When I
encounter the Genesis reading and reflect on what to say this morning, given a
troubling week in our world with events and happenings that have been deeply
troubling and disturbing … as I thought about what I might be able to offer by
way of reflection today two stories come to mind. Both set on beaches …
The
first story has an old man and his grandchild walking along the beach at sun
set … the beach is perhaps along the Mediterranean in what we today call Israel
… the sun is setting over the horizon as the two make their way along the sand
in silence … the quiet is broken by the young child – when I first heard this
story almost 40 years ago, the child was a boy, but today we know it could be a
boy or a girl … the child addresses his grandfather asking – “where did it all
come from?”
Bewildered,
the grandfather says “all? What do you mean all?”
Looking
up at the stars beginning to sparkle in the twilight sky, and at the expanse of
water and sand around them the child says – “all of this …” waving his arm
dramatically, “where did all of this come from?”
“Oh,”
laughs the grandfather, “all of creation … well, when I was about your age my
grand father told me what his grandfather had told him, which has been told to
him by his grandfather before him … Grandfather said – “in the beginning …”
And so,
one version of how the Genesis story of creation came into being and has been
passed on from generation to generation began …
The
heart of the story we tell and retell as generations before have told and
retold the same story, is that all of this – all that we see and touch and hear
and experience – ALL of it, is Good …
Created
by God – creation is beautiful and breath-taking and GOOD!
If we
peruse our headlines and reflect on happenings in our world over the last few
days from the ongoing search for the missing airlines in the south, to the
devastating massacres in Paris and Nigeria and persistent violence and conflict
around the globe ... in the face of these happenings, it is easy to say that
the world is far from good and that we live in a dark and troubled world … but
then, a second story comes to mind …
This
story, like the first is on a beach and has a young child and a parent or
grandparent walking along the sand following a storm. The surface of the beach
is covered with star fish washed up by the waves of the storm … with the sun
coming out the star fish are beginning to die as they dry out. The young girl
runs and grabs star fish in both hands and dashes back to the surf and tosses
the creatures as far into the water as her arm can manage to toss them.
“Oh
honey,” says her grandfather looking about at the hundreds or even thousands of
star fish scattered across the sand, “I don’t think it’s worth the effort.
There are so many star fish, you can’t possibly make a difference …”
Undaunted,
the little girl picks us more starfish and tosses them into the surf looking at
her grandfather saying “Makes a difference to that one …”
In the
face of the dark stories that can rob us of hope, the stories of two children
walking along the sands of a beach call us to reframe our moods and opinions
and to remember AND to accept that Creation is good, and maintaining that
goodness is up to us …
Jesus’
baptism sets the model for our baptism – as he rises from the water the voice
rings out from heaven – “this is my beloved in whom I am well please …”
In our
own baptism, whether it was a decade or seven decades ago, echo that sentiment
– we are God’s beloved, in whom God is well pleased … as we rise (usually
figuratively) from the waters of baptism, we are charged WITH our community to
affirm that all of creation around us is GOOD, and that with that goodness
comes the calling to be like the little girl in our second story … to see
around us the devastation of the storm and instead of sitting on our hands and
bemoaning how terrible things might be – we take hold of one of the afflicted
and make a difference to “that one” …
One life
at a time we can make a difference … one gesture at a time we can and we should
and we are obligated by faith to affirm the goodness of creation, and to share
our faith through our actions and our lives … that’s the commissioning that
comes through Baptism when we are affirmed as God’s beloved and sent into the
world with God’s love and presence upon us …
BUT …
BUT !!!!
If this
was true, and we as people of faith, really took that commissioning seriously,
why are we still struggling with issues of violence, alienation, poverty,
homelessness, and all of the dark and troubling stories that fill our news each
day … stories that take away the light and the goodness and cause us to think
that the world is a bad place filled with bad people?
