The Menno Melange

Our local ministerial group (pastors of all the local churches) take turns contributing articles to our local weekly newspaper. December was my turn simplifying the choice of theme. It was printed yesterday in the Christmas edition of the paper. Here is the article, quoted in full.

Walking into a shopping centre during the month of December and hearing festive holiday music stirs up mixed feelings in many people. Some feel joy and are filled with the Christmas spirit, and for them the holiday music couldn’t start soon enough. Others however feel less excited, and would prefer to hold off playing Christmas music as long as possible. As someone who spent many December days and nights working in a retail environment, I often fall into the second category. Too often, the same CD full of popular musicians singing popular Christmas songs would cycle through our store speakers all day long.
In our sterilized commercial atmospheres, one song that survives the secular filter is “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by the 1984 charity supergroup Band Aid. What was a fundraising effort to help starving Ethiopian children has left an indelible mark on popular music, and especially popular Christmas music.
The lyrics of the song suggest that for various reasons (hunger, fear, drought, poverty, lack of snow, etc.) Ethiopians, especially children, might not know it was Christmas at all. Much has been said about this Western-centric view of Christmas, but it brings to mind the mindset that many people have that if certain things are missing, Christmas is either ruined or it just doesn’t happen. So Christmas is a happy time, but only if certain things are included.
Sadly, the lack of gifts can ruin Christmas for children and families. Many great charities are in place to collect and distribute appropriate gifts to children from poorer families. Your donation to these charities helps to ensure that poverty will not ruin Christmas in these homes.
Food is another item that charities gather for increased distribution around the holidays. This time of year highlights the difference between rich and poor. When food is already short, a tight December budget can make food and gifts compete for dwindling incomes. In those situations, it is helpful when others respond to the call for food donations. By contributing quality food items at the grocery store or during the Santa Claus parade, etc., we can alleviate the stress too many people feel at this time of year, and help to ensure that empty cupboards won’t ruin Christmas in these homes.
The holidays are also often a time for families to gather, so when loved ones are not present, the tone of the celebration changes. When children or siblings leave the area to work or study in other parts of the world, costs and/or scheduling complications can make a trip home an unjustifiable expense. With the improvements in communications technology and the decrease of the related costs, having Christmas together is at least partially possible. Annual gatherings of families can also be powerful reminders of losses of loved ones suffered over the past year. To help families cope, it is important that their friends remember their time of sadness and remembrance. With extra sensitivity, we can make certain that our families and the families around us are comforted in this time, and try to ensure that the absence of loved ones won’t ruin Christmas in these homes.
Finally, another thing that people feel is necessary to fully enjoy the Christmas season is a positive Christian atmosphere within society. Many bemoan the loss of religious content in the holiday celebration as a sign of decreasing moral values in our society, claiming that generosity has been replaced with greed, religion has been replaced with materialism, the baby Jesus has been replaced with Santa Claus and Christmas has been replaced with Xmas. For many, there is nothing wrong with buying expensive gifts, indulging in mythical figures or using Greek-based short-forms. Many people however are angered when the Christian content is taken out of the holiday, or made less important. For them, Christmas is less enjoyable because they see other people “disrespecting” the holiday. The time when Christians were the majority has passed, but being in the minority is no reason to fret. Christians all over the world manage to celebrate Christmas without special sales, a government mandated paid holiday, or even church buildings in which to gather. To truly celebrate a holiday, we need to be celebrating within, despite the climate around us. With that in mind, hopefully we can ensure that Christmas is not ruined in our homes.

Whenever Will drives off somewhere, I pray for his safe arrival to wherever he is going.

When someone I know is sick, I pray for their recovery.

When there is something that I want, like a meaningful job, I pray for it.

Recently I found there was a question nagging in my mind about prayers of petition. They don’t always work. How can that be? We are taught that if we pray, we will get what we need and want, and could have the power to move mountains. But we can’t move mountains, and our prayers aren’t always answered.

We can pray all we like for safe journeys, but that doesn’t always happen. There are car accidents every day. We can pray for the healing of someone, and sometimes people get healed, but many times they do not. We can pray for the dream job, where one feels they are truly doing God’s work, but may not get that job.

It’s not a matter of not having enough faith, either. I have seen very faithful people pray for things, and those prayers remained unanswered……at least not in the ways that were expected.

What, then, is the point of petition prayers?

It’s funny. I go through phases in my spiritual journey, between feeling like what God does makes sense, like I was given a secret glimpse of the inner workings of God, and feeling like what God does makes no sense and is an enigmatic absent being, who is still somehow present in His absence.

