Ponder Anew

Good afternoon,

What is nourishing your soul ? Music is one of the things that does it for me. I need some music in my ear bud to fall asleep. I do like silence, but Shirley has noticed that I almost have music going in our house. What songs have moved you, to tears, to laughter or to silence as we live into the physical distancing and isolation ?

He came from the Mountain ( Bruce Cockburn – 1971)

He came from the mountain

To walk among the wounded

They couldn't see him

But the snow did melt whenever he passed by…

In his world we wait

In his hands our fate

Keep on climbing

We shall see his gate

In good time.

Bruce has also recorded two guitar instrumental albums, "Speechless" and "Crowing Ignites" are their names. They have been good for me in this time of no words.

I am not a big country music fan, but I like the opposites of the music and lyrics. The music is upbeat and lively, but the songs are often about love and broken relationships, sometimes even sin.

My Life Flows On ( 580 in the Hymnal )

" No storm can shake my inmost calm,

While to that Rock I'm clinging,

Since Love is Lord of Heaven and Earth,

How can I keep from Singing. "             —- Robert Lowry

In the bulb there is a a flower  ( 614 in the Hymnal )

In the bulb there is a flower,

in the seed, an apple tree.

In cocoons, a hidden promise.

Butterflies will soon be free !

In the cold and snow of winter

There's a spring

that waits to be

Unrevealed until its season,

Something God alone can see.           —– Natalie Sleeth

I do not like opera, but I like listening to Ben Hoeppner on CBC radio sometimes. Ben is a very famous Canadian tenor. His father took my dad in, in central Saskatchewan, when he had no place to go, after my Dad turned 18. This would have been in 1934 in the middle of the Depression. Mr Hoeppner, Ben's dad , came to visit once in Ontario, and my dad was so happy to see him again. When I hear opera, which is hard for me to listen to, reminds me of the kindness of Mr. Hoeppner .

One more Cockburn tune :

Festival of Friends  —  1975

( verse two and refrain )

Smiles and laughter and pleasant times

There's love in the world but it's hard to find

I'm so glad I found you, I'd just like to extend

An invitation to the festival of friends

Some of us live and some of us die

Someday God's going to tell us why

Open your heart and grow with what life sends

That's your ticket to the festival of friends.

Be kind to one another , as we live out our faith and our life,

Peace,   Fred

March 27, 2020

Good afternoon,

1 God of grace and God of glory,

on your people pour your power;

crown your ancient church's story,

bring its bud to glorious flower.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage

for the facing of this hour,

for the facing of this hour.

2 Lo! the hosts of evil round us

scorn the Christ, assail his ways!

From the fears that long have bound us

free our hearts to faith and praise.

Grant us wisdom, grant us courage

for the living of these days,

for the living of these days.

 

These are the words of Charles Wesley from " God of Grace and God of Glory ", number 366 in our Mennonite Hymnal.

In Matthew's Gospel, right before the disciples and Jesus enter into Jerusalem, there are three short stories. In 20:17-19, Jesus says he is going to Jerusalem to die, and be resurrected. In 20:20-28, the mother of James and John is asked by Jesus, " what do you want ? ", and she says, " can you get my boys good seats in heaven ( my translation ) ? ". The third story , in 20:29-34, two blind men get healed by Jesus, after Jesus asks them, " what do you want me to do for you ? ".

All three stories have unknowns in them. The disciples never wanted Jesus to die. James and John's mother must have been traveling with them, and wanted to make sure they were taken care of when Jesus died. And even people who had suffered, like the blind guys, were asked what they might want to happen to them. Now that they have their sight , what happens to them ?

The Virus epidemic has so many unknowns, the science is not conclusive on transmission, treatment or immunity ? What do you do with things in you life where there are many unknowns ? How do you trust in God, when things are so wacky in our world, like today ? What do you want from Jesus today ?

" Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by,

  You never get to stop and open your eyes,

  One day you're waiting for the sky to fall,

  the next day you're dazzled by it all

   When you're lovers in a dangerous time,

   Lovers in a dangerous time.                              Bruce Cockburn ( 1983 )

" May the Lord of heaven and earth surround us all as we live courageously into the unknowns of the world, to find grace, love, compassion and faith. Amen. So be it ! "

Fred

Ponder Anew

Smoke and Mirrors

Good afternoon.

"Mount Sinai was in smoke because the Lord came down upon it in fire. Its smoke went up like the smoke of a stove . And the whole mountain shook. "   Exodus 19:18

We are well into the season of Lent. Mennonites have not celebrated the season until recently. When we were part of the Reformation, we dropped everything Catholic. We left the Mass, the spiritual disciplines , and things like fasting. Lent is often focused on the dark journey of Jesus to the cross in Jerusalem. There is the Way of Tears in Jerusalem that many pilgrims walk in their spiritual journey. Darkness is often about evil, sin and tragedy, but the biblical record has some dark stories to think about.

Jesus was ministered to by the Spirit in the 40 days when he was in the wilderness ( or darkness ). Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked, tortured hungry and beaten in his life, and he continued to thank God for good things in his life. Moses spoke with God on Mt. Sinai. Moses received the ten com

mandments there. In Exodus 19, there is thunder and lightening, and smoke too. It is dark and scary for the people of God who are at the bottom of the mountain, and Moses finds the message of God in the middle of this dark storm. Moses might have felt that the world was going to follow apart here in the desert. And he was invited by God to come up in the middle of this awful weather…. and then God recited to him the Ten Commandments. The darkness is part of this great document that has shaped the Israelite/Christian tradition for thousands of years.

What goodness has emerged from the good darkness in your spiritual walk with God ?

Salaam, shalom and peace for your life and faith.

Fred

Good morning,

Many times Jesus goes off to pray by himself. He leaves his disciples after a tough day, and goes off to a mountain . He does not tell the disciples or others what he prays to his Father. At one point , he tells the disciples/us to go to our closet and pray. He invites us to say the Lord's Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount ( in Matthew 5)  . In John 17, Jesus prays for the the apostles, and us, as well. He prays for us to be safe and faithful.

" My prayer is not for them alone, I pray for those who will believe in me through  their message,  that all them may be one… "  John 17:20-21 ( NIV )

So, how do you pray in your closet ? How do you pray out loud with others around you ? What kinds of words do you use ? Do you pray prayers that you have heard throughout your life, or are your prayers always new to God and to yourself ?

Jesus prayed in Hebrew or Greek or Aramaic when he lived here on earth. We might pray in English, German or Spanish or Arabic, or we might just be silent as we close our eyes. " .. pray without ceasing … "I Thessalonians 5:17

Salaam and strength for the journey of faith and life,

Fred

Tread on bold new paths !

Fireflies flash the direction

"Hope springs eternal" .

                              Monika Pieper Landoni 2020

Last Saturday was a cool day. A cool and damp day for a Southern Ontario January afternoon. I went to demonstrate, to carry a sign for a war that I do not want to happen. A group of activists had called for an hour long vigil to ask Canada and the world not to go to war with Iran. I felt I needed to go.

A plane was shot down in Iranian airspace early in January. The United States had assassinated nine people near the airport in Baghdad earlier. The Iranian military shot missiles into an American military base in response , and as we have since learned, the soldiers now have brain injuries, coming from the blasts from the missiles. Soon after this event, the civilian Ukrainian airplane was obliterated out of the sky, just after takeoff. The Iranian authorities denied it shot it down, but three days later they acknowledged it. They still say it was an accident.

Paul, the early church theologian and church planter, said the Gospel was/is foolishness. He seems to say that we cannot grasp the Gospel, decipher it, and then spit it out , as if we know exactly what it means. We cannot be wise and eloquent to laud it over anyone. The Gospel is about the love that Jesus showed to the world, that ended up in his death. How can we serve someone who endured such pain ? But, this is the Jesus that I serve, in all his foolishness.

