tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-156806582024-03-07T04:12:44.781-05:00Tom's Been ThinkingTom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.comBlogger210125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-13862561180282910612011-01-29T23:36:00.000-05:002011-01-29T23:36:04.048-05:00Build more prisons?Our federal government wants to build or expand prisons and put more Canadians in them for longer. The Church Council on Justice and Corrections is made up of the following denominations:<br />
The Anglican Church of Canada,<br />
Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec,<br />
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops,<br />
Christian Reformed Churches of North America,<br />
Disciples of Christ in Canada,<br />
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada <em>(my church)</em><br />
Mennonite Central Committee Canada,<br />
The Presbyterian Church in Canada,<br />
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers),<br />
The Salvation Army in Canada,<br />
The United Church of Canada<br />
<br />
The Council has sent the following letter to our Prime Minister and I sent a similar letter to my Member of Parliament.<br />
<br />
<br />
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,<br />
<br />
The Church Council on Justice and Corrections (CCJC) is most concerned that in this time of financial cuts to important services you and the government of Canada are prepared to significantly increase investment in the building of new prisons.<br />
<br />
Proposed new federal laws will ensure that more Canadians are sent to prison for longer periods, a strategy that has been repeatedly proven neither to reduce crime nor to assist victims. Your policy is applying a costly prison response to people involved in the courts who are non-violent offenders, or to repeat offenders who are mentally ill and/or addicted, the majority of whom are not classified as high risk. These offenders are disproportionately poor, ill-equipped to learn, from the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups. They require treatment, health services, educational, employment and housing interventions, all less expensive and more humane than incarceration.<br />
<br />
The Canadian government has regretfully embraced a belief in punishment-for-crime that first requires us to isolate and separate the offender from the rest of us, in our minds as well as in our prisons. That separation makes what happens later easier to ignore: by increasing the number of people in jail for lengthier sentences you are decreasing their chance of success upon release into the community.<br />
<br />
The vision of justice we find in Scripture is profound and radically different from that which your government is proposing. We are called to be a people in relationship with each other through our conflicts and sins, with the ingenious creativity of God’s Spirit to find our way back into covenant community. How can that be if we automatically exclude and cut ourselves off from all those we label “criminal”?<br />
<br />
Increasing levels of incarceration of marginalized people is counter-productive and undermines human dignity in our society. By contrast, well supervised probation or release, bail options, reporting centres, practical assistance, supportive housing, programs that promote accountability, respect and reparation: these measures have all been well-established, but they are underfunded. Their outcomes have proven to be the same or better in terms of re-offence rates, at a fraction of the cost and with much less human damage.<br />
<br />
P<span style="font-size: small;">ublic safety is enhanced through healthy communities that support individuals and families. We, therefore, respectfully ask you to modify your government’s policy taking into consideration the impact it will have on the most disadvantaged, its lack of effectiveness, and its serious budgetary implications.</span>Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-91396939665185017182011-01-22T09:38:00.000-05:002011-01-22T09:38:26.256-05:00Poverty History?I've been a participant in the Make Poverty History campaign since the Live8 concerts. I get updates on the campaign and I send emails to our Prime Minister and my Member of Parliament at certain times when asked to by the campaign organizers. This was the latest email that I sent to our Finance Minister, copied to my MP. Our country has signed on to the Millenium Development Goals but we conveniently forget about them when something else comes up. The government will soon be bringing forth a new budget and we're pitifully behind in reaching our target of foreign aid to alleviate poverty.<br />
<br />
<br />
Dear Mr. Flaherty,<br />
<br />
It’s not fair to rely for 25% of your deficit reduction plans on freezing the aid budget. Canada is not even half way to achieving the 0.7% of national income aid target that we promised to give. The impacts of the global economic crisis, the food crisis and climate change are threatening to reverse the progress that has been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Now is not the time to slack off. Rather we need to re-double our efforts to end global poverty.<br />
<br />
The new Conservative government in the UK continues to increase their aid and has re-committed to achieving the 0.7% aid target by 2013, despite dealing with a much larger deficit than Canada. Canada ranks only 14th out of 23 donor countries. We can do better.<br />
<br />
Priority needs to be given to fighting poverty, both globally and in Canada, and taking action on climate change over buying expensive new fighter aircraft, building more prison cells or continuing to subsidize fossil fuels.<br />
<br />
Please do the right thing in your 2011 federal budget and bring in a budget that would help to make poverty history.<br />
<br />
I have also copied my Member of Parliament on this letter so they can be aware of the views of their constituents and ask that they do their best to represent my concerns.<br />
<br />
Thank you for considering these heart-felt requests.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-23855653920602537522011-01-22T09:30:00.000-05:002011-01-22T09:30:33.604-05:00the greatest storyIt's been a while since I've posted. I wrote this column for yesterday's newspaper.<br />
<br />
<br />
I’ve made a New Year’s resolution. I’m going to read my Bible more. Shocking isn’t it? A pastor who needs to read his Bible more. I read the Bible plenty, but it’s for work. I read the Bible when I’m preparing a sermon or a confirmation class lesson and we read from the Bible in worship, but I don’t very often just read the Bible for me. So that’s what I’ve resolved to do.<br />
<br />
So it’s a few weeks into the New Year. How am I doing with my resolution? I don’t read the Bible every day, but I do more than I did before. I’m not beating myself up about it. Just because you slip doesn’t mean you give up. You can start over and over again and I intend to keep on keeping on.<br />
<br />
The Bible is an amazing book, written and assembled by many different people over hundreds of years. It contains ancient mythologies, histories, laws, teachings, prayers, liturgies, love poetry, wisdom literature, prophetic messages, letters, strange visions. There’s a whole lot of variety in the various parts of the Bible.<br />
<br />
Some people actually find the Bible frightening and intimidating. That’s understandable. The Bible is an old book written by people living in times and places very different from our own. The language and images used aren’t contemporary so it can be hard to understand. That’s okay, though. You don’t have to be an expert to start reading. It’s okay to have questions, to be confused by some things.<br />
<br />
In our church we’ve just started a course called “the greatest story.” It’s an introduction and big-picture overview of the Bible, its story, and how that story connects to our own personal stories and lives. From now until early June we’re going to discover what this strange, sometimes frightening and intimidating book is all about.<br />
<br />
I’ve studied the Bible quite a bit over the years, some parts of it more than others, and I always find it fascinating. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not a history book like the ones you might read in a history class, it’s not a science textbook like the ones you’d read in a biology class. The Bible is a book of faith. It’s a book written by human beings about the relationship between God and humanity, about God’s experiences with the Jewish and Christian communities.<br />
<br />
I’ve also come to the conclusion that the Bible is a living book. A good book can be life changing, any good book. The words in the Bible are the living word of God that is life changing and life saving. Martin Luther taught that the Bible is like the manger that held the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. The scriptures hold Christ, the living word, God’s address to us. <br />
