Ponder Anew

Good afternoon.

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”“What is truth?” retorted Pilate." John 18:37-38

This is part of the discussion between Pilate and Jesus. Pilate was the fifth governor of the region of Judea during the reign of the emperor Tiberius. He had this position for ten years. He was ruthless ruler. In the Gospels, I find the conversations with him in the New testament to be boring. It seems he did not want to kill Jesus, but he had him killed in the most violent way, crucifixion

Do we need to wear two masks or only one ? Are the vaccines good for all the variants ? Is six feet distance enough or too much ? How much of the population needs to be vaccinated for us to be safe ? And what is safe ? We have the federal and provincial governments, and all of the thousands of local municipalities with some slightly different guidelines ? What must we do ?

Did the President incite the rioters ? Where and what is the truth, and what is the punishment ? Words matter, and people act on their versions of the truth. Pilate comes in and out of the room where Jesus is, and seems to be conflicted. He does not understand Jesus, and is perplexed by his power. What kind of truth is Pilate talking about here ?

And what is Truth for the Church today ? Let us pray together…

"True evangelical  faith cannot lie dormant.  It clothes the naked, it feeds the hungry, it comforts the sorrowful, it shelters the destitute, it serves those that harm it, it binds up that which is wounded, it has become all things to all people."

Menno Simons ( 1496-1561 )

  Fred             

Soaring like Vultures

lifted up by unseen Hands

Trust, silent enters my fears

     Monica Pieper Landoni 2021

February 9, 2021

Good afternoon

" We did not make good choices. We had good choices.

  We come to God by doing it wrong, and not by doing it right."

               — said by smart/famous people, that I do not remember their names right now.

Emmanuel Carrere is an agnostic. He is unsure about God. Yet, he wrote a novel on the New Testament  called, The Kingdom. He was a believer for about 20 years, aided in his belief and conversion by his godmother. So in the novel, he quotes Scripture, and has a good understanding of all aspects of faith. He knows what he is saying no to, and mostly he is saying no to the resurrection of Jesus.

Carerre does believe in the words of Jesus in the Gospels. Jesus' concise and wise sayings must be true for this agnostic. All the parables and the words from the Sermon on The Mount are transforming for the world. So, Carrere believes in the wisdom of Jesus, but not everything.

We get wisdom from many places. The two concise sentences at the top of this devotional are not from Jesus. Do you believe them ? You might need more information, and who said them, but I do not have all the information that you might need. What do they mean for you ? Read them slowly three times, and then be silent. What comes into your mind ?

What would say to Mr. Carrere about faith ? What wise words from Jesus would you offer to him, to invite him back into a faith quest ?

And now let us pray…

Prayer

VESPERS

Even as you appeared to Moses, because

I need you, you appear to me, not

often, however. I live essentially

in darkness. You are perhaps training me to be

responsive to the slightest brightening.

                                       —– from Louise Gluck, 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Fred

February 8, 2021

Good afternoon,

There are many prayers in the Bible. The whole 150 Psalms are prayers of some kind, with emotions in all of them. There is Elijah in the cave. There is Jacob wrestling with the angel. The prophets often talk with God, mostly when they are frustrated. Jesus goes off to pray in all the Gospels. He teaches his friends the Lord's prayer. In the last supper, in the Gospel of John, Jesus prays for the safety of the disciples. Paul almost in every letter to the early church says that he is praying for them. And at the end of the letters he offers a benediction. Finally, the Revelation of John is a conversation that John has with our Lord, a prayer ?

Yet, we have trouble praying. We say we do not know the words. Prayer is conversation. Most of us are pretty good at talking. God wants to hear our words, I think. But, even when we cannot find the words, God knows what is in our heads. So, we can be quiet as well. How do you pray most often ?

Then, there are all the prayers of people since the Bible. The saints, both men and women. All those pastoral prayers. All the poets who write as if God is listening. We can use all of these words, when we cannot find our own. Sometimes, others say exactly what we are thinking. In the Mennonite Church we have a new resource called " Together in Worship ". And we have a new hymnal called Voices together that has many prayers in the back. And, finally, our hymnbooks are always our prayer books.

Let us now be in prayer….

Prayer

Christ, as a light illumine and guide me.

Christ, as a shield overshadow me.

Christ under me; Christ over me;

Christ beside me; on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me,

Lowly and meek, yet all powerful.

Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;

In the mouth of each who speaks unto me.

This day be within and without me,

Lowly and meek, yet all powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield;

Christ beside me on my left and my right.

—from St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer.

Fred

February 3, 2021

Good afternoon,

" Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. "  I Corinthians 15:51

Paul, the early church leader, thought the Second Coming was imminent. You can read it in the letters to Corinth, and also in First Thessalonians. What happened ? Did Paul hear it wrong from God ? Did Paul mean something different than what I think is the " Second Coming ". Did we miss it already ? The church has debated this question since Paul wrote about it. This might be the reason that so many people want to set a date, and get it right. Getting it right, would give us certainty.

