I can't think of anything?

I do find that it takes a certain amount of discipline to maintain a blog. Perhaps writing it into my schedule or to do list in order to write something down at least a couple times per week, if not every day. I was once told that if I am having writer's block, that I should simply sit down and fill pages and pages with the words "I can't think of anything!!" At first, it seemed kind of pointless, but as I took this practice on, I realized there is a power to simply sitting down and writing something. Why? Because whatever writer's block that I was experiencing would quickly evaporate, and I found that more often than not, some thoughts would come.

I think this is in part how our interaction with the Holy Spirit sometimes works. Instead of trying to come up with something profound to say or do ahead of time, we find that God works through us simply in what we're doing. They key, of course, is letting ourselves be open to whatever God happens to be up to... because often we won't know until after the fact.

I guess I am hearing echoes of last Sunday's sermon ringing around in my own head. I don't think people realize that I am as subject to my own sermons as everyone else is. Preaching is as much listening as it is speaking... if not more so. So I guess today I am taking my own advice...

Oh yeah! One more note... If you click on the link to the church website, it will actually take you someplace that's starting to look like something rather than Bluehost's holding page. It's a big step, we're on the verge of having a full functional church website! Special thanks to Jordan and Chris for all their work on this one!

Geez Magazine

On my way home from worship this afternoon I turned on CBC's Tapestry program. On it, Mary Hynes was interviewing a couple of editors from a new publication called "Geez Magazine. " Turns out it was an interview that happened back in March, but then again there is some value to re-runs. It was the first time I had heard it. I listened with great interest, and thanks to the internet, you can actually listen to the interview yourself!

Upon getting home I discovered much to my pleasure that Geez indeed has its own website. It's subtitle is "holy mischief in an age of fast faith." I have to admit that I felt a real resonance here, if not with the whole magazine, but the "theology of the smirk" that seems to echo out of it. One of the troubles with the Christian Faith, particularly in North America is how domesticated it has become. There is now a movement afoot trying to reclaim that sense of subversiveness that the Roman Empire once saw as a threat to its powerbase.

As the editors of the magazine like to say, they would rather use humour and mischief "Because it’s time we untangle the narrative of faith from the fundamentalists, pious self-helpers and religio-profiteers."

I think I've found a church-related magazine outside of the Presbyterian Record that I'd like to subscribe to.

The Challenges of Study

Tonight is the last of my Summer Bible Studies at Clarkson Road. I've thoroughly enjoyed this one, as I did the Genesis 1-11 study last year. It is nice to be able to go in-depth, handle a bit of controversial material, and have people respond the way that they do. I try to give an overview of what people who make a life's career out of studying the Bible and its context have discovered. It's absolutely fascinating.

We live in a time of Biblical Illiteracy, where people are not aware of the stories, much less the context of when things were written. It's our reality. Although I have to admit that this is not a bad thing for two reasons. Firstly, there is a genuine hunger out there to learn more about the Bible, and secondly, there's a lot fewer people around who think they know the Bible better than they really do.

Granted, I should try to be careful not to lump myself in the same category. I continue to learn a lot myself from when I put together these studies. It was once said that one studies for a Ph.D. to learn how much they don't know.

Too true...

Monday Mornings

Okay, so it's no longer morning, but I can at least reflect back on it.

For many, today is the start of the work week, after having only just survived or are successfully refreshed from the weekend. More and more calendars assign Monday as the first day of the week, rather than the traditional Sunday. I use Google Calendar to do my personal scheduling, and it allows the option for the week to start with Monday, Sunday or even Saturday! As such, the traditional first day of the week has become a bit more flexible.

It's interesting, because in its infancy, early Christians would worship on Sunday, being the first day of the week. However, Sundays were much like Mondays, in that the work week started on Sunday. In other words, Christians would go to worship services to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus early in the morning, and then everbody would head off to work. It would only be later when Sundays became the "day of rest" in Christian circles, so much so, that it ended up being enforced when Christianity became the dominant religion.

Yet we now live in a non-Christian, or more appropriately a post-Christian society. I wonder if to get a sense of what those early Christians may have experienced to gather together for worship early Monday morning.

The irony is, all I can think of now is Garfield.

Let Sleeping Cats Lie...

