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January 29, 2021 Good afternoon, " The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder." Esther 9:5-9 ( as you have noticed, this week I have been reflecting on difficult texts in the Bible ) At the end of the book of Esther, there are massacres. Haman, an official of King Xerxes, wants to kill all of the Jews in the kingdom. Esther, a Jew, becomes Queen, and she confronts the King. She is very brave, and with the help of her cousin Mordecai, uncover the plan of Haman. Haman is executed. Then all of his children were also killed. Any enemies of the Jews were slaughtered. " An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". It is an awful ending ( from my perspective ) to a wonderful story of Esther's bravery. I think we can understand the reaction of the Jewish faithful. They had almost been the vicitims of a genocide, so they unleashed their anger on the people of King Xerxes. Our first reaction is to defend, and then exact retribution. It seems to be the natural thing to do. But, God is never mentioned in the story. The story is in the Old Testament, but what is God saying in the book ? Nothing. These are God's people, but God did not order them to do anything. God does not tell Mordecai or Esther what to say. So, it is up to us in the church to find meaning and interpretation. What do we take from the story for our lives together ? Mordecai wants his cousin to confront the King. Esther is not allowed to ask for an audience with the King. She can only meet him, when she is called. If she went into the King without being summoned, she would be killed. Mordecai says to her , "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this ? Esther 4:14 Maybe, the time of COVID, is our Esther moment ? We are here for such a time as this. It is our time to witness to the Kingdom of God here on this earth. Is it your/our time ? Grace and peace in our journey of faith and life,
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January 26, 2012
January 26, 2021
Good afternoon,
" Yes it is, Lord," she said. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."
There are many questions about the Scripture. The above verse is part of a story about Jesus and a woman. Jesus does not travel far in his life, but this story is in a place where Jesus traveled the farthest from his home. Tyre and Sidon are northeast of Galilee, and is a few days distance from the places where Jesus usually lived. So, Jesus is in a different cultural place.
A woman asked Jesus a question. She is Canaanite, a Gentile person. She wonders if Jesus could heal her daughter who has a demon. The disciples want her to go away. Jesus says to her, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and give it to the dogs.' Yes, Jesus says this to her. It was common to see the gentiles as ' dogs ' of that world. Our Lord and Saviour calls someone an awful derogatory term. Really Jesus !!! The woman is desperate, and very clever.
She says, " Yes, Lord , yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. " Zing, Zing !! Jesus is so amazed that he heals her daughter. He says her comment is a statement of faith. I wonder how many other people were around the circle where this happened. What did the disciples have to say about this miracle ? Jesus doesn't seem to care who you are, Jewish, Gentile, Canaanite, Greek, female, male, crippled or well. We are loved by Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. He even allows people to be snarky with him.
The Trinity Bible Chapel ( in my ward in Woolwich Township ) has been in the news. They are meeting together in church, when they should not be. Public health, the police, the province, and even me have told them that they should not be meeting in person right now. What would Jesus say to them ? They think they are doing the right and faithful thing. Jesus usually responds to humility, like the Canaanite woman and not to arrogance, like the disciples . What would humility look like in this situation ?
Prayer
Install in us humility
Inspire us to humble heights
Instruct us into ways of humble thinking, listening and acting.
Please Lord, we need it badly. AMEN.
Fred
January 25, 2021
Good evening,
The smallest dome of meaning is my private world of interests. We can call it “My Story,” where we proudly proclaim, “This is me!”
There is a second and larger dome of meaning that encloses the first. I call this “Our Story,” where we declare, “This is us!”
The third dome of meaning that encloses the two smaller ones is “The Story.” By this, we are referring to the patterns that are always true—beyond anecdotes and my cultural history.
The above three ideas come from Richard Rohr. He is a Franciscan Catholic priest and mystic. Every morning, a devotional comes from him or from a guest writer. He has a spirituality center in Arizona, and before COVID, the center hosted retreats for people from all over the world. His ideas are usually big about God, the universe and salvation within the Jesus tradition.
