Let Christmas Bells Ring

The bells have been ringing out this Christmas despite the Pandemic shutdown that has loomed over us in Ontario and other parts of Canada – and much of the world.  The Bishop of Huron Diocese decided to closedown face-to-face worship on the Sunday before Christmas.  However, we were still able to ring the church bells (or in the case of St. James, Parkhill bell) on Christmas Eve at 6;30 and Christmas Day at noon as requested by Archbishop Linda Nichols, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.  The Christmas Day bell ringing can be seen on the St. James Anglican Church Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/St-James-Anglican-Church-Parkhill-114562600251874.  We had a simple liturgy with the opening sentence and collect for Christmas Day from the Book of Alternative Services:

Sentence
I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the
people; for to you is born this day a Saviour, Christ the Lord.
Luke 2.10–11
Collect
Almighty God,
you wonderfully created
and yet more wonderfully restored our human nature.
May we share the divine life of your Son Jesus Christ,
who humbled himself to share our humanity,
and now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

This was followed by the ringing of the church bell to celebrate the birth of Jesus in lowly estate in the stable in Bethlehem.  The ringing of church bells has been part of the tradition of worship and is used to mark occasions both joyous such as Christmas Day and weddings as well as those more solemn occasions such as the tolling of bells at funerals.  I listened to a program on C.B.C. radio recently (I’m not sure which one) that told of the foundry in Italy that has been making bells for a thousand years.  It has been owned and run by the same family for all that time.  Anglicans are often accused of being focused on our traditions but you can’t get much more traditional than that – it is truly amazing.  The bells forged by this foundry can be found all over the world.  The reporter for this story advised that she was reporting from Rome and noted that there are over one thousand churches in Rome.  Consequently, the sound of bells being rung can be almost defining at times. 

Our single bell at St. James church makes only a small but perhaps not significant sound compared with that.  However, there were thousands of bells which rang out throughout Canada and the world on Christmas Day.  They all announced the Good News of the birth of the Prince of Peace. 

I will close with the word from that wonderful carol which celebrates the bells that are rung on Christmas Day announcing the birth of the Prince of Peace.

 

 

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

 

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on earth good will to men

And the bells are ringing (peace on earth)
Like a choir they’re singing (peace on earth)
In my heart I hear them (peace on earth)
Peace on earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men

But the bells are ringing (peace on earth)
Like a choir singing (peace on earth)
Does anybody hear them? (peace on earth)
Peace on earth, good will to men

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor does he sleep (peace on earth, peace on earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good…

 

May you have blessings of peace throughout this Christmas Season

Peace on Earth and Shalom

 As Advent draws to a close, we anticipate the birth of the Prince of Peace.  I discovered recently that the wonderful Jewish word for peace – shalom, doesn’t actually mean peace or, rather, It means much more than just peace.  I received a great video from Rev. Sherry DeJonge which expounded on the meaning of shalom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLYORLZOaZE.  The video goes into great length concerning the meaning and application of shalom. 

In effect, shalom means wholeness or completeness and so it encompasses the concept of peace in a much broader way than the mere cessation of fighting.  I have embraced the idea of wholeness for many years as an ideal, particularly as something which we can aspire to rather than perfection.  I have been troubled by the scriptural passages that promotes the idea of perfection particularly the passage in which Jesus says “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)  I have thought that perfection is something that no one can achieve and is beyond human possibility.

Now, many of the commandments which Jesus gives us seem almost impossible such as love your enemies.  However, they may be a true challenge but are not beyond the realm of possibility as I believe that some exceptional people such as Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi have achieved that blessed state.  However, they were not perfect.  There is also the troubling trend in some circles recently that no one should be honoured unless they are judged to be perfect, or, rather, they are without sin in the judgement of those groups.  The example of Sir John A. MacDonald comes to mind and has fallen out of favour despite being the founding father of this nation because of his treatment of the first nations people.  Similarly, I read a report that Abraham Lincoln has fallen from grace for a similar sin despite his accomplishment of holding the United States together and bringing emancipation to those millions who were enslaved. 

That passage from Matthew was redeemed for me when I read a proposition that a better translation of the Matthew 5: 48 was be all-embracing rather than be perfect.  All-embracing can be seen as another way of understanding wholeness.  As we look to the celebration of the Prince of Peace, I would invite you to not worry about being perfect (even if you were considering that) and consider what it means for you to be all-embracing of life and of others.  That, indeed, is a challenge but it is something we can strive for and it is okay if we don’t manage it – we can keep on trying because we don’t have to be perfect or even try.