So, I went to this foolish protest on Saturday. No one was there from the government. The local MP, Bardish Chagger, did not come. There was no one from the United Nations, who might be working on peace from behind the scenes. The United States did not show up, and listen to our speeches or read our signs. What we did there on Saturday was foolish. It will not change anyone’s mind who might be able to solve the problem.

But, I heard from some Iranians, who knew some of the people on that plane that was shot down. They were grieving  all those scholars, fathers, mothers and children who lost their lives. They were hoping that war would not break out anymore than it already has between Iran and the United States. One woman spoke for just a few minutes to tell us that we should tell our government, to stop the economic sanctions. They are only hurting the people of Iran, and not the government of Iran.

So, what can I do ? I will write to the Prime Minister to tell him to help stop the sanctions against the people of Iran. I can write to the Prime Minister to have him  instruct our diplomats at the U.N. to work at peacemaking in the Middle East. I can post pictures on Facebook from the rally. I can pray. Praying might be the most foolish thing I can do, but praying might not change the situation, but it will change who I am in the world . It will change my attitude, and that is a good thing. I will continue to do foolish things in the name of Christ Jesus, to bring about a more peaceful world. Foolishness !

Fred Redekop

Elmira, Ontario

LOVE ANYWAY : AN INVITATION BEYOND A WORLD THAT IS SCARY AS HELL

JEREMY COURTNEY             

Zondervan

288 pages

In a world with much polarization, people do not often go over to the other side of the political divide. Jeremy Courtney and his wife Jessica were transformed in their theology and politics. And, as I read the book that tells of their conversion, I do not hear animosity to other side. They get angry at the situation and some of the players, but they are interested in helping the people affected by the Iraq War. They decide to love anyway, everybody and anybody.

Jeremy and Jessica decide that they have been called to be missionaries to Turkey. They are supported by the people of their church and community in Texas. They move to Turkey, and are just there, to be. Jeremy does not look for work, but tries to engage people in conversation, with the purpose to convert them to Christianity. They are not successful, and both of them get frustrated.

They attend  a seminar in westrn Turkey, and they are transformed or converted.  They heard a message of inclusion, and that they must work to help people, and not worry about conversion of people’s souls. On page 47, Courtney writes, “ For the first time, I realized I was aggressive and angry, conquering and defensive, armoured in self-righteousness. I was orthodox, armed to the teeth, and utterly void of what mattered most . ’ You don't love them, Jeremy’  ( the seminar leader ).  And then in an instant , the whole world changed .”

The Courtneys then move to Iraq. It is a crazy part of their story. They are just going to love people. They go into one of the most dangerous places in Iraq, Fallujah. They bring in doctors to serve the children who are most at risk. It is extraordinary that they are able to make connections in the middle of a war zone between Iraquis and Americans, and anyone else who can be helped . They do this for years, and they form an NGO to get donations and followers all over the world.

I had a  few problems with a few minor things in the book. There was a lack of chronological, geographical and political contexts . The book does not do a good job of explaining the places that Jermey’s group is working in, or the time frames that they were working, during the Iraq war . And, the book does not get into much of the politics either, but that may be by design, because it should not matter when you are helping people.

There are two metaphors that Courtney uses in the book, and they seem to be his ways of explaining the world and his work within it. The first statement he uses often is , “ The Way Things Are”. To him, he talks about politics and religion in America  as normal. You accept American political interventions as the right thing. He and his wife were accepting the world of war, poverty and destruction. They are transformed in their thinking to their second statement to a “ The More Beautiful World . “. The Courtneys have decided to work for a better world.  It is a very inspiring story of faith and hope.