The three domes attempt to encompass everything. It is about me, the church and about God. Sometimes, I think I know everything and I know best. That is not healthy. Then the church writes laws and guidelines that they believe are Scripture. That is not healthy, but it includes others . Then we get to holy ground, the third dome, God. But, we know we cannot always communicate with the Divine. We need all three aspects of the domes.
Jesus speaks for himself, like in the Sermon on the Mount. This is the first dome. But he also talks within the temple/synagogue tradition. He encounters the leadership. And he calls a group of 12 people, and then many more follow him. They are a group, just like the second dome. Then, he is in touch with the Father, the Divine Master ( Franciscan language ) that is about forever, the universe and God. He goes to the desert and mountains, to renew himself to God.
When all three domes are in our lives, we are more centered. We cannot be unbalanced with ourselves, the church or even God. All three domes need to be in place for us to live lives in the presence of God.
Grace and peace in our life together as three domes.
January 23, 2021
January 23, 2021
Good evening,
The United States affirmed a new President this week. There was little violence, and for that we are truly thankful. I invite you to continue to pray for the church in the United States, as it continues to live in a polarized society. Pray for the whole church in the world, as other places on this earth live with violence, poverty and natural disasters. This weekend is World Fellowship Sunday for the Mennonite World Conference. We remember places where it is dangerous to be a Mennonite/Anabaptist, like in Congo, Colombia and Ethiopia.
Our faith and our sacred book are not political, but sometimes our beliefs come into the political world. Jesus says " pray for those who persecute us." When our faith demands that we love everyone, some political leaders might see that as a threat to their power. Paul writes in Romans 12:
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:1-2
To be a living sacrifice can be seen as a political statement, although it is not intended to be that way. We called to live out our faith, and sometimes it gets messy. Then in Romans 13, Paul writes, " Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established." ( Romans 13:1). So, we must be wise and reflective about how we act within the society that we live.
In our community, there is a house that flies both the North Korean and Confederate flags. The Confederate flag is racist symbol, looking back at the history of slavery. The North Korean flag is flown for reasons that are unknown to me. Canadians tend to be polite, and we do not want to be confrontational with our neighbours. What can the church do ? We should pray for our leaders, but also hold them to do what is right for all citizens. As a municipal politician, I struggle with this every meeting. And it is a good struggle to have.
Salaam and Shalom as we journey together in faith and life,
Fred
January 18, 2021
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January 18, 2021 Good afternoon, " Summoned By the God Who Made Us" Song number 1 in the new Voices Together Hymnal " Summoned by the God who made us, Rich in diversity, Gathered in the name of Jesus, Richer still in unity. ( verse 1) Refrain Let us bring the gifts that differ, and in splendid, varied ways Sing a new church into being, one in faith and love and praise. The Mennonite Church in North America has put out a new hymnal called Voices Together. This first song is to remind us of how diverse we are in our singing, our languages, our ethnicities and our beliefs. There are more contemporary songs than ever before. There are over a hundred different languages represented in the song selection. The committee thought about our world beyond Canada and the United States. I am not a musician. I cannot read music. But, I love to sing. So, I need the help of other people to sing all the new songs in the book. I see this hymnal, and others before it, as our church prayer book. We sing our prayers, in the songs that we love. What are your favourite songs that you return to for you praying ? Do you have a COVID song ? Prayer O God, Accept our new songs as our deep and longing prayers to you. We trust that you are blessed, by offering our words, music and feelings As acts of worship to you. AMEN Fred Soaring like Vultures lifted up by unseen Hands Trust, silent enters my fears Monica Pieper Landoni 2021 |
January 18 2021
