Great Fear to Great Joy?

"How is everyone doing?"   So often when we are home for the holidays, that’s the question we want to ask and sometimes that’s the question we dread answering.  Sometimes our answer is great, we have lots to celebrate, new job, new home, new friends, new opportunities.  Sometimes the answer is “busy,” lots of tasks and plans and events to check off our schedules.  And sometimes the answer is “doing okay”, and sometimes the answer is “I’m fine”.  Which can often be  shorthand for, “If I didn’t need to be polite and if you were a friend of mine, I’d tell you the real truth which is that I’m freaked out, insecure, neurotic and exhausted.” 

No one likes to admit that they are freaked out, insecure, neurotic and exhausted, and who could blame them?  We live in a society that looks down on people who don’t have their act together.  Obviously, they haven’t worked hard enough, had their priorities straight, or taken responsibility for their mistakes.  And some folks for sure are the makers of their own drama, the creators of their own chaos.

Others, however, find themselves dealing with things they didn’t plan for, or ask for or anticipate.  They never expected the twists and turns life would throw at them, and for many in Canada and around the world, they are one paycheck from bankruptcy, one visit to the foodbank away from starving at Christmas, one pair of socks away from frostbitten toes that will end them up, if they are lucky, in hospital. 

Palestinian Christians, the ones whose ancestors were the first to follow Jesus, are asking for the support of fellow Christians to pressure governments of Middle East countries to put the needs of children first.  Especially the children in Gaza who are being targeted by military from both sides.

It’s not just children in Gaza that we are worried about. At the end of 2023, the United Nations estimated that there were 117 million forcibly displaced people in the world and that 47 million of them—40 percent—were children! In Canada, 1.8 million children go to school hungry because their families can’t make ends meet. Moreover, StatsCan reports that seven in ten children reported being bullied in the past year because of who they are or what they believe.

Far from Canada, a, tradition of the Masai people of Africa. They don’t ask, “how are you” like we do, they ask “Kasserian Ingera,” which means, “And how are the children?” 

The reply is “All the children are well.” Even those without children of their own answer with this assurance, because the well-being of the children is understood as a collective responsibility. If the children are safe, nourished, and thriving, it means that the community is healthy.”

Children don’t care where they are born, what has been planned, what is expected, whether it is an opportune time or not.  Mary and Joseph probably would have wished that the baby would have come in a time and place of their own choosing, but they lived in an occupied country with an army that patrolled the streets looking for troublemakers.  Mary and Joseph may not have had to fear drones overhead or contrails or conspiracy theories or antivaxxers, but they had their own worries.  They had no say in where they had to go for the census, they had no way of knowing if their journey would be interrupted by bandits, and they certainly couldn’t phone ahead to make a reservation.  The extended family in Bethlehem was supposed to take care of them, according to tradition, but for whatever reason, the in-laws and second cousins and great aunts couldn’t make space for a pregnant young mom. How could they neglect her so?

Neglect is easy when we are struggling with bills and taxes.  There’s a lot happening and things get forgotten.  Maybe the letter Joseph sent to his relatives got lost.  Maybe It was his great grandfather’s home, and he hadn’t been there before. Suddenly a baby comes into the world and the only place for it is in the feeding trough.  Poor Mary must have been beside herself in fear and Joseph may have felt embarrassed that this was the best his family could provide.

And yet, despite feeling freaked out, insecure, neurotic and exhausted, there was something special that night.  Maybe it was that first precious meeting between parent and baby. Maybe it was the unexpected visitors, shift workers doing the grubby jobs that were so essential that they were exempt from the census, those smelly shepherds who came to see what the neighbors and family missed.  Maybe it was the sense that there would be a time when corrupt politicians would no longer be able to hide their greed and selfishness from the world.  Maybe it was the idea that even though the worst could happen, a refugee couple with no hope of finding a roof over their heads could still have a warm place to be in their time of trial.

When we are feeling exhausted or lonely or run off our feet, when we feel hopeless or helpless, when we are worried about the children, it’s easy to lose sight of the good news that came to us so many years ago in Bethlehem.  Every year, we remember that what we do matters, how we act matters, and especially how we care for children matters.  Jesus reminds us that all children are gifts, and to be taken care of.  And that even when things seem dark and hopeless, hope comes in the midst of chaos, hope comes when we least expect it, hope comes even when we are freaked out and fearful. The good news is that however we greet each other, whatever language we speak, whether we are fine or good, whether the children are well, God is with us, and keeps gifting us peace, hope joy and love when we least expect it.  Thanks be to God for this wonderful gift!

Radical Welcome

 

Jesus had a way with words.  He knew how to get at the heart of a dispute and was a master of conflict resolution.  And he wasn’t afraid to wade right in and bring his wisdom into an emotionally laden situation.  In our scripture reading today, he charged in and took the bull by the horns.  None of this whispering behind his back for his followers was going to be tolerated! 

