The Stench of Life

Went out the door just the other day and there it was.  It shouldn’t have been, but it was.  It was too soon.  The end of February?  No, this is Alberta.

But it was unmistakable: the dank, musty smell of wet earth.  Some people may not think it’s the most pleasant smell, but it’s the smell of spring.  The stench of life.

Oh sure, there’s still time for winter to make a resurgence.  It was even colder again the next day.  But you’ve smelled it, too, haven’t you?

Does it surprise you?  Catch you off guard?  It’s a little early.  Remember last year?  Well, last year wasn’t too bad, but remember the year before?  Brrr.

Doesn’t matter, now, though, because it’s there.  To me, it’s the smell of spring.  And that means the seemingly dead earth is coming back to life again.  Breathe it in.  Savour it.  What does it mean to you?

The Gospel of John tells a story of Jesus stopping for dinner at Lazarus’ house before entering Jerusalem for the last time.  That’s the Lazarus that Jesus had earlier raised from the dead, by the way.  At the dinner, Lazarus’ sister Mary takes a container of nard, a very expensive perfumed oil, and anoints Jesus’ feet with it.  And “the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:3).

Judas challenges the waste of something so expensive that could have been sold to help the poor.  But Jesus says “leave her alone.  She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial.  You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me” (John 12:7-8).

Think about the imagery here for a minute.  Mary anoints his feet, but this is more than the hospitable act of washing his feet.  Jesus suggests that she had bought the nard for his burial.  So is Mary foreshadowing his death?  The Temple authorities have already decided to kill Jesus.  But Jesus wasn’t the only “dead man walking” at supper.  According to this passage from John, they also plan to kill Lazarus because of all the attention he’s getting (John 12:10-11).  After all, Jesus had raised him from the dead and he was attracting a crowd.  This meal was like a very public last supper.

And “the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”

Good thing, don’t you think.  In the story of Lazarus, his family is reluctant to open the tomb because “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days” (John 11:39).  Was Lazarus free of the stench of death when he was raised to life?  Maybe.  But people came to see him because he had been dead.  Dead.  Now he wasn’t.

And here’s Jesus, surrounded by friends and followers, very much alive, radiantly smelling of an expensive perfume, a perfume he says is for his burial.  But it’s Jesus who says that and Mary isn’t keeping it for his burial, she’s using it now.  In front of everyone.

Perhaps instead of giving it to death, Mary decided to give it to life.  Mary honours Jesus with an outrageous act of gratitude for the life Jesus gave back to Lazarus, gave back to all of them.

That smell in the air?  It’s the sweet scent of new life.

Perfect Prayer

I wish that every seat in our church had been full on Sunday.

No, this isn’t one of those “everyone should be in church on Sunday morning” things.  I don’t think that, anyway.  You should be in church if you want - or need - to be, when you want - or need - to be.  I hope you want to be there as much as you can, but there’s more to “church” than Sunday mornings.

And it’s not like we take attendance, anyway.  You won’t get a gold star if you’re there and you shouldn’t feel guilty if you weren’t.  You’re always welcome and we’ll miss you if you’re not there.  Just as important, you might miss something.  Really.

And that’s just it this week: it was something awesome.

Last Sunday, a few teenagers and a bunch of children led our church service.  Let me say that again: teenagers and a bunch of children led our church service.  They had some help and support, but they weren’t directed or told what to do.  They picked their own songs, did their own prayers, read a story one of them chose and taught a lesson about prayer.

They did great.  It was everything leadership should be: authentic, sincere, meaningful.  They were also sometimes a little hesitant, a little shy and a little “this is my first time.”  There were some great videos, a couple of new songs (with some actions!) and a familiar one.  It was informal but engaging, fun and inspiring.

That should be enough right there, but that’s not why the church should have been full.  It was their lesson.

