Mid-Week Message - March 4

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

One of my brothers-in-law is from Iran, so the current war in the Middle East has been weighing heavily on my spirit this week. As soon as bombs start falling, the lives of innocent people are lost and the lives of exponentially more people are forever changed. I deeply believe that violence is never the answer.

One aspect of the rhetoric and media coverage that has caught my ear has been the either/or thinking - the argument that if you oppose the bombing of Iran, you must be supporting the oppressive government regime that has ruled that country.  Is it not possible that two things can be true at the same time? That the Iranian government has done great harm AND that it is wrong for one country to bomb another country?

When I think of Jesus, and ask the question "What would Jesus do?" bombs and violence are never part of the answer I come up with. After all, even when Jesus was on trial, was tortured, and was killed by an oppressive government, he never fought back.  After all, Jesus teaches us:  "You must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well. When they wish to haul you to court and take you shirt, let them have your coat too. When they force you to go one mile, go with them two." (Matthew 5:39-41)

There aren't any easy answers when it comes to war. There have never been any easy answers at any point in history. In the Christian tradition, the "Just War Theory" originated with St. Augustine in the early 5th Century. From Augustine the present day, theologians have wrestled with the question of what might make for a "just war." In what circumstances do the ends justify the means? Is self-defense justified? What about the protection of the vulnerable? What about the promotion of peace in the end? Or can any war be justified?

But before Augustine, all war was seen as evil, and never justified. In the first four centuries of the church, the concept of a "Christian Soldier" didn't exist - a person couldn't engage in war and be a Christian at the same time. The two identities were contradictory.

It is hard, and there are no easy answers.

I keep thinking back to my colleague, Rev. Moira Finley, who, during the recent Olympics, wrote:  "This is what we can be when we use bobsleds not bombs and sort our stuff out not on battle field but hockey fields."

There are no easy answers, and the closest I can come to an answer is to quote from the gospels, "Jesus wept." Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35). Jesus wept over Jerusalem for all of the suffering caused there by the oppressive powers (Luke 19:41). I believe that wherever there is suffering, wherever there is grief, wherever there is cruelty or oppression, God weeps. God weeps for the Iranian people who have been suffering under an oppressive government.  God weeps for all of the people who have been killed or injured by the bombs that are currently falling.

We weep, and God weeps; and in our grief, God calls us to be peacemakers in the world. You and I probably don't have the power to stop the bombs from falling (if you do, I want to talk to you!), but each one of us has the power to do small things in the spheres we inhabit that can shift the balance of the world, even a little bit, towards peace and goodness and love.

I was listening to a delightful interview last night with the writer Anne Lamott, and she tells a parable (not one from the bible):  A war horse comes across a sparrow lying on its back in the street with its feet straight up in the air. "What on earth are you doing?" the horse sneers. "I'm trying to hold back the darkness," the sparrow replies. "That's absurd," the horse says, "you barely weigh an ounce." "One does what one can," says the sparrow.

Every small act of pushing back against the shadows and darkness makes a difference in the world. If we can't stop the bombs, let's all be sparrows instead.

Moving on to announcements this week:

• Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Summerville and 11:15 at Westfield and on Facebook Live. In this Lent's "Hungering for God" series, this week we will be looking at "Hungering for Relationship" through the lens of the story of Jesus's encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:5-42).

• Carl Fulton's Funeral - when I sent out the email last Friday, I didn't have all of the funeral details to share with you. Visitation is going to be in the sanctuary at Westfield United Church (133 Nerepis Rd) on Thursday (tomorrow) from 3-7pm, and again on Friday from 2-3pm. The funeral will follow at 3pm, and will be livestreamed on Facebook. You can read Carl's full obituary by clicking here. Thank you to all of you who are holding Mary and her family in prayer.

• Pray for Peace with Hands and Heart - we are continuing to gather on Tuesday evenings to pray for peace with our words as well as with activities. Next Tuesday we will be gathering at Long Reach United Church at 7pm to pray for Peace within Communities. These gatherings are appropriate for all ages from children to youth to adults to seniors, so grab you grandkids or your parents and come along! (You can see the poster with the full schedule by clicking here.)

• Lenten Bible Study - our student minister Steve continues to lead a bible study on Wednesday mornings from 10-11:30 in the parlour at Westfield United, looking at the writings of the Apostle Paul. I'm not present for these gatherings, but I've heard great reports from the participants!

• PIE Day - PIE Day is getting closer - March 14 (3.14)! This is a day that holds particular delight for those of us who are math geeks, lovers of pastry, and believe in an Affirming church. Hopefully the math and the pastry connection is clear, and for those of us who are affirming, it is an occasion to be Public, Intentional, and Explicit (PIE) about the fact that God's love is for everyone, of every sexual orientation and gender identity. As we have done the past several years, we will be giving away free "mini-pies" (ie tarts) in front of the church at Westfield. Each one will be packaged up in a paper bag with a sticker that has an affirming message ("God Loves You" with a rainbow flag). This is always a really fun event! If you would like to be involved:

  1) You can make tarts (of any flavour!) and drop them off at the church on March 12 or 13, or the morning of the 14th.

  2) You can join us as we give away free pie! Because Pie Day falls on a Saturday this year, we aren't going to be able to catch people on their afternoon commute, so instead we will be giving away pie in the morning. We will meet at the church at 9am to get the tarts packaged up, then head outside around 10am to start giving them away. (I'm told that this is when there is most traffic on a Saturday as people head to the landfill or the grocery stores or the hockey rink!)

• Westfield - Our Lenten Socials continue this week! Anyone with a last name from Q-Z is invited to bring "eats and sweets" to share; and Session will have the tea and coffee on.

• Westfield - after a minor technical delay, Joe has our tax receipts ready to go. They are printed and available at the back of the church (please feel free to hand-deliver to your friends, family members, and neighbours to help us save on postage!); and if you would prefer to receive your receipt by email, you can drop Joe a line at westfielduc@gmail.com and he will send it your way.

• World Day of Prayer - the World Day of Prayer service is shared by the churches in our community, and rotates between the different churches. Last year it was at Westfield United, and this year it will be at St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church (45 Dollard Drive). It will be held this Sunday, March 8, at 6:30pm - you can view the poster by clicking here, and everyone is invited!

Thank You Corner - this week's thank you goes out to a couple who are always working away at something around the Westfield church - Claude and Paula Smith. They made sure that the tables in the basement were set up for our Lenten socials, they were there this week (along with Brenda and Joe) moving the tables around for the funeral reception on Friday, they seem to be downstairs in the kitchen every Sunday morning before worship getting the coffee and tea started, and even though we haven't come to S yet in our Lenten socials, their deviled eggs have been out each of the two previous Sundays. Thank you, Paula and Claude, for all that you do for our church!

For a closing thought this week, I have to give you a link so that you can hear that interview with Anne Lamott that I mentioned earlier. It is almost an hour long, but it is funny and honest and insightful and hopeful all at once. If you click here, you will find both the audio and the video for the interview, as well as what you need to find it in you usual podcatcher if you are a regular podcast listener.

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)