bible – Page 2 – Ponder Anew

The Last Supper continues

September 16, 2025

Good morning,

A few months ago I picked the footwashing scene from the Gospel of John as my text going forward in my life. It is such an intimate event for Jesus and his disciples. but then there’s a problem. Peter does not want to have Jesus wash his feet. It upsets the fine evening. The dinner has all kinds of tension in it. Jesus wants to teach them humility with this act of service, but I am not sure it works.

As the evening continues in John 13:18-30 , Jesus says that someone in the room is the betrayer. This must have been a shock to the group except for Judas. He says it is not all of them in the room. Peter asks another disciple to ask Jesus who it is ? Jesus says it is the one whom I give the bread dipped in the wine. But there seems to be confusion about what it happening in the room. Judas was the treasurer of the group, so some thought Jesus was telling him to go buy the food for the evening.

“But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.” verses 28-30

Often I am like the disciples and am unclear what is going on in the church and in life. How can Israel continue to kill children, and the world community cannot stop them ? How can the war in Ukraine continue on the same pieces of land for so many years ? How can we ( and I am very guilty here ) continue to fly places knowing that fossil fuels make more pollution ? Are we stuck, or hope that someone else will fix the problems of war and climate. ? We must continue to advocate for change. It is our task.

The disciples did not always perceive Jesus’ teaching. Here at the beginning of the supper, they are fighting, and one of their own is now accused of conspiring to kill their saviour, their teacher and their rabbi. What next ??
Praying for all the leaders of all nations to work for a better peace . AMEN

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ?

MPL 2025

Dementia is awful

September 24, 2025

Good afternoon,

My friend has dementia. It is not rare, and probably all of you know someone, or have a family member who has the disease. My father-in-law suffered from it for seven years. We lost a part of him every day. Every time we saw him he was always a little worse. I am not the only person who is asking the unanswerable questions about disease, life and death.

But, of course, it is personal this time, as well at other times too. My friend is in the hospital now. I sat with him for a few hours last evening. There is nothing to say, or I cannot find anything meaningful to say. Maybe if I could sing 1970’s rock and roll music that would be good. But my friend is not in the room anymore. He is there physically, but where has his mind gone ? He looked into my eyes, I think, and nothing came out of his mouth. When the words came they were mumbled and so quiet. How should I pray ? I had hours to think about it.
With disease, we can pray, ” Dear Lord, please take my loved one, or heal them now .” I know prayer does not work this way, but I would like this to come about. With disease, we are often at a loss of what to do. We do not like to see someone who is hurting and/or in pain. I do not like to see my friend, and his family, suffering. Vietnamese culture says that ‘ life is hard, there will be suffering ‘ . Our culture, I think, believes that suffering should not happen to us. and if it does, there should be some treatment to fix it today or at least tomorrow. Two very different cultural attitudes towards life and suffering. So, how do you react to the role of suffering in the human condition ? Is there an answer at all ?

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me,

so far from my cries of anguish? Psalm 22:1 ( Jesus said these words on the crosss as well. )

Praying for the peace of Gaza. AMEN

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ?

MPL

Singing our Faith

September 2, 2025

Good afternoon,

For worship on Sunday, we were at Bloomingdale Mennonite with the K-W Perimeter cluster of churches. Mostly we sang. As mentioned in an earlier blog, singing was what I missed most about my self-initiated sabbatical from Sunday morning worship. We sang mostly familiar songs. During Poole Mennonite Church’s 150th anniversary celebration in 2024, we selected number 6 in the Voices Together hymnal as one of our theme songs for the year .We sang it on Sunday. I love it.

Let’s walk together Laurie Zelman 2002

Let’s walk together for awhile,

and ask where we begin

to build a world where love can grow

and hope can enter in

to be the hands of healing

and to plant the seeds of peace

Refrain

singing welcome, welcome to this place

you’re invited to come and know God’s grace

All are welcome, the love of God to share

cause all of us are welcome here

all are welcome in this place.