The scripture passage was Luke 11:1-13, the story that begins with one of the disciples asking Jesus “teach us to pray.”  Jesus then shows them how to pray with the words we know as The Lord’s Prayer of The Prayer of Jesus, that formal prayer we all say together each week.  Jesus goes on to talk about the need to be persistent in prayer and how important it is to remember that God answers our prayers, though the answer is God’s wisdom rather than our own.  And God knows us like no one else.

The theme of the morning was “a letter to God.”  Each of the children had written a letter to God, a prayer which expressed what they were thankful for and shared needs and concerns that they had.  Many of the children read their own letters, all of which also appeared on the big screen behind them.  All the adults were invited to write letters, too, if they wanted to, and they had paper to hand out.

It was the same paper they had used, that cheap, lined, three-hole paper like you might put in a binder for school.  Somebody had some spare.  And when they wrote their letters, they used pencil or crayon or pen, whatever was handy.  Some had little drawings as well as words.  The writing or printing might not have been the neatest, they didn’t always stay in the lines, the grammar wasn’t always good and the spelling was interesting.  Some signed their name at the top and some at the bottom.  Maybe even twice.  They’re kids.

But God knows what they meant.

And that’s just it.  

The Prayer Tree in the lobby of our church
- every ribbon is a prayer.

For anyone who struggles to pray because they’re not sure what to say or how to say it, don’t worry.  Or if maybe you wonder if there’s a proper form or a special way to address God.  Don’t worry.  God knows what you mean.  God reads - and hears - what’s in our hearts.  Just talk to God.

The “church” the children led us in last Sunday mirrored their letters.  It wasn’t traditional or formal and it certainly wasn’t perfect.  And yet it was.  It was personal, authentic and sincere.  Just what prayer needs to be.

Lent and The Hundred Acre Wood or You're Full of It Too

A few years ago, I wrote a piece about Lent that addresses a bit of a pet peeve of mine.  I was reminded of it this week because I’m on a sabbatical working on a creative project around stories for children and it used a particularly familiar childhood image.  But, as I read it, it occurs to me that it might have sounded a little less than serious and a little less than respectful of traditions that have meaning for many and it needed something more.  It is, after all though, just my opinion and it went something like this.

Well, it’s the season of Lent in many churches.  Sigh.

Lent’s that time in the church year that’s usually characterized by the colour purple and hymns in a minor key.  Slow hymns.  Really, really slow hymns.  Sigh.

Oh and giving up things.  Have you given something up for Lent?  Not a lot of people do that anymore, but it used to be a popular tradition.  Not much anymore, though.  Sigh.

The origin of giving something up for Lent lies in the season being a penitential one, one in which fasting was commonly practiced.  Fasting, almsgiving (giving to the sick and needy) and prayer were the cornerstones of Lent.  These reminded us of the need to be penitent, to engage in some self-examination and repentance leading up to Holy Week and Easter.  But before we can get there, the story of Jesus being tempted by the Devil in the wilderness leads us into Lent, a dark, dry and dreary time.  Sigh.

Okay, that’s a lot of sighing.  Some of those traditions and ways of understanding Lent have been, and still are, meaningful to many.  But I wonder if we might not also consider that there’s another way of engaging that time of introspection, self-examination, reflection and repentance.

The story that frames the season of Lent for many people is this: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”  (Luke 4:1-2)  Jesus, in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil.  Wilderness, temptation and the devil.  All things we fear or, at least, would rather avoid.

I wonder if we haven’t mis-characterized the season of Lent.  I wonder if we haven’t made Lent the Eeyore of the church year, when it needs to be the Tigger.

Remember them in the Winnie the Pooh stories?  Eeyore is the melancholy, pessimistic and fearful gray donkey.  Tigger is the enthusiastic, energetic and curious tiger.  

I think we need to re-engage Lent as a Tigger time.  Yes, we should be thinking about our relationship with God, learning about living with Jesus in our lives and considering what “repentance” might mean to us.  (It doesn’t just mean saying or being sorry for wrong, by the way, it means to take action to change as well).  But I think we should do that with enthusiasm, with curiosity and with joy.

