(Ir)Reverend Ramblings

We are well into February. Ah, February the home month of Groundhog Day, Chinese New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Family Day, Leap Year Day (every fourth year, of course) and MY BIRTHDAY! February is a favourite month of mine not just because it is my birth month but because all other days seems overshadowed by Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day, when stores and schools and community halls become awash with the colours of pink and red and violet.

The very mention of Valentine’s Day suggests love so I have decided that February should be love month and I have been thinking about love. Not the boy-meets-girl-lives-happily-ever-after-love but the deep love that shapes us so that we reach out to others with kindness and care for our community. The kind of love Jesus spoke of when he said, “Love God. Love your neighbour.” The kind of transformative love that leads us, or pushes us, to do things for others that might be outside of our comfort zone.

As Christians we often describe our actions and behaviour as shaped by Christ. We see Jesus as our role model and example. February is a good time of year to think about God’s love for us. The mystery and wonder of God’s love that seems to never wane, even when we live within the silence of God. Richard Rohr wrote, “God does not love you because you are good; God love you because God is good.” I have been reflecting on that lately. We do not deserve God’s love. Nonetheless God loves us, loves us in spite of ourselves. That is something to celebrate in Love Month!

Do you ever, in those maudlin or worried moments, find yourself asking, “What is the purpose of all this?” It is a natural rhythm of life to feel the ups and downs of moods and when we are in the downs (and sometimes the ups) we fall into the questioning of what life is all about and what is our role in living life well.

A few years ago Pastor Rick Warren, wrote the book The Purpose Driven Life and the book sat on the top of several best-sellers lists and sold millions of copies. People were excited about finding purpose in their life which seems to imply there was a thirst for this.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet and a champion of individualism, wrote, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

And I would have to agree. Purpose comes from being useful and making a difference in the lives of those around you.

Emerson implies that it does not have to be big. Purpose comes from being compassionate, and from being honourable. Of course this could happen in big ways on the world stage or it could happen by helping a neighbour, offering a drive, sharing some food, supporting a charity.

The people that surround me, people that I would describe as people with a sense of purpose, are people who see beyond themselves, who value others and extend a hand of generosity, generosity of spirit as well as resources. We can find the “meaning of life” by looking beyond ourselves and taking others needs and desires to heart.

Have a great weekend and live it with purpose.

Ever have one of those days? A day that seems littered with mistakes from morning to night? I am still recovering! A hasty word spoken in anger. An oversight and consequent hurt feelings. An assumption leading to a misunderstanding. An out-and-out mistake that required back-peddling and an apology. Phew – mistakes aplenty. Some days are like that but it got me to thinking about mistakes and what grace there might be in them.

For me, mistakes can lead to forgiveness; forgiveness of myself and forgiveness of others. Mistakes can mean a deepening of spirit as one considers how to self-improve, how to slow down, how to apologise, how to be better next time.

Making mistakes can also mean you are trying something new, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. And that is something to celebrate.

The Bible is filled with characters who made mistakes. Some acted with poor judgement, some who consciously chose a path that could have led to no-return (think Jonah or the ‘prodigal’ son); but, for most, even in their bad choices, God found a way to work good and to bring wholeness.

So, dear readers, as the year turns from the first month to the second I wish for you mistakes. Mistakes made with a genuine heart that wishes to improve, mistakes made that will lead you to a deeper sense of God in your life. Mistakes made but redeemed and filled with grace.

Many Canadians seek “escape” at this time of year by heading to places where the sun is bright and the temperatures are warm. Me, I like winter! I am blessed to live in an area of the country where snow comes and stays (although this year it was slow in coming and we had a couple of false before it settled in to look like read winter).

Yesterday I had to drive north of town for a meeting in a rural community hall. For local readers I was driving up #4 – that is the extension of our main street through town. The road slices across wetlands and winds through rock-cuts and at every turn offers up awe-inspiring scenes of natural beauty. Recently we had snow, followed by rain, followed by snow. The result is that the branches of the tree are piled with snow and small drifts cling everywhere. I arrived to the meeting a bit late and I explained my tardiness by telling the others that the scenery was so stunningly beautiful I just had to drive slowly and appreciate it. All agreed and I was forgiven!

At this time of year I often like to muse over a hymn that we don’t sing often but when we do I call it the cross-country ski hymn. It speaks of the quiet majesty of winter. Enjoy the words to this hymn written by Frances Whitmarsh Wile in 1911.
All beautiful the march of days, as seasons come and go
The hand that shaped the rose has wrought the crystal of the snow,
has sent the silvery frost of heaven, the flowing waters sealed,
and laid a silent loveliness on hill and wood and field.

O’er white expanses sparkling pure the radiant morn unfolds
the solemn splendours of the night burn brighter through the cold,
life mounts in every throbbing vein, love deepens round the hearth,
and clearer sounds the angel hymn, good will to all on earth.

It is awards season. The Golden Globes and The People’s Choice have happened and the nominations for the Oscar’s, the big one and the original one, have now been announced. I used to love to watch the Oscar’s but I have become quite jaded to all these awards shows. It has deteriorated so that it seems it is more about rich celebrities promoting designers and the awards really go to the movies who have the biggest promotional budgets. Okay, I admitted I am jaded.

But, once in a while something good happens at these gala self-congratulatory spectacles that makes me feel like there is hope .

At the People’s Choice Awards this year Ellen DeGeneres was given the Favourite Humanitarian Award for her notable charitable work. In her acceptance speech she said, “It’s a little strange to actually get an award for being nice and generous and kind which is what we’re all supposed to do with one another. That’s the point of being human.”

Yes, that is the point of being human and how wonderful to have someone, someone with influence in the celebrity circuit, to name it. Someone else said something along those lines once. It went something like, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” He was a pretty special guy too.

