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The Nature of His Love

31/3/2020

A Reflection on the First Reading for April 5th, 2020:
Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

ISAIAH 50:4-7

The servant of the Lord said: The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens — wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.

The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward.

I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.

The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

My Lent so far this year has been characterized by a deepening in my understanding of the nature of God’s love. Morning by morning, He has wakened my ear, and I have been trying to listen as one who is taught, to learn the profound difference between God’s love and the love we exchange as human beings.

So often, I know not what I do. I react with behaviour that is found at the end of well-travelled pathways of emotion based on my limited, human experience of love. Even though it may only be in small ways, I’m rebellious and I turn backward from Him, all the time. The tremendous spiritual work involved in truly embracing His love for me as His daughter is daunting, but I am grateful for my Christian community for keeping me accountable and helping me along the way.

In his book “The Return of the Prodigal Son”, Henri Nouwen discusses how Jesus lives out of His true identity as Son of the Father. About Jesus, he writes: “He gives everything, and receives everything.” When we give everything, including our pride and self-focus, we become exposed and vulnerable to insult and spitting. For me, the hardest part of giving everything is giving away my fear — I need to come out of hiding, first in His presence, and then as my trust in Him grows, I emerge more fully as myself in the presence of others. God’s love is truly so much better than anything else; and when I both rest in it and live from it, I really have no reason to be afraid.

During our recent parish mission with Fr. Mathias Thelen, I sat in prayer, asking God the question “How are You loving me right now?”. What came to me first was the ocean; the depth, breadth, and awesome strength of the ocean. Interestingly, what followed soon after was a delicate, intricate, beautiful butterfly, light and fluttery and gentle — this image has returned to me as I write and reflect on emerging more fully as my true self from a cocoon of fear and pride.

As the season of Lent draws to a close, and even if our experience of Lenten sacrifice does not soon end, may we consider more fully the nature of God’s love and what it means for our lives. After all, if not from a Love beyond our comprehension, then from where else comes Jesus’ ability to give His back to those who struck Him?

Let us pray:
Lord, may we grow in our ability to face whatever threatens our earthly lives by more fully understanding Your Love for us. Amen.

Lindsay Elford

Photo by Nicholas Doherty on Unsplash

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Waiting For a Miracle

27/3/2020

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A Reflection on the Gospel for March 29th, 2020:
Fifth Sunday of Lent

JOHN 11

1Now a certain man was ill, Laz'arus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Laz'arus was ill. 3So the sisters sent to him, saying, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." 4But when Jesus heard it he said, "This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it." 5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Laz'arus. 6So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go into Judea again." 8The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" 9Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." 11Thus he spoke, and then he said to them, "Our friend Laz'arus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep." 12The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." 13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14Then Jesus told them plainly, "Laz'arus is dead; 15and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." 16Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." 17Now when Jesus came, he found that Laz'arus had already been in the tomb four days. 18Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. 21Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." 23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world." 28When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." 29And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; 34and he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." 35Jesus wept. 36So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" 37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 38Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. 39Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." 40Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" 41So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me." 43When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Laz'arus, come out." 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." 45Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him;

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

I feel the pain of Lazarus’ sisters in this reading. They called for Jesus to come and save their brother Lazarus, full of belief that He could and would heal their brother. His death meant a lot to them — as unmarried women at that time, they would be entirely alone in the world. But beyond material concerns, they were clearly a close-knit family and losing a sibling would be an unimaginable blow.

So when Jesus didn’t show up in their time of need, I can imagine how they must have felt. Both sisters greet Jesus with the words, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Is it reproach? Is it grief? Is it an appeal? Martha gives us a clue when she follows up with the statement, “I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” A normal part of grief is denial and bargaining. A grabbing at straws and vain attempt to deny or reverse our loss. Martha turns to her belief in Jesus and her words sound in many ways like bargaining. She believes Jesus is the Son of God and that God will listen to Him. But how far will God go? Will He raise a man from the dead? We know the answer because we know the story, but Martha and Mary walked to that tomb to grieve their brother alongside their friend, Jesus.

I wonder what that felt like, that moment between things. I feel like we’re in that place right now. There’s fear and death around the world. Many of us are raising our hands in prayer and trust, but right now we have to wait for that moment of miracle. Jesus isn’t necessarily going to answer our prayers the way we want, just as He didn’t save Lazarus from His illness. But I trust Jesus when He intervenes in visible ways and when He doesn’t. So I’m going to sit with the thought of Mary and Martha, walking to the tomb of their brother, trusting without even knowing what to ask for anymore or what God will supply.