Blessing on your journey to worship the Christ Child who is born in the lowly stable in Bethlehem.

Blessed Be the Tithes that Bind

 

This is truly the most wonderful time of the year when every trip to the Post Office not only bring Christmas or Seasons greeting – although not as many now that we have electronic greetings available – but also the myriad of myriad appeals from charities with their ‘gifts’ of calendars and seasonal (definitely not Christmas) cards to encourage us to give generously to their very worthwhile work.

 I must confess that this often puts a damper on my Christmas spirit and I always wonder what I can do with one more calendar and can I justify to myself to use those cards if I don’t send at least a small contribution to that organization.  However, this is more than balanced by the appeals from Charities that I have supported in the past and I am grateful for the reminder to send them a contribution for the good work that they undertake.  I received one of those appeals last week from L’Arche Daybreak, the branch of L’Arche in Richmond Hill.  I had the opportunity to experience the wonderful work they do as a community for those with and without intellectual disabilities when I spent a few days with them one reading week when I was studying theology at Huron University College.  As they state in their mission statement, they strive to, “Make known the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities, revealed through mutually transforming relationships.” I filled out the donation form and got it ready to mail. 

As I did that I reflected on my donation to that group and wondered why I gave the amount I did.  There didn’t seem to be any relation to what I give to other organizations.  Why did I give that amount to what was, in my mind, an organization that did wonderful work that enable people, who had been given many challenges, meaningful and rewarding lives?  On reflection, I realized that there was not a great deal of rationale to many of my charitable donations.  In terms of my overall charitable givings, I am guided by the concept of tithing which has been the standard for Christians for a long time.  This is based on the bible passage in Genesis 14:20 in which Abram (later Abraham) gave King Melchizedek of Salem, who was priest of the “God Most High” a tenth of everything – hence tithing which is a tenth.  All well and good in terms of the goal for the amount I give, but what about to whom and how much for each organization.  It did not take me long to decide or realize that I had no clear idea on what basis I gave to certain groups or how much I gave to each. 

There is, of course, some basis for which groups I choose to support.  I tend to support groups or organizations I have first-hand knowledge of such as L’Arche and have assessed that their work has a positive impact on those they serve.  I am also aware that I do not do a very good job of investigating some groups in terms of the extent that they are good steward of the money they receive.  I am also aware that the amount that I give to an organization or choosing that organization is sometimes based on how a feel in a particular day when the request is received―not a great way on which to base my support.  I was inspired to raise this question, as I mentioned, by the question why I didn’t give additional support to L’Arche when I give more to organizations that seem to be not as deserving? 

I am aware that there is help available in determining if an organization is a good steward to the money they receive; Charity Intelligence Canada provides an assessment of charities which can assist in evaluating if your money is being used well, https://www.charityintelligence.ca/.  However, I must confess that I have never used this source.  As an experiment,t I decided to check put one of the organizations I support, World Vision.  It turns out to have a five-star rating based on financial transparency, results reported, demonstrated impact and need for funding. 

All well and good but it doesn’t help on the issue of how much I donate.   That will require more consideration.  If I was a more analytical person, I could develop a method of helping me do this on a more rational basis.  However, I am not likely to do that, so in the meantime perhaps I will settle on giving that more consideration when I decide on how much I give to which groups.

Have a blessed journey to Christmas this Advent and remember that you have many more gifts than financial ones. 

The Language of Jesus

 

As I noted a couple of weeks ago, Lorna and I are taking a course on Benedictive Spirituality offered by the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine.  One of the many aspects of the course which have caught my attention is the statement that the psalms were the ‘language of Jesus’.  This was quite a surprise for me and I followed up on this assertion questioning this with the following.

As I mentioned yesterday, I would appreciate a discussion of the Benedictine understanding (perhaps not unique to them) that the Psalms were the language of Jesus.  I am aware that the psalms were integral to worship in the synagogue in Jesus’ time but is there more to it than that.  My reaction to reading that is that the psalms often presented God as retributive and the psalmist often wanted God to do a lot of smiting of enemies - not what Jesus preached and lived.

