Wednesday, May 21, 2025

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.” (Philippians 3: 8 - 9)

                I’d like to think of ourselves as savers, not hoarders. Our adult children may be  thinking otherwise.

                They have stepped up and, on their weekends, our kids are emptying our house of all the junk and detritus in order to get us ready for our big move in June. They are sorting through 20 years of stuff that has amassed over that time. I suspect that there are boxes that came from Brantford when we moved here which were never unpacked. The kids have sorted out their old rooms and now some of our junk is their junk. Nathaniel took home a huge tub of action figures which I am sure delighted  Declan and Naomi, our grandchildren. But we really have no one to blame for the amount of junk than ourselves. Both the sunroom (now immaculately empty) and the garage became easy dumping grounds for whatever we weren’t using or didn’t need. Things pile up over 20 years and after a while I don’t think we even saw any of it anymore. The vast majority of it is worthless garbage. And we don’t need to take any of of it with us to Whitby.

                In our text, Paul is looking back on all the religious baggage that he has stored up over his lifetime up to then and   he came to the conclusion that it really wasn’t worth anything. He uses words like worthless or garbage which, when more literally translated, means something far stronger; “dog dung” is how the Message Bible translates it.  I don’t think he was saying that his life was worthless but that all that religious weight of rules, regulations, proscriptions and dogmas (i.e. the Law) were of no value in living a life in Jesus Christ. Mind you, Paul never gave up on the Law but he put it in in its proper, secondary perspective, “so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.”

                It can be very difficult to put the past behind us. We tend to have good (?) memories and we collect and hold on to all sorts of worthless stuff. We hold grudges, for example. We hang on to hurts, insults and broken promises. I know that this is not really what Paul is writing about but I think it can be applied. Sometimes, we can’t let go of old biases, prejudices, assumptions or judgments. We continue to see others in stereotypes and old paradigms. We cling to tired old religious doctrines and dogmatic labels. We fail to discard that which weighs us down, takes up room in our minds and hearts, and piles up to our detriment. There comes a time when we need to let go and let Christ free us from all that garbage. “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” (Galatians 5:1)

                When we make our move to Whitby, it will be a new start, free of all that stuff we have accumulated over the years. When we are in Christ, we let go of the past; we let go of emotional baggage; we let go of old physic and spiritual damages; we let go of failures and disappointments; we let go of Sin. It is freeing. It is liberating. It is redemptive. “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!” (2 Corinthians 5: 17)

                It may seem daunting (our move to a new home has seemed that way, at times) but  to let go and let Christ become the centre of your life offers you a whole new future, rich in possibilities and opportunities, especially to love, to do good, to fill your new space with harmony, joy, hope and love.

                Let’s make room for God’s best: “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” (Matthew 6:38)

                Where did I put that broom?

Dale

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

God, investigate my life;
    get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you;
    even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say
    before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
    then up ahead and you’re there, too—
    your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful;
I can’t take it all in! (Psalm 139: 1-6, The Message Bible)

                It would be easier to buy a house than it is to rent an apartment these days.

                The rental companies ask for deeply personal  details about our financial trustworthiness. They want proof and documentation about everything.  Credit ratings. Proof of government pensions. Copies of our house sale. Bank statements. ID authentications. We have totally opened and exposed ourselves to their scrutiny.  We have hidden nothing and they know our financial situation as well as we do, maybe better. The good news is that we passed their examination and as of June 1^st, we have a place to live in Whitby.  Whew! (I think our children were fearing that we would be living in their spare rooms and they really don’t have any.)

                ‘You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body.” (Psalm 139: 15)  That profound divine knowledge about us might make some of us squirm just  a tad or more.  I read somewhere recently that every person has about seven deep secrets about themselves which they never share with anyone. But God knows about them. Scripture tells us that God knows the numbers of hairs on our head (Luke 12:7). I expect God doesn’t actually count the hairs on our heads (surely, God has better things to do) but the text means that God knows us intimately, all  our inner thoughts, all our tendencies, our attitudes, our egos, and everything that makes you and me you and me. That includes our sins, warts and failings but, as well, our goodness, our good works, our successes and triumphs. As Adam and Eve found out from the very beginning, one cannot hide from God. “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” (Genesis 3: 10) God will always find us.  He has seen us naked, fully exposed, fully known, fully examined.