All Mennonite hymnals have been described , by some, as our prayer book. Mennonite love to sing, and we now write worship material, but I still think that we use our hymn singing to pray to God. At Poole, we said in a survey that we think that God loves that we sing to God. It is what we like to do in worship. We do not have to sing well, just sing to the God in whom we trust.

Another song we sang on Sunday was ” How many times we start again “( number 553 ). It was the first time for me to sing this hymn. Check out the other three verses if you have the hymnal

Verse 3

But greater than the cost we find is our expanded view

of what it means, with heart and mind, to trust and follow you

we hear a music never heard, a different light descends

and meeting strangers , we are stirred to welcome as friends. Thomas Troeger 2009

May we all sing for Gaza to have peace be brought there forever. AMEN.

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ?

Angel in the form of a Man

August 4, 2025

Good afternoon,

I am not good with administration. We delayed receiving our CPP and OAS until this year. This is fine, but when I did get to it, it took a long time because forms stress me out. You could do it on-line, but that was a mess for me. So, I went to the office on Frederick Street, and I found out that they moved it to the south end of Kitchener, near the 401 highway. I went into the office, and they said I needed our marriage certificate. The form did not say I needed it for OAS or CPP. I went back three more times, and although the Service Canada employees were polite, they all said slightly different things. Finally, for the fourth time I went last week to bring the final documents. Now I will wait for the secondary persons to tell me what I did not give to them on the forms. Fortunately, we will get money back retroactive to when we applied, I think.

Last week, I sat down in the waiting area ( for the last time ? ) to wait for the Service Canada representative to call my name. A man sits down next to me, and says ” I am a miracle “. Last week I was in tremendous pain, and I could not do anything. It was going on for six months. The doc finally diagnosed me with polymyalgia (?) , and three days ago I started meds, and it is a miracle. Look at me . ” . He stood up, and raised his arms above his head, and he jumped up and down. He couldn’t do it three days ago. ” It is a miracle, ” he said over and over again. I asked him if there were any side effects. He began laughing and could hardly get the words out, ” The doctor said I will have, ‘ chronic happiness , no, no, manic happiness’. Can you believe it ? He kept laughing and smiling. ” Manic happiness “. Wow eh !! My number was called, and I gave the man a fist bump, and I left him smiling. When I came out, he was gone. I think I was visited by an angel.

As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Matthew 20:29-34

Praying for peace for the children of Gaza. AMEN.

Fred

Today I met my history

August 5, 2025

Good afternoon,

Wow, another God story. I had my first shift at The Mennonite Story at the St. Jacobs market this morning. It was not very busy for the first two hours. Then, the coordinator asked me to come out to the lobby. There was a man from Switzerland who had been the minister at the Grossmunster Church( 2003-2024) in Zurich. There are pictures on the wall in the museum of the church where he was pastor. He wanted to show me. He knew the history, the Mennonite story. He wanted to tell me about the reconciliation service held in 2004, where thousands of Mennonites showed up, and the Reformed Church leadership asked for forgiveness for the violence done to the Anabaptists in the 16th and 17the century. He was in tears. The church where he was pastor had condemned many early Anabaptists to death.
I told him I had been to Zurich in April.

I told him that we had been to the church where he had been pastor ( see picture above ), and the many other places of importance for Mennonites. His name is Christoph Sigrist, and he teaches religion at the University of Zurich. After showing the short video on the Old Order community, he asked me, ” Do you have hope for the church ? ” Well, I said, ” I have to live with hope, but I am not optimistic. Many churches are closing, and the church is getting smaller and older all the time.” He said it is the same in Switzerland.

Do you have hope for the church? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being ‘ we are done ‘ , where would you put a number for the church surviving well ? There has been lots of study on what has happened , and what to do going forward, but it seems the church has lost its way. I do not think that God has given up on us. I believe that the focus on love and non-violence is a strength we have in our community. Is it enough ? What do you think ?

To the church of God in Corinth,

to those sanctified in Christ Jesus

and called to be his holy people,

together with all those everywhere

who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 1:2-3
Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ?

MPL 2025

Black and White Shadows

July 29, 2025

Good afternoon,” Black and white shadows ” from 2025 haiku.