<br />
The Bible holds the living Christ who, as the scriptures are read and proclaimed, lives as God’s address to us. As we read and hear the words of scripture the Holy Spirit opens our ears and our hearts to help us believe the living word and illusions are shattered, old ways are rejected, new life is born, enemies are reconciled, a family is created, and disciples heed the call to follow Jesus.<br />
<br />
That’s amazing. It really is the greatest story. I just have to keep reminding myself of that and it’ll be a lot easier to stick to that New Year’s resolution.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-76625821981092602482010-11-22T22:15:00.001-05:002010-11-23T00:30:34.363-05:00Videos I LikeThese are a couple of videos that "moved" me. The one in the mall food court happened near where I live. I'm sorry I wasn't there. The other one just made me think. $10 billion versus $450 billion. Wow!<br />
<br />
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SXh7JR9oKVE?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SXh7JR9oKVE?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eVqqj1v-ZBU?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eVqqj1v-ZBU?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-53665068938820991262010-10-21T11:15:00.000-04:002010-10-21T11:15:50.199-04:00... about OctoberI wrote this for tomorrow's newspaper.<br />
<br />
<br />
This is a good month for me. Last week I celebrated my 44th birthday. Next week my wife and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. A few days before my birthday we celebrated Thanksgiving. A few days after our anniversary the neighbourhood streets will be teeming with costumed kiddies out for trick-or-treating and I'll be able to sneak some of my favourites out of my kids' bags as well as snacking on the leftovers that we don't give out. There are a lot of good things about October.<br />
<br />
But as I write this and look out the window it's grey and overcast. It's been raining on and off all day. I'm wearing a sweatshirt for the first time in months. We've had the furnace running for a couple of weeks. The leaves are falling from the trees. Gardens that were very recently lush and green with a splash of colour here and there are getting kind of wilty and drab and dingy looking.<br />
<br />
September still had hints of summer but now it's fall. I'm not saying fall is bad but I'm already missing the warmth of summer, a season that is just too short up here. And I know that a long winter is around the corner. Not that winter is all bad but I could do with a lot less of it.<br />
<br />
I guess I just have to learn to take the good with the bad in any season and any month. In the summer I do complain about the humidity when it gets so oppressive that I can't sleep and the slightest physical activity gets me so sweaty. As long and cold as the winter is, there is real beauty in a landscape coated with a newly fallen snow, the kids having a ball playing in the snow, and winter does have Christmas after all.<br />
<br />
We have to take the good with the bad. Lutheran theology often talks about tension and paradox, about two "words" required to proclaim truth. We are saint <em>and</em> sinner. Creation is good <em>and</em> fallen. The Word of God is law <em>and</em> gospel. Jesus is human <em>and</em> divine. We live in and with these paradoxes.<br />
<br />
I know I'm a sinner. Even though I'm a Christian, even though I'm made right with God by God's grace, I'm still a sinner. And no matter how hard I try I'll never stop being a sinner. But that's okay because God's love and mercy and forgiveness are big enough to deal with my sin and because of that God accepts me and I am also a saint. Saint <em>and</em> sinner, both at the same time.<br />
<br />
Maybe that's what some people don't get. The people who see a church full of hypocrites. There may be some, but the hypocrites are the ones who go around sinning yet they deny that they're sinners. They're only fooling themselves because everybody else knows they're sinners.<br />
<br />
We've got a sign out in front of the church. One side lets people know what time church is on Sundays. On the other side I put a message. I try not to be too cutesy or clever, instead trying to put up something inspirational. Once the sign said FOR SINNERS ONLY. Okay, so that borders on the cutesy, but those three words contain a profound truth. The church isn't for perfect people. If it was then there would be even fewer people in the pews than there already are.<br />
<br />
No, the church isn't for perfect people, it's for sinners. It's for people who need saving. It's for people who need blessing. It's for people who need forgiveness. It's for people who know hurt and need healing. It's for people who need a welcoming and accepting community of faith, a community of other sinners looking for the same thing.<br />
<br />
The church is not for perfect people. The church is for people who desire a relationship with a perfect Saviour. Just as any month or any season is a mixture of good and bad, in the same way people who are being saved are a mixture of good and bad, saint and sinner. That goes for me. That goes for you. That goes for my church and your church and the church across town. So I thank God that his love and mercy and forgiveness are big enough for all of us.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-34643362438972369942010-09-22T23:31:00.000-04:002010-09-22T23:31:50.144-04:00Aunt Hetty DiedIt's very sad, Jackie Burroughs died today. The only thing I've ever seen her in is the TV series <strong><em>Road to Avonlea</em></strong>. When my wife and I were dating, engaged, and just after we were married that show was a Sunday night ritual at her parents' house with her two younger sisters. Wow, that was 20 years ago!<br />
<br />
Hetty King was a crusty character who you couldn't help but love. The episode when her niece, Sarah, wins a writing contest about why you have the best mother, when she wrote about her Aunt Hetty who was raising her, and won the contest, it made me want to cheer while I had a lump in my throat.<br />
<br />
Now we're parents of four kids aged 17, 15, 12, and 8 and we've bought the <strong><em>Road to Avonlea</em></strong> series on DVD and Sunday nights are <strong><em>RTA</em></strong> nights. It's one of the few shows that all six of us want to watch together, that we'll shut off the Xbox, close the laptop, and turn off the ipod to watch.<br />
<br />
We'll always have Aunt Hetty with us, unfortunately Jackie Burroughs isn't. She died today of stomach cancer. Lord, now you let your servant go in peace.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-21628200782383115762010-09-02T16:12:00.000-04:002010-09-02T16:12:55.393-04:00...about Homecoming"I love it here. You can sing as loud as you want. That dude wails on the organ. That dude up there tells stories. It's almost a religious experience!"<br />
<div align="right">-- Leo, <em>That 70s Show</em></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">I love church, and not because I'm a pastor. I loved church long before I even thought of being a pastor. It probably doesn't hurt that I grew up in the church. I was baptized when I was about 2 1/2 months old. I grew up going to Sunday School, learning the stories of our faith. As a teenager I participated in the activities of the church youth group. That's where I met the girl who would become my wife.</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">The people in the church are my extended family. The church is home to me. Now my children are growing up in the church and I pray they will come to think of it as their home and family too.</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">This weekend marks the unofficial end to summer. That's kind of a drag. There's a laid back feel to summer, a good feeling. Schedules aren't as strict. You can go with the flow. A lot of people take vacation time to get away from the everyday. I like it a lot.</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">But the end of summer is also a homecoming. We come back to a routine, a routine that can be very comfortable. One thing that I appreciate when I come home from a vacation is my bed. No bed in any hotel or in our trailer can compare to my bed. I don't think I ever sleep as well as I do in my own bedroom. There are other comforts at home. I have everything I need or know where to get it because inevitably, on any vacation, either I forget to pack something or I don't have the space to take something along that I might want.</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">In our church we have Homecoming Sunday every year on the Sunday after Labour Day. People have come back from vacation, kids are back to school, and we invite everyone back to their church home. Some may have been away for a little while. Some may have been away from their church home for a long time, maybe years. Some may not have a church home at all. All are welcome.