God is in this space. God is in this time of waiting. Our faith in Him has to be watchful and trusting. We can pour our hearts out to Him and share our pain. He will weep with us in these days. But His salvation is coming.

Stephanie Potter

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

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Life Within

26/3/2020

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A Reflection on the Second Reading for March 29th, 2020:
Fifth Sunday of Lent

Romans 8.8-11

Brothers and sisters: Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

I have been spending a lot of time at the IWK Health Centre this week rather than in the community with the families I typically work with, and there are many women wandering around that place with indwelling lives housed securely in their wombs. If you have ever been “in the family way,” you know the unmistakable and oftentimes glorious feeling of life dwelling within you.

I was dead in my sin when I became pregnant with new life, though my sins were largely unknown to me at the time. What I did know, was that things were about to change.

I was able to play with my daughter before she was even born. I would lie down and sing to her often. When I would stop singing, she would kick me. As I started up again, she would stop. I tested this on more than one occasion, because although it seemed highly improbable to me that she would interact this way before birth, the interaction was so clearly intentional. She shattered my preconceptions about pre-born children. Then over and over again after her birth, she shattered my preconceptions about many other things.

When she came to life within me, I also began to be born anew. I saw myself, my body, my purpose, in a whole new way. I began to see myself as having worth—because now I was a part of something bigger than me. I had a family. I had a most intimate relationship—one that was born from within my very being. One that could never be separated from me. She will always belong to me, and I to her.

No longer living for myself, I began to live for her. More than I wanted what was best for myself, I wanted what was best for her.

And so it is to be born of the Spirit.

Something gave way to allow for this sacrificial disposition in me; a dying before a living. But the things that died—selfishness, autonomy, comfort—these are merely things of the flesh. And their dying gave way for the newness of life in love, communion, sacrifice. This is life in the Spirit. Having access to the Spirit of God requires this same full submission to a life more important than my own: the Life of Jesus. This submission is a dying to my own agendas, ideals, preconceptions. In a most radical way, it is a letting go of my very own life to do what I believe He would want me to do. And the reward for this sacrifice is so boundless, my mind can’t contain it.

I write these things to you on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord—the very day our Mother Mary submitted herself, her whole life, amidst all the uncertainty, certain persecution, and relational sacrifice that she, in her youth and innocence would face—for the Spirit of the Lord to dwell within her. She gave it all to receive it all.

Father, I give you my life to receive Your Life in me, today.

Lori MacDonald

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

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Unlimited

25/3/2020

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A Reflection on the Psalm for March 29th, 2020:
Fifth Sunday of Lent

Psalm 130

R. With the Lord there is steadfast love and great power to redeem.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!

R. With the Lord there is steadfast love and great power to redeem.

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.

R. With the Lord there is steadfast love and great power to redeem.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning.

R. With the Lord there is steadfast love and great power to redeem.

For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

R. With the Lord there is steadfast love and great power to redeem.

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

I have always liked Lent.

I like the rhythms offered by the church calendar and the marking of time. The celebration of Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, is made all the sweeter each year by the weeks leading up to it where we retreat into the wilderness with Him for a bit. During Lent we reflect on how much we desperately need a resurrection. I like that once a year we are given space and time to remember that, though Jesus has come into the world, there is still pain, there is still longing, there is still difficulty. Yes, Jesus was born as a baby — God With Us — shared His message of love and hope for all people, and has risen from the dead. And yes, we are Easter people. And yet, all the brokenness of the world has not yet been restored to the way God intended it to be. There is still pain and suffering. Lent is an invitation to sit with this tension, this in-between space we find ourselves in.

To be honest, I find Lent to be a huge relief. I really appreciate that Lent gives us permission to acknowledge the pain and suffering we see around us all the time. This year we find ourselves in a Lent like no other I've ever experienced. In a few short weeks, 2020 has offered us peak Lent:

Isolation
Fear
Anxiety
Unrest
Despair
Uncertainty
Deprivation

Yes to all of the above.

I've been following one of my favourite Christian writers, Kate Bowler, as she reflects on this particular season of Lent. She recently said Lent is an invitation to give ourselves permission to acknowledge that we are limited. Isn't that true? We can't fix it all. We can't do it all. We don't have all the answers. We can, however, work within our own limitations and love the people in front of us; use the energy we have to do what we can for the people we can, and shine some Light into the darkness. We can also rest assured that though we are limited, God is not. And with Him, as the psalmist says today, there is steadfast love and redemption.

And, eventually, one way or another, Easter is coming.

There is an empty tomb.
Life conquers death.
Light drives out darkness.

Yes, we are finite. We are limited. But we are loved and we are held by a God who is neither.

Thanks be to God.

Morgan MacKenzie