My question was presented in a supplementary discussion period offered by the course leader, Sr. Constance Gefvert, which enabled me to flesh out my understanding of this.  I find it is helpful to engage in a discussion to more fully develop my thoughts on a subject (sometimes it is a discussion with only myself).  I came to the awareness that Jesus probably had a full and detailed familiarity of the psalms throughout his life.  He also had a full and in-depth familiarity with the people in his life and was fully aware of the complexity of the human condition as demonstrated in his relationship with all the Mary’s and the Martha’s; the Pharisees and the Sadducees; the rich and the poor; the outcasts and the tax collectors.  This was best demonstrated in his parables.  He seemed to know people better than they know themselves.  The psalms were and are a record of just that – an expression of all of human nature from praising God for all that God had done to blessed the psalmist, to a cry for help, a cry of anguish, and a cry of (sometimes) righteous anger.  

In the course of our discussion, Sr. Connie asked me to consider what Jungian psychology would make of the psalms.  I did just that and later when the opportunity arose, I responded that Jungian psychology was focussed on wholeness and not on perfection which is expressed so vividly in the psalms.  On further reflection I would add that we need to accept all of who God created us to be including the unacceptable parts.  Those parts which are unacceptable are demonstrated quite vividly in many of the psalms.  If we do not acknowledge them, they remain inaccessible in the unconscious part of ourselves.  They return when we are not looking like a thief in the night and can wreak havoc for others and us.  Jung talks about these unacceptable parts of ourselves as the Shadow.

The shadow is often one of the easier images to identify in a dream. We can also identify it at work when we take an instant, irrational dislike to someone,  It can be helpful to notice when you have a strong reaction to someone that seems to have not rational basis and explore what it is about the person that triggered that reaction.  When you have figured that our, look for that characteristic in yourself.

Blessings on your journey and know that God is with you and so is your Shadow. 

Hope Shall Come Again

 For those who celebrate the season of Advent, you will know that last Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent.  We began the preparation for Christmas and the coming of the Christ child and all that entails, by lighting the first candle on the advent wreath.  Advent is also the celebration of the hope for the second coming of Jesus Christ the King.

The lighting of the Advent Candle is one of the ways which we can observe the season and not jump right into the celebration of Christmas which seems to be earlier every year.  There is also the tradition of the Advent Calendar which count down the days until the wonderful event when the baby Jesus arrives in the stable and is placed in a lowly manger in that small insignificant town in an insignificant country occupied by the most powerful country in the world. 

Lorna and I participated yesterday in another wonderful Advent tradition and a tuned into the service of Advent Lessons and Carols at St. Thomas’s Anglican Church in Toronto.  This lived up to our high expectations under difficult circumstances with only a quartet rather than a full choir and liturgist who acquitted themselves admirably. 

The advent wreath is comprised of four candles, one for each of the four Sundays in Advent. Each candle represents a symbol of what is represented by the coming of the Christ Child; Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.  Sunday, we lit the candle representing Hope.  We livein a world that has always need of hope; this year more so than ever. Reflecting on hope, I am reminded of the Greek myth of Pandora’s box.  Here is a summary from an on-line source as a reminder of the myth:

Pandora was the first mortal woman in Greek mythology, a sort of an Ancient Greek Eve. Following the instructions of Zeus – who wanted to punish Prometheus for stealing the fire from the gods and giving it to the humans – she was molded by Hephaestus and endowed with gifts by all the other Olympian gods. One of these gifts was a jar full of all the evils and diseases which exist in the world. One day – out of curiosity and not out of malice – Pandora lifted the lid of the jar, thus instantaneously releasing all evils and diseases into the world. Shocked by what had happened, she quickly tried to put the lid back, managing to merely trap Hope inside it. That is why Hope is the last thing that dies in man: even though deceitful from time to time, it is the only consolation humans have for all the troubles Pandora let loose on the world. The event of their release marks the end of the trouble-free Golden Age of Man, and the beginning of the Silver Age, the second of the five Ages of Man. https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Pandora/pandora.html

Hope, it seems, has been around for a very long time.  It was not invented by Christians but was recognized as one of those characteristics essential to human nature and encapsulates what is possible in for humanity as we look to a world in which God’s kingdom will be established here in this world in the second coming.  That hope is made manifest by the birth of the Christ Child – not in a castle as the prince of a world-ruling empire but of a very different kingdom based on love.

In your journey to what will be a very different Christmas for many of us, be assured that we have the Hope of a world which is different than what we have now – a world beyond COVID isolation.

Blessings on your Advent journey in preparation for the coming of the Prince of Peace.