</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Our Homecoming Sunday has turned into a Homecoming Weekend because on the Saturday we're having a pig roast dinner followed by a movie after the sun goes down, all of it out on the church lawn weather permitting.</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Everyone is welcome. Now I'm not telling you about this to solicit people away from other churches. If you have a church home I encourage you to go there. If you've been away for a while, go back to your church home. If you've been away for a long time, maybe years, go back to your church home. If you don't have a church home think about finding one. Maybe a friend or neighbour has a church home and would take you with them if you asked.</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">If you are part of a church family and have a church home, think about those people who haven't been to their church home for a while, or a long time, maybe years. Think about those people, friends, family, co-workers, neighbours, who don't have a church home. Pray for them and invite them to your church home.</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">As Leo said, "It's almost a religious experience." In a church home, with a church family, we hear about the love of God in Jesus Christ. As we find our home in God and God's church we grow in faith and love. Come home.</div>Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-54988908236504276562010-07-12T13:17:00.000-04:002010-07-12T13:17:54.742-04:00Congrats SpainCongratulations to <em>La Roja</em>, the Spanish national football team for winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Congratulations for winning a terrible game. The ref in this one, Howard Webb of England, really ruined it. He gave out a gazillion yellow cards and just spoiled any pace that the game might have. Once the players knew he was calling it so tight they made the most of even the slightest fouls by flopping about on the grass and clutching at ankles and shins.<br />
<br />
This isn't sour grapes. I was cheering for Germany but, as I wrote in an earlier post, Spain outplayed them to get to the final. This final was just a boring game. There weren't many good chances for either team. I am glad that it ended with a goal and not with a shootout.<br />
<br />
It's also kind of a letdown that the World Cup is over. A month of soccer on TV was fun. And an international tournament with all these national teams is just so much better than a late night replay of a Toronto FC game. That's about all we get to see around here normally.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-80957729304244207442010-07-12T13:03:00.000-04:002010-07-12T13:03:11.642-04:00...about VuvuzelasI wrote this for the local paper and it appeared on Friday.<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm one of the few people I know who likes the sound of the Vuvuzela. Anyone who has been watching the World Cup soccer games from South Africa will be familiar with the buzzing, honking sound that the fans make with their plastic horns. That's the sound of the Vuvuzela.<br />
<br />
Some find it annoying or disturbing. After the first few games of the World Cup there were calls to ban the Vuvuzela. Broadcasters have tried to filter the sound somewhat. I'm glad it wasn't banned and I'm glad that I can still hear the tooting of the horns as I watch the games. The Vuvuzela is part of South Africa's soccer culture. It's a part of the fans' enthusiasm as they cheer on their favourite teams.<br />
<br />
A couple of weeks ago I attended the Eastern Synod Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. It was a convention attended by about 300 members of churches from Sault Ste. Marie to Halifax. I submitted a motion at the convention "that the Ministry Director for Worship Ministries investigate the possible liturgical and musical uses of the Vuvuzela and communicate her findings to the wider church."<br />
<br />
Okay, it was a joke, and I submitted it to inject a bit of levity into what can sometimes be pretty serious and boring business meetings. One pastor got up to propose an amendment to the motion, suggesting that it be for "outdoor" uses because if it's blown indoors the Vuvuzela can damage your hearing. He also gave a few reasons why it might be a good instrument to be used in churches.<br />
<br />
The Vuvuzela can be played by anyone so it's a very inclusive instrument and in the church we want to be inclusive and welcoming to everyone. Also, the Vuvuzela plays only one note which can be a symbol of Christian unity. You'll find all kinds of different churches throughout our city and the world. We worship in different ways and we might understand and express our relationship with God in different ways. But something we do share is our faith in Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
The Vuvuzela can be seen as a symbol of inclusiveness and unity. We sing a hymn in our church written by Marty Haugen that says:<br />
"Let us build a house where love can dwell<br />
and all can safely live,<br />
a place where saints and children tell<br />
how hearts learn to forgive.<br />
Built of hopes and dreams and visions,<br />
rock of faith and vault of grace,<br />
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:<br />
All are welcome, all are welcome,<br />
all are welcome in this place."<br />
The Good News of Jesus Christ tells us that divisions are removed. The love of Jesus can transform our lives and bring about reconciliation between ourselves and God and between each other. The divisions that would include some and exclude others are abolished by the grace of God. St. Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28).<br />
<br />
We are also united in Christ. In the Bible the letter to the Ephesian church says, "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all" (Eph 4:4-6). Our unity doesn't mean we're all the same. It means we share something in common, our faith in Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
So I'm going to try to get my hands on a Vuvuzela or two. And I'll blow it (outside) and think of how that buzzing tone reminds me of the inclusiveness and unity of our faith in Jesus Christ.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-43816317179389632062010-07-07T16:40:00.000-04:002010-07-07T16:40:01.459-04:00RatsSo much for making fun of England for getting knocked out of the World Cup finals. My team, Germany, <em>Die Mannschaft, Die DFB-Elf</em> just lost to Spain, <em>La Roja</em>. Spain deserved to win this game. They seemed to dominate the possession of the ball and just wouldn't let Germany in with any good chances. I'm disappointed. I'll have to take the German flag off my van and put in into storage until the European Championships in two years.<br />
<br />
Rats.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-37943809004030877822010-06-27T22:02:00.000-04:002010-06-27T22:02:18.618-04:00Germany beats EnglandWhat's the difference between the English soccer team and a tea bag?<br />
<br />
A tea bag stays in the cup longer.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-37427219346176109042010-06-16T10:39:00.001-04:002010-06-16T10:40:44.965-04:00Green SeasonI'm not what you would call an "outdoorsman." I take my family on a camping trip every summer but we like our conveniences. We sleep in a trailer with comfortable mattresses and even an electric heater if the nights should get cold. It's only a short walk from the trailer to the campground's washrooms and showers. We bring along a small refrigerator and a hotplate for cooking.<br />
<br />
A few years ago my kids were so disappointed and I felt like such a failure because I couldn't get a decent campfire going. Not that we needed it for cooking, just for the evening atmosphere and coziness of sitting around the fire together. Now I make use of any of the fire starters that they sell in the camp store.<br />
<br />
I'm not an outdoorsman but I like to be outdoors. I enjoy the warmer weather when we can eat dinner out on the patio, when I can while away a weekend afternoon lying in the shade of the big maple tree in our backyard. My wife is an avid gardener so our surroundings are so much more beautiful thanks to her efforts with the many plants and flowers that she tends.<br />
<br />
My favourite colour has always been blue. Just the other evening I sat staring into a clear blue sky as just a few whispy clouds floated past. But more and more I'm coming to appreciate green.<br />
<br />
Hildegard of Bingen, a twelfth-century monastic theologian and horticulturalist, spoke of God's greening power evident in summer's trees laden with growing fruit, the birth of a child, the Eucharistic bread and wine; the planet, humanity and Christ united in a trinity of living, breathing, potent life. God's greatest desire, she suggested, was to bring "green-ness" to all things that could readily fall into graceless aridity and barrenness. To say the least, summer was—for this medieval nun—a time marked by the natural grace of warmth and growth. The gardener in many of us might agree.<br />
