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I was recently challenged to get
back to writing my blog because there are folks who have nothing to read and
are missing the Skypilot (h/t: cousin and fellow pastor Teresa) so I will
endeavour to do so and to do better now that there are things that are winding
up and finishing up around me. If you are not aware, I have been the
administrator of my diocese (acting as the bishop while we await our new one)
as well as being the pastor to a very active parish for some time now. Our new
Bishop will be consecrated on February 21st, 2020. Please keep us
all in your prayers.
Jason+
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I once walked into
the local General Store in the community where we (Nova, Joshua and I) were
living. It was a day or two before New Year’s for 2000. Everyone was anxious,
wound up, fretting about what was going to happen because when those who
invented the computer calendar that so many of our things ran on, was not what
might have been, people freaked out over the future. There was genuine fear
over how life was going to continue, given that we are so dependent on our
electronic devices; everything from furnaces, to fridges, cars to computers. My
family and went to spend that evening with friends. They invited us to join them
for fun and games and, just in case, for heat if things should fail.
My trip to the store was an interesting jaunt. I walked into
the store all bundled up because it was only -45 degrees centigrade outside.
Before I had a chance to start removing at least some of the clothing to
prevent sweating, someone exclaimed, “Oh, look! There is the Minister. Ask
him!” One of the well-known locals came over to me and she said to me, “Sir, we
were just having a chat about what this world is coming to… what do you say the
world is coming to?” I answered matter of factly, saying, “To an end of
course!” This brought the people in the store to a screeching halt and you
could hear a pin drop wait for what was going to happen next. Realizing that
they did not hear what they wanted and to allow the shock to wear off, I asked
for a few minutes to go and retrieve the items I had made the trek to the store
for… and it would allow me a moment to think about what to share next.
As humans, we like a level of certainty and being able to
feel like we are in control. John in the Gospel (Matthew 11.2-11) wanted some
assurance that the hardship and the work that he had done in proclaiming the
Messiah was not wasted. He wanted to know what the future looked like. He
wanted to know that his hope and faith weren’t thwarted. Jesus tells John’s
disciples to go back and report what they see and hear: that the blind see, the
lame walk, the deaf hear and the dead live. The poor and those in need are
hearing and receiving the Good News! Blessed is the one who does not fall away
on the account of how the kingdom is going to come and going to look because of
me.
You and I are still waiting for Jesus to come (again). We
are waiting for him to come again. What makes us doubt Jesus though he holds
the future? What keeps us from participating in the incarnational ministry of
the Church – of presenting and representing Christ in the community?
What did I eventually share with those people in the General Store? The
Good News that I do not know what the future holds but I know who holds the
future… that God holds our future.
Through all the topsy turvy things that can and do happen in this life and what is coming in the next. I let
them know that when they put their faith in Christ it is not a matter of
holding on to him for dear life as it is to remember that he has a hold of
them. No one can take them out of the palm of God’s hand. It is why he came to
us the first time. It is why we wait for him now. God has a hold of us and
of the situation. He is coming again. Thanks be to God for that!
Maranatha!
Jason+
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