Christmas Reflection: Daystar in our hearts appear

We've turned the corner. The days are getting longer once again. Our family spent a few days last
week during the turning of the light in Jasper, Alberta, noticing the glory of the skies, and most especially the snow-capped mountains.

These days, the sunrise doesn't hit the peaks until after nine a.m., and the sun was low at four in the afternoon when we finished hiking, or skating on Pyramid Lake. Little wonder, with less than seven-and-a-half hours of daylight.

I love that so many Advent and Christmas songs are sung in this darkest time of the year, because so many of them speak so beautifully of our longing for Light. Christ as the Light of the World. This one included...

Dayspring from on high be near,
Daystar in our hearts appear!

Merry Christmas!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=gNuY6I4OtoE

Sunday Reflection: an Advent Classic

Today's reflection is brought to you by
Isaiah 12.

Shout aloud and sing for joy:
great in our midst are you,
O Holy One.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell, my God.

We just need to learn to see you in all of life,
to know that you are with us
no matter what.

Then even our sorrows can become joy!

+Amen.


Advent's deep longing and subdued joy has created some really beautiful art and music, and you'll find both in the video below. Veni, veni Emmanuel is a 13th century Latin hymn that we in Canada often sing in English this time of year. This is New Zealander Hayley Westenra's version, and you can bet I'll be looking for more music by her in the near future. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tId6ePj7Zpo

Bread of life, body of Christ

This Corpus Christi Sunday, my mind goes back to morning prayer at Taizé, and to the communion offered to the gathered community. Consecrated bread (host wafers) were offered to Catholics in one place, and blessed bread was also made available to everyone who wanted to partake. I didn't know about the blessed bread during my first visit in 2014 because I usually ended up sitting on the side of the Church of Reconciliation where the Catholics received the consecrated hosts, which we were allowed to dip in a cup of wine.

But when I visited Taizé in October 2016, I sat on the other side of the church with my best friend, and we received the bread together (Cathy isn't Catholic, and I wanted to share communion with her). And I wasn't sorry to receive the unconsecrated bread because a young volunteer offered us a basket from which we took a chunk of bread with a piece of crisp crust, like bread will taste in heaven, every bit as delicious as God's love should be. And as Cathy and I left morning prayer for breakfast, I said, "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!" and she laughed and said, "I know! It was so DELICIOUS!"

I'm not sure how or why so many churches got away from sharing really good bread, though I expect it has something to do with concern for the crumbs being dropped on the floor and walked on. But to break our morning fast with such a delicious piece of bread shared with a smile by a young volunteer had a profound impact on my understanding of the Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus probably gave his followers a special meal to show that life is meant to be delicious, and joyous, and to help us know that the people who eat his meal are meant to bring flavour and celebration to all of life, especially to those who hunger and thirst for justice, joy, peace and beauty. His gift of himself as food for the feast is meant to encourage us all to offer ourselves for the life of the world in the way he did.

The idea of the Body and Blood of Christ has always been a bit too visceral for many people, but who doesn't like to share a good loaf of bread and bottle of wine with friends? Maybe the enjoyment of eating together as God's beloved people got lost in the rules around how to distribute the meal to large groups in huge churches... and in our concern for how the meal is served we have been missing out on something simple, joyful, and absolutely delicious.

If I was consulted on how to make our liturgies more meaningful, I'd say, stop worrying about the crumbs. Christ wants us to enjoy the bread of life and each other. Pass the basket to each other with a smile, let everyone take a fresh and delicious piece to dip in some sweet and excellent wine so that they can really taste and see the goodness of God, and know that together, we are all the body of Christ in the love that we share with each other and the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RqTOczCZPQ

See, I am near

Christ's Easter message could be something as simple as this:

I am always near
whether you notice or not.
Even when you feel alone
or abandoned,
I am with you.
When you face defeat,
I am facing it with you.
When you aren't sure how to move forward,
my arm is around you, easing you ahead.

