Ethiopian New Year

 

Enkutatash (Ge'ez: እንቁጣጣሽ) is New Year in Ethiopia. It occurs on Meskerem 1 on the Ethiopian calendar, which is 11 September (or, during a leap year, 12 September) according to the Gregorian calendar.

According to Ethiopian tradition, on 11 September, the Queen of Sheba (Makeda in Amheric) returned to Ethiopia from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem. Her followers celebrated her return by giving her jewels. ‘‘Enkutatash’’ means the ‘‘gift of jewels’’.

Upon her return, at the end of the dry summer season, yellow flowers began to bloom in the foothills surrounding Addis Ababa (the name means "new flower"), signifying the end of a long drought and the start of new life within the country.

Today is a day for celebration, beginning with gathering for worship, and for enjoying traditional Ethiopian dishes like injera (made from a gluten-free millet called teff), doro wot (a spicy chicken stew), and coffee.

As nighttime approaches, families gather and begin building a bonfire, which is lit at sunset and kept burning until sunrise. 

Because Ethiopia uses the Gregorian calendar (also known as the Ethiopian or Ge'ez calendar) 11 September 2011, begins the year 2017. So when I go back to Ethiopia I will be 7 years younger!

Praying for Ethiopia in this difficult time for them as a country.
Praying that peace will reign in this new year.
Enkutatash 

book review: this is where it ends

title: This Is Where It Ends
author: Cindy K Sproles
date: 2023
publisher: Revell

This isn't the type of book I normally read.

Minerva Jenkins has led a lonely existence atop her beautiful mountain since her husband, Stately, died, some 30 years ago. Were it not for the secret she’d promised to keep for him, she might not have spent all this time fending for herself. In fact, she has never even known what the secret was.

“This Is Where It Ends” by Cindy Sproles is a slow, contemplative, redemptive, and far-reaching novel that is best savoured and explored, chapter by chapter. It is told from Minerva's perspective. The author’s descriptions of the setting are wonderful. I could picture the mountain, the river, the sunset, the vegetation (including the offending kudzu, and the fragrance of wisteria and honeysuckle. It is repetitive, but in a way that makes the characters more real because, after all, life’s struggles can be repetitive, aren't they?

“This Is Where It Ends” is a story of contradictions and questions, inviting us to freshly ponder our own lives. It's the type of novel that is vague but meaningful, memorable yet never quite something you fully grasp. It's well worth reading.

Some great quotes from the book:

•  “A secret ain't nothing but a dishonest seed layin in wait... There ain’t no such thing as a good secret.”
• “Learn to look beyond what is temporal to what is eternal.”
• “...the quickest way to know a body was lyin was to watch how fast they got mad.”
• “Truth is, Del, I’m gold.”
• “Blood doesn’t make a relationship. Kindness, caring, love makes a family. You don’t have to be blood to be the perfect fit.”

Reading this book I felt like I was on a journey with Minerva of love, betrayal, and finally forgiveness.

“This Is Where It Ends" has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Morning Has Broken | God of the Ages

Yusuf / Cat Stevens – sang Morning Has Broken. Featured on the classic 'Teaser and the Firecat' album, Morning Has Broken was adapted from a traditional hymn with words by Eleanor Farjeon.

But there is another song written to the same tune, it's a Gaelic tune: BUNESSAN.

The words were authored by the Canadian hymn-writer, Margaret Clarkson. I had the privilege of sitting with her in Ian Rennie's Church History class at OTS [Ontario Theological Seminary - now Tyndale]. It was great having her in the class & introducing us to music from different periods of church history. She is the reason for some of my enjoyment of plainsong and Gregorian Chant. 

The hymn that she wrote to go with this tune, captures the nature of our God as both transcendent and imminent:

God of the ages, history’s Maker,
planning our pathway, holding us fast,
shaping in mercy all that concerns us:
Father, we praise you, Lord of the past.

God of this morning, gladly your children
worship before you, trustingly bow;
teach us to know you always among us,
quietly sovereign, Lord of our now.

God of tomorrow, strong overcomer,
princes of darkness own your command:
what then can harm us? We are your people,
now and forever kept by your hand.

Lord of past ages, Lord of this morning,
Lord of the future, help us, we pray:
teach us to trust you, love and obey you,
crown you each moment Lord of today!

Text by Margaret Clarkson, 1915-2008
Words © 1982 Hope Publishing Company

retirement - books

I have a lot of books. 

Lots and lots of books. 

Before we moved to Orillia, I took a van load of books to CSM - Christian Salvage Mission in Hamilton.

