March 2024

Greetings,

Every Lent and Easter, Christians make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It is a deeply inspirational journey. Even though, for most of us, it is virtual. The palace and the praetorium, Golgotha and the grave, give us insights into Jesus and his Way of being. They comfort, encourage, and foster hope when our lives – or our world – turn scary.

The four Gospel writers do not present a unidimensional image of Jesus. Matthew and Mark portray a man abandoned by his friends and, seemingly, by God also. On the Cross, Jesus’ last words are a harrowing, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Luke’s passion narrative describes human and Divine support for Jesus. Support that gave him the strength to heal and forgive even in extremis. His final utterance was a prayer of trust and relinquishment: “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit.”

Capital punishment did not daunt John’s Jesus. He was confident in God and in himself. “I glorified you on earth by completing down to the last detail what you assigned me to do. And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor.” (The Message) At the moment of death, Jesus was grateful that his mission in life had been successfully completed. “Everything is done!” were his very last words. (C.E.V.)

Jesus’ mixed emotions in the face of suffering and struggle gives us hope.

He truly was like us! When life takes an unwelcome or unnerving turn, we too have varying responses. There are those moments when we cry in distress, “Where are you, God? Why did you abandon me?”

At other times, a painful situation prompts us to help others. We comfort another family in the ICU waiting room. We struggle out of bed to help our hospital roommate. We take a neighbour along to our favourite thrift store. Together, we can be fashion upcyclers! Housewares recyclers! Triumphant savers of the planet, rather than simply shoppers on tight budgets.

Life’s blows can knock the wind out of us. But with Jesus beside us, we will not despair. We shall not be defeated.

THAT is the message of Easter!

“Christ gives me the strength to face anything.”

Philippians 4:13, C.E.V.

May the Lenten and Easter Seasons fill you with blessings,

Brenda

February 2024

Greetings,

This year Valentine’s Day falls on Ash Wednesday. Romance and remorse join hands!

Sugar and self-denial do a dance!

Dates, of course, are set by humans. So, God is waiting with bated Ruach to find out what we’ll do on February 14th. He is wary of Earth’s grace-versus-judgement fallacy.

She hopes that Lovers and Lenters will finally recognize that it is all about Love!

Lent and St. Valentine’s Day both developed as springtime rituals. The gradually lengthening days marked the approach of Easter, when new converts to Christianity would be baptized. “Sackcloth and ashes”, mourning and repentance, readied hearts and minds for the sacrament of baptism. (N.B. These weren’t church-going folk who had messed up now and again. These were pagans with a capital “P”!)

St. Valentine’s Day was established 498 CE in honour of a 3rd Century martyr. The date was chosen to “Christianize” the pagan festival of Lupercalia which celebrated the pairing of young couples.

Young sweethearts and old sinners – that’s how these two events got their start. And we’ve maintained a festal apartheid ever since. But God is not divided! The One Who Is Love can only love.

Judgement is not condemnation; it is passion on edge, in case hurt or harm arise.

The God who created cocoa also keeps an eye on our weight, our HbA1C, and our heart health. Self-denial can be self-care!

Remorse and romance aren’t opposites either. No relationship can function smoothly without those pauses when we say “sorry” or “I’ll never do that again.” When rightly deployed, regret and resolve heal and strengthen our connections to God and to each other.

So, this Valentine’s Wednesday, share the love!

And the chocolate! (Low sugar, if necessary!)

May the Day bring you sweet blessings.

And may Lent draw you closer to God.

Brenda

Christmas 2023

Greetings,

We tend to image the Nativity as a tableau. Jesus and his parents, the admiring visitors, and various farm animals, stock still in the borrowed barn. (“The little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes”!) Each character is frozen in time, place, and endeavour.

But, in fact, the story of Jesus’ birth is full of movement. It’s more travelogue than triptych. Mary journeyed to Elizabeth so that they could support one another during their problem pregnancies. Joseph and Mary wanted to stand up and be counted; a civic choice that involved a difficult trip to Bethlehem. When she went into labour (lots of movement there!), a property owner, the local midwives (not mentioned by physician Luke!), and some meat suppliers went out of their way to secure a safe delivery and healthy post-partum for mother and child.

Wise and wealthy foreigners made the long journey to see what they could do to help out. Rather than simply send a donation, they provided in-person assistance. Later, political oppression necessitated an emergency flight to Egypt for Joseph and his family. Fortunately, the Egyptian immigration authorities welcomed them. When mad, bad Herod the Great died, the family returned to Nazareth.

Such a lot of travel! So much action and adventure! Terribly tough for the young parents and their child. But what joy it must have given those who came to their aid.

Christmas is still a call to help: to support, to share, to stand in solidarity with. The smallest assistance is a precious gift to Jesus. Far more appreciated than luxury gifts like gold or glitzy perfume!

May your Christmas be blessed with joys received and hope given. May love and peace fill your hearts and your homes.

Brenda