Orange Shirt Day

The following is a teaching I put together for our Orange Shirt Day service. Within the text, I have indicated my sources.

May only truth be spoken and truth received. Amen.

 

(Quoted from https://orangeshirtday.org/ )

 

In the summer of 2021, the government of Canada declared September 30^th to be a federal statutory holiday called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is also known as Orange Shirt Day. It is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion events that took place in Williams Lake, BC, in May 2013.

 

This project was the vision of Esketemc (Alkali Lake) Chief Fred Robbins, who is a former student himself. It brought together former students and their families from the Secwepemc, Tsilhqot’in, Southern Dakelh and St’at’imc Nations along with the Cariboo Regional District, the Mayors and municipalities, School Districts and civic organizations in the Cariboo Region.

 

The events were designed to commemorate the residential school experience, to witness and honour the healing journey of the survivors and their families, and to commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation. Chief Justice Murray Sinclair challenged all of the participants to keep the reconciliation process alive, as a result of the realization that every former student had similar stories.

 

As spokesperson for the Reunion group leading up to the events, former student Phyllis Webstad told her story of her first day at residential school when her shiny new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, was taken from her as a six-year old girl. Here is her story…

 

READ THE STORY

 

The annual Orange Shirt Day on September 30^th opens the door to global conversation on all aspects of Residential Schools. It is an opportunity to create meaningful discussion about the effects of Residential Schools and the legacy they have left behind. A discussion all Canadians can tune into and create bridges with each other for reconciliation. A day for survivors to be reaffirmed that they matter.

 

(Quoted from “Phyllis’ Orange Shirt”)

 

So, each year, on September 30^th, many people, including Phyllis, wear bright orange shirts to honour residential school survivors and their families. Phyllis’ story is only one among many. We must listen to these stories, and we must learn from our past. By doing so, we can walk into the future without making the same mistakes again. When we wear our orange shirts, we reaffirm that every child matters – the children from every nation around the world, the residential school survivors, and the Indigenous children who didn’t come home.

 

Now some people might be wondering why we still talk about this topic, why we still wear orange shirts on (or near) September 30, and maybe even why we continue to give land acknowledgements before every worship service and every council meeting. Let’s talk a bit about why we still need to talk about truth and reconciliation.

 

(Quoted from https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/beyond-94?&cta=1)

 

In March 2018, CBC News launched Beyond 94, a website that monitors progress on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. Beyond 94 was the result of a year’s worth of research and interviews with survivors, stakeholders and all levels of government. (According to the CBC website, Beyond 94 was updated as recently as April 2025.)

 

The site provides up-to-date status reports on each call to action, as well as extensive summaries explaining those status reports. It includes in-depth features and short video documentaries that tell some of the community stories behind the calls to action. It also features residential school survivors sharing their experiences. (I strongly recommend you go and explore the website.)

 

In researching the progress of each Call to Action, CBC reached out to relevant governments, faith groups, professional and community organisations for comment. [They] fact-checked each response with invested stakeholders. [They] also cross-referenced federal funding announcements with actual and past financial expenditures. [They] also drew information from past and current CBC stories.

 

Beyond 94 measures the progress of the Calls to Action based on the following;

 

“Not started” refers to Calls to Action in which no action plan has been developed and/or no funds have been committed, to implement the Call to Action.

 

“In Progress – Projects proposed” refers to Calls to Action in which the relevant parties involved have either committed to an action plan or funding, but not yet followed through with it.

 

“In Progress – Projects underway” refers to Calls to Action in which the relevant parties involved are actively working towards implementing that call, with both a timeline and (where needed) the funding to make it happen.

 

“Complete” refers to Calls to Action which have been fully implemented.

 

Now I’m not going to list them all, but I will give you a summary. Of the 94 Calls to Action, 17 aren’t even started, 29 have proposed projects, and 33 have projects underway. Have you done the math? That leaves 15 that are completed. 15 out of 94, since the Calls to Action were created in 2015.

