Ascension Sunday: No One Rises Alone

2021 05 16 No One Rises Alone
Ascension Sunday: Mississauga Mennonite Fellowship – Recording (currently) available here

Acts 1:6-11 (The Ascension of Jesus – in Lego)
Ephesians 1:15-23 – “The fullness of him who fills all in all”

Have you ever had a moment when it all seems clear?

In 1958, the monk and mystic Thomas Merton saw things clearly for one true moment. He writes:

“In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world. . . .

This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud. . . . I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.”

Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander

Marker in downtown Louisville (Lori Erickson photo, found here)

Jesus was killed. All hope was lost. And then returned to his friends, somehow risen from the dead. Although he was alive, his body still showed the marks of his violent death. Although his body was the same, he was changed, not always recognizable, not always bound by the same laws of time and space.

Lent IV Deep in the Earth: Called to Deep Growth

2021 03 21 Deep in the earth: Called to Deep Growth

Lent IV, Toronto United Mennonite Church, Link to recording

Jeremiah 31:31-34 – God will make a new covenant and the law will be in our hearts.
John 12:20-33 – Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth…

Some years ago I was leading a discussion about some sensitive matters, and I shared this diagram of the educational theory of discussing difficult topics. In the centre you see the comfort zone. In that space, a person is safe, unchallenged, and static. The outermost circle, on the other hand, is the alarm zone. In that space, a person is defensive, escalated, and focused on survival. In order to learn, you try to stay between these zones, in the middle, in the discomfort zone. This is where you encounter difference and resistance, but not in a way that is overwhelming. You have the necessary space to consider new ideas and perspectives, even experiment, and therefore to learn.

That’s all well and good. And then one of the group participants pointed out something I had not considered – you may learn in the discomfort zone, but you can’t live there. You have to return into safety so that you can integrate what you have heard. You have to be able to rest in order to grow. That’s the image that came to mind as I thought about the theme for today. Deep in the Earth: called to Deep Growth.

Advent III On the Road to Restoration

2020 12 13 Advent III On the Road to Restoration, Toronto United Mennonite Church, Voice Recording.

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 – The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me
Luke 1:46-55 – The Magnificat
Imagine the Angels of Bread, Martín Espada, Puerto-Rican declamador (poet of the people)

Today we talk about the Road to Restoration. I believe that God has an audacious dream of restoration that is so total, so all-encompassing, that it is almost imperceptible. I believe that God is in the business of reconciling everything, and intends all humanity, and all creation, to be restored in the fullness of time. I believe that the words of prophets like Isaiah and Mary give us a glimpse of this Road to Restoration – just some of the many steps towards the ultimate restoration. We each get glimpses as we work for justice and peace and right relationships. The dream is too big for any individual to grasp. But we are responsible for dreaming it together, inviting others to share the road and bear the load.

Let’s pray: God of Advent hope, open our eyes, our ears, our spirits and our lives to your arrival. We walk the road together. Meet us along the way to strengthen us with bread for the journey. Help us to leave behind anything that does not belong in your beloved community. In the name of Jesus, our guide, we pray, Amen.