Summer 2024

The stars shine in their watches and rejoice. When God calls them, they say, "Here we are!" And so with cheerfulness they show light to him who made them.i

Greetings!

Last week, while I was seed shopping at the Essex Coop, the manager and I began to chat about squirrels and how they conquer every SQUIRREL-PROOF feeder. I suggested that these very clever rodents draw up blueprints, indicating distances and jumping angles, so that they can calculate access routes. Wes disagreed; he thought they log on to Squirrel YouTube channels & watch “how to” videos.

Both of us agreed that they are smarter than us. And both of us were delighted by that fact. Squirrels are fun and humbling at the same time – perfect for keeping us grounded in our own creatureliness.

For we, like our fluffy and feathered neighbours, are all part of God’s Creation. All children of the same Heavenly Parent. All filled with the Divine presence. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) stated that, “God is in all things, and innermostly.”ii

Innermostly! What a marvellous way to describe God’s indwelling! Butterflies, beluga whales, and basset hounds are all bearers of the Holy. Our Creator is as deeply embedded in squirrels as he is in you and me. No wonder we can’t keep them out of our bird feeders!

I can imagine God-in-the-squirrel having a good laugh with God-in-me as I fail yet again to keep Her Furriness out of the suet. Hot pepper suet that animals are supposed to hate! I hope I’m not giving my squirrel siblings stomach-ache. … Should I add an antacid to the feeder?

For those of us who are passionate about our planet, this radical indwelling - this “deep incarnation” – is good news.iii The Holy One is on Nature’s side. She is IN Nature’s self.

All created life reflects God’s glory. And the more creatures can flourish - in their own unique ways - the more the Creator is honoured.

Squirrelness glorifies God!

Have fun-in-the-sun with God!

Find your own “squirrelness”!

And may this summer richly bless you.

Brenda

---

i Baruch 3: 34-35, World English Bible

ii Thomas Aquinas, in Elizabeth Johnson, “Come, Have Breakfast,” Orbis Books, 2024

iii Niels Gregerson, ibid.

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