The Power of Words

The sun in the sky, the warm air, the cadence of the sea as it touches the shore, the sounds of people laughing, and a good book. That's a real holiday for me. A good book - I am constantly amazed by writers who have the capacity to put information together, weave it into a whole and lead the reader through a story.

I was interested to read recently reflections from an author who has written a biography. Her reflections were about how biography influences the reader in their opinions of the main character and how that person's reputation is in the hands of the biographer. She expressed it in terms of the main character's afterlife being in the hands of the writer.

The thought has remained with me. Clearly, I am not a 'writer' and if I aspired to any kind of writing it would not be biography. I consider myself as an 'essayist,' sharing what I see with my eyes and feel with my heart.

But there is a sense in which we are all biographers, writing the reputations and creating the after-lives of those whom we know. We do that writing in the pictures we paint, in the stories we tell about them, in the tone of voice we use about them, in what we choose to tell and what we choose to leave out.

In whispered and suggestive tones we can contribute to the destruction of another person's reputation. We can so easily set in motion a chain of thought and conversation that sees to it that the other person's reputation is destroyed.

No wonder the New Testament warns us that the tongue is a fire. In James we read: The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.


Lord God, help us with our tongues, which misrepresent so easily, both in life and after. Give us the integrity to know that we hold each other’s after-life in trust and that You mean us for resurrection and not for death. Teach us how to be bringers of life in the words that we use today. Amen.

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And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature... James 3:6

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And To Dust You Shall Return

I popped in for a visit to a local travel agent's this morning. In the midst of my chatting with one of the staff; a lovely girl with a warm nurturing personality, she suddenly rose from her seat and reached over to me and rubbed her fingers on my forehead.

'Sorry,' she said, 'you had a little something on your forehead.' It happened so fast I hadn't time to react. She had wiped away the ash from my forehead. I explained that it was Ash Wednesday and a time when we wear a sign of penitence or remorse for our sins and an acknowledgement of God's forgiveness. I helped her overcome her embarrassment by laughing with her about it. And I was pleased that I had a chance to explain this tradition in our church calendar.

Throughout the Old Testament there are references to people showing acts of penance before God, by dressing in sackcloth and either sitting or covering themselves in ash. The prophet Jeremiah calls for repentance of our sins this way: 'O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth and roll in the ashes.' (Jeremiah 6:26)

Ash Wednesday signifies our journey as we move from our lives as sinners to the baptismal font, where lies our salvation. Lent reminds us to acknowledge our sins and find our salvation through Christ. It also reminds us of our mortality: 'Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.'

As we follow the forty days of Lent, it is a time for us to reflect, to fast, and to focus on restoring our relationship with God. It's a time for us to use in clearing and renewing our spiritual home.

The young girl told me she 'did not go to church and is not religious.' As I have shared in these devotionals before; you do not need to be religious in order to be spiritual. Even in a secular environment, the season of Lent can be a time where we strive to make amends with family and friends, to offer apologies, and especially to acknowledge our own frailties, omissions, and wrongs.

The Gospel for Ash Wednesday offers us excellent advice on how we are to act during Lent by praying, fasting and giving alms. All of these are spiritual acts. Also, Jesus teaches us that these spiritual activities are to be done without seeking recognition from others. In other words, perhaps we're being encouraged to commit random acts of kindness.

Finally, we do not wear the ashes to suggest that we are holy, but to acknowledge that we are a community of sinners in need of God's forgiveness and in the renewal of our lives. Sadly, irony can be found, sometimes, in how many people attend services on the morning of Ash Wednesday. Let us pray that their presence is to acknowledge their sins and not to promote their piety.
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Loving God, our modern world bombards us daily with responsibilities and enticements, which often lead us to forget Your unconditional love. During this time of reflection and penitence, help us to remember that we are all sinners. Lead us to renew our lives with You and to find our eternal salvation through Your Son. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Shrove Tuesday, Why a Pancake?

OK, I’m rummaging through the fridge: eggs- yep, butter – absolutely! Now the cabinets: Flour –plenty, and yes…there it is – I’ve been saving it – a large bottle of pure Canadian maple syrup! Shrove Tuesday here we go!