Fred Redekop

A storyteller for Mennonite Central Committee,

A pastor at Poole Mennonite in Ontario

And a local municipal politician

I have been a fan of the Cleveland Browns football team since the early 1960’s.  I grew up in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. We got seven TV stations, and this was a lot in that time period, three from Toronto, three from Buffalo, and one from Hamilton. The CBS station ( from Buffalo ) showed the Cleveland games every Sunday, and so I became a fan. I used to watch them for years, but in recent years I have not watched so much football, but I still love the  Browns. I still need to know the score on  Sunday.

Football is a violent and dangerous sport. I played the game for four years in high school, and got my helmet knocked off a few times. In our last year, we did not win a game, and we were rocked back and forth many times. In a pre-season game we lost 65-0 , and I was the quarterback of our team.

Malcolm Gladwell ( native of Elmira Ontario ) loved football growing up as well, but he has changed his mind in a big way. The science says that there many concussions happening all the time, and the colleges and pro teams know this, but they still play the game. There have been many suicides by former NFL and college players, and they have done autopsies, and they show these players have suffered from CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy ) . It is a brain disease caused by concussions. Junior Seau, a linebacker for San Diego , was a lively player with a smile on his face all the time . He played the game rough, and after he left the game, he committed suicide brought on by CTE ( according to the autoposy ). The science confirms that with all the violent hitting, the players are just pawns in the game. Gladwell questions why Ivy League schools would still play football, but smart people are not always the most ethical people in the world. It is the free choice of the players, but the schools know the science ?

This year, I think, I have watched more games. I wince at least five times a game, as defensive players lead with their head to try and tackle the offensive player. I think in the sixties, tacklers led with their arms and wrapped them around the running backs, but now the head and helmet are weapons. Defensive backs throw their heads at the other players legs as well. I am so surprised that someone has not been killed on the field. This kind of play has led to players being killed or dying later on after their playing careers are over. I find it too much.

Besides the violence, the Browns have been very bad team. They seem to draft the wrong players, hire the wrong coaches and have a bad front office. On Sunday , they fired their coach after just one year. They have had many coaches and quarterbacks over the last ten years, that they are never consistent, and seem to change their way of doing things all the time. But, I am still a fan.

So, I should not watch football. I do not like the violence, it is way too dangerous and the Browns are so awful, but they are my Browns. Next year, I will propose to rid myself of this addiction.

Fred Redekop December 31, 2019  

( I wrote this for MCC Advent Devotional Series 2019 )

"Come Quickly" (Revelation of John 22:7). John says this near the end of his revelation from God to the early church. The book is about the Roman Empire. John's bizarre message of monsters, lakes of fire and the great whore of Babylon is a message of support of the early church in the face of persecution. The church wants the pain and suffering to end now. They want God/Jesus/Holy Spirit to protect them. Prophecy is about justice and peace in the here and now, as well as an end of the world idea when everything will be put in the right order.

 

In our world, we have many problems. We are battling climate change, trying to speak to economic inequality, being in endless wars and participating in awful political and religious discourse. Where do we start in order to make changes in the worlds live in?

 

Joe Grove attends Hanover Mennonite in Ontario. His wife passed away this summer. He has been a strong supporter of MCC and the church over the many years of his life. Joe has put together 1000 quilts/comforters for the people in this world who are hungry, injured and cold. He is doing this until the Lord comes again.

 

Lord, we have waited for over 2000 years for you to return after ascending to heaven. I find that too long to wait. Come quickly and come now, so MCC and other groups do not have try to fix the problems in humanity.  Come now, and come quickly, Lord. Come this Advent, and repair all the damage we have done. Please.

 

Fred Redekop

I LOVE TAKING PICTURES

You know that I love taking pictures of Amish kids on bicycles, and seeing them drive their  small wagons with their miniature horses. I work at Poole Mennonite Church, which is in the middle of the Ontario Old Order Amish community. Every time I see a buggy on the road, I want to slow down, and take a picture. With corn or wheat in the fields, it is a perfect picture. But, since taking that picture while driving is against the law, I do not take it.

