Apocalyptic Hope

You might find the reading from Mark 13:24-37 somewhat disturbing. Most of the Advent readings over the next few weeks come from Apocalyptic literature. The images in apocalyptic literature make us think of the end of the world. This reading begins by saying “the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light, the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.” It seems like a bleak outlook.

You might think these are odd readings to choose for Advent when we are looking forward to a birth. We think of Advent and Christmas as celebratory times and the scripture doesn’t feel very uplifting. As I read it, it felt more like a warning. Something is coming that will create an upheaval in the world. The scripture doesn’t indicate whether this upheaval is good or bad, just that it will occur.

Apocalyptic literature isn’t intended to predict the end of the world. It’s purpose in scripture is to describe the shift between what is and what might be when God is fully present in the world. We might think of this as the end of an era or the end of the current time. We might even say it is the end of the world as we know it.

Advent is, by nature, an apocalyptic time. There is the world as we know it and then Jesus’ birth disrupts everything. All of the characters in the Christmas story find their lives disrupted by Jesus’ coming among them. Zachariah and Elizabeth, an older couple without children, find themselves raising John who will prepare the way for God among us. Mary, a teenager, finds herself pregnant with the child of God. Joseph finds the woman he planned to marry already pregnant. The shepherds are startled by angels singing to them and leave their sheep to go find the baby. The magi see unusual signs in the sky and set off on an adventure. Each of these characters found their lives upheaved and changed forever.

Apocalyptic literature draws our attention to the moment when everything changes. We might feel like we are in our own apocalyptic time. Things, that a year ago were unimaginable, are now a reality. Who would have thought that we would need to wear masks whenever we leave our house? Who would have thought we would have restrictions on how many people could gather for Christmas dinner? Who would have thought that we wouldn’t gather in our church sanctuary for worship?

The world hasn’t ended but the landscape is different. How we live and interact with others is different. An apocalyptic moment creates an opportunity to be aware of God’s presence among us in ways we might not have noticed before. It is a moment where God becomes visible and we can discern more clearly our priorities and values. The scripture gives us advice for moments like this: “Watch, keep alert, and pray.”

On this first Sunday of Advent we celebrate hope. Hope recognizes the reality of the world in which we live but invites us to “Watch, keep alert, and pray.” When we watch, keep alert and pray it helps to put the upheaval in perspective and find God in the midst of the uncertainty. The characters in the Christmas story didn’t immediately say, “Thank-you God for turning my life upside down.” They started from fear, anxiety, uncertainty. It was only as they watched, waited and prayed that they discovered God in lives. As they discovered God at the centre of events which had originally seemed like disaster, these events became a gift.

I invite you, this Advent season, “to watch, keep alert, and pray.” The world is not ending but perhaps we are seeing the end of an era. What might God be birthing in our world through this time? How is God inviting us into this new world that is being created? Watch, keep alert and pray. Seek hope this season.

Advent Calendar

I created this Advent calendar for you to enjoy on your own or with family. Each day, starting November 29, there is a craft, story, activity, or music. May you have a blessed Advent and Christmas season.

Remembering You in Prayer

As a minister at St. Andrew’s United Church, I give thanks and pray for each person connected with this Community of faith.

I give thanks that I get to serve this community of faith and that I have opportunity to be in relationship with each of you. I give thanks for the leadership team and the ways in which they give of their time and energy, their gifts and skills, in service of this community. I give thanks for being able to work with Shani and Allycia as part of a staff team. Over the last few months, our worship, ministry and personnel, property and finance committees have been working extra hard to look after our people, figure out logistics, fill in gaps and plan for an uncertain future. I have an incredible amount of gratitude for their hard work and dedication. And even as I give thanks, I pray that the burden will not be too much. I pray that they will have the support they need to continue offering their gifts. I pray for God’s guidance for all of us who offer leadership in this challenging time. I pray that we will have a sense of God’s presence and the ability to risk and to trust what is placed before us. These are not always easy things to do.