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anuary 18, 2021 Good afternoon, " So here I am to worship, here I am to say that you're my God, You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me. I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross." Here I Am To Worship, from Voices Together # 227 In our history, sometimes we fought over songs. It was called the worship wars between hymns or choruses. In this new hymnal they recognize the importance of both these styles ( and many more ). Worship is both personal and corporate. We want songs that speak to our experience as individuals , and as a community coming together. We want to lift up our voices to God in harmony ( but it does not have to be four-part ) so God will be blessed. In my home church in the 1970's, we had people walking out of worship because there were too many hymns, or not enough choruses. It was a difficult time. We did not have communion together because we disagreed on song styles. The drums were one of the most contentious items in worship. It was a difficult time in the history of the church. Here I Am To Worship is a popular chorus song among Mennonites in North America, In the hymnal it is in the Advent section. This is surprising to me. I would put in the Gathering section of songs. But, there is a good reason for putting the song there. The editors of the hymnal project have put a lot of thought into all their decisions. Maybe we can plan to sing this song as our opening tune on each of the four Advent Sundays in December this year. Prayer God, Open our hearts, our minds and our souls to different ways of worshipping you both new and old. We trust that you will hear, and be blessed by our, holy and sacred worship. Amen Fred
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January 13, 2021
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January 13, 2021 Good afternoon everyone, " About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. ACTS 10:9-16 Scientists say that we all dream every night. Most of us do not remember. Others see the dream, but cannot remember it after they wake up. Sometimes we wake up terrified, and wonder what it means. Dreams are hard to interpret. If you are afraid of horses, and you dream about them, it means one thing. If you love horses, then the dream might mean something completely different to you. And Freud, the great psychologist, also says that sometimes a "cigar is only a cigar". So it is with dreams. Sometimes they have no meaning at all. Last evening, I dreamed that I could not figure out what day it was. It was fearful. When I woke up, I still could not say what day it was. At the end of the dream, I started to take all the meds in my pill drawer. Now that was strange ! Meaning ? Some dream experts say we are dreaming differently during the pandemic. What do you think ? What has been your experience during the last year ? In the Bible there are many dreams reported and interpreted. Here in Acts we have one of them. Peter, an observant Jew and a friend of Jesus, gets the vision that he can eat anything. After having food restrictions all his life, he gets this new vision. Eat anything. Would we change our Chrsitian life, if we got such a straightforward dream ? In the church we would form a committee, have a conversation and then vote on a new policy statement. How do we listen to visions ? " Names for our God, dreams, signs and wonders Sent from the past are all we need." — from # 1 in our hymnal What Is This Place, verse 2 Prayer Help us to listen to our dreams. AMEN Fred Soaring like Vultures lifted by unseen Hands Trust, silent enters my fears Monica Pieper Landoni 2021
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January 13, 2021 Good afternoon everyone, " About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. ACTS 10:9-16 Scientists say that we all dream every night. Most of us do not remember. Others see the dream, but cannot remember it after they wake up. Sometimes we wake up terrified, and wonder what it means. Dreams are hard to interpret. If you are afraid of horses, and you dream about them, it means one thing. If you love horses, then the dream might mean something completely different to you. And Freud, the great psychologist, also says that sometimes a "cigar is only a cigar". So it is with dreams. Sometimes they have no meaning at all. Last evening, I dreamed that I could not figure out what day it was. It was fearful. When I woke up, I still could not say what day it was. At the end of the dream, I started to take all the meds in my pill drawer. Now that was strange ! Meaning ? Some dream experts say we are dreaming differently during the pandemic. What do you think ? What has been your experience during the last year ? In the Bible there are many dreams reported and interpreted. Here in Acts we have one of them. Peter, an observant Jew and a friend of Jesus, gets the vision that he can eat anything. After having food restrictions all his life, he gets this new vision. Eat anything. Would we change our Chrsitian life, if we got such a straightforward dream ? In the church we would form a committee, have a conversation and then vote on a new policy statement. How do we listen to visions ? " Names for our God, dreams, signs and wonders Sent from the past are all we need." — from # 1 in our hymnal What Is This Place, verse 2 Prayer Help us to listen to our dreams. AMEN Fred Soaring like Vultures lifted by unseen Hands Trust, silent enters my fears Monica Pieper Landoni 2021
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January 12, 2021
January 12, 2021
Good afternoon,
" Stay with me, remain here with me,
Watch and pray. "
The words above are from a Taize song. Taize is a community that worships. The brothers lead worship, singing, praying and the reading of Scripture, three times a day. The community began just after World War II, and have been all over the world with their worship services. They have been invited by countries to work at bringing peace from war. Their peacemaking comes out of their practice of worship.
