Dependence Day

I am who I am because of the society, systems, politics, and culture that was operative as I was growing up. I believed that the world was mine: I could strive and achieve anything -within reason- that I set my mind to. I -as an individual- had the capacity to apply myself, work hard, and making the right decisions succeed in career, family, life. I was told that I could achieve more than the generation before. Once paying my dues, with perseverance and a good attitude, I would have the education and job I wanted, a reasonable place to live, and a comfortable retirement. If things went awry all it took was to take control, with determination, focus, and hard work, I could better myself, fix the problem and once again be productive. Every problem was fixable with diligence, responsibility, and more effort. Ingrained in me is this world view and perspective.

 

My experience of church is that it too has the same ingrained world view and perspective. A congregation is an autonomous body, making their own decisions – it is an organization where a group of individuals comes together to be a group of people in a set time and space, for specific purpose, with programs to build character and knowledge and make one a better person; a place with pastoral support to meet individual needs, and activities to fix or at least address problems in the world. This ingrained world view and perspective has individual churches believe that if it works harder, produces more, has the right programs, makes the right decisions, betters itself – or betters the individuals in its membership- with more effort and dedication by each person the church will succeed, meaning grow and prosper, with adequate resources and financial investment. Ingrained in the church is this world view and perspective.

 

I am who I am because of the world view and perspective I have been formed in. The church is who the church is because of the world view and perspective it has been formed in.

 

Pentecost Sunday is a Sunday when the Church celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit, marking what has been referred to as the birthday of the Church. Congregations focus on passion, wind, individual tongues of fire, each person speaking in tongues, and the sharing of the gospel. It is an exciting story, but outside of that, I don’t know why it is that this text is embraced by the church that I know. The text goes against the world view and perspective – the beliefs- that are ingrained in Canadian Lutheran churches and how they -we- operate.

 

Pentecost is a perspective buster! A paradigm popper.

The Spirit comes and upsets the world view and perspective that is ingrained in me, in the church that I know.

Pentecost is not about an individual person or an individual congregation or an individual denomination. Pentecost is a community experience that blows away the operative world view and kindles a counter-cultural perspective of DEPENDENCE.

 

The scripture from Acts is explicit in its description and use of language:

The story recounts that: ALL [were] together in one place; [the Spirit] filled the ENTIRE house where THEY were sitting; [the Spirit] appeared AMONG THEM; ALL of them were filled with the Holy Spirit;

[present were] devout from EVERY nation; the CROWD GATHERED was bewildered, … heard THEM speaking in the native language of each; ALL were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

 

The story does not talk about individual disciples, individuals receiving special privilege or gift, no individual emotion or action is recorded; no one had a hand in bringing the Spirit; no one was in control of the event; no hard work, determination, right decisions, or effort on anyone’s part had a hand in making Pentecost happen.

 

All were together in one place and the Holy Spirit came and filled the entire house where they were sitting.

The story is first about the Holy Spirit and says much about the character and nature of God’s Spirit. The Spirit moves among a Collective.  The language is clear – a collective gathering in one place, a collective experience of Spirit – A gathering of the devout with a collective bewilderment, amazement, perplexment, questioning for meaning. The story doesn’t recount the disciples locked behind closed doors after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The story doesn’t happen for the Twelve, it happens with the Twelve in a larger community of devout people who had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The story in Acts continues with tales of community living, community preaching and teaching, community dependent on each other, and interwoven connections from community to community. This is where the Spirit is moving, not through individuals, but through a collective of thousands.

 

Asian theologian Cindy S Lee says, “Dependence is where the spiritual life begins; we realize that we can’t rely on our own efforts, but we need God, creation, and community.”  Lee specifically states, “a spirituality of dependence acknowledges that despite our best efforts, we all still need others to thrive.”

 

More and more in North America the world view and perspective that has in been ingrained is shifting.  People, churches, are acknowledging that working harder, being faithful, having a stiff upper-lip, putting the nose-to-the-grindstone, pushing through, setting ones will, being tough and determined - does not guarantee one’s success or self-sufficiency– in fact hard work and making right decisions, no longer guarantees that one will have their basic needs met. Things have changed.

