The more time I spend with people ...

 

Okay, I'm gonna just say it: THE MORE TIME I SPEND WITH PEOPLE THE MORE I APPRECIATE AND LOVE MY DOGS!!!!!!!

Mind you, it's not ALL people ... just some ... but increasingly that latter category is fast outstripping the former!! More and more people I met strike me as more than slightly challenged!!

My observations of late have caused me to conclude that the word "NO" is truly an anathema to some people. They can't bear saying it, and they never want to hear it - yet, if we learn to say it properly and appropriately, we could spare ourselves many irritating and aggravating moments. 

I've also noted in the Church circles that too often we want to avoid even the slightest hint of having to hurt someone's feeling. The pendulum has swung too an extreme where we've become so warm pink and fuzzy that we can't bear the thought of offending or hurting people ... this is connected with our unwillingness to offer a firm "NO!" ... When I consider this I ponder the whole "What Would Jesus Do?" thing and wonder if he would just shake his head in bewilderment at the wishy washiness that has embraced his church. 

Why have we lost the ability to stand on firm and solid theology, while living the radical inclusivity that is inherent in the Gospel??

Yesterday I spent some time with my Great Aunt and Great Uncle who live not far from here and as I left Uncle F's words resonated in my ears - he said "People are SO selfish today ..." 

I think that is the heart of the dilemma that brings such cynicism to my heart. People are increasingly selfish. They have grown fearful of change and the rapid change by which it seems to be happening, and so they look inwards and focus more and more on them selves ... Fortunately, I continue to stumble upon people who are not selfish, but wonderfully and lovingly self-less. 

Thus far in the Church, and in the circles where I live and move, the self-less still out number the selfish ... but my bumping into the stupidly selfish when I move beyond my circles causes me great concern. 

BUT, that concern thus far, doesn't drive me to despair, but instead inspires me to hang out with my dogs, and then head back into the world more determined to be the change we seek!! 

I'm far from perfect, but today, like yesterday and like the days before that, I will continue to do the best job I can living out the idea that together we can make the world a better place, one step, one breath, one small action at time!! 

And when my cynicism increases, I'll spend some time with my dogs and regain a much needed perspective!!

  

As our Olympians return home ...

In the wake of the London Olympics I think expressing our appreciation to ALL the athletes is not only appropriate, but the ONLY response.

ALL of the athletes who were in London did a great job and have more than earned the appreciaition of our Nation for making us proud.

Afterall, the Olympics are not just about getting Gold medals, they are about being the best you can be and striving to achieve personal bests. (Remember the Jamaican Bobsled team and Eddie the Eagle Edwards??)

Aren't the Olympics about higher, stronger, faster?? I don't remember ever reading that they are about only getting the gold? Being there alone is a spectacular achievement, and every one of those men and women who wore Canada on their chests entering the Stadium 18 days ago deserve our respect, our admiration, and our pride - they've earned it!!!

Thanks to Team Canada for a job well done!!! You made us proud!!!

The lessons we can learn from a cookie !!!

"Boycott Kraft!!!"

"God hates ... "

"Jesus loves you, ... but"

I read the Scriptures, and I take what I find there quite seriously, but I must confess I marvel at how seemingly faithful people can read the same scriptures - the very same words - and can find in those texts prohibitions and calls to exclude and hurt others.

I have never been able to see how the Scriptures can be used, or more appropriately, misused to exclude women, left-handed people, minorities, and most recently Gays, Lesbians, Trans-gendered and Bi-sexual people ... over the course of time, the Church has struggled repeatedly with the widening of our circle. Each time we've tried to widen the circle voices have called out denouncing the inclusion of the latest group, likening us to Sodom and Gomorrah and calling on the fires of heaven to rain down on us and condemn us to the deepest hell.

How can we, who claim to follow a God of Love and Grace, utter such hurtful and hateful words?

How can ANYONE who claims to be a follower of this rabbi named Yeshua utter words dripping with such hate and anger?

I've pondered the bewildering idea of God Hating anyone elsewhere on this site, and today as I've been following the postings of my friend and colleague Blake (aka The Laughing Pastor), as he watched the convulsions our American Presbyterian cousins are going through at their General Assembly, I find myself once again wondering how we've so defined 'faithfulness' and the Gospel, to intentionally exclude ANYONE.

When I read the Scriptures, I don't see any foot note that says God's love is ONLY for a particular group of people ... when I read the Scriptures I see a Gospel that frees us from such foolishness and calls us to care for those who are hurt, broken, and marginalized. When I read the Scriptures I discover that living out the Gospel demands opening the circle wide and living inclusively and with love for ALL people.

Love precludes the ability to say God hates anyone ...

Love prevents us from invoking anger and hurt in our speech ...

Love locks firmly the gates of hell and asks us to stop trying to condemn people to its fiery abyss ...