I know all about disillusionment,
disappointment,
betrayal,
abandonment,
fear,
pain,
and death.
I've been through them all.

Why?
To show you
that you will come through them too.
You will be alright.
In fact, better than alright.
I promise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_gfim2bySg

Happy Easter, everyone!

Praying for so many things

This evening, we will have our monthly ecumenical prayer at Grace United Church (6215 104 Ave) at 7 p.m. Please join us if you are able. I find that I have so many things/people to pray for...

My family
A friend who is dying
Others who aren't well
Our immigrants and refugees
Wisdom in our political leaders
Peace in places where it is lacking
Care for our planet and its climate, in particular
The lovely Syrian friends I bowled with yesterday (their first time)

Just to name a few...

But really, God knows everything in my heart before I utter a word. So this evening, I will simply rest in God's compassion, without asking for anything, trusting that God is caring for everything without me saying anything. We won't be singing the chant posted below at this evening's prayer, but it's become the song that plays in the back of my mind every time I pray.

In the words of Brother Roger:

You love us. You love us.
Taking everything upon yourself
you open a way for us toward faith
toward trust in God who wants neither suffering
nor human distress. Spirit of the Living Christ,
Spirit of compassion, Spirit of praise
your love for each one of us will never go away.

Who/what are you praying for? If you feel like leaving a comment, I'll pray with you, too.

Love for creation on a Sunday

After watching the video in the previous moodling (still available, at least until tomorrow) I feel the need to show a little love for creation. This morning we had the most amazing sunrise, and there is glory all around us all the time -- if we just open our eyes.

Andie's Isle is a pretty great little website with a number of gorgeous creation videos. I don't know Andie, but I've seen several of her videos over the years, and she has a really great recent one, The Nature of God, which isn't available on YouTube, but you can click here to see it (thanks again to Charleen for sharing it with me!) It reminded me of Brian Doerksen's Creation Calls, below, so I had to post it a second (or is it third?) time. Not sure who came up with the images, but they did an incredible job of putting it all together, and I think it's worth posting many times.

So here's a little love for creation, and for God this Sunday. Enjoy...

Saints and souls

The saints in the orthodox chapel at Taizé

While I'm not really fond of this commercial thing known as Hallowe'en now that my kids are grown, I do appreciate the two hallowed days following... November 1st being All Saints' Day, and November 2nd, All Souls' Day. I love the fact that there are two holy days to cover us all.

Of course most people think of those Capital S Saints who lived exemplary lives and who have been officially declared to reside with God by ecclesial authorities, but I prefer St. Paul's view of saintliness, as he phrases it in Ephesians 2: "...you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God..." In Paul's writings, we are all saints with a small s by virtue of the fact that we are loved by God.

And, of course, every person on the planet has a soul, so November 2nd is for all of us, no matter who we are, what we believe, or how we vote, ha. But it's also a day to remember our loved ones who have died. So the first two days of November are a good time to recall our communion of saints, those who have gone before us and who intercede for us, and to celebrate the fact that we will see them again "in the land of the living," as the Taizé chant below reminds us.

I hope you can find some time to remember the saints and souls who have blessed your life during this week ahead.

Sunday reflection on a Monday: Practicing detachment

I've been thinking a lot about detachment lately, and how easy it is to become wrapped up in situations beyond our control. Really, almost everything is beyond our control, but we've convinced ourselves otherwise. So we imagine that we are in charge, that we call the shots, and when things don't work that way -- well, I don't know about you, but I get tied up in knots.

All of the readings at church this past Sunday were about detachment. The reading from the Book of Wisdom (9:13-18) reminded us that "our designs are likely to fail" but that God sees that "the paths of those on earth were set right, and people were taught what pleases you and were saved by wisdom." In Paul's Letter to Philemon (9-17), he is letting go of Onesimus, a "beloved brother" who has come to mean much to him. And in Luke's Gospel (14:25-33), Jesus is encouraging us to give up our attachments to connections and possessions in order to live in freedom as children of God.

