LUNA

Covid affects everyone differently.  For me this relentless pandemic brought with it regular bouts of darkness (and sadness) shrouded with loneliness. The house has been unusually empty as our last little bird left the nest. That coupled with restricted social gatherings has made us, ‘new empty-nesters’, feel all the more empty.  Ironically, I know I am not alone in my loneliness.  I have spoken to so many of you who have shared your positive and negative COVID experiences (and I am not referring to PCR tests).

So, after months of talking about it, and praying about it, and talking some more, what we did to bring a little light into our lives will not be for everyone, so please don’t judge… We got a puppy!

Yes, she is a lot of work.

Yes, I have not slept as soundly (or as long).

Yes, she has piddled on my carpet.

And yes, it is worth it.  This little life has brought more joy, and entertainment into our lives than we could every have imagined…  actually, I have been imaging this for years!

We are dog people and our decision feels right.

Luna came home last Tuesday and our life has been turned right side up and I am so grateful.  She has brought some levity and play into our lives. If you are a dog person, you get it.  

Last week, after conducting a difficult funeral for the son of a wonderful Amberlea couple, I went home to be greeted with all the love and adoring enthusiasm a 4 lb puppy can muster. Let me tell you, it is paradigm shifting!  She really is a joyful bright light.

Luna is the Latin word for moon. 

The bible refers to the moon as “a faithful witness in the skies” (Psalm 89:37).

And I love Psalm 136:7-9:  To Him who made the great lights, For His lovingkindness endures forever; The sun to rule over the day, For His lovingkindness endures forever; The moon and stars to rule by night, For His lovingkindness endures forever; (Amplified Bible)

Where do you find joy and light these days?

Snowmageddon!

Earlier this week Southern Ontario got walloped by what many are calling SNOWMAGEDDON! Depending on the area, 30-50cm of snow fell creating a winter wonderland and a shovelling nightmare.  

Have you ever noticed the sky when a snow storm rolls in? The clouds are grey and menacing and then as the snow is released it creates a beautiful enchanted landscape.  If you happen to be driving in the car, it is mesmerizing to watch the snow fly towards the windshield as trees are cloaked with white. The driver, however, can barely appreciate it for fear of taking their eyes off the road!

The roads get slick, and it can be nearly impossible to tell where the pavement ends and the soft shoulder begins. As I write this, there are still abandoned cars on the sides of major roadways. Other drivers who report bein stuck in their cars for 20 hours waiting for cars to move.

Storms of all kinds are painful reminders of just how powerless we can be. How do we respond? How do we approach God in those tumultuous seasons?

In the book of Job, God says:

Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? —Job 38:22-23

Poor Job was hit with so much: the deaths of his children, the loss of material wealth and comfort, and the ruining of his physical health. When he questioned God, the Lord’s response was to remind him at length exactly who He was, and who Job was not. God never explained any purpose for Job’s suffering but reminded Job of all that He created, understood and has power over. Snow was just one in a long list of those things.  

In hearing this, Job humbly replied,

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. —Job 38:42

How often do we respond to God with that kind of trust and humility in the storm?

We thank God that God is the creator of all things, yes even the snow. In its mounds and the beauty of its intricate individual flakes. And we thank God that God is in control in all the storms of our lives — including the blizzards!  God will bring us through them because God’s love, power, and wisdom are too wonderful for us to know.

Outbreak

Have you heard of the movie “Outbreak”? It came out in the mid 90’s and starred Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo.  That movie freaked me out.

The movie was about a viral hemorrhagic disease that breaks out in a small American town and how CDC scientists race against time to stop it from spreading. It was a made up story inspired by the nonfiction history of viruses like ebola (and if made today COVID-19).

Fiction meets Non fiction.

At the end of the movie the remaining residents of the town are successfully cured but not before 120 mins of action filled drama!

Interestingly the movie is not about a community of people whose lives intersect because of a pandemic, but rather the story is about a single character played by Dustin Hoffman who is the only one who understands the real threat of the virus. The movie highlights heroic individualism.

Individualism and doing life on our own is not part of God's design. We are meant to be in community. After all, God is a community. Existing for all of eternity past, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have enjoyed the love and fellowship of their perfect triune community. In creating humankind, God desired for us to participate in that community and know the perfect and joyous love the Godhead share.

Scripture is all about community.

Following the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, God then instituted the church, the Body of Christ as a community of believers. The apostle Paul wrote in  1 Corinthians 12:27,

"Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." 

Not only were we created to be in community but we also need community. We need each other. We need to trust, rely, and depend upon on one another. 

The writer to the Hebrews says in Hebrews 10:24-25, 

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

I understand that that becomes all the more difficult when we are not meeting in-person during this new and more contagious wave of the pandemic. It might be difficult but not impossible.  As you are praying for your loved ones, pick up the phone and call them.  Send people, who come to mind, a quick email or text.  Arrange to have an outdoor visit. We are not in this alone. We are in this together and together we are stronger. Together we can encourage one another to get through whatever this world throws at us. Our story is not about heroic individualism but heroic Christian community. 

For the next few weeks Amberlea church will be meeting exclusively online. The desire of the Session is to do our part in,  keeping us safe, mitigating the risk of contraction, and curbing the burden on our already taxed Health Care System.  The decision to not meet, as is our practice and desire, was a difficult one but the decision was made as a community for the community. 

Join us online for part two of our new sermon series, Keep the Change!