Right now, the younger of our two cats is sleeping behind me, paws up in the air completely asleep.
Now Samantha is not the brightest of cats, but she is very likeable, and very friendly. She gives love without really expecting it in return... just a constant state of gratitude and bliss that we once took her in and gave her shelter. Unlike our other cat, she has no pretensions about owning the place, or that we are here to serve her. She's just glad to be here.

I think maybe it's a lesson that she's been trying to teach us... Just be glad that you're here, and show some gratitude.

Isn't that what faith is about? Giving thanks to God that we're here... Especially when we find ourselves complaining just a bit too much? Yes, there are certainly times and places to raise our hands for justice... but we do so out of a sense of gratitude, of how precious life is.

Profound lessons from a sleeping cat...

Die Fledermaus

I got a bit of a shock tonight before taking out the garbage. I heard the cats chasing about just outside our bedroom window, but I thought they were fighting/playing with each other. When I came out onto the landing, I was greeted by a large flitting thing avoiding the pursuit of two very interested cats.

A Bat.

Yes, a bat. Not the baseball steroid type thing... But the night time flappy flappy Mouse with wings...

If I was to guess, it was a Little Brown Bat, which is quite common in this part of the country, even in urban settings. On Wednesday of this week, following my Bible Study, we evicted one from the church. In churches, I am used to them. Virtually every church that I have worked for has had bats at one point or another. Wednesday night was no big deal. There was a bat flying around, so we decided to get rid of it. Well... we chose to evict it, because the opportunity presented itself and we could try to shoo the thing outside.

I don't like killing bats, because they are quite helpful in controlling mosquito populations and such... but they do creep people out.

This was the very first time I've ever had a real, live bat in my own home. Like the church, I wasn't really thrilled with the idea of killing a bat... but the challenge was to successful evict it. Unlike a church, there wasn't a large door to shoo it out. So I opened a window, removed the screen, and then used a swiffer broom to keep the thing flying.

Ultimately, it didn't fly out the window... but I got it to flap around so much I tired it out. So it climbed onto the end of my broom thing, so I was able to deliver it to the window and let it return to the night.

Enough excitement for one night, I suppose.

After Math

Last night's Bible Study went quite well. Considering it's summer, I had seven people out... perhaps a third of what I had out last fall. However, it's still more than I was expecting!

I had forgotten how much I enjoy doing those, and how energized I feel following it. I think it might be the teaching instinct that I get from my parents, but there's a certain amount of satisfaction that rings true when people seem to get it.

I tend to do Bible Studies in a more lecture-style environment, although certainly with room for a lot of questions. I guess from my standpoint is that Biblical literacy is at such a low-point these days, there needs to be a lot of basic information.

The real challenge for me is going to be the next one... not next week, but the next Study that I am going to do: Revelation. Maybe I will subtitle it Jack Van Impe can eat my shorts. I actually wanted to put something else there, but I should try to retain a modicum of decency.

More on this later...

Summer Bible Study

I'm trying a Summer Bible Study for the first time in my career. I'm a bit nervous... but I'm following a similar format to what I did last fall with the Genesis 1-11 Bible Study.

This time around it's called "A History of Easter" which looks at the formation and development of the New Testament as a whole. It's less concerned with the verse-by-verse content of the various books of the New Testament. Instead, it asks why certain books were included, while others weren't. I found a comprehensive list of New Testament writings at earlychristianwritings.com which is a really helpful overview of this... I should print off a few copies of this for people...

The trouble with doing an extensive Bible Study is that I'm only just starting to work on my sermon now!!

Bad Parking Job

On the first of the month, a group from Clarkson Road Presbyterian Church goes to a local Extended Care Facility to sing and pray with the residents. It's a personal kind of outreach, and something that a handful of people really get behind. I support it with my own presence as often as I can.

With today being the August Long Weekend, Siem was a bit concerned as to whether or not we were going to have enough people, since we had expected a number of our key people being away. I told Siem that I was planning on being there, and if necessary I'd do the whole thing a capella. I've done services before without having either a piano or guitar backup, so it didn't really scare me... but it was important for me to be there on time...