Love means living without fear and trusting in God fully and without hesitation !!!

Love means serving rainbow oreos and celebrating the diversity of the human family at Church function!!

Love means living the idea of welcoming EVERYONE in the name of the Risen One!!

An A-Ha Moment !!!

I was feeling very very very cynical today as I read the news sites I visit each morning and getting caught up on the United Church chatter on various websites ...

Then our minister emeritus Rev. Doyle stopped by and we had a chat ... along the way Doyle offered an off handed observation that not only resonated with me, it summarized nicely much of what I've been feeling lately.

Doyle noted that when things like Medicare were brought into being in our country, the politicians and the leaders of the day had a sense of the Common Good that motivated them. We talked about Trudeau and Douglas and even folks like Diefenbaker and Stanfield and noted they were NOT motivated by greed and profit, but by making the Society better for EVERYONE not just the select few.

While we lamented the current state of things, we noted that there are some glimmerings of the common good out there if we look hard enough.

But what I realized today, or rather was reminded of, was that the problem is not in me - the problem is in the incredibly selfish approach our society has taken. We no longer look for the common good or for the welfare of others, but have instead embraced and embodied the foolish values of the "Me Generation" that looks out only for one's self.

Fortunately, there are those glimmering people and places that keep alive the flame of the Common Good, and in time those sparks will reignite and bring us back to what's important ... the Social Gospel may been down, but it is definitely NOT out!!!!

In a world of fear ...

It may be the cynic in me, but I'm increasingly becoming aware of the prevasive fear that has touched just about every aspect of our society ... our politics are RIPE with fear. Here in Canada the mantra of 'justice' has driven the agenda of our Federal ruling party to expand our jails, tighten up sentencing and impose draconian measures for a wide range of crimes despite the statistics that tell us that crime rates are dropping and we are a safer society.

Meanwhile, poverty - perhaps the most incideous violence of all - is on the rise and the demand placed upon shelters, food banks and soup kitchens is growing exponentially while our talking heads tell us the economy is rebounding and things are fine ... FINE??? The Canadian Banks quietly took Government hand outs that grossly exceeded thier total cumulative value while thier executives continued to be paid extraordinary salaries and bonuses while the banks were utterly bankrupt, and we're to accept the premise that things are fine?!? I think NOT!

Fear has permeated EVERY aspect of our society ... from kids who live in anxious fear of strangers, through to politicians who fear immigrants, terrorists and same sex marriage ... over and over our media, our leaders and sadly, even our Churches engage in this perpetuation of fear by lamenting the state of our world, while trying to impose simple solutions that offer only the illusion of security.

How can I be secure when basic rights are being denied to another? Whether it be the right to food, the right to shelter, the right to marry, or even the right to speak up?

Somehow, our leaders have convinced us that this ongoing erosion of freedoms and rights, all in the name of security - whether that security is economic, political, military, or otherwise - is the only option.

Then, most appalling of all, they distract us by having us debate some minor little thing, while they continue to widen the abyss between the have's and the have-nots, and lessen our ability to have a say much less any input into the day to day workings of our world ...

EVERYTHING IS FINE, they offer in reassuring tones, while they suggest we turn on the 500 channel universe, explore the internet, or continue shopping ... meanwhile, our world crumbles ... 

Today, like perhaps never before, we need Prophetic Voices to speak up and speak out about the reality unfolding around us, and those voices - in the Churches and faith communities of our world, and beyond - need to boldly and courageously offer a message that is not about pouring a balm over the hurts and alienation, but that proclaims the Holy Message of Transformation and Hope that is promised.

In a world of fear, the prophets speak of Hope ... dare we listen??

Mementos ... a reminder of what is really important ...

I'm becoming increasingly cynical about our culture and society lately ... As I drive to and from the larger urban centres I can't help but wonder (bordering on a rant) why we (speaking collectively) keep building such MASSIVE houses.

I honestly wonder what the appeal of having a 4000+ sqr ft home really is ... I can barely keep up keeping my little 1900 sqr foot house clean ... twice the space makes me wonder what these people do to have that kind of time ... or income to hire cleaning services ...

Really though ... when will the realization be made that ALL of this consumerism is a dead end street move beyond the Occupy Movement and the few voices that stand on the margins lamenting what we as a society and culture have lost?? When will people wake up to realize that shopping will never ease the ache within, and bigger and better just means running on a treadmill that has no end ... as I ponder this I can't help but picture George Jetson on the treadmill that he and Astro hop on at the end of the Jetson's ... once you buy into the consumerist model of "shop, shop, shop" you can't hop off until it destroys you. And the rise of shows about consumers overwhelmed by debt and spending combined with the economic meltdown in our Southern Neighbour a few short months ago, would suggest that destruction is already being felt ...

This Holiday Season, what I've come to appreciate is the value of the intangible things in our lives ... our family ... our relationships ... and the connectedness to things that money can not buy.