There seems to be more blind shadows than open ones in our world. Canada said it was not sending weapons to Israel, but a new report says Canada got around the law, and has been sending weapons the whole time. Why would they do this, money, political motives ? Canada is better than this. I would hope so. How can I live in hope for this world ? This world, as God’s creation , is important. It is sacred. It is the only community that we have for our faith. I want more white shadows rather than shadows of darkness.

How did Jesus of Nazareth view his time on earth ? With the Roman Empire in charge, did Jesus see the world negatively ? Did he know that he was going to die, when he came out of the wilderness of the Jordan desert ? Did he ever think that the Temple would accept his new ideas about Gentiles and salvation. We have no way of knowing the answers to these questions. Did Jesus have free will to change the mission of his Father, but he was part of the Trinity ?

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matthew 24:6-8

Matthew 24 has a negative outlook of the world. I do not want to be wrong about the world. My biggest worry is that Mr. Trump will call for martial law, and use the military to make him King or President for life. His followers might manufacture a crisis where he will say I have to save America, and . “I must take control of everything.” This has nothing to do with God, but it will increase the suffering of people. I hope I am wrong.

Praying for food for the children of Gaza. Amen

Fred

What to tell of your faith ?

July 26, 2025

Good morning,

What do you believe as a follower of Jesus ? Three things ?I am going to be volunteering at the Mennonite Story at the St. Jacobs Market. People come from all over the world to the Market, and some want to hear about the Mennonites. I think they mostly want to hear about the buggies and the farmers in the area. I have lived in the area over 30 years, and it is still weird to see a buggy going down the road. It is out of place, and it is so different. I can see why people have so many questions about it.

In Acts 7, Stephen preaches his first sermon, and goes through his whole faith story, beginning with Abraham. He ends with Jesus’ death and resurrection. In his letters Paul does similar things, especially in the book of Romans. The book of Hebrews is one long sermon about the history of faith. What three things might you say are important, faith, action or ethics ? How do you tell your testimony of faith ?

At the Mennonite Story I am to show a movie about the Old Order groups, and then be open to questions . Do I share part of my faith in answering the questions ? My faith / family history is not of Swiss origin. Do I get lost in the woods of history or do I focus on what Jesus has meant to me.? I begin in early August to tell my story in the context of being Mennonite. Where do I start, and where do I end ?
Prayer for the war on Gaza to stop. Amen.

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ? MPL 2025

Politics of Love, and not Revenge

July 23, 2025

Good afternoon,

Read Psalm 137

Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
    happy is the one who repays you
    according to what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who seizes your infants
    and dashes them against the rocks. Psalm 137:8-9

The writer of the Psalms is proclaiming the politics of revenge. Once, when I was a guest speaker, I had the worship leader read the above text. Some people were angry that I would read such a text in the worship service. It is a troubling passage. The people of God were taken from their homeland and put in Babylon for many years. The writer is telling the readers how he wants to respond to the Babylonian atrocities. This is why the Bible is so hard to understand, and then live out, when you disagree with all your heart, soul and mind in many passages ( read the end of the book of Esther. )

” Never again” Israel proclaims in response to the Holocaust ( 1933-1945 ). Armenia says this when they remember the Turkish genocide ( post-WW 1 ). We never want mass killing to happen. But it always happens, all over this planet. Jesus tried to stop it in the Roman Empire, but the Empire continued for a few more centuries. Jesus’ words of ‘ loving your neighbour ‘ is still relevant, even if it does not happen.

And it is happening today in Gaza. The Israeli Defence Forces announced today that they were not responsible for the starvation of the Palestinians. People are starving. The IDF does not allow trucks with food to enter. The United Nations is powerless. The government of Israel has slowly killed Palestine since 1947. It did not start on October 7, 2023. It has been a war crime for a long time. The Palestinians did not kill 6 million Jews, Christians did., but ‘ never again’ is being carried out as revenge against innocent civilians. Who has killed all those children waiting for food ? Revenge is in the air, but it cannot be the way to peace.
Jeremiah is known as the prophet of wrath and tears. He had anger for Israel, and all of its enemies. He had tears for himself, and the life he had to live as a prophet. Israel was angry about their lives in Babylon ( the great Satan in the book of Revelation ). Richard Rohr offered these words today. I am not sure it is as easy as he portrays it, but it is what we must be about… no revenge.