I am reluctant to go home today. I have been in my office for all of the day and I am certainly ready for a change of scene but I loathe going home. You see today is Epiphany, the end of the Christmas season. The 12 Days are over and it is time to face the undecorating. Our stalwart balsam fir tree that has stood regally in the corner of the living room for three weeks must be unceremoniously stripped of its baubles and beads and carted out to the back door to await the trip to its final resting place. The garlands need to be packed away for another year. No more twinkling lights and Christmas carols.

In my sermon last Sunday I acknowledged that I do like to hang on to the season for as long as possible. Here at the church, for a few reasons we have delayed celebrating Epiphany until next Sunday. I am still playing Christmas CD’s and I have yet to write my thank you notes but even I must admit to myself it is time. Time to celebrate Epiphany.

The Season of Epiphany, the time that stretches from today to Ash Wednesday, is a season symbolized by light and insight and wisdom. It is a time to be like the ‘Wise Ones’ who followed the star searching for God. That is what Epiphany is – a time of light and discovery.

So dear readers -what will be your insightful wise epiphany this year? Where will the light of God lead you? How will wisdom reveal itself?

One of the songs we sing at Epiphany, written by Jim Strathdee, has as its first verse:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the Kings and the shepherds have found their way home,
The work of Christmas is begun.

So what is the work of Christmas that you will pursue? I am pretty sure that in the pursuing of it you will likely gain wisdom.

In his first message of the year, Pope Francis did not back away from one of the greatest challenges facing the world. Speaking to the faithful who had gathered in St. Peter’s Square he spoke of peace, and the need within our world to “overcome indifference and win peace”.

His statement was not a broad ‘somebody has to do something’ kind of statement he, as Pope Francis does so often, brought it down to the you and me level. He said, “The enemy of peace is not merely war but also indifference that makes one think only of oneself and creates barriers, suspicions, fears and closure.” He went on to say that peace needs to be cultivated and won beginning with the “spiritual struggle that starts within our hearts.”

Pope Francis brings to the Vatican a heart for the poor and dispossessed. In a recent sermon he spoke against the “arrogance of the powerful that demeans the weak, relegating them to the most squalid outskirts of our world.” Strong words. And he followed them by speaking to the refugee crisis that face many around our globe when he said, “We are witnessing hordes of men, women and children fleeing war, hunger and persecution, ready to risk their lives simply to encounter respect for their fundamental rights.”

According to the International Organization for Migration more that one million refugees entered Europe in the year 2015 travelling by sea and land. The Pope referred to this as a “torrent of misery”.

Most of all I loved when he spoke of the need to be reborn in saying, “let ourselves be reborn, to overcome the indifference which blocks solidarity and to leave behind the false neutrality which prevents sharing.” False neutrality – what a powerful phrase. All I can say to that is “Go, Pope Francis, go – we need to hear your strong and powerful words as we begin this New Year.”

I am not giving up on humanity yet, I believe that the majority of the population do want to overcome indifference if it could lead to peace. Who would not wish for their children and grandchildren to grow in peace? In 2016, may it be so.

Yes, yes, I do – make New Year’s resolutions that is. Sometimes I even keep them past the end of January! As the New Year begins and 2016 stretches out as a blank canvas I put my mind to anticipating what blessings and struggles it may bring me.

My resolutions are both simple and challenging this year. First – the simple one, I am going to wear colourful socks. For years now I have gone with black or gray socks to match my predominantly gray and black wardrobe. This year, look out – I have bought myself some jazzy socks in brilliant colours and I am going to break free of the dark and dour, well, at least in footwear. Now, my second resolution is not so easy. I resolve to let go of resentment. This is something that has snuck up on me in the last couple of years. I find myself nursing grudges, holding on to negative thoughts, and feeling resentful about things that happen and things that get said. I am not going to let my attitude become a scorekeeper of wrongs done to me.

I also liked this wording I found as I scrolled around on Facebook (now if I was serious about my resolutions I should resolve to give up Facebook … maybe next year). I think this statement is both encouraging and inspiring and if I stick to it could bring about a change in my attitude for 2016.
Work for a cause not applause,
Live life to express not to impress,
don’t strive to make your presence noticed
just make your absence felt.

Have you made resolutions? Does this feel like a time to start some new good habits?
Will the clarity of a new year give you a fresh start?

Tonight the words of Scotsman Robbie Burns, “Auld Lang Syne” will be sung in many homes, halls and gathering places. The poem, written in 1788, originally a song sung on Hogmanay in Scotland has spread around the world as the Scots have emigrated across the globe. The poem lends a wistful air as he considers days gone by and old times. Now, sung on New Year’s Eve the New Year’s Even anthem calls us to remember the past and anticipate the future. It is often sung while revellers hold hands as a token of friendship (Or to hold each other up?!?!?) A lesser known verse begins, “Here’s a hand my trusty friend. Give me a hand of thine.”

Today might seem like just another day but it is a day that hangs as a hinge and on it 2015 ends and 2016 begins. In the last couple of days several people have said, “Can you believe it is 2016 already?” Those readers who remember the excitement, and the trauma, when we began the new millennium in 2000 are scratching their heads wondering how the last 16 years have passed so quickly. In truth, each day begins with the opportunity to serve, to share, to explore, to celebrate, to be thankful. What we chose to do with each day is, in many ways, our choice.

I hope this ‘hinge day’ is one on which you can look back to the year passed with a measure of gratitude and that you can look to 2016 with an anticipation of good things.

May your New Year be blessed with good tidings. Tonight, join hands with those you are with and remember the moment because the moments pass so quickly.

As you look to 2016 may it be a year when the Spirit will guide you, prod you, cajole you, hold you, comfort you, inspire you, and transform you.

Happy New Year.