Easter Traditions and Trade

As Christians we are blessed to celebrate the life and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Much of who we are and what we believe is rooted in the incredible works and lessons of the Master.  He taught us so much in life and who would have believed that his greatest lesson would be from his death and resurrection. His love was so great for us and His Father's love so great that he was allowed to die to cleanse our sins. His resurrection kept the promise of life everlasting for all of us.  This is a very important time for all Christians. At time of reflection, a time of loss, a time of redemption, a time of renewed joy and a time of unbreakable love.

For this special time in our year we give blessing and thanks. It is difficult therefore for us to see what we view as commercialization of this precious time.  Turns out what we see may not have its origin in the commercial nor be as current as we may believe.  Now the Bible certainly did not contain passages about Easter Bunnies and one could be forgiven if it were felt that it was some crass current day commercial tradition.  Turns out the celebration may have originated as long ago as the 13th century in Germany. It is a celebration of rebirth and Easter. The Osterhase delivered colourful eggs to celebrate the rebirth.  The tradition was brought to America but German settlers and the first chocolate bunnies were made hollow to celebrate the emptiness of the tomb.  Eggs were considered a food to give up for and thus to save them they were boiled coloured and then given and eaten in celebration of the rebirth with a special treat.

The Christian custom of Easter eggs, specifically, started among the early Christians of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs with red colouring "in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at His crucifixion.  The oldest surviving decorated egg dates back to the fourth century AD yes it is German.  So while the commercial often overtakes our traditions give a small thought to what they represent and share the joy of the rebirth with all we love.

The Lords blessing of the Promise kept.

Noral R.

Palm Sunday

I often tend to get more engaged in Advent than in Christmas, and the same is true of Palm Sunday: sometimes anticipation of excitement is easier to embrace than the event itself.  Certainly, the Palm Sunday parades the children participate in every year, as they did this Sunday, signify the greatness and the importance of what rode into Jerusalem with the donkey: the incarnation, redemption, truth.  And, it was too much for the existing social order to accept.  It is lovely, sometimes, to sit still in the moment of excitement, and consider the happy hosanas from the children of Jerusalem, than to reflect on the death that followed.  It is not lost on me, this year, that the marches of children and youth on Washington for gun control took place on the weekend of Palm Sunday: more parades of children.  I pray that the possibility of social change, and better protection, for those children will be as profound as the resurrection that followed Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, as real as the thousands of years of Christendom that followed.

Rebecca B.

DYING TO RISE John 12: 20-33

Talking about dying is troubling.  Do we deal with it or just deny it even though it happens?  We know death. We know it all too well.  Yet it is harder to imagine the truth of resurrection.  In the reading this morning from John 12: 20-33, we learn that this is God’s way of telling us that the cross (death) is not the end.   Rev. Dimock reminded us to think of dying as that grain of wheat - as it dies it bears much fruit.  But is it the end?  Regardless of what it looks like, this is not the end.  Resurrection is always hidden within death.  We might survive but we aren’t really alive.  Jesus did not ask to be saved from death. He is unwilling to settle for survival when the fullness of God’s life is before him. Grains of wheat. That is what we are. Through death, however, we can become the bread of life.

Jeanie H.

John 3: 1-21 Disciples in the Dark

What does it mean to be born again?  Babies are born with a vulnerability and toughness to get them through.  Perhaps it is the vulnerability which makes them ready for life.  I wonder if we can become vulnerable again to survive?  As adults, can we be vulnerable and tough at the same time?

We can choose ways of living that lead us to God.  We need to release ourselves for the movement of God into our lives - we need to be vulnerable again. Do we want to receive God’s grace and love?  Our responses vary as well as the time to answer God’s call….but respond we will.

For God so loved the world - with each and every one of us. 

Jeanie H.

Communion Sunday

As we often connect with extended family over celebratory meals, Communion give us the opportunity to connect with our Christian Family.

This morning, we were thankful to have Karen with us and pray that healing of her concussion will continue.  Huda gave us a new look at the difficult concept of incarnation.  Through Lent, we are challenged to consider the question “Who do you say that I am?”

Huda had us consider Jesus in the temple, when Christ displayed anger not often displayed.  The destruction of the temple can be seen as the coming destruction of Christ’s earthly body.  And as a calling to us to overturn the tables of racism, sexism and ageism.

Today, when we so often witness the destruction of today’s temples, we pray that our initial anger is superseded by compassion and restorative action.

Billie S.

Who do you say I am?

The Mustard Seed.

 This Sunday we were progressing through the Lenten Season with lessons from Jesus as he inquired of his disciples “who do you say I am?” and foretelling of his sacrifice for us. Yet on the way through this journey of lent we were taken of stride.

 Karen before our service took a fall and hurt herself so we were treated to a surprise sermon from our Clerk of Session Rob Robertson. Now for some time Kirk Session had prepared for the possibility of our minister being unable due to weird circumstance being unable to attend and preach and three years of Rob’s preparation came to fruition.

 We pray for Karen to recover from her concussion very soon.

 We owe thanks to Rob for stepping up to take the mantle on short notice.

Now Rob has provided within the context of the wider church a special degree of dedication to the work of PWSD. His pride in their work, dedication to to the cause they so admirably support, the true joy of his remembrance of his direct observation of the proof of that work and his pleasing delivery were all on display and we all are the better for it.

 So instead of Mark 8:27-38 we were treated to the parable of the Mustard seed. Mathew 13 31-32

He set another man before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches."

 As Rob said not the same but very much answering the stated question. He related some absolutely wonderful illustrations of where Jesus’s love through our Christian outreach have turned small seed of PWSD support into important changes for people.

 Rob’s stories of PWSD work in Malawi for example were heartwarming and help us understand how every little bit can make a difference, even in Canada where the PWSD was instrumental in helping the community of Fort McMurray though the devastating wildfires. Of course he was careful to make sure that we understood that small gifts were very important but that larger gifts were not unwelcome to support greater projects. 😊

 The circumstance is sad and we ae pulling for a quick recovery for Karen but our “substitute” teacher is to be congratulated and thanks for stepping in. His passion and strength of belief were infectious.

Thank you Rob.

God’s blessings for the small and large gifts

Noral R.

Lent

In today's service, Karen spoke, of course, about Lent, talking about "holy hunger" when Jesus was roaming in the wilderness.  When Lent arrives each year, I do try to give up something, to mindfully and prayerfully contemplate God's grace. Some years, I have given up coffee, others shopping, others sweets. This year, I came across this challenge from the Church of England that seems appropriate for our times, a challenge to give up consumption of plastics for Lent.  It seems like an interesting, contemporary spin on an ancient tradition, so I thought I would share it here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/world/europe/lent-plastic-church-of-england.html

May we all offer ourselves to service of Christ in new and innovative ways this Lenten season.

Rebecca B.