Garden tour 2020

It's a warm week, and the garden is loving it! So am I, hoping that the slugs dry up and the mosquitoes diminish. Though my dying camera gives everything a blue tinge, I took one last video with it and thought I would post it here for my readers' enjoyment and my own records. Hope you're enjoying these summer days!

Sunday Reflection: Praying for the common good

Today's reflection is brought to you by
Romans 8:28-30.

We are reminded today
that all things work together
for the good
of those who love you,
O Creator of all that is.

You know us.

You created us
so that we
might grow into your likeness.

You call us
to be your goodness and justice
on our troubled planet,
but there are so many
who ignore your call.

We pray
that your dream for creation
becomes the dream
for ALL who walk your earth.

Help us to encourage goodness
wherever we find it
and to pray for those
who are misguided,
that we may ALL be your justice and goodness
and come to your glory
in your good time.

Come,
O Creator,
and change the hearts
of those who lack awareness
of your desire for your world,
who put profit
above people,
above the goodness of all that you have given to us.

Inspire them
and us
to work for the common good of all that is.

+Amen

* * * * * * *

In the week ahead, I'd like to invite you to pray with me for the conversion of the President of the United States and other world leaders like him. I have been heartbroken over the attacks on peaceful demonstrators south of the border... and the mistreatment of the underprivileged all over the world. This is not what God wants!

Every day, this Taize chant finds its way into my consciousness somehow, its English translation being a call to "You who love us, source of life." One of the descant verses in particular returns to me, over and over, a simple prayer of Brother Roger, the founder of the community: 

Taking everything upon yourself

you open a way for us

toward faith,

toward trust in you,

who want neither suffering

nor human distress.

Please pray along with me, and have a good week.

Sunday Reflection: The glory to come

Today's reflection is brought to you by
Romans 8:18-23 and Matthew 13:16.

We are going through a challenging time,
O God,
but you tell us,
through the words of your servant,
Paul,
to be people of hope.

These days' struggles
are nothing
in comparison
to what you have planned for your world.

And so we are to trust in your timing
and to work
with all of your creation
to bring your will to fulfillment.

We may find ourselves
feeling helpless along the way,
but this is also part of your plan.

In facing our helplessness
we come to know
that everything depends on you,
and that we are free
to do what we can
and to entrust everything to your care.

We are not to carry
the weight of the world
because that's not our job!

You are God and we are not.

All of creation
(including us)
groans in labour,
but you are the faithful midwife.

Bless our eyes so that we may see the world as you do,
our ears to hear your requests in the voices
of those around us who are in need.

Help us to trust in you,
and to do our share
in the labour
to make our world
what you want it to be.

+Amen.

* * * * * * *

Lately, it never fails that these Sunday reflections are a pep talk to myself. Canadian and Alberta politics, news headlines and our present pandemic are real downers these days, but then along comes this piece of Paul's letter to the Romans, reminding me who is really in charge -- not our politicians, world injustices, or divisions caused by the virus that's affecting our entire planet. Somehow, I have to believe all of this is part of God's plan to bring about the glory of something so much better.

How about you?

Praying through the reflection above for a second time, I make it personal...

* * * * * * *

I am going through a challenging time,
O God,
but you tell me,
through the words of your servant,
Paul,
to be a person of hope.

These days' struggles
are nothing
in comparison
to what you have planned for your world.

And so I am to trust in your timing
and to work
with all of your creation
to bring your will to fulfillment.

I may find myself
feeling helpless along the way,
but this is also part of your plan.

In facing my helplessness
I come to know
that everything depends on you,
and that I am free
to do what I can
and to entrust everything to your care.

I am not to carry
the weight of the world
because that's not my job!

You are God and I am not.

All of creation
(including me)
groans in labour,
but you are the faithful midwife.

Bless my eyes so that I may see the world as you do,
my ears to hear your requests in the voices
of those around me who are in need.

Help me to trust in you,
and to do my share
in the labour
to make our world
what you want it to be.

+Amen.

Sunday Reflection: No fighting!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
1/1a/Donkey_in_Clovelly%
2C_North_Devon%2C_England.jpg

Today's reflection is brought to you by
Zechariah 9: 9-10 and Matthew 11:29-30.

You invite us to rejoice,
O God,
to shout our joy
because you
are the source
of all that is good,
triumphant and victorious!

You are also humble enough
to take our human form
and ride upon a donkey.

Even in such humility
you have the power
to cut off the chariots
and war horses,
commanding peace and justice.

Your reign extends over all the earth
when we listen to the beauty,
goodness and truth
that you have placed
in our hearts and souls.

All we need to do
is to come to you,
absorb your gentleness and humbleness,
and find rest
from our burdens.

Give our war-bent leaders wisdom
to follow your way of peace,
and heal the divisions
within us and our world.

Help us to reach for your gentleness
every day of our lives.

+Amen.

* * * * * * *

How often we hear the line about our king coming to us, humble and riding on a donkey, usually in the liturgies connected to Christ the King or Palm Sunday, other times as well. But it was the idea of a king on a donkey, cutting off chariots and warhorses that arrested my thoughts this morning. My mind was filled with a Monty-Python-esque image of a king tearing around on a little donkey (a small king with a large crown and a flying Superman cape), outracing the armies marching to battle, leaving them standing stock still, dumbfounded by the aura of peace and strength surrounding him. A comical image, perhaps, but what if it could be real?