Come and stay with us God. Covid has been with us for over 10 months. Cases and deaths continue to rise. Where is God in all of the events since the virus arrived here? The virus, I believe, is evil. It strikes fear in us, and has taken away our loved ones. There is nothing good about it. Maybe our healing will arrive out of our worship
We are watching, and praying, O God. This morning I sang another Taize song, " Ubi Caritas " as I walked the quiet streets of Elmira. I try to focus on the words, hoping that God will calm me, and hold me in the palm of God's hands.
Please God, bring hope in this COVID world! Help the world to act responsibly. Help us to find you again in this strange and eerie world of 2021.
" … Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil
For you are with me…. Psalm 23:4
Care and hope in our journey of faith and life.
Fred
Soaring like Vultures
lifted by unseen Hands
Trust, silent enters my fears
Monica Pieper Landoni 2021
January 9, 2021
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January 9, 2021 Good afternoon, " Jesus came to break down the dividing wall of hostility and bring peace." Paul in his letter to the Ephesains. This painting is called " Guernica " It was created by Picasso in 1937. It is considered by some art critics to be the greatest anti-war painting in history. It was in response to a massacre in the small town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso was threatened with death by people who did not like it. What can we do in response to the event that happened in Washington on Wednesday ( Teh Day of Epiphany ) ? As a small congregation in southern Ontario, what can we do to support the ways of peace ? Glenn Guyton, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, wrote a pastoral letter to all the churches, inviting them to pray for peace, and work for peacemaking in their communities. Churches come together once a week near the Capitol building, to pray for government and peace. Prayer We need you , O God. We need your presence. We need you to gather up women and men of peacemaking to bring about change in our world. We pray for the United States, that violence would be transformed into places of hope, grace and peace. Lord, we need you Spirit. today. AMEN Fred
Soaring like Vultures Lifted up by unseen Hands Trust, Silent, enter my fears Monica Pieper Landoni 2021 |
January 11, 2021
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anuary 11, 2021 Good afternoon, "And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates" . 2 Kings 24:7 "And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” … Revelation 17:5 The Bible is not a book about politics, science or accounting. It is all the authors of the 66 books trying to speak about God and their/our faith. I believe that to be the focus. On the other hand, Jesus our Lord and Saviour was killed by the reigning religious and political authorities. Jesus was a threat to the Roman Empire, and Pilate and Herod let him be crucified. Actually they had him killed. So, what does the Bible say to our political involvement in the world today ? The world power in the Old Testament was Babylon. There were other powerful nations like Egypt, Assyria and the Moabites. But, it was Babylon that exiled the Israelites to their capital city. They destroyed the holy Temple. In the book of Revelation, Babylon is referred to as the great prostitute. Babylon had lost its power, and the Romans were in charge. The Christians were being persecuted, and so John writes about the Empire in veiled ( or secret ) terms. The Empire has killed John's Saviour. What does John say about this Empire ? So, what is our role against the Empires today? What do we say to the government of Canada, when we are part of the society? And the USA, China or Russia, or even Iran ( earlier called Persia ) ? It is difficult to be the prophet to the Empires, and to live in that same society. No society is Christian, and they have never been. We must find ways to being faithful, and living within the Empire Shalom and strength for our journey of faith and life. Fred Soaring like Vultures lifted by unseen Hands Trust, silent enters my fears Monica Pieper Landoni 2021 |
Ponder Anew 