Large portions of North American society are coming face-to-face with the precarious nature of life. Life has changed – our world view and perspective have not caught up to the reality of struggle – where the norm is multiple jobs, the necessity of extra roommates, occasional trips to the food bank, and so on. Our world view and perspectives have not caught up.

 

Perhaps the Pentecost story speaks to the Church because it presents a possibility about what could be. Deep down, living in an individualist culture, has worn on us and the Spirit within and among us is challenging us to be a collectivist culture.  

I apologize to a segment of the congregation, for I am speaking from privilege and my white Canadian perspective. The spiritual posture of dependence with a world view and perspective of collectivism is lived by the church (and other communities) of the global south – South America, Africa, Asia, and within  marginalized communities in North America.

 

I do have hope - I believe that my perspective is changing. I believe that the church’s world view is changing. The individualist has no need for the Spirit of Pentecost; for they believe they can do it all, and have it all, by their own power. If we believed that as individuals or as a congregation, we would not gather in community. This congregation speaks about community, acts as community, and serves the community to a point…

Although community, we individually choose who we speak to, decide what to share, and for the most part never ask for help – keeping our stuff private – to be our burden alone. After we go off to our individual places, with the people we choose to be with, interacting and getting involved with others at our own discretion.

 

The Pentecost story has the Spirit stirring up the collective – collective experience is drama, passion, expression; joy, confusion, suffering, questioning. It is standing together in one place dependent on each other navigating this new and crazy experience. The community is dependent on each other as the Spirit keeps moving and causing disruption of everyday life among them. People ask for help and meet each others needs. The spiritual posture of dependency has people giving all they own, welcoming others into their homes, community meals, community meetings, community prayer, community pilgrimages, community letters, and community struggle; the community faces suffering, and persecution as their world view and perspective threatens the individualistic culture in which they live.

Today the Spirit pesters individuals and the church to change their world view and perspective. Working harder will not save the church – welcoming a perspective of dependency will – dependence on the Spirit, creation, each other; a community where the Spirit moves among the collective.

 

To one and all, happy

DEPENDENCE DAY 

Final Words

 

 

I have watched lots of movies where someone dies. Upon their deaths, a big ta-do is made of the family and friends gathering to hear the reading of the will. Sometimes the person who has died has left envelopes for particular people, often children. Inside are letters. The letters might be with things left unsaid, words of love and encouragement, tidbits of wisdom, or sometimes requests. Have you received such a letter? Have you considered writing letters to be opened after you die? If you were to write a letter or letters to whom would you write and what would you say?

 

The section of the gospel we heard this morning are Jesus’ words, a prayer for the disciples; a prayer not written in a letter, but rather one they overheard. The words are offered in the final few hours Jesus is with the disciples. Shortly before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion the gift of these final words is given.

 

Imagine, you sit down to write final words and you do so in the form of a prayer from your heart. You write:

 

I have made your name known to those who you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.

And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I am coming to you. Holy God, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.     (John 17: 6-11)

 

Think about these words as your final prayer.

I suspect that most of you have wrinkled your brows and thought: I don’t think so. Well maybe if I was a pastor? These were Jesus’ words, how could they be mine?

 

Let us consider the possibility.

Discipleship is following in the ways and commandments of the teacher. Having this prayer as our final word, would mean that we have lived a life of discipleship – committed to loving God and loving neighbour.

 

To pray - I have made your name known to those who you gave me from the world-

requires of us a perspective that our family, our friends, our neighbours, acquaintances, and co-workers, are in our purview. The ancient question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” pushes us to consider further how far reaching, open, and inclusive is the circle of those we consider to be ‘our people,’ ‘those whom God gave to us.’ To think that God gave a person (a disciple) responsibility for a group, a flock, is for most a change in perspective. When I look at the people in my life, the people I see in my neighbourhood, the people I interact with during daily activities, I have not applied ‘these have been given to me.’ I have considered discipleship to be learning about Jesus, following the commandments, and being a good person. Discipleship has not been expressed or understood in Christian theology in terms of God giving each disciple, ‘those who you gave me from the world.’ This dramatically alters how we view the world and live in it.

