Mid-Week Message - January 8

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!

It feels like a long time since I sat down to write one of these Mid-Week Messages. (So long that I forgot, yesterday afternoon, that this should be on my agenda for the day!)  I hope that all of you had a blessed celebration of Christmas and Epiphany.

I don't know about you, but it has felt like a heart-heavy beginning to the new year, with "wars and rumours of wars," and then yesterday's killing of a peaceful protestor in Minneapolis who was shot at point-blank range.  I don't know whether I feel rage, or grief, or some combination of the both.  (Diana Butler-Bass, a historian and public theologian, wrote a reflection about this incident, trying to make sense of the event by putting it into historical context.  I found it very helpful to read this morning - you can read it by clicking here.)

I find it so tempting to fall into despair these days.  It feels like it would be so easy to just throw up my hands and say that since nothing will ever change, since the "powers and principalities" of this world will always call the shots (sometimes literally), there is no point in doing anything.

But when the shadow of despair seems to loom large, that is when I remind myself that I have a faith to ground me, and that hope is at the heart of that faith.

Hope is not wishful thinking.  Hope is trusting that the current s**tshow going on in the world (if you'll forgive the expression) is not the end of the story.  Turning to the bible, we read that "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).  If we can already see it, then it's not faith - our hope lies in looking at the world, not seeing any signs that it is going to get any better, yet trusting anyways that it will.

In the article I linked to above, Diana Butler-Bass turned to an example from (relatively recent) history that demonstrated such a reversal that seemed impossible in the moment but that eventually unfolded.  And we can also turn to the story that is at the heart of our faith - the story of Good Friday and Easter.  In the midst of Good Friday, when Jesus has died and has been laid in the tomb, it seems as though the story is over.  Death has won.  Empire and imperialism have won.  And yet every Good Friday is always followed by Easter.  Death is always followed by resurrection and new life.

The other story from our faith that I often look towards to sustain my hope is Mary's Magnificat - the song that she proclaims after she consents to carry and birth and raise God's son.  (If you were in church on Christmas Eve, this formed the heart of my message - and if you need a refresher, you can read it at Luke 1:46-55.)  Mary, seeing the world with the eyes of a prophet, with God's eyes, sees a time when there is no more hunger, a time when there are no kings and no empires, a time when all lives are equally valued.  (Notice how she proclaims this vision in the present tense, as if this time were already here!)  And this reversal that she sees isn't just a temporary reprieve - what she sees is a forever reversal of the way that the world is now.

And it is Mary's vision that sustains my hope.  Even though I can't see it now, and even though I likely won't live to see it unfold, I trust that some day the world is going to be permanently turned towards peace and justice and love.  I trust that in my lifetime I will see temporary reversals, where the current "wars and rumours of wars" will be past; but I also trust that some day, God will work the grand reversal on the world.

And because I hope, I can never despair.  I can never throw my hands up and say that there is no point in doing anything because nothing is ever going to change.  Because I know that God is always working transformation on the world, and that I can be a part of it, by doing what is within my power to do.  That vision of the future not only strengthens my hope, but it empowers me to do justice now, to love kindness now, and to walk humbly now (to borrow Micah 6:8) because I know that some day this will be the only way.

(And for the song that strengthens my hope, "My Soul Cries Out" is in More Voices, #120 - sometimes called "The Canticle of the Turning." It is a paraphrase of Mary's prophetic song, and you can hear it sung by the composer, Rory Cooney, by clicking here.)

Moving on to announcements for this week:

• Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Summerville and at 11:15 at Westfield and on Facebook Live.  This week, we will be reading the story of Jesus's baptism and remembering that with our own baptism, we are baptized into Jesus's life and work. Our scripture readings (for those of you who like to read them ahead of time) will be Isaiah 42:1-9 and Matthew 3:13-17.

• Bible Study - we had to cancel bible study yesterday due to the weather, so we'll try again for next Wednesday, January 14, at 10am in the parlour at Westfield United Church.  We are currently reading some of the prophets as our multi-year project of reading the Old Testament to get a sense of the story arc draws to a close.  Each week doesn't depend on what we did the week before, so feel free to drop in any time!

• Asking the Big Questions - our next gathering will be on Tuesday January 20 from 4:30-6 in the parlour at Westfield United Church, and as always, we will end with pizza.  I could come up with a "big question" but I'm curious to hear from you - what sorts of big questions keep you awake at night, or puzzle your brain during the daytime? What sorts of big questions about the world or about life to you wish that you had time and space to explore?

• Annual Reports - thank you to everyone who has started submitting their reports to Elaine!  A reminder that the deadline is coming up next week, January 14.  (Any reports submitted after that date will be printed as an addendum to the main report.) Printed reports can be slipped under Elaine's office door at Westfield, but the preferred submission route is by email to wuc@nb.sympatico.ca (please submit them as Word / Excel files rather than as pdfs, to allow her to format and compile them into a single report).

• Covenanting Service - Quispamsis United - when a new minister is called to a church, there is a covenanting service to mark the covenant relationship between the minister, the congregation(s), and the wider church. As part of this service, promises are made by the new minister, the congregation, and by members of the wider church who are present (speaking on behalf of the rest of the Church); and then symbols of the ministry are presented to the new minister, representing those promises. Our neighbours at Quispamsis United Church welcomed a new minister on October 1, Rev. Linton Worrell, and their covenanting service will be on Sunday January 18 at 1:30pm. You are all invited to celebrate with them at that service, and if you aren't able to attend, please hold them in prayer. (I will be driving there immediately after worship at Westfield that week - if anyone would like to hop in my car, you are more than welcome!)

  
  

Thank You Corner - this week's thank you goes out to members of the Two Rivers Pastoral Charge Session for all that you did in the busy seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany to support our worship services.  I want to give a special shout-out to Bette Ashley (Summerville), Anne Titus (Long Reach), and Chris Patstone (Westfield) - whenever we have a communion service, these are the people who make sure that the table is set for us, and the bread and the little cups of grape juice are prepared. In the busyness of Christmas Eve, these three people gave of their time earlier in the day to get everything set up, then stayed behind after worship to clear the table. Thank you - I, and all of our congregations, appreciate what you do!

For a closing thought this week... I already shared a couple of links up above to what I've been reading and listening to, so lets go for something completely unrelated to the heaviness in the world, and who doesn't love kittens?! Some of you may have already come across The Kitten Lady (aka Hannah Shaw) on Facebook / Instagram / YouTube. She runs a kitten rescue organization in California, and does a lot of educating on the care of kittens.  And also posts lots of very cute kitten content on social media. Here is her most recent video about the latest litter of kittens (and their mama) that she is fostering - you can watch it by clicking here.

Blessings to you and yours, today and always!

Kate.

Rev. Kate Jones

Two Rivers Pastoral Charge

(506) 757-2201 (office)

(506) 343-1307 (mobile)

www.tworiverspastoralcharge.com

 Pronouns:  she/her/hers

 "Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law?"

Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: "You must love your neighbour as you love yourself."

(Matthew 22:36-39)