But, we live in faith, and not with certainty. I do not know what tomorrow might bring. I am almost sure that I will drive to Poole, and sit in the office, and call people on the phone. But, I am not exactly sure of that or anything. I may see a beautiful sunrise, or a never before seen cloud structure in the sky, or the snow might be falling in a new way. I have faith that God will be by my side, in my head and provide me with community.

For me,  the opposite of faith is apathy. Faith is about seeking the Divine, in both God and others. Apathy would be to say that I do not care about seeking. You might also say, that life has beaten me down, that I have no room for the sacred parts of life. Maybe some of us have been there ? For many people, COVID has been life crushing, and so there is no room for God. It is too dangerous to think about the idea of having faith. I do not make judgment on people who are apathetic, but invite them into a deeper faith and trust in God.

Prayer

     God.

       Help us all,

          for we have our own broken parts,

              to slightly

                 move in a small footstep

                     towards you.

      We know that you love us all.

AMEN.

Fred

Soaring like Vultures

lifted up by unseen Hands

Trust, silent enters my fears

                             Monica Pieper Landoni 2021

February 4, 2021

Good afternoon,

"  Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.                Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

          I John 4:7

At the beginning of COVID ( March 2020 ), people were saying that they are hoping the world can learn something. I heard it said, " that we are all in this together." I was hoping that there might be an outbreak of equality in all things. You might say that more love for everyone would be good.

This week a report said that the Canadian government had used some of its influence to take vaccines from poorer countries. Eswatini ( in Africa ) had been denied vaccines because of corruption in the government. The European Union is using vaccines for itself first. My hope of more equality was misplaced and lost.

I believe we can still make a difference. We can witness to a need for a fair distribution of the vaccines. We cannot ask the states of this world to act like God, but as the church, we can love in extra/ordinary ways, and invite governments to be more equal.

Prayer

  God.

        You are the Spirit of Love.

        You are the concrete pillar

                through the work of Jesus of Nazareth.

                 miracles, parables and the resurrection

                             are acts and teachings of Love.

                                        AMEN.

Fred

Soaring like Vultures

lifted up by unseen Hands

Trust, silent enters my fears

                               Monica Pieper Landoni 2021

Good afternoon,

"  I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows"

           2 Corinthians 12: 1-2

I have never been to the Third Heaven. I know people who have had dreams of wonder, and have met the Lord. I know faithful ones who have talked about God speaking to them. And there are people who have been healed in a twinkling of an eye. They are sometimes called ecstatic experiences of the Divine.

Maybe I do not need it. Or, maybe I am not yet ready to have God revealed to me in this way. In my human experience, God speaks to me, I think, at my desk while I am reading Scripture. No smoke and mirrors here. No opening of the heavens. Just reading and knowing that the Spirit is with me.

Paul was extraordinary.  He preached at all those synagogues. He wrote at least thirteen letters that became scripture. He had the gifts of healing, wisdom and persuasion. And he was in the third heaven. I do not know what it is, but it sounds cool. He may be talking about his Damascus Road experience. Sometimes, I wish I was knocked off my horse, and the sky opens, and I hear a voice. I fell off my bike one time, and a voice said, " Why were you riding with no hands ? ". Not exactly the voice of God !

I am happy for Paul. He needed that assurance from God. Jeremiah, Isaiah, Mary and Joseph all had encounters like this with God. I do not need one to deepen my faith. I wonder what such an experience would do to me,  and for me. I wait patiently for such an experience.

Prayer

    God,

        show me your ways,

            one way

                or

                  two ways,

                    or, maybe

                         three ways.

  Thank you.

  Amen.

February 1, 2021

Good afternoon,

"  The sun to govern the day,

His love endures forever.

    the moon and stars to govern the night;

His love endures forever.  Psalm 136:8-9

Today is the first day of the Mystic Summit. I learned something right away. Do not judge a book by its mystic cover. I have read a lot of books by Anne Lamott. She is a cultural interpreter, a cynic and alcoholic ( she has not had a drink in 35 years ). I would have never thought of her as a mystic. She is cranky and angry, by her own words. Anne was the first and lead speaker for the five day summit.

" … pay attention to everything from the dairy aisle to the mountains of Nepal… ". This is one of the definitions of Lamott for a mystical life. Try to be aware of everything around you, and do not make judgments. And you do not need to go around the world to have an experience with the Divine. It may be someone, or something, or some writing that moves you to God. That is mystical.

In the passage from the Psalms, the steadfast love of God will be with us forever. The writer gives many examples including some difficult ones, like the death of the first born sons of Egypt. What does the steadfast love of God mean for your life ? When have you met God in  " steadfast love " ? This is also mystical.

Prayer

We will look at your trees today.

We will look at your clouds,

And your people,

And your smoke

And the cold weather.

You are everywhere.

Speak to us into your Presence.

AMEN.

Fred

Soaring like Vultures

lifted up by unseen Hands

Trust, silent enters my fears

     Monica Pieper Landoni 2021