My earlier understanding of this dilemma is that we need to be praying for things God would want, opening our hearts and minds to Gods will. Because, to truly believe, we want what God wants, and thus would only pray for things God would will. So, when we do pray for things God would will, they happen and we rejoice. However, due to selfishness, self-absortion, greed, close-mindedness, etc. when we pray for things that stray from Gods desire, those prayers are not answered, and we then understand that maybe we should have desired something else. In that way, prayers, whether unanswered or answered, show us the will of God.

Another spin on it, is that God only wants what is best for us. Sometimes we pray for things that, initially seem good, but in the end would have resulted in something negative. I DO believe that an unanswered prayer can be protective or preventative.

Both of these understandings, however, would mean diddily to the wife whose husband was paralyzed in the car crash. She prayed for his safety, so why was he injured for life? This wouldn’t bring comfort to the family whose friend died of AIDS. They had been praying for a healing for monthes and years. This wouldn’t make sense to someone who wanted to be a doctor all their lives, but just can’t get through medical school, no matter how hard they tried.

Maybe prayers of petition aren’t about getting what we ask for. Maybe we are encouraged to pray for things so that we are mindful of what we truly want, for ourselves and for others. Maybe we are encouraged to pray for things so that we are constantly reminded that we are dependent on a greater being. Or, maybe when our prayers do make a difference, we won’t always see that right away….and maybe never.

Wow, it’s almost been two months since Will and I got married. What have I been doing?!

As you may have read earlier, I found a job at a nursing home in Tavi, where I am a nurses aid half time, and a musician half time. It seemed like a job from heaven…y’know, being in town, utilizing my skills and challenging me to learn something new (or MANY things for that matter, as I have never had a job in health care before, nor have I gone to school for nursing). As it turns out, though, it just didn’t feel right for me to be a nurses aid. NOT that I’m irked by the realities of the job (changing pads, feeding, toiletting, bathing, etc), but rather I have this unrelenting feeling of being incompetent…even after 2 monthes. They all say it takes that long and longer to get the hang of the job, but it’s just too much. You gotta know the routine (which changes for every shift there is, and you are scheduled to work every shift at some point), you gotta know each and every individual resident’s needs (which changes over time and with the arrival of new residents), you gotta tweak your work styles to make each and every co-worker happy (because a procedure that might be right to one co-worker, could be dead wrong to another), you gotta be willing to be woken up at 5:30 in the morning with a phone call requesting you to work at 6:00 (not to mention all the random calls you get to fill in for others who don’t show up to work), and you gotta put up with certain residents who give you a hard time, and quite possibly, get aggressive with you.

Don’t get me wrong. I have loved my job at Bonnie Brae, almost as much as I have despised it, mainly for the wonderful residents I have gotten to know (which number far greater than the unpleasant ones), and for the programming that I do, which is one-to-one visits, sing-alongs, baking, and performing. These experiences have made my time at Bonnie Brae very rewarding and enriching . Also, the skills I have learned have made me a far more versatile person, and I will carry those skills and knowledge with me for the rest of my life. I’m also glad I have experienced this, just to get a glimpse of what it is like in the health care system, to see just how difficult a nurses and nurses aides job is, and I have grown to appreciate people who spend their lives doing that even more.

Having said that, though, I am on the look out for another job, and I will keep you posted (get it? Posted!) if there any further advancements in that department.

Instead of following the conference suggested Advent material, our church has decided to follow a simpler schedule, using a few character studies from the Christmas story and the other regular programming to fill in the time. This past Sunday was on Mary. Here is an excerpt from my sermon:

That’s the great thing about the Christmas story. Christ comes into our world in such a way that all the traditional hierarchies of Israel, all of the ladders of importance, of class, and of respect, get turned upside-down. Mary is someone who would normally be at the bottom of the hierarchy structure. It’s as though all of the women of all time were lined up for selection and God chose Mary. He didn’t choose from the wealthy women. He didn’t choose from the women with royal blood. He didn’t choose from the women with good reputations or from the women with all the connections. He didn’t even choose from the women who were already pregnant. He chose Mary. No money, not status, no husband, Mary.
Mary was also quite young. The Greek word used to describe Mary is ‘parthenos’ which means virgin or young woman. It’s the same word in Greek. What God intends for sex, is not a recreational aspect of youth culture or subject matter for various television shows and commercials; sex is supposed to be a part of a covenant. First time sex is supposed to be husband and wife making a lifetime covenant with each other. Sure there were still people at that time who deviated from that model, and there are people who deviate from that model now. Mary had not deviated from that model. She was a ‘parthenos’ who was engaged to be married.
Just how young was she? We know that she is engaged, so she isn’t too young to get married and she knows why it would be impossible for her to have conceived a child, so we know she’s not too young to have children herself. She is however too young to be important. But despite that, God chooses her to bear the Saviour of the world. Not only does he choose her, but also in choosing her, he puts her in a position that could move her even farther down the hierarchy. Mary is blessed. She knows that what has happened to her is a blessing from God. Her fiancé Joseph knows it too; well at least he figures it out after a while. Some people believe their story that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit, some people don’t. The few that do believe it give her instantaneous honour. Those who don’t believe it reject and despise her.
But through this act, Mary doesn’t move from the bottom of the hierarchy ladder to the top, the whole ladder gets flipped around. God doesn’t choose the rich, he chooses the poor. God doesn’t choose royalty, he chooses a peasant. He doesn’t choose the extraordinary; he chooses the ordinary.