I attend a Amish school sale . It happens in the early summer at an Amish farm. There is a little bit of everything sold there. It is a fundraiser for their private schools, and there are thousands of Amish who participate in the day. I take pictures of them. I try to stand off to the side, and take their pictures without them actually see me doing it. I take pictures of young women who have the same style of colour and dress, as they are walking at the sale. I take pictures of older men with great long beards, and straw hats. I take pictures of the auctioneers. I take pictures of younger boys wearing the same kind of suspenders.

Why do I feel the need to all these pictures of the Amish people ?  I know that they do not like it. I am Mennonite, so I know that Amish do not like it. I have heard that they believe each picture might take something away from their soul. Why would want to offend them in that way ?

The look different, and they live out their faith differently than me. The live in small communities of twelve families. In their worship, they meet together for hours in their barns, and they sing so very slow.

Recently, I was in Benin West Africa. I could not stop taking pictures of women carrying things on their heads. They carried the economy of the country as they walked straight and upright. Why did I feel compelled to take pictures of these women ? Are the reasons the same as with the Amish ? The lives of the people of Benin are so different from me, that I need to take photos of it. It is weird and strange, is it not ?

Then in the last month, we visited Jordan, to attend the wedding of our daughter . I wanted to take pictures of women with their hijabs, niqabs or veils . But , it was too uncomfortable. It felt invasive to do so. But again, maybe it is because I realize that they are different from me in the way they live, and live out their faith. I took pictures of men from behind with red and while scarves or headdresses ? Can I take picture of anything other than flowers and the sky ?

Am I racist in my picture taking, or am I racist in my fundamental nature ? What do you think ?

Fred Redekop

Mennonite Central Committee story

 

My wife Shirley and I left Canada six weeks after we were married, to serve a three year term in Thailand ( 1982-1985 ) with MCC . We were naïve and idealistic, and were hoping we could save the world.

We arrived at the Don Muang Airport in Bangkok on a muggy evening in early October. We were met there by the MCC country director . After clearing customs and immigration, we hailed a taxi, and were headed to the Bangkok Christian Guest House for the evening. After a few minutes in the taxi, we were stopped at a traffic light. There was a tank at the intersection , and a soldier put his machine gun into the open window of the taxi.. I do not remember how long we were stopped at that light, but I have not forgotten the barrel of the gun. Welcome to MCC work in Thailand.

We worked in Phanat Nikhom Refugee camp in eastern Thailand. There were Lao, Hmong, Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees living there, waiting to be resettled to many countries around the world. Many of the refugees had been in Thailand for years waiting to find out where they would be going. For some refugees, their cases got held up for health or political problems. Our MCC office was just outside the Vietnamese section of the camp . Inside that fence , there was interviewing office for the U.S Embassy. One day, soon after we began our work, I was standing in the courtyard. A young Vietnamese man came in and sat down in the lotus position. The U.S. immigration officer began to yell, “ No ! no !”. The young man , a soldier who had deserted from the Vietnamese army, had poured gasoline on himself, and the next moment he lit a match and set himself on fire. People rushed with blankets to douse the flames. The young man, really a teenager, later died in the local Thai hospital, alone and forgotten. Welcome to MCC work in Thailand

We interviewed hundreds of Cambodian families, to find out their story, and provide something to the people whom they would meet in Canada. They lived through the Pol Pot regime from 1975-1978. Pol Pot was the leader of the Khmer Rouge, a Communist group, that hoped to return Cambodia to a rural utopian society , but ended up attempting genocide on the population.  1975 is sometimes referred to as “ Year Zero “ because everything changed after that in Cambodia. At least over a million people died, and no family was left intact . As we listened to their stories, they could shed no more tears. Welcome to MCC work in Thailand .

We left Thailand with compassion fatigue. We could cry no longer. There were just as many refugees in our camp when we left in 1985, as there were in 1982 when we have started . Our presence has not made a difference in the refugee situation or the war. But, the presence of refugees had changed our lives and souls forever.

Fred Redekop