P.S. Thanks to Lorna for the reminder that Advent is also about the second coming. 

 

Dreams, God’s Forgotten Language

                                                                         

Jacob’s Dream

Many of you will know that I hold dreams to be very important in my life and as a phenomenon which is universal in people’s experience.  To be clear, I am speaking of dreams which people experience in their sleep and not the hopes that people might have for their lives – although night dreams can express that aspect of people’s lives.

In this modern age, particularly in the scientific age, dreams have not been given much credence.  They were and often are dismissed as being a mechanical process which, at best, was a way for the brain to process and clear out the detritus of the previous days’ activity.  Historically, however, this was not the case.  Dreams were understood to be a way in which God, or gods, or demons communicated with people.  Indeed, dreams play a significant role for Christians and Jews in the way that God communicated with people of the Bible as the shown by the illustration of Jacob’s dream above. 

We Christians are about to enter the season of Advent which is the preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Christ child.  The Christmas story is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the role that dreams as messages from God to the Holy family - from the annunciation to the dubious Mary that she would bear the son the God and the announcement of that miracle to her shocked husband to be.  There were many other divine dreams such the warning to the wise men not to return to the tell the despicable king Herod of the birth.  That is just a taste of the riches of the Christmas story from the perspective of how dreams are used to communicate divine messages to people.

One of the challenges which we face today is to understand how God is speaking to us in dreams.  Modern people, for the most part, now longer understand what God is telling us in our dreams.  In effect, we no longer know the language of dreams.  I have been involved, for many years, in helping people understand how to do this through the insights and inspiration of Carl Jung, the Swiss psychologist.  Along with my wife Lorna and others we will be offering an introduction in how to work with our dreams to understand them as a way in which God speaks to us.  We will be holding a workshop at the end of this coming January.  It will be offered via Zoom which has the challenge of new (to us) technology but also the advantage that it can be accessed regardless of the participants’ location.  The information of the workshop is provided below.

Dreams:  God’s Forgotten Language

      Friday Jan 29, 2021 (7:30 pm – 9:00 pm)  

                  Saturday Jan 30, 2021 (9:30 am – 4:30 pm)

Cost $40

Join us on Zoom and explore the language of dreams.

This workshop will offer opportunities to an approach to understanding our dreams as one of the ways that God speaks to us.  Within a Christian context, participants will learn about dream interpretation using the concepts of Carl Jung and have opportunities to explore their own dreams as well as working with the dreams of others in a group context. 

This workshop will offer opportunities for those who are new to Jung’s approach to working with dreams as well as those who are familiar with the concepts and practice of Jungian dream work.

Tickets and information ― https://dreamworkcanada.squarespace.com/

Confronting and Affirming

Lorna and I are currently enrolled in a course in Benedictine Spirituality which is being offered by The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine (SSJD) in Toronto.  It is being offered via ZOOM which enables us to participate in the course.  The current COVID Pandemic has opened up many possibilities for distance learning.  So, this very dark cloud does have at least one silver lining. 

 We have attended the first of six classes, so it is early days.  However, my assessment is that it will be a very positive experience.  I did not have much information about St. Benedict or Benedictine Spirituality prior to this and am impressed by the strict nature of the rule and Benedictine life of those who dedicate themselves to it.  It is not for the faint of spiritual heart.

We are using two books as the primary reading, The Way of St. Benedict by Rowan Williams (the former Archbishop of Canterbury) and The Rule of Benedict by Joan Chittister, a renowned, prolific theologian and author.  They are both very good introductions to Benedictine life and how it can apply to life today.

Reading Williams yesterday, there was a passage which struck me as very much on point with the situation facing us with the current pandemic.  The sentence is from his chapter Benedict and the Future if Europe:

We need to recover Benedict as that kind of patron for our presently confusing continent; there is still much to do to spell out further the ways in which, both confronting and affirming (my emphasis), his Rule may open some windows in a rather airless political room and create a true workshop for the spirit (chapter 4). Page 83

This applies of course as much or more to this continent as to Europe.  I was particularly struck with the phrase “confronting and affirming” as it applies to the current resistance which people are demonstrating to rules for how to operate in the pandemic; including wearing masks and restriction on activities and businesses.   I must confess that my initial reaction to the protests has been a desire to confront rather than affirm.  I find the people who demonstrate for freedom to put their own health and lives and the health and lives of others at risk to be short sighted and selfish.  However, on reflection I don’t believe that attitude is very helpful or Christian.

