(Ir)Reverend Ramblings

Tonight, in Istanbul, 30 weary Canadians have the memories of a very busy first day swirling in their minds. Our pilgrimage to Turkey began Thursday night when we met up in the departure lounge in Toronto. After a 10 hour flight, followed by three hours getting visas, checking through customs, collecting luggage and then meeting our guide, we were able to settle into our hotel in downtown Istanbul.

Today the touring began in earnest – such sites, with a wonderful rich history, both cultural and religious. We saw the Blue Mosque, so named because of the blue mosaics that cover its walls and ceiling. Then it was off to Hagia Sophia, the “Church of Wisdom”. We walked through the Hippodrome – the racetrack of the 2nd century, and wandered through the ancient underground cistern. Our final stop of the day was Topkapi Palace – now a museum, this is where the Sultans lived and the palace also served as the seat of government for 400 years.

It was a lot to take in, given that we are all a bit jet-lagged and overwhelmed with all the new sights and sounds. But it was a great day.

As we had been told, the Turkish people are very friendly and gracious and, yes, Turkish cuisine is interesting and different, which is to say,the food is delicious. Oh, and I should mention the tulips are blooming and every park we walked through today was filled with the fragrance of hyacinths – such a divine scent.

Our brains have had to go into over-drive sorting out progression of history from the Byzantine Empire to the Ottoman Empire and the shift from the important role Constantinople played in the establishment of Constantinople (now Istanbul) as a Christian centre to its current status with over 90% of the poplulation being Muslim. With its population of 17 million Istanbul is a thriving, cosmopolitan city.

Travel is such a great educator, not only for the sites and history we learn as we travel but also from the experience of enjoying it with fellow travellers. Our group of 30 come from all across Southern Ontario and at each mealtime there is a buzz of conversation as they get to know one another better and share their experiences of the day.

All being well, I will update as often as possible so that you can enjoy this journey with me.

The grim and not unexpected news came yesterday. The Malaysian government announced that there are no survivors of Flight 370. Today, people is Beijing stormed the Malaysian embassy saying they refuse to believe the news. There is no proof. There has been not one scrap of evidence of the downed plane. No bodies, no debris, nothing. It just disappeared. It is hard to believe that a plane, carrying 239 people, could just disappear into thin air. At the same time it is impossible to think that those 239 people are still alive having had no contact and no information that would support such a hope.

The news reports have left me thinking about the disbelief that comes with sudden and unexpected tragedy. The people simply cannot accept that their loved ones are gone.

Yesterday I went to the Funeral Home with a family as they said good-bye to their loved one who had died after a long illness. His cancer had left him with pain and diminished strength and ability. They had cared for him and nursed him in his illness until he had to go to Hospice where they stayed with him almost non-stop. Yesterday it was important for them to see his body. As they looked at him they spoke so lovingly that he looked at peace and that he was no longer suffering pain. I offered a blessing of the body and they told me how meaningful it was to hear those words, giving thanks for his physical body and then entrusting his soul to God. They told me that at the Hospice, when he died they opened the window of the room so that his soul could fly away. This very action made them feel a sense of healing. He was free.

While we know that our body is a temporary home, it seems that at death we need to see the body, touch the body, and say good bye to the body of our loved one. It is what has connected us. We are human, we are physical, but we are mortal.

My heart aches for those people who lost family and friends in Flight 370. They will not get the chance to see their loved one, and it makes the death so hard to accept. It has made me realize how limited our mind is in understanding the continuum of life and death. And how important hope is at such a time of grief.

The Canadian flag that has flown in Afghanistan for over a decade was lowered and packed for home this week. I thought about writing a post mid-week but I needed to sit with it a bit. I am not sure what to make of the quagmire that is Afghanistan nor what to think of the role Canada played in it.

When it was decided that Canada would send troops I was optimistic that we could make a difference. I argued with friends that we could not sit by and do nothing. Now I am not so convinced that what we did was right. The Canadian effort in Afghanistan resulted in over 150 Canadians killed, many wounded and who knows how many dealing with demons for the rest of their lives. And then there is the whole discussion about how to best care for and support the troops now that they are home (and the poor job our government is doing!). As well, long-term stability and peace in Afghanistan is unlikely at best. The Taliban has its grip on so many aspects of that country that I think it likely that once the foreign troops pull out the country will just regress to deep turmoil and oppression.