For the earliest Christians, called “the people of the Way,” Easter was the focus of the year and an important time for baptism and for people joining their faith community.  Consequently, the weeks leading up to Easter were a time to learn about Jesus and how to live as Jesus taught, about our relationship with God and being part of this new community.  That’s an exciting time, lived with enthusiasm by committed Christians.

The word “lent,” by the way, comes from an old Germanic word that means “spring.”  You remember spring - when the days get longer, it’s warmer and stuff starts growing again - it’s a time of new life and growth.

But most important of all, go back and look at those verses from Luke again.  I don’t think Jesus was afraid to go into the wilderness, he didn’t back away from engaging temptation and he didn’t fear the devil.  Jesus, says Luke, was full of the Holy Spirit.  He wasn’t empty, reluctant, defenceless or afraid.  Jesus went with the power of God, the Holy Spirit.  The devil didn’t really stand a chance.

You, too, are full of the Holy Spirit.

Look back at the season of Epiphany.  Remember all those ways in which Jesus is “revealed,” not just to us, but in us.  The Spirit is in you.  Really.  There’s a little Tigger in everyone.

Easter’s coming.  Let’s take some time to examine our life, think about where God is in it, how we might be living out what Jesus taught and how we could live it better.  Let’s take on the task of trying to grow and be better people making a better world.  Let’s do it with enthusiasm, with sincerity and with commitment.

Easter’s coming.  It’s Tigger Time.

That, right there was my closing line: it’s Tigger Time.  I said it and I stand by it.

But it shouldn’t have been - and isn’t - the end.  Curiosity, wonder, fearlessness, enthusiasm and faith in God’s presence bring us to, and through, the journey.  The journey, itself, is full of questions and experiences that teach us, mold us and transform us.  Engage them all.

For Lent, or any day really, these words of Henri Nouwen are a really good place to start: “Did I offer peace today?  Did I bring a smile to someone’s face?  Did I say words of healing?  Did I let go of my anger and resentment?  Did I forgive?  Did I love?’  These are the real questions.”

The Big Reveal

Well, the season of Epiphany’s a wrap this week with the glorious story of the Transfiguration.  That’s assuming you recognize Epiphany as a season - and not everyone does.  But I hope you do, because epiphany means “to reveal” or “make known” and, week after week since January 6, we’ve heard gospel stories which reveal something about Jesus.  It hasn’t been a long Epiphany this year, so I’ll do a quick recap.

The first story is the arrival of the magi who followed a star seeking the promised one. Next is the story of the adult Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan River.  “The Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:22).  This is followed by the miracle-worker Jesus turning water to wine at a wedding in Cana.  Then Jesus reads scripture from Isaiah in his home synagogue, proclaiming it fulfilled in him.  Being challenged by Jesus, who they think they know, angers the crowd who drive him out of town.  And finally, this week, Jesus goes to the mountaintop with three disciples and is transfigured there: “the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.”  Moses and Elijah appear with him and again a voice says “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Luke 9:29, 35).

That’s a lot of important information about Jesus: Jesus is the promised one, the Messiah;  Jesus is God’s beloved; Jesus is a miracle worker; the “Spirit of the Lord” is with Jesus to accomplish all Isaiah promised; Jesus is more than the “Joseph’s son” they think they know; Jesus is God’s chosen, the one to whom we should listen.

Jesus is.  Yes, that’s a lot of revealing.  But if you stopped at “Jesus is,” then I think you missed the most important point of Epiphany.  It’s not just how Jesus is revealed to us, but how Jesus is revealed in us.

Let me recap again, a little differently.  Let me tell you some of what I think’s really being revealed here.