So, to follow the Benedictine Rule, how can I be affirming of this approach to the position?  I think that there are likely many reasons for people objecting to the restrictions placed on them.  Perhaps part of it is due to fear of the unknown; some may be due to the lack of control people find in this situation which seems to be unending.  There may also be a reflection of the lack of trust in institutions and in government which has developed in the recent decades.  People don’t seem to know who to trust these days with the spread of “fake news” on social media – there does seem to be a significant number of people that just don’t believe that the pandemic is as bad as reported or even that it is actually real.

This is, of course, is supposition on my part.  However, it does enable me to appreciate those actions with an attitude that is more affirming and less confronting.  I believe that the Rule which can be applied for everyone today is the Golden Rule i.e. do unto others as you want them to do to you.  For Christians, this is can be understood as the great commandment of Jesus – to love your neighbour as yourself.  We can love one another and prayer that this pandemic will be brought under control and intimately defeated so that there will be no more need for masks and social distancing and people being hospitalized and dying because of it. 

Blessing on you journey and please care for one another.

The Supreme Sacrifice

Today we will mark Remembrance Day which will honour those who gave their lives so that we might live in freedom and peace.  This will be a different Remembrance Day as we will not have the usual assembly in the local North Middlesex District High school in Parkhill or, I am sure, in other schools due to the COVID pandemic restrictions.  We also will not likely have as many people at the cenotaph at 11:00 as the students form the public schools will likely not be in attendance.  This is unfortunate as having children in attendance is an important part of the remembrance.  The students at the High School have always done an excellent job in the Remembrance Day assembly in the years I have been attending.   However, all this is part of the new normal these days.

There can be something of a dissonance or discomfort with Remembrance Day as it can be seen by some people as a glorification of war.  However, this is mistaken as it is entirely intended as a service to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their country.  I should add that it is, for me, also a time to honour those who have served and serve in the armed forces in time of peace as well as war and who are ready and willing to put themselves in harms way for our country.  The purpose of Remembrance Day is stated very well in the call to worship for the service from the Royal Canadian Legion Chaplain’s Manual.

Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.

At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, time stands still for a moment; and we remember those who died, not for war, but for a world that would be free and at peace.

As I write this, I am aware that this language needs to be updated to be inclusive of religions other than Christianity. Certainly, many, if not most of those who fought in past wars and conflicts were Christians; however, it was not exclusively so.  There were soldiers of many faiths who fought and made the supreme sacrifice and will do so in the future should the need unfortunately arise.  This is addressed in the introduction to the manual:

The Chaplain’s Manual has been compiled to provide suggestions and assistance to anyone tasked with organizing the religious aspect of a ceremony. One of the challenges in assembling the material for the manual is the issue of inclusiveness. Choice, no matter what the subject, is by its very nature discriminatory. The moment a decision is made, it becomes exclusive of other options. In this manual the Legion, in an effort to accommodate the vast majority of its members, has chosen to follow widely accepted religious traditions as much as possible. This is by no means an indication that other religious beliefs that are not specifically identified are discouraged.

It is good that the diversity of those who served is acknowledge.  However, I believe that this must be addressed with more than lip service.  The reality of those outside of the mainstream in our society has rightly come into the general consciousness of our society.  I hope that his will be addressed in not too distant future.

I will close with the prayer of Remembrance from the Manual (with an edit for a small step towards inclusion):

Almighty God, as You have gathered Your people together this day in hallowed remembrance, we give You thanks for all who laid down their lives for our sake, and whom You have gathered from the storm of war into the peace of Your presence. Let the memory of their devotion ever be an example to us, that we at the last, being faithful unto death, may receive with them the crown of life. Amen

Blessing on your journey and remember to pause for two minutes of silence at 11:00 a.m. today. 

It's so simple that only a child can do it!

Last week, I had confirmation that the world is getting way to complicated for me.  I had an encounter with a computer program which I thought was required for a course I signed up for.  The course is offered by the Sisterhood of St. John he Divine on Benedictine Spirituality.  I thought I needed to activate Drop Box program to access the material for the course – it turned out I didn’t.  However, as a result, many of my active files were reorganized on my hard drive and I am still having ‘fun’ trying to locate them.  It was rather shocking to sit for about an hour as get continual messages about files being moved to Drop Box and not being able to do anything about it - talk about helplessness.  