<br />
The summer isn't all perfect. The sometimes stifling heat and sometimes increased levels of smog can be hard on people's breathing. It's hard for those who can't afford air conditioning or don't have money for vacations to find some respite from the heat. Summer also brings hurricane season to the south Atlantic and tornado season to the Midwest.<br />
<br />
In Lutheran theology we often talk about tension and paradox, about two "words" required to proclaim truth. We are saint <em>and</em> sinner. Creation is good <em>and</em> fallen. The Word of God is law <em>and</em> gospel. Jesus is human <em>and</em> divine. It would seem appropriate to recognize that we need two "words" to speak the full truth of the summer season as well. We give thanks for the growth and greening of nature <em>and</em> we plead for mercy when some find it a struggle just to survive.<br />
<br />
During this "green" season we can grow in faith as we hear the stories of Jesus' ministry, his daily life and teaching that comfort <em>and </em>challenge. We hear stories of God's favour for the lowly—a widow's only son, a woman called a sinner, a man possessed by demons, people on the margins of life who received new life through Jesus. We also hear stories about the difficulty of discipleship, about disciples who can't follow Jesus wholeheartedly and turn back and about the disciples sent out with the reminder that they may be accepted or rejected.<br />
<br />
May our faith be nurtured, may it grow, may it bear fruit as we live in the tensions and paradoxes of life. And may God bless us all.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-18953098349344095362010-05-14T11:33:00.000-04:002010-05-14T11:33:57.288-04:00...about forgivenessI wrote this for the local paper and it was in today's edition.<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the few things that various world religions have in common is the idea of sin. It may not be expressed with that term but most religions would describe some ideal for life and would agree that humans don’t live up to that ideal. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam believe that sin creates a barrier between humans and God. Relationship is broken and somehow people need to be saved and have a relationship with God restored.<br />
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How that happens differs between religions. Even within a religion there can be different beliefs as to how this restoration can take place. I’m no expert on other religions and I can’t even claim to be totally versed on the subtle differences within Christianity. But I feel pretty safe in saying that a common belief in all branches of Christianity is a belief in God’s forgiveness.<br />
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I remember when I was still a seminary student on my internship. I was teaching a confirmation class, a group of twelve and thirteen year olds who weren’t all that interested in what I had to say to them. I asked, “What does God do when we mess up?” and I don’t think most of them even heard me ask the question. Most of the time I didn’t even expect an attempt at an answer but from the noise made by the boys horsing around one of the girls piped up with an answer. She wasn’t all that sure of herself so the answer sounded more like a question. She said, “Forgives(?)”<br />
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She was absolutely right. What does God do when we mess up? What does God do with our sin? What does God do to restore our broken relationship? God forgives. The Bible says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn’t in our hearts. But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away” (1 John 1:8-9).<br />
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Not only does God forgive us, we are also commanded to forgive others. In the prayer Jesus taught to his disciples we pray, “Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others” (Matthew 6:12). There was also a time when one of Jesus’ disciples asked just how often he should forgive. “‘How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?’ Jesus answered: ‘Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!’” (Matthew 18:21-22). Jesus wasn’t just giving him a higher number, he was telling him to stop keeping score. Just forgive!<br />
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I don’t think we realize the power of forgiveness. The word has become kind of bland. It has become a “Yeah, whatever. No sweat. Just don’t do it again.” But the concept of forgiveness in the Bible is a life-changing thing. It’s a creative act. New life springs from forgiveness. “Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together” (Colossians 3:13-14).<br />
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That can be hard for some of us to take. Some things might be easier to forgive than others. Some things might seem totally unforgivable. In 2006 a gunman took hostage and then shot and killed five young girls before taking his own life in an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania. One would think that such an evil act would be unforgivable but the families, the parents of those children, forgave the killer. Those who know about Amish life and culture and faith explained that their willingness to forgive does not undo the tragedy or pardon the wrong, but rather constitutes a first step toward a future that is more hopeful.<br />
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There’s an important point in there. Forgiveness does not say the action was not wrong. Forgiveness does not dismiss the fact that evil exists and happens. Forgiveness does not mean there are no consequences. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to right the wrongs we have done. Forgiveness allows for reconciliation and a future that is more hopeful.<br />
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Recently there has been frequent attention in the media to sinful actions in parts of the Christian Church. The alleged sins of certain members of the clergy were kept quiet, or ignored, or overlooked. These acts were evil, perpetrated by people who held positions of power and trust against the innocent and vulnerable. Does that mean those actions are unforgivable? No. Does that mean those actions should not be punished? No. The consequences of sin remain and certain punishments are required by law.<br />
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But forgiveness of our sins is a foundation of the Christian faith. We confess it in our worship when we confess our faith by reciting the creeds of the church. The heart of the Christian message of salvation is reconciliation. “God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace” (2 Corinthians 5:19). <br />
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We are made right with God and given new life, a life and future that are hopeful, by God’s grace and mercy. Our actions will have consequences and may deserve punishment. Relationships become broken. But by God’s grace relationships can be mended. Reconciliation can take place. Forgiveness can lead to new life and a future with hope.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-84097225032580374172010-04-06T16:48:00.000-04:002010-04-06T16:48:45.965-04:00Post-Easter PostIt's something, how a dreary and rainy day can change your mood. Or maybe it's just a letdown after the emotion of Easter. What a weekend!<br />
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You go through such a range of emotion through the Three Days. The Maundy Thursday liturgy includes the laying on of hands with individual absolution which always kind of gets me. The words I say are <strong><em>"In obedience to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins."</em></strong> It's entirely biblical and it's right and good to do this but I kind of feel, like, Wow! <strong><em>I</em></strong> forgive you all your sins(?) <br />
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Then there's the foot washing. I don't wash the whole congregation's feet or even a representative twelve. I ask one person ahead of time if they'll allow me to wash their feet. Again, it's moving. I take off my chasuble and stole while the person takes his/her shoes and socks off and I kneel down and take one foot at a time, pour water over it, and dry it. Then I get myself dressed again while s/he puts socks and shoes back on. I kind of have a sense of embarassment, certainly humility, so that it's hard even to look up into the person's face.<br />
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Then we share the Lord's Supper which isn't really anything out of the ordinary. After that we strip the altar and worship space. The way we do it, I pick up the various items and paraments all around the chancel and any altar guild members who is present comes forward to receive them and take them out of the sanctuary. Our organist normally chants Psalm 22 <em>a capella</em> and I sit down until he is done and then leave in silence.<br />