"Let go and Let God" is a phrase I feel like I've heard all my life, but it still isn't easy. As a well-established worry-wart (and mother), I find it hard to turn off my brain and hand the worrying over to God, not to mention detaching from my possessions, my judgments, my thought patterns, my EGO! And yet, I know that if I can become less attached to all those things, entrusting them all to the One who really is in charge, I'll be much more at peace.

So this week, I am going to work on detachment, even as I deal with some problems in my daily existence. And I'm going to share a little video here, a guided meditation that was created by the Honest Guys, because I appreciate the fact that they've put it out there for free in an effort to help people who are working on letting go. It's a non-religious meditation with its heart in the right place.

Is there anything you're trying to let go?

Praying with song and silence

Taizé Prayer will be held at Hope Lutheran Church (5104 106 Avenue) tonight at 7 p.m. We really enjoyed our prayer there last year because of the community’s warm hospitality on a cold evening, and Reinhart’s amazing piano skills! Not sure if he’ll be playing with us tonight, but it’s a possibility! All are welcome!

For those who are unable to join us this evening, here’s a little video made in Taizé last May featuring Frère Ghislain, who led scripture study for the adults when I was there in June. A gentle, humble man, as you can see, whose passion for unity, communion and reconciliation is visible when you hear him. After a few days attending his sessions, that passion rubbed off on me, too, which is why I hope to be part of an ecumenical Taizé prayer group for as long as I live.

The music in the video is an Italian chant called Tu sei sorgente viva, which you can hear more clearly in the second video -- You are the living source, you are fire, you are love... Come Holy Spirit!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UchTTkCPujs



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRgb4hlTFXw

Neither satire nor revenge needed

I just don't understand. Can someone explain to me why it's necessary to poke at our brothers and sisters of different faiths by publishing ugly cartoons that make fun of their beliefs? And can you help me to understand why it would be necessary to take revenge for those cartoons when killing people is so clearly against any valid belief in the God who loves us and calls us all her/his children no matter our belief? And since when does belief need to avenge itself?

I guess it's been happening since the dawn of time, but I still don't understand it. Clearly, these people who choose to settle small differences with guns are using religion as an excuse for their own inability to love the way God loves, the way God calls us all to love. And the only response to such behaviour is forgiveness and a deeper love that reaches out to quell hatred of all kinds.

Compassion, in other words. From all sides to all sides, until there are no sides.

This song has been running through my head since the attacks on Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday. Of course, the video maker has chosen a lot of lovey-dovey pictures, but I like to close my eyes as I listen to John Lennon's voice and his simple piano melody (which I once learned to play) and think about love between all peoples of all faiths, so that neither satire nor revenge are necessary in our world. Then the song becomes a prayer that we can all pray together. Join me?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRyZ9Oe0uaE

Warmth for a chilly Sunday

Happy New Year, and Happy Epiphany Sunday! It's a chilly one! Here's what Canada looks like this morning on the Environment Canada Weather website.

All the red indicates regions under weather watches and warnings, everything from freezing rain to extreme cold to outright blizzard conditions. Only the tiny island province of Prince Edward Island is exempt. I suspect that the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut probably have regions that would qualify for extreme cold warnings at temperatures even colder than here in Edmonton, but as that's normal for them, they don't get a mention, which strikes me kinda funny.

Anyway, on a cold winter day, here's a bit of warmth for you, dear readers. You know this man is on the right track when he equates a life of greatness to a life of service. Warms the heart...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxmVW_hLoig

Beets, computer issues and a Sunday video on a Monday afternoon

My regular rhythm as a moodler has been way off for the last few weeks, and I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get it back. Those who are regular readers know that I usually post new moodlings on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, but with work and garden work taking so much time of late, things haven't been terribly regular.

So I was looking forward to Edmonton's L'Arche International 50th Anniversary Gala on September 20th for all sorts of reasons, the two primary ones being that it would be an enjoyable evening (it DEFINITELY was!) and that my time would become my own once the tickets were sold and the silent auction was history.