 

Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, for the words that you gave to me I have given to them;

This is the core of discipleship in the Easter season. Sharing Christ. Proclaiming good news. It is telling the stories of Jesus and your experiences of God. It is living a life where those around you, notice gratitude in your life; that you reverently demonstrate that everything is from God. There is abundance, grace, and hope to share. The phrase has me wonder, will I be held accountable for those with whom I have not shared God’s word or failed to be a living example of distributing God’s abundance? Have I given God’s word – all of God’s word- to my immediate family, friends, and neighbourhood?

 

All mine are yours, and yours are mine;

If I lived the prayer of Jesus, I would have a changed perspective. I would treat people differently. Imagine approaching everyone, interacting with all, as they are a gift from God. It would mean being responsible for fellow human beings and creatures. It would mean relationship and love. Both of which can get messy and be uncomfortable. I am not so sure that my baptismal or confirmation vows prepared me for this kind of discipleship.

 

Holy God, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

This is a prayer that screams intimacy, words from the heart.  The words say that your life has been lived in relationship, marked by relationships, and that connection matters. The phrase is mirrored in a funeral prayer from the Anglican Book of Alternative services – We ask that we who were close to them may now because of their passing, be even closer to each other…

 

These are words I want prayed at my funeral for my children and grandchildren to hear. These are words I would like them to live when I am gone; to be closer to each other.

 

One of the blessings and joys in a pastor’s ministry, although it can be difficult, is to preach at funerals, particularly funerals of those they have known. Pastors get a chance to share final words. So often, I draw on stories and conversations from the deceased: things they told me about family members or friends and dreams they had for them, things they held dear, wisdom they shared, faith they expressed, with me and not necessarily articulated to the people around them. I become a conveyer of their final words – pieces of their lives that will comfort, encourage, and be the prayer the family members need to grieve, to be all they can be, and to be in relationship, ever closer to each other.

 

As a disciple, what faith stories and wisdom do you have to share now, but also what final words do you have for those you love? Do you have a final prayer for them?

Take some time to write down final words, a prayer, seal the words in an envelope and lovingly write the name of the person to receive this gift at the time of your death.

 

Too often, I sit at bedsides of people dying who have things to say and are no longer able to. I walk with families who have no idea where wills are or what a person’s final wishes might be. As people grieve, people wonder about their loved one, wanting something more – closure; a word to hold on to, a nugget of wisdom, a statement of faith; a profound “God embrace them in love, my love, your love. Give them peace.”

 

As we contemplate our final words, let us continue to strive to live so that Jesus’ prayer might be our final word; that God may be glorified through our faithful living.

 

O Lord, support us all the day long of this troubled life, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes and the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over, and our work is done Then, Lord in your mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Grandmother Wisdom

 -a sermon for the sixth Sunday of Easter-

 

Rev. Dr. Raymond Aldred, in the book “Our Home and Treaty Land: Walking Our Creation Story, (2022 Wood Lake Pub., pp. 157-8)” tells this story:

 

When the Creator was making all things, after he’d made all the animals, he asked them: “I’m about to make human beings. But before I make them I’m going to make ‘that which is most precious.’ I want to hide it somewhere,” Creator said, “because human beings – well, anything they can find easily, they treat with contempt. So where should I hide this?” the Creator asked the animals.

There was silence. And then the whale stood up. Whale said, “Give that which is most precious to me and I’ll take it to the bottom of the ocean. And there human beings won’t find it.” And Creator smiled and said, “I tell you the truth. One day human beings will go to the bottom of the ocean. They will find it. And treat it with contempt.” There was silence again.  Then Eagle stood, he who flies high, and said, “Give that which is most precious to me and I will fly it to the moon. And there human beings won’t find it.” And Creator smiled again and said, “I tell you the truth: one day human beings will go to the moon and they will find it there. And they will treat it with contempt.”

And there was silence again. Then grandmother field mouse stood up, and she said in a small voice, “Put that which is most precious in their heart, for they seldom look there for anything of value.”

 

Grandmother wisdom – wisdom of that which is most precious.

On this 6^th Sunday of Easter, the scriptures play around that which is most precious:

In your hearts sanctify Christ as lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the HOPE that is in you.

Do it with gentleness and reverence.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth.

That which is most precious – HOPE.