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I've tried more and more to remind myself and others that Good Friday is not necessarily a sad or somber occasion, just a subdued or austere day. It is, after all the "triumph of the cross" that we proclaim and celebrate. We read the passion from John's Gospel in which Jesus does not suffer, does not cry out, does not feel foresaken by God. It is, after all, called "Good" Friday. Our organist chose ELWorship 350 as the Hymn of the Day. <em>"They crucified my Lord, and he never said a mumbalin' word; not a word, not a word, not a word."</em> I normally like something like "Ah, Holy Jesus" or "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" but the African American spiritual was very fitting. We prayed the bidding prayer, and did the procession of the cross. I always mean to get a more substantial cross. The one we have, that was here before I came here, is made out of 2 x 3s and looks nothing like something on which anyone could be crucified. Then I read the solemn reproaches to which we responded each time with the <em>Trisagion</em> (ELWorship 161) by Mark Mummert. Then we sang 803, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" and then left in silence after reverencing the cross.<br />
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We don't do an Easter Vigil service. We did the first few years I was here together with the Anglican Church. I enjoyed the service but I honestly don't miss it. The weekend is so full anyway.<br />
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But we do worship at dawn (or slightly after). We have a sunrise service on Easter Sunday out at our cemetery. I proposed it for my first Easter here and the Worship Committee said, "You can do it, but I don't know who's going to come." That first year (2003) 28 people came and since then it has become a tradition that many people don't want to miss. This year we were 61 gathered there. We start at 7 a.m. so the sun had been up for a little less than half and hour. We bring a table and I bake bread on Saturday and we have Holy Communion together.<br />
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After that service we come back home and our kids search around the living and dining rooms to see what the Easter Bunny left them. Then at 9 a.m. we go to the church for breakfast. Then we have worship in the church at 10:30 a.m. It's amazing what a difference the registration on the organ and the bright tunes of the Easter hymns will do to change the mood from Thursday and Friday's services. And the alleluias just lift my spirit after having disappeared all during Lent. We changed to setting 1 of the liturgy from ELWorship and the canticle of praise "This is the feast..." is just awesome in my opinion. The alleluia in the third verse goes up to a high E-flat so that you can pretty much shout it out. We ended with 382, "Christ Is Risen! Alleluia!" which has been transposed in ELWorship so that the refrain only goes up to an E-flat instead of an F as it did in LBW, but it's still a joyful noise.<br />
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Yesterday was a day of rest. We slept in. We rented some movies (Sherlock Holmes, Planet 51, Blindside) and just vegged on the couch in front of the TV. After a four day weekend the kids weren't eager to go to bed and see the weekend end. Then today we woke up to a grey sky and showers through the day.<br />
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But it's still Easter. I've got to try to remember that. Maybe I have to go home and greet the family with "Alleluia! Christ is risen!" to get myself and all of us back into that frame of mind. As I look outside there are crocuses and daffodils blooming, and the first tulip. The grass is really green. I don't know if it was like this a week ago. New light is streaming. <em>Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden! Il est vraiment ressuscite! Alethos Aneste! </em><strong>He is risen indeed! Alleluia!</strong>Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-72968461477909428012010-04-03T11:11:00.000-04:002010-04-03T11:11:03.683-04:00Easter GospelThe previous post made mention of my uncle who has cancer. When he was diagnosed last fall he was told he might have 11 months to live. The past few weeks had been looking pretty grim as the tumor was affecting his ability to eat and drink so he wasn't getting any nourishment and getting weak and thin. He had intestinal surgery to relieve the problem he was having and the surgeon thinks that now he could possibly have up to 2 or 3 years. He also said that a positive attitude can have a remarkable effect on the length and quality of life he has left. I don't know if the surgeon is aware of the effect that faith and prayer is having and will have on my uncles life as well.<br />
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This news has just lifted my spirits so dramatically. When I heard this news yesterday it was just like, WOW!<br />
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Happy Easter.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-57522660233603581642010-03-31T11:03:00.002-04:002010-03-31T11:32:32.555-04:00Holy WeekIt's Holy Week, the most sacred time of the church year, when we remember Jesus' sacrifice of his life, celebrate Christ's life-giving passion, our Passover with Christ from darkness to light, from bondage to freedom, from death to life.<br />
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Holy Week. Maybe Hectic Week or Harried Week would be more appropriate for clergy. Yesterday was the birthday of one of my daughters. We went out for dinner and the restaurant she chose was over an hour's drive away. I was happy to take her there. I think we fall just short of spoiling our kids and a birthday should be special. But my wife asked a few times if something was wrong because I was very quiet and didn't seem to be into the birthday celebration. I said maybe I was just tired.<br />
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Now that I look back on it, and consider how I'm feeling today as well, I think maybe I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed about how busy this week will be. In addition to four sermons to write (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter 7 a.m., Easter 10:30 a.m.) there are a whole lot of logistics that I have to try to remember. Ask someone if they'll let me wash their feet on Thursday evening. Get the cross out of the basement for Good Friday. Arrange for everything we'll need out at the cemetery for the sunrise service. Bake bread for the Easter services and maybe for Thursday as well. Did I mention four sermons to write?<br />
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When I finally get to the worship services, assuming everything has been remembered and/or has fallen into place, I do get into the moment and they can be moving and they do mean something for my faith. But by the time I sit down to Easter lunch I'm exhausted. As much as I liked the Easter Vigil service the first few years I was here I don't miss it since we haven't done it for a few years now.<br />
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As exhausting as this week can be I wouldn't want to miss it. I actually look forward to it. I grew up going to all the services in Holy Week and I can't understand the people who miss any of them. Liturgists will tell you that the worship services of the Three Days are all of one piece. There's no blessing at the end of the Maundy Thursday services because it continues on Good Friday. We leave in silence on Good Friday, again without a blessing, because we conclude our observance on Easter when the bells will ring again and the organist will pull out all the stops and blast us up out of our seats (<em>Auferstehung</em>).<br />
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I have an uncle who is dying of cancer. I visited him last week and he says he's ready to die. He's my godfather and a faithful Christian man. He may have a few months left. His doctors are doing what they can to give him more time and to give his life as much quality as they can in the time he has left. Tears are shed in our family as we think of losing him. His birthday (I believe 72) will be on Good Friday. This week is what our faith is all about. "'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 15.54-56).<br />
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So, maybe once in a while, for the sake of our faith, I'll be exhausted by the celebration of our Lord's Passover. Now back to writing sermons. Blessed Holy Week and Happy Easter.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-3472087443238988782010-03-22T15:22:00.001-04:002010-03-22T15:24:18.092-04:00Holy Week ConcertI sing in a chamber choir called <em>Choralis Camerata</em> made up of singers from the Niagara Region. This weekend we're performing twice:<br />