Of course, now my time is my own, and I'm doing my best to catch up on all the produce that was temporarily shelved for the last several weeks. Yesterday I peeled and chopped five gallons (20 L) of beets, and today I'm turning 4 gallons (16 L) of tomatoes into spaghetti sauce.

I thought I would at least post a Sunday video yesterday, but my computer hard drive needed some attention, so seven hours went to that...

So here's a Sunday video, on a Monday afternoon, just because I'm listening to a YouTube Taize playlist as I make my spaghetti sauce. This is such a gorgeous Polish chant, attributed to Pope John Paul II, who simply echoed the message of Christ. It translates: "God is love. Keep your courage to live for love. Do not be afraid."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E92Z3bwBVyI

Your word is a lamp

I'm finding more and more that, as I get older, I need fewer words in my faith life. I suspect that's why Taizé speaks for my faith better than the regular liturgy in my usual place of worship. God’s word is a light to my path, and all those other words that attempt to embellish what is already so clear to me are a distraction from Christ’s simple message to love one another, love God, and most of all, love our enemies (that’s the hardest thing he taught, and I’m still not very good at it!)

Tonight is our first Taizé Prayer of this late summer/autumn/winter season, and it will be held at Assumption Catholic Church (9040 95 Avenue, Edmonton). If you’re in the neighbourhood, come and join us – and bring a friend if you like for some ecumenical, musical, meditative prayer... even for our enemies. 

The chant below is Finnish for “Your word is a lamp, a light on my path.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyHxHLcvbVA

Some unusual Vivaldi on a Sunday

This past week, my wonderful mother-in-law sent me a link to Beethoven's 5th Symphony as rendered by a group called Carmel-A-Cappella (a fun name, don't you think? I like saying it with the emphasis misplaced, CarMELa CapPELLa, though I'm sure that's incorrect.) I was amazed by the video Mom sent, and thought I might share it via these moodlings... but then I did a little snooping around and found out a bit about Carmel-A-Cappella...

They're from Haifa, Israel, and they sing all sorts of a cappella music -- everything from Mozart to the Muppet's Theme. Here's a different video for Mom to enjoy -- a unique version of Vivaldi's Spring from the Four Seasons, which I find even more amazing because of the variety of vocalizations these women come up with. I can hear the birdsong the composer was trying to emulate even more clearly in these voices than in the strings on classical recordings, can't you? I suspect Antonio Lucio Vivaldi would be delighted! Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxs5O6hMBvg

DANCING on water...

Every time the gospel of Jesus walking on the water comes around, I'm afraid I zone out of what's happening at church and return to a favourite memory.

Some years ago, our family attended a production of The Cotton Patch Gospel -- sub-titled "The Greatest Story Ever Re-told." Basically, it's a bluegrass musical of the life of Christ set in the 1960s in Georgia. I'm not joking. It was performed at the Rosebud Theatre in Rosebud, AB, by five men with a lot of talent, each of them acting several different roles, singing close harmonies and playing different instruments.

The memory that distracts me from homilies and other goings on at mass is the scene from the production where Jesus, standing stage left, invites Peter, standing in the boat on on the stage right, to step over the side and come to him. But Jesus doesn't just invite Peter. He dances a little jig on the water, halfway across the stage to the boat and back to The Sailor's Hornpipe that he's playing on his banjo.

Of course, Peter and the disciples are astounded, mouths hanging open. So Jesus dances a little more, and a couple of the disciples get into the spirit, instruments kicking in as Jesus starts jigging and reeling to beat the band, reaching an arm out to Peter, encouraging him to join the dance. Peter's internal "Do-I-or-don't-I?" doesn't last long as Jesus, smiling broadly, steps up the pace. Cautiously, Peter climbs over the side, feels the water's solidity with one foot, then the other, straightens up, takes a tentative step away from the boat, and then a few more, as Jesus jigs a circle around him.