                But wait a minute. That is not as bad as it sounds. God has amazing filters in his examination of us.  God is able to sort out the bad from the good. God certainly sees our sins and shortcomings but God is also able to practice his grace upon us and protect us from ourselves with his everlasting Love. “Lord, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me. Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me. For troubles surround me - too many to count! My sins pile up so high; I can’t see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage.” (Psalm 40: 11 -12, New Living Translation)

                Just as in the parable of the Lost Sheep, God goes to the fullest lengths in order to find us and pull the brambles from our souls. “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:19) I have met many people who think that they are worthless and that God could never love them and it was hard to try to convince them otherwise. But the truth is that God gets to know us completely in order to love us just as completely. No one is out of his range of his Vision of Love or left exposed to fear, despair and separation. It is not what is on the outside; it is what is inside. “It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.” (Galatians 6: 15) God can take what we are and change what he sees, making us into someone he loves deeply and joyfully.

                “Search me, O God, and know my heart;  test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Psalm 139: 23 -24)

 

Dale

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

“You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm.” (Job 30:22, New Living Translation)

“Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind…” (Job 40:6)

             Stop the world; I want to get off.

Over the last several weeks, certainly ever since the ice storm, but even before that, it has felt that Susan and I have been living in a whirlwind of circumstances beyond our control. It seems to be one dang thing after another to weary our souls, sap our energy and even test our faith. There are, no doubt, thousands of people worse off than us by far but when one is going through one’s own personal challenges, that thought is of little comfort. I will spare you all the details but a recent example has been the sudden decision to sell our house.  We have talked about it but had really done very little to move forward. The preparation to put the house in order for selling  was daunting, to say the least. But reality reared its ugly head and it became a leading priority.

We listed a week ago this past Sunday (better the day, better the deed as my mother would say). In little more than a week, we sold the house just last night. Yikes!  We don’t even know where we will be living other than it will be an apartment, probably in Whitby where our daughter can keep an eye on us. We have to be out of here by mid-June. Double yikes!!

We are in the midst of this whirlwind and feeling just a bit overwhelmed to say the least. But sometimes you just have to put your face into the wind, trust God and move forward. I am not saying that we have to like it or enjoy it, but like Abraham and Sarah who were sent out by God into unfamiliar territory, so Susan and I are plunging into the unknown and the unfamiliar, a new chapter in our lives.  Thankfully, we have the full support and help of our family. It could be far worse. It will be interesting. I will be thankful when the dust settles.

Yet, having complained somewhat like Job, we have also discovered that God is there in the whirlwind. Even the selling of the house has God’s fingerprints on it.  We have discovered hidden resources that we didn’t know we had but came along just at the right time. God has had our backs in more ways than one.  God speaks to us out of the whirlwinds in our lives. It is still all a whirlwind but we know that we are not alone.

Of course, I cannot help but think of that stormy night on the sea of Galilee. The disciples are caught out in the storm in their small fishing boat. “But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.” (Mark 4:37) Despite the storm, Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat. The terrified disciples are aghast that Jesus is sleeping while they are in danger of drowning. They shake him awake. “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Silence! Be still!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.” (4:39)

A great calm.  That sums up my hope right now. I am waiting through the whirlwind in faith that there will be a great calm, a peace, a sanctuary, a time to catch our breath and feel safe once again after all the turmoil. “But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.” (2 Timothy 1;12) Jesus is in your and my boats, even if we feel we are going against the wind without a paddle. Jesus is nestled in our storms and upheavals and he does have the spiritual power to bring calm to our situations. It is hard, I know, (believe me, I know) to trust in that powerful Love and Mercy. But it is that or be swept away in despair, anxiety and worry.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3: 5 -6)

 

Dale

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.”  (Luke 10:36, New Living Translation)

                You know you’re pegged as a senior when the neighbours start checking up on you.

