What’s Next?

This morning when I was thinking about what to reflect on in this week’s edition, what came to mind was a program on CBC T.V. that I watched when I was quite young―perhaps I was 10 years old so; perhaps a little older or a little younger.  In any case, the details are rather fuzzy.  The thing I remember about the program was the ending.  The protagonist (I don’t think it would be appropriate to call him the hero) was determined to catch some people who had been behaving in an improper way (I don’t remember the particular issue but it was not something seriously bad).  They were using an escape route to avoid the authorities.  The protagonist thought he had them where he wanted them.  He was waiting for them at the other end of this escape route.  However, they became aware of the trap that had been set up and went another way.  The programs ended with the protagonist waiting for them to fall into him trap.  The audience knew what he didn’t; they would not be caught; at least not this time. 

I believe that this was etched in my memory as my father, who was a great fan of the CBC (as I am), declared that this was the difference between good ‘Canadian” drama and the programs you see on American TV where everything was wrapped up in a nice neat bow.  It was left to the imagination of the audience to decide what would happen next. 

This came to mind partly because of the Gospel reading from yesterday, John 18:33-37. It turned out that the Gospel passage in the missal (the book of scripture readings and collects) ended before it should have.  In the passage, Jesus is before Pilot and being questioned by him about what kind of a king Jesus was (we were celebrating Christ the King Sunday).  The passage ends with the phrase, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”  However, due to an editing error, the passage in the book ended after ‘testify’.  In effect the passage read, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify”. 

The question is then, “what is it that Jesus testifies to?”  I think that would be different for each of us.  What is Jesus testifying to in your life?  Perhaps if you are an atheist, it is just that he was a wise man and a good story teller.  If you are a Muslim, you would believe that he is a prophet.  However, if you are a Christian and believes that he is the only anointed son of God the Father, or some part of that belief, what is it that Jesus testifies to you in your life.

It is good to have open ended questions.  They don’t provide definite answers which can either be accepted of rejected.  It leaves it up to the individual to decide what it means for them as at this time in their life.  It will certainly change and be different at different points in your life; it certainly has been for me and continues to be.  That is why I particularly like the original ending of the Gospel of Mark.  The oldest manuscripts of the Gospel end a Mark 16:8, “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

The open-ended story is what each of us is living.  It opens us to possibilities that each day brings.  Sometimes they will fill us with terror and amazement and sometimes they will open the door to new possibilities.  What will Jesus testify to you today?

Blessings on your journey.

Apocalypse Now?

When I was younger, which is a long time ago, I was very taken and attracted to science fiction books and movies.  One sub genre which particularly grabbed me was the stories where there had been a disaster, either man made or natural, in which civilization was destroyed and the survivors were trying to, well survive, and hopefully build a new world out of the old.  I imagine this genre had a title, however, I am not aware of the official one.  Today I am inclined to call it apocalyptic. 

There have been many movies made in this genre including such well known ones as the Mad Max series.  In those there not initially much hope for a better world to rise out of the old.  It centered on the struggles of the hero to survive.  By the way these movies introduced Mel Gibson to north American audiences.  I’m not sure but I think I recall that his voice had to be dubbed as his Australian accent was to thick for North Americans to understand; however, I may be wrong on that.   However, in the end of that series there was a new world being born. 

This genre of story has been around a long time. One of the oldest that comes to mind is the Time Machine by H.G. Wells in which the future world that the hero travels to is split into the innocent Eloi who lived above ground in an apparent idyllic existence.  However, as it turned out, they were just fodder for the evil Morlocks who lived underground.  The splitting of the human psyche behind the story was dramatically portrayed in the Victorian era by the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which dealt with the split on an individual basis rather than a societal one.  The splitting of the human psyche was also dramatically portrayed in modern culture by Mary Shelly in her story Frankenstein.   That myth of hubris of science gone wrong has captured the imagination of the modern world ever since and have been repeated in many forms since.  There is at the heart of the human psyche a belief that we are comprised of both good and evil.  The question is which part will win.