The picture above is the inscription in a tiny black leather bound Bible that I found amongst the detritus and mementos from my Grandparents' house that my Aunt had put out on Boxing Day for the family to choose from ... for the last few years the various items had been stored in boxes in a basement, and my Aunt and her family decided the time had come to clean some of the stuff out and let us chose our mementos and tokens to remember Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Drake ...

Oh what a trip down memory lane it was ... pictures and wall hangings invoked recollections about where in the house they once stood ... glasses and mugs called to mind family gatherings and favourite beverages (one set of glasses had me laughing at the recollection of Uncle Drake enjoying his 'garden cocktail and rum' at Work Day, or Christmas, or Thanksgiving ...) ... and over and over the comment was made - "I remember this ..." and a story would follow.

For a brief shimmering moment, Grandma and Grandpa were there ... smiling and joining in the fun as we were once again at HOME at 58 Austin Drive, even if we were still very much standing in a basement in New Hamburg !!

Such are the power of our memories and the mementos that connect that thread of thought and recollection that we might so easily overlook in our busy consumerist lifestyle ...

What I've come to realize lately, is that one can be overwhelmed with stuff, and need to build bigger shelves, larger rooms, and even rent locker facilities to tuck it ALL away ... but in the process, you lose touch with what it is, and you no longer are able to use nor appreciate it. The extreme of this collecting is the folks we see on the Hoarder shows who are utterly and totally overwhelmed by their "STUFF" and no longer can function ...

Alas, our culture though has become oriented to this acquisition cycle that sees people shopping and collecting and amassing huge amounts of stuff ... the newest and the best ... the biggest and the brightest ... over and over we measure the value of our existence, not by the relationships we have and value, but by the standards of how much, how big, how many and how valuable our STUFF is ...

Fortunately, there runs underneath all of this a current calling on us to simplify our lives and to declutter our world. We don't need to have the biggest house, the fastest car, the most up to date tv or computer ... instead we can and should find our contentment with a simple word: ENOUGH.

Having a warm comfortable bed is enough.
Having food to eat and share is enough.
Having a safe place to sit and enjoy the circle of family and friends is enough.
Having adequate clothing that is comfortable and clean is enough.

Over and over the self-help gurus are challenging us to realize a simple truth that is ALL around us if we simply dare to look.

We don't have to opt into the rat race of buying, shopping and collecting ... instead we can opt out and look back at the simpler times when having enough was a the ULTIMATE goal.

My Grandparents' home was never huge. But it was always comfortable.
Grandma and Grandpa always had enough to look after all of us and any visitors who came along, but they also lived very simply. There was little extravagance in their lives or in their home, but there was ALWAYS quality. Quality in the food consumed, in the furniture and household goods used, and in the clothing worn. But they never flaunted, nor did they live to excess ... they epitomized the very word ENOUGH.

There is a lesson there ... one that we've lost as a culture.

We've come to think that it is the normative way of living, to have a lifestyle that EXCEEDS that of our parents. Maybe, the lesson is to seek a lifestyle that matches that of our parents and grandparents.

My grandparents lived well ... they owned a car, but often walked ... they owned a single tv, but usually spent time reading ... they owned a single black phone hanging on the wall, but usually communicated by face to face visits and hand written letters ... they owned a house with lots of space, but never filled with with clutter and stored items ... they owned a yard and had gardens producing flowers, vegetables, and fruit that was used to pass on joy and delight to others ...

My Grandparents valued the good things in life ... but never let those things supersede their family and the wonderful relationships that were nurtured over time between us ... and maybe that's the greatest lesson they have left for us: that we should and must value each other more than any of the mementos, items and things that clutter our lives with stuff.

When I look at some of the things I've gained from mom's house, and from that of my grandparents' what I see is not their momentary value, but rather the memories that lie behind it ... the Irish coins from Grandpa remind me of his War stories about the places he'd been and the sights he'd seen ... the old green fountain pen of Grandma's reminds me of the letters she wrote and the hours spent poking through her brown writing desk in the corner of the living room ... and the celery vases and other items from Mom's remind me of how Mom loved to buy beautiful things to pass on to others in the hopes they would share her appreciation of them ... but over and over, I realize that ALL of these things are just stuff. The value is within me, in the stories and memories and recollections that come to mind when I see and touch those items ...

In 50 or 100 years, the true value of the stuff will be gone when no one is left to tell the stories. The stories, crafted from memories and recollections of what was, are what are truly important, and these stories will never be held within massive houses, or distant storage lockers, and these stories will never be found in a shopping mall, or at the big block store's latest sales. Instead these stories are found when we nurture and refresh the bonds of relationships that exist within and between us as family and friends.

One day, I truly hope our society and our culture will finally realize the foolishness of our consumerist ways, and take a step back physically, economically, spiritually and emotionally ...