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<div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Choralis Camerata</span></em></strong></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: x-small;">with the</span></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Ensemble Camerata</em></strong></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: x-small;">presents</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: large;"><em>Vivaldi—"Gloria"</em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: large;"><em>Stainer—"Crucifixion"<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></em></span><br />
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Saturday, March 27 — 7:30 p.m.</div><div align="center">Lundy's Lane United Church, 5825 Lowell Ave., Niagara Falls</div><div align="center">Sunday, March 28 — 2:30 p.m.</div><div align="center">First Grantham United Church, 415 Linwell Rd., St. Catharines</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Soloists:</div><div align="center">Soprano: Jennifer McKillop; Alto: Vicki St. Pierre; <br />
Tenor: David Holler; Bass: Dane Wendell</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Adults $25; Seniors $22</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It's been fun learning these pieces and I imagine they'll sound beautiful. And they'll be a wonderful meditation on the events we'll be observing and commemorating in the coming weeks. If you're in the area and wish to attend you can get tickets at the door.</div></div>Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-23051077020263009392010-03-10T16:42:00.000-05:002010-03-10T16:42:50.251-05:00...about languageI wrote this for our local paper. It should appear on Friday.<br />
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In last week's federal throne speech, the governor general made mention of the government considering a change to some words in our national anthem. There were a few reactions to the proposal.<br />
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Some jumped on it as another instance of political correctness gone too far. Some welcomed the debate or discussion in an effort to make a symbol of our nation more inclusive. Some thought it was a red herring thrown in by the government to deflect some attention from other more delicate and possibly embarrassing issues. If that was the intention then I think it worked for a time because it resulted in numerous news stories and editorials.<br />
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It got me to thinking about language, and the power or language. A song by the Police back in the '80s had a line that went <em>"Poets, priests and politicians / Have words to thank for their positions."</em> But it's more than that, everything depends on our language and how we're able to communicate things.<br />
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I found early in my career as a pastor that the way I say things is very important because if I'm not clear then people can take things in the wrong way, take them in a way that I never intended. I think we all learn at one time or another, in one situation or another, that you have to be careful what you say and how you say it.<br />
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In the case of our national anthem, some people take issue with the line <em>"True patriot love in all thy sons command."</em> In the original English words, written in 1908, that line said <em>"True patriot love thou dost in us command."</em> Those words are more inclusive, but nobody talks like that anymore. Language changes over time. The use of "sons" to refer to all Canadians and the use of "man" to refer to all of humankind regardless of gender was at one time commonplace and implicit. It's not strictly the case anymore. Language changes over time.<br />
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In the church there are often objections to newer, more modern translations of the Bible. The King James Version was produced in the year 1611 and portions of that version are well known, not only in church but in society. That version has a very poetic and majestic quality to it. But people don't talk that way anymore and language has changed over the past 400 years.<br />
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Some words have just gone out of use. Who would know that <em>'gins'</em> actually means <em>'traps'</em> or <em>'wist'</em> actually means <em>'knew'</em>? Other words have changed their meaning like <em>'carriage'</em> which sounds like something that would be drawn by horses but used to mean <em>'baggage.'</em> Or <em>'prevent'</em> which sounds like you're keeping something from happening but which used to mean <em>'precede.'</em><br />
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Similarly, the word <em>'men'</em> used to be used to refer to all people whether male or female and for many people it still does so they don't see a problem in using it that way (though not when it's a sign on a door). But for more and more people the word <em>'men'</em> refers specifically and only to males and it's not a matter of them being stubborn and refusing to let the word refer to all people, it's a matter of language changing.<br />
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Now, in the case of changing a lyric in <em>O Canada</em> maybe the timing of this latest proposal is suspect. But I disagree with people who say it's a non-issue. For them it might be a non-issue but for some it is an issue about how they know and see themselves. We can't discard the issue by saying "oh, they're just words." Words have power. The childhood saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is just wrong. Words have the power to hurt and words have the power to heal.<br />
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Just think about the effects on someone who repeatedly hears things like: "you're worthless," "you're ugly," "you're stupid," "nobody loves you," "you disgust me." And then think about the effect on someone who gets to hear things like: "I love you," "you have a beautiful smile," "I'm proud of you," "well done," "I'm blessed to know you." They're not just words. They can be weapons used against the soul and they can be an ointment to soothe the soul.<br />
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In the church we believe that words can work miracles. <em>"Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).</em> We believe that hearing the Good News about Jesus Christ produces faith and faith is what makes us right with God. Words matter. Words have power. Words heal the soul and give life.<br />
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May we all use words carefully, respectfully, and honourably. And may the way we use our words show love for all of our <em>hu</em>man family.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-13038512500337059252010-02-11T10:22:00.000-05:002010-02-11T10:22:31.015-05:00God's ValentineThis certainly isn't original from me. It's one of those things that circulates from time to time, especially at this time of the year. I'm using it in my children's chat this Sunday and giving a copy to each of the kids, cut out in a heart shape and glued on a red construction paper heart.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">For God so lo<span style="color: red;">V</span>ed the world</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;"> that he g<span style="color: red;">A</span>ve</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;"> his on<span style="color: red;">L</span>y Son,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;"> so that ev<span style="color: red;">E</span>ryone who</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;"> believes i<span style="color: red;">N</span> him</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;"> may no<span style="color: red;">T</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;"> per<span style="color: red;">I</span>sh but may</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;"> have eter<span style="color: red;">N</span>al</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New;"> lif<span style="color: red;">E</span>.</span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Courier New;"> John 3:16</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Valentine's Day this Sunday.</span>Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-81806573691095888312010-01-20T11:59:00.000-05:002010-01-20T11:59:24.619-05:00Why God?When a tragedy like last week's earthquake and today's large aftershock in Haiti happens people invariably as how God could let something like that happen. This is not a refutation of Pat Robertson's drivel. I don't think his statements deserve any attention. But I was thinking about God letting something like this happen.<br />
