"Rescued and Adopted" ... "Mark's Midweek Musings ... September 15, 2021

September 10, 2021

Dear Friends in Christ,

I remember that it was a particularly beautiful morning. It was clear – not a cloud in the sky. The children had returned to school. The traffic on the highway moved at a pace as commuters made their way to work. Life after summer holidays was returning to normal. And yet that day in September would be anything but normal.

The first hint that something was terribly wrong came when I turned on the radio in the car. Andy Barrie, the host of Metro Morning on CBC, seemed distracted. His usual smooth and comforting voice was clipped as he tried to describe what was happening in New York City. Something about a plane… about the south tower of the World Trade Centre… about the Pentagon. I couldn’t make sense of it.

I was on my way to clericus. It would be my last meeting with colleagues in the Diocese of Niagara, as I was taking leave from my ministry at Church of the Incarnation to become the incumbent of Church of the Redeemer in this Diocese. I don’t remember much about the gathering; it was a blur. I was too preoccupied with wanting to know about what was happening south of the border. When the meeting was finally adjourned, I raced home to watch things unfold on television. The images that came flooding through the screen will be forever imprinted in my mind’s eye.

Do you remember where you were 20 years ago, when the towers collapsed? Do you remember what you were doing when a plane fell from the sky in a field in Pennsylvania? Do you remember who you were with, when the Pentagon burned?

Congregations across the land scrambled to open their doors and to pull together makeshift prayer vigils and worship services to provide sanctuary in the face of the terror. Folks left work and went straight home to be with family. We watched the skies for any sign of further threat. We tried to make sense of what we were seeing, feeling and experiencing. We were bewildered and grief stricken. 2,977 people were killed that day, 6,000 more were injured. Many of us knew someone who knew someone who lost their lives that day.

In the wake of 9/11, our lives would be forever changed. After that day, we looked at tall buildings in a different way. They were not just residences and workplaces, symbols of progress and ingenuity, but potential targets. After that day, we saw first responders in a whole new light, heroes in our midst. Security became more than a word: it became our mantra. We longed to feel secure in crowds, in airports, in the subway, on a plane. Our response was visceral.

A few days after 9/11, I was invited to be a speaker, among a number of speakers, at a memorial gathering in Toronto. It was an event sponsored by the Democrats Abroad and Republicans Abroad. There were a host of singers, dignitaries and religious leaders who offered their reflections in the hopes of bringing some peace, some solace and some perspective.

I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live. (Deuteronomy 30.19) This was the text that I chose for my reflection that night. Long ago, our Biblical ancestors stood on the threshold of the promised land. They were stepping out of wilderness, the place of grief and bewilderment, to embrace a new life of promise, of home, of security and of plenty. Moses reminded the people to remember where they had come from and how they had arrived at that moment, that it was God who lifted them out of slavery, that it was God who led them by day and by night all the way to the land of promise. Moses was imploring them to see that the promise of plenty, of peace, of abundance relied on the providence of God’s love and by the choices they would make. Choose life. Be a blessing. Love your neighbour, love the sojourner in your midst. Love even your enemy, Jesus would tell us.

These challenging words of Deuteronomy 30.19 came to mind for me as the last military flight left Kabul on August 30^th. The two events are of course linked. Sometimes the decisions we make linger and they have consequences that we cannot foresee. It’s not always clear whether a choice we made long ago was a blessing or a curse. I know this to be true in my own life. Don’t you? Yet, the overwhelming thrust of our faith is to try again, to make amends, to bless and to make things better. The compelling hope that draws us together in Jesus is that love will prevail. And that is our part… love your neighbour. Always.

Tomorrow, bring to mind those who died. Remember those who continue to grieve the loss of family and friend. Give thanks for those who placed themselves in harm’s way for the sake of life. Pray for peace in our world, in our communities, in our homes. May God grant us courage to choose life.

Yours in Christ,

The Rt. Rev. Andrew Asbil
Bishop of Toronto

Settlement Agreement Parties and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

48. We call upon the church parties to the Settlement Agreement, and all other faith groups and interfaith social justice groups in Canada who have not already done so, to formally adopt and comply with the principles, norms, and standards of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a framework for reconciliation. This would include, but not be limited to, the following commitments:

49. We call upon all religious denominations and faith groups who have not already done so to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and peoples, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius.