                When we suffered through the horrific ice storm a few weeks ago here in Peterborough, we discovered some very caring and helpful neighbours. We are not a chummy sort of neighbour and we have not really gotten to know many of our neighbours over all the years that  we have lived here. A friendly wave, a brief hello and that is about it. I know their dogs’ names better than I know their names.

                Yet on that horrible Sunday morning, with the hydro out, trees down and a state of emergency being announced, we encountered some very caring neighbours. First of all, a neighbour from a couple of doors down came to our door to make sure we were all right and if we needed anything. She gave us her cell number and told us to call if we needed anything. With horror, I had watched a huge limb fall off the maple tree beside our driveway, ending up across the hood of my brand new car (I only had it a month). But another neighbour stopped by to check on us and offered to remove the limb on the car after a friend of his would arrive with a chainsaw. He, too, had some trees down. Then our son-in-law, Gary, came and took us to Whitby. When we returned four days later, the tree limb was gone off the car. All of the branches, debris, limbs, etc. were piled up alongside the street curb. I discovered that a volunteer group of retired veterans were responsible for the clean-up. There is still a lot of damage left but it was incredible to have so much support. I don’t know how to thank everyone adequately.

                I have often read about how neighbours would rally in the face of some disaster but it is another thing to experience it oneself. Appreciation doesn’t begin to express our gratitude. Sometimes, you have to count on the kindness of strangers.

                Jesus believed in and affirmed the strength of good neighbourliness. When asked about which are the greatest commandments, the first was loving God but the second was also critical, “The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:31) The familiar parable of the Good Samaritan underscores the value of helping others, no matter the inconvenience, the cost, or the bother. It is often too easy to walk on by, avoid eye contact, leave it to somebody else, or be too discriminatory when we see someone who needs our help. The least likely person to help a suffering Jewish mugging victim would be a Samaritan. They were usually bitter enemies.  But Jesus had this covered, too, in his teachings. “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” (Matthew 5:43 - 44)

                Of course, if the Samaritan had just stopped and prayed for the fallen victim, that wouldn’t have been much help. Faith without the deeds to back that faith up is dead as James the epistle writer wrote. “Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?” (James 2: 14 -17, The Message Bible)

                We’re told that the Samaritan, “soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’” (Luke 10: 34 -35.) Talk about going the extra mile or giving the coat off your back.  

                Our neighbours were terrific. But they also remind me that I should always pay back their kindness by paying it forward, helping someone else, friend, stranger, alien, enemy, everyone or anyone. We are not living in a very neighbourly society these days. There is so much animosity, prejudice, selfishness and me-first attitudes. We all need to get back to the basics of loving all of our neighbours as ourselves. “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

                Go on; give your neighbour a smile and a helping hand. You’ll be glad you did.

 Dale

Wednesday, April 23, 2025 – Easter Journey: The Road Less Travelled

“That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along, they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him.” (Luke 24: 13 – 16, New Living Translation)

                 One more road. Doesn’t that always seem the way? More distance to cover. More stones in our sandals. More weariness in our steps. Walking away, trying not to look back. Trying to cover the distance between then and now, here and there.  One more road – feet aching, hearts breaking, home still far off. One step at a time. Anywhere but there. One more road…

                So it was as the two disciples trekked to Emmaus after the Crucifixion. As they talked about the what-ifs, maybes, failure of the Jesus movement, all now seemed lost because of Jesus’ death on the cross. It was time to go home, to go back to their ordinary lives, to shake off the dust of Jerusalem and resume their lives. Heavy-hearted, disappointed,  shocked, discouraged, confused, they took the frequently travelled road to home, back in Emmaus. There was nothing left for them in Jerusalem, anymore.