As we move toward retirement, Janice's comment/question is:

What are you going to do with all your books? 

They can't come home! 

I have been going through my books - both ones in my office, at home, and those in the crawl space. I have selected several hundred books to give away... there are still more books to go through.

The week of June 9-16 the books will be available for FREE at OCC.  

There will be a donation box if you wish to make a donation - those funds will go towards my next ministry trip to East Africa.
But no pressure.
The books need to go... for the sake of our marriage!
Anything left will be sent to CSM - Christian Salvage Mission in Hamilton.

Nuclear War

 I read Annie Jacobsen's 2024 book "Nuclear War: A Scenario".

Based on facts from exclusive interviews with many who have worked on nuclear scenarios over the years, Jacobsen outlines a realistic possibility.

What follows is less a review, than a jumping-off point for some of my comments.

She opens with a quote from Winston Churchill: 

"The story of the human race is War. Except for brief and precarious interludes, there has never been peace in the world; and before history began, murderous strife was universal and unending."

The nuclear war scenario she outlines could happen tomorrow. Or later today.

Nine countries possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea. In total, the global nuclear stockpile is close to 13,000 weapons. More than enough to destroy the world many times over.

Anyone who believes in the doctrine of MAD [Mutually Assured Destruction] is indeed mad.

Because technology and weapons have become so advanced, most people agree that if World War III ever happens, nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons will probably be used.

Albert Einstein is reported to have said:

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently warned the world.

“Humanity is just one misunderstanding, one ­ miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation... This is madness... We must reverse course.” 

How true.

Jacobsen comments that the fundamental idea behind this book is to demonstrate, in appalling detail, just how horrifying nuclear war would be.

Jacobsen breaks her book down into 24-minute sections, beginning with that first blip on a radar screen indicating the launch of a missile. 

This is not an unrealistic scenario.

• As recently as March 2024, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to Russian statehood or sovereignty.
• An Israeli minister has said that a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip was an option in the Israel-Hamas war, 
• North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons preemptively.
• Pakistan has not declared a No First Use policy,
• The USA does not have a No First Use policy.

It does not take much to start a nuclear war. And once started there is no turning back.

One of the sad things about this is that there are Christians who think that would be a good thing. 

It's time to re-watch my favourite nuclear war parody movie: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Towards Retirement

You may have heard by now that I am retiring from full-time pastoral ministry at the end of June 2024. Our last Sunday will be 23 June. 

Some have asked about our timeline. This has not been a quick decision. I love what I do. We have been at OCC for almost 16 years. This is home. These are our people.

About 5 years ago I met with a couple of our Leadership Team to let them know that my plan was to retire before I turned 70. I turned 69 in April, so this is my 70th year.

This last summer/fall, Janice & I started to think that the summer of 2024 would be a good time to retire.

Before Christmas, I let OCC's Leadership Team know that I would retire at the end of June and would announce it to the congregation in March.

We started to tell family - our kids had our summer planned out with time with grandkids in a hurry! It's going to be a busy summer!

When I was in Uganda and Ethiopia in January and February, I told ministry leaders of our decision - they and I, are looking forward to my availability for ministry in East Africa.

When I returned home, we started letting friends know before the official announcement. And then in early March, we made the announcement to the congregation.

Since then we have been processing what this means.

Stay tuned for the next post...

Ascension Day

Today, Thursday, May 9, is Ascension Day. 

Most of us within the evangelical circle don’t pay much attention to this day. 

The account of Jesus' ascension is found in Acts 1:1-11. One moment Jesus was standing with and talking to his disciples. They can see him. They can hear his voice. And if they had reached out they could’ve touched him. The next minute, “he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” (Acts 1:9)

I have no idea how that happened. But I do believe it is true. 

The immediate context is the question of political power; "they gathered around him and asked him, 'Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?'" (Acts 1:6)

What are we to make of Jesus’ ascension? 

What does it mean for us and how we live? 

I think the ascension is about more than just reciting in the creeds “He ascended into heaven.”

More and more I am thinking that Jesus’ physical withdrawal from this world is less about his absence and more about our presence. 

One of my granddaughters is learning to ride her bike. I or her dad stand behind the bike, holding on to the seat or her waist, helping her balance. And then, as she gains confidence, we step away from the bike. To her it looks and feels like absence or distance. But from my perspective, I am making space for her to become a bit more herself. 

 

As Jesus ascends, 

two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? (Acts 1:10b-11a)

Their question implies that there is somewhere else to be looking.
Maybe it’s not a question to be answered.
Maybe it’s a call to step forward. 