I pray for each of you. I pray for those who are missing family and friends. I pray for those of you who are unable to leave your home. I pray for those who are struggling with mental health challenges. I pray for those who are grieving death. I pray for those who cannot visit loved ones in hospital or care homes. I pray for those whose family cannot visit. I pray for those who are working extra hours to keep us safe and healthy or to provide services. I pray for those who have lost jobs, businesses or wages. I pray for those who are uncertain and afraid. I pray for those who take unnecessary risks. I pray for those who are struggling with difficult relationships and conflict. I pray for those who feel alone and those who feel like they never have a moment to themselves.

I give thanks for those who go out of their way to support others. I give thanks for helping hands and prayerful hearts. I give thanks for those that make deliveries, so others don’t have to go out. I give thanks for those who sew masks and provide food. I give thanks for those who shovel sidewalks and make phone calls. I give thanks for those who continue to expand the circle of God’s love even when it is tempting to make the circle smaller.

So many prayers….people and gifts to give thanks for. So many prayers for the challenges of life. Our lives are often complicated. Lately, I find myself on a spiritual rollercoaster. Some days I have a strong sense of gratitude for the amazing people in this community of faith, for family and friends. On these days I find a sense of hope and wonder in the world. Other days, I wonder where God is and find myself drawn into loneliness and despair.

I have a feeling that I am not alone in this experience. The passage from Ephesians 1:15-23 lifts up how important prayer is. Prayer is not a magic formula that fixes everything or makes everything turn out the way we want. Prayer is an opportunity to have a conversation with God. When we pray, we can give thanks and we can give God our concerns. Often prayer will have the effect of calming troubled spirits, offering comfort, helping to ground us in God’s spirit and feel connected to God.

Prayer creates space where we, or a situation can be transformed. Over the last few months, I have been reminded how important prayer is. My mind is often active as I rehearse conversations, think about what I wish I had said, or make mental lists of all the things that need to get looked after. All that mental energy can make it hard to focus or difficult to sleep. I’m finding that prayer is a way of pausing all these thoughts. It gives me a moment to breathe and refocus. It doesn’t mean that whatever I’m struggling with is resolved but it gives me an opportunity to see it differently or be reminded that it is only one situation in my life…not my whole life.

Ephesians reminds us how important it is to pray for others. I am often surprised and always moved when someone tells me they are praying for me. In those moments, I am reminded that I am not alone. I am surrounded by a whole community of people. I live in God and God lives in me. Hearing that someone is praying for me always lifts my spirit.

Praying for someone else allows us to bring that person to mind, to see the face of Christ in them. Prayer is an opportunity to give thanks for someone else and to send God’s transforming energy into their lives. When we pray, God’s spirit becomes even more active. Prayer is always important, but we are living in a time with additional stress and anxiety. Prayer for ourselves and others is an important way of reminding us that we are not alone. God is at work in us and others. Prayer opens us to God’s spirit moving among us.

While life will often have challenges and complications, this time of Covid and political instability create a situation where many of us feel the stress more acutely than normal. the Ephesians passage along with Isaiah 4:2 remind us that this time shall pass. They remind us that God is present with us in the uncertainty and challenges of the time. They remind us that God will be present when this time has passed and life calms down a bit. Scripture always holds the laments and challenges of the time next to a strong hope in God’s transforming action.

Hope comes out of our ability to recognize God at work through the history of our faith. This is why our Biblical stories are so important. They help us to see where God has been at work. Hope requires us to see and experience God in our own lives and the world around us. We use the history of our faith and our own experience to fuel our imagination to see the possibilities of God at work in the future. Hope isn’t just wishful thinking. It is grounded in what we already know of God. Hope is our lived experience of God at work in us and others.

In an uncertain time, prayer and hope sustain our spirits. They connect us to the source of our life. They connect us to our community of faith. I invite you to pray regularly for your community of faith. Give thanks for our leaders and volunteers. Pray for God’s wisdom within all of us. Pray for those who struggle with so many different things. Live in hope knowing that God’s presence is within you as a transformative and sustaining force. Give thanks and live in hope.