...at 1:59, I pull up to the place, and there is barely any parking. I think to myself that I'm going to be late. However, there appears to be a spot between a silver Dodge Caravan and Silver Pontiac Grand Am. Considering I drive a Silver Dodge Caravan myself, this seemed to be okay... but after my first attempt to park, I realized that I would have to try parallel parking.

Five minutes later, I am still trying to get the car properly aligned in the spot. The goal was to have neither the tires on the sidewalk, nor the vehicle too far out on the street... If I were doing a driving test today, I would have failed miserably, because I had the back tire on the sidewalk, and the front end stuck out into the street. [sigh] All the while I am getting more frustrated because I am getting a mental picture of Siem and Arda waiting along with the rest of the residents without any vocal help.

I finally get the van parked, and rush inside. It seems that people came out of the woodwork at the last minute... and the music echoed down the halls... God is certainly gracious, and has a sense of humour. Lesson for the day, slow down... let go... and trust that God is in the midst of it all.

Disturbed

On my way to lunch today, I heard the heavy metal band Disturbed do a cover of Genesis' Land of Confusion... Originally released on the latter band's Invisible Touch album, and had been a hit in 1986. This new cover song has a rawness and a power to it that I think does the song justice... it was not only fun to hear, but there's something haunting about hearing this in a new context.

Phil Collins and Genesis originally wrote this in the context of the Cold War, during the years of Ronald Reagan. The video used puppets from Spitting Image, a hysterically funny British Comedy show that was essentially a live-action Political Cartoon. It lamented the madness of the Cold War... which oddly enough ended a few short years later.

But 20 years later, the same words address similar anxiety, but a different context, and a different generation. It's interesting to hear it in a new context, and as much as it raises the alarm, it also signals a word of hope. Lighting a candle in the darkness...

Land of Confusion
Lyrics: Mike Rutherford
Music: Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks
Copyright (c) 2006

I must have dreamed a thousand dreams
Been haunted by a million screams
But I can hear the marching feet
They're moving into the street

Now, did you read the news today?
They say the danger has gone away
But I can see the fire's still alight
They're burning into the night

There's too many men, too many people
Making too many problems
And there's not much love to go around
Can't you see this is the land of confusion?

Chorus
This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth living in

Oh, superman, where are you now?
When everything's gone wrong somehow?
The men of steel, the men of power
Are losing control by the hour

This is the time, this is the place
So we look for the future
But there's not much love to go around
Tell me why this is the land of confusion

Chorus
This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth living in

Bridge
I remember long ago
When the sun was shining
And all the stars were bright all
through the night
In the wake of this madness, as I held you tight
So long ago

I won't be coming home tonight
My generation will put it right
We're not just making promises
That we know we'll never keep
There's too many men, too many people

Making too many problems
And there's not much love to go round
Can't you see this is the
land of confusion?

Now, this is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth fighting for

This is the world we live in
And these are the names we're given
Stand up and let's start showing
Just where our lives are going to

The Great Contrasts...

This is the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove.
While my wife took the picture towards the end of our Maritime trip a few weeks ago, I remember once visiting here in the summer of 1997. Unlike this time around, I was neither a parent nor was married. I was travelling solo, and found myself frequently alone with my thoughts. I called it solitude, and it was quite appropriate for me then.

Just short of the lighthouse, there are a number of warning signs to avoid getting too close to the water, including the darker coloured rocks. The newer signs couch their language a bit better, but my favorite is a much older sign bolted to one of the rocks along the path. While I may not get the phrasing quite right, it says something to the effect of this:

Caution, Dangerous Terrain,
Tourists who have been too
curious have paid
for it with their lives."

Certainly the day I visited saw some massive ocean swells smashing into the rocks. I think I got too close myself, because one of the local staff told me to get back off from where I was. I was at least twenty feet from the water at this point. Yet it occurred to me that the ocean is so powerful at this point, and I was nothing more than a twig to be cast in a dragged about. Next to these ocean swells I felt so insignificant...

...yet at the same time I felt an affirmation that somehow I mattered. All of us matter to God, no matter how small or insignificant we might feel.

Visiting Peggy's Cove 9 years later reminded me of that personal experience. I'm not sure if I can ever replicate it, but it's an encouraging reminder...

Edit: I preached on this back in January. Interesting to see how these stories keep resurfacing.