What if Jesus is deflecting our eyes from him to our neighbour?

Maybe Jesus wants us to be living signposts to the kingdom of God.

Look at the gaps in our community today. 

For some, there is a gap between the life we are living and the one we want to live, 

the person we are and the person we want to be. 

For most of us, there is a gap between the world as it is today and the world we want to give our children and grandchildren. 

Every wound, loss, and broken heart is a gap waiting to be filled. 

Injustice is a gap that is swallowing up lives. 

Hunger, poverty, homelessness, loneliness, racism, and violence are gaps asking for our presence. Broken relationships are gaps asking for someone to step in.

What gaps do you see in your life and Orillia today? 

Some gaps are individual and personal. 

Others are communal and shared. 

Who is falling through and getting lost in the gaps?

Whatever the gaps in our lives and community might be today, we have a choice to make. 

We can keep looking up toward heaven, toward that which is unseen and intangible, or we can turn our eyes to our neighbour who is visible, reach out our hands to the tangible circumstances, step into the gap, and do something.

I wonder what stepping into the gap means and looks like for you today. 

What keeps you from stepping into the gap? 

What holds you back?

What keeps you stuck? 

And what would it take to step into the gap today?

Lord of the Dance

 Lord of the Dance

May 1 is International Dance Day. And so here is a classic song... The tune is "Simple Gifts" by Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett in 1848. The words are by Sydney Carter in 1963, painting a picture of Jesus’ life and mission as a dance.

This song is an invitation to us to hear God say, “Come dance with me.” 

What might it look like to let God take the lead as we twirl and swing together around the dance floor of life and everything else fades away as we dance? 

What would it look like to dance through life holding people’s stories tenderly knowing that sometimes we all step on each other’s toes? 

How might we dance more freely if we could only anchor ourselves in the present moment and delight in the person in front of us?

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth:
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came with me and the dance went on:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame:
The holy people said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high,
And they left me there on a cross to die:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone;
But I am the dance, and I still go on:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

They cut me down and I leapt up high;
I am the life that’ll never, never die.
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me:
I am the Lord of the dance, said he.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

12 days of Christmas - Epiphany

The 12 days of Christmas are the 12 days following Christmas.
Today, Friday, January 5 is the 12th day and Saturday, January 6 is Epiphany.

The origins of Epiphany as a church festival are vague, as is the definition of the word.
“Epiphany” can mean manifestation, revelation, appearance, insight, enlightenment, or a shining forth.
Epiphany begins with the story of the Magi, astrologers, who follow a brilliant star to the place of Jesus’ birth and honour the child with gifts. Upon seeing the baby, they were “overwhelmed with joy,” and fell on their knees.

The wise men awaited a sign in the sky — a star — to guide them on this journey. Revelations break in, light shines forth, and glory appears. Such things are from the realms of mystery, awe, and wonder. They surprise and disrupt the normal course of existence. Epiphanies are not of our making.

But we need to be more than passive recipients of epiphanies. We need to be alert for their appearance and search out the signs of their presence. Revelations can be missed if we aren’t attentive or attuned to the possibilities of sacred surprise.

• What it would be like to expect epiphanies?
  Not just in stars, but in the more normal course of things. 
• What if we “attuned” ourselves to “sacred surprise”?
• Can we be open to the possibility that “aha” moments might happen anywhere and anytime
  Maybe epiphanies — not just the big, dramatic, starry ones — are humbly manifesting themselves all around us in ways we don’t expect, and they hold the promise of insight and deeper understanding in the everyday.
• When the Magi go home and the tree comes down, things return to normal. Or do they?
  The beautiful, unexpected, and even unbelievable story of God-With-Us invites us to a rebirth of imagination. 
• Let us ask ourselves today:
  Are we open to God's surprises?
  Or are we closed and fearful before the newness of the Holy Spirit?
  Do we have the courage to strike out along the new paths which God's newness sets before us, or do we resist, barricaded in structures and systems and ways which have lost their capacity for openness to what is new?

The Magi, of course, were looking for a sign. The Magi were outsiders. Imagine a group of psychics turning up at church on Easter Sunday, saying, “We got a strange reading in the cards, and it brought us here.” But they weren’t content just gazing at the star. They didn’t remain in some distant locale and admire its glory from afar. They got up and followed it to its source. And their journey even involved danger, a treacherous king attempted to use them to manipulate this manifestation for his own evil purposes. They kept going.

We don't create epiphanies, we respond to them.
Epiphanies grab a hold of us.
Epiphanies ask something of us. The star is an invitation, a calling to do something — to act.