                It would appear that the resurrected reality of Jesus Christ was elusive. Mary Magdalene didn’t recognize him in the Garden. These two had no inkling who it was now walking with them. It is hard to say why God would want to keep such a marvellous thing so mysterious so as not to be immediately recognized. But sometimes, we need to be prepared before we can fully understand and appreciate the Resurrected Lord. Resurrection defies the imagination, transforms our sense of reality and rationality, re-invents history and the past. So we need to be taught, informed, brought to our new senses slowly, helped to see a new path. “Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (24: 27)

                But sometimes, words and scripture, alone, still leave us a step away from recognition. “As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” (24: 30 -31) It is in the familiar, physical interaction with Jesus that we recognize him. It is in the relationship with a living Lord that we see him for who he is. It is when he feeds us, nurtures us, cares for us, and interacts with us that we comprehend that a New Story is beginning and we are in it. The road less travelled is one of faith, joy, assurance and hope.

                Because of their experience, the two disciples change direction. This, too, is the power of the Resurrected Lord. They head back to Jerusalem with their Good news. The city they were running away from becomes their destination because the Lord had appeared to them.  The Resurrected Jesus empowers us to face our fears, our worries, our failures, our discouragement, our doubts and confusion. We can be emboldened to walk back to where once there had been a cross, death and a tomb and now walk by a whole new light. “And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, who said, ‘The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.’” (24:33)

                One of the great lines of scripture comes from Paul who was recounting the appearances of the Resurrected Jesus in 1 Corinthians, first Peter, then the other disciples, then a crowd of 500 people, them James and the apostles and then Paul wrote: “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” (1 Corinthians 15: 8, New Revised Standard Version) May Jesus appear to each and every one of us, whatever road we are on, whatever detour we have taken, whatever we are trying to run away from, whatever direction we are being pulled.  Jesus walks with us, whether we know it or not. He is right there beside us, ready to reveal himself and show us the way.

             I walked today where Jesus walked,
             In days of long ago.
             I wandered down each path He knew,
            Those little lanes, they have not changed,
            A sweet peace fills the air.
            I walked today where Jesus walked…

            I walked today where Jesus walked,
           And felt Him close to me.

Dale

Wednesday, April 16, 2025 - Holy Week
                The Lenten Journey - The Road Less Travelled

"All of them deserted him and fled." Mark 14:50, New Revised Standard Version)

        Many years ago, I recall watching a documentary on one of the mega churches in the United States. It was bulging at the seams at several of their Sunday worship services. It was revealed  that the church's policy was not to preach or teach about the Cross to new comers or seekers as the leaders feared that such a horrific story would be a turn-off or a deterrent to them in their faith walk. They wanted to keep things more spiritually positive and uplifting than scare them off with the story of Jesus' terrible death. It was not that they didn't affirm the forgiveness of sin through Jesus' Crucifixion but it was a story for more mature Christians.

     There is something indeed awful about the story of Holy Week (as well as awe-ful), especially  Good Friday. "But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten  so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." (Isaiah 53:5, New Living Translation) This is a challenging story for any of us, despite its familiarity and even though we know the ultimate outcome - the Resurrection.

        It is indeed tempting to avert our eyes, to be like the disciples who absented themselves from the actual day of the Crucifixion and who, in fact, fled and abandoned Jesus at the first opportunity when the going got tough and risky. There is a host of Christians  who will avoid Good Friday services and then show up on Easter Sunday. There are those who are aghast that God would resort to allowing the death of his only son, even to save humankind. This is a strange, disturbing story, full of betrayal, denial, failure, lies and brutality, ending up in Jesus' execution, nailed on a Roman Cross. At first glance, there is nothing "Good" about  Good Friday.

It would be only human to want to turn our backs on such a grizzly scene and flee. Perhaps, it is so that we are not accused  of being a troublemaker or associated with his man, to avoid the same fate. Perhaps, like Peter once did, we think that this is an absurd plan for the Messiah and want no part of it, especially when it seems to be going so badly. Perhaps, it shatters our hopes and instills fear and doubt in our hearts. The disciples could not see past the immediate moment of Jesus' arrest, sensing only that it was going to end badly and they fled for their lives. In the face of Jesus'  Crucifixion, what do you want to do? Don't run to Easter Sunday until you face how you react to Good Friday, The two are inseparable.