This walk down memory lane of apocalyptic stories and movies was sparked by the Gospel reading for Sunday past; Mark 13:1-8.  In the passage, Jesus foretells the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.  This part of Mark is often referred to as the Little Apocalypse.  Like the Great Apocalypse foretold by John in Revelation, it announced a coming age which will bring the destruction and collapse of everything that the people knew.  One source I consulted had these characteristics of apocalyptic literature:

Present time is one of suffering

Why? The people are faithful in the midst of an evil world

Future: rewards for the patient and faithful righteous, and suffering for the unrighteous will eventually happen (usually in a different or recreated world)

In effect the old-world order was coming to an end―a cataclysmic end, but a new world would rise from the ashes of the old one.  Jesus was speaking of the end to the rule of a world ruled by the powers of this world and the establishment of God’s Kingdom.  We are waiting for Jesus to return and God’s Kingdom to be established.  The question for us today is, “what do we do in the meantime?”

What then, can the destruction of the Temple hold for us?  We know from psychology that it often takes a crisis in people’s lives to open up the possibility of radical change.  AA tells us that until the alcoholic hits bottom, he or she is not going to embrace the principles that mean turning away from the demons that enslave them.  They have to give up the illusion that they can do it them thorough their sheer will power.  It is human to want to hold on to our belief that we are in control and our lives can carry on with possibly making a few changes around the edges.  That is not what the Little or Great Apocalypse tells us.  Our old way of being must be torn down to allow the new to come into our being.

One impending apocalypse is global warming.  If nothing is done except making small changes around the edges, we are facing an apocalypse literally of biblical proportions.  This will probably mean that the world will be facing the destruction of at least our way of life if not our civilization and a large part of the physical world.  Are we to fiddle around the edges as Rome burns?  Recycling is good but it is basically just fiddling around the edges of the challenge. 

What we are facing, then, is a bit of a paradox.  Are we to wait for the foundations to be destroyed by some crisis.  Are we to wait until we hit rock bottom and end up collectively or individually face down in the proverbial gutter or experience near death so that we can become the people that Jesus Christ calls us to be?  I certainly don’t want that to happen to me and hope it will not happen to any of you.  What are we to do then?  We are called to take steps to live out the commandment of Jesus to love one another as he loves us.  Loving one another includes all of God’s creation which, of course, includes the world.  We do this knowing that it is a challenge for all Christians. 

We will not succeed fully every time or perhaps fail miserably some times.  However, we can have the intention of living that life and will make a conscious effort to live that way.  Fortunately, we are also offered forgiveness by Jesus Christ when we do not succeed.  When we fall into sin; and it is when and not if, we can repent and try again, and again, and again.  We are called to live in hope.  So let’s do that and not despair.

The Bells of Peace

Yesterday marked the one hundredth anniversary of the armistice that ended World War 1, the Great War to end all wars.  To mark the occasion The Royal Canadian Legion in conjunction with Veterans Affairs was sponsoring the Bells of Peace.  As noted on the Legion website:

Bells of Peace marks the occasion 100 years ago, when church bells across Canada rang out to share the news: the First World War was over. As the sun goes down, a bell or bells will be rung 100 times at community locations across the country to honour the sacrifices of Canadians who served in the 1914-1918 War, and to remembers the horrors of war, the costs to society, and the promise of peace.

As bells toll to remember the 650,000 who served, close to 66,000 killed, and more than 172,000 wounded, many communities will also commemorate the local people and events that link their community to the Great War. A soundwave of bells across the nation will help tell a historical journey of Canada's service and sacrifice during the First World War.

At my home church, St. James Anglican Church, Parkhill, a group of us gathered at 5:00 pm yesterday and rang the church bell 100 times (there may have been a few extra for good measure as the count was a bit unclear at the end).  I am gratified that this endeavour was named the Bells of Peace as it is important that when we remember the sacrifices made by so many in that War to end Wars, and in so many wars and conflicts since then, that we not only honour those who sacrificed in so many different ways but also the hope and promise of peace that was embraced by so many at that time. 

As the Chaplain to Branch 341 of the Royal Canadian Legion, at the service at the cenotaph at 11:00, I read the honour role of those who gave their lives in that war was well as WW2 and the Korean War from this area.  I am grateful that no name has been added to the honour role since the Korean War.  It is important to also remember the sacrifices made by all who have served since then in so many conflicts which continue to this day.  The latest conflict involving Canadians is the Peacekeeping effort tin Mali in which a contingent of 250 Canadian soldiers are engaged in what is described as ‘complex’.  In today’s sometimes confusing political climate peacekeeping has devolved in more peacemaking that keeping.

