Remembering the Unforgettable

Tomorrow is Sept. 11, the day that broke our hearts, all over the world. Various cable channels have been 'gearing up' for the day, much as they gear up for Christmas, by airing special programs reminding us of what happened on that sad day - as though anyone has forgotten.

It makes me sad on so many levels.

Of course I am saddened by the loss of so many innocent lives, ordinary people going about their day and heroic responders who lost their lives when the towers came down as well as survivors who now face devastating illness as a result of the day's events.

I am sad to think of so many other innocent lives lost in so many incidents in the days since then, so many terrorist attacks around the world.

I am saddened by the loss of so many bright young service men and women fighting in the Mid-East wars. And I am saddened by the havoc wrought on other innocent people whose homelands have been devastated in those wars. I grieve that so many deaths and so much destruction were the result of falsified information.

I am saddened by the pain of innocent peace-loving people who are mistaken for terrorists and who face prejudice and hate because of their appearance.

I am saddened by the cost of the war not only in terms of loss of life, but in loss of trust, loss of faith, loss of compassion, loss of generosity, loss of loving-kindness toward others.

I am saddened by the fruits of so much pain - the increase we see today of incivility, of anger, of hate, of racism, of bigotry, of greed, of ignorance, of fear-mongering and disinformation and propaganda, of outright lies being presented -and accepted - as truth, of violence to bodies and property and spirit and freedom. So much pain giving rise to so much more pain. So many losses, so much hurt- truly, the quantity is staggering to contemplate!

Tomorrow is the sad anniversary of a day that has ushered in eleven sad years. As we remember those who were lost, their loved ones, and all of us struggling to find our way in a world that makes less and less sense, let us pray for the nations of the earth.

Let us pray not that this or that party or faction win, but that the people win, that justice is served and peace restored, that the hungry are fed and the sick tended, that the homeless are given shelter and that in all things, Love is both the goal and the means to it.

Indeed, Love is our only hope.

Why Bother?

When people ask about religion, often the conversation focuses on church and denomination. We are quick to talk about what we believe about God, about Christ, about what it means to be Christian, about what we must do. I've been on the receiving end of many such conversations as acquaintances endeavoured to 'save' me, and I say that with no disrespect.

Such conversations are often remarkably ineffective, to the extent that courses and workshops on how to 'win souls for Christ' abound. What I've observed, from the literature and well-meant efforts of others to convert me, is that their efforts focus on the least Godly aspects of religion: exclusivity (ours is the right path, everyone else is wrong, we are the ONLY church of Jesus,etc.), judgment (you are on the wrong path, you need to convert or face eternal damnation), obligation (you must do these things to be a 'true' Christian, you must read 'this' Bible) and fear (failing to join *this* church or do what *I* tell you will result in your eternal damnation).

Where is the joy of walking with God? Where is the consolation of God's embrace? Where is the freedom of knowing God's everlasting and boundless love for you?

This is what God offers us, both within the bounds of the various religions and denominations as well as outside them. If God is loving, then can we not have confidence that welcoming God into our lives brings us all these things? In my experience, we absolutely can.

When we acknowledge God active in our lives - because it is not God's absence but our unawareness of God's presence that drives us to living a godless life, then our lives take on added shine. We become aware of not only goodness within others but within ourselves. We become sensitized to the extraordinary power of ordinary things. We find new good to appreciate and old blessings we'd overlooked. And throughout it all, despite our aches and pains and earthly worries, the sweetness of God's love for us is an ever-present help and support to us.

And life, we discover again and again, is good.

Wherever you are, whatever your belief system or philosophy, it is my prayer and that of my church that you may discover for yourself Goodness at work in yourself and your life.
jean+

For God So Loved the World...

A podcast reflecting on the Gospel reading for Holy Cross by +Archbishop Deborah.