The second incident also involved my computer.  I ordered an external microphone for my laptop as I am using it for Zooming with others and the built-in mic is not as sensitive as I would like.  I plugged in the ‘easy to use’ mic but no joy, it would not work.  So, I spent about an hour checking the settings and running a troubleshooting program.  I was just about to give up and I noticed a small control on the side of the mic and in a flash of inspiration – or something less complementary – realized that it was a volume control built in to the mic.  Well all’s well that ends well – at least for now.

It was humbling to say the least and what came to mind was the song from the 1960’s by Tom Lehrer, “New Math”.  The chorus has a message that is more relevant that ever today:

Hooray for New Math
New-hoo-hoo Math
It won't do you a bit of good to review Math
It's so simple
So very simple
That only a child can do it!

It is getting to the point that I am less and less able to deal with the ever increasing complexities of life.  It seems that with computer technology a child to be able the figure out how things operate much more easily than us old fogies.  

There are a number of bible passages that seem to be appropriate in this, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”  (Isaiah 11:6).  Another is, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 19:14) I particularly like that one because it talks of suffering which I find that technology can have that effect on me.

Finally, there is Matthew 18:3, “‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  I understand this passage, in particular, is the key to seeing things - whether technology or the world in general like children is that they bring fresh eyes to looking at whatever is presented to them.  Now, we can’t look at this through rose coloured glasses because experience and education is important and brings a valuable perspective to understanding and evaluating the world.  However, we adults can be blinkered and blinded to what is in front of us because we don’t see things with fresh eyes.

On Sunday, Rev. Sherry DeJonge was talking about an aspect of this and the need to appreciate things that are counter intuitive.  She upheld the Sermon on the Mount called for a counter intuitive approach to people and the world.  

As we get older and more set in our ways, we are less able to see the world as it truly is and as how God intends it to be.  I hope and pray that God will enable me to remove a few of the blinkers that are preventing me to see the truth of God’s creation.  I’m not all that sure how that applies to computers - but I live in hope.  

May you have the eyes of a little child on your journey.

Let Go and Let God

 I receive a daily word – “Brother Give us a Word” - from the Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE)  https://www.ssje.org/  This is a short-focused comment, by one of the brothers, on a word to reflect upon for the day.  I find it quite a good way to start the day.  One of the words this week was “Let Go”; Okay for those who are that way inclined - it’s not ‘a’ word but it is a thought for you to ponder:

Each season of fall reminds us again of Jesus’ invitation to us to an autumnal experience of letting go and of dying – if we want to truly live, and be filled with the fullness of God.  - Br. Geoffrey Tristram

 

Rereading that this morning, what came to mind was the phrase ‘let go and let God’ which was so very popular a few years ago.  This seemed to me to be a good follow up to my reflection on Centering Prayer last week.  In Centering Prayer, we have, in my experience, the challenge of giving up the control that our ego wants to maintain.  We have the message that this type of activity should have a goal – we should make progress in the activity and should progress i.e. getting better and better with practice.  Otherwise what is the point of doing it?  You might even want to give each session of Centering Prayer a mark out of 10. 

Is there any point in just letting go and making space for God in our goal-driven lives?    I did not have much luck in Googling or origins of the phrase ‘let go and let God’ but I imagine it has some connotation that you put everything in God’s hands and all will be well.  I think that, as with any simple idea it can become simplistic so there not any need for us to be active in bringing about God\s Kingdom or following the commandment to love your neighbour through action such as feeding the poor and the orphans. 

To my way of thinking, the goal of letting go and letting God is to be silent and make room to listen to God - listen not with our ears but with our hearts and minds and bodies – our whole selves.  That is more and more difficult in these times when our lives – even in this time of the COVID pandemic.  There is so much we can fill our time with – so much that is accessible to us to fill up and minute where silence manages to break through the cacophony of social media. 

I will close for a quote by Cynthia Bourgeault, one of evangelists for Centering Prayer, “Silence is not absence, but presence. It is a “something,” not a nothing. It has substantiality, heft, force. You can lean into it, and it leans back. It meets you; it holds you up.”

Give time to let go and let God on your journey.

 

Prayer With and Without Words

 

Lorna and I have returned from our “home” in Prince Edward Island to our “home” in Parkhill.  This raises the question regarding my home i.e. where is my home and what makes a home a home.  However, I don’t want to go there this week.  I have written about that previously and perhaps I will again at some point.  However, I want to expound/explore another subject which is near and dear to me – prayer.  I have tried various types of prayer and use some of them on a regular basis both privately and corporately.  One which I find myself most in tune with is Centering Prayer.   I think that this type of prayer is most suited to me or perhaps I should say that I am most suited to this type of prayer.