Since the end of conflict one hundred years ago the reality of war we have become more aware of the consequences for those who have served.  Those who were involved in war zones can suffer significant and lasting serious negative impacts on their mental health as well as the physical which are often easier to see.  What was known as shell shock in WW1 is now recognized as PTSD.  The consequences on these conditions and others like it and the impact it continues to have on the veterans and their families is now much more appreciated.  It is important that the sacrifice and suffering by all who have served and continue to serve is not forgotten of diminished. 

A week ago, Lorna saw the wonderful play, Come From Away, which tells the true events of the people who were passengers commercial air planes on 9-11 and were diverted to Gander NFLD as air space over the United States was shut down.  The story of one woman particularly stood out for me.  Her son was a fire fighter in New York and she spent the time grounded in Gander trying without success to find out if he was safe. 

The anxiety and fear she experienced during those six days were dramatically presented with great force.  It was not until later that she was informed that he had died as a first responder in the Twin Towers.  I share this account not to diminish in any way the ultimate sacrifice of those who we honour today.  It is to recognize the sacrifice made by so many in so many different circumstances which should also be honoured and remembered.  It is also to recognize and honour the sacrifices by those who loved the ones who made the sacrifices.

We, who follow the Prince of Peace, are called to pray and to work for peace in this world where that often seem to be a dream and hope which is receding in the distance.   I will close with the prayer that I prayed at when we gathered to ring the Bell of Peace at St. James, the Prayer of St. Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

Be Careful For Nothing

Last weekend – actually Friday and Saturday, Lorna and I adventured into the urban wilderness of Toronto.  We traveled by VIA rail going business class which, I discovered, is well worth the extra cost.  You and pampered and plied with drinks and good food and all in all was a very pleasant experience.

We were in Toronto primarily to see ‘Come From Away’ which is the dramatization of true events when planes were diverted to the small community of Gander Newfoundland on 9-11.  Gander is a small community with, ironically and opportunistically, a large now much unused airport.  We also had a visit with family which made the experience extra pleasant.  I found Come From Away to be a wonderfully moving experience.  It made the story of those unintended refugees in commercial airlines, which most of the world heard about at the time, come alive and gave, what was to me a true experience of the challenges and triumphs of the people involved in dealing with a completely unexpected experience.  There were, unbelievably, about nine thousand passengers and crews for planes from many different countries which were diverted to the airport in Gander NFLD which had a population of a similar number.  The magnitude of the challenge was very dramatically represented in the play. 

The drama and anxiety and boredom of those passengers who had no idea what was happening as they landed in an unknown land and sat on the tarmac for up to twenty-eight hours without being told what was happening was made crystal clear to the audience.  The challenge of a relatively small community to meet the demands of the situation and response by the Newfoundlanders who are legendary for their hospitality made it also crystal clear that those planes were in the best place in the world.  A larger centre such as Toronto might have had more resources to respond to the emergency but the warmth and welcome and ingenuity of the Newfoundlanders could not have been duplicated elsewhere. 

One scene which stood out for me was the response to the challenge of the many different languages spoken by the refugees.  It could have been a scene out of the Tower of Babel.  However, those people had something the people of Babel didn’t.   The initial response was a true epiphany as one of the residents realized that many of the people had bibles in their languages and was inspired to find a verse which would help in availing their fears.  It was Philippians 4:6-8.  In the play it was translated “Be anxious for nothing.”  I prefer the translation from the King James version, “Be careful for nothing”.  The whole verse sums up the beauty of the response:

⁶ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

In this case I must concede that “anxious” was more appropriate in the circumstances. 

There was much for those refugees to be anxious and afraid about.  Some of these things were lived out as revealed in the play but in the end the care and hospitality and, yes, love shown by the Newfoundlanders and the response by the refugees gave the truth to the wisdom of Julian of Norwich, “all shall be well and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

I cannot help be compare the welcome received by those refugees on 9-11 to the fear that is being Trumped up (pun intended) in response to the ‘caravan’ of refugees currently making its way o the southern border of the United States.  I will close with a quoted from a source that I often turn to, the lyrics for Leonard Cohen which seem to be an appropriate response:

I saw Jesus on the cross on a hill called Calvary
"do you hate mankind for what they done to you? "
He said, "talk of love not hate, things to do - it's getting late.
I've so little time and I'm only passing through."

Passing through, passing through.
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue,
Glad that I ran into you.
Tell the people that we all are passing through.

Let our response to the refugees in our lives be one of love and not hate.  Time does seem to be short and it seems to be getting late these days. 

Blessings on your journey.