God's Light- Peace For All

Friday night our church film group took in London River, a tough film to watch. A Christian woman and a Muslim man search London for their children following the 2005 bombings. In the discussion that followed at a local bar we came up with quite a list of why this was anything but a Hollywood ending. Still the two parents found ways to hesitantly reach across their separate realities. And it was the Muslim that took the initial and the larger steps.

Even tentative attempts to bridge the religious and cultural divides in our world are steps worth taking. Some say that it is only Christians that are taking the steps. But then comes the news that Muslim intellectuals and activists called upon Egyptian Muslims to attend Coptic churches for Christmas Eve mass to show solidarity with the country’s Coptic minority after the Epiphany bombing of a Coptic church.

A 40 year old house wife Fatima Mostafa said, “I want to show the world that Islam is a religion of peace and that such attacks are nothing more than a result of poverty, ignorance and oppression.”

A story like that makes you believe that God’s light might yet find a way to make some of the old prophecies sound possible.


Peter

Success Starts With A Single Step

I’ve been reading Parker Palmer’s writings on spirituality for years, so I was delighted to find a reflection by him on writing as an act of faith.

Palmer describes a revelation he received thirty years ago on holding in his hands the first copy of his first book. Up until that point he had written essays. Somebody liked what they read and asked him for more. The next thing he knew he had a book.

The bolt from heaven was that we can do things we don’t think we can do if we don’t think about doing them.

And so “if you can’t write a book, then write a lot of essays. If you can’t write an essay, write a lot of paragraphs. If you can’t write a paragraph, write a line or a word. And if you can’t do that on the page, write your truth with your life, which is far more important than any book.”

For Palmer faith is less about a big leap, more about taking one more step. Writer or not, that applies to us all.


Peter

Dare To Change - Trust The Spirit

So do you have any resolutions for the new year? There are those who say that people do not change, that January gym members' enthusiasm inevitably expires before their memberships do. That may be reality but it does not do justice to the few who do make a decision and manage to stumble along in a new direction. Some people do change, some of the time.

The gospel texts for the season of Epiphany are all about choosing a new direction. Jesus chooses to go to John to be baptized. Simon and Andrew choose to follow this new teacher. Jesus chooses to see his next steps of faith as a response to the inspiration of the Spirit.

The decisions to move in a new direction are probably never as neat as the story describes. There is probably more doubt, disagreement and discouragement than the narrative reveals.

But the gospels have this spirit of adventure and hope that is quite thrilling. I choose to believe that despite our human resistance, the Spirit constantly invites us to new beginnings. That's a theme I am going to be exploring this month. Can I interrupt old patterns? Can I open some new door in my life? Can I trust that God has something new for me to discover?

"I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"
Isaiah 43:19


Peter

Transforming Life

I was listening to Christopher Hitchens’ debate on religion with Tony Blair on the radio and had to agree with many of Hitchens’ examples of religious excess and hubris. Human history is littered with examples of abuses in every institution.

But do poor marriages mean the institution of marriage should be banned? Do corrupt political leaders mean that we should abandon politics? Hopefully abusive teachers and doctors do not mean we should close all hospitals or schools. And one can argue that a fundamentalist interpretation of faith does not mean that religion must be narrow-minded and exclusive.

Hitchens can point out the lack of logic and common sense of much religion but he cannot negate the powerful effect of a spiritual leader like Gandhi.

A poster that hangs in my home office is graced by a quote from Gandhi. He lists the 7 deadly social sins:

politics without principle
wealth without work
commerce without morality
pleasure without conscience
education without character
science without humanity
worship without sacrifice

Will that kind of critique and reminder of what truly matters to human beings ever lose its power to transform life?


Peter

Do I Need To Be A Member?

Here's an interesting stat that confirms what many of us have been noticing in recent years. 1n 2001 about 11% of church goers were not members nor were they seeking to be members. Now ten years later, that number is about the same. But...the number of young adults in that grouping is close to double those who are over 45.

So what does that mean? What do we do?

One response would be to do a whole lot more to try convince the under 45s to change their ways and officially join up. Another response which I think we are trying to live into at Emmanuel is to find ways for young people to be connected and involved in our ministry in all kinds of ways. There are many paths up the mountain. Let's keep them all open.


Peter

Desmond Tutu - Christianity's Dalai Lama

I am going to miss the voice of Desmond Tutu. He retired from public life last month on his 79th birthday.

He always struck me as the Christian equivalent of the Dalai Lama. They both have the ability to chuckle in such a disarmingly human way and in the next moment to startle you with their spiritual insight.

I was a commissioner to General Council in London Ontario when Archbishop Tutu captivated the court with his stories and his presence.

His voice was authentic because unlike many of us Canadians who have enjoyed the best of all possible worlds, Tutu’s faith put him in real danger.

Tutu once said, “God is not even-handed. God is biased, horribly in favour of the weak. The minute an injustice is perpetrated, God is going to be on the sid of the one who is being clobbered.”

He could say things like this and still reach out to those who occupied a contrary view and he could do so with a smile and an open hand. That’s a special gift, to not demonize your enemies. We will miss him.



Peter

A treasure of a small group

Those that study the characteristics of vital churches tend to agree that one of the commonalities of such churches, is their small group ministry. These small groups make a huge difference. If you can find a welcome and a place in a small group then you are much more likely to make that church. your home

Emmanuel United has managed to nurture the growth and development of a number of small groups. I drop in on some of these groups from time to time and marvel at how different they are and how well they work.

This week I joined the group that for many years has been described as “Larry’s Bible Study.” Larry never calls it that but others do.

The group just finished up a several week study of Martin Buber’s theological classic, I and Thou. This book is the theological equivalent of War and Peace, begun by many and finished by few. And although the members take turns in presenting, when the discussion begins to stumble, Larry offers a question or an interpretation and the conversation is up and running once more. It doesn’t hurt that Larry taught a course on this particular text decades ago or that in his 90s he still can skilfully disentangle a concept which baffles the rest of us.

This small group along with its sagacious leader, is one of the many hidden treasures of the Emmanuel community.

Peter