In Jeremiah’s prophecies, all hopes for the future of the Jewish people lie in those who endured a three-stage process of transformation: first, those who entered into exile; second, those who retained hope and did not turn bitter during that exile; and third, those who returned from exile with generativity and praise in their hearts instead of self-pity. Richard Rohr, July 23, 2025

Praying for Gaza. Amen

Fred

Washing of Feet

July 24, 2025 ( our 43rd wedding anniversary !!!! )

Good afternoon,

Foot washing Scene from the Gospel of John:

” I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” John 13:15-17

I have settled on the last part of the footwahing event from John for my focusing scripture going forward. It has taken me a few months. No other Gospel writer tells this story. Mennonites have done footwashing for a long time during their communion services. At least the Amish/Swiss Mennonites. During the final meal, Jesus gets up and says he is going to wash the feet of his disciples. Peter objects to this. After a few words from Jesus, Peter changes his mind and he wants everything washed. Then Jesus gives us the meaning he wants to get across to his friends. During the rest of the meal, he tells the disciples many more things.

I want to keep the attitude that Jesus wants for his followers. In such a polarizing time that we are living in, I have to be able to have difficult conversations, with an attitude of openness, but not fragility. I have to try to see it from another point of view, but I do not have to agree with it. I must continue to proclaim justice, peace and compassion when I am confronted with meanness, power and coercion. Now this is a challenging calling. But, you cannot wash another’s feet, and not be changed by the event. Since I did not grow up with the tradition, my first time for footwashing was at the MCC orientation retreat before we went to Thailand in September 1982. It was a sacred moment. As I have selected this scripture, I hope for more sacred moments in the future.

Praying for Gaza. AMEN.

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ?

MPL 2025

Losing Control…Gaining Life

July 22, 2025

Good afternoon,

” Wilderness forces us to let go of control. “Thank you for all your responses to my email about wilderness.

The above statement had me thinking for the last week. Do I give enough control over to God ? And what does that mean ? I cannot just give my life decisions over to God, and just coast along. God gave me a mind or brain or a conscience so I can be a co-creator with God. Do you agree with that ? When I was preaching, I did not wait for God to write my sermon. If you are an accountant , you do not wait for God to put all those numbers together. If you’re building a new house, you do not wait for Go to begin framing the house . We are in control of our lives, but how does God play into our lives and faith ? What does it mean to put faith in God, when we cannot just sit on the restful couch, and wait for God to affect our lives ?

” Wilderness forces us to let go of control ” What does it mean to let God control our lives ? Let go of worry ? Let go of anxiety ? Let go of fear ? Whatever happens in my life I must be in the Presence of God. The apostle Paul says that perfect love casts out all fear. I have not yet gotten to this stage of existence . I am nowhere close to attaining perfect love. Remember those dreams that I had a few days ago. In the New Testament, there are the conversion stories of some of the disciples. They left their occupations, and followed Jesus around. After Jesus ascended back to heaven, they led the church. They knew what to do, but they often got it wrong. But, they had to do it. They took what Jesus told them about how to love and be kind, and then they did it.

Can you name an example out of your own life, where you gave control over to God ? It might have been when we put Lucas on the school bus for the first time. Or, maybe, when I resigned from Floradale without any work prospects. I think farmers, and I am not a farmer, have faith of a different kind, after they put the seed in the ground. As I move into retirement, can I give up control to God in a new way ? I am just saying … ?

From A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver ( 2012 )

The Man who Has Many Answers

The man who has many answers

is often found

in the theaters of information

where he offers, graciously,

his deep findings.

While the man with only questions,

to comfort himself, makes music.

Corn ‘ blowing in the wind ‘

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ?

MPL 2025