 

And that folks, is why we still talk about residential schools, why we wear orange on September30th, and why truth and reconciliation should continue be at the forefront of everything we do.

Amen.

A Year-Long Exploration of the Sermon on the Mount: Week 33

Chapter 33 – God’s Will

 

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven… (Matthew 6:10)

 

For some, there is a belief that no matter what they do in their lives, God has already predetermined their path and there’s nothing they can do about it. Something good happens? God did it as a reward. Something bad happens? God must be doling out punishment. But what about free will? God gave us the freedom to be who we want to be and experience life in the way that we want to.

 

I don’t believe in predestination. I do, however, believe in the power of prayer and in trusting that God will be there for me. “God’s will be done” is not throwing up my hands and saying, “I can’t do anything about it.” For me, it means that sometimes I need to leave things at God’s feet and allow God to take care of me, to guide me, to give me strength.

 

By giving one’s self over to God, it becomes easier to bring God’s kingdom to fruition here on earth. By allowing God’s will to be done, it becomes easier to see the gloriousness that is God’s creation. And when we are immersed in that gloriousness, how could we possibly not want to care for it?

A Year-Long Exploration of the Sermon on the Mount: Week 32

 

Chapter 32 – God’s Kingdom

 

Your kingdom come… (Matthew 6:10)

 

Christians spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to live the perfect life so that they can get into heaven. The belief is that the bible says that if we follow all of the rules, God will welcome us into heaven with open arms. These same people say that God’s kingdom is in heaven and only certain people will be able to enter into that kingdom.

 

But the Lord’s Prayer says right in it – your kingdom come. God’s kingdom isn’t a place waiting for us to arrive. God’s kingdom is here on earth, and God is waiting for us to do something about it. God sent Jesus to us as a way to show us how much God wants to be here on earth with us, and Jesus taught us how to show the world that everyone is invited to be part of God’s kingdom – not in heaven, but on earth!

 

So why are we trying to hard to get into the heavenly kingdom when we could be putting the same effort into taking care of God’s earthly kingdom? Every creature, great and small, every living thing, every speck of dust, and every breath of wind are all part of God’s kingdom. Stop worrying so much about the life beyond and start worrying about the lives in front of your faces! “Here on earth is where [God] wants to dwell again. Here on earth is where we may find [God]. Here on earth is where [God] came and will come again.” (p, 203)

A Year-Long Exploration of the Sermon on the Mount: Week 31

Chapter 31 – God’s Name

 

Hallowed be your name… (Matthew 6:9)

 

In the bible, there is power in a name. Quite often, God will give someone a new name when they’ve addressed their doubts, or come to believe in themselves or God, and it often signifies a renewed purpose, covenant, or significant life event. Sarai and Abram become Sarah and Abraham. Jacob became Israel. Saul becomes Paul.

 

Even when we name our children, we aren’t doing so lightly. We consider honouring a family name. We ponder what nicknames, good or bad, might be derived from the name or the initials. We research meanings behind the names we are considering. For those who are transgender and are choosing a new name for themselves, sometimes time is taken for trying out those names.

 

Ultimately, we want our names to mean something, to give us strength and power, and to give us confidence. Our name will follow us throughout our lives, and we want to be proud of it and bring meaning to it.

 

When we pray “Hallowed be your name” during the Lord’s Prayer, we are praying to both “ask God to make [God’s] name holy and pledging ourselves to not misuse God’s name.” (p. 194) It is not unusual to hear God’s name being taken in vain and I have often pondered why it has become more commonplace. Doesn’t it happen more often today than it did in previous decades? Or do we just notice it more? I’m not sure. But I believe that each time that we pray the Lord’s Prayer and call for God’s name to continue to be holy, it’s as if we are resetting our expectations, asking for God’s forgiveness, and thanking God for allowing us to try again to not take God’s name in vain in the future.

Don't be a Scrooge: A Sermon for the 15th Sunday After Pentecost

May only truth be spoken and truth received. Amen.