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The first thing I thought about was, just how much would we appreciate God's intervention in our lives? Do we really want God to stop every poor choice we make? Is some mysterious force supposed to prevent humans from settling in any part of the world that might be prone to a natural disaster? What natural forces would we expect God to prevent? We don't even know how tectonic movements, volcanic activity, and weather phenomena act together with countless other natural forces to keep our world merrily spinning and humming and working.<br />
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Then, specifically with Haiti, what exactly is God responsible for in the current situation? How much less severe would the devastation and loss of life be if the people of Haiti hadn't suffered from decades of deplorable government under dictators and other incompetent rule? How many of the buildings that collapsed might have survived, saving hundreds or thousands of lives, if better building codes and practices would have been in effect and in place? How would the lives of the people in Haiti be better if their plight and poverty hadn't been ignored for so long by those in the world who are so much more fortunate?<br />
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And if God is supposed to take the blame for this tragedy, does he receive the credit for all the lives that weren't lost? Does God receive the credit for the help that is now on the way to save lives and help rebuild and give the people of Haiti a new start?<br />
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So, where is God in all this?<br />
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Well, if we look for God then we have to look to the cross. It's on the cross where God meets us. God makes himself present hidden in weakness, vulnerable, suffering, forsaken, dying. Because of Jesus we see God weeping where there is pain and alienation, rejoicing where there is wholeness and love. In Jesus God has entered the darkness of our existence to gather us into his reign of wholeness, unity, and peace.<br />
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If the world was ignoring the plight of the people of Haiti at this time it would be a double tragedy. I believe the heart of God breaks as the people of Haiti suffer and die and mourn. I also believe that the heart of God rejoices as so many around the world unite in this effort to show our love, compassion, concern, and help to that country at this time.<br />
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There are many worthy organizations helping in the relief efforts at this time. One that I hold up and support is Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) who are combining their efforts and resources with other churches in the organization Action by Churches Together (ACT) to provide relief and rehabilitation in Haiti. The Canadian government is matching donations made by individual Canadians by February 12, 2010. Contributions to the Haiti appeal may be made in the following ways:<br />
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1. Online at www.clwr.org/donate. In the process of completing the form, you will come across a pull-down menu that allows you to designate a specific project. Choose Haiti Earthquake.<br />
2. By calling CLWR's toll-free number: 1.800.661.2597. If you do not need to use a toll-free line or are calling locally from the Winnipeg area, you can reach CLWR at 204.694.5602.<br />
3. By sending a cheque made payable to CLWR to: CLWR, 302-393 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 3H6. Please indicate in your correspondence that you wish to contribute to the Haiti Earthquake Appeal.<br />
4. Through ELCIC and LCC congregations by giving an offering designated to the Haiti Earthquake appeal.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-14320150973450303512010-01-12T17:02:00.002-05:002010-01-12T17:02:50.063-05:00...about my alarm clockI've been thinking about getting back into the swing of things. The holidays are over which leaves me in a somewhat melancholy mood. <br />
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Even though I might sometimes decry the commercialism of the season something about the decorations in the stores, even when they go up right after Hallowe'en, got me into the spirit of Christmas. <br />
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The season brought with it the obligation to get together with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and all of the rest of the relations, but I looked forward to that. <br />
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For me, a pastor, the season brought with it some extra work and extra worship services and extra sermons to preach, but I enjoyed that.<br />
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And then there were the presents. I enjoyed going out or going online to shop, to try to think of something that my wife or my kids would like to find under the tree. And even though I'm 43 years old, I still enjoy getting presents the way I did when I was seven.<br />
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As much as we, in the church, like to emphasize that the Christmas season doesn't end on December 25 it still feels that way. We left the tree and the decorations and the poinsettias to decorate the church, we even sang Christmas carols on the two Sundays after Christmas, because the twelve days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day and run into January. <br />
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But for some reason it didn't feel like Christmas anymore. The TV channels stopped playing Christmas specials and movies. The radio stopped playing Christmas music. And somehow I wasn't able to maintain that Christmas spirit in my own heart and mind.<br />
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Then the kids went back to school this week, I had to start setting my alarm again in the mornings and getting up earlier than I ever did the past two weeks. It's back to the old routine. It's kind of a drag.<br />
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But then I remembered a song that I haven't heard in many years. As a kid I had a Sesame Street Christmas record. It's certainly not a religious song but I think it can have religious significance. It's called "Keep Christmas with You All Through the Year." The message of Christmas is that God became one of us and came to be with us. <br />
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And that Sesame Street song is significant because that Christmas miracle is not something that happens on one night of the year or for twelve days of the year or even for one month a year. It's not a message that only rings true as long as there's a fir tree standing in your living room or as long as Christmas carols play on the radio.<br />
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We believe that Christ comes among us whenever his followers gather to worship. We believe that Christ comes among us whenever we hear his word proclaimed. We believe that Christ comes among us whenever we share in his holy meal. We believe that Christ comes among us whenever we show love to our neighbours.<br />
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So I'll look forward to hearing those carols again next December. And I'll try to remember that the miracle of Christmas, of God coming to be with us and among us, happens all year long. But I don't have to enjoy getting up with the alarm again.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-51019910205718893262010-01-01T00:47:00.000-05:002010-01-01T00:47:12.521-05:00Happy 2010Happy New Year!!!<br />
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We went down to the canal to see the fireworks at midnight. I expected a bigger crowd but the people who showed up got a good show. It was a 10 minute fireworks show and really impressive.<br />
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I hope 2010 is a better year than 2009. Last year wasn't all bad. There was the trip to New York in February and the trip to Florida including M & Rs wedding in September/October. <br />
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But there were some really sad diagnoses in the extended family. I presided at the funeral of a soldier killed in Afghanistan. I wish the damned war would end. Just the day before yesterday four more Canadian soldiers and a newspaper reporter were killed. I'm sick of it.<br />