Over the
last month, I have had several conversations with people who have challenged me
in a positive way to reflect on whether my calling to ministry remains in the
day to day ministry of serving in a Pastoral Charge like this … as I’ve been
asked by folks outside the church – “are you sure this is what you are supposed
to be?” I simultaneously have encountered literally dozens of articles and
reports on poverty, food security, homelessness, wealth inequity, precarious
housing, precarious employment and the growing socio-economic problems our
community, our nation and our society are facing …
Six
years ago, I was working for the Federal Government immersed in the world of
programme and policy setting as the Homelessness Coordinator for the City of
Brandon in Manitoba … conversations about all of these issues were first and
foremost and it seemed that we might begin to do things in new ways that
actually make a difference …
Six
years later, one of those I was working to help died alone and cold – a victim
of the cold in an urban park in Brandon … the use of food banks is higher now
than it has ever been … across Canada more and more people are using food banks
and soup kitchens found in smaller and smaller towns … the needs for affordable
housing, adequate food and income that meets expenses is more urgent than ever
before …
What
bothers me is not being out of the circles of conversation about these issues –
but that when I look at the conversations WITHIN the church – within the body
commissioned to care for the widows and orphans – to care for the very marginalized
who are most effected by income insecurity, poverty, housing issues and all
that accompanies – when I look to the church for words and gestures that
address these issues, I see lovely stories of one little boy or little girl
doing what they can to make a difference to THAT ONE … this is where my
struggle lies right now – I see a disconnect in what the church is saying and
doing and what it should be doing … the old Social Gospeller within me is
dissatisfied with where the Church is heading … we aren’t addressing the real
issues any more … we’re keeping it light and fluffy and pink and fuzzy …
Admittedly,
our focus is often on simple survival – how will we keep the lights on and the
doors open? How will we attract more people?
Or we
are focused on hot button issues that lead us astray from what we are really
facing … despite the fact that jesus himself spoke more about economic issues
than he ever said about sex (and I won’t mention that jesus said absolutely
NOTHING about issues of homosexuality) despite the evidence that Jesus was
concern about economics more than almost anything else – you seldom see
Churches where economics are discussed – instead issues of sex dominants the
focus of most churches and we keep our conversations and studies and sermons in
a warm pink fuzzy glow … we don’t talk honestly about what MORE we can do
beyond helping that one …
But as
people of faith, we are called to act … helping one is good, but as Michael
Enright pointed out on CBC last week – helping one by supplying fresh socks, a
new toothbrush, a meal or two and maybe a blanket is good – and it makes us
feel better – but it is not addressing the issue, nor offering meaningful
solutions …
The
isolated acts of charity are desperately needed and are valuable and faithful –
but we need to take the next step in affirming that creation is truly good –
but committing ourselves to returning it to that state of goodness by actively
and consciously and FAITHFULLY doing more than just handing out socks and bowls
of soup on occasion …
What
would happen is ALL the members of ALL the Churches across Canada appealed to
their MP’s and our Prime Minister demanding that the social issues around
poverty, food security, housing and homelessness are addressed with more than
just bandaids?
What if
we demanded a National Housing Policy that begins with declaring housing a
right NOT a privilege?
What if
we demanded that instead of building more and more volunteer run food banks and
soup kitchens, our Government implemented a guaranteed minimum income for ALL
Canadians that ensures adequate access to food, shelter and clothing?
What if
– instead of demanding tax cuts that result in programme cuts to services to
the most vulnerable, and instead of calling them welfare cheats we treat them as
fellow citizens and the neighbours they are and we NAME the simple fact that
far more money is given in tax cuts to the wealthiest among us, and in
subsidies to businesses that pay extravagant bonuses and salaries to their
executives while cutting wages and benefits to their workers – far more money
goes to THAT, than has ever gone to supporting social assistance programmes …
instead of bailing out banks with BILLIONS of dollars that went to pay bonuses
to execs for a job well done … sit with THAT for a moment – since 2008 BILLIONS
in government money paid the executives for a job well done in a banking sector
that needed a gov’t bail out to keep the
banks open and operating – where was the job well done? They bankrupted the
bank and needed Government money BUT STILL got millions in bonuses … if I
bankrupt my shop I don’t get rewarded I get to be homeless … yet we’ve come
accept that we will spend Millions of dollars to prop up business and banks –
MILLIONS and not blink an eye – but when it comes to social assistance
programmes that offer help to the most vulnerable and marginalized we will
insist on full accounting down to the penny lest someone cheat on the meager
income the programme offers … yet we will give execs who bankrupted companies,
laid off hundreds of employees, cut benefits and pensions – we will give them
rewards in the millions of dollars while those at the other end of the spectrum
are placed under intense scrutiny for the 12 000 dollars we expect them to live
off of …
So - what
would happen is ALL of the people of faith across Canada began to question that
and demand change?
What if,
we took our calling to be God’s beloved SO SERIOUSLY, that we no longer focused
on the distracting issues like sex but instead focused on the real life issues
like poverty, hunger and economics and DEMANDED our politicians and leaders
start to do something to address these things?
I would dare to suggest that we would slowly
find ourselves moving back to a place where we realize that creation truly is
good … we would see that creation is good … we would no longer just say the
words but we live the evidence … what if we chose today to embody our calling
to be God’s beloved moving into the world and transforming it into the good
that it is meant to be?
What if …?
What if …?
Let us
pray …
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