 

The Gospel reading today is kind of an oddball passage. We are no stranger to Jesus’ parables, but this one seems to be a tricky one to decipher. And I’m not alone in this thought. Scouring the commentaries and blogs while researching what I was going to preach on this week, everyone seems to be befuddled by this particular parable. So, if you’re also puzzled as to what today’s lesson might be, know that you are in good company!

 

The story starts with a rich man and his manager. It is likely that the rich man lived far away, and it was up to this manager to run the business. Rumours were circling that this manager was cheating his boss out of his money. Word got back to the rich man, and he confronts his manager with the charges. The man’s silence becomes an admission of guilt. Instead of having him thrown into jail, which is what anyone else at that time would have done, the rich man fires him and demands an audit of the books. The rich man appears to be unusually merciful.

 

Having been discovered in his deception, the manager immediately starts to think about how to get out of this bind. He is not strong enough for manual labour and is too proud to beg for money. He also knows that he could not expect to enter such a responsible position with another employer since everyone will have heard about his betrayal of his current employer.

 

The manager considers that his most promising course is to place others in his debt by granting them favors while he can still exercise authority. He figured that when he is out of a job, they would owe him something. Quickly calling up those who owe the rich man money, he hastily asks each one what they owe. These people he calls on are land renters, whose payment is a portion of their crops. The manager gives each one of the debtors the bill and tells them to change the amount owing – from 100 measures of oil to 50, and 100 measures of wheat to 80.

 

There is good reason for the manager’s haste. If he were to wait until the news of his dismissal spread, then the debtors could not alter their debts. In that event, they would be implicated in the deception and would not have an opportunity to gain the use of the land again. But the wily manager quickly makes arrangements before the debtors know; therefore, they act in good faith and have no way of knowing that the manager no longer has authority to adjust the rent amounts.

 

It takes little imagination to understand the kind of hero that this scoundrel would appear to be to the townspeople. In all likelihood he assured them that he had talked the rich man into this generous act. Even when they found out that the manager was fired from his job, they likely would have admired him for tricking the wealthy landowner without implicating them. He might be a tricky scoundrel, but he has cleverly made sure he will have some “IOU’s” when he no longer had a job.

 

Once word of the reduced rent got back to the rich man, what could he do? The rich man was already becoming a popular figure. His tenants were praising him as a generous and understanding man. He could have gone to those who have had their rents reduced and explain that it was all a big mistake. But that would have cancelled out the good will that had been heaped upon him. Instead, he recognized that he had been outmaneuvered and worked to solidify a reputation for being generous and understanding.

 

The praise the rich man makes for his dishonest manager, as heard in verse 8, was not out of satisfaction with the result of his trickery, but out of begrudging recognition of his cleverness in self-preservation. His manager may have been a scoundrel, but he was indeed clever.

 

And there you have it. The parable of the dishonest manager. The question remains, what lesson can we pull from today’s story? Jesus ends this parable by saying, "And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, your co-conspirators may welcome you into the eternal homes."

 

Did we just hear Jesus say that dishonest wealth is great and honor among thieves is a virtue? It sure sounds like Jesus is praising the dishonest manager, but perhaps he’s doing a bit sarcastically. Hard to tell without hearing his tone. But yes, Jesus says that this guy is smart. Now imagine what he could do with his smarts if he were honest and generous!

 

He’s been cheating his boss (almost certainly by overcharging customers and keeping the extra for himself). Now he calls in the ones he’s cheated and offers to cut what they owe. Perhaps now he’s actually charging them what should have been the original price. Maybe he keeps his job; maybe the boss is happy; maybe the customer is happy. What’s wrong with this? He is still dishonest! It doesn’t seem that he’s sorry for what he’s done, he is just relieved he was able to save his own skin, but there is no change of heart.

 

Thinking on this dishonest and shrewd manager, I’m sure there’s at least one character we are reminded of…Ebenezer Scrooge! A wealthy businessman who cared about nothing except for money. He wouldn’t give even one cent to charity and what did all that wealth get him? Loneliness and a ghost story. Can you think of other characters, or other humans in our lives who remind you of our dishonest and shrewd manager?

