Faith Includes Me

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Kwee

Faith is an amazing thing – in a positive way.

If not positive, then can it be Faith or simply the rhetorical bleatings of a demigog spewing to hear their own voice?

My family are a mish-mash of faiths – my Mother and one brother Baptist, my Father a Mormon, the rest somewhere in between – or elsewhere. I was raised an Anglican, if you can consider playing hooky with my Dad to make open faced pizza buns and fix lawnmowers while the rest were at church being raised Anglican.

Today is Easter Sunday, holiest of holies to Christians, the ‘paid stamp’ on wickedness, the day of proof positive of the Resurrection. It is a wonderful sight to see Christians with that glow of knowing that their way is the way – for them.

But that is the kicker, the snake in the garden, remembering that Christianity is the way for them, perhaps not for Moslems, Jews, pagans, atheists, even those who revere St. Mary of the Hubcap.

It is tough, in the glow of knowing, the passion of belief, the practice of Faith, to remember that your way is not the way for all. It is the truly beautiful practice of Faith that practices inclusion not exclusion!

Today Christians and non-Christians can share in their celebration, included and not excluded.

But those Christians who will practice exclusion today will have missed the point on Calvary almost 2000 years ago. And that would be like celebrating Christmas with Cadbury Cream Eggs…

Love this piece I found on Youtube this morning, so I am sharing with my Christian and non-Christian friends – Believe in John 3:16 but practice 1 Corinthians 13:13!

Peace, Love and Joy,
Kwee

Third Day – Your Love Oh Lord

Author: ThirdDayVEVO

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Is There A Season For Politics?

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Kwee

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
- Ecclesiastes 3:1

Slightly rearranged, as the 60′s were wont to do, this became a hit for the Byrds (‘Turn, Turn, Turn’) but the sentiment rings true even after more than two thousand years. And though we may never know the author of this passage of the Bible, the message seems pretty straightforward – well, at least to me.

Everything has a time, a season, a place in the progression of life, we stop along the journey to savour a joke, comfort a friend (or stranger), to hold onto ideas or toss them away. Almost pre-ordained these pauses create the fabric of our life, the ‘life happening between points A and B’ rather than ‘when we reach point B’. I know this sounds a bit simplistic and frankly more like a greeting card than a thought, but perhaps there is credence in cliches.

Part of my thoughts right now are whether politics has a time, a season perhaps (or many!), and then is cast away in favour of something new to replace it. Certainly the 99% are showing that there can be change without direction, scary as that concept may be to some. And it makes me wonder if relying on the politics of a nation, province, state, city, organization to provide ‘the best solution’ actually hinders us on our journey towards finding ourselves.

If you think about it for a moment what does politics do for us? Other than breaking down the ‘Big Picture’ into small, manageable bites of life, it seems to have the net effect of simply polarizing people into the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ side of a situation or question.

Take climate change for example. In Canada, for example, one of the great energy producers in the world, the reality of politics is that the energy companies support the political party in power, while the ‘environmental action’ companies support anyone who would slow down or stop major projects like the Tar Sands. But what is the net effect of this polarization other than to delay a solution to what is obviously becoming a serious issue for OUR planet!

We know that climate change is happening. You would have to be living in a cave not to realize that tornadoes in northern Michigan in March are NOT normal! Neither is sitting here in Ontario at 6:30 a.m. on a March morning in shirtsleeves (11 degrees Celsius is a warm day this time of year, NOT the overnight low!). But what have we accomplished other than to raise scabillions of dollars to stop the Tar Sands or increased the lobby in Ottawa to speed up production in case the ‘foreign lunatic fringe’ has their way? I keep thinking that there is a middle ground (I am Canadian after all – this IS part of our national psyche!) we are missing by being ‘forced’ to take one side or the other.

There was a time when I thought that the answer to change was lobbying, working within the system to effect a solution that was going to benefit all of us. Perhaps that was just ego talking, or the season of ego. As I grow older, my bones start to stiffen and I slow down a bit from the hellbent for leather days of my youth, I have more time to sit back and ponder if there might be a better way. Maybe the 99% feeling disenfranchised was a trigger – I am not sure if it is that simple, rather a slow process of stubbing my toes while walking along a flinty path.

We evolve, each season following the one before bringing whole new schemas (as Piaget said), ideas and opportunities we need to be aware of in order to grow in our walk. But does politics fall into that evolution? Or are we simply content to let someone else do our thinking for us?

Kind of like letting them walk in our moccasins while we ride the bus…

…fueled by Tar Sands oil.

As always,
Kwee

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The 12 Days of Christmas

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Kwee

I saw an interesting look at the meaning of the 12 days of Christmas at CriVoice and thought I might share it. The basic premise is that this often thought of nonsensical children’s rhyme actually has much deeper meaning.

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 1, Christmas Day, December 25 – A Partridge in a Pear Tree: The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on December 25, the first day of Christmas. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, recalling the expression of Christ’s sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered you under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but you would not have it so . . . .” (Luke 13:34)

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 2, December 26 – Two Turtle Doves: The Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God’s self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the Story of God to the world.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 3, December 27 – Three French Hens: The Three Theological Virtues:  1) Faith, 2) Hope, and 3) Love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 4, December 28 – Four Calling Birds: The Four Gospels: 1) Matthew, 2) Mark, 3) Luke, and 4) John, which proclaim the Good News of God’s reconciliation of the world to Himself in Jesus Christ.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 5, December 29 – Five Gold Rings: The first Five Books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch:  1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus, 4) Numbers, and 5) Deuteronomy, which gives the history of humanity’s sinful failure and God’s response of grace in the creation of a people to be a light to the world.

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 6, December 30 – Six Geese A-laying: The six days of creation that confesses God as Creator and Sustainer of the world (Genesis 1).

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 7, December 31 – Seven Swans A-swimming: The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and 7) compassion (Romans 12:6-8; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 8, January 1
Eight Maids A-milking
The eight Beatitudes: 1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2. those who mourn, 3. the meek, 4. those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 5. the merciful, 6. the pure in heart, 7. the peacemakers, 8. those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. (Matthew 5:3-10)

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 9, January 2 – Nine Ladies Dancing: The nine Fruit of the Holy Spirit: 1. love, 2. joy, 3. peace, 4. patience, 5. kindness, 6. generosity, 7. faithfulness, 8. gentleness, and 9. self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 10, January 3 – Ten Lords A-leaping: The ten commandments: 1. You shall have no other gods before me; 2. Do not make an idol; 3. Do not take God’s name in vain; 4. Remember the Sabbath Day; 5. Honor your father and mother; 6. Do not murder; 7. Do not commit adultery; 8. Do not steal; 9. Do not bear false witness; 10. Do not covet. (Exodus 20:1-17)

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 11, January 4 – Eleven Pipers Piping: The eleven Faithful Apostles: 1. Simon Peter, 2. Andrew, 3. James, 4. John, 5. Philip, 6. Bartholomew, 7. Matthew, 8. Thomas, 9. James bar Alphaeus, 10. Simon the Zealot, 11. Judas bar James.  (Luke 6:14-16).  The list does not include the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Day 12, January 5 – Twelve Drummers Drumming: The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles’ Creed: 1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. 4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell [the grave]. 5. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 6. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 7. I believe in the Holy Spirit, 8. the holy catholic Church, 9. the communion of saints, 10. the forgiveness of sins, 11. the resurrection of the body, 12. and life everlasting.

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