The Story for All Saints’ Day
kept on Oct 31, 2021

Isaiah 25:6-9

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 

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Something to Do

Feast!

Anticipate the glorious day of the Lord with a feast. Taste the goodness of God in the goodness of your favourite food. Rejoice in the generosity of God by sharing it with someone else – whether by eating together, by giving someone food-to-go, or by making a donation to the Ottawa Food Bank.

What would your mountain look like?

The vision of a feast on a mountain is Isaiah’s way of describing the perfect joy of the world where we are completely and properly in God’s presence. How would you describe such a joy?

Go beyond thinking about it and create a piece of art – draw, write, dance, sing. Whatever you do, so it with joy!

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Something to Wonder

All Saints’ Day and New Life

The readings for All Saints’ Day this year all call our attention to the promise of new life in the presence of God. This new life is already enjoyed by those who have died but we don’t have to wait until death to begin living it. Perhaps this is one way of thinking about saints – they are people who help us see this new life in the midst of this one.

Who has helped you see this new life?
Have you drawn near to it in your own experience? When or where?
How might you help someone else see it for themselves?   

All Souls’ Day and New Life

People don’t have to be “saints” to be beloved by God or by us – or, happily, to enjoy new life in God’s presence! Set aside the question of whether someone revealed God to you or led you to a holy life and simply remember the people you love who have died. Your love for them does not depend on their usefulness or their goodness – it simply is. Rest in that love.

You may like to light a candle in remembrance of them. Tell someone a story about them. Come to one of the All Souls’ services – at the church or on Zoom – to give thanks, to be a little sad, and to be assured once again of God’s love which reaches beyond what we can possibly know or imagine.   

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Something to Learn

What is heaven?

Looking to the life that is at the end of life raises an obvious question: what is heaven?

Grace Pritchard Burson answers that question in an essay for Earth and Altar magazine’s Christianity 101 series, starting from the answer provided by the catechism of the Episcopal Church in the USA:

Q. What do we mean by heaven and hell?
A. By heaven, we mean eternal life in our enjoyment of God; by hell, we mean eternal death in our rejection of God.

Read Grace’s article here.

 

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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 for 22nd Sunday after Pentecost
Oct 24, 2021
(a rerun Story at Home from 2018)

Mark 10:46-52

They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

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Something to Do

Eyes and Ears

Although this is a story about someone regaining their sight, it is mostly about hearing and being heard.  Spend some time this week focusing on what you can hear.  What are the first sounds you hear in the morning?  What are the sounds of your house in the evening? Whose voice do you hear most often during the day? What kind of noise do you make as you move about your home?  Where can you hear God in the midst of your day?   

Raise your voice

Say your prayers out loud this week. If you usually say your prayers out loud, say them louder. What does it feel like?

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Something to Wonder

Many sternly ordered him to be quiet…

Bartimaeus kept calling out for Jesus, insisting that his needs be heard, even when the people around him were trying to make him be quiet.   

Have you ever felt silenced?  When?  What did you do?

Have you ever been in the position of silencing someone?  If so, why did you do it?  What happened?     

Take heart; get up, he is calling you

Jesus heard Bartimaeus calling and responded with an invitation for Bartimaeus to come closer.  Can you imagine how Bartimaeus felt?  

Have you ever heard God calling you to come closer or to make a change in your life or respond to an opportunity? What was that like? What did you do?

What do you want me to do for you?

It is important to be careful with stories of people receiving the ability to see or hear or walk so that we don’t make assumptions about all people who may be deaf or blind or unable to walk.  Not everyone necessarily wants their bodies and abilities to be changed.  

Perhaps this is why Jesus takes the time to ask Bartimaeus what he wants and doesn’t just assume it’s his sight.   After all, the need for healing is not necessarily tied to issues of ability.  Sighted people and blind people alike need Jesus’ healing presence.  

Are you in need of healing?  
Is there something in your life that feels broken or incomplete?  
What would you like Jesus to do for you?

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Something to Learn

Speaking and Silencing

The question of who is heard and who is silenced is at the heart of justice.  The Scriptures are filled with praise for God as the One who hears the cry of the oppressed and the broken hearted, even when no one else is listening.  

Rebecca Solnit, the writer and activist, may not have had Jesus in mind when she wrote this piece but we can have him in mind when we read it!

“Who is heard and who is not defines the status quo. Those who embody it, often at the cost of extraordinary silences with themselves, move to the centre; those who embody what is not heard, or what violates those who rise on silence, are cast out. By redefining whose voice is valued, we redefine our society and its values.”  From Silence and Powerlessness Go Hand in Hand, The Guardian, 8 Mar 2017

There can also be a great cost to those who choose to break silence when that silence serves the interests of people in power – or even just preserves the comfort of the majority.

Breaking the Silence is an an organization of veteran combatants who have served in the Israeli military since the start of the Second Intifada and have taken it upon themselves to expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories. 

Leopoldo López is an opposition leader in Venezuela who was arrested in 2014. After three years and seven months in the Ramo Verde military prison outside Caracas, López was released to house arrest last summer on the condition that he remain silent.  He worked with Wil S. Hylton, a reporter with the New York Times, to report his story.