I have made a concerted effort to practice Centering Prayer daily for many years since being introduced to it as part of my Spiritual Direction training.  There were times when it was honoured more in the breech than the observance. However, recently I have been able to reverse that and have managed, with God’s help, to be quite faithful in that part of my prayer life.  I look to that prayer practice to provide a grounding in my relationship with the divine.

Centering Prayer is a form of silent prayer in which you make space for you to be more aware of God’s presence in your life. God is always there but we often have difficulty perceiving it. The process is quite simple with just a few steps:

·         Choose a word or phrase that resonates with you as an expression of your intent and desire – I use the word ‘return’.

·         Sit comfortably and upright, eyes closed, breathing naturally, and begin to
repeat this sacred word silently. As your attention is focused on the desire behind the word, gradually let the word slip away.

·         Rest in silence. You will find that thoughts and image and feeling may come into your mind. We are not used to quiet in our culture – our brains want to fill silence. This has been called our monkey brains - which is very descriptive. When these thoughts, images or sensations arise, gently return to the sacred word as a symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within you.

·         The recommended period for prayer is twenty minutes each day.

Cynthia Bourgeault, one of the leading proponents of Centering Prayer, writes:

Gradually, as we progress in Centering Prayer—or in any meditation practice, for that matter—we begin to reorient. Centering Prayer’s instructions to let go of all thoughts, regardless of content, directs us back to the silence itself, and we gradually learn the shape of the new terrain. As we stop grabbing for content, we gradually discover that silence does indeed have depth, presence, shape, even sound. As we mature in Centering Prayer, the perception that the emptiness is in fact the presence becomes more and more palpable.

 

I would encourage you to find a form of prayer that you find suits you and enables you to be in closer relation with the divine in what ever form you know and pray on your journey.

A Thanksgiving Tale Reconsidered

I want to begin with a short story which is quite appropriate given that we are celebrating Thanksgiving.  It is entitled the Story of the Little Red Hen:

Once upon a time there was a little red hen who lived on a farm.

Early one morning she woke up and went outside. There she found some corn.

“Who will help me plant the corn?” said the little red hen.

“Not I,” said the bull.

 “Not I,” said the cat.

 “Not I,” said the rat.

 “Oh very well, I’ll do it myself,” said the little red hen – and so she did!

 

“Who will help me water the corn?” said the little red hen.

 “Not I,” said the bull.

 “Not I,” said the cat.

 “Not I,” said the rat.

 “Oh very well, I’ll do it myself,” said the little red hen – and so she did!

 

 “Who will help me cut the corn?” said the little red hen.

 “Not I,” said the bull.

 “Not I,” said the cat.

 “Not I,” said the rat.

 “Oh very well, I’ll do it myself,” said the little red hen – and so she did!

 

 “Who will help me carry the corn to the mill?” said the little red hen.

 “Not I,” said the bull.

 “Not I,” said the cat.

 “Not I,” said the rat.

 “Oh very well, I’ll do it myself,” said the little red hen – and so she did!

 

 “Who will help me grind the corn?” said the little red hen.

 “Not I,” said the bull.

 “Not I,” said the cat.

 “Not I,” said the rat.

 “Oh very well, I’ll do it myself,” said the little red hen – and so she did!

 

“Who will help me knead the bread?” said the little red hen.

 “Not I,” said the bull.

 “Not I,” said the cat.

 “Not I,” said the rat.

 “Oh very well, I’ll do it myself,” said the little red hen – and so she did!

 

“Who will help me bake the bread?” said the little red hen.

 “Not I,” said the bull.

 “Not I,” said the cat.

 “Not I,” said the rat.

 “Oh very well, I’ll do it myself,” said the little red hen – and so she did!

 

“Who will help me eat the bread?” said the little red hen.

 “I will,” said the bull.

 “I will,” said the cat.

 “I will,” said the rat.

 “Oh no you won’t. I’ll eat it myself,” said the little red hen – and so she did!