Now, the disciples might have had some excuses for getting all emotional.  Jesus had in the previous chapter, gone to a high mountain, picked Peter, James and John to come up with him where they experienced the transfiguration of Jesus.  They came back down glowing with excitement, full of enthusiasm and energy to spare.  And as much as Jesus tried to caution them not to get too excited about what they had seen, they still were higher than a kite.  So this argument, was it them lording it over the other 9? Or were the nine trying to take them down a peg?  It certainly doesn’t sound like they wanted Jesus to know what they were quarrelling about behind his back.  He bluntly asked them, wanting to have the conversation out in the open.

Then he gave them a concrete visual reminder of what power was supposed to mean for his followers.  Not about dominance, who’s the smartest, the strongest, the most powerful, the richest, the favorite.  But about caring and serving and helping others.  Practicing a different mindset than something fueled by toxic masculinity.  Something fueled by wisdom instead.  Wisdom from God, not wisdom from impulses, hormones, resentments or jealousies.  Jealousy and ambition may have been at the root of the disciples’ argument that day in Capernaum.  Jealous of the ones who seemed to have an inside track with Jesus, jealous of the fact that he could heal people that they still could not, jealous of the influence Jesus had over the crowds.

Easier said than done.  We live in a world where jealousy and ambition fill the air.  Where jealousy and ambition spread racist rumors about immigrants from Haiti that empower people to send bomb threats to children’s schools, or plant explosives in walkie talkies and pagers.  Where wars are justified on the basis of ridiculous rumors or the desire to control lands that are already inhabited by people different than the invaders.  Where people of color or women politicians get threats because of their gender or their shade of skin, and when many of these actions are done anonymously, hidden away where no one can see.  Hidden hypocrisies, talking about valuing lives of the innocents one moment then blowing up children at a funeral the next.  Jesus exposed the hypocrisies of his disciples and reminded them that no hypocrisy will stay hidden forever.  And that radical welcoming of children is a signpost that we are getting this whole servant practice right.

One person who apparently was a member of the United Church, embodied this radical welcoming well.  He was an American carpenter who loved making sets and building backdrops for theatre productions. He also liked doing puppetry jobs and in 1964 came up to Canada with a buddy of his to come to work at the CBC. They worked together there for three years before his buddy moved back to the States.  Of course, puppetry led to children’s entertainment, and he spent many happy years developing his style of communication that was based on gentleness, respect and creativity.  Children of all ages were entranced, so much so that when he addressed university audiences, they would respond warmly and enthusiastically to him as if they were still kids.  One university crowd was given this piece of advice: “Keep your crayons sharp, your sticky tape untangled, and always put the top back on your markers”.

His message of radical hospitality impacted Canadians of many ages, and they recognized his influence on them and children by giving him the Order of Canada and a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame with other famous Canadians like Anne Murray, Alex Colville and Bobbie Orr.  He and his wife even opened a daycare called Butternut Square after the first job he ever had in Canada, a show on CBC.  He went on to work for the CBC for 33 years before retiring in 1996, four years after his wife died in a tragic car accident, and two years after finally becoming a Canadian citizen.  He also became the Canadian spokesperson for the Save the Children Canada; a responsibility he took very seriously.  Although he was never interested in politics, he did often have people tell him they would vote for him if he ever wanted to become the Prime Minister of Canada.  He travelled across Canada doing live shows after he retired, singing, dancing and telling stories.  He even received an honourary Doctorate of Laws by Trent University. His show still has set pieces on display at the CBC studio museum in Toronto, a treehouse and a colorful trunk that would have all kinds of things inside it.

Many people didn’t know him by his name, Ernie Coombs, but almost everyone in Canada who had been a kid between 1964 and 2006 knew Mr. Dress Up.  His show in Edmonton’s Jubilee Auditorium was packed with fans of all ages.  His simplicity and his genuine welcome warmed everyone who met him.  That kind of hospitality of children was meeting them with respect and treating them as equals.

Jesus called us to servanthood and to radical hospitality.  James reminded us to be wise in the ways of peace.  Ernie Coombs showed that it is indeed possible to do so even in today’s angry, divisive society.   Maybe especially in an angry and divisive society.  When we face the temptations of jealousy and ambition, let us remember that it is possible to choose wisdom, peace and kindness instead. May God strengthen us to follow in the footsteps of James, John, Peter and Jesus to do the same.  Amen!

What’s in your backpack?

Luke 13:10–17 (children's sermon for Blessing of the Backpacks Sunday)

The bent over woman in today’s scripture must have looked a little odd and she must have had a hard time.  How would she have cooked? Or got food from a top cupboard?  I wonder what made her so bent over?  I wonder if she had a backpack that was full of too many heavy things to carry around.  When my kids went back to school, I would lift their backpacks to make sure they didn’t get too bent over from carrying the supplies around.