Jesus is revealed to the magi as the promised one.  That’s magi who were not Jews, nor were they from Judea.  They were mysterious visitors we don’t know anything about from somewhere “east,” we’re not sure where, exactly.  We just know they’re different.  That reveals to me that Jesus is for everyone.  That’s everyone.  And we should be, too.

Jesus is God’s beloved.  You know who else is beloved by God?  You.  And me and everyone.  Jesus wanted to be baptized by John, just like everyone else, before he began living that ministry that teaches us how to live, loving others as we are loved.  Maybe that reveals that we, too, should recognize that we’re loved and love others as we are loved.

Jesus is a miracle-worker.  Sure, but is that really the point of the story?  Or is it that Jesus, in his first miracle in John’s gospel, gracefully and without drawing attention to himself, brings joy in a moment that could have gone disastrously in the opposite direction.  Maybe that reveals that we could offer our gifts - our own little miracles - in an equally humble and selfless way.

Jesus is filled with the Spirit and moved by the Spirit.  The scripture he is proclaiming fulfilled is that he will  bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, give sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed.  Isn’t that what Jesus calls us all to do?  Sure it is.  And when we preach it, it sounds good and gives everyone a warm feeling.  But when Jesus challenges his own home crowd that they aren’t doing it, that isn’t what they want to hear and they’re offended and angry.  It takes strength of Spirit to stand up to them.  That reveals to me that we need to embrace the Spirit within us, not only to talk, but to do, to get on with a life that makes our living life-giving, too.

"Transfiguration" by Socrates Magno Torres

And that’s the thing about the Transfiguration story and why it’s such a great way to wrap up Epiphany and launch into Lent.  It’s not just that there’s this awesome mountain top experience with blinding light and all the signs of God’s love and presence.  It’s that it doesn’t stay there on the mountain.  Jesus goes into the world.  And so should we, knowing that God is with us, the Spirit gives us strength, we have gifts to share, we are loved and we should love others as we are loved, all others.

That’s a huge challenge and maybe needs some time and some thought to figure it out.  I think that’s why Jesus went into the wilderness that we call Lent.  Perhaps we could join him there over the next few weeks and wonder how we, too, are living into being Jesus.

It's a sign

We have five signs outside our church right now.  It might seem like we got a little carried away because that’s a lot of signage, but it’s all important.  Each has a message and a purpose.

It can be a little too easy, though, to get so used to them being there that one doesn’t really pay as much attention to them as one should.  It’s good to have reminders.

Take our main sign, for example.  It has the name of the church permanently on the top and then a space where you can change the letters to make different announcements, like what’s happening that week or a special event.  Because I’m on sabbatical right now, I don’t decide what’s on it, so I look to see what it says.  Reminds me to look at the other part, too, the part that has the congregation’s mission: living God’s love, sharing God’s love.

That’s the official “statement,” but the other signs say a little bit more about how we’d like to be doing that.

Like the rough, hand painted one I’ve talked about before that says “WE’LL TAKE ANYONE.”  That’s a tough calling to live up to and I’ve no doubt there’s been, and will be, some challenges with that.  But we mean it.  For awhile we even had a smaller sign inside that said just that, “and we mean it,” just to remind everyone.

But every now and then there’s a little reminder to look at it again when I hear people comment that we can’t possibly mean “anyone,” because, well, what if the wrong people got in?  You know, “those” people.

I’m not always sure who “those” people are (though it’s made pretty clear - and specific - sometimes), but perhaps the sign isn’t precise enough.  Perhaps it should read “we’ll take anyone - because Jesus would.”  Jesus didn’t just welcome “sinners” and “enemies” - prostitutes, tax collectors, Romans, Samaritans, lepers, the poor, the hurting, the angry and every kind of marginalized person - he actively sought them out.  There’s no such thing as “those” people if you desire to live and share God’s love.

That’s not say it isn’t challenging.  Or that we, or anyone else, is good at it.  Jesus doesn’t call people to perfection, Jesus calls people to love.  And love is messy and challenging.  So we try.