And with hope: gentleness, reverence, Love;

And with love: another Advocate, the Spirit of truth. In coming weeks, on Pentecost Sunday, we will hear the fullness of the role of this Advocate, in the coming of the Holy Spirit.

 

Grandmother field mouse said, “Put that which is most precious in their heart, for they seldom look there for anything of value.”

When I think about life, people spend a lot of energy seeking things, accomplishing goals, achieving benchmarks, progressing forward. We work. We are busy. We consume.

In this search for sustenance, security, and happiness, we separate ourselves from the heart of the matter, and that which ultimately grounds us. We fail to take care of that which is most precious, the hope that is in us.

We get busy so we skip church, telling ourselves we can worship and pray anywhere. We stop making an effort to participate in community, thinking when I need community it will be there. We say we believe in God but the institution is not for us, forgetting that this is where we learned the stories, wrestled with what we believe and how to live; that this is where we will come to mourn our grandparents. We want our children to ‘be good’ without the burden of religion, not realizing that there is no place in the world for big life questions and conversations about them. Hope doesn’t just happen – it gets lost as generations move away from gathering in Christian community; a group of people faithfully living love, not by their own power, but by Christ who lives through them. Christ who suffers alongside the world, embodied, incarnate in the world, with hands and heart of compassion and grace.

 

When I think of times in my life when I experienced trouble, whether helplessness or hopelessness, insecurity or anxiety, frustration or being completely overwhelmed; times when my spirit was unbalanced, faith wavering, and purpose lost; do you know what turned circumstances around, or my attitude and ability to address situations, what it was that brought me back to that which is most precious? 

Grandmother wisdom.

Grandmothers - my own and other women elders. Grandmothers who listened and loved. Grandmothers who were gentle and reverent. Grandmothers who encouraged and supported. Grandmothers who were patient. Grandmothers who told stories and had wise sayings. Grandmothers who were not afraid to tell the truth in love. Grandmothers who prayed continually. Grandmothers who did not loss hope and carried faith for me. Grandmothers who never stopped loving, no matter what.

In those crazy times of life, God reached me through women elders. Women elders who seemed to just know what I was going through and feeling before I said anything. I believe these women were working as another Advocate – the Holy Spirit was embodied in them and worked through them. And was able to do so because the women were grounded and lived from the hope that was in them. It is not surprising to me that God’s spirit and wisdom in scripture are feminine parts of the deity, unfortunately translation to English clouds our understanding of this feminine nature of Spirit.

 

I was once told that God smells like peppermint. I asked to hear more. The person described crawling into grandma’s lap, snuggling in, and having a story read to them. With each breath grandma took, she breathed out the aroma of the peppermint candies. God smells like peppermint because grandma’s embrace was the embodiment of God’s love. A place where all was right with the world. A place that was safe. A place to enter a story, play with imagination, and encounter wisdom. It was in these arms that I experienced the closest thing to God’s love that I have experienced.

Days like Mother’s Day give us an opportunity to be grateful for Grandmother Wisdom, for Women Elders, for grounded Spirit that moves in love to remind us of that which is most precious, to return us to the heart of the matter, Christ -that which is greater than ourselves- hidden as that which is most precious in our hearts, HOPE.

We started the season of Easter with a group of women, the Mary’s, Joanna, Salome. With great love the women went to Jesus’ tomb to anoint his body with burial ointment. This act was one of reverence and gentleness, acknowledging a life, and living the wisdom of grieving. It was a tangible gift to be given from the depths of their being. Upon reaching the tomb they find that Jesus is not there. That Jesus is risen and will meet the disciples in Galilee. The women believe.  They intuitively know, -the most precious- in their heart bursts--- hope abounds. Christ is risen!

They run to tell the good news, to awaken HOPE in the hearts of the disciples.

 

As a disciple, can you account for the HOPE that is in you? Is that which is most precious hidden in your heart, or has it been awakened by Grandmother wisdom?

Pause for just a moment and consider with gratitude Women Elders, Grandmothers, who have carried faith for you, who have embraced and loved you, who have been another Advocate.

…..

Grandmother Wisdom comes to us again and again, softening our rough edges, slowing down progress reminding us to return to the heart of the matter, HOPE. Embrace these moments of gentleness and reverence – feel the spirit of truth proclaiming, “Christ is risen!”