Should we have done anything? Should we have done nothing? Does war ever solve the problem? If so, is it worth the cost? These are the questions I have been reflecting on this week. Jesus said a lot about making peace and seeking justice. What do you think he might have said about the war in Afghanistan?

Here’s to the women who have shaped my life and influenced me. Here’s to the women who continue to struggle against enormous odds to raise their children, lead their communities, spread compassion, and bring joy to life. Here’s to the women who never stop even when they are tired and discouraged. Here’s to the women who teach, heal, mentor, praise, inspire, encourage, and work for justice. Here’s to the women in the arts, the women in the justice system, the women in education, the women in medicine, the women in politics, the women in the church. Here’s to women everywhere on this Internation Women’s Day.

Last evening a congregation of ten sat in the sanctuary. Ten people came to include worship on their Ash Wednesday. Ten people came forward to be marked with the ashes of last year’s palm branches. Ten people took the piece of bread and dipped it into the chalice of juice. Ten people sat quietly and confessed their sins as the season of Lent began.

The Ash Wednesday service is my favourite service of the year. It is quiet and reflective. It has ritual and symbolism. It connects me to my faith in a very tangible way. It addresses the messy business of sin, confession and the wonderful grace of forgiveness and starting again.

In her wonderful book of poetry, Kneeling in Jerusalem Ann Weems has a poem called, simply, Lent. It begins with these words,
Lent is a time to take the time
to let the power of our faith story take hold of us,
a time to let the events
get up and walk around in us,
a time to intensify
our living unto Christ, …

How beautiful it is to know we have forty days to take the time for the story to take hold of us. Blessings on your Lenten journey.

We all know that death is part of life. As a friend put it, “We all all one breath away from death from the moment of our birth.” Sometimes death comes as welcome relief when a person is old and ailing. My friend’s elderly mother, who lived to nearly 100, would lament that she thought God had forgotten her. But death is an enemy when it comes unexpectedly to one young and vibrant. That was our experience this week.

I was shocked last Sunday night when I got an email from a young woman in our congregation saying that a young member of our congregation had died. I asked how she knew, she read it on FaceBook. It was dreadful news.

Jessica was an amazing young woman – 19 years old – but mature beyond her years. I met her about five years ago when she started coming to our church with her dad. She got involved in some of the youth activities and took confirmation class and was confirmed in 2010. She had a ready smile, a cloud of golden curls framed her face, and her petite frame was a gymnast and dancer’s dream, both were activities Jessica excelled at.

At her funeral service on Thursday her parents looked shocked and bewildered that they were sitting in their daughter’s funeral service. Her sister did her best to maintain the kind of grace that Jessica would have shown. Jessica’s friend gave a tribute and spoke in a manner that I have never heard from a friend at a service. Her tribute was eloquent, touching, and ended with a testimony to her faith in God, a faith that she and Jessica shared. It was brilliant and seemed even more so coming from one so young – such maturity from so few years.

In Matthew’s gospel he has Jesus speak of the end of the age coming “like a thief in the night”. Matthew writes it as a cautionary tale encouraging the believers to always be ready to ‘meet their maker’. But this week it felt very much like death was an enemy that broke in and violated the life we knew. At times like this I am at a loss for words. How to say anything of comfort to a family experiencing such a tragic grief. I can only hope that by standing with them and sharing their pain they felt some comfort. And the reminder to all of us that God walks with us in the darkest valleys will bring strength.

Well, like many people around the world I am finding myself quite besotted with the television! I am not able to watch the live action from Sochi, the time change means that this happens on while I am at work. But on days when I am home, and in the evening, I seem to always have at least one eye on the tv screen watching what the athletes are doing.

Like others I had some apprehension about these games due to the worry about terrorism and the awareness of the discrimination towards the LGBT community. In that regard some of us wondered if we should boycott by not watching. In the end I decided that not watching would not make a difference to the treatment of those being discriminated against and that I wanted to support our athletes by cheering them on from my family room. And our athletes have done us proud!

What I have been most impressed with is the after event interviews that have happened with the athletes. Whether they have tasted victory or defeat, without exception they have been humble, grateful and generous in their praise of others. These athletes obviously have fierce determination and incredible resolve to reach the Olympic goal of faster, higher, stronger but they also are grounded in who they are as citizens of Canada and members of the global community.

This Sunday at church we will be talking about the Olympics. I have been reflecting all week on how the Olympic activity connects to our faith. What do our beliefs have to do with this gathering of the world? For me the links are dedication, commitment and gratitude. In the Christian faith we talk a lot about Jesus giving all in his role as servant. We celebrate that Jesus was so fully dedicated to his calling that he died to prove his love. And he did it with humility. I will never be an athlete, unless reading and movie watching becomes an Olympic sport, but I will do my very best to keep faith no matter what.