There’s a third sign, next to the front door, that we put up at the time of the Angels Among Us campaign.  It says some of the ways we try to love.  Some of it’s new, some of it’s borrowed, but it’s all true.  It reads “BE THE CHURCH.  Care for others.  Forgive often.  Spread Love.  Fight for the powerless.  Protect the earth.  Share your blessings and talents.  Be kind.  Embrace diversity.  Love God.  Enjoy this life.”

Being the church isn’t about the building or Sundays at 11, it’s about these things.  And again, no one’s claiming perfection or even success at doing them, but rather the aspiration that doing them would be living God’s love and sharing God’s love.

Maybe it might inspire people to “spread your wings and love.”  That’s the phrase someone wisely added to the bottom of the temporary sign on the lawn that promoted our Angels Among Us campaign in November.  It used to be surrounded by over one hundred stakes with “angels” and their stories on them and soon, it, too, will be put away until next year.  But that was the goal of the campaign, to encourage people in the community to recognize those who spread their wings, living and sharing love.

Now, I said five signs, and if you’ve been by the church lately, you’re probably wondering where the fifth sign is.  It’s the hardest to see because it’s not words, it’s action.  It’s not posted on a board, it’s everywhere.  And by everywhere, I mean it’s not just inside or outside a building on a given day at a given time, it’s people going out into the world and actually doing what those other signs say.

We have a place to gather so that we can take what we share there out into the world.  We have words to teach and inspire so that love and grace and wonder won’t just sit in a pew, but live in people’s lives and be shared with everyone.  Look.  The signs are all around you.

Dickie, David, Alan, Ray and Jesus

I hear the word "icon" being used a lot lately.  And not in a tech savvy computer user way.

Tech users know an icon's the little thing on your screen that represents what you're going to get when you touch it or click on it.

It's also the proper name for a venerated painting or pictorial representation of a saint or religious figure, particularly in the Orthodox and Eastern Christian churches.

But the origin of "icon" is in the Greek, meaning a likeness or an image.  Our contemporary use is to mean a person or thing that represents something meaningful to us.

So that's how it came up when I ran into somebody at the gas station just after David Bowie died.  We talked about him being an icon, not just for his creative musical artistry, but for being faithful to being himself.  He inspired artists and musicians and anyone who was unique and different to be true to who they are and to believe in their imagination and creativity.  Sadly, we also noted, icons, just like everyone, leave us.  What we have is their image, indelibly printed on us.

That's undoubtedly why we've been hearing it so much lately.  We've lost some pretty important icons in the last little while, like  Dickie Moore, David Bowie, Alan Rickman and Ray Daley.

There's lots more, to be sure, but the point is that we acknowledge their iconic nature based on what they represent to us, personally.  That can then become collectively recognized, depending on their fame or their appeal, and to whom they appeal and how.

Dickie Moore, for example, was a legendary hockey player with the Montreal Canadiens, a Hall of Famer who, with Jean Beliveau and the Richard brothers, led the Canadiens to six Stanley Cups in the late 1950's.  He was a gifted player and a determined competitor.

David Bowie was an amazing musician and an innovative artist who challenged norms in music, art, gender and spirituality, inspiring other to do the same.

Alan Rickman was an actor who's distinctive voice and style took him from Shakespeare to Harry Potter in a wide variety of roles, creating "iconic" characters.  He was also known to be generous and supportive of other actors and is remembered by colleagues and critics as one of the greatest actors of his generation.

Ray Daley was a good man.  He'd probably be embarrassed to be included here, although I'm pretty sure he'd be shocked to be mentioned with David Bowie (and not in a good way).  You might not have included him, either, because you might not know who he is.

Ray died just before Christmas after a long and stubborn battle with cancer.  Ray was a little bit rough around the edges and he certainly had his struggles in life.  I only got to know Ray in the last six years, but to me he's an icon.  He loved his family, the Royal Canadian Legion and his church.  He was one of the best "not-a-church-goer-s" I ever met.  He didn't care much for sitting in a pew, but he was, as he said, a "believer" who would rather be doing something than sitting, listening to someone talk about it.