 

The bottom line is that you cannot serve both God and wealth. If all we care about is getting wealthier, our relationships grow less important. We don’t care about the customer, just the customer’s money. We’ll give up time with family and friends to focus on what we think is more important at that moment. We don’t hang with our kids because we think we’re trying to make a better life for them.

 

If all we care about is getting wealthier, our bodies will suffer. We’ll be more stressed, less healthy, we’ll play less and sleep less and eat things that aren’t as good for us. Because time is money, and you don’t get rich by taking walks and riding your bike, or by growing a garden and making a nice salad.

 

If all we care about is getting wealthier, our spiritual lives shrivel. We can’t love God and money. But it’s hard to figure out the balance. We need to pay the rent, buy shoes and school supplies for the kids, save up for college funds, and make sure we’ll someday be able to retire without burdening those kids. Jesus doesn’t say it’ll be easy to do, finding this balance. It will likely take a lifetime for most of us. But it’s worth the work of balancing. It’s worth the spiritual act of seeking money’s proper place in our lives and souls. Our relationships, our bodies, and our spirits will suffer if we don’t.

 

Jesus’ parable invites us to reflect on our relationship with money and how it shapes our character. There is nothing inherently wrong with money, but money should never overshadow our values or faith. There is nothing inherently wrong with having wealth, but God calls us to steward our resources faithfully, letting go of the desire to hold on to wealth and, instead, centering our lives on generosity and compassion. This week, consider how you can reflect Christ’s values, making choices that honor God above worldly wealth.

 

Amen

A Review of the Book "Kink Stories" edited by RO Kwon and Garth Greenwell

Title: Kink Stories

Author: RO Kwon and Garth Greenwell

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks

Year: 2021

263 pages

From the Back: Kink is a dynamic anthology of literary fiction that opens an imaginative door into the world of desire. The stories within portray love, longing, BDSM, and sexual kinks in all their glory from some of today's most celebrated and acclaimed writers. While these stories surprise and delight, their true power lies in their beautiful, moving dispatches from across the sexual spectrum of interests. Kink embraces and celebrates sexuality with a bold new vision.

Personal Thoughts: I picked up this book because as a queer clergy member and someone who is claiming to want to be a support for that community, I think it is important that I learn about all walks of life, not just the ones already familiar to me. Broaden my knowledge, so it were. Not that people in the kink community are necessarily in the queer community, but being open to what are bodies are capable of and where people find relationship with each other is important. As well, these stories are love stories, also something that is truly important in our lives.

    This book contains several short stories with some very specific types of kinks. As I would imagine with many things, there were some stories I enjoyed, and others not so much. However, most of the stories in this book were well-written and entertaining. A book of kink love stories will not be for everyone, but I call on you to consider widening your scope, if you've never entered into this world before, and this book is an easy entry point.

Look Up with Faith: A Sermon for Holy Cross Day

May only truth be spoken and truth received. Amen.

 

September 14^th is Holy Cross Day. In the Anglican Church calendar, it is considered a feast day that takes precedence on a Sunday. It just so happens that today is actually September 14^th, but if it been the 13^th or the 15^th, we still would have celebrated Holy Cross Day instead of the 14^th Sunday after Pentecost.

 

I’m sure many of you are wondering just what is Holy Cross Day anyway? Here’s a brief bit of background. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, discovered what was believed to be the empty tomb and true cross of Christ during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. According to tradition, the discovery was made on September 14th, 330, and then, after the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built on the site, it was dedicated on September 14th, 335. From as early as the seventh century, the Church commemorated September 14th each year with a Feast of the Holy Cross. Once removed from the Anglican Church calendar by Thomas Cramner during the English Reformation, the Feast of the Holy Cross returned to Anglicanism during the 19th and 20th centuries and now appears on September 14 in the calendars of the current Prayer Books. Today, the commemoration of the Holy Cross is common throughout the Anglican Church and is a time for remembering the work that Jesus did for us, and for the world, on the cross.