I've never been fond of the idea of God as king. Kings are impersonal in their inaccessibility. But this image of a little guy on a donkey rather than a magnificent steed works for me. If only we had a leader down at our level, who could stop us all in our tracks, preventing us from engaging in the words and deeds of violence that arise from our own woundedness. One who, like a loving parent, could say, "no fighting!" soothe our internal insurrections, and bring us to peaceful harmony with all those around us, whether they be powerful CEOs or the people who pick bottles in the back alley.

The fact of the matter is that the God of peace is always there for each and every one of us, encouraging us to find the compassion within us, and working to heal our hurts. But we need to be aware and to cooperate, to see God's presence in all those around us, and to remember that God loves us and is present to us all equally. 

We only need to ask for help to do it, and it begins.

Today, I pray for our world leaders as we struggle through this pandemic, that they may act with humility and justice, and ride donkeys rather than war horses. 

I also ask God's help for the Brisson family, who are mourning the loss of their 23-year-old daughter and sister, Izzy. May all who reach out in compassion and support help them to find peace and rest from their twin burdens of sorrow and grief...

+Amen.

Canada Day Book Review: From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle

I am a proud Canadian. I am so happy to live in this country we call Canada, but I also can't deny its shadow sides.

When I was small, my best friend was a wonderful girl of Indigenous origin who had been taken from her parents at the age of three in what we now call the Sixties Scoop, which is something of a misnomer for events that took place from the 50s right through to the late 90s (and even the present day) in some cases.

My friend and I didn't know about cultural genocide as we played together, running loose all over our small town in Saskatchewan. I had no idea that my happy childhood was her main source of happiness at that time, a respite from life with a white foster family where different kinds of abuse deeply affected her and her sister.

For most of my life, Canada Day has meant celebrations of our country's goodness, beauty, and grandeur, some of which I was blessed to see on family summer vacations in the mountains or on the coasts of British Columbia. I was always proud of our country's peacekeeping track record, its welcome of immigrants and refugees, including those from the Underground Railroad for black settlers from the US, and other sources of struggle overseas, its resultant multiculturalism, and its efforts to stand up for justice in world conflicts.

Of course, as time has passed, social media has brought a wider awareness of the many places where Canada has fallen short of its professed high ideals, and as I have matured, it has become impossible to wear rose-coloured glasses when it comes to my country. Since reconnecting with my childhood friend a few years ago thanks to Facebook, when I put on my red and white Canada Day t-shirt (sporting our anthem's lyrics), I hesitate for a moment and think of all those people for whom the concept of Canada as our home and native land causes deep hurt.

This year, in the light of events since the end of May, I am thinking especially of people of colour who have experienced racism at the hands of white settlers and their descendants, people just like me who have forgotten that this land wasn't ours to begin with.

The good thing is that Canada is generally a wonderful place, full of many opportunities and freedoms for those who manage to come and live here. My family of origin, descended from Russian-German farmers, has lived in Treaty 6 territory for well over 100 years, and we have reaped many benefits over time.

The terrible thing is that most of the people we unwittingly displaced have not fared nearly so well.

So even as I celebrate Canadians' good fortune in living in this wonderful land called Canada, I am thinking of those who have experienced its darknesses in the forms of systemic racism that can lead to family breakdown, deprivation, poverty, addictions, and abuse. To that end, I'm reading From the Ashes: My Story of Being Metis, Homeless, and Finding My Way, the story of Jesse Thistle, a man who, with his two brothers, was also a victim of the Sixties Scoop.

From the Ashes is one of this year's Canada Reads book, and more than an eye-opener. Gritty and honest, told in heartbreaking poetry and prose, it has made me cry on more than one occasion. As I read, I can't help but put myself in the place of Jesse, asking myself how I would have reacted in the situations he found himself in, realizing the huge struggles that arose from systemic racism and the loss of his parental relationships. His story has made me more determined than ever to work for reconciliation and justice for Indigenous people and for all who are treated unfairly by the descendants of white settlers.

I can't recommend this book enough. If you have been wondering about your place in recent anti-racism events since the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, it's worth making an effort toward self-education and a deeper understanding of the Canadians who have been treated even worse over the centuries than our black community members, who are relative newcomers. It's worth rethinking our place in Canada, period, remembering that we are all equal in God's eyes, and thus, should be in Canadian society, too. There is so much healing required. And it starts with us refusing to allow systemic racism to continue unchallenged. 

On this rather sodden, dark, and rainy Canada Day in Edmonton, I will finish Jesse Thistle's book, and encourage all my readers to read it, too. In addition, I pledge to continue volunteering in capacities that connect me to my Indigenous brothers and sisters and other people of colour, to look for more such opportunities for friendship and connection, and to find places and ways to stand against the racism that we white people have allowed to continue for too long.

It is only through rebuilding our country's self-understanding through relationships, reconciliation, and justice efforts that we can truly be proud Canadians -- together.