Tomorrow is the deadline given by the Swords of Righteousness Brigade for Iraqi prisoners to be released or they will kill their four hostages. This is a sadly common reality. Idealistic gunmen holding idealistic prisoners ignored by idealistic governments and disenchanted law enforcement authorities. What makes this situation uncommon is the tragic irony involved.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) opposed the war in Iraq and opposes the continued US (et al) military presence in Iraq. They have been very vocal in their opposition to the war and very active in their support of people they deem as victims of the conflict. As members of CPT, the four men, Briton Norman Kember, American Tom Fox, and Canadians Jim Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden, make terrible hostages.

- They oppose the war and the ongoing western military presence in Iraq. Their captivity means that less opposition is being voiced and demonstrated.
- They have no loyalty to the USA, Bush or capitalism. What ideologies will their captives try to beat out of them?
- They oppose a violent/military rescue. So the only help the military can give is unwelcomed.
- The US military doesn’t like them. CPT has been documenting abuse allegations in Iraqi prisons, creating human shields, and making accusations of war crimes and Geneva treaty violations ever since the bombing began. They have been a thorn in the side for the US military, so they wouldn’t want to rescue them, even if it was wanted.
- They have close friends in the Muslim community. High level muslim clerics are voicing their support of CPT and their work. Muslims all over Hebron are denouncing the kidnapping. Unless the strategy was to create disunity, it doesn’t seem to be working.

There are prayer vigils all over the world for the hostages today. Tomorrow will bring news of any developments. We can only pray that they will be positive.

CPT had hoped that this news wouldn’t reach the mainstream media. I don’t blame them. With this news getting out, it means more unnecessary attention to the anxious parents, and a slew of unwarranted opposition.

Here is a collection of articles related to the events:
News
Hostage family holds out hope

Sympathetic
CPT Home
Why are we here?
Un-Sympathetic
“Part of me likes this” - Rush Limbaugh
“Reaping what they sow” - FrontPageMagazine

As Christmas approaches, we’ll begin to hear about commercialization, greed and materialism. Various groups, including Christians from everywhere on the spectrum, will bemoan the loss of what once was.

Reading through a recent denominational publication, I read through two articles which had similar tones but seemingly contrasting messages. The first talked about how the mall had now become the place of modern worship. Apparently people everywhere are catching on to this trend, including Christians. To cash in on this movement, new churches are even being designed to look like malls. Food courts have replaced the communion table, sales promotions have replaced Advent, Lent, etc., and the Almighty Dollar has replaced God Almighty. The second article also talked about how the mall had now become the place of modern worship. This author’s point was instead that new malls are being designed to look like medieval cathedrals, with the special windows, paintings and statues.

Both writers pointed toward the commercialization of Christmas, but in different ways. I was slightly baffled though; which writer was correct? Are new churches looking like old malls, or are new malls looking like old churches? Perhaps both statements are true which would negate the legitimacy of either article. If new churches look like malls, which look like old churches, then new churches look like old churches, regardless of the level of materialism in the surrounding society.

Recently there was some fear that malls were losing their relevance and would eventually be empty as a result of increased online shopping. While e-commerce has increased, malls are still full to overflowing leading up to Christmas. Some malls with struggling chains, with aging buildings or placed in increasingly poor neighbourhoods are whithering into oblivion, but many malls are thriving in their glitz and glamour. Similarly, the downfall of the church is much publicized and seen by many as inevitable in this postmodern climate of intellectualism, etc. Little however is being said about church growth in its various forms. New churches are springing up in Canada. Some groups are starting to rent out movie theatres to accommodate their swelling attendance. Old vacated church buildings are being rented or purchased outright by newer, younger and more vibrant congregations.

Sure, churches are like malls, malls are like churches. They each have their own enemies, things that threaten to bring irrelevance. Both can blame a changing climate on their decline, or they can simply continue to be relevant.

Christmas is coming, and I’m tired of hearing people complain about it. If you don’t like mall atmosphere at this time of year, don’t go. If you think materialistic greed has overcome the traditional goodwill of the holiday, don’t buy anything, nothing at all. We have the power to make Christmas what we want. The government still gives us a day off. Random people still extend random well-wishes at random times throughout the season. Whether you’re celebrating the birth of Christ or the feast of Saturn, celebrate! Don’t complain about how the unfriendly climate around you ruins your holiday.