Living for Peace

The passage from Jeremiah 4:19-28 invites us to imagine a scene of destruction. I can imagine someone cowering inside a building as gunfire echoes, bombs fall nearby, planes fly overhead, tanks roll through the streets. I imagine the smell of smoke, the cries of the injured and dying, the wail of grief at death, the sound of collapsing buildings.

Jeremiah’s lament goes on… How long will this last? Why is this happening? While Jeremiah questions God, he also puts the responsibility on people. People are foolish. They don’t know God. They know how to harm. They don’t know how to live well.

Jeremiah goes further and imagines the future. If the people don’t figure out how to know God and do what is good, there will be so much more destruction. There will be nothing left.

What Jeremiah is talking about here are individual choices which shape the community. The United Church’s Song of Faith describes personal and communal choices this way:

Made in the image of God,
we yearn for the fulfillment that is life in God.
Yet we choose to turn away from God.
We surrender ourselves to sin,
a disposition revealed in selfishness, cowardice, or apathy.
Becoming bound and complacent
in a web of false desires and wrong choices,
we bring harm to ourselves and others.
This brokenness in human life and community
is an outcome of sin.
Sin is not only personal
but accumulates
to become habitual and systemic forms
of injustice, violence, and hatred.

We are all touched by this brokenness:
the rise of selfish individualism
that erodes human solidarity;
the concentration of wealth and power
without regard for the needs of all;
the toxins of religious and ethnic bigotry;
the degradation of the blessedness of human bodies
and human passions through sexual exploitation;
the delusion of unchecked progress and limitless growth
that threatens our home, the earth;
the covert despair that lulls many into numb complicity
with empires and systems of domination.
We sing lament and repentance.

As we mark Remembrance Day, we can be reminded that while our individual choices are our own, they contribute to what happens around us. When we choose kindness, compassion, gentleness, justice, love, generosity, gratitude, forgiveness in our own lives, we nurture those choices in the world around us. When we choose grudges, greed, disrespect, hate, violence we nurture those attitudes in the world around us. How we choose to live doesn’t just impact on ourselves and those closest to us. It shapes the world.

We continue to live in a time of uncertainty. We see choices around us that nurture compassion, justice, gratitude, forgiveness and love. We also see choices that nurture greed, disrespect, hatred and violence. Along with everyone else, we have to choose what we want for our world.

Jeremiah paints a horrific scene of violence, death and destruction. When we see war and violence around us it can draw us into a sense of hopelessness and fear. Sometimes, the voices of hatred and violence seem louder and stronger than the voices of peace and compassion. Sometimes it can feel like a show of strength is the way to get a point across. The song of faith and both our passages of scripture call this into question and offer hope.

The Jeremiah passage offers that “God will not make a full end.” In other words, there will be something beyond all of this destruction. The violence and hatred will not have the last word. But that change isn’t God’s to make. It is ours. Will we continue to be foolish? Will we continue to live in the world with closed hearts and minds? Will we continue to hoard our resources? Or will we choose what is good? Will we live with gratitude? Will we live with compassion? Will we love our neighbour? Will we forgive those who hurt us?

A paraphrase of Isaiah 2:4 offers: “Guns and tanks will be turned into gardening tools and tractors. There will be peace and know one will learn to be at war.” Not only will there be a time of peace, but there will be a time when the resources put into destruction will be used to create life. Some of these are physical and financial resources. The resources of our time, energy, thoughts and prayers are also important in making this shift.

I invite us to be vulnerable, to choose forgiveness, to choose compassion and gratitude in our interactions with others. By doing so we choose a world without the hatred, greed and violence that leads to war.

We pray through our actions for peace in our world.

