sent it off to the new minister.  Imagine my surprise when I got a hand-written card back thanking me for the perfect timing.  It had arrived in the mail just when the minister needed a little encouragement.  The quotes hit home and inspired them to remember that they were not alone.  We all need a little inspiration once in a while, and we all find inspiration from each other.  I think it’s not a coincidence that the magi traveled in a group.  Jesus said, “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there”, and whenever I am struggling to know what is wise, I know that gathering two or three, talking to our church council or one of our committees, is the best way to come up with new solutions or ideas.  New ways of working through challenging decisions, new inspirations, new hopes and dreams.

Scripture can be like a third person in the conversation, the wise words of experience that can guide us into new paths.  It can form and shape and inspire us.  It can surprise us when we least expect it to.  I was quite surprised to see that Psalm 148, the reading we started our service with, mentioned snow and frost, for example.  I struggle with the idea that God controls the weather, as I think this cold snap is no more caused by God than the floods in BC or the heat bubbles in Alberta last summer.  If God so loved the world, it doesn’t make sense for God to punish the world, or at least Western Canada with these huge temperature swings.  Much more likely for us to be experiencing the natural consequences of global warming from too much carbon in the air than an angry God micromanaging the polar vortex.

So while we treat scripture with respect, we also recognize and wrestle with its shortcomings.  Scripture didn’t understand bacteria or viruses, scripture didn’t know about oil and gas or machines or factories.  Scripture couldn’t see through telescopes to realized that Mars and Jupiter weren’t stars but planets.  Scripture is one of our partners in the discernment conversation, but not a voice that shouts to drown out the other voices.  John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, firmly believed that such conversations needed to include scripture, and community wisdom, but also logic and emotion. That can be a pretty crowded conversation, to weave all these aspects into decisions.

Yet decisions made together this way can lead to great wisdom, just like the wise men taking a different route home.  Wisdom speaks to us and helps guide us into decisions that might not be popular or easy but most loving.  Wisdom can inspire wonderful new ideas and creative solutions.  Wisdom can discover new opportunities that we didn’t know about.  When we look to wisdom to inspire us, and discover wisdom among us, we can find God leading us in new exciting directions.  Our Song of Faith puts it this way, “In and with God, we can direct our lives toward right relationship with each other and with God.  We can discover our place as one strand in the web of life. We can grow in wisdom and compassion. We can recognize all people as kin. We can accept our mortality and finitude, not as a curse, but as a challenge to make our lives and choices matter.”  May we find words of wisdom and choices through discernment to make our lives matter in new and inspiring ways this year.  Amen.