Before you know it, the two have joined hands and their feet are flying as they dance all over the "water" in a jubilant and rather hilarious parody of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance. The disciples are cheering and Peter is grinning wider and wider as he and Jesus sail about... and in the midst of everything, Jesus lets go to do a little dance solo to a bit of Duelling Banjos -- at the end of which he puts out his arms in an "over to you, Peter." So Peter gives 'er, clearly having the time of his life... until he realizes, like a cartoon character hanging in mid-air before falling down the Grand Canyon, that something isn't right. You can see him thinking, "Jesus is... way over there?? I'm dancing on water?? Isn't this impossible?? I don't know how to swim!!" And Peter sinks (plunges off the edge of the stage) and flounders until Jesus dances over, pulls him up, and walks his spluttering friend back to the boat.

No wonder I can't help but smile when I hear the reading... and think about how Jesus invites us all to trust, we of little faith. Only now I can't think so much about walking on water... If Jesus, the one who invites us to live life to the fullest, could walk on water, why wouldn't he dance? All I know is I wanna dance with Jesus, too!

It's been a while since I've had a jigging and reeling fix, so here's little one I just remembered -- Canada's own Natalie McMaster... and some very special guests. So cute!!! Happy Walking/Dancing on Water Sunday!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh9i6vf0TlU 

More about Taize on a Sunday

A friend recently sent me a link to the video below, and seeing it made my heart happy. I've gone on about Taize Prayer and music in my moodlings, but here's the story straight from the source, so to speak. Enjoy!

The Pope's quiet ecumenism

If you've been following my moodlings for a while, you know that ecumenism -- unity among churches and believers in God -- is a cause very dear to my heart. I am certain that Jesus didn't intend for those who follow him to divide up into groups that all claim to be following his way, picking and choosing different aspects of his life and teachings to emulate and emphasize while ignoring everyone else, and I believe that my own church is one of the worst offenders in this regard. Jesus wanted all human kind to understand that love is the bottom line, and inclusion, forgiveness (as we hear in today's Gospel reading), and unity are essential for love to fill the world. Unfortunately, we're human beings who have come to think that we belong to different clubs, forgetting that we all, ultimately, belong to God.

So when a friend sent me a video Pope Francis made earlier this year, it made me happy. It's a seven-minute piece that was recorded on the iPhone belonging to Evanglical Bishop Tony Palmer when he visited Pope Francis on January 14th. The two are friends, and the Pope asked if he could send greetings to a conference of leaders from Kenneth Copeland Ministries, a Pentecostal mega-church convention where Tony would be speaking. They made the video on the spot, and it seems Vatican staff had no idea about it until it appeared on YouTube last week, with subtitles.

Bishop Tony Palmer also impresses me. He uses the Pope's video in the context of an excellent lesson on ecumenism at the conference, which can be seen if you click here. He says, "...diversity is divine, but division is diabolical." And I love Pope Francis' opening words in his seven-minute portion of the video, how he isn't speaking English or Italian, but the language of the heart... a heart that is feeling joy and longing for communion, unity between believers. His message of reunion and reconciliation as a miracle that God will complete somehow is beautiful, too.

It's stories like this that keep me connected to my church even though I am impatient for change. Enjoy!

Choose love!

Here's a lovely video featuring the music and art of Shawn Gallaway, a singer songwriter-musician-writer-artist-healer, with a message perfect for a St. Valentine's Day weekend. Enjoy!

A music video by Shawn Gallaway.

The Lord is my light

Tonight’s Taizé Prayer will be hosted by the community of Hope Lutheran Church (5104 106 Avenue, Edmonton). The Lord is our light, and we won’t hide that light under any bushel baskets, but we’ll sing about it in a meditative way. Come join us!

Celebrate what's right with the world on a Sunday

If you can get past the initial feeling that this 22-minute video is a National Geographic commercial, and beyond Dewitt Jones' narration of what it's like to be a great photographer, this is a gorgeous inspirational find. Isn't nature and human nature amazing? Enjoy!