 

As we move through this sermon, I want you to hold some questions in your mind – what does the cross mean to you? When you look at it, when you see it, what do you feel and think? What meaning does it hold for you?

 

We start our readings today with some complaining from the Israelites. There was plenty of that being done throughout their travels in the wilderness, usually at points where the peoples’ faith was being severely tested. This time, they were asking Moses if he brought them to this desert just to die. They didn’t like the food and there was a lack of water. Walking through the desert isn’t for the faint of heart after all.

 

In response, God sends poisonous snakes. What a strange thing to send to a group of starving, thirsty people. As done in previous stories, God gives Moses instructions on how to heal his people and how to build up their faith. This time, Moses was told to make a serpent of bronze and put it on a pole. Looking at this bronze serpent will heal anyone who has been bitten.

 

If you picture the bronze serpent in your mind, I’d bet we’re all picturing the same familiar image – one you would see within the medical community. A symbol that for most of us would be a reminder of healing. It marks the places that we know we can go to for medical attention and help.

 

What is it that God is really asking of the Israelites here? To believe that a looking at an object will heal them? Or was it that God wanted the Israelites to have faith that what they needed, God would provide. So while this bronze serpent doesn’t mean “get medical help here”, as we know it today, by looking up at this symbol, the Israelites has faith the God would heal them of their snake bites.

 

Today’s Gospel reading is one we typically hear in the 2^nd week of Lent. Nicodemus sneaking around in the night trying to have a conversation with Jesus without any of his buddies seeing him. He is beginning to believe in what Jesus has to offer but isn’t ready to admit it out in the open. That’s all well and good but I’m going to save that story for when we get to Lent. For today, let’s concentrate on the last bit of the reading:

“No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:13-17)

 

John reminds readers that God sent snakes to the Israelites, and that Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness so that his people could be healed. Well God didn’t send snakes this time. Instead, God sent Jesus to us, so that Jesus could teach us about healing and faith. And just as people looked up at the bronze snake in faith, we look up to the cross in faith for our own healing.

 

Faith is the instrument through which we receive the grace of God. Nothing else is needed. You don’t need to do anything to earn God’s grace, or God’s love. It has always been ours to enjoy. By looking up to the cross in faith, we inherit the kingdom promised long ago to Abraham – we inherit eternal life, as a gift of grace received through faith. Our eternal standing in the kingdom of God is gained through faith in the faithfulness of Christ being raised up on the cross and dying on our behalf.

 

It is this that we are celebrating, today, on Holy Cross Sunday. That God so loved the world that God sent us Jesus, so that anyone who believes in him may have eternal life. We are called to look up at the cross with faith, knowing that God didn’t send Jesus to condemn us, but to save us.

 

In a world full of turmoil, violence, and hate, we can look to the cross for grace, comfort, and love. We can look to the cross with faith, knowing that we are children of God, wonderfully and fearfully made in God’s image. We can look to the cross for the strength we need to make it through each day knowing that, at the end, nothing will separate us from the love of God.

 

Amen.

A Year-Long Exploration of the Sermon on the Mount: Week 30

Chapter 30 – Our Father

 

Our Father in heaven… (Matthew 6:9)

 

I think the majority of Christians accept the concept that God has no physical body which means no physical gender. God is everything and everyone. God is transcendent and has no need for corporal form. Therefore, many people are taking the time to remove gendered language wherever possible because limiting God to male pronouns and descriptors limits God.

 

Everywhere, except for the Lord’s Prayer. While there are versions of the Lord’s Prayer that try to replace Father with other terms, it tends to be simply an addition of “our Mother” or combining it into “Our Parent”. Seems to be that the common feeling as we begin reciting this prayer is that we consider ourselves to be children of God. The terminology of Our Father then appears to be a term of endearment, then, for the one who created us, even as we work to make other areas of our worship and prayers to be more inclusive.