How heavy is your backpack? Is it weighing you down, hurting your back, bending you over, keeping you from feeling good about yourself and your life, preventing you from looking people in the eyes or having joy in your life?

Let’s take time to look at what is in our backpacks and whether we can lighten our load a bit.  Sometimes that means leaving my favorite book at home.  I can’t take all 7 Harry Potter books to school every day, that would hurt my back for sure.  But we can look at our backpacks as something more.  Let’s play pretend and look at what might be too heavy for our backpacks!

I think we all have an imaginary backpack that we use to carry around some pretty heavy things.  I have my imaginary backpack right here.  Why, it’s full of rocks! No wonder it’s so heavy!

The first rock says ‘pain and suffering’.  I can imagine that this would have been what the Bent over woman had in her imaginary backpack.  Some people might wonder what the difference is between pain and suffering.  I like to think of it as like when a three-year old hurts its finger.  It cries for mommy, who puts a bandage on the finger.  But the three year old doesn’t really stop crying until mommy kisses it better and gives it a hug.  Now we older people know that a kiss won’t fix pain, that’s what a bandage does.  But a kiss reassures the child that it is loved and cared for.  The kiss helps ease the suffering.  People who teach how to take care of hurting folks in the hospital say that when people have caring gentle friends, they can handle the pain, because the friends care.  That caring can ease the suffering.  A gentle hug or a nice joke or even a drawing can be the most helpful medicine.  Jesus knew that and that’s why he was so kind to the bent over woman!  Jesus helped her with both pain and sorrow.  Today we can use bandages, but we also can use doctors and nurses.  Back in Jesus’ day, only the rich could have doctors, but because Jesus healed this woman who was probably poor, now we have hospitals that anyone can go to no matter how much money is in the bank.  I think that’s awesome!

The second isn’t a rock, it’s a brick!  What does it say? Anger!  Anger is tricky.  Like the brick it can be used to hurt or it can be used to build up.  Anger can be a great teacher.  Sometimes we get angry because we are feeling hurt, or in fancy language, our boundaries are being disrespected.  Boundaries are kind of like imaginary fences.  If I am hungry, my plate of food is inside my imaginary fence.  If someone takes my food from my plate, I may feel angry, and like my imaginary fence has been disrespected.  It may be something as simple as food or as complicated as freedom.  When that happens, we can feel angry.

The leader got angry because he thought Jesus was breaking the fence of what was okay for church and what was not okay.  Maybe he felt that Jesus was not respecting him as a leader should be treated.

Jesus got angry back.  Not because the leader was breaking Jesus fence, but because Jesus thought that there was something more important than the leader and that was helping someone not suffer.  They could have gotten into a fight and thrown bricks at each other, but this didn’t happen.  Instead it was a chance for Jesus to teach the leader about kindness.  Sometimes if we can take a breath or say our ‘Be Still’ prayer, it can help us take a moment to ask if our fences are being broken or do we need to teach something?  When I was a kid, I was told to count to 10, but I like praying more.

Here are two little rocks that are very similar.  One is guilt and one is shame.  Those are hard to get out of the backpack.  Sometimes they are so hard that we need help to pull them out.  It’s okay to ask for help to do that.  Sometimes people come and talk to me, and sometimes if the rock is really heavy, they need to talk to a counsellor or coach or psychiatrist.  I have had to get help to pull out my rocks from time to time.  It’s okay!

What’s the difference between guilt and shame?  They can look very similar, but can you feel this?  It’s sticky!  That’s shame.  It’s really sticky because shame says ‘I am bad.’  Guilt says ‘I did bad’.  If I think I did something bad, like I broke a glass, I can fix it by saving my money and buy a new one or use the glue to fix the broken glass.  Once I have fixed what I did, I probably won’t feel bad or sad about it anymore.  But shame says, ‘I am bad’ and that is very sticky.  That takes time and help to fix.  We’re not bad, we’re God’s beloved children who make mistakes and aren’t perfect.  That’s why I like Jesus more than Santa.  Jesus loves us and never says “have you been good?”

Here’s the last one and it’s the heavy one.  What is this one?  Fear!  When we are afraid, we can get angry, or jealous or worried or ashamed.  Fear is terrible to live with.  Jeremiah felt fear.  But God said, ‘don’t be afraid, I am with you’.  Now I think that there are times to be afraid, like when I am walking across the road and I see a loud fast truck coming towards me.  Fear can give me the energy to get out of the way.  But sometimes fear can be more about what might happen than what actually is happening.  Is it real? Will it always happen?  Can I find a way to keep it from happening?  I can look for trucks before I cross the road.  I can listen for trucks before I cross the road.  I can use the cross walk light.  I can walk with other people on the cross walk.  All these can help me be less afraid.  Jeremiah didn’t have to be afraid, even though he was a kid.  God was with him.  And when we are with others who love and care for us like Jesus cared for us, God is with us too and we don’t need to be afraid.  Thanks be to God!