One of the Old Testament passages that is often read at Ephiphany are these words from the prophet Isaiah 60:1

Arise, shine; for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

We arise; we shine — glory entices us, woos us, into the light.
We don’t just observe.
Epiphany embraces and enlivens us.

The author and poet Madeleine L’Engle captures the fullest sense of Epiphany in this blessing:

This is my charge to you.

You are to be a light bearer.

You are to choose the light.

Arise. Shine.

strange fruit

 Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit"... lyrics are posted below

"Strange Fruit" began as a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish high-school teacher from the Bronx, about the lynching of two black men. He published under the pen name Lewis Allan. Meeropol and his wife adopted Robert and Michael, sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of espionage and executed by the United States. via Wikipedia

The photo below was the inspiration for the poem

So why did I post this song?

1. It's a beautiful, haunting song.
2. It's a needed reminder that there is still deep-seated racism... and despite our claims otherwise, it exists here in Canada as well.
3. I wonder... are we as the church producing "strange fruit" rather than "peculiar people"? Are we producing stuff [and I think that's an appropriate term] instead of being a missional people?

Just some things to think about?

Strange Fruit lyrics

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

A Magna Carta of Trust by an Out-of-Control Disciple

"A Magna Carta of Trust by an Out-of-Control Disciple"
~Leonard Sweet’s Soul Cafe (March 1996 Vol. 2, No. 1)

I am part of the Church of the Out-of-Control.
I once was a control junkie, but now am an Out-of-Control Disciple.
I’ve given up my control to God.
I trust and obey the Spirit.
I’ve jumped off the fence, I’ve stepped over the line, I’ve pulled out all the stops, I’m holding nothing back.
There’s no turning back, looking around, slowing down, backing away, letting up, or shutting up.
It’s life Against the Odds, Outside the Box, Over the Wall, the game of life played Without Goal Lines other than “Thy Will Be Done…”

I’m done lapdogging for the topdogs, the wonderdogs, the overdogs, or even the underdogs.
I’m done playing According to the Rules, whether it’s Robert’s Rules of Order or Miss Manner’s Rules of Etiquette or Martha Stewart’s Rules of Living or Louis Farrakhan’s Rules of America’s Least Wanted or Merril Lynch’s Money-minding/Bottom-lining/Ladder-climbing Rules of America’s Most Wanted.

I am not here to please the dominant culture or to serve any all-show/no-go bureaucracies.
I live to please my Lord and Savior.
My spiritual taste-buds have graduated from fizz and froth to Fire and Ice.

Sometimes I’m called to sharpen the cutting edge, and sometimes to blunt the cutting edge.
Don’t give me that old-time religion.
Don’t give me that new-time religion.
Give me that all-time religion that’s as hard as rock and as soft as snow.

I’ve stopped trying to make life work, and started trying to make life sing.
I’m finished with second-hand sensations, third-rate dreams, low-risk high-rise trades and goose-stepping, flag-waving crusades.
I no longer live by and for anything but everything God-breathed, Christ-centered, and Spirit-driven.

I can’t be bought by any personalities or perks, positions or prizes.
I won’t give up, though I will give in… to openness of mind, humbleness of heart, and generosity of spirit.
When short-handed and hard-pressed,
I will never again hang in there.
I will stand in there,
I will run in there,
I will pray in there,
I will sacrifice in there,
I will endure in there – in fact, I will do everything in there but hang.
My face is upward, my feet are forward, my eyes are focused, my way is cloudy, my knees are worn, my seat uncreased, my heart burdened, my spirit light, my road narrow, my mission wide.

I won’t be seduced by popularity, traduced by criticism, by hypocrisy, or trivialized by mediocrity.
I am organized religion’s best friend, and worst nightmare.
I won’t back down, slow down, shut down, or let down until I’m preached out, teached out, healed out or hauled out of God’s mission in the world entrusted to members of the Church of the Out-of-Control… to unbind the confined, whether they’re the downtrodden or the upscale, the overlooked or the underrepresented.

My fundamental identity is as a disciple of Jesus – but even more, as a disciple of Jesus who lives in Christ, who doesn’t walk through history simply “in his steps,” but seeks to travel more deeply IN HIS SPIRIT.

Until he comes again or calls me home, you can find me filling not killing time so that one day he will pick me out in the lineup of the ages as one of his own.
And then… it will be worth it all… to hear these words, the most precious words I can ever hear:

“Well done, thou good and faithful… Out-of-Control Disciple.”