Well, any of you who know me know that birthday’s are big in my view. I think birthdays should be well celebrated and I make sure people know when my birthday is coming up so that I am guaranteed lots of greetings. As I say each year – if you don’t advertise you don’t receive! It is frivolous and fun and, yes, I admit, pretty self-centered! My birthday came and went on Monday and I was spoiled with lots of cards and emails and phone calls…and I loved it.

Now it is time for some truth-telling. This year I have noticed something different in my birthday season. Those readers who are younger will not understand what I am writing about. Those of you who are older might nod sagely or you might just say …”just wait – you are just a youngster!”. I turned 59, or as my beloved likes to put it – I have entered my 60th year. And something about life has shifted. The best way I can think to describe it is that for the first portion of life we spend it on growing up, getting educated, rebelling, carving a direction and then settling into adulthood. The next portion of my life I just kind of bopped along. I was an adult. I loved my vocation, I moved around as I felt called and I just enjoyed year after year. This year there has been an internal tilt. I have realized that a large portion of my life is now behind me. I am now, as one wise friend put it, “in Act Three”. It feels different. I am not sure that it means for any changes. Nothing about my day to day has changed. I just have a different perspective. It is not that I don’t like it, or that I necessarily do like it. It just is what it is.

This is a spiritual time and questioning for me. What is God calling me to do in this Third Act? How can I best live in this time of shift and change? On Sunday I preached on the Deuteronomy passage where Moses tells the people of Israel to “choose life”. What does it mean to “Choose Life” at this stage of my living? This is the questions I wrestle with and ponder and pray about as I move into Act 3!

February 14th and the world is frothing with pink and red paper hearts. Flowers fly out the florist door and chocolates pile on tables and desks.Valentine’s Day brings out the romantic – or at least the dutiful (!) – as people declare their love for one another.

For our Women’s Morning Out Valentine’s Day we read “the love passage”, chapter 13 of I Corinthians. It ends with the well known verse, “So faith hope abide these three, but the greatest of these is love.” As we spoke about the meaning of the words in this reading one woman spoke movingly about the true nature of deep love. She reminded us that it is not romance but a love that endures and deepens through life. This was the day after I officiated at a Celebration of Life for a man much loved by his family. He and his wife had celebrated 60 years of marriage in December. She spoke touchingly at the service about their devotion to each other through the years.

I am starting to prepare more intentionally for the trip I will be taking to Turkey in late March. One of the most famous Turks is Rumi, a thirteenth century poet and mystic. He has many beautiful writings and to mark Valentines Day I offer you this one.

A lover asked his beloved,
Do you love yourself more
than you love me?

The beloved replied,
I have died to myself
and I live for you.

I’ve disappeared from myself
and my attributes.
I am present only for you.

I have forgotten all my learnings,
but from knowing you
I have become a scholar.

I have lost all my strength,
but from your power
I am able.

If I love myself
I love you.
If I love you
I love myself.

Mevlana Rumi (1207 – 1273)

Ten years- that’s right, only ten years since that ubiquitous facet of our day-to-day living was developed. Facebook started ten years ago by the college upstarts who wanted a way to build a social network, or to connect with girls! It is unlikely that they had any idea that their brainchild would become a phenomenon that would change the world. And it has really changed the world. It has changed how we send messages, how we respond to people, how we announce things, how we share information, how we advertise, how we relate.

I am on Facebook and I check it daily, actually twice a day to see what “my friends” are up to. I seldom post anything. I usually just creep around and see what other people are doing! I think that Facebook is both a blessing and a curse. It does mean that I can connect with old friends, keep up with family events, and can send out greetings and photos to the masses. But it also makes me lazy as far as real conversation and relationship. I think I know what is going on with people because I read their Facebook page, but really the details are so sketchy that there is a lot of assuming going on.

As a Christian I have learned that much of my faith and in fact much of a healthy life is based on relationship. Facebook enables relationship in a techno-sort-of way but it disables relationship in a flesh and blood-sort-of-way. It has added a new dimension to how we connect which is a blessing but it will be a curse if we leave relationship to this kind of social networking. It is still important to talk to people face-to-face and to connect in a real-life heart to heart way.

Are you on Facebook? Do you think it builds relationships or diminishes them?