The Story
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
June 28, 2020

Psalm 13

How long, O Lord?
Will you forget me for ever? 
How long will you hide your face from me? 
How long shall I have perplexity in my mind,
and grief in my heart, day after day? 
How long shall my enemy triumph over me?

Look upon me and answer me, O Lord my God; 
give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over this one,”
and my foes rejoice that I have fallen. 

But I put my trust in your mercy; 
my heart is joyful because of your saving help.
I will sing to the Lord who has dealt with me richly; 
I will praise the name of the Lord Most High. 

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Something to Do

DIY Scratch Paper

Lament is a holy form of prayer in which we lay our griefs and fears and our anger at God’s feet – knowing we are safe in doing so because God’s love and patience is strong enough to hold it all. “How long, O God?” cries the psalmist: “Will you hide your face from me forever?” Even in the midst of this sadness, though, the psalmist knows the answer to the question: “but I put my trust in your mercy”.

Create a visual response to this psalm through scratch art, in which lines are created by revealing the colours beneath a layer of black paint. You can purchase scratch paper or you can make your own – all you need is sturdy paper, oil pastels or crayons, liquid soap, and black tempera paint. This quick tutorial reveals just how simply it is.

But what about me, O Lord?

Write your own psalm of lament.

This article includes more information that is strictly necessary – although I thought the discussion on Hebrew poetic form was very interesting! Scroll down a bit to find the basic outline and some lovely examples for pouring your heart out to God in this ancient and powerful form.

A more thorough explanation for writing your own psalm of lament can be found at the bottom of this long but oh-so-worthwhile essay (also linked in the “Something to Learn” section below)

I will sing to the Lord

One of the things many of us miss the most right now is the experience of singing together – but don’t let that stop you from singing! Sing the blues or sweet sad folks songs. Sing angry rock anthems or songs of social change. Sing love songs or lullabies or wordless la-la-las.

Sing in the shower. Sing while you do the dishes. Sing to embarrass your kids. Crank up the volume and sing along with music you love.

And sing on your couch while hanging out with Ascension friends on Zoom this Thursday at 7pm!

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Something to Wonder

How long, O Lord?

Perhaps this question feels particularly appropriate to you these days. If so, what are you particularly waiting for?

When is another time you have felt lost or forgotten and wondered how long it would last? How long did it last? How did it come to an end (or is it ongoing)?

I will sing to the Lord who has dealt with me richly…

The psalms of lament find their resolution in two movements: remembering God’s past faithfulness and affirming God’s future help.

Name the ways in which God has “dealt with you richly”, bringing you joy and strength and growth. Trace the line of those riches from your past to your present – even if they at times grow faint. Extend the line into your future and consider how they might play out in the days and years to come.

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Something to Learn

Lament

From A Theology of Lament and Hope by J.E. Scully

“The Psalms of lament move back and forth between the expression of pain and the assurance of God’s presence and ultimate vanquishing of the causes of the pain. They do so in rapid turns of a verse or two or three, which can feel odd – in fact, they constitute a logical contradiction, but anyone who has experienced the paradoxical complexities of childbirth can relate to. Or, when holding a beloved one through critical illness or caring for a dying family member, one might live in a place where pain, anticipatory grief, and the graces of love and tender care are present in the same breath.”

This essay truly deserves your attention this week. You won’t be sorry.

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Something to Pray

Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways. 
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow. 

The story this week has made me wonder about…
         (what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.

The story this week has filled me with…
         (how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.

The story this week has reminded me of…
         (are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.

The Story
National Indigenous Day of Prayer
June 21, 2020

Isaiah 40:25-31

To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God””? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

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Something to Do

…those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength

Seeking justice and reconciliation is hard work. The prophet Isaiah reminds us that the source of our strength is God who renews us day by day. One of the ways God renews us is by giving us opportunities for joy in the midst of the hard work. Be renewed by the beauty and richness of the cultures of the Indigenous Peoples of this land.

The Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival is happening online all month. You can take culinary or crafting webinars; watch live-streamed music and dance; listen to lectures; and do family-friendly virtual tours and games.

The Canadian Museum of History has a fascinating virtual exhibit dedicated to exploring Alex Janvier’s masterpiece Morning Star. Get up close to this beautiful painting and learn about the symbolism the artist used and the methods

The NAC Indigenous Theatre is running a (recorded) speaker series on Indigenous arts and storytelling, beginning with Professor Simon Brascoupé, Mohawk, an Algonquin Anishinabeg artist. 

God is the Creator of the ends of the earth.

The Doctrine of Discovery was one of the founding sins of colonialism. Christian Europe concluded that Christian Europeans counted and so land really only came into being when they found it. Anyone already living there was not really, properly human and so Christian Europeans were free to do with the land as they wished.

How God must have wept to see any of God’s children so twist the truth.

Territorial acknowledgments are a small act but they are one way to counteract this terrible lie. These lands existed under the care and use of other people – whose descendants still live on these lives.

Learn the history of the land you live on. Learn the history of any other lands you have lived on. This website is working to make this information easier for us to find: Native-Land.ca

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Something to Wonder

Wings like an eagle

The promises in this passage are so lovely – and, in the face of very real tiredness, hard to believe. Check in with yourself. What is tiring you out these days? What restores your energy? Where would you like God to help you soar?

Name all of that for yourself and then tell it all to God – and wait for the Lord.

Making Connections

Why do you suppose this reading has been chosen for the National Indigenous Day of Prayer? How does it speak to the work of reconciliation? How does it speak to the realities of diversity? Of inequality?

If you were preaching, what would you say?

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Something to Learn

The Strawberry Teaching

This Sunday, the are going to listen to the Most Rev’d Mark MacDonald, our National Indigenous Archbishop, tell us the story of Odeiman and use the strawberry teaching to call us into a renewed life of love.

In preparation, you can study up on the strawberry teaching in English or in French.

Gathering at the River: A Gospel Jamboree

And you can get to know Archbishop Mark as he hosts Indigenous Ministries’ first on-line Gospel Jamboree (available as a video or audio recording).

Within the Anglican Church of Canada, Gospel Jamborees have accompanied the Native Convocations/Sacred Circles as well as being used by communities and ministry areas to bring folks together for fellowship, encouragement, worship, community-building, support and fun. The last three General Synods have also featured Gospel Jamborees as ongoing acts of reconciliation and bridge-building.

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Something to Pray

Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways. 
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow. 

The story this week has made me wonder about…
         (what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.

The story this week has filled me with…
         (how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.

The story this week has reminded me of…
         (are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.