Read the article hear:

“Leopoldo López Speaks Out, and Venezuela’s Government Cracks Down”

Listen to the audio documentary, including interview footage, here.

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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 for 21st Sunday after Pentecost
Oct 17, 2021

Job 38:1-7,34-41

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?” 

“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you? Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind? Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cling together? Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their covert? Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?”

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Something to Do

Go somewhere that makes you feel small

At the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, there is a long spiral ramp with a timeline of the cosmos along the railing. Humans show up as a line at the very end of this long, long walk, raising questions about our sense of importance and centrality in the universe.

This speech from God does the same thing – reminding us just how big the world really is and how small a part of it we really are.

Find a place to feel that truth this week. We don’t have an ocean available and can’t call up a lightening storm on demand (which is sort of the point) but maybe you can get the same sense by visiting the river or finding an open field on a dark night or spot where you can really feel the wind or where you are dwarfed by trees.

At the very least, find some good wildlife/storm/wilderness videos to watch online!

Make Your Complaints

The Book of Job is a wonderful, difficult, honest struggling with the question of why bad things happen. You may not be suffering as much as Job does but you have your own complaints. Even though you are small in the context of the cosmos, you have the right to name your sufferings and your struggles. Write them down. Tell a trusted friend. Tell God. Find the balance between acknowledging troubles and dwelling in them. Be open to insights or solutions but be prepared to settle for patience and endurance.

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Something to Wonder

Feeling Small

How does feeling small in the cosmos feel to you? Why do you think it makes you feel that way? If it is not a good feeling, how might you be able to reframe it so that it feels better to you? If it is a good feeling, how might you be able to take that feeling and put it to use in your life or in the world?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

This is one of the great questions – so great, it has its own word: theodicy. If God is good and powerful, why is there suffering in the world?

How do you make sense of this problem? Has your approach or your understanding changed over time? Have there been particular experiences that shaped your perspective on this question?

Does this passage from Job, God’s great declaration of power and scope, help or hurt your attempts to answer the question?

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Something to Learn

Dive into Job

The Book of Job is a remarkable literary, philosophical, and theological text, well worth the time to read in its entirety.

Whether you do that or not, do take a look at some of these resources.

The Book of Job: an 8 part series by Rabbi Alexander Goldberg. Published as blog posts in the Guardian online, these short articles offer a multi-layered discussion of the book which weaves contemporary concerns with Biblical analysis. This link takes you to the first in the series. Keep scrolling to the bottom to find links to the rest of the posts.

The Bible Project offers two short essays and an overview video that discuss the theology, history, and structure of the Book of Job:

(Part 1) Book of Job: What’s Going on Here? An ancient thought experiment
(Part 2) Book of Job: God Gives Job a Virtual Tour of his Wise World

Click image for Video Overview

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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 for Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday
Oct 10, 2021

Matthew 6:25-33

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 

Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

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Something to Do

Look at the birds of the air

Take Jesus’ instructions literally. Go outside and spend some time looking at the birds of the air and considering the flowers in the gardens. Be mindful of how much God loves them. Be thankful for the gift of their presence in creation. Imagine being as free from worry as they are.

Worry stones and the Kingdom of God

First, find yourself a handful of small stones. These will represent your worries. Go to a good place to pray. Hold the stones in one hand or put them in a pile in front of you. Invite God to quiet your heart so you can name your worries without being caught up in them and then, one by one, take a stone, tell God what is weighing on you, and put it down. You can put it in a box or bag and, if you are outdoors, return it to the ground.

When you have laid down your worries, turn your attention to the kingdom of God. How can you strive for the kingdom and for God’s righteousness in your life and in our world. Find one larger stone. Take that stone up and ask God to sustain you and lead you in that holy work. Find a place to keep the stone as a sign of your desire.

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Something to Wonder

Are you not of more value than they?

On the one hand, of course a human life is more valuable than the life of a bird. On the other hand, our confidence in our own greater value has had devastating consequences for our world. Do you think God loves us more than birds? Why do you think that way? Is there an alternative way of framing the problem in order to lead to different (better?) ways of understanding the situation?

Do not worry about your life

What a privilege to not have to worry about what you will eat or how you will pay rent or whether you have clothes that fit and will protect you against the weather. If you do not or have not always enjoyed these privileges, how does Jesus’ instruction make you feel? If you do enjoy these privileges, consider how this passage might sound for someone who does not.

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Something to Learn

Mendicant Orders – taking Jesus at his word

Mendicant orders are religious orders in which members do not live together in monasteries and do not hold property even in common but rather travel around to teach and minister, supporting themselves through occasional labour and begging. Francis (whose feast we celebrated last week) is widely considered to be the founder of the first Christian mendicant order, followed not long after by Dominic (although the Dominicans (1216) were formally established by the pope a few years earlier than the Franciscans (1223).

Learn more about this important Christian movement:

Mendicant Orders in the Medieval World – from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Art History blog

History of the Mendicant Friars from History World

‘Begging Without Shame’: Medieval Mendicant Orders Relied on Contributions from the Journal of the Catholic Health Association of the United States

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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.