 

“Our Father”, then, becomes a term of endearment, a term of love for our creator. The love that can be found between father and child, between parent and child. But as a caution, not every child has felt such love. A child who has been abused by their father, neglected by their father, treated poorly in any way by their father, might hear the words “Our Father” and may cringe at them, rather than feel the love that is being offered in the opening words of the prayer.

 

We begin the Lord’s prayer in venerableness by saying “Our Father in heaven” but we should always be aware of the power that a single word can have over someone’s mind and soul.

It’s Okay to Change: A Sermon for the 13th Sunday After Pentecost

Photo Credit: Austin Chan on Unsplash

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

Every three years, we come across this passage from Jeremiah. It has turned out to be one of my favorites because 12 years ago, it was the very first passage upon which I preached a sermon. At the time, I was given this task as a kind of a test to see if I was truly feeling the call of God to be priest. Jeremiah 18:1-11 happened to be one of the passages the week I was assigned. It took me 6 weeks and many hours in a library to write that sermon. Luckily, I’ve gotten a fair bit quicker now! Each time this passage has come up in the lectionary, I have been in a new parish, which is actually kind of incredible to think about. But it has meant that I’ve gotten many opportunities to review, rework, and revamp this nostalgic sermon. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as others have while also learning a bit about the path I’ve taken to get here.

 

Jeremiah was a prophet who didn’t want to be a prophet – at least not in the beginning. He was only 12 when he received his calling. Like many other prophets in the Hebrew scriptures, Jeremiah denied his calling. Years following his first contact with God, he reluctantly accepted the fact that he was to be a prophet to the nations. In chapter 15, he says, “Your words were found and I ate them, and your word was to me for joy and for the gladness of my heart.” Jeremiah’s life work was to deliver God’s word and bring change to the house of Israel.

 

The book of Jeremiah is filled with stories of how he lived out his calling of receiving God’s word and delivering the good news to the people of Israel. The story today begins with God sending Jeremiah to the potter’s house in order to receive God’s word.

 

Pottery is a collective term that is used to describe anything made from clay, heated at high temperatures, and chemically changed in order to form useful household items and beautiful pieces of art. It takes creativity, patience, and the willingness to destroy previous creations in order to achieve a masterpiece.

 

As Jeremiah watches the potter work, he realizes three things:

1.         The potter working the clay is as God working with people

2.         A spoiled vessel can be reworked, and

3.         The house of Israel is as clay in the hands of the Divine Potter

 

My initial response to “God as the potter” was “Oh! That makes sense! God molds each of us into the person God intends us to be!” But it’s not that simple. Instructions from God are not always straight-forward. There are no “do this” or “do that” statements with an “or else” consequence. Instead, lessons are sent to us through prophets such as Jeremiah, not simple directives. Rather than telling us what to do, or who to be, God guides us through stories of love, grace, and mercy.

 

We have heard some of these lessons over the last few weeks as we have been reading from the Book of Jeremiah. Over and over, Jeremiah spreads God’s word trying to find different ways of showing the Israelites how much better their lives could be if they would simply show a little kindness to one another. However, the people of Israel seem to be set in their ways and have no intentions of changing. They make the choice not to hear God’s word.

 

Well, maybe they heard, but they didn’t listen to the words Jeremiah was speaking. All God wants is for people to love one another, no matter if the person is male or female, black or white, rich or poor, healthy or sick. Not much to ask, I don’t think.

 

If you were to take Jeremiah’s stories literally, it sounds as if God has made the decision to start all over – that God will “pluck up and break down and destroy”. But I don’t think that’s actually the case…

 

To rework clay, a potter would just smash his hand on the clay and start over. Instead of simply laying a Divine Hand on the clay and starting over, God gives the people a chance to change – God sends more and more lessons to the Israelites. Rather than destroying all of creation, God continues to spread love, to guide us, and to encourage us to love others. God is choosing to gently mold us lesson by lesson, rather than destroying and rebuilding.