Blessed are the Saints

The beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12 are well known to many of us. They can be taken a few different ways. They might be read in a way the encourages comfort and maintains the status quo. “Everything is good. I know my place. I am blessed by God because I see myself in these words. Others are blessed because God says so. We are all blessed, and everything is unfolding in this life as it should.”

At different moments in our lives we might identify with these blessings:

Blessed are the poor in spirit
o Do we have anything left in us?
o Can we still see God?
o How is our mental and emotional health?
o Covid might be stretching some of us to these limits.

Blessed are those who mourn…
o We all grieve…the death of a loved one
o The loss of what was – routines, connections

Blessed are the humble
o Most of us have moments where we feel like no on can see or hear us
o Most of us have moments when we feel hurt and left out

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness
o I hope most of us have us have had a time in our life when we tried to change the world for the better, to make life better for someone else

Blessed are the merciful
o These are the moments when we can forgive or let go of a grudge
o These are the moments when we can believe that others have the best intentions

Blessed are the pure in heart
o I hope we have moments where we feel really connected to God in our lives
o We have vision and purpose
o We seek goodness and love

Blessed are the peacemakers
o Many of us have tried to smooth over an argument,
o helped people to see different points of view
o tried to mend broken relationships – either our own or someone we care about

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness sake
o Sometimes doing what is good and right can be challenging or painful
o It might mean the loss of a relationship, a job, financial hardship

Finally, we are told to rejoice and be glad because God will fix it all in the next life. The challenge for many of us is not just to endure these times but live with grace and compassion for ourselves as we move through them. I sometimes hear a sense of resignation in these words. “Well, that’s just how it is, and it will get better.” For some of us, it does get better. For some of us, these “blessings” last a lifetime.

November 1 is All Saints Day. Saints are people who have struggled with the realities of these “blessings” in their everyday life. They might be famous but more often they are people who live ordinary lives. Saints are people who hear these “blessings” and recognize them as challenges in their own lives. Saints are not people who have their lives together. Their lives are complicated and challenging. Like all of us they muddle through. In the process of life, saints unsettle us. They bring discomfort to our own comfort with these blessings.

Rev. Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy writes

God blesses the poor in spirit. And then asks, do we bless the poor in spirit?
• Are we working for adequate mental health supports in our community?
• Are we offering a listening ear and support to those who are struggling?
• Do we try to share the load with those who are just exhausted by life?
• Do we find ways of connecting with those who are most vulnerable?

God blesses those who mourn. Do we bless those who mourn?
• Do we offer comfort?
• Do we seek to understand the complexities of race related violence?
• Do we stand with the families of missing and murdered indigenous women?
• Will we remember LGBTQ+ youth who have committed suicide or been killed?

God blesses the meek. Do we bless the meek?
• Do we see people who are often invisible?
• Do we see the person who can’t leave their home for any number of reasons? Are we able to connect, support and encourage them.
• Do we welcome the refugee or immigrant in our community?

“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Do we bless those who hunger and thirst for righteousness?
• Do we stand with Black, Indigenous and people of colour in challenging systemic racism in Canada?
• Do we try to change a world where some of us can be wasteful while others starve?

God blesses those who are merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers. Do we bless the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers?
• Do we support efforts to seek justice and resist evil?
• Do we teach others to forgive?
• Do we stand against violence and war?

God blesses those who are persecuted, and reviled, and slandered, for standing on the side of God. Do we bless with those who are persecuted, reviled or slandered?
• Where do we choose to stand?

Blessing is repeated throughout this passage. We sometimes think of blessings as gifts from God. We sometimes think of a blessing as a prayer: communion elements, water of baptism, even the prayers that we say when we baptize someone. Blessing also has to do with where we put our support. When we give someone or something our blessing. So in this passage, God puts God’s support, with the poor in spirit, with those who mourn and so on. We might say God chooses to stand with those who are persecuted, reviled or slandered.

Our saints are people who live their life as a way of blessing the world. They choose to stand with the most vulnerable people in our world and they encourage others to do the same. Think about saints you know and offer a prayer of thanks for their faith.