At his memorial at the Legion, there were stories from others of how Ray touched their lives in ways they'll always remember, always live out.  Of course, Ray wasn't famous, not beyond his community, but then, he wasn't trying to be.  He was just trying to be Ray to one person at a time.

This time of year is the season of Epiphany, the season of "revealing" when we hear stories of Jesus being, well, Jesus.  There was no PR campaign or global broadcast.  The angels came to a few poor shepherds.  It was a few magi who followed the star.  When Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple to be named, it was only Simeon and Anna that knew him.  How big, really, was the crowd who saw John - one on one - baptize Jesus.  At the wedding in Cana, who knew Jesus had turned the water into wine?  Only a few.  And when Jesus proclaims "the Spirit of the Lord is upon me" in the synagogue, it was to a small, hometown crowd who knew him.  

I don't think fame was on Jesus' agenda.  I think he was more concerned with personal, heart felt contact, with being Jesus to one person at a time, bringing love and compassion to one person at a time, bringing people closer to God one person at a time.  Jesus' fame grew as those who experienced him shared their stories and their lives, living as Jesus showed them, one person at a time.

It's so easy for our eyes to be drawn to the famous and perhaps they are, sometimes, deserving.  But look at the people around you: I bet there's an icon of Jesus there.  And look at you: can you, too, be an icon of Jesus to those around you?  Maybe even one person at a time.

A Fish Story

I wonder what it feels like to be a fish.  One day you’re swimming around, minding your own business, maybe hanging out with some other fish, just getting comfortable in a nice little eddy, snacking on stuff floating by, when - BAM! - you’re hooked.  Next thing you know you’re eye up in a frying pan.

Oh sure, you can fight it.  You might even break the line or dislodge the hook and get away, but you’ll always feel it.  And the other fish will always be looking at you sideways and wondering if it might happen to them.  Soon you’re off on a shoal by yourself wondering what happened to those lazy days in school.

I think that’s sometimes how people see the church.  After all, didn’t Jesus call his first disciples - who were fishermen - to come and fish for people?  (Matthew 4, Mark 1, Luke 5.)  For those who find themselves to be spiritual, but not religious, I wonder if this isn’t a key part of that - that they’re not interested in being hooked.  And for those that used to attend church and now don't, have they found it to be as boring as being, well, dead in the frying pan, or have they been left scarred by the experience?  For some, evangelism seems to mean that aggressive “catching” of people who then become one of “us,” saved from the sea of the real world.  Maybe they don’t see that kind of fishing as being saved.

But look at the story again and we might be able to describe the image a little differently.  The fishermen Jesus called as his first disciples didn’t use hooks, they used a net.  So what if we did that.  Our net is the love of Jesus that we are called to live out.  If we live that kind of life, we bring love to the world.  Not just the warm, fuzzy romantic stuff on Valentine’s Day, but the deep, difficult love that calls us to care for the poor and the sick, to be kind and compassionate even to our enemies and to love the seemingly unlovable.  That’s a net that holds people up but doesn’t hold them back, that embraces them but doesn’t imprison them, that includes all and excludes none.  That’s what evangelizing means, by the way: to proclaim the gospel in life, to tell the story and to live it, too.  In sharing that experience with the world, we build a net that connects people with each other and with God.

That’s not just the “capital-M” Minister’s job, by the way.  We all minister in our own way when we love and care.  So if we’re living and sharing that love, the “net” isn’t a thing we wield, it’s the people.  All the people.  And I know this because some pretty great things are happening at my church right now and I’m not even there, I’m on sabbatical.  It’s the people: they’re being ministers.

And they're not the only ones.  Perhaps you should jump in and see.  I’m pretty sure they’re doing it on porpoise.