It reminds me of children with their modern Advent calendars; chocolates, candies and other assorted surprises hiding behind each door. But sadly, there appears no mention of what the Advent calendar is about or its symbolism; just as with Shrove Tuesday; it is no longer Shrove Tuesday – it’s now Pancake Day!

This year Shrove Tuesday is on the 21st of February. Originally it was the day that people would confess their sins and receive absolution. Shriving - that act of forgiveness, where the individual is released from their suffering, pain and guilt, was in preparation for the season of Lent. During this time people would empty their larders, freeing their homes from foods such as: meats, eggs, fatty foods, fish and milk items. This prepared the home for the period of Lent – that time for reflection, renewal, and forgiveness. It's the last day before the period of penitence known as Lent, which commences on the 22nd - Ash Wednesday.

Today so many people are becoming more health-conscious. Many of us are recognising the importance of cleansing our bodies through detoxification, fasting, and exercise.

Shrove Tuesday is quite similar. It’s a celebration, as well as an act of penitence, in preparation of cleansing the soul. And Mardi Gras, the French translation for ‘Fat Tuesday’ is the celebration of that act.

How wonderful! We have cleaned out our fridges, and now we cleanse our souls. Indeed, it is a time to celebrate.

Compassionate and Loving God: Mercifully hear our prayers and spare all who confess their sins unto You. By Your merciful pardon may all be absolved; Through Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, one God, now and forever. Amen

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Words of Comfort For the Death of a Child

You're No Good !

The Face Of A Child

If you want to understand the mystery of creation, just look into the face of a child.

Around the world over Fifty-Thousand children die every day from abandonment, starvation, cruelty, and preventable diseases. In over 80 countries, children are deprived of any education at all.

Newspapers abound with horror stories of kidnapped, tortured, and exploited children, parental abuse, neglect, rape and abandonment. Throughout the Middle East children have been turned into single–minded, rock–throwing victims and suicide bombers. Truly our children are the fatalities of the 21st Century.

Television entices young children into modelling themselves as sexual beings and then society cries out when the child becomes a victim of promiscuity. The internet, whilst extolling its benefits, robs them of human interactive and communication skills, denies them the ability to dream, and creates yet another subculture where the family structure has again suffered. Our society encourages and rewards them for creating fantasy alter–egos, under the guise of ‘security.’

Wherever our western media spreads we turn children into powerful consumers, consuming adults without the maturity to cope with the responsibilities. They strive to emulate the fantasy images of television stars and uninhibitedly mime the most provocative songs and movements.

What have we done? We have cunningly manufactured the death of innocence and encouraged disenchantment with the innocence of childhood.

And who is protesting? Sure, when a tragedy occurs, or the newspapers and media choke on the sensationalism and exploitation of yet another tragedy involving a child, what do we do? We forget about it. Yes we do. We do so because we’re too caught up in the next sensational media clip. Their suffering becomes media entertainment designed to sell papers and increase ratings.

Politicians are quick to jump on the bandwagon when it comes to eradicating the offending event. But how many are capable of repairing the root cause? It’s no different than a single hand trying to hold back an ocean wave. Forget all the scandals we read about. This is the scandal of a millennium and our children’s children will suffer greatly for our complacency.

One bomb–one single bomb, one political fundraising event, one lobbyist’s contribution to a political party, or one military aircraft, could provide schools, food, transportation, and medical care for an entire city for ten years in Eastern Europe. But even then the success is so small because as a society we are taught to distrust cultural differences rather than learn about them. We are encouraged to brand cultures as fanatics, nuts, and zealots, rather than build communities of understanding.

And if I’m heaving salvos all around, I can heave plenty towards ‘religion.’ If one word, one single word comes from a pulpit that glorifies, endorses, promotes, or highlights one culture as superior to another, then we have failed there too.

So what does religion do? It provides three important things: Community–the chance for people to gather together and share positive values and build the important foundations of a healthy society. Feeding–it provides nourishment in the form of nurturing and encouragment and helps us to learn to deal with the disappointments that bombard us so often. And Celebration–it brings us together to celebrate Christ in our lives, to share in His Body and Blood and to find salvation.

What will the future say about us? Did we make a difference for our children? Did we envelop them in love? Did we nurture them and demonstrate powerful images of what is right and good?

Right now the answer is: Not yet.

'And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him. And said unto them, whosoever shall receive this child in My name receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive Me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.' Luke 9:47.48

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