The end

 

This certainly is a Harvest Thanksgiving story - the crop is planted, cared for, harvested and a feast is produced and eaten.  There certainly is a morel to the story.  What comes to mind might be the saying, we will reap what we sow; or if we want a bountiful result in what we desire, we will have to plan things our and follow that plan and follow each step which is required to actually have the desired result.  If you don’t plant the seeds and care for the plants and harvest the crop and do everything else, we won’t have the bread to eat at the end. 

So, it is a nice little story with a lesson for us all.  But what makes this a story that we should consider as Christians?  I would like to look at this story in a couple of ways that Christians have used since the earliest times to consider how stories in the bible and other important works and see how they can be applied to Christians. 

Now, it may come as a surprize, but Christians from the early Church fathers onward did not just understand biblical stories literally. 

However, there are a number of different ways that people approached scripture to understand it.  They did understand it literally i.e. as written.  However, two other ways were allegorically and analogically.  Don’t be put off by the technical terms.

 They can be explained fairly easily.  An allegory is not about the former Vice-president of the United States, Al Gore.  Allegories are stories that taught a lesson in which the characters in the stories represented specific values or characteristics.  Many of Jesus’ parables were allegories.  Pilgrim’s Progress had characters with names such as Christian, Pliable, Abstinent or Worldly Wiseman – the name summed up the character and what he or she represented.  

Anagogical is just a fancy way of saying spiritually.  We look at the spiritual meaning in the story.  Allegorically and analogically are categories that theologians have used, as I mentioned since the early day of the Christian Church.  Given that, let’s consider the story of the Little Red Hen from these two perspectives.

Okay then, let’s look at the story of Little Red Hen allegorically.  What do the characters represent?  Well, we have a small cast of characters – the little red hen, the bull, the cat and the rat.  Let’s look at the three supporting characters.  Do you know someone who is bull headed?   You aren’t going to change his mind are you.  So, he is someone who believes he is right and that’s all there is. 

How about the cat?  Well, anyone who has a cat or I should say, is owned by a cat knows who is in charge –it is the cat and the cat knows it.  No one is going to tell them what to do.  Know anyone like that? 

Then there is the rat.  A rat is not nice – rats are devious, dangerous, and can’t be trusted.  I hope you don’t have many rats in your life.  Not a very good bunch to have around.

What about the Little Red Hen – let’s call her LRH.  LRH is the hero of the story.  She knows what she has to do and does it regardless of the actions or inactions of those around her.  LRH does everything required to get the results she has planned.  And in the end, she gets her reward the bread and enjoys it probably with the butter and jam of self-righteousness. 

So, what lesson can we take from this allegory?  There are many possibilities.  Hard work pays off – work hard and you will be rewarded; live by the rules and all will be well; LRH got the bread and those who didn’t do the work didn’t share in the reward. All seems to be well and just.

But what about looking at it from a Christian perspective.  We know that salvation doesn’t come from good works.  Is LRH getting her reward in the final outcome?  She seems to but can we be sure?  Perhaps what is needed is Christian charity.  Perhaps LRH could have done the Christian thing and forgiven the three reprobates.  How do you think they might have responded?  Hopefully they would have helped out the next time rather than going away feeling resentful – which I am sure would have been the result given the character of those three.  They will be resentful and want revenge on LRH.  Love – the love of Christ is the answer to the division which is in the world.

All right, let's look at the story allegorically – spiritually.  Let’s look at the story as if all the characters are part of each of us.  We have the hard working LRH who wants to do the right thing to have a good relationship with God.  She is the solid foundation of a good personality. 

We each have part of us that wants that – to be a good person and do what is right, although sometimes that part can be buried far down in our souls.  There is the part of us that are bull headed – don’t want to change our way of being in the world – I’m all right just the way I am.

We have that inner cat, the self-centered part that wants to be in control and won’t give up that control easily and fights any attempt to give control where it belonged - to God. It wants God to do what we want and not what God wants for us. 

 And finally, we have the rat within us – probably the part we want to acknowledge the least.  It is sneaky and will sabotage any attempt to listen to God and hear what God is saying to us – to hear God calling us back home to God.  There is that voice - sometimes quiet and often very loud that says - I’m alright as I am - don’t do that, it's too difficult, take the easy way, it’s too scary to change – to give up the old familiar ways. 

LRH is the best part of each of us.  She will show us the way to follow the road to God but she will have to learn she can’t do it by herself.  She needs to have faith that she doesn’t have to do it alone – indeed she can’t.  Salvation is possible through love – the love of Christ. 

Blessings on your journey this Thanksgiving.