A couple of verses later than our text, we read how one follower, (scholarship thinks it may have been Mark himself), was grabbed by the mob as he fled. He broke away from them by unrobing and we're told that he "ran away naked" (Mark 14:52) The story of Holy week leaves us exposed to the painful reality of our humanity. Remember Adam's words to God, "I heard you (God) walking in the garden, so I hid because I was naked." (Genesis 3:10) It reveals our sinful pride and our lostness and faithlessness. It reminds us that we are not perfect by a long shot. It lays bare our weaknesses and frailties. That is tough news to take, to face head on,  to accept. we run and hide.

But there is indeed Good News in the Crucifixion if we are willing to watch, learn and experience it fully. "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned but he died for sinners  to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit." (1Peter 3:18)  every sinful thing we have ever done, said our even thought, however morally we have failed, every hurt we have caused others, every time we have tripped up, fled away or bared our fears, Christ takes to the Cross, nails our transgressions with him, and gives us a whole new opportunity to take the road less travelled - not one of  fear and shame but the road of trust, faith and discipleship.

"The message of the cross is foolish to those headed or destruction. But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Dale

Wednesday, April 9, 2025 – Lent Six

                The Lenten Journey: The Road less Travelled

 “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51, New Revised Standard version)

            No one ever really wants to face, head-on, the risks, perils and upsets in life. This is not to say there are no remarkable tales of courage, tenacity and perseverance in the face of calamity and tragedy. It can be amazing how some people respond to hard times and difficult situations. Regardless, I know there have been times when I have wilted under difficult circumstances. I wanted to flee and escape what was ahead. I prayed for rescue or relief or some intervention that would take the problems away. I wanted to avoid what was wrong. I wanted to pull the covers over my head and pretend that all was well with my world.

But it wasn’t going well. The problems weren’t vanishing despite my earnest prayers and pleas. One of the biblical verses which has always challenged me comes from Corinthians: “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 13:10) I have tried to hang on to that promise as best I can, both for myself and in my pastoral care of others. But sometimes, it is easier to slip into the painfully honest language of the Psalms: “O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?” (Psalm 13:1)

In the horrid circumstances  which  awaited Jesus in the days ahead, Jesus "set his face to go to Jerusalem.” It is not like that he wasn’t aware of what was going to happen there. “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies.” (Luke 9: 44) He understood the types of betrayal, anguish, suffering and demeaning death he would experience. Even so, he sets his sights on the road ahead to Jerusalem and that destiny.

It has never struck me that Jesus had a martyr complex. We hear his anguished prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death…. My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.” (Matthew 26: 38, 39) We hear his cry from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46) It leads me to believe that Jesus experienced fear and trepidation about the road less travelled to Jerusalem. Nevertheless, he set his face to go to Jerusalem, to walk ahead on this road which God has mapped out for him: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Those are tough words in the face of threats, obstacles and hard challenges or even death itself. Sometimes, we may think that Jesus knew the final results (Resurrection) and that somehow made it more palatable or easier to undertake this journey to death. But that would make Jesus less than fully human. Yes, he had indomitable courage but he also demonstrated his vulnerable humanity in very real ways.

“Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death.  It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed.” (Hebrews 2: 14- 18, The Message Bible)

         Jesus identifies fully with our human nature so we may identify with him in his ultimate act of sacrifice on our behalf. It is this relationship between Jesus and us that becomes “the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”  His courage, his strength, his endurance, his obedience, his perseverance, his vulnerability are passed on to us through the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t take away our pain, suffering and hardship but it redeems us in the midst of them. It promises us that there is more yet in this story than pain and suffering. “But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:33)

                Whatever the road that you are currently on, know this: “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8) 

Dale