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I've got a good life and a great family, there's just a lot of crap going on in the world. Here's hoping 2010 will have more good news. God bless us, everyone.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-27090080970807070802009-12-21T15:49:00.002-05:002009-12-21T15:53:52.402-05:00The Reason for the SeasonI wrote this for our church newsletter that went out last week.<br /><br /><br />I’m sure we’ve probably all heard the saying that <strong><em>“Jesus is the reason for the season.”</em></strong> It’s a nice sentiment I guess, but sometimes I wonder what’s behind it. Lately I think some Christians have been getting a little defensive over what has been happening to “our” holiday. <br /><br />I don’t see it a lot anymore but I remember when I was younger people got upset over the use of Xmas and the popular saying was “Put Christ back in Christmas.” (Actually X is the first letter of Christ in Greek but the people using Xmas probably didn’t know that.) More recently there has been a backlash over what people call “political correctness” and Christian people get upset over the use of “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings” in place of “Merry Christmas.”<br /><br />I certainly wish people a Merry Christmas at this time of year but I don’t get upset if someone wishes me Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings. And there are some people, perhaps relatively few but some, who celebrate other holidays during this season or who might have no celebrations at all.<br /><br />I don’t feel threatened. So far there’s no law that says I can’t put up a <em>Christmas</em> tree in my home and call it a <em>Christmas</em> tree. Nothing says I can’t come to church on Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of Christ, my Saviour and Lord. If the schools shy away from an overt observance of Christ’s birth there’s nothing stopping me from teaching my children the true message and reason for the season.<br /><br />And speaking of <em>the reason for the season</em> as my title says, what is the reason for the season? As I said at the outset, the saying goes that <em>Jesus is the reason for the season</em> but is that really the case? I once caught my children off guard when I suggested that Christmas is really all about presents. They tried to argue with me, giving the expected Sunday School or Children’s Chat answer that Christmas is really about the birth of Jesus.<br /><br />I couldn’t really fault them. Their answer was correct. But I think I was right too. Christmas is all about presents. What is the greatest gift that we’ve been given? It’s the life and salvation we have in Jesus Christ. God loved this mixed up and messed up world so much that he gave his only Son, “so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Christmas is about the greatest gift. <br /><br />And the reason for the season is <strong>US</strong>. God sent his Son for <strong>YOU</strong> and for <strong>ME</strong>. But not only for us who call ourselves Christians. Jesus came for the ones who replace Christ with an X. Jesus came for the ones who celebrate Hanukkah. Jesus came for the ones who celebrate Kwanzaa instead of or in addition to Christmas. Jesus came for the ones being politically correct by wishing you Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings.<br /><br />Jesus came and showed us the love of God. So, this Christmas season, rather than becoming angry or defensive when someone wishes us Happy Holidays let us show love to our neighbours. Let us be open and invite family, friends, neighbours, and even strangers to know the love of Jesus that came down as the greatest gift of all.<br /><br />May your Holidays be Happy, your Greetings Seasoned, and most of all your Christmas be Merry.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-8348473906334372472009-12-08T15:11:00.002-05:002009-12-08T15:35:37.906-05:00MessiahThis past fall I joined a choir. I've been singing with our little church choir for seven years and with my previous church choir for probably about 20 years before that. This year I joined a chamber choir called <em><a href="http://choralisniagara.com/">Choralis Camerata</a></em> which is Latin for chamber choir.<br /><br />It has been fun. It's more challenging than our church choir. There are something like 35 or 36 voices in this choir. I brought the number of tenors up to five. Our first concerts took place this past weekend. We performed Handel's <em>Messiah</em>. It was tough but it was fun. The orchestra that accompanied us was the <em>Niagara-on-the-Lake Sinfonia.</em><br /><br />The tenor parts that I'm used to singing with our church choir generally go up to an E, occasionally to an F and on rare occasions up to a G. In <em>Messiah</em> there are probably six to eight places where I had to hit an A. I managed it the first few times but when it got to the <em>Amen</em> chorus at the end of the piece and we were supposed to hit the A eight bars from the end or the entire oratorio I couldn't do it except by going <em>falsetto.</em><br /><em></em><br />We performed <em>Messiah</em> three times. On Friday, December 4 we were at St. Mark's Anglican Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake. On Saturday, December 5 we were at First Grantham United Church in St. Catharines. On Sunday, December 6 we were at St. Alexander's Roman Catholic Church in Fonthill. Three very different spaces. I felt like our best performance was on Saturday, at least I think my best singing happened then. People raved about us. I think we got the most smiles from our conductor on Saturday. And all three concerts were, if not SRO, at least full. There were no big gaps or spaces in the pews.<br /><br />Many of the choristers were singing <em>Messiah</em> for at least the second time, some even more. It was my first time and I have to confess that I wasn't prepared enough. I should have practiced a lot more and known the pieces better. I was counting and reading way too much and making mistakes too often. This choir performs <em>Messiah</em> every two years so if I stick with them that long I'll do a lot better the next time around.<br /><br />But it was still fun, and very moving. If you don't know Handel's <em>Messiah</em>, it's about Jesus. The text is completely from the Bible, starting with Old Testament prophecy that has come to be associated with Jesus, through to his birth, death, resurrection, and then praises to our Lord and King from the book of Revelation. If you've never heard anything else from <em>Messiah</em> you've certainly heard the Hallelujah chorus.<br /><br />Our next concerts will be in February when we will sing some Gospel/Spiritual pieces in observance of Black History Month. I can't wait to sing some more.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680658.post-62222250835887033362009-11-29T22:22:00.004-05:002009-11-29T22:36:44.745-05:00Where's Baby Jesus?Well, this morning in church the absolutely sweetest thing ever happened. I'll never forget it.<br /><br />A little girl, maybe around 4 years old, has been coming to church with her grandmother for 3 or 4 weeks now. I baptized her a few years ago, I'll be baptizing her baby brother on the Sunday after Christmas. As I was making my announcements before the service started she made her way up the aisle and when I was finished she was standing in front of me and asked "Where's Baby Jesus?" I said he'd be coming in a few weeks, meaning when we decorate the church for Christmas and get out the ceramic nativity. I thought later, what a perfect question. I don't know if her question was that profound but how many people do come to church looking to find Jesus? And in our scripture readings, hymns, sermons, and meal, do they find him?<br /><br />Well, that wasn't the sweetest thing yet. A few minutes later, after singing the gathering hymn, lighting the first candle on the Advent wreath, praying a prayer of blessing and the prayer of the day, I sat down on the chancel steps and called the children forward. The same little girl sat right in front of me, maybe four feet away from me. I was trying to talk to them about today's gospel reading, about being prepared, ready, anticipating, expecting the coming of Jesus and how we might find him in some very ordinary everyday things. I used examples of doing something nice for a friend, sticking up for someone on the playground when they're being picked on, or the love we get from our parents when they hug us, kiss us, and tuck us into bed. In those ordinary instances, I said God is there.<br /><br />While I'm talking she keeps whispering, *pastor,* *pastor.* I tried to ignore her and finish my talk, figuring I'd see what she wants when I'm done, before I send them off to Sunday School. Well, she wouldn't be ignored and all of a sudden she was standing in front of me. So I stopped and asked what she wanted and she leaned in and kissed me on the forehead. Everyone who could see couldn't help but say "Awwwwww!" I was so touched, so flabberghasted, I lost my place, must have blushed profusely, it was so totally unexpected. When I got back to what I was talking about I said that in just that kind of action, God is there and if we're on the lookout then we'll notice God's presence in loving acts.<br /><br />I haven't been able to forget that moment. All day long it has come back to mind. It was a wonderful, unexpected, sweet and touching moment that I'll really never forget.Tom in Ontariohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12154434042794825551noreply@blogger.com0