Protect our forests:

* Go to paper-less billing and statements.
* Use paper towels and toilet paper made from recycled paper.
* Support local tree-planting endeavors and/or do it yourself.

As many of you already know, Beth and I welcomed a new addition into our home, Honey. She is about a year and a half old, a lab cross, and weights about 30 pounds. We found her and adopted her through a rescue agency in Owen Sound. We're looking forward to the joy and delight she will add to our lives.

We don't know a lot of Honey's back story. She was a stray on the streets in Tennessee, which as I understand it isn't unusual. She was taken to a farm that can have as many as 100 dogs and when they reach their capacity, some are euthanized. She was found by a rescue in Tennessee who works with Second Chance Animal Sanctuary and Rescue in Owen Sound. She's only been in Canada for less than a month. We brought her home last Saturday and she's settling in quite nicely.

Spending time with her, and keeping up the training she needs led me to some spiritual and theological reflections. Therein lies the reminder that spirituality isn't confined to what we do in church, but at all times throughout our lives.

First, it struck me that if Honey hadn't been rescued, she would have likely ended up being put down. That would have been tragic! But thankfully there are people and organizations who work tirelessly to rehome dogs that have been abandoned.

We too as children of God and followers of Jesus have been rescued from all that has the potential to harm us, including death itself. God through Jesus, and his willingness to suffer and die in order to be raised to new life, is the way that God rescues us; the cross and the empty tomb are the constant reminders that in Christ we will never be separated from God and we will always have a home in God's glorious kingdom. What a gift from God to us just as those rescuers were a gift to Honey.

In being rescued, we are equally adopted by God as his children. And, there is nothing God wouldn't do to protect us simply because he loves us and claims us as His own. In Ephesians 1: 5, Paul tells us, "He [God] destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will". Or as Eugene Peterson translates it in The Message, "Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son." Again, what a gift from God to us just as our adoption is a gift to Honey.

A reality that goes along with having a new dog is the training she needs. She's pretty good about over 75% of what we hope for in a dog ... house trained; crate trained (she loves her crate even when she doesn't have to be in it!!); she's learning more and more to sit and come and stay; she's learning too not to jump up to get attention.

However, she does have areas we need to keep working on. The primary one is she has leash reactivity toward dogs when we're out walking. When she sees them she has a low growl and barks. That's likely a result of some of what she experienced before she was rescued. We are continuing the training by trying to focus her and re orient her attention. There's been progress, but it's likely to take a while. We continue to be patient. But I've thought a couple of times that it's hard work training a dog.

The other thing that sometimes happens is that she'll flop down on the ground, adamant and stubborn that she isn't moving. That's when we need to gently, but firmly pull her along and get her back on track with where we're headed.

All of this is to say, I had a thought at one point that that's likely exactly how God feels sometimes when it comes to us. We too can be adamant about where we're going in our lives and what we're going to do; we too can be stubborn. And we too can be distracted by so much that captivates our minds and spirits and potentially distances us from God.

Yet, God doesn't give up on us because God loves us; God remains patient, giving us a nudge or a pull when we need it to get us back on track. Even when we are being disruptive and possibly causing a scene, God tries to redirect our attention and help us embrace the faithfulness he desires of us in our lives.

Finally, I thought how much Honey relies on us for the basics of her life. She needs us to feed her and fill her water dish; to walk her; to pet her and give her attention. And it brings us great joy to do all of those things that nurture the relationship and build up trust.

God equally wants to provide for us what we need in our lives. God wants us to be fed and nourished, to drink from the water of new life he offers; to be affirmed and supported and encouraged to be the most faithful we can be as followers of Jesus. God gives us the scriptures, the sacraments, the opportunity to pray so that we will be exercised in our faith through spiritual rhythms and disciplines.

God may need to be stern with us from time to time; but even then, it is out of love, care and concern.

Let's embrace that as children of God we have been rescued and we are adopted through the gift of Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for that gift and blessing!!

A prayer for a new day and new possibilities ...

Good morning, Lord!
Today's a new day, a chance for a new start.
Yesterday is gone
and with it any regrets, mistakes, or failures
I may have experienced.
It's a good day to be glad and give thanks,
and I do, Lord.
Thank you for today,
a new opportunity to love, give,
and be all that you want me to be. Amen.

"Rescued and Adopted" "Mark's Midweek Musings ... September 15, 2021

"Rescued and Adopted"

"Mark's Midweek Musings ... September 15, 2021