 

The story of Jeremiah at the potter’s house has always struck a chord with me as I feel that it is a reflection of my story. I spent almost my entire life swinging from all-out believer to apparent atheist and back again. As a kid, I only went to church to be with my Grandma but once I was there, I loved the stories and the music.

 

In my teens years I got too busy for church plus no one I knew believed in God, so I decided I didn’t either. However, there were still times when I went to church – usually during occasions of sorrow, or confusion. I never could explain my need to go to church, and it certainly didn’t make me go on a regular basis. But for brief, inexplicable moments, I found peace. I remember at my first Air Cadet summer camp, finding myself feeling homesick. There was a call one Sunday morning for churchgoers to gather for service. I found myself joining them, without completely understanding why.

 

Then almost 17 years ago, everything changed. My oldest child was born. Suddenly, it was very important to me that they be baptized and raised in a church. During the Baptismal interview, my newly-found minister asked me one very important question – why do I want El to be baptized? I couldn’t answer that question right away – I just knew it was something I had to do, something my heart was telling me to do.

 

So the two of us started attending church. My home church had a laid-back evening service on Mondays that were based more on musical reflection than worship, so I started with those services. I was very hesitant in the beginning, unsure of my beliefs and my reasons for being there. I didn’t even take part in communion the first few times we came.

 

My personal turning point came on Maundy Thursday during the Easter season following El’s baptism. At the last moment, I was asked to read the following passage from Corinthians:

 

“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Cor 11:23-26)

 

When I was asked to read the passage, I had no idea those were the words that were on the page. I hadn’t read a bible in years so, in my head, they came as a surprise. I think I hesitated somewhere around “this is my body”. The realization of the words I was about to speak struck me speechless. The institution of the Last Supper is such an important part of Jesus’ story; I was humbled and honoured to be speaking these words aloud. In my head, these words should have only been spoken by priests.

 

Suddenly, I felt something on my shoulder. I looked over but of course there was no one there. It was a very powerful moment – I knew in my heart God was telling me it was okay to go on, to finish reading the Prayer. That’s when I really started listening to the readings, to the songs, to the prayers.

 

I learned the Lord’s Prayer as a child – said it in school, said it at the dinner table – but I never really listened to the words. Same with all the music. Most of it was the same as when I was little, but only at this point did I really start to understand the meaning of the words behind the music. As I started really hearing the words, I finally understood what God had been trying to say to me all these years – that God is here, that God wants to be a part of my life, and the God loves me. God’s words are beautiful and have changed my life.

 

I finally stopped to listen and let God’s hands guide me in the right direction. Looking back on my wavy path from believer to non-believer, back again, and now to being a priest, I’ve come to realize that the lesson I learned along the way was not only did God love me and accept me, but that it’s also okay to change. It’s more than okay – God encourages us to learn and to grow, and to be shaped by the lessons we find throughout scripture.

 

As easy as clay in a potter’s hands, a person can be reshaped by turning their mind and heart to the Creator. By reading the word of God, praying to God, and listening to God, we can all be the clay in the hands of the Divine Potter.

 

Amen.

A Year-Long Exploration of the Sermon on the Mount: Week 29

Chapter 29 – Teach Us to Pray

 

Praying is a big deal to Christians. It’s how we stay in contact with God. We pray for many things like forgiveness, strength, gratefulness, thanksgiving, health, and the list could go on. We pray for everything and anything, all in simple conversation with God. Praying doesn’t have to be complicated.

 

In this chapter, Elton Trueblood warns about rote prayer, saying that “One of the chief ways to deny Christ is to turn any of his words into what he called ‘empty phrases’.” (p. 184) While I do agree that sometimes it feels as if we say pieces of our liturgy simply by rote, without thinking much about what the words mean, there are also times where repetitive prayer is useful and soulful.

 

Repeating the Lord’s prayer when you don’t know what else to say.

Reciting the rosary.

Having a mantra.

These are all prayers that are simple, can be said anytime, and are repetitive. The important thing is to make sure that each time you say your prayer, you’re